The Stronger One, pt. 2

After getting his supplies for third year and sleeping in his temporary home, Harry renewed his disguise charms. He eased up on the age factor so that he seemed about thirteen years old.

Harry was one of the first to board the train, so he passed the time by jotting down notes on his plan for the year. Thirty minutes went by before he spoke to anyone.

“Hey, Jacob.” Remus leaned partway into the compartment. His hair was shorter and messier than the year before, and his bangs no longer hid the long scars across his face.

Harry put down his journal and smiled. “Hey, Remus. How was your summer?”

“Good. Yours?” 

“Fine. I’m sorry for not sending any mail—I, er, went to Wales for the summer with my family, and I couldn’t bring my owl.” 

“Oh, it’s okay, James and Sirius sent me a bunch of stuff, they visited me once, actually, and Raven wrote me.” 

“She did?” 

Remus wasn’t embarrassed at mentioning Raven, as he had been with Lily. Harry guessed that meant Remus didn’t fancy her. “Yeah, I was surprised, too…anyway, I have my Hogsmeade permission slip—I nearly forgot it, till my mum found it in her things.” The parchment was folded in his right hand.

Harry had forgotten. He would have to forge the signature, though he guessed there was some sort of charm on the slip to protect it against forgery.

“Well, see you ’round.” 

“See you.” If he had his dad sign it, would it pass McGonagall’s inspection?

The others gradually joined Harry, all sporting some change that was more obvious to Harry since he’d seen them barely two days before, according to the hours on his watch. 

Raven had swapped her curly, long hair for a cut that grazed her shoulders. She’d grown a good two inches and seemed happier, though the excitement around the first day of school did that to nearly every Hogwarts student. 

Lily was only a bit taller, her hair slightly shorter and now wavier. 

Severus had grown as much as Remus; out of the group, they were the tallest. Raven and Sirius were in the middle compared to other third-years, and Peter, Lily, James, and Harry were among the shortest.

Lily and Severus seemed to be getting along a lot better than before. Something, however, was different between them from first year. Lily didn’t nudge him playfully, tug at his sleeve, or make eye contact for very long. Their childhood innocence was fading. Still, the two seemed to be on much better terms than the end of second year. 

Halfway through the journey, when Severus got up to use the bathroom, Lily filled Harry and Raven in on what had happened over the summer. “Sev’s father is sick. Did you notice that he doesn’t have any bruises? His dad mostly lies in bed and drinks nowadays. His mum is out working most of the time. Severus doesn’t know where she goes for sure, but he thinks it’s in a pub in Nocturne Alley.” 

Raven leaned forward, voiced lowered. “So is that a good thing or bad thing?” 

“Depends. His family’s never been good, so it’s either equally horrible or slightly less horrible. Sev’s still the same, if that’s what you mean.” 

If Severus is the same as he’d been when Lily and him weren’t getting along, then it must be Lily who’s changed. 

The students traveled by carriage to the school. After studying Severus, Harry realized the boy could see the Thestrals. His eyes were wide, dark, shocked; but his eyes were the only giveaway. Had he seen someone die? Is so, when and whom?

Harry had only gone about two days without Hogwarts, so euphoria equal to what he had experienced as a kid did not come to him immediately. The Great Hall, decorated grandly, hummed with energy. 

“So, you gonna get a girlfriend this year?” James asked Sirius. They were sitting close by Harry, talking to fill the time before the first years arrived. 

Sirius was caught off guard, and replied, “Why, are you thinking about dating me?”

James winked, then laughed. “No, just wondering. If you never date anyone, they’ll all think they have a chance. If you got a girlfriend, maybe fewer ladies would use me as their messenger.” 

Sirius didn’t realize that James was amused, not annoyed. 

“It’s not my fault! I tell them I’m not interested, but that makes them like me more.”

“Whoa, hang on, I think it’s funny. Not many guys would complain about being the second most handsome male in the school.” 

Sirius gazed off into the distance, as if struck by a thought. “You know, maybe I will finally say yes to Lily.” 

James nearly choked on his drink in shock. When he got the joke, he chuckled. “You got me.” 

Sirius grinned, studying James even after he had turned away. His focus (or lack thereof) broke as everyone turned to see the incoming first years. 

