Time for Me

Chapter 6: Reconciliations

The very next day after the 'ferret vs. rat' incident, the Marauders changed tactics entirely. While Aries and Charles both feigned complete innocence, even when a few surprisingly subtle hints were dropped, the four friends still assumed Aries had been behind it all and had apparently decided they were better off leaving the brunet alone. None of them had said a word to him for a week now, and they had gradually gotten more and more tolerant, until Aries could do his homework in the dorm while the Marauders were huddled together to plan.

Such was the situation in early December when Aries threw his quill down in disgust, swearing fluently for a full minute. Sirius quickly took out a quill and parchment of his own to copy down the more inventive phrases.

"Something the matter?" Charles asked mildly.

Aries shot him a glare and gestured at his homework. "It's this," swear, swear, "Ancient Runes! I've looked it up in half the Runes books in the library, but I just don't get it."

Charles shook his head, smirking. "How can you catch up on five years of Arithmancy in two months, but still be struggling in Runes after four?"

"Yeah, that's helpful," Aries sneered, "thank you for pointing out what I already know. Now I understand and can easily write this two foot essay on 'how magical flow affected the original formation of Raidho and how the same can be manipulated for spells and potions'. Thank you so much."

"You got Raidho?" Remus spoke up suddenly. Before Sirius' glare could stop him, the werewolf had jumped off his bed and strolled over to Aries' desk. "You're lucky, I got Thurisaz; that's just plain embarrassing."

Aries winced - Thurisaz was the rune of, among other things, male sexuality. He was suddenly profoundly grateful for his own topic. Remus tipped Aries' parchment so he could read it, azure eyes scanning over the paragraph he had written.

"This is actually pretty good," he said approvingly. "I think I can see where you're becoming confused though. Would you like my help?"

Aries hesitated for a moment; Remus was a little too close to his past/future self for comfort, but at the same time what he had told Charles was true. Remus held the same position as Snape in that he was still alive - so there wouldn't be any temptation to prevent his death with a word or two - and he was still worthy of respect - unlike Pettigrew or even, he admitted reluctantly, Sirius. Plus, he really needed help.

"That would be great!" he said enthusiastically. Remus grinned and turned back to the paper.

"Okay, I think what you're missing here is the basics." He pointed out a few sentences. "Do you know what magical flow is?"

"Of course, it's the flow of raw magic within the Earth itself, but I don't understand how that could possibly have anything to do with runic formation!"

Remus frowned in thought. "You've grown into your Magic Sight, right? You can 'see' spells in the Magical Sense Spectrum?" he asked. Aries nodded. "Okay, cast a small shield in front of you."

Wondering what the other boy was getting at, Aries raised his wand and cast protego, automatically shifting his perception so he could see the tiny threads of magic that made up the shield. He looked at Remus and realized that, with Magic Sight, he could almost make out the specter of a wolf in the boy's aura. The image was interesting and he was sorely tempted to stare, but instead moved his gaze to the werewolf's face.

"Now what?"

"Look really closely at the threads, watch how they interlink." Remus brought up one finger and traced the shield, looking for something. Finally, he smiled triumphantly and lightly tapped one small area. "See? Eihwaz, the rune of protection. And here," he tapped a spot a few inches to the right. "Algiz, the rune of defense. You know, James' main rune is Algiz."

Aries could imagine, since Algiz was the Elk rune. As he looked closely at his father, he could see the specter of a stag, as well as a faint intersection of lines that he had to admit looked like Algiz.

"Okay, so the runes appear in the natural flow of the magic when you cast a spell that coincides with their elements," Aries agreed. "But raw magic doesn't have intention or anything like that, so how can it affect, or be affected by, runes?"

"Raw magic doesn't have intention, that's true," Remus nodded. "However, raw magic flows through the Earth just like your magic flowed in your shield, and it has sort of...coincidentally formed into the runes. Hogwarts sits over the largest Eihwaz form in Europe, which is why no one has ever been able to storm the castle. You see, the magic may not have intention, but because it intersected in certain ways, it was...tainted, I guess you could say. Turned towards certain traits, characteristics that then became associated with the runic forms. You see?"

Aries nodded slowly. "So, Raidho would naturally occur under the best roads, or favorite trade routes, because the magic flow around those areas formed the runic symbol, and made it a good place for transportation and journeying? And Raidho would also appear in summoning and banishing spells, apparition, portkeys, floo...I think I get it now! Thanks, Remus."

