The Snake Skinned Lioness (part 1 of 2)

Trick or Treat Snivellus!

By the time they got there, an anxious pre-moon Remus was sat with Lily at the Gryffindor table and Lyra and Severus went to join them. Remus was a lousy poker player and automatically looked on edge as Snape sat down. Lily was the first to speak.

“Hey you two! Where have you been you almost missed it”

“Missed what?” Severus asked, consciously ignoring the fourth member of their breakfast. Remus darted a look up toward the ghosts with a cheeky grin.

“You’ll see in a minute. Peeves has something planned apparently, James hasn’t shut up about it all morning,”

“Where are the gruesome twosome anyway it’s not like them to miss out on a Peeves special?” Remus leaned in with the biggest smile all over his face; it’s nice he smiles more now, Lyra thought.

“That’s the best bit! They’ve been taken on as his ‘apprentices’ apparently.” Lyra looked at him in disbelief, if there was ever a pair who didn’t need tutoring in pranks it was James and Sirius. Severus snorted,

“Like Black or Potter need any advice,” Lily giggled and tucked her long hair behind her ears as he muttered impressions under his breath. Remus looked at the skinny boy surprised but not about to correct the Slytherin either- it seems Snape can have a laugh. Chimed a familiar voice in the back of his mind, he just hoped his friends wouldn’t kill that sense of humour off with their jokes on him. Much like Lyra, the way they targeted the boy left a bitter taste in his mouth.

One of the prefects, Gwendolyn Marcher, was standing behind the unlikely group as they were talking and decided to sit next to the little Malfoy to better keep an eye on her- she’d dealt with Lucius often enough to be wary of the girl even if she was a fellow Gryffindor. Her latest association with Slytherin did not do anything to ease her fears. Upon realising that their conversation was harmless this time however, Gwendolyn decided to try to appear friendly.

“He does this every few years or so,” she said sounding as bored as she could. The four first years turned to her expectingly, and she rolled her big brown eyes. “The last pair of troublemakers were the Prewett twins back when I was in first year. It’ll only get more extreme from here for Black and Potter, Malfoy. October is just the initiation month.” If she was hoping for a reaction from the blonde at the table, she was surely disappointed as Lyra just smiled and turned her attention to the head table as Peeves floated overhead. Blowing an imaginary trumpet as loudly and tunelessly as you can imagine, the ghost deliberately floated through the Bloody Baron as a pair of flyers joined him in the air, wands waving over every goblet in the Great Hall. The result was hilarious or disastrous depending on your perspective.

For a start, the ghost of Slytherin was not happy and was chasing Peeves around the room and nearly out the window only to find himself blocked by the glass. The pulse of a shield rang out cracking some of the older panes as the prankster ghost cackled evilly from a safe distance. If the Baron wasn’t already fizzing with rage at that he definitely was when Nearly Headless Nick’s loud bark of laughter echoed across the hall, and it wasn’t long before they were duelling too close to the enchanted ceiling. Meanwhile all those who had drunk from the jugs of pumpkin juice scattered on the tables found themselves hiccupping uncontrollably, each loud, sharp hiccup sending them further and further into the air! Lily was trying to maintain her disapproving glare at the boys on the brooms, but it was impossible as Lucius skyrocketed up from the head of the Slytherin table and crashed into Goyle. It hadn’t taken long for the red head to work out why Lyra hated her brother and his flushed embarrassed face and squeaky cries more than compensated for his earlier mudblood comments.

Sirius, out of breath and loving every second settled down next to their table.

“What do you think Red? Have they had enough?” He winked at her, only laughing harder when she went to shout at him.

“No, Mr Black, but I certainly have.” Came the irate voice of Professor McGonagall from somewhere above them. James and Sirius quickly, and a little sheepishly, cast the counter curse that brought everyone to the floor and let the Bloody Baron out of the window…

Severus and Lyra had approached Dumbledore after Potions that morning (the first one without an explosion since term began) and while the headmaster was a little shocked, he saw no reason to prevent it providing they were discrete in their lessons. It was a happy Snape that meandered back to the dungeons that night after seeing his tormentors screw themselves by pranking their own head of house. Lyra had said goodbye to him at the foot of the stairs with plans to meet up on Wednesday morning for a study session before heading up to the warmth of the Gryffindor Tower. She loved Hogwarts, she really did, but Merlin it was cold! Hugging herself and eager to dive into the sofa by the fire she ran through the portrait in time to see Lily’s hair spark dangerously as she yelled at James and stormed off.

“Honestly,” James pouted. “Anyone would think it was her in a month of detentions!” Remus just shook his head and Peter stuck his tongue out at the girl’s shadow trying to join in. The plump little boy didn’t have the easiest time fitting in, being more of a tag-along than anything but when he relaxed, he was a good laugh, so they didn’t mind when he got it wrong on occasion.

“What did you do this time?” Lyra groaned and curled by the fire at Alice’s feet.

