The Dark Past: Confusing Times

Chapter 2: Guitars, Frogs, and Girlfriends

Harry found himself standing in what had to be a Slytherin dorm room. The canopy beds were curtained in black fabric while the bedspreads were green with a silver serpent emblazoned on them. There were two rows of beds, five each, on both sides of the dungeon looking room. Each bed had a chest at the end of it and they came in all sizes and shapes and wood types. One was even a metal Muggle looking box.

Harry suddenly found himself aware of the sound of singing and guitar playing. Had the Slytherins found a way to smuggle radios in? Hogwarts students weren't allowed them, not even the Wizard kind. But Harry wouldn't put anything past the Slytherins.

"That's wrong," muttered a vaguely familiar voice as the guitar playing stopped, from the back of the dorm.

Harry couldn't see anything because of the canopy beds. Steeling himself and remembering that they couldn't see him, it was just a Pensieve after all, and he was still wearing his cloak to boot, Harry walked in the direction of the voice.

"Sounded fine to me, Sev," said a thick voice.

Sev? Severus Snape?

Harry hurried his steps. Rounding the end of a bed, one with a rough hewn chest at the end of it, Harry stopped and stared.

Snape, the most feared teacher at Hogwarts, was sitting with his back to a huge boy, wearing a Muggle oversized green T-shirt and black boxer shorts. He had dark sunglasses on and had a guitar on his lap, and he was intently studying some of the music sheets that he had spread all around him.

At least his hair was still greasy and long, to his shoulders. But right now, it was purple.

The large boy, Harry guessed it was Evan Rosier since no one else seemed to be in the dorm, was eating chocolate frogs from a box on his lap.

Harry blinked. This wasn't right.

"Sing the Wizard's Last Duel," Rosier pleaded as he stuffed an entire frog into his large mouth.

Rosier reminded Harry of Crabbe and Goyle. He was large, very large, and looked rather dull-witted. His bushy dark brown hair made his head look twice it's size. Rosier was wearing Wizard garb.

Snape lifted his sunglasses up to stare back at his friend. His eyes were just like Hagrids, warm and sparkling with life. And Snape was grinning, it made his rather stern face lose its hard edges. What had happened to him to make his eyes turn so cold and empty?

"The real version or the one Florence made up?" he asked.

Harry jerked. Florence? The same one Bertha Jorkins caught kissing someone or a different one?

"Florence's," Rosier smiled. "It's so romantic," he said, a dreamy expression on his slow face. "But make it the Witch's Last Duel so at the end the Wizard can knock her out and carry her off into the sunset."

Snape snorted. "What is with you and Florence?" he laughed. "Wanting to knock out your potential spouses and carry them off?"

Rosier looked at Snape, a sly smile on his face. He didn't look all that dull-witted anymore. "It's not me Flora wants to knock out."

Snape's face turned a brilliant shade of red as he ducked his head down. Rosier's booming laughter filled the room and echoed off the walls.

Had it been Snape Bertha had seen kissing Florence? It made sense since she got hexed for the act and Snape had known, according to Sirius, a ton of curses when he arrived at school. Hexes and curses were basically the same thing after all.

"Don't worry, Sevvie," Evan said, sitting up and draping an arm around Snape's shoulders. "I'll protect you from her."

"And who will protect you from me, Evan?" asked a female voice right behind Harry. Harry spun around. A rather dumpy witch was standing there, her plain face struggling to contain a grin. She lost the battle. The smile made her look friendly even if not pretty.

"Nobody needs to protect me Flora baby," Rosier said, lumbering to his feet, tossing the chocolate frog box on the bed next to them. "You didn't mess up the charm to seal the room against the others did you?" he asked, suddenly stern as he eyed Florence up and down.

Florence snarled at him, her eyes flashing. "I can do a charm just as well as Severus!"

Rosier sneered down at her. "I don't think so."

Florence yanked her wand out of her robe pocket, Rosier's was already in his hand.

"Children, children," came Snape's soft voice as he gathered up his music sheets. "Play nicely together."

Florence broke into a grin as she looked at him around Rosier's massive bulk. "This coming from the boy who likes to engage in staring contests with Perthia Roberts."

Snape waggled his eyebrows and Harry choked. This wasn't Snape. This was a normal fifteen year old boy and from the little Sirius had told him about Snape, Harry had figured Snape had been some sort of evil little grease ball that had gone around spending all of his time trying to expel his father or locked up in the library, poring over dusty volumes of dark magic.

"It's good practice," Snape said as he stepped to the rough hewn chest and carefully placed his music sheets in a folder. "For when I need to be intimidating." He closed the chest and sat on it.

