Best Friends

Best Friends

*

Unexpected Allies

*

The next couple of weeks went over uneventfully. James Potter and half of his lieutenants had to be taken to the Infirmary as they somehow gained a pig's ears and tails, then Sirius and Remus got mysterious boils all over their skin. By some unfortunate joke of fate, Sirius and Remus shared a dormitory with Potter and Pettigrew. However, as all other Gryffindors had demanded that the Gryffindor Tower was not a place for pranks, their war had kept at the level of unsuppressed hatred in their dormitory.

Now, it was the time for breakfast. Remus and Sirius sat on one end of the table, surrounded by those who silently supported them, and Potter with his personal court was seated on the other end. The two sides glared at each other continuously, hardly concentrating on eating.

Suddenly, Remus nudged Sirius on the ribs. "D'you think that Snape is eyeing our table strangely?" he hissed at his friend.

Sirius snapped his eyes away from Potter. "What? Oh, yes. The slimeball seems to be expecting something."

Just at the same moment, there was a loud shriek coming from the other end of the Gryffindor table. As they glanced there, Potter and most of his most eager followers were staring in shock at one another, horrified by the green and blue spots they were sporting along with an unnatural growth of pink fur on their face.

Sirius bursted into laughter right away. Soon after that, the whole end of the table where they were sitting was laughing out loud, as well as most of the other tables. Potter attempted to run to them, but a couple of teachers stopped them.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mister Potter," they heard Professor McGonagall saying. "That's a far too complex potion for a first-year to handle. There's no way Mister Black could have done this. Now, to the Infirmary!"

As everyone was laughing at the poor Gryffindors, Remus was the only one who noticed the self-satisfied smirk on Snape's face. Only his watchful eyes noticed the boy raising from the Slytherin table and heading out of the Great Hall.

He quickly whispered his observations to Sirius, who nodded. "I bet he's behind this," the raven-haired boy muttered quietly to himself. "Come on, Remus, let's go and catch him!"

Remus followed his friend, although not before briefly wondering what Sirius was up to. Before he could voice his suspicions, however, he found himself already in the corridor, where Sirius had just cornered Snape and grasped the smaller boy's arm.

"Let me go, Black," Snape snarled. "I've done nothing to you."

"No, you haven't," replied Sirius self-confidently, letting Snape's arm go. "But you've done to Potter."

"So, I spiked their pumpkin juice. And what do you care?" snapped the Slytherin back at him. "He's your enemy, isn't he? What's it to you whether I try to have revenge?"

"It is," said Sirius, "when it is done in such an impressive way."

Snape gave Remus a disbelieving gaze. "Lupin, did my ears deceive me, or did I just hear Black give me a compliment?"

"I do believe so, yes," replied Remus, who already started to realize what Sirius was going to do.

"Now, what's it that you want, Black?" spat then Snape, his attention returning back to Sirius. Even though he acted angry and hateful, the slightest hint of fear could be seen under his hard cover.

"To make you an offer." Sirius took calmly a step forward, while Snape backed away from him. "You are at least as good in hexes as I am, and you know potions better than many fifth-years. And, you are against Potter just as much as you are against us. I suggest that we join forces."

Snape didn't say anything. Instead, he simply stared at Sirius, obviously not believing a word.

"Think about it, Snape," Sirius coaxed. "You'll be in the receiving end of Potter's pranks anyway, you are a Slytherin, after all. But, if you accept our offer, you'll get more revenge at him, and you'll be safe from our side. You can only win in this deal."

For a moment, the Slytherin seemed to be thinking. "Fine," said Snape then, nodding. "With two - no, three conditions."

"And what would those be?" asked Sirius, raising his eyebrows.

"One: Not only you keep from pulling pranks on me, but on any Slytherin in my presence. I certainly do not want to be singled out as the only one who's safe from you. Two: If you decide to pull pranks on other Slytherins, however, I'm not in any way involved. I'd rather avoid the revenge of my housemates. Three: My name is Severus, not Snape."

"Sounds reasonable." Sirius reached out his hand. "Shall we call it a deal?"

"Wait a minute," said Snape, raising his eyebrows. "How can I know that you'll keep you promise?"

"I'm a bloody Gryffindor, we always keep our promises," replied the other boy with a broad grin. "And even if you don't trust me, can you trust Remus, anyway? You know that he'd never cheat anyone or betray his words."

"Very well, then," Snape agreed. He reached out his both hands and took the hands that were extended to him, one Sirius's, the other Remus's. "It's a deal."

*

It didn't take a genius to notice that something had changed in the relationship among the three boys. At first, everybody just thought that they were acting weird - the thought of a Slytherin choosing a side in the raging student war was almost impossible to everyone to be even considered.

Then, however, came the next Potions lesson. Before, Severus had always worked alone, much like Sirius had before he and Remus had become friends, after which the two had always paired up whenever possible. Now, however, the two Gryffindors walked right to the back of the class, where Severus sat in his lonely desk. Sirius murmured a quick charm, attaching half of the next desk to the end of Severus's. Then he and Remus sat on both sides of the Slytherin, sending challenging glances to everyone who dared to look at them in a wrong way.

"Collecting your little court, eh, Black?" asked Potter with a malicious sneer. "Quite fitting, actually. The only ones who can voluntarily stand your company are an outcast and a Slytherin slimeball."

Sirius glared hatefully at him, and Remus lowered his eyes at the board of his desk, a slight flush on his cheeks. Severus, however, would not stay quiet. "You're one to speak, Potter," he snarled. "I wouldn't say that Pettigrew is exactly the most popular boy in the school."

"Well, at least Peter's not a queer, like you," huffed Potter, sending an annoyed glare towards the Slytherin.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a fellow student in such a horrid way, Mister Potter," snapped Professor Garner, who'd just then come in to the class room. "And don't make me take even more points."

"Geez," muttered Sirius as he noticed the glares Potter was sending at their way. "You just got to Potter's black list, Snape - or, more literally, his Black list."

"I can bear that," replied Snape, shrugging. "It isn't like I was on his good side before. I'm a Slytherin, after all - free prey." At the last words, he sneered, and even Sirius had the decency to at least attempt to look guilty at his words.

Then, however, the professor started to write the instructions on the board, and they started to quickly make their notes.