"No problem," the werewolf grinned and padded back to his friends, who had watched the entire scene with something like morbid fascination. "If you ever need help on that again, you just ask me, okay?"

"Will do," Aries promised, returning to his assignment with relish. With a practical demonstration, all that he had read suddenly made a lot more sense, rather than being just gibberish, and he easily finished off the last foot and a half.

After that, Remus partnered Aries in every Runes class, and often in Arithmancy as well, patiently and aptly explaining things when the brunet was having trouble. They could both tell James and Sirius didn't like it, but if they hadn't shunned their friend over lycanthropy they weren't going to over a little tutoring.

Ever since his secret got out, Charles and Sev had started joining Aries in his nightly exercises. On the physical days, Aries would direct them through his early routine, helping them get used to the excessive physical activity. The two were sore and grouchy for almost a full week before their bodies adjusted. Aries wondered if Sev sometimes had nightmares, as he almost always did the physical exercises and praised them for the good night's sleep he would get after. After all, if anyone knew the benefit of exhaustion in conquering nightmares, it was Aries.

Charles, on the other hand, complained constantly about sore muscles, adamantly refused to lift weights, and whined about "sweating like some unrefined manual laborer" so much that Aries and Sev collaborated to throw him in the Olympic sized swimming pool (a feature that Aries had added at the start of the Quidditch season, needing the feeling of weightlessness). After that, Charles shut up and practiced fencing on physical days.

The magical practice days they all worked together were amusing, to say the least. Aries was far too used to working on his own, and often got in the way of something Charles or Sev was trying to do, or simply disappear, so intent on a plan of his own that he forgot to tell the others what he was on about; Charles froze up for several seconds when something surprised him and tended toward complicated plots instead of the more simple solutions; and Severus had lousy spellwork, sometimes only putting half the power needed into a spell - like a stunning curse he had cast on Aries by accident that only made the Gryffindor yawn a bit. Still, they had fun, and they knew their power was growing. During their Saturday sessions, Aries had started them on the Patronus charm, but neither had produced more than a weak mist. With more exercise, he was sure both would soon manage it.

It was during a Saturday defense practice right after a session of Runes homework with Remus that Aries came up with an idea. He felt he had to pay Remus back somehow for the help he had given - his grades had risen markedly since the tutoring started - and had finally thought of something that might help. He would need to make sure it was alright with the others first.

"I was wondering," he started casually, "would you guys mind if I invited Remus to a few of our practices? He'd probably have to come late because of Potter and Black's Quidditch practice, but-"

"Absolutely not!" Sev snapped. "I mind very much!"

Aries blinked, stunned by the emphatic response. Why was Sev so against it? It couldn't be just because Remus was a Marauder. He even seemed to be afraid...

Oh. Of course. The 'prank' must have already happened. Funny, he'd always imagined it happening in seventh year, but he didn't think he'd missed it happening.

Severus sighed at his friends' stunned expressions, thinking they didn't know. "There is...a side to Lupin that you haven't seen, and I hope you never do, but I have, and I refuse to be around him more than absolutely necessary. You may invite him if you wish, but I will not be here if you do"

He started to walk out the door and Aries stepped forward quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, it's alright, Sev," he reassured the Slytherin. "If you don't want him here, I won't invite him. Now how about you come back here and we'll try the patronus charm some more."

Severus searched his eyes intently, looking for something specific, but Aries didn't know what. He occluded his mind just in case, letting only his general sincerity show through. Evidently that was what his friend was looking for, as he nodded sharply and moved back to the arena area.

They had been working on the Patronus charm for three weeks straight, now. Aries said that as soon as Sev and Charles both could get a corporeal form, he would find a more practical way for them to practice. Neither knew, or wanted to know, what he meant, which caused Aries no small amount of amusement. He made sure to bring it up at least twice a week, just to see the hesitant looks that passed between them. What they didn't know was that he had, through a few late night wanderings those few nights he wasn't too tired to stand, procured a boggart (an experience which reminded him quite firmly of just why he hated dementors). It was currently stored in a chest in Myrtle's bathroom; further threats had earned the ghost's silence on the matter.

And tonight was the lucky night, Aries would have to be getting that boggart out in a week. In the second hour of the session, Severus produced a powdery bat that fluttered around the room before disappearing. Charles had to work a bit longer, his determination taking on a new cast. Finally, Aries stopped him.

