Werewolf pt.2
Severus laid limply on his bed, dreading for the worst. He felt safe and comfortable in his humble abode, and didn’t want to step out of it. For some reason, the new DADA teachers made his boggart such a big deal, and excused him for the day. It was a bit of an overreaction, considering he was sixteen, and it was just a boggart. Luckily for him, this meant he was excused from his other classes for the day, but he needed to attend dinner.
Severus knew Lily would try to prod him about what his boggart was. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, knowing that the attention he craved so desperately in the past was given so easily by a measly boggart. Except this time around, he didn’t intend to give into her demands, and he would distance himself from the girl. Although the thought once pained him, he managed to become numb from it.
“Snape?” a voice tentatively called out into the room.
Severus sighed heavily. His homely peace had been disrupted. “What is it?” he called back.
“It’s dinnertime,” the voice timidly answered.
Severus just sunk even further into the creases of his bed, cursing silently. He had been busy staring into nothing, while lost in his thoughts about the past and his mother. Time had passed so quickly, and he hadn’t even noticed it.
“... Alright,” he answered with reluctance.
A minute passed with Severus laying there, unmoved. He didn’t want to get out of bed, and made no plans to.
“I was told to escort you,” the same voice interrupted his peace and tranquillity once again.
Severus’ eye twitched in disbelief. He didn’t need some bodyguard or escort of any sort, especially over some boggart. “I don’t need someone to escort me to the dining hall. I am perfectly capable.”
“You don’t really have a choice… Malfoy told me to escort you.”
That irked Severus’ curiosity. He had been curious about Lucius’ flipped behaviour, and maybe the boy had a clue. “I suppose I can't possibly go against the prestigious heir of Malfoy,” he conceded as he slipped from his sheets. He ruffled his wild black hair, attempting to tame it to make his appearance a bit bearable.
Severus opened his ordained curtains, to unexpectedly see a stoic Regulus Black standing there patiently. He felt uneasy about the boy, knowing that he was most definitely a time traveller like him, except Regulus had big plans, while Severus just wanted to slip out quietly. Regulus’ big plans could hinder his foresight, which he deemed dangerous.
“Black, it’s an honour to have you escort me,” Severus drawled with a hint of sarcasm.
Regulus didn’t acknowledge the obvious sarcasm, and continued along as usual. “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
The two boys walked silently side by side, ignoring the hushed whispers of gossip that spread among the crowds that they ended up passing in their route. Severus just couldn’t catch a break, could he?
“How are you faring?” Regulus asked quietly.
“I’m doing absolutely amazing.”
Regulus seemed disappointed from being shut down so fast. “I heard there was an incident with boggarts.”
Severus scoffed. “It was hardly an incident. My boggart just happened to be too gruesome, that’s all.”
Unwilling to back down, Regulus continued. “You must be shaken, since it seemed severe enough for you to be let off your classes.”
“Hardly,” he lied through his teeth with ease. “It was something I just feared, not even real.”
“I heard it was realistic, for it to just be a silly imaginative fear.”
Severus was irritated by Regulus’ prodding. He was worse than Lily’s nagging. “I’m a very imaginative and creative person. I can assure you, those are just fears I've had for a long time,” he said calmly, not a trace of his true emotions weaved between those words.
“They say a boggart can take the exact appearance of a memory you’ve once experienced,” Regulus commented, not even glancing at Severus. “Or they just become something you fear, but never experienced.”
Regulus had marked the spot with an X, but Severus didn’t falter at all. “It seems that my case is the latter,” the words rolled off his tongue easily. The years of being undercover trained him to formulate quick but believable lies effortlessly.
Regulus gave him a dubious look but didn’t ask further.
The two made their way to the bustling dining hall, the scent of savoury dishes clung tightly in the air. The laughing and chatter were making Severus’ head throb, eliciting a scowl from him. Even worse, the curious stares dragged along him with each step he took.
Severus took a seat near the edge of the Slytherin table, hoping to avoid others, as usual. To his dismay, Regulus followed suit, and took a seat beside him.
“Are you not going to eat with your friends?” Severus asked politely, but meant as a way to shake him off.
Regulus had already begun filling his porcelain plate with pieces of steak. “I was told I have to eat with you too.”
Severus’ practically nonexistent pride was trampled to pieces. Did they really think he was that lonely, helpless, and miserable, that someone was forced to escort, and eat with him?
“Do what you will,” he sighed as he filled his plate. Although his pride wasn’t faring well, it was not something worth fighting over.
***
“There he is, Snivellus!” James pointed indiscreetly to the boy. He frowned as he saw the other boy with him. “Isn’t that your brother, Sirius?”
Sirius squinted toward the direction he pointed at, and looked appalled. “Bloody hell, you’re right, that's Regulus! What’s that slimy git doing with him?”
Remus picked at a piece of carrot on his plate. “Maybe they’re just talking, as you know, friends.”
“He’s corrupting him with each word that comes out of his mouth!” Sirius cried. “My poor brother, I need to go save him!”
“The poor brother that told you to go burn in hell,” James snickered. “Mate, like it or not, he’s already corrupt.”
Sirius delivered a hard slap to the back of the tan boy’s head. “He’s going to be more corrupt if he’s around that git. He’s going to be corrupt AND slimy!” Sirius exclaimed as he blocked a punch delivered by James.
“Well, he’s already pretty slimy, considering he’s a Slytherin,” James retorted.
“Well he’s going to be SLIMIER.”
Remus snorted. “I don’t think that’s a word.”
“Slimier, more slimy, slime ball, whatever the word,” Sirius said dismissively. “All I know is that if he orbits around Severus, that grease ball will infect him with whatever diseases he has!”
