Lost Souls

Chapter 3: An Accidental Meeting

Neither Lupin child told their parents what had transpired the night before. In the bustle of leaving, John and Rebecca truly hadn't noticed much except that perhaps their children were oddly formal in their address of each other. But, they dismissed this as Rowena's understandable fear of leaving home for the first time, and Remus' nervous anticipation of his new responsibility as Gryffindor Prefect.

Once on the train, Rowena instantly put as much distance as possible between her brother and herself. This wasn't difficult, as he had to ride with the other Prefects, at least at first.

John loaded her trunk for her, so all she had to carry was her book bag. She wandered from compartment to compartment, all chock-full of excited, chattering kids. She was lonely and frightened, as she had never seen so many people in one place at one time. It was nearly overwhelming. She felt far too shy to ask to sit with anyone, yet there seemed to be nothing empty.

At last, toward the very end of the train, she encountered a compartment with only one person inside. Others glanced inside this compartment and quickly rushed by without opening the door, as though there was a dangerous creature inside rather than one lone boy absorbed in a book. Feeling this was her best chance at relative solitude, she opened the door.

"Would you mind if I sit here?" she asked in a small voice that didn't come close to hiding her nervousness.

The boy didn't bother to look up from his book. His voice was snide, and heavy with bitterness. "Yes, I mind very much. Get out. Go find your friends and leave me in peace."

This was too much. She could feel her temper rising to anger from Remus' treatment of her and the strangeness of everything around her. She shut the door, threw her book bag in the seat farthest from the boy, and sat down.

"I will be happy to leave you in peace," she said, her own voice matching his for asperity, "but I will have to do it sitting right here. I don't know anyone on this train and I'm not in the mood to try to make friends with strangers."

She dug a book out of her bag--Quantum Physics: is it Muggle Magic? --and promptly hid behind it.

Severus Snape looked up at her in surprise. Usually his bitterness and icy attitude were enough to keep away the most stouthearted. This little slip of a girl with long braids looked as if a strong wind would blow her away, yet she fearlessly defied him and appeared oblivious to him now.

He gazed at the title of her book and snorted in disbelief. "Suit yourself and sit where you please. But don't expect me to believe you have the slightest understanding of Quantum Physics, and don't chatter at me with questions about Hogwarts. I have no interest in being nursemaid to a first-year."

She looked up over the spine of her book, her wide brown eyes frowning slightly into his scowling, fathomless black ones. For an instant something seemed to click within her brain, as though storing a bit of knowledge for future retrieval, though she was too nervous to consciously register the sensation. He was clearly quite angry at the loss of his solitude.

However, she had her own reasons to be angry, and felt almost terminally shy. The idea of trying to find somewhere else to sit that wasn't crowded with strangers seemed beyond her capacity at the moment.

"I don't care what you believe," she said irritably. "I wasn't planning on talking to you, especially not about my book. I'm not used to talking about the higher sciences with strangers who might not be smart enough to understand them. It seems to me that you're the one chattering. I was hoping to read in peace."

Severus almost laughed. Almost. He couldn't recall anyone ever standing up to him in quite this way. Oh sure, throwing hexes and curses and such, like the Fabulous Four, but not the relatively intelligent and subtler verbal sparing. He applauded her silently for scoring one on him, and then returned to his own book.

They traveled in silence for several hours. They both bought some things from the food trolley, but did not share conversation in any way. Surprisingly, the silence did not feel heavy or uncomfortable. Shortly after the minor interruption of the trolley, a more significant one occurred.

The compartment door slid open. Enter the Fabulous Four. Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin. And to make his hell just a little worse--that damn Lupin had a Prefect's badge on his chest. Of course, just bloody brilliant! Potter's falsely friendly voice greeted him.

"Snivellus! Fancy meeting you here!" His gaze then raked over the small girl in the compartment with him, and he chortled. "I never thought I'd see you infant-minding, Snape. You usually bite the heads off the first years and eat them for dinner, don't you?"

"This one barely looks big enough for pudding, James," Sirius laughed heartily, after glancing at Rowena. He sneered at Snape and added, "I see you couldn't be bothered to wash your hair all holiday, slime ball. Wanting to fuel your cauldron fires with the oil?"

James turned to Rowena and bowed low with an exaggerated flourish of his arm and a rakish grin he obviously considered charming.