"Jealousy is a negative emotion and will interfere," he said quietly. "Focus, and remember happy times."

Charles shot him an indignant glare for the jealousy comment, but forcefully bit back any snide remarks that came to mind. He shoved aside feelings of anger, envy, inferiority, defiance, pride, and concentrated on the memory - a bittersweet nostalgia, recalling when his normally fairly reserved father had told him he was proud of him and given him a hug because he got his Hogwarts letter. He opened his eyes, surprised that he had closed them, and saw a great arctic wolf staring back at him, it's tongue lolling out as if in laughter. It gradually returned to it's misty state, becoming wisps of smoke that blew away in a nonexistent breeze.

The three of them cheered and Aries pulled out some celebratory butterbeers he'd been saving. Charles scoffed and muttered about plebian drinks, but practically downed half his bottle in one go. They laughed and chatted until dinner was half over, arriving in the Great Hall just in time for the pudding.

Aries wasn't at breakfast the next morning, savoring the luxury of sleeping in while his body and magic were replenished and strengthened, so he was rather shocked to find Sev by the lake when he went for a walk. The Slytherin was throwing rocks out over the water, skipping some, but mostly just throwing, with one hand, the other hand clutched impossibly tight over a letter. The brunet, wanting to help but knowing that Sev wanted quiet, wandered around close by, gathering rocks which he piled at his friend's side. By the time the pile had reached Severus' knee, the tension had gone and the black-haired boy was chuckling slightly.

"You are an odd one, Aries," he said dryly. Aries smirked up at him.

"I know," he responded with a shrug. "Do you want to talk about it."

Sev sighed, binging his clenched fist around in front of him and opening it, smoothing out the letter parchment.

"It's nothing big, really," he muttered morosely. "My father wishes me home for Christmas break. I would prefer not to go, as Mother is sure to host a grand party where Father can show off his 'prize eldest' Aurelius."

"You have a brother?" Aries asked, more shocked and stunned than he should have been, given that he already knew Sev had a family. Why shouldn't he have siblings?

"Indeed," Sev sneered, then deepened his voice, imitating his father, "Aurelius Septemius Snape, heir to the Snape line, Auror of the highest degree, achieved 12 OWLS and 7 NEWTS, best in his class in all the important subjects. He'll be a fine successor.' The introduction is always the same. I apologize, this is hardly your concern."

"Don't be stupid," Aries scoffed, "if you can't talk about your troubles to your friends, who can you talk to?"

Sev looked at him skeptically, but took his words to heart and continued. "Whenever my father introduces me, which isn't often anyway, he says 'That's my other son, Severus. You'll have to excuse him.' My father was never terribly good at potions, so he puts all the emphasis on spell work and, well, you have seen my expertise in that area. I try to compensate by learning everything, even if I can't do it, and continuing to excel in potions, but it is impossible for anyone to get better grades than Potter or Black, with how the teachers favor them, or that Evans mudblood."

Aries gabbed Severus' shoulder and spun him around to face him.

"Severus, I am your friend and I am happy to listen to your troubles, but if you say that word again I will punch you in the mouth and curse you with something unpleasant. Are we clear?"

The black haired teen nodded, looking ashamed. "I apologize, I forgot your mother was muggleborn. I have nothing against them, personally, in truth, it is simply a handy way to rile Potter up."

Aries nodded curtly and turned back to the lake, ready to continue the conversation.

"I'm sorry you have to go through that," he said sincerely. "It must be hard on you, to feel so alienated from your whole family. I suspect your mother dotes on both you and Aurelius equally, trying to make peace, but you don't want peace, you want your father's approval. I also suspect you resent Aurelius for the attention he receives. Am I right?"

Severus simply stared at him in shock, at a loss for words. Aries smirked inside, who better to understand such a situation than himself, the 'burden' of the Dursley family? He had read several books from the library when he was younger, and was almost always able to spot the character with a family almost exactly, if not quite, like his. Tolkein's Faramir and Boromir came to mind most readily, with Severus as Faramir, Arelius as Boromir, spellwork as the lauded tactics and leadership, potions as the disregarded hunting and stealth.

"It would be my guess," Aries went on, "that no matter what your father says, Aurelius would like to be your friend, as well as your brother. Perhaps you should focus on him, instead of your father?"

"You have...a great deal of insight," Severus said shakily. "Thank you for your advice, I will remember it."