"You already are intimidating," Rosier said, looking Snape up and down. "Except when you are wearing shorts. Your knees are too knobbly."

Harry looked at them, they were knobbly all right, just like his.

Snape looked down at his knees and patted them. "Maybe I should wear shorts for now on then," he mused.

Florence sat down next to him. "Only around me. I don't want other girls staring at your cute little knees," she said, squeezing the closest one.

Harry choked, Rosier snorted, and Snape turned red again.

"Did you bring your guitar?" Snape asked, standing up.

Florence looked disappointed that he had moved. "Yes," she said, pulling out a tiny miniature guitar from her pocket. She tapped it with her wand and muttered something under her breath. A normal sized guitar was soon in her lap.

"Wizard's Last Duel," she asked, putting it aside and slipping off her robe. Harry started to look away when he saw she was wearing Muggle clothing too. An oversized red T-shirt and loose black shorts.

Snape slipped the strap of his guitar around his neck, Harry noticed that the strap had silver snakes adorning it, and nodded. "Yep. Evan will sing Witch's Last Duel."

Rosier's guitar strap had golden snitches on it, he was still wearing his black wizard robes. Harry looked to Florence. Hers had dragons on it.

They formed a line, with Rosier in the middle, and on the count of three started up. It was terrible. Harry winced, not wanting to plug his ears just yet.

Of all the things Harry had imagined the Slytherins were doing at Hogwarts during their free time this had never occurred to him. The three of them were smiling, laughing, and howling out of tune. Except for Snape, who sounded and played quite well.

"The Wizard's strength was gone!" Snape and Florence sang while Rosier changed it to Witch.

"His wand fell to the ground!"

"And then the Witch knocked him out and took him home!" Rosier's was Wizard.

"They married and had a family!"

Rosier bumped into the other two and all three went crashing to the ground, their guitars safely held away from their bodies.

"That's what I'm going to do to you as soon as I can best you at dueling," Florence said, staring at Snape.

Harry would have laughed but she was quite serious. Snape weakly smiled at her, he seemed to realize it too.

"Well then," Rosier grinned, extracting himself from the tangle of bodies and standing up. "Sev, you had better grab John and practice some more. Florence is getting good. She bested me last week."

Florence nodded her head happily, still staring at Snape.

"We really should wait until after our seventh year to get married," Snape cautioned.

"I will," Florence said, standing up. "Unless I beat you before then that is."

She grabbed Snape's outstretched hand and hauled him up. "Leg still hurting you?" she asked, looking down at it.

Snape winced. "Yeah."

Evan shook his head at Snape. "Hopefully you learned your lesson about going into the Forbidden Forest. It's Forbidden."

Snape kicked his leg out. "Nah. I have to find a sample of that purple and orange ringed mushroom that grows in it. It's an ingredient for my latest potion."

Florence hit her head with her hand and fell backwards onto the bed. "You may accidentally get yourself killed before we can get married. By the way," she said, her tone low and threatening. "Once we are married you are not going to be running into danger! You will take your life seriously!"

Snape's eyes widened and he tried to look the picture of innocence. "I know what I'm doing. I only tripped because Hagrid accosted me. Luckily he was drunk and I was able to convince him he had imagined seeing me there."

Florence still eyed him with doubt.

Snape collected all the guitars and shrank them, putting them into his chest.

He looked around, spotted the box of frogs that Rosier was headed to and dove for it. Harry was startled as Snape grabbed up the box and ran.

"Give me back my frogs you toad!" Rosier shouted.

Florence jumped on Rosier's back as Rosier bolted past the bed. "Run Sevi!" she screamed. "Run!"

Harry watched in utter fascination as Snape jumped on the Slytherin beds and bounced from one to the other as Rosier tried to catch him, with Florence still hanging on his back.

They looked and acted so normal. Like regular fifteen year olds. How had Rosier and Snape become Death Eaters? Gone from carefree teenagers to angsty adults in such a short time?

As Snape rounded the dorm room and attempted to jump on another bed, Rosier grabbed him around the waist. Snape flung the frog box away from himself, but Rosier didn't let go. He just tucked Snape under one massive arm and headed to a door.

"What?! Not the bathroom!" Snape screamed as Florence pounded on Rosier's head.

She wasn't doing it very hard and she was laughing so hard she could barely hang onto Rosier in the first place.

Rosier kicked the door open and stalked in. He kicked the large tub's tap on and then started to spin around.

Snape screamed, a hand clapped to his mouth. "No! Don't!" I'm going to get sick!"

"I know," Rosier said.

Snape tried to get away but he couldn't and Florence was cracking up too much to be of any help.