“Oh, they only told her that she inspired their prank this morning and that James did it for her.” The girl next to her said casually trying to hide the giggle in her voice. Alice hated her laugh, she had a habit of snorting, and while it was fine when it was just them in the dorm in front the boys was another matter entirely.

“You idiots!” Lyra cackled having no such worries.

“What?!” Sirius and James chorused, the looks on their faces almost in comical surprise.

“Okay, how to put this… ah! Remind me again what Lily has to do to get through to morons like my brother that blood doesn’t matter?” Fearing a trick question both boys looked at each other, communicating almost entirely by eyebrows, before Sirius cautiously offered.

“Be the best witch in our year and shove it in his face?”

“And not cause any trouble! You’re saying that she was the inspiration for your initiation prank…”

“She was! That Willie Wonka was a genius…”

“It’s beside the point,” Remus chuckled. “You doing that just undercuts all the work she’s done to prove herself, especially as you tried to do it to impress her James.” It was like the plug had been pulled on James’ joy when it dawned on him that Remus was right. His whole body slumped in the chair and the laughter in his eyes went cold as he ruffled his wayward hair.

“Oh, come on Jamie,” Lyra tried to make it up to him. “She was laughing at the table when you two were doing it, Snape too.”

“Speaking of Snape,” Sirius’ voice cutting through the bubby Common Room like a knife. “What was he doing with you this morning Lyra?” Lyra looked at him with mild amusement before watching the flames again.

“He agreed to help me with Potions, so I said I’d get him a hot chocolate before Remus drank it all. Is there something wrong?” She replied, the picture of innocence although she knew it might start a row; I’ve done nothing wrong, she reminded herself as the first years made room for Black to pace. Sirius and James glared at her,

“He’s a Slytherin!”

“And a greasy creep!” They snapped at the same time, only getting more outraged when she shrugged.

“His hair’s quite nice actually and I was nearly a Slytherin you know, would you have treated me like scum too? What about Cissy? You all went to her party and she’s a snake. What’s your problem with him really?” Lyra said, her voice quiet and far away, not quite wanting an answer to her first question. James just laughed- he thought it was ludicrous that she was even considered for that house, but Sirius looked uneasy. She seemed more like the girl who jumped out of the tree in the woods than the friend he arranged to meet on the train.

“No, I wouldn’t. You and Cissy are completely different to him and its more than that,”

“Oh? Do tell.” Alice deadpanned in Lyra’s stead. Her friend didn’t look like she believed the boy, although she hid it well, it clearly stung that he might have done. Sirius knelt in front of her and tried to make her meet his eyes. He got a cold empty look in return.

“He’s creepy the way he clings to Lily all the time and sucks up to the teachers and skulks around. There is something wrong with that kid, he was so eager to be in your brother’s snake pit; it was like looking in a family mirror!” He shouted the last part, causing a hush to descend on them all while they waited for the only person who could talk sense into Sirius Black to speak. They’d only known each other a little over a month but it clear to anyone with eyes that there was a special connection between the two. Don’t mistake me when I say it ran deeper than the friendship they evidently shared. Instead, it was almost like wo opposing wild forces trying to come together to create something new and no one knew how it would turn out. Lyra stood, dusted herself off and remained quiet. Only James, Sirius and thanks to his heightened hearing, Remus heard her.

“He does go around quietly I’ll give you that and he is attached to Lily, but can you honestly say you aren’t too James?” James looked stunned at the comparison and not just because she called him James rather than Jamie. “Don’t you realise though that all your picking on him does though is just making him sneakier and more desperate to cling to the friend he has? Just because he reminds of you home doesn’t mean he’s out to get you either!”

“Wow how is this our fault? All we’re doing is a bit of pranking,” Sirius tried to defend themselves even though the truth of what she said hit home. It didn’t help that Remus snorted in agreement with her either.

“Pranking is what you did today, harmless, funny and not targeted at one person just to spite them. What you’re doing is bullying him Sirius! Just like we get at home, like Lucius does to everyone he doesn’t like, like the Carrows too.” She couldn’t hide her disappointment and he couldn’t hide how her words affected him, even Sirius’ self-righteous anger seemed to melt away. Lyra left to walk upstairs and stopped. “No that’s not quite fair. You will end up like them if you keep going, but you aren’t there yet. I can’t say I don’t get lashing out at him, I nearly did it this morning, but I’m trying not to be like the snakes who raised me. Are you?”

The atmosphere in the common room that night was shot when she ran up the stairs and cried in her bed. Sirius looked angry and appalled all at once and James wasn’t much better. The two boys stared dully at the flames trying to process and soon emptied the room apart from their dormmates. Remus sighed. They’d brought it on themselves he knew that, but he also knew she overreacted tonight. The full moon was tomorrow so he might get to talk to her about it in the Shack but right now he needed to mend the part of their little group that was in front of him. Peter had thankfully just patted them on the shoulder awkwardly and sent apologetic looks before leaving with the rest so he could be more open with the pair now.