Aries nodded, but said nothing, and as the silence began to grow uncomfortable, returned to the castle. If Severus was going to be going home for Christmas Break, he, Aries, would have to give his present early. He didn't want to miss the boy's face when he opened it. After all, he was sure it would be priceless.

That evening, he left half an hour earlier than he normally would for his excercize. Neither Charles or Sev ever joined him on Sunday, as both were usually too tired from Saturday, so he didn't have to worry about one of them waiting. Instead of going to seventh floor, though, he made his way down to the second and headed for the girl's bathroom. Water was in puddles on the floor, but nothing drastic enough for him to give more than a passing notice.

"Hey Myrtle," he called softly, "someone's talking about you in the prefect's bathroom, you might ought to go see."

There was no response, so Aries figured he could safely assume the ghost wasn't there. He quickly found the fake sink with the snake carving and, moments later, dropped down into the Chamber of Secrets.

The smell was as bad as ever, and he proceeded as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake the basilisk that would still inhabit the place. Luckily, his destination wasn't anywhere near the beast's lair.

Just a few meters beyond the entrance area was a 25-foot basilisk skin, so fresh now that it looked even more alive than it had/would in his second year. Aries didn't waste any more time, he brought out his knife and cut a six inch by six inch square of the leather-like skin, one of the rarest potion ingredients in the world.

The next Friday, after dinner, found Aries walking down to the Slytherin common room, wrapped box in hand. This was the last day before those students not staying at Hogwarts would be sent to Hogsmead station. As Severus had expressed a desire to not publicly display their friendship, Aries figured walking the Slytherin to the train and giving the gift to him there wouldn't be welcome.

"What are you doing?" His mother's voice caught him off guard and he jumped about a foot, spinning around to face the lovely redhead.

"What?" He wasn't out after curfew, and he wasn't breaking any rules, so why did she look so hostile? "I...I'm just...delivering a present...for a friend."

"In the dungeons?" she asked primly. "Because Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are upstairs and Hufflepuff is on the north side of the castle. So a Slytherin? Please excuse me if I'm skeptical."

"Er..." Aries didn't know what to say.

Most of the people he had classes with were aware of his friendship with Sev. But now that he thought about it, every time he, Sev, and Lily were in the same room, the girl was either talking with one of her friends or deeply engrossed in a book or watching the teacher, basically ignoring him as fiercely as possible. He'd been so caught up in alienating his father's friends without actually making them enemies that he hadn't even realized he'd alienated his mother.

"May I see that please?" she demanded. Aries handed it over unthinkingly and she ripped off the paper and opened it up. "What is this, garbage? What a horrible thing to do to a person. We're going to the headmaster."

He suddenly had a flash of just what Hermione might have been like had he and Ron never befriended her.

Moments later, they were up in Dumbledore's office and Lily was wielding the package like precious evidence.

"Sir, I told you those four would be a bad influence," she said mildly, "I just caught him heading to the Slytherin dungeons to give one of them a gag gift."

Dumbledore gently took the gift from Lily's hands and opened it, gently lifting out the contents. He looked at Aries with a raised eyebrow.

"Basilisk skin? Might I ask where you got it?"

"Nowhere dangerous or illegal sir, beyond that, I'd rather not say," Aries admitted.

"If it's not dangerous or illegal, why won't you say?" Lily asked.

"Personal privacy," Aries said coolly.

"I assume this is for our young Mr. Snape?" the headmaster queried mildly, avoiding the potential conflict.

Aries nodded enthusiastically and smiled a little. "Do you think he'll like it?"

"I think it is quite an impressive present. He will likely be overcome with potions enthusiasm."

Aries grinned and took the present back, pealing off the torn paper with a muttered, "Crap, now I'll have to re-wrap it."

"But...I don't understand," Lily stammered. "I heard you saying you hate Slytherins that first day."

"And if you'd have heard the rest of what I said, Evans, you would have known that I was ranting to Remus about the lecture I got from Potter and Black about reading in Salazar's Corner. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have a present to deliver, and even less time to do so."

He turned and left the office, stalking down the stairs. His mother caught up with him at the bottom and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Look, Aries, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just...I've always hated how those four dealt with Slytherins, and when you showed up, I thought maybe there would finally be one Gryffindor male I could talk to without wanting to hit. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions when you said what you did, and I shouldn't have overreacted. So...just...I'm sorry, okay?"

"It's okay," he smiled. "No harm done."

She smiled back and he went on his way, feeling much lighter.