Into the Fold

THE REMUS LUPIN STUDY GROUP

Early winter, 1975-76

Christmas was coming. According to gossip Severus had overheard from the Gryffindor table at breakfast one morning, Potter and Black were going home for the holiday. If Severus stayed at school, Evan Rosier was the only other sixth-year boy with whom he would share the dormitory. Thus, thinking it would be more peaceful at Hogwarts than at home, Severus wrote to his mother to ask whether she particularly wanted him at Christmas.

Severus did not include his father in the inquiry, because he didn't care what Tobias wanted. He called his father Tobias now even to his face; since he had turned sixteen, he had not been able to address the Muggle (as he had come to think of him) as Father.

He wouldn't have asked Mother--he would simply have told her that he was going to stay--except that she always did seem to want him around. More than that, Severus had begun to sense, she needed him.

The way Severus saw it, the two of them stood together against the one-man witch hunt that was Tobias Snape. But there was something more to it, something that made him feel more grown-up, more of a man when he was at home with Mother. Sometimes he liked that feeling; sometimes he didn't. He had never analysed it further. The few times he'd tried had brought forth nothing but an uncomfortable, slightly resentful confusion.

Mother's dowdy little tawny owl returned promptly with her reply.

"Of course you should stay, Severus! Of course a boy your age would rather spend Christmas with his friends than with his boring old mum!"

Mum? Mother never referred to herself as Mum.

"Besides, as there isn't much work at the mill, they've put your father on leave until after the New Year. We'll have a nice, cosy Christmas together, just the two of us...."

Severus rather doubted it. Mother had always made an effort, but he couldn't remember any cosy Christmases, and he didn't see why this one should be any different.

But he'd rub along well enough at school. Ruskin, Lestrange, Avery and Wilkes would all be gone, but Severus wouldn't need their support. Without Potter and his sidekick Black to spur them on, Lupin and Pettigrew weren't much of a threat. In Potter's absence, it might even occasionally occur to Lupin to act like a prefect.

Severus wouldn't be hanging about much with Rosier, either. Vera Vaisey, who fancied Rosier more than ever, was also staying at school for Christmas. The two of them would likely spend most of their time in empty classrooms, if they could stay out of Peeves's way.

****

Christmas morning came with snow and a wind that howled around the eaves and rattled the castle windows. Severus was up early, while Rosier was still asleep, because he was fairly certain he didn't want Rosier to see what Mother had sent him for Christmas.

The package was lumpy, but the card, festooned with a miniature garland of holly, was quite pretty. Inside was a note in Mother's spidery handwriting:

"I hope you like them, Severus. The castle can get cold in winter, and I saw you needed a new set the last time you were home.

Happy Christmas,

Love, Mother."

Severus opened the package to find a set of woollen socks and long underwear, which, along with the wrapping paper and card, he quickly stowed in his trunk.

They were new at least, he thought, looking at the trunk for a moment after he had locked it. Mother had probably bought them on sale at the mill store.

He didn't look for a present from Tobias. He knew the Muggle wouldn't have sent him one.

"That you, Severus?"

Severus looked up to see Rosier poking his head out between the bed curtains. He didn't wait for Severus to answer before he climbed out of bed, dug his toothbrush out of a drawer and wandered off to the bathroom.

Rosier was back, washed and dressed, before he attacked the elaborate red velvet bow on the package that had been waiting for him all morning at the foot of his bed. Out from the glittering gold paper he drew a mahogany box polished to a high gleam.

"Oh, excellent!" he said.

He opened the box. It was a chess set: boxwood and ebony men lay inside it on a green baize lining. Suddenly, riding on the backs of dragons, the black and white knights flew out of the box. As the rest of the men marched from the case (the Kings and Queens bringing up the rear with great dignity), the knights soared to opposite corners of the ceiling. Whirling around, they zoomed straight at each other and began to joust.

Rosier watched it all with a huge grin on his face. Clearly he liked his Christmas present.

"Who's it from?" asked Severus.

"My mum and dad," said Rosier. "It was Dad's idea, though, I bet. Nothing he likes better than a rough game of chess."

The knights descended and, along with the other chessmen, returned in good order to the box. Rosier closed up the chess set and, placing it on his bedside table, admired it for a moment. Then he turned to Severus. "What did you get?"