When the tub was full, Harry watched, too stunned by everything that was happening to even move much, as Rosier dumped them both in, then he jumped in himself, splashing water everywhere.

Snape looked green. He swam to the water's edge and leaned out of the tub, pressing his chest and head to the cool green tile floor as his legs swayed in the water.

Florence, looking sympathetic, swam over.

"You okay?" she asked, rubbing his back, and forcing herself not to smile.

"Yeah," he said miserably. "But it was worth it!"

She rolled her eyes. "That's what you said when you took that redcap's cap off and it tried to bludgeon you. You gave the poor DADA instructor a heart attack. He hasn't been the same since."

"Had to see what it was hiding underneath it," Snape said simply.

Rosier swam over and sat at the water's edge.

"How do you think the other houses will feel if they found out it just wasn't the Slytherin Prefects that had the big tubs?"

Snape grinned. "It might shut Potter up about bragging he was a Prefect."

"You're just jealous about that," Rosier quipped.

Harry expected Snape to deny it but he didn't.

"Naturally. I've worked hard to become a Prefect," he frowned and for the first time Harry saw some of the bitterness and anger that would constantly cloud his face later in life. "Professor Mayor just won't let me because he's afraid of me. He's convinced I'm working for Voldemort."

Rosier and Florence cringed at the name.

"Don't say it," Rosier said.

"Oh," Snape said, eyeing them. "Sorry. I didn't grow up hearing about him. We had other things to worry about. Whose running the world or trying to take it over just doesn't affect us."

"Where do you live anyway?" Florence asked, moving her hand up to play with his hair.

Harry frowned. She was touching his greasy hair! Florence didn't seem disgusted by it though and neither did Rosier for that matter.

"Can't tell you," Snape said softly. "Sorry but I really can't."

Florence bit her lower lip. "I could slip you veritaserum and make you tell me." Again Harry realized she was quite serious.

Snape smiled. "That's illegal and where would you get it?"

Florence grinned wickedly. "I'll find a way."

Snape looked at her, with one eye closed. "I guess I'm in trouble then."

She nodded her head. "Yep you are," she bent over and kissed his cheek.

Evan groaned. "Eww! Am I going to have to be your chaperone for the rest of my school days."

Florence winked at him. "Yes."

Snape choked. "Florence Wilkes behave yourself."

Harry plopped down. This was Wilkes. He glanced over at Rosier. Wilkes and Rosier, both killed a year before Voldemort fell. Harry shook his head. Florence might have a brother but... Sirius had said that Snape had hung out with the Rosier and Wilkes that had died.

Harry looked away. They reminded him of himself, Ron and Hermione. What if Ron and Hermione died in the upcoming war? Would it make him a bitter man? No wonder why Snape was so miserable. His two best friends, and maybe his wife, dead. But, they had said Wilkes not Snape. So maybe they hadn't gotten married after all. Or maybe Florence had a brother that Snape hung out with.

"I feel better now," Snape said, slowly getting to his feet. He was dripping wet and Harry had to blush at the way Florence was looking at him. She was only fifteen! Harry reminded himself never to get soaking wet with a girl around him. Snape didn't notice her expression, having his back to her, but Rosier did. He winked at her. Slytherins!

Snape took his wand out and dried himself. Florence frowned. "I like you wet!"

Snape shook his lowered head. "Girls are supposed to be the pure ones!"

Indignant, Florence clamored out of the water, grabbed him around his waist and threw him back in the water. Snape crashed into Rosier and they both went under.

Florence, looking satisfied with herself, jumped back in and hauled Snape up out of the water.

He was choking, spitting, and laughing as he emerged. Rosier came up in between them and threw them both out, on opposite sides of the tub. He was strong!

"Out!" he thundered. "I'm going to take a bath."

"Can't I watch?" Florence asked, grinning and leering at him.

Snape grabbed her arm and hauled her up, dragging her out of the bathroom, slipping and sliding along the way. They both exited the bathroom, laughing and hanging on each other.

Harry was thankful he couldn't see anything as Rosier filled the bathtub with bubbles and then took his wizard robe off. Snape came back in after a few minutes, wearing his usual black robes. His hair was hanging like a curtain in front of his face and it was black again.

"Do I like evil enough?" he hissed.

Harry's eyes widened. He looked just like he would as a teacher, and he had his most sinister voice down pat already.

Rosier laughed at the sight of him. "When did you start putting your hair in front of your face like that?"

Snape parted it and grinned at Rosier, holding it back from his face like it was a curtain he was peering through. "Perthia gave me the idea!"

Rosier groaned. "What is with the two of you?"

Snape shrugged, pushing his hair back, and slipping on sunglasses. "Florence has gone back to her dorm. She...."

The memories swirled around.