"Black" Severus Snape plopped onto the open space across from Sirius Black on the Gryffindor table, the whispers heavy with confusion from the other people in the Great Hall were lost to Severus as he focused entirely on Sirius Black.
They were in their sixth and penultimate year at Hogwarts, it was also the 17th of June 1977, two days before the students went off for their summer holidays.
For certain students like James Potter, he was delighted and eager for the break as Lily had agreed to owls and a dinner during the summer. For Sirius Black, although happy for his friend, he could not help but be deeply upset at the fact his mother had actually burned him off the family tree. He was grateful that his uncle Alphard had remembered him in his will but could not help but feel for the older man when his name had also been blasted off the tree.
Ah well, the older man could make his own decisions.
Now, although Lily was willing to give James a chance, she did so on the premise that he and his friends had backed off their constant bullying of Snape. They had not in fact done so, electing to do it only when she was not around.
The animosity Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew held for Snape was well known and very much reciprocated. Well it was more that Potter and Black despised him. Lupin did not have the spine to tell them to leave him alone and Pettigrew was a little sick in the head and maybe got off on the things they did to the Slytherin.
Now as brass as they could be, the Gryffindors never went after the Slytherin alone, as they knew one-on-one he would wipe the floor with them.
As for Snape, everyone knew he was destined for evil. A potions prodigy and dangerous with a wand but that was all for evil. They also knew he detested Gryffindor and would rather die than willingly go anywhere near the Gryffindor table or even shampoo. Then again, his hair was a lot cleaner and his clothes were much nicer since he had returned from the Christmas holidays, apparently his father had died and his mother had gotten a job.
So maybe, miracles did happen but no one could understand why he had just plopped himself across form Sirius Black, at the Gryffindor table, in the Great Hall, in front of the entire school.
The school had gone entirely quiet by now and even the professors had stopped to watch the unfolding scene.
When he finally got over his shock, Sirius glared at the slimy, well formerly slimy, Slytherin. "What do you want snake?"
"Earlier this year I saw you kissing a girl and you told me that if I ever had a question on dating to ask you... so, I'm taking you up on that offer." Snape once again ignored the gasps and whispers that filled the hall.
Snape wanted dating advice?!
Sirius for his part, like most others, was too stunned to say anything. Most others did not apparently include James Potter, who was sat beside Black "Lily is..."
"Yes yes yes Potter, everyone knows" Severus waved dismissively at his direction, "she's yours and you're hers."
"Hey!" Lily snapped a few seats down, "I am not his and-"
"You agreed to dinner, did you not?" Severus pointed out barely sparing her a glance before he once again turned to Black. "Now, there's this boy in my neighbourhood."
"Boy?!" A shrill cry rang out from further down the Gryffindor table.
Severus gritted his teeth at the second interruption, honestly were these people raised in barns and why was everyone so focused on his conversation?
"Yes! Boy." Severus snapped, once again ignoring the buzz from those listening. "Black, so this boy, he's a few years older than me and has the cutest smile you ever saw. Plus he helps his grandfather at his store when he's not at university…"
"A family man" Someone down the table dreamily sighed.
Severus nodded in their general direction, also smiling before it immediately vanished when he turned his attention back to Black "So how do I know if he likes me, because for the past year and a half we've known each other he's always saying things like "if I liked boys I would ask you out" and he is constantly holding my hand when we're alone and even in front of other people. So, how do I know he might actually be interested because I just recently found out he likes boys too."
"Hang on, isn't that him just asking you out?" A seventh year Ravenclaw asked, she was sat right behind him and was doing nothing to hide the fact she had been listening. Actually no one was hiding the fact they were listening.
Some people mumbled and nodded that it did seem like the older boy had been indirectly asking Snape out.
Severus turned to her, shaking his head "No, because he makes jokes like that with a lot of people and he is a bit touchy with those he considers friends."
"Plus you just found out he likes boys too right, so you've never seen him with another boy?" Some random Slytherin boy added from across the Great hall. Severus knew he should know who the kid was but he did not and frankly did not care to.
"Exactly, he had a girlfriend but they broke things off and then he sent me a letter last week telling me he liked boys. Just so you know Angel." Severus detailed, a bit confused when a good number of the student body awwed.
"He calls you angel?" Lily asked, doing an awful job at hiding the fact she was smiling.
To the surprise of many, Severus blushed "Yes, after asking if I crawled up from hell." Severus sighed, smiling once again "he is an absolute sweetheart."
That did not last long though as he immediately turned back to Black, "Why are you quiet? Tell me how to know if he's interested and if so, how to ask him out."
Sirius just stared at Snape, still confused by everything. He looked around the school but everyone stared back at him. Waiting for a reply, waiting for his reply.
"Merlin Snape!" He finally snapped, "do I look like I've had this issue before?!"
"But you're constantly boasting of all the people you've been with, be useful for once!" A Hufflepuff girl in fifth year bit back, clearly exasperated at what she thought was him being deliberately unhelpful.
Sirius glared at her, about to turn his attention to Snape when he noticed Dumbledore of all people looking at him in dissapointment. What was going on here?
"I should have known you would be useless." Snape sneered, getting up, he made his way to the Slytherin table were his housemates and a good number of other students quickly enveloped him. Presumably to talk about this neighbourhood boy.
Even Lily had made her way there and now the two “ex”-bestfriends had their heads together and were talking quite animatedly with the rest of the school on this suddenly very important issue.
"Merlin Padfoot! She's gone to his side again, why didn't you say something useful?" James wailed at him, Sirius stared gobsmacked at his brother in all but blood. After he picked his jaw off the floor, he turned to Lupin to complain but the werewolf was not there, instead he was squeezed in with the others at the Slytherin table, who now had what looked like war plans on the table.
In a way it was immensely impressive that although more than half the school was sandwiched at the Slytherin table, things seemed calm and people were talking at a normal volume, as though they were at a business meeting.
Sirius could not believe it.
He did not even bother turning to Peter.
Sirius turned to the staff table, hopeful they still had their heads screwed on right, surely they would have some modicum of sense and bring order back to the school. Instead, he caught the professors also deep in conversation, clearly mapping something out, before professor Sprout called out to Snape, to ask if this mystery boy liked flowers. At Snape's nod, the professors returned to their conversation and a new frenzy hit the Slytherin table.
Merlin's saggy balls!
"Sirius!" James snapped at him once more.
"How could I have said anything?!" Sirius cried out, turning to his bestfriend. "I've never even asked anyone out, they always ask me."
James frowned at this and shook his head at his best friend. "Then why tell Snape to ask you if he needs help?" James sighed deeply, evidently disappointed at his best friend "at least I know now he is not competition." He muttered staring at Lily and Snape.
Before Sirius could reply, James had gotten up and walked out of the great hall, glaring at Sirius as he left, "Unbelievable."