"Nothing," Severus said flatly. "My parents couldn't afford it. My father's on leave from the mill this year."

Rosier blinked. "Oh." He indicated his new chess set. "Want to play?"

"No, I want to go to breakfast. I'm starving." Severus swallowed at the bitter lump in his throat. "Maybe after."

"Okay." Rosier shoved his hands in his pockets and moved in his easy, slouching way toward the door. Severus followed, and, with Rosier's back to him, he did not try to keep his mouth from twisting into a knot of jealous anger.

****

Severus smoothed his expression the moment he and Rosier stepped into the common room, for Vera Vaisey was there, panting after Rosier like an overeager puppy. After giving Severus the briefest of greetings, she battened on Rosier and practically dragged him through the common room door into the corridor.

Rosier murmured something into Vaisey's ear, which set her giggling. Severus fell back and allowed them to disappear around a corner. Though he could hear their echoing laughter all the way, he didn't see them again until he reached the stone stairway that led to the entrance hall.

Somewhat to Severus's surprise, Vera and Rosier were waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Vera looked impatient, but Rosier was grinning.

"Come on, Severus!" he said. "Vera says her stomach's growling."

Vera slapped his forearm lightly. "I did not!"

Rosier laughed. He opened the door and for a moment was silhouetted black by the shaft of light that fell from the entrance hall into the stairwell. Then, with Vera in hot pursuit and Severus trailing a few steps behind, he led the way in to breakfast.

****

Severus allowed that the house-elves under Professor Flitwick's direction had outdone themselves in decorating the Great Hall. Christmas trees, aglow with everlasting candles, their boughs heavy with shiny baubles, adorned every wall and corner of the hall. White banners trimmed with silver hung from the arches, holly and mistletoe garlanded the walls and every window sill was embellished with a wreath. Thick grey storm clouds scudded across the enchanted ceiling, but the snow that fell from them was nothing like the icy, wind-driven flakes that piled up on the windows outside. The enchanted snow was warm and dry, and as soon as it struck any surface, it vanished without a trace.

All of this splendour was on display to a nearly empty hall. Three of the House tables were gone. The remaining table stood directly beneath the high table, and at it sat a smattering of students. Four teachers were seated at the high table: Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn and Flitwick.

Professor Dumbledore rose, beaming, when Severus, Evan Rosier and Vera Vaisey entered the room. "Ah, here is our Slytherin contingent! Vera, Evan, Severus--Merry Christmas to you!" With a sweeping gesture, he indicated the students' table. "An inter-house table. I thought you'd all be rather lonely, sitting scattered in twos and threes at tables throughout the hall, so I took the Sorting Hat's occasional urgings toward house unity to heart. Please, sit down!"

The Slytherins approached warily. Evan and Vera looked as suspicious as Severus felt. Dumbledore might have been sincere about the house unity business (Severus had come to the conclusion that when Dumbledore said this sort of thing, he actually meant it), but Severus doubted the students stuck at the inter-house table thought much of it.

As they drew near, however, Severus saw a bright side to the arrangement: the only sixth-year Gryffindor sitting at the table was Peter Pettigrew.

So Lupin had gone home after all. Well, that stood to reason, if Lupin's frequent absences were actually due to his mother's illness. He'd returned from the latest relapse less than a week ago. So recently recovered, Mrs Lupin would surely want her son home for Christmas.

"We've only a few stragglers to wait for," said Professor Dumbledore, who had sat back down. "We'll wait breakfast for them; I hate to stick to too strict a schedule at Christmas. Perhaps they're opening the last of their presents." He turned to McGonagall. "What do you think, Prof--"

The door to the entrance hall opened and Dumbledore broke off. Remus Lupin and Lily Evans came in, shepherding a couple of Gryffindor first-years.

As they approached the students' table, Lily looked up at Dumbledore. "Sorry, sir. Henrietta and Max, erm, overslept."

"Oh, that's quite all right," said Dumbledore. "End of term exams, the excitement of Christmas. It's easy to lose sleep around this time of year, and hard to go without it when you're young."

Though Dumbledore went on in this easygoing, placating vein, Henrietta looked at him with awe and Max with a barely-controlled terror he was trying to disguise as nonchalance. "I told you," Lily whispered as they sat down opposite Pettigrew. "It's like eating breakfast with Father Christmas."

"Father Christmas doesn't exist," said Max.