"You want to watch who you hang out with right from the start, love. Make the wrong friends on the train, and you're tainted for life. Snivellus here is definitely of the wrong sort. If nothing else, you'll never get the grease off your robes if you accidentally touch him."

Peter stood silently behind his friends, small and weak-chinned in appearance. But he sniggered cruelly at the jabs and cast approving, fawning glances at James and Sirius in turn.

Before Snape had a chance to respond, Remus' voice cut in, "James, leave the girl alone. She probably just didn't know where to sit."

He then addressed Rowena as though she was a stranger, smiling his friendly smile and holding out his hand to her in greeting. "Hi, I'm Remus Lupin. I'm one of the Gryffindor Prefects. I'd be glad to take you around the train and introduce you to some other first years. You might like some more... um... agreeable company."

Rowena glared at him furiously. He had turned her away yesterday, and now he was trying to pretend to be friendly? He let his friends tease and pick on this boy who hadn't done anything to them?

During the exchange, her eyes had flown from one boy to the other in disbelief. She had recognized them all at once, of course, from photos and descriptions she had heard over the years from her brother--but she could not believe the truth of it.

These were the famous friends she had been so anxious to meet? His best friends, popular and friendly and smart and... every good and wonderful thing she had heard about them from him. All of that was gone in an instant as she witnessed the truth for herself and formulated her own opinion, so very different from the one she had been prepared to hold as recently as yesterday.

She ignored Remus' outstretched hand, scowling at it as though it was a disgusting slug. The one they called "Snape" was looking fit to kill, slowly moving his hand towards the pocket which surely contained his wand. She tried to manage a bored tone as she addressed all the boys in the compartment, though her voice shook a little from anger and shyness.

"My name is Rowena Lupin. I suppose that makes us some sort of distant relation. How unfortunate for me. I will sit where I like, and make friends where I choose. You can mind your own bloody business."

Her scathing, disdainful look raked over the four of them angrily.

"If childish insults and boorish behavior is your idea of good company or intelligent conversation, I'll keep to myself, thanks. The most agreeable company right now would be my book. Reading in peace. With the four of you gone."

The "Fabulous Four" looked at her as though she had just transformed into a two-headed dragon in front of their eyes. Sirius was the first one to laugh, and clapped James and Remus on the shoulders, pulling them out of the compartment.

"C'mon, guys. Old Snivellus has gotten himself a kitten with claws. Let's leave them to themselves. Just think, a first year girlfriend!" He shut the door with huge bark-like guffaws echoing up the narrow train corridor. Remus cast Rowena one last sorrowful look before allowing himself to be led away by his friends.

Severus leaned back in his seat, relaxing a bit and removing his hand from his pocket, where it had indeed been clutching his wand. He looked more appraisingly at this mere slip of a girl across from him.

Lupin. Interesting. She even looked a bit like the other Lupin. But the way she had said "how unfortunate for me" made him smirk slightly. She knew how to handle herself for a first year. Her verbal repartee, from what he had seen so far, was well advanced for her age, and she did seem to be genuinely reading that physics tome.

"My name is Severus Snape." He was shocked to hear his own voice introduce himself. He scowled angrily at her as though expecting her to laugh or turn her sharp tongue towards him.

That in itself was an unusual sensation. Since escaping his father's bitter verbal and physical lashings, he had rarely given thought to the insults of others. Though, of course, those from the Fabulous Four were an exception.

She looked at him in surprise for a moment, her large brown eyes peering over her book. One corner of her mouth did quirk slightly, and she nodded. "Nice to meet you. I didn't really think your name was 'Snivellus'. I suppose you're feeling sorry for me and my new discovery that I have a long-lost cousin who's some sort of pompous git?"

He smirked, as close as he usually came to a smile, and snorted. "Remus Lupin? It could be worse. He's pretty bland, actually. It's Potter and Black who are the gits. Remus just doesn't have a spine. He's not brave enough to actually play along when things get nasty, nor is he brave enough to stand up to them and make them stop when he knows they're in the wrong. It eats him alive to know he's such a coward. Gryffindor's coward. And they made him the Prefect. Ha!"

He then frowned at her and raised a brow. "You really didn't know you were related to him? There seems to be some resemblance." His voice betrayed his suspicion. He wouldn't put it past those four to try to use a little sister or close cousin in a prank of some sort.

