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The Beginning of Our Story ~
Visiting the Sick
Harry arrived at Professor Snape's office at precisely eight o'clock. Rather than glum at the prospect of another detention with Snape, he was looking forward to reading more accounts, however vague, of his parents' time at Hogwarts. There was a pang of regret that the only things he was now learning about his father were through glances into the past at those events which cast him in the least favorable light. Beggars couldn't be choosers however. Having accepted the fact that no one is perfect, he was happy just to know the smallest things about his imperfect father and his friends. Most of the detention cards he'd read so far were not in the least as serious or disturbing to Harry as his trip into the pensieve the night he saw Snape's worst memory of the Marauders.
Snape opened the door and allowed Harry to pass inside to the desk, atop which sat the box of old file cards waiting to be copied. Harry smiled secretly at the sneer behind him. He wasn't going to pretend for Snape's sake that he felt abused and angry about having to do this. Harry suspected that the time spent here was not convenient for Snape. He probably had other things to do, like spying on Death Eaters or reporting to his boss, whomever that might really be. If he was put out more so by Harry's inability to be cowed by what should rightly be a horrible detention, all the better.
Harry sat down and began shuffling through, looking for a familiar name and looking forward to imagining how it came to be. He spotted a Potter and paused, smiling. He looked up at Snape and caught him watching. The professor gave him a brumal glare and bent to his papers, marking one with such force that he knocked his coffee mug off the desk, sending it skittering across the stone floor. Harry resisted the urge to laugh out loud.
"Thank goodness for Infrangible charms, huh Profe-?"
"Silence, Potter. I think you're old enough to be able to perform your task for one evening without the incessant, infantile babbling."
Harry smirked.
October, 1974
Potter, James
Pettigrew, Peter
Black, Sirius
Black, Regulus
Black, Bellatrix
He frowned. What were his dad and Sirius doing getting into trouble beside two future Death Eaters? Surely they… He read on.
Offense: Willful meddling with an Anodyne Solution, risking harm to students in the Hospital Wing, disruption of Hospital Wing, destruction of a priceless antique vase
Punishment: Service to staff in the Hospital Wing thrice weekly for three weeks, without magic.
As he read the anecdotal notes on the back of the card he imagined them played out in his mind.
"At least my friends are warm-blooded, Bella," Sirius retorted over his shoulder at his cousin. To James he muttered, "Just ignore her. She's only repeating what the rest of the family tells her. Poor stupid thing can't think for herself, you know."
James shrugged and smiled. "If Regulus didn’t look so much like you, I'd think you were adopted, Sirius."
Sirius nodded in agreement as Peter struggled to keep up with them.
"But guys, why is Remus in the Hospital Wing? I mean, is he sick? Is that why he didn't come to bed last night? Where did he go?"
James and Sirius exchanged a look. They had their suspicions about Remus' health problems, but weren't ready to share them just yet, even with Peter, until they'd confronted Remus. They wouldn't do it today of course. You can't kick your mate when he's down.
"Hey guys. What're you doing here?" Remus asked when they marched to his bedside behind the Nurse's back.
"Shh.. we're probably not supposed to be here. You all right, Remus?" James asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Remus said, looking out the window.
"What happened to you last night?" Peter asked quietly.
Remus shrugged. "Must've ate something at dinner that didn't agree."
"Something that fought back on the way down?" Sirius asked, eyeing the not-quite-healed gash along Remus' jaw.
"Oh, that. I fell on the way here. Scraped my chin on the doorway," Remus replied calmly. "Might even still be blood on the jamb. Lucky I didn't send that big pot flying," he added, nodding his head towards the large floor vase beside the door.
"Madam, I saw my cousin come in here," came a familiar voice from behind the curtain. "He isn't bothering your patients is he? He can be such trouble some times."
The four boys froze. Sirius and James peered out discreetly to see the backs of Bellatrix and Regulus. He was hidden from the matron by the curtain, and they were standing next to a cart containing trays of various vials and decanters.
"No, Miss Black. I'm sure I haven't seen him. If you're not here for treatment I must ask that you both leave and go back to your common room. Don't touch those, please. They're for my patients."
"Oh, sorr-" Regulus was interrupted by the crash of the glass vial he'd dropped on the floor.
"See what you've done, Regulus? Go! I'm so sorry, Madam. Let me help."
As the Matron bent down to clean up the mess, Bellatrix opened a vial and added a pinch of something to it from her pocket. Regulus smirked at her and saw Sirius out of the corner of his eye. His face dropped a moment, and Sirius knew that he was considering whether to betray him to Bella. He didn't, but turned his back and walked towards the door and waited for her. Bella, satisfied that her help wasn't wanted, followed.
Sirius pulled his wand out and as Bellatrix neared the door, he flicked and muttered. The enormous vase swept itself into the air and hurled itself at Bellatrix, bowling her over and crashing on the stone into dust.
The Matron gasped, grabbing the curtain behind her in surprise and revealing James, Peter and Sirius.
"You aren't… d..d..did you to that?!" She demanded, her face going red. She rushed over to Bellatrix, who was crying out on the floor in pain.
"Poor dear. No.. nothing broken, you're okay. Just let me get you something," the matron cooed, summoning the same vial from the cart which Bellatrix had tainted.
"Drink this down, dear. It's only mild."
Bellatrix's eyes nearly popped out of her head and she shouted through her tears. "NO! I mean, I’m FINE Madam. Really!"
But the Matron had too keen an eye to give Sirius the satisfaction that he was waiting for. She peered at the vial and shook it, then narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix and Regulus. Then she turned to the boys and stood up.
"Out. All of you. NOW. You'll hear about this later."
Harry couldn't allow himself to imagine that Bellatrix would have been made to drink the solution. Despite how much he hated her, and how much Sirius hated her, he couldn't. Part of him hoped she had, but there was nothing on the detention card to suggest that she'd gotten anything but a minor injury from the incident. None of the staff knew for certain who had done what to cause the commotion, or taint the Anodyne Solution, so they'd agreed to give all five of them the same detention. Harry liked to think that James and Sirius had gone easy on Bellatrix and Regulus because Regulus had decided not to rat Sirius out when he saw them, but really, none of that was on the card, either. He finished copying the card and stuffed the original nonchalantly into his robes.
"Souvenir, Potter?" Snape sneered, standing up from his desk.
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Snape's Detention Duel - Round Two - Mission and Subs
McGonagall's Cat Snape's Detention Duel - Round Two - Mission and Subs Aug 26 2005, 08:54 PM
Aug 26 2005, 08:54 PM