"I'm not so sure about that," said Henrietta, still staring round-eyed at Dumbledore, as if she'd never seen him before. She never had seen him this close before, Severus supposed.

Dumbledore smiled at her. "Thank you for your confidence, Henrietta." Slughorn laughed, but he was looking at Lily.

"A prefect's duty is never done, eh, Lily, my girl?" he said.

Lily smiled at Slughorn without replying, and Severus felt a twinge of pity for her. Slughorn was so absurd sometimes, it had to be difficult even for Lily Evans to know how to answer him.

But, though Slughorn had of course ignored that fact, Lily wasn't the only Gryffindor prefect at the breakfast table. Lupin was grinning with amusement at the two Gryffindor first-years, while handing them the platters full of bacon and eggs which had appeared as soon as they had sat down. He hadn't gone home to spend Christmas with his mother. He was here at Hogwarts.

While his bodyguards, Potter and Black, were not.

Severus helped himself to breakfast and worked on it for a while. When he had finished his eggs and was chewing on the last of his toast, he looked around. On his left, Vaisey and Rosier, ignoring him in favour of each other, were talking about the dull family gatherings they had escaped by remaining at Hogwarts for Christmas. Straight above Severus, at the high table, Dumbledore was cheerfully pouring out cups of butterbeer for the other teachers.

The Gryffindors were a couple of seats to Severus's right. That is, the sixth-years were there: Henrietta and Max, having slipped out of the direct supervision of their prefects, were playing Exploding Snap at the end of the table.

Lupin and Lily, sniggering at the first-years, obviously couldn't have cared less. McGonagall, meanwhile, didn't even seem to hear the explosions. Her cheeks pink from the consumption of Dumbledore's generous Christmas cheer, she was laughing at something Professor Flitwick had just said.

Severus furtively watched the three sixth-year Gryffindors. Lily, having been a prefect with Lupin for three months, treated him as a friend, as she'd once treated Severus. Lupin responded as Severus might have expected, with a craven desire to please that nearly matched his foot-licking loyalty to Potter.. Pettigrew, who had seemed a bit reserved when Lily had first sat down across from him, was now laughing along with Lupin at her jokes.

Severus looked away. He didn't want to be caught staring at Lily.

It was odd about Lupin, though, wasn't it? Didn't he want to be with his sick mother at Christmastime?

Perhaps she had insisted she was fine, as Severus's mother had done. But how could Lupin believe that, when he had already gone home several times that term to be with her? Her illness could be no small matter: Severus remembered that Hogsmeade Saturday when the mention of his mother's poor health had been enough to induce terror in Lupin and a startling anger in his three friends. There was something about Mrs Lupin's illness that went beyond illness, something that all four of Potter's gang had united to keep secret.

And it had been going on for longer than one term. Severus remembered Lupin's absences in previous years. He remembered hearing whispers from the other students about Remus Lupin's mother.

None of the whisperers had seemed to know what afflicted her. No one knew, apparently, but the teachers who let Lupin out of lessons and Lupin's three closest friends. Much of the close-knit secrecy of Potter's gang seemed to revolve around Lupin. The other three were oddly protective of a wizard who, as far as Severus could tell, was every bit as strong as they were.

And Lupin seemed as strong in spirit as in magical power. Here he was, less than a week back from his mother's sickbed, laughing with Lily and Pettigrew as if he hadn't a care in the world. If it were only the first time his mother had been sick, Severus could see it: he might be gay from relief at her full recovery. But how could Lupin truly believe that she was out of danger? How many days had he missed just this term?

Severus thought back. About three weeks into term, Lupin had been absent from the N.E.W.T.s classes they took together...then, a little less than a week before Severus had cast the Firewhip on Pettigrew...next, not too long after Severus had helped Lily brew the Draught of Living Death in Potions...finally, about a week before Christmas...

Every time he had been absent, Lupin had been gone for three or four days. Every time on his return, he had looked worn, as if he'd sat long and anxious vigils. Every time, he had quickly recovered and shown no sign of lingering worry. It was strange. It seemed unnatural in someone like Lupin, who, give him that much, was the most decent of his set.

Severus slid a couple of seats over, next to Pettigrew. Pettigrew eyed him warily.

Severus ignored him, looking at Lupin instead. "Strange that you're here, Lupin," he said. "Did you have to stay?"