“I don’t think Regulus has a choice,” Peter cut through Sirius’ tantrum. “I overheard from a professor that Professor Bouchard told Regulus to escort Snivy.”
“Snivellus needs to be escorted? Over what?” James scoffed.
“Why does MY brother need to be the one to escort him?” Sirius asked at the same time.
Remus ignored Sirius’ question. “I think it’s the boggart,” Remus answered James in a low voice. “Though, I don’t know why it’s such a big deal.”
“I heard it was pretty gory,” Peter squeaked.
Sirius laughed. “It was, but it was hardly anything. He probably watches too many horror movies.”
James furrowed his brows. “What’s a horror movie?”
“Muggle thing,” Sirius pulled out a toothpick from who knows where, and began picking his teeth. “Marlene told me about it. She told me we should see one together.”
Remus snorted. “I doubt Snape out of all people would be scared over a muggle thing.”
“Regardless, it still doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why Snivellus would get time off because his boggart was scary,” James mused.
“Maybe he was given time off for the change in his boggart,” Peter suggested.
James frowned. “Why would he get time off just because his boggart changed into a werewolf?”
Remus’ demeanour darkened as the word werewolf was said. James noticed the shift in his mood, and gave a pat on Remus’ back. “Don’t worry, Remus,” he reassured the ash haired boy. Remus just kept his head down, staring down at his plate.
“Did you say werewolf?” A voice added themself into the conversation.
The four boys were startled by the new voice. They looked over, to see Lily standing behind them.
James gave his signature broad smile, and pushed Sirius aside, patting the new empty seat beside him. “Here, sit here.”
Lily accepted the offer, giving the pouting Sirius an apologetic look. “Sorry for the interruption,” she apologised. “Marlene and Mary went to the library early, and I didn’t want to go with them,” she explained herself.
James tried to throw a hand over her shoulder, which she slapped away. “No worries, Evans,” he winced at the force she put into the slap. We weren’t talking about anything important.”
“You were talking about Snape’s boggart right?” she asked, not even looking remorseful.
James nodded earnestly. “We were discussing how odd it was,” he said as he moved closer to Lily. “And why the professors gave him time off for it.”
Lily backed away, ignoring his advances. “It really was odd,” she said awkwardly.
“You were… close to Snivy before, right? Did you know about anything the boggarts might symbolise?” Sirius asked, his head propped against his arm.
Lily flicked his forehead with a frosty glare. “Don’t call him that.”
Sirius covered his forehead, looking offended. “Didn’t you call him that before? What’s with the sudden change?”
Lily crossed her arms, and turned away from Sirius, and was met with James’ intense stare. Realising James was watching her the whole time, her cheeks reddened against her pale skin.
“I pity him,” she muttered.
Sirius laughed dryly. “Even after he called you a hypocrite, just for calling him out?”
“... That doesn’t make him any less pitiful,” she answered hesitantly.
James snorted. “Any misfortune that befell on him was completely deserved.”
Lily looked uncomfortable. “He’s had a hard life.”
“So have I, and I’m not a dark wizard,” Sirius sneered. “I’m not a slimy, evil, corrupt bastard, even after being kicked out of my house.”
“You were kicked out of your house for being none of those,” James snickered.
“That’s not the point,” Lily explained with exasperation. “I don’t know how to explain, but it’s also why his boggart was his mother.”
Her sentence piqued their curiosity. “That was his mom?” Remus asked sharply.
Lily nodded. “I’ve seen her once, and Severus seems to care for her a lot.”
“How does that even relate with him being pitiful?” Sirius questioned.
Lily bit her lip. “He didn’t grow up in the best circumstances,” she murmured. “His mother is really sickly and pale. And his father… is a mean person. He only has his mother to rely on.”
“Oh please. I have no one to rely on in my hell of a family,” Sirius snapped aggressively. “It’s no excuse for him.”
“Your trauma is not a competition,” Lily looked at Sirius with indignation. “I don’t even know the full story of Severus' life, because he was secretive. I’m sure there’s more to it.”
Sirius gave her another dry laugh. “You didn’t seem to take any of those into consideration before.”
Lily stood up, and raised her arm, as if she was about to deliver a hard slap to Sirius’ sculpted face.
“Woah, woah woah,” James said as he held Lily’s raised arm, ushering her to sit down. “Calm down, let’s not fight over this,” he said as she lowered her raised arm. “Let’s talk about something else- like how his boggart changed into a werewolf.”
Remus flinched once again, hearing the word. Lily didn’t notice it, as she was in deep thought.
“Oh, there’s one thing I remember,” she said thoughtfully.
James gave her a curious look. “Do tell.”
Lily shrugged. “It was nothing special- he was certain that Remus was a werewolf,” she revealed. “He would stalk him, saying he would catch him.”
An eerie silence deadpanned, with all four of the boys’ faces paling. Remus looked as if he was about to pass out.
James was the first to break the tension, by bursting into an obvious fake laugh. “Remus, a werewolf? Hahahahaha, that’s outrageous! He’s so deluded.”
Sirius nodded in agreement, supporting his friend. “Must be all the grease in his head, hahahaha.”
Lily nodded her head furiously. “That’s what I said as well, but he was convinced,” she was oblivious to the tense behaviour. “His obsession with you all was getting out of hand.”
“Right, so obsessive!” Peter squeaked.
Remus began to fidget around in his seat, with beads of sweat starting to form on forehead. The anxiety of being caught rose to new levels, with his heart beating furiously in his chest. Knowing that it was Severus of all people who had suspected him of being a werewolf made his chest tighten, like someone was suffocating him. Unable to take it any longer, he abruptly stood up. “I need to go to the loo,” he muttered, as tears started to well up in his eyes.
Luckily for him, his bangs covered his eyes, hiding his tears. Lily, oblivious to the tears, was