After scanning the group, Harry found only one person among the first years to be familiar: Barty Crouch, Jr. The pasty-skinned, straw-haired boy was placed in Slytherin, which prompted a few glances at the staff table. His father must already be a high-ranking official in the Ministry.

The rest of the evening was calm. Harry felt strange talking to the others, because for them, a summer had passed without communication. 

The boys knew to take the same beds as last year. The Marauders clicked immediately, but Severus took a while to even regard Harry. 

“On vacation again this summer?” he asked as Harry put his schoolbooks on his nightstand.

“Yeah, my parents wanted to go to Wales.” 

“Sure.” 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing.”

“Severus, I’m sorry I wasn’t around, but it wasn’t my fault.”

“I don’t care. It’s not like I…” Severus began, before he changed his mind and turned away. 

As Harry shuffled through his things, his Hogsmeade permission form fell to the floor. He picked it up and, spotting James, a thought struck him. 

“James, could you forge my father’s signature?” He held out his form. 

James glanced sideways at Sirius before replying. “Why should I do that?”

“I’ll do your homework this weekend.” 

“No, how about for the rest of this week, and the next.” 

Harry scoffed, but knew he couldn’t negotiate. “Deal. Oh, and his signature is kind of like yours…” 

Before Astronomy one Wednesday evening, Lily, Severus, Raven, and Harry went up to the Astronomy tower to work on their assignments. 

The setting sky bled every color, but their eyes reflected only the deep orange of the sun.

“Divination, right?” Harry asked Lily when she got out a roll of parchment. He and Raven were taking Care of Magical Creatures instead. 

“Yep. It’s easy, but I don’t like it very much.” 

Severus dipped his quill in his inkwell. “Trelawney is incompetent.” 

Lily nodded. “Today she told everyone what horrible things would happen to them.” 

Severus snorted. “Yeah, everyone, but mainly me.” 

“We have to write an essay about what we observed in the tea leaves and what she said to us.” 

Severus went over his notes.“I had Lightning, which means ‘an unexpected attack’, Skull, which means ‘danger in your path’, and Cross, which means ‘trials and suffering’.” 

“But what I read in your cup was different from what she read, right? It was weird. Did you write them down?” 

Severus hesitated, then nodded. “Let’s see…Sun for ‘great happiness’, Apple for ‘sin’, Flower for ‘eternal love’, whatever the hell that means…” 

“Wasn’t there another one?”

Severus regarded her, squinting slightly against the fading sun. “Noose, for ‘personal sacrifice’.” 

Lily chuckled a little and shook her head. “Mine are a lot less interesting.” 

They had no idea how close those readings were to the truth. Harry forced a smile. “Oh?”

“I had one death-related one, which is actually below average, and the rest were about love.” 

Harry glanced at Severus, who was still gazing at her. “Better luck next time, I suppose.” 

“Yeah. Maybe my dreams will be more interesting.” 

Severus might have blushed at this, but it was hard to tell behind the warm light of the sun. 

A week later, as they left History of Magic, Raven complained to the group, “I hate History.” 

“I thought it was one of your favorite classes.” Harry regarded her annoyed features.

“It is, but Binns literally doesn’t have a brain. Ten people were asleep. Including you, and you too, Severus, by the way.” 

“Sorry, it’s just dull.” Harry shrugged under her glare. 

“They should get someone better to teach it, it really is an important class.” They waved goodbye to Lily and Severus, who were off to Divination. As they made their way out of the school, Raven told Harry, in detail, why the class was significant. 

They reached Care of Magical Creatures just in time. “Would you want to teach it? After graduating?” 

“I never thought about it.” Raven paused as Professor Kettleburn instructed the class on handling salamanders. She remained thoughtful until they were able to talk again. “I think I would.” 

“Welcome to Quidditch tryouts. I’m the Gryffindor Quidditch team’s captain, Jacob Walker. Could the Chasers come round first, please?” 

Turnout was less than stellar; there were half as many people as the previous year. James was the one of the best underclassman, second only to Harry.

By noon, Harry had his team. The players this year weren’t familiar with each other, but that would change with time.

By one o’ clock, James was flirting with Lily. “Guess who is this year’s star player on the Quidditch team?”