"Why do you care?" demanded Pettigrew.

Severus turned to look curiously into Pettigrew's belligerent face. Like Potter and Black, Pettigrew had leapt to defend Lupin against something that fell far short of an attack. Like Potter and Black, he'd spoken for Lupin before Lupin had had a chance to speak for himself.

Severus didn't know how Lupin felt about that. But he had no intention of putting up with it. He turned back to Lupin. "I mean, wouldn't you rather be home for Christmas?"

"What about Peter and me? We've stayed too. Don't you feel sorry for us?" Lily asked sarcastically.

Severus didn't answer. He was watching Lupin's face. Certainly there was fear, but Lupin crushed it instantly. "Oh, no, Lily. He's only interested in me. I've stayed because I've fallen behind in my schoolwork. Lily and Peter are helping me catch up."

Well, that was possible. N.E.W.T.s lessons were far more demanding than those at the ordinary levels. Lupin's frequent absences from school might be catching up with him at last. Still... "But your sick mother," said Severus. "Won't she miss you? Doesn't she want to see you?"

"What about your mother? Doesn't she need you?" Lupin's voice held a tinge of contempt, almost as if he knew--

"My mother doesn't need me! She's a perfectly capable witch--!" Severus clamped his mouth shut. A small, satisfied smile appeared on Lupin's face.

"Leave my mother out of it!" snarled Severus.

"Why should he, when you started it, Snape, like you always do!" said Pettigrew. "Sticking your foot-long nose into other people's business! Who asked you, anyway?"

Severus turned on him. "No need to put on a performance for Potter and Black, Pettigrew, since they're not here. Give in to your true nature. Go ahead and be the coward you are."

Pettigrew reddened. "You--"

"Let's leave Potter, Black and our mothers out of it, shall we?" Lily interrupted irritably. "Remus is trying to catch up, and we're helping him, just like we said. In fact, Severus, if you're so interested in Remus's welfare, maybe you could help."

"Help?" said Severus and Pettigrew together.

"What do you mean, help?" said Lupin.

"I mean help. Lend a hand. Cooperate," said Lily. "Yes, why not? Do you know how sick to death everyone is of you lot and your constant bickering? Do you know how much we all wish you would just grow up?" Her face had the same look of intensely passionate annoyance that Severus had often seen on it when she was around Potter.

"You've lost your mind," said Pettigrew, with none of his usual fawning diffidence. He jabbed a finger at Severus. "I am not staying in any study group with him. And neither is Remus."

Lupin said nothing. Severus, though he had any number of retorts on the tip of his tongue, also kept quiet.

"No!" said Lily, so sharply that she caught McGonagall's eye for a moment. Fortunately, McGonagall was distracted when one of Henrietta's cards blew up in a particularly loud explosion. Nevertheless Lily waited until McGonagall had returned to her conversation with Flitwick before she went on in a lower voice. "I mean, I'm just saying, Remus could use Severus's help. Severus is every bit as good as I am in Potions and better in Defence Against the Dark Arts. And those are the subjects where Remus has the most work to make up."

"We don't need Snape!" said Pettigrew. "You're better than he is in Potions; Slughorn says so! And James and Sirius are better in Defence Against the Dark Arts!"

It was harder than ever for Severus to keep his mouth shut. But he managed it.

"James and Sirius won't be back until after the New Year, when lessons start again," Lupin pointed out. "The teachers say I have to be caught up by then."

That was precisely it, wasn't it? With Black and Potter gone, with the opportunity to spend hours, perhaps, with Lupin, this might be Severus's best chance--his only chance--to find out what Lupin and his friends were hiding.

"It doesn't matter what the rest of you want," Severus said. "The only thing that matters is what Lupin wants." He met Lupin's eyes. "Do you want my help?"

Lupin looked at him steadily. "I could use it."

"Then I can help you," said Severus.

"Remus--" said Pettigrew.

"You'll stay in the group, won't you, Peter?" Lupin's voice was calm, but Severus was sure he saw a look of pleading flit through Lupin's eyes.

Pettigrew stared at Lupin in disbelief. "All right, yeah," he said finally. "I'll stay."

Baffled, Lily looked from Lupin, to Pettigrew, to Severus. She clearly saw nothing in any of their faces to ease her bewilderment. "All right?" she said. "We're on, then? Starting tomorrow?"