She frowned thoughtfully, gazing blankly at the book in her lap, and shook her head. His words about Remus had stung her deeply. They cast her brother in a light she had never seen. Remus had always been her protector, her saviour, and yet she had just seen a sample of his behaviour that she would have never believed possible. Her reply, though not technically the factual truth, was honestly spoken from her heart.

"No... I had no idea I was related to someone like that."

He gave a small nod of understanding. "We all have relatives we'd rather not claim," he said dryly. His tone was almost conversational, without much of the usual sarcastic undertones.

"So," he continued, "how is it that you have no friends? You're a Lupin. I assume that means you're not Muggle-born or raised. You ought to know a few people around here."

He had never had a companion on the train before, and decided to try his hand at casual conversation for a novelty since the entire experience to this point had been so unusual. There seemed no harm in making the attempt.

She looked up at him again; her turn to eye him suspiciously. "Why are you here alone? Where are your friends?" she asked, turning the question back on him. She didn't really want to try and explain her rather unique situation.

He gave her the raised-eyebrow smirk again and lazily raised a hand in mock defense. "A simple question, Miss Lupin. I was merely trying to make conversation. As for myself, I am a Slytherin." This last was stated as though it explained everything.

"My parents home schooled ...me... until now. I've never been in the company of anyone except my own family, with very rare exceptions. I had a brother... who... died in an unfortunate, horrible accident," she said, barely stumbling over the lie. Wasn't Remus essentially dead to her now? "My parents were afraid to let me out of their sight after that. I've been quite isolated; hence the intensive bookishness." She waived the physics book to emphasise the point, unnecessarily.

"What does being a Slytherin have to do with your friends?" she asked, awkwardly turning the conversation back to him.

He could have sworn she almost said "us" instead of "me" in reference to her education, but perhaps she was still grieving over the lost brother. He certainly didn't want to discuss tender feelings such as grief with this girl! He ignored that part of her comments and addressed her question.

He shifted in his seat and took on the tone of an instructor with a pupil. One thin arm rested along the back of the seat next to him, and he occasionally made a slight gesture of emphasis with the long-fingered hand.

"Slytherins do not have friends, Miss Lupin. We conduct ourselves by the unspoken "Rule of A's". Ambition leads us to develop useful Acquaintances. Acquaintances are then subdivided into Allies or Adversaries. We do not, however, as a general rule, believe in friendship. That requires a level of trust most Slytherins never have for another human being.

"I choose to avoid my Acquaintances, of both varieties, as much as possible. I, too, have been raised in relative solitude and find my best companion in a book."

She was amused by his referral to her as "Miss Lupin". It seemed silly to be so addressed when she was only eleven years old. Yet somehow the oddly formal mode of address seemed to suit this boy, and so she responded in kind.

She offered him a shy smile. "I will keep that in mind, Mr Snape, and be cautious what sort of 'Acquaintance' I become to whatever Slytherins I meet."

Thinking the conversation was over, she opened her book once again, as she found his piercing gaze oddly disturbing. But he wasn't done with his foray into social conversation quite yet.

"I'm certain you will meet Slytherins who will court your acquaintance. You are destined for Ravenclaw House, and every Slytherin year has at least one Ravenclaw pet to help them with their studies. It is a fairly valuable mutual partnership. In exchange for the academic assistance, they will help you avoid some of the... unpleasantness which sometimes originates from our House."

She bristled at this visibly and challenged him. "How do you know I'm destined for Ravenclaw? And what makes you think I would agree to be this 'homework pet' for anyone?"

He actually grinned at her obvious ire, though it was still a somewhat pained and sarcastic expression. It brightened his face nonetheless, and her heart did an odd sort of extra beat to see it.

"You are destined for Ravenclaw because you seem too hungry for knowledge to be in Hufflepuff, too rational to be in Gryffindor, and not nearly ruthless enough to be in Slytherin. I did not say you would be the 'pet', I only said you would be courted in an attempt to get you to agree to such. Whether or not you submit to the relationship is up to you.

"I was offering a friendly warning, if you will. Take it as a compliment, Miss Lupin. I do not think that I have ever offered anyone a 'friendly' anything."