“Let me guess—Jacob Walker.”

James chuckled and sat down on the armrest of the couch. “I love your sense of humor. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade next weekend. We could get some butterbeer, talk about Quidditch, talk about us…” 

“No, Potter.” 

James leaned in closer. “It’ll be fun…” 

“I said no.” 

James reluctantly moved back upright. “Well, then, when you change your mind, I’ll be around.” 

“I am very aware of that.” Lily didn’t regard him, but she did glance up at Severus when he sat down next to her. 

“That toerag bothering you?” Severus made sure James could hear him. 

James was back in an instant. “What did you call me?” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I accidentally called you toerag. What I meant to say was, ‘arrogant, privileged git.’”

James crossed to the couch and pulled Severus to his feet by the front of his shirt. When he spoke, his voice came out in a low, menacing growl. “Snivellus, I swear I will make you suffer. You think you deserve to be friends with Lily? You think you can get away with using Dark Magic? Stop acting like you’re the innocent one.” James pushed him away, hard, and the room fell silent in anticipation. 

Severus drew his wand, but James disarmed him. He took both their wands and pocketed them. “The Muggle way. You and me.” 

Both Harry and Lily were unsure if they should intervene. 

Severus hesitated, but he raised his scrawny arms and straightened, realizing he had a clear advantage in height. 

James waited for Severus to make a move, then laughed. “Come on, Snivellus. Are you scared of fighting without magic? Is it because you realize I’m obviously the stronger one? You could at least—” 

Severus lunged at James, taking him off-guard. James recovered, wrestled out of Severus’ grip, and pinned down on the ground, one hand pulling on his hair, the other pressing his back to the floor. 

“Get off him!” Lily pushed James back, making him stumble. “Are you alright?” she asked Severus as he got to his feet. 

“I didn’t need your help,” Severus grumbled, face red with embarrassment and exertion. 

Lily backed away in disbelief. “Oh, of course you didn’t. One more second and you would’ve got him.” 

As they continued to quibble, James tucked a few strands of Severus’ hair in his pocket.

A few days after the first Quidditch game of the season brought the first snowfall of the school year. Harry, Severus, and Raven were finishing their homework last minute when Lily and James came in through the portrait hole.

“I’m okay, really,” Lily insisted as James trailed behind.

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah.” Lily hesitated. “Thank you.” 

“My pleasure, Evans. See you ’round.” James smiled at her, crossed the room, then went upstairs. 

“What was that about?” Severus asked Lily as she passed their group on her way to the girls’ dorm. 

Lily turned on him. “I should ask you the same thing. Your Slytherin friends attacked me—or they tried to. They said you weren't ‘protecting me’ anymore.” 

Severus appeared genuinely confused, then angry. “I don’t know why they would say that.”

Harry looked between his furious face and Lily's hurt one. 

Lily took a shaking breath. “Did they say that because you gave them permission…” 

“No, of course—” 

“…or because they don't think we’re friends anymore?” 

“I don’t see why they’d assume—I'll make sure they never do it again.” Severus glanced toward the stairs. “What does Potter have to do with it?” 

“He happened to be nearby and blocked their spells. He stunned a couple of them, a few more got away.” 

Severus’ jaw tightened in anger. “Was Potter bothering you?” 

“I know he’s annoying, but if he hadn't been there—” 

“If I had been there, I would’ve done the same thing.” 

“But you weren’t.” Lily took a deep breath. “I might come downstairs again later, but otherwise…goodnight.”

Severus watched her go, fists tightening. 

“You should talk to the Slytherins. Now,” Harry told Severus as he sat back down.

Severus scowled at Harry and was about to speak when Remus wandered over, trying to appear casual. 

“Hi guys.” He lowered his voice and looked around. “I know what happened, but I have to be quick. James used Polyjuice Potion to tell the Slytherins not to protect Lily. I made it for him, so I thought it’d be only fair if I gave you some to get him back.”

Severus seemed about to go off on Remus, but then his mouth twisted into a malicious smile. Remus took out a flask and handed it to him. “Think of a plan first, and be discreet. Also, please don’t tell James what I did.” He glanced at Raven, who had looked up and shot him a small smile. Remus bent down and whispered to Harry, “Don’t let Severus get carried away.”