"I'm on, anyway," said Lupin, giving her a cheerful smile.

"Fine with me," said Severus.

Pettigrew hesitated, his eyes full of suspicion when he looked at Severus, "All right," he said reluctantly.

****

On Christmas night, Severus and Rosier were in the Slytherin common room, playing chess with Rosier's new set. Rosier's bishop slid over to Severus's knight and, with an improbably powerful sweep of his crook, batted the knight and his scaly mount off the board.

"What were you and the Gryffindors on about?" Rosier asked.

Severus contemplated the board without answering. He hadn't learned how to play chess until he had arrived at Hogwarts, and he was by no means as good a player as Rosier. At last he decided to take the bishop. He moved his rook and bowled the bishop off the board. Groaning histrionically, the bishop rolled from the table to the floor.

Severus spent another moment in silence, deciding how to reply. "Lupin's been out of school, missed a lot of work this term. I'm going to help him catch up," he said finally.

Rosier stared at him, then laughed in astonishment. "What?! Why?"

"That's between me and Potter's gang." Severus sounded much cooler than he felt. "And besides, unless you enjoy being hexed, you don't want Potter thinking you're nosing about his friend's business."

Rosier fixed Severus with a keen gaze. "But you're nosing about Potter's friend's business."

"Do you really think Potter could hound me much more than he already does?"

"Good point." Rosier looked back at the board. "Hey." He moved his queen diagonally across the board. It stopped before Severus's queen and punched her so hard in the face that she somersaulted through the air and landed on the hearthrug with a thud. "Checkmate."

Severus sighed. But, as Rosier asked no more questions about Lupin, he decided his defeat was worth it.

****

Lupin's study group had its first meeting on Boxing Day. Lily had got permission from Professor McGonagall to use an empty classroom on the fourth floor.

"She gaped like a fish after I told her you were joining us, Severus. It must have been a good half-minute before she could talk properly. Then she sort of stuttered out that your commendable spirit of teamwork and cooperation had earned you twenty points for Slytherin." Smiling at Severus, her eyes emerald-bright, Lily looked as pleased as if it had been she who had won the twenty points.

"Good on you, Severus," said Lupin, and Severus could detect no insincerity in his voice, while Pettigrew's snort of contempt gained him nothing but Lily's reproving glance.

****

The study group quickly settled into a routine, with Severus exercising himself to please the Gryffindors as he had never done before. It wasn't easy, but, as he laboured to smother the observations on their incompetence which Lupin and Pettigrew so richly deserved, he reminded himself of his goal: to find out exactly what it was Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew were hiding from the rest of the school.

Lily had been right: Lupin lagged furthest behind in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts, so Severus actually ended up spending more time with him than she and Pettigrew did.

Severus used that time to win Lupin's trust. He worked with him on nonverbal defensive spells (Lupin was dismal at first, worse even than Pettigrew, but he caught on quickly) and on revising Potions recipes (deciding as he did so that Lupin was never going to be an Extraordinary Potioneer).

But Severus made progress, and not only at dinning facts into Lupin's head. After a couple of days of lessons revision, Lupin's smiles weren't quite so false, the tolerance in his voice not quite so contrived, and the enclosed, withdrawn look occasionally left his eyes.

Severus was patient. There were opportunities to do what he had joined the study group to do, but none of them were worth the risk until the group were well into the third day of their meetings.

They had returned from lunch. Wintry sunlight fell through the classroom windows, shining on silvery dust motes and the flow of Lily's long red hair as she bustled about, organising Lupin's papers and dividing the group into pairs: herself and Pettigrew, to read over a Charms essay Lupin was to submit to Professor Flitwick the next day, and Severus and Lupin, to continue revising the Potions lessons Lupin had missed.

"It's Everlasting Elixirs next, isn't it, Severus?" asked Lupin.

Severus nodded, and Lupin riffled through the pages of Advanced Potion-Making until he found the recipe. "I really need to get these down. Slughorn says he wants me to brew one for him before the start of term." He ran his finger down the list of ingredients. "Let's see, here's the easiest one...you start with two drams of liquefied amber..."

Severus drew his wand out of his pocket. Silently and surreptitiously, he cast Muffliato.

"Everlasting Elixirs," said Severus. "Their effects--well, maybe they're not everlasting, but they're certainly very prolonged. That's why Healers use them for chronically ill people who have a lot of relapses."