Now she snorted and tried not to smile too broadly. When he relaxed enough to smile at her, she felt instantly more at ease as well.

"Please forgive me, Mr Snape, if I'm not suitably impressed by your grand overture and fail to be appropriately awed by it," she said, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm. "I will catalogue it carefully under 'unappreciated gestures' and make the attempt to repay it fully at some future date."

He nodded at her, still smiling slightly, and returned to his book. He, too, found her somewhat disturbing, though not unpleasantly so. "Touché, Miss Lupin. You will get along fine at Hogwarts, unfortunate cousin notwithstanding."

She did take this as a compliment and found her flagging courage bolstered by the simple statement. The rest of the train journey passed in companionable silence, and they parted when it stopped with no hostile feelings on either side.

Chapter 4: Fascination

Rowena was indeed sorted into Ravenclaw House, just as Severus had said she would be. She was surprised to discover her brother, by virtue of association with James and Sirius, had some popularity with girls. Many girls flocked to Rowena in her first few weeks of school because of her last name. This brief flare of popularity died away almost instantly, when they discovered she was only 'distantly' related to the other Lupin, and therefore couldn't introduce them.

Remus took his first opportunity to speak with her in private, ducking with her into a small alcove off the Great Hall just after breakfast on her first morning. He spoke quietly and rapidly, all but begging her to avoid Severus Snape. He enumerated things about Severus being in with a dangerous crowd, and all sorts of wild stories about curses and hexes, which Severus had supposedly exchanged with James and Sirius. Somehow, of course, Potter and Black were frequently innocent in these exchanges, while Severus was invariably the black-hearted, Dark-Magic wielding villain. Remus went on at length while she stared up at him silently, becoming angrier by the second.

When he finished his brotherly rant, she calmly and impassively slapped him in the face. "You lost all right tell me who I could talk to when you decided you weren't my brother. Guess what, Remus? You don't get a vote on my friends. I don't care if I never speak to you again. Go away."

She stormed off to her first class, and that was that. He avoided her religiously, and she convinced herself she didn't miss him.

The loss of her brother, as well as the assistance she had hoped he would provide during her first weeks at school, simply intensified her innate shyness. Even her advanced knowledge of the subject matter didn't give her enough courage to volunteer information in class or actively participate in discussions. When she sought to delve more deeply into a project or lesson, she would wait until class was over and discuss the topic with the professors in private.

Rowena also began to develop a bit of pureblood prejudice early in her school career, notwithstanding her own half-blood status. She was hopelessly bored with her first-year classes. Her extensive private study and love of learning had caused her to be ahead of her classmates, so she felt she was held back by the need to move slowly so the 'Mudbloods' could catch up. She wished that Muggle-born wizards were taught separately.

Boredom gave her mind time to wander, and often the subject of these ruminations focused upon the dark, brooding boy she had met on the train.

She was drawn to Severus like a moth to flame. He had been quite right about Slytherins courting her for revision assistance and homework help. She found that as long as they didn't expect her to cheat, ask to copy her work, or expect her to do it for them, she didn't mind helping them. She developed several friendships--she couldn't think of them as mere 'allies'--among the first-year Slytherin girls.

These friendships benefited her as well, by providing her a ready excuse to be amongst the Slytherins at a wide variety of times. She could be near Severus at many free moments without looking suspicious. Close enough to hear him talk, to see him interact with his circle of 'allies'. What they seemed to have in place of friendship was a strange sort of mutual-intimidation, and a grudging respect held by fear. Observing it helped her understand his "Rule of A's" definition.

She had barely exchanged two words with Severus since the train. He did give her an amused, knowing look one day in the library, as she was surrounded by her Slytherin friends. She grinned back at his now-familiar quirked-eyebrow smirk.

The fact of the matter was that Rowena Lupin was developing quite a fascination for Severus. She was certain that she was beneath him, both in purity of blood--something she quickly learned most Slytherins held very dear--and intelligence.

She hadn't fully realized the extent of his brilliance until she noticed that the fifth year Slytherins had no 'Ravenclaw pet', though all the other years did. This was because Severus was their homework tutor for his year. He was an even harder task master than any of the instructors, and refused to answer any question or provide any assistance unless the seeker could prove they had given the matter serious thought and effort on their own.