“Guys I,”

“I know she was right,” Sirius jumped in, and this time Remus couldn’t hear a but coming.

“She was also harsh, and scared. Things will be better in a few days when she’s calmed down.” He tried lamely; James huffed.

“Not likely. She thinks we are as bad as Lucy!”

“No, she just hates seeing people picked on. Especially when she thinks the only reason, we don’t do the same to her like everyone else in her life is because of an indecisive hat.” Sirius sighed, surprising Lupin by understanding the girl. James tilted his head and scratched his neck. Now he thought about it, perhaps they had been wrong about Snape, he befriended their girls (as he called them in secret and never to their faces in case of a slap) and the others didn’t mind him exactly.

“We’ll just have to prove it to her then that she’s our friend first and foremost,” Potter said and Remus thanked his lucky stars that he could also count them among his friends once again. “And maybe,”

“Maybe we give Snivel… Severus the benefit of the doubt unless he proves just as bad as we think he is?” Finished Sirius and it was settled. Remarkably quickly, Alice thought from her hiding spot on the stairs, dropping eavesdrop charm, and went to make sure her friends were alright.

Elsewhere in Hogwarts, in some sublevel of the Slytherin Common Room, Severus was paying the price for enjoying his treat that morning with tricks that made Black, and Potter’s seem insignificant in comparison. He’d been actually happy with the day when he’d entered his dorm, happy and not on alert which had proven to be fatal. The dungeons were lit by pale lamps shaded by dark green shades and cast many shadows on the walls that often gave first years a fright in the night on their own without the thought of anyone lurking in them. It soon made them cautious and more aware than any other of their counterparts which could explain why most of the school thought them unflappable. What they didn’t realise was that was because they weren’t directly policed by the older students while roaming the halls, unlike the Common Room.

Lucius had seen the small boy enter with his sister and proceed to sit with her, the half-breed and mudblood that morning before seeing him cackle at his misfortune when they had been pranked. While he knew he could not out the Lupin boy for the creature he was, he had made it perfectly clear that the others were to stay clear of any mudbloods especially the know-it-all Evans. That was two strikes that Snape had struck against him, the third was not attempting to coerce his sister down the right path, into being resorted, and instead being comfortable around the little lions. It was high time the boy learned, Lucius though darkly, disobedience had no place in his house.

He and the Carrow twins had pounced when Severus had his jumper over his head and was settling in for the night. The other first years did nothing; either they were pretending to be asleep or blind no one really cared which, all that mattered was staying out of the way. They only stirred again when the cries of Snape could be heard from beyond the slammed door. Severus found himself suspended by his belt loops from the chandelier in the main common room before he could really react anyway, his jumper had been charmed to stay over his eyes until they had him where they wanted him. Lucius was sat in a chair opposite him inspecting his nails while the other two were by his side playfully jabbing at him with stinging hexes when they grew bored.

“That’s enough.” He barked, standing in front of the upside down first year.

“Why… what?” Snape stammered and got slapped for his trouble.

“You have 3 strikes against you from this morning. What were you doing with my sister and the mudblood lions?” Once again in as little as twelve hours Severus found that his usual lying skills were useless in front of Malfoy although for altogether different reasons; he was genuinely scared of Lyra’s quiet menace whereas now he just wanted his punishment to be over with so he could go to bed. It reminded him of his father if truth be told and that he could handle.

“I’ve seen her go out for runs every morning and with her struggling in Potions I thought it would be good to intervene- she is a lost snake, right? We’re supposed to look out for each other.” Lucius seemed to mull over it while he waved his hand and Snape found himself the right way up. “As for Evans,”

“Right, I believe she is a friend of yours?  Honestly I expected an up and comer like yourself to choose better company.” Amycus Carrow smirked an ugly smile and stood on Snape’s foot to bow his proud head. Lucius looked downright predatory as he grabbed the boy’s black hair and forced his gaze upward.

“You hide well.” Severus could have sworn he saw a glimmer of respect in the e older boy’s eyes, but he didn’t want to bet on it, so he kept his mask up. Nott always had spare Wigenweld’s in his drawer in their dorm anyway. He just had to get back. “Consider this your probation. You may keep your little mudblood as s it allows you to keep an on Lyra. I expect weekly reports and if she does not improve her grades, I will hold you personally responsible.” He nodded at his minions and Snape was released to scuttle back to his dorm, bruised, shaken and more than a little angry.

The next morning, when he and Lyra went for their run, sparing match and tutoring sessions Severus did his best to hide his injuries. He made his aching limbs stretch to keep the pace forced his crooked smile to remain in place when she hit sore spots even though he knew she was holding back. He suspected it was pointless but only time would tell. They went their separate ways at breakfast, neither willing to risk her brother’s ire, without raising the issue.