"Hm, doesn't say so in the book."

"Oh, well, books don't tell you everything, do they?"

Lupin sat quite still for a moment. Then, slowly, he looked up. "What sort of illnesses do these people have?"

"Bonham's Palsy. Liver Languish. Recurrent scrofungulus. That last one's dangerous, because the people in relapse are contagious. Your mother have something like that?"

Severus threw the question out very casually. Nevertheless, Lupin's eyes got that closed-in look again. "No. She doesn't."

"What does she have?"

Lupin didn't answer.

"It's just that nobody in the entire school seems to know what's wrong with your mother," said Severus.

"That," said Lupin softly, "is because it's nobody's business."

Severus shrugged. "Suit yourself. I just wondered, that's all."

"You've been wondering since October. Since you hit Peter with that burning spell."

Out of the corner of his eye, Severus saw Lily and Pettigrew rub their ears and look around the room. "Yes, well, now I know you want to keep it private," he said placatingly.

Lupin stared at him and said nothing. And now Lily was looking at him too. Severus had to reverse the Muffliato soon, before she worked out what was going on.

"Hadn't we better carry on?" he said to Lupin. "I've played around with the Everlasting Elixir you've decided to brew and worked out a few shortcuts that aren't in the book. They earned me top marks from Slughorn. Want me to show you?"

Lupin gazed at him. The silence stretched out until Severus thought he would snap. Say something, damn you--!

"All right," said Lupin quietly. "I'll take any help I can get."

Severus countered the Muffliato spell, then said quickly, "You see, I tried chopping up some angelica root and putting it into the first simmering with the amber. That made the potion a lot stronger. One ounce did the trick." As Lupin made a note of his recommendation, Severus stole a glance at Lily and Pettigrew.

"...it could have been a fly in the window or my ears ringing," Lily was saying. "Whatever it was, it's gone now."

Pettigrew frowned at the window. "Yeah, it's gone," he said after a moment, and he and Lily returned to their correction of Lupin's essay.

****

It didn't matter, because he knew he'd get no more out of Lupin. Still, Severus hadn't counted on Potter and Black coming back to Hogwarts so soon. Instead of returning after the New Year with the rest of the students, they strode into the Great Hall at dinner time on the evening of the twenty-ninth of December.

Dumbledore's inter-house unity hadn't lasted, or at least he wasn't enforcing it any longer. After Christmas Day, the Great Hall had resumed its normal appearance, with its normal complement of four House tables stretching out beneath the teachers' high table. Without looking around, Potter and Black went straight to the Gryffindor table and sat with Lupin and Pettigrew.

Severus watched them curiously, for Black in particular had caught his eye. Black limped slightly as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. Under a thick layer of dittany ointment, he had what looked like a curse wound on his cheek, and in his eyes was a hard, restless look, as of anger boiling beneath a fragile surface calm.

The four huddled together and spoke too quietly for Severus to hear them. He imagined, however, that he had better brace himself for questions from Potter and Black. Well, he had always known Potter and Black would have questions, but he had counted on Ruskin and a full complement of his Slytherin defenders being back at school before he had to answer them.

Severus never went anywhere after that evening without keeping his hand very close to his wand. He couldn't expect Rosier to be at his side: Rosier took every opportunity he could to sneak off with Vera Vaisey. And, sure enough, it was only the next morning when Potter and Black cornered him in a corridor not far from the dungeon staircase.

"There's the bloody wanker."

Of course, they'd come at him from behind, so Severus heard Potter's hated voice a split-second before he drew his wand and spun around to face Potter himself. Beside Potter was Black, whose pale face and burning eyes gave Severus the sense of a volcano about to erupt.

They moved closer to Severus without yet trying to hex him or take his wand. "Nosey little sod," said Black. "What did you think you were playing at, shoving your way into Lily's study group?"

"I was doing what she asked me to do. I was helping Lupin."

"You're a liar," said Potter.

Severus laughed curtly. "Ah, I see. She didn't ask the nance who fluffs his hair up every time she's around. Not getting any closer to going out with her, are you?"

Potter smiled tightly. He twirled his wand, making Severus tighten his grip on his own, but he stopped just short of a spell-flick. "Maybe I'll try blubbering outside the portrait hole all night. Think that'll work?"

"This isn't about Lily," said Black. "It's about Remus. Remember what Peter said, that Snape had some kind of spell going on so nobody'd hear what he was saying to Remus?"

"Yeah. Like he thought Remus wouldn't tell us." Potter and Black were speaking to each other, but they had their eyes and wands fixed on Severus. Severus darted glances from one to the other, waiting for the slight uptick of a wand that presaged the firing of a spell. "Once again, Snivelly," Potter said, "what does it matter to you that Remus's mum is sick? I've never known you to give a shit about anybody but yourself."

"Come on, James, don't you ever listen? Peter's right. If Snivellus gave a damn about Remus's mother, he could send her a get-well card," said Black. "It's always the same with him, always been the same since year one. He's poking his great, greasy nose into Remus's business because he's hoping he'll find something out that will get Remus expelled."

"James! Sirius!" Severus heard Lupin's voice at the end of the corridor; he was coming to back up his friends. Knowing he couldn't take on all three of them at once, Severus aimed a hex at Potter.

"No!" bellowed Lupin. Racing down the corridor with his wand raised, he deflected the hex as it leapt from Severus's wand. The spell bounced off the nearest wall with a loud crack!

"Stop it right there, or I'll report all three of you, and you can spend your detention together!" said Lupin.

"But, Remus, don't you get it? Snape's still trying to--"

Lupin cut Potter off. "I know what he's trying to do, and I can take care of it myself! The last thing I need is you and Sirius getting into trouble over it! I knew it, I just knew it, as soon as Peter told me you two had gone off together--" Biting his lip, Lupin stopped. "Besides," he said, forcing a smile, "Severus did teach me something. I saved your arse with that nonverbal Shield Charm. Or didn't you notice?"

Neither Potter nor Black answered him. Like Severus, they were looking with wonder at Lupin transformed from one of Potter's craven hangers-on into a prefect in command, quelling the mischief Potter had made.

"Yeah, well, we're back," said Black after a moment. "You don't need his help any more."

"That's right. We're back," said Potter.

"You don't mind, do you, Severus?" said Lupin. "I mean, it's just easier, since James and Sirius are in my House. We can study together in the common room and the dormitory."

"Oh, save it, Lupin," said Severus contemptuously. "I really couldn't care less. In fact, I was beginning to get bored. You're a bit slow, you know."

"You really need to learn some manners, Snivelly," said Potter.

"Yeah. Consider us your study group," said Black, and they both raised their wands.

"No!" cried Lupin, raising his own. Severus took advantage of the resulting confusion to slip past them, down the corridor, into the entrance hall and through the door that led to the dungeon staircase.

****

It wasn't until Regulus Black had returned from the Christmas holidays that Severus found out what had happened to Sirius.

"Oh, that," said Regulus, when Severus asked. "Yeah, he and my parents rowed over Christmas like there was no tomorrow. Well, you can imagine. Bad enough that Sirius should be sorted into Gryffindor. But that he should like it, that he should become best friends with James Potter, the son of two of the worst blood traitors in Britain, who's growing up to be as bad as his parents.... You should hear him. It's always Mr Potter this, Mrs Potter that and when can James come to visit, you always let Reggie have his mates at the holidays. Mum and Dad just got sick of it. Mum said Sirius could forget it, no Potter was going to set foot in her house while she drew breath. She didn't care if Sirius was so unnatural and disobedient a son as to keep up his friendship with James Potter. He was not to mention that boy's name in her presence ever again.

"Well, Sirius exploded. Started swearing up a storm. Called Mum and Dad every name in the book, and a few out of it. Doesn't take much to tick Mum off as it is, and Sirius made her so mad she cursed him. After that, he ran off."

"Ran off?" said Severus.

"Hobbled off, I should say." Regulus smirked. "Went to the Potters' and Mum and Dad say he can stay there, for all they care. They've disowned him. That's why Potter's father brought him and Sirius back to school early. He's Sirius's guardian now, so he had to sign papers with Dumbledore saying he's the one who should be notified if Sirius gets killed or something." Regulus sounded as though he thought nothing was more likely.

"I see," said Severus. That explained Black's curse wound, his limp, and a temper that was even worse than usual.

"Yeah," said Regulus, as if agreeing with Severus's unspoken thoughts. "So if you thought Sirius was touchy before, just wait."