Moreover, when their Potions professor was ill, Severus, not a seventh-year, took his lower classes for the day.

He was brilliant. He was incredibly intense in everything he did. He was dark and mysterious. He hid his emotions and thoughts behind an almost perfectly unruffled mask of total indifference and calm, and yet his sharp eyes missed nothing. He intrigued her.

He was also cold, distant, and in love with Lily Evans. Well, maybe not love, but Lily intrigued him as much as he intrigued Rowena. She was rational enough to face the truth--Lily was beautiful and of his same year. Her vivid auburn hair and startlingly green eyes were a flashy, eye-catching contrast to Rowena's mousy uniformity. An eleven-year-old child wasn't going to compete with a fifteen-year-old young woman!

He made no outward sign of this attraction, but Rowena recognised in him the same surreptitious methods of being close to the object of his fascination that she used to be near him. If Lily was nearby, his dark eyes frequently sought her.

There was a personal vendetta of sorts between Severus and two of Remus' friends. Rowena had no idea if it started with Potter or Black, or whether they or Severus had begun the feud. The fact remained that if they passed each other in a relatively deserted hallway, curses and hexes would fly.

It was her opinion that Severus was much more subtle and skilled at these altercations. He was secretive and always seemed to act on his own, so there were never witnesses to his actions, merely rumour and suspicion.

Potter and Black, on the other hand, always liked to have as large of an audience as possible whenever they would take on Snape. It outraged her that they couldn't manage their little feud--whatever it was--on a private level, but had to add sheer humiliation to the list of injuries they would inflict upon Severus.

Remus never involved himself in their altercations in any way. He did not participate, nor did he intervene. As Potter and Black could become particularly nasty at times, this only added to her disappointment and disillusionment with her brother. He was a Prefect. He had the power and authority to stop Potter and Black's behaviour. But their friendship and acceptance was more important to him than doing what he must know was right. She was disgusted with him.

All of this continually added to the intensity of her fascination with Severus. He was in with a dangerous crowd of friends--she could not delude herself to that. The group could sometimes be seen sneaking off to the grounds with a disguised book which one or the other of them had managed to acquire. (Rowena's Slytherin friends told her they were usually books on Dark Magic.) Severus was the ringleader. He would sit with the book on his lap while the others surrounded him, clearly clinging to his every word as he apparently discussed what he was reading.

Rowena's own thirst for knowledge for the simple sake of knowledge led her to want to see and learn some of it herself. Was it really that horrible? Would he talk to her more if she showed interest?

She had no darkness in her own soul, though. In fact, when news of Voldemort and his early reign of terror began to seep into Hogwarts, she--like nearly half of the student population--had dreams of becoming an Auror when she finished school. Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration were her best subjects. Potions would be her downfall there--the subject was a continual struggle no matter how much study she poured into it.

Still, it was important to have goals, and so she allowed herself to aspire to that prestigious and dangerous career.

Her first year at Hogwarts was a productive one in many ways. Though she could not say she developed any close friendships over the year, she did gradually overcome enough of her shyness to become comfortable with her classmates. A fellow Ravenclaw first-year taught her to play Wizards chess when she expressed interest in the game. She decided to learn it when she saw Severus playing one day in the courtyard with one of the older students from her House.

Slytherins, it seemed, did not hold much stock in strategy games. Apparently, they received their strategy satisfaction in real life manipulations. But Severus appeared to enjoy the game; his whole attention was focused as he played with the same intensity that he gave to everything he did, and so she had learned.

Photography became another hobby early in that year. It was one more method she used to feed her ever increasing near-obsession with Severus Snape. She learned the techniques for developing the film properly, for capturing the most artistic angles and views, and for positioning her subjects or objects in the best light. Her parents indulged her with high-quality equipment at Christmas.

By the end of the year, she had several albums full of photos. Teachers, classmates, friends, Hogwarts grounds and surrounding scenery, nothing escaped her lens. The resultant photos, for the most part, were artistic and pleasing to the eye. It might take a casual observer some time to notice that in nearly every photo, there was a nondescript, pale, dark-haired boy with a rather prominent nose.

This boy was generally in the background. He was even often nearly hidden by other people, trees, or other objects in the photo. In none of the photos did the image of the boy seem the slightest bit aware that he was being captured on film. Regardless of his placement in the photo, his image was in the sharpest focus of anything else, even clearer than the ostensible subject of the snapshot.

One fine, June day near the end of her first year, she took her camera out to the lake. She and some of her Slytherin friends sat in a sunny patch of grass near the bank of the water, discussing the end of their exams and their plans for the summer. It was the lazy, idle chatter of early adolescent girls.

Rowena's mind wandered to Severus, wondering how he was faring with his O.W.L. exams. As though she had conjured him by thinking of him, she looked up to see him walking in their direction, his eyes boring into an examination paper.

She smiled and looked away, checking her camera for film. Severus liked to sit under the large beech tree on pleasant days, and perhaps she could get her friend Valerie to pose for a picture so he was in the background. Their group wasn't sitting too far away from the tree, and with her telescopic lens, she should be able to see him clearly.

Looking up at the tree in question through her camera lens, she saw, to her annoyance, the "Fabulous Four" were already lounging there, laughing and talking.

And then it happened... so suddenly that she couldn't be certain what had started it. James Potter had his wand out and Severus was on the ground, struggling to move. Rowena gasped, and the other girls she was sitting with looked to see what had shocked her. As one, almost involuntarily, they stood up so they could see better, morbidly fascinated to see what was going on.

Potter and Black were tormenting Severus. There was no other way to describe what they were doing. Severus was wandless, unable to defend himself in any way; his usually impassive face contorted in such an expression of rage that it was a frightful visage. Pettigrew was laughing uproariously.

Remus--her brother. Remus the Prefect. Her protector. The one she had adored worshipfully from birth... Remus Lupin was studiously reading a book and pretending to be oblivious to what was going on.

Tears of fury and rage stung Rowena's eyes as she glared at her brother, willing him to do something to stop this horrific humiliation. Potter waved his wand and copious amounts of pinkish white foam began to pour from Severus' mouth, causing him to choke and gag.

Everything was happening so quickly, Rowena felt paralyzed, helpless and horrified. She wasn't near enough to hear anything but the tones of voice--but what she could see was upsetting enough.

The scene only worsened when Lily Evans walked by. Potter was more determined to show off, but Lily was disgusted by the display and tried to make him stop...which he did temporarily. Rowena felt a surge of gratitude and respect for Lily she had never known before.

During the brief lapse, Severus managed to reach his wand and hurl a hex at Potter, which left the Gryffindor with a long, bleeding gash in the side of his face. Instantly, Potter flicked his wand and Severus was suddenly hanging upside down, dangerously high in the air.

This upset Rowena more than anything she had seen so far--her own terror of heights had her hands sweating in sympathy for his plight, her heart pounding somewhere in the vicinity of her throat. What if Potter lifted the spell too quickly? Severus might break his neck in the fall!

Lily spoke, and James dropped Severus--hard. Rowena and the girls around her gasped again, involuntarily. Severus appeared to be uninjured, thankfully. He jumped to his feet with the speed and agility of a striking snake, wand at the ready.

The voices carried to Rowena and her friends, but the words were lost in the distance. The anger in the exchange was clear enough as they shouted at one another--Lily, James, and Severus in turn.

Rowena's group of first-year friends stood rooted to the spot. Any one of them would have gladly rushed to Severus' aid, if they only had the skill to hope to stand up to fifth-years. The Slytherin girls would have helped because it was always good to have an older student in your debt. Rowena wished to be brave enough to intervene because of her deep fascination for Severus. Besides--no one deserved to be treated like that!

An ever-increasing crowd of people wandered nearer and nearer the debacle, adding to the humiliation factor for Severus.

At last, it seemed to be over. Lily said something scathing to Potter, then turned her back on him and walked away with her friends. As soon as she had rounded the path and was no longer in direct sight of the boys, however, Potter began again, this time in full rage, and Severus was once again dangling horribly upside down.

Rowena could stand it no longer. She stepped forward with the intention to do something, anything, even though she was only a first-year. Blessedly, Professor McGonagall came storming out at just that moment to see what the crowd was about. Her fury and rage were such as Rowena had never seen.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" she shrieked, enraged.

Potter released the spell immediately--taking care to lower Severus to the ground gently this time--and offered the professor what he apparently thought was a winning smile.

"Nothing, Professor," he said cheerfully. "We were only practicing some of the spells we were just tested on. You know, to see if we remembered them properly. Just having a bit of fun."

McGonagall's lips thinned to a pale white line, her face contorted with rage. "Mr Potter," she began, icily, "I am ashamed of you! All four of you! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

"Professor, really..." Potter tried to interrupt.

"Potter! You are on the verge of being expelled from this school. I suggest you hold your tongue! Fifty points each. Detention every night until you board the train to go home.

"Lupin, I will be discussing with Professor Dumbledore the wisdom of allowing you to continue on as Prefect in the future, and advising him against it. Black, Potter, if two you are allowed back to school next term, you will have two more weeks of detention to start the year. You may all four consider yourselves on probation from this moment. I have never been more ashamed of Gryffindor behaviour in my life! Four on one! Now, march up to the school this instant!"

Pointing a long, thin finger imperiously in the direction of the castle, she stood scowling at them while they hastily gathered their belongings and got to their feet. She marched behind them like an angry jailer.

As the boys walked past where Rowena and her friends were standing, only Remus had the decency to look truly chagrined. Potter and Black exchanged rolled-eye glances and amused smirks. Pettigrew was still grinning happily.

Remus looked up to see Rowena staring at him with a look of total loathing. His red and embarrassed face paled to sickly white. He knew what she had seen. He knew that she would never, ever forgive him this breach of duty and trust. If she hadn't been lost to him before, she was now.

McGonagall looked at the group of Slytherin girls and Rowena as she passed. She nodded at them brusquely. "Girls, please see that Mr Snape gets safely to the hospital wing. I will check on him there, shortly."

As one, they all rushed to Severus, where he sat still spitting foam from the Scouring Charm, but appeared otherwise unhurt. His robes were in disarray, as was his hair, while his exam paper had been blown away by the breeze and caught high in the tree. Two of the Slytherin girls helped him up, though he irritably wrenched his arms away and began to stalk to the castle himself, casting an angry glance at his lost exam paper. Rowena dawdled a bit behind the others and pulled out her wand.

"Accio exam," she said, capturing the paper and following them inside.

In the hospital wing Madam Pomfrey was able to cancel the charm at once, but she also made him drink a neutralizing potion to counteract any possible poisoning effect that might result from swallowing the soapy substance.

McGonagall arrived soon after to check on his condition. She did not make the girls leave--apparently she felt the boy deserved some supporters in light of the humiliation he'd been made to suffer.

"Mr Snape, I am glad to hear you are well. I have duly punished the boys involved. I want to make it clear that, however you might feel it is justified, you are not to undertake retaliation for this event. This sort of behaviour must stop. They have been dealt with most severely, and you can be assured it will not be permitted to happen again."

Severus, by this time, had managed to resume his mask of impassivity. He merely nodded, though his eyes still glittered brightly.

"Thank you, Professor," he said, and Rowena was quick to notice the trace of sarcastic irony in his voice, "I'm sure it is being handled as well as all the prior instances have been."

McGonagall bristled a bit at this, and admonished, "Mr Snape, for some reason you and Mr Potter and Mr Black have been bent on mutual destruction from the moment you set foot in this school. When you provoke each other deliberately, you should not be surprised when unpleasantness results. This is precisely why I insist that this cease, now. I hope I am understood?"

Severus smirked and nodded again. "Perfectly, Professor."

But the dangerous glitter didn't leave his eyes.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed to look at him suspiciously, but she apparently decided to be satisfied with his answer. She nodded and left the room. The girls were all left standing about, awkwardly. Rowena took care to stay towards the back, and for once was thankful that she was small for her age.

"What are you gawking at? Get out of here before I hex the lot of you," he snarled angrily at them. Their presence merely reminded him of how many people witnessed his humiliation at the hands of Potter. By morning, the whole school would know.

As one multi-headed, multi-legged creature, the girls turned to leave quickly, not wanting to see him carry out his threat. But Rowena stopped and faced him, trembling slightly in nervousness. However, her own anger was almost a match for his, the desire for justice on his behalf burning no less brightly in her heart at the moment than his own. She met his gaze defiantly and stepped over to the bed, holding out his exam paper. It rattled slightly in her shaking hand.

He looked at her in surprise and distrust, but snatched the paper. He nodded once. "Thank you. Now get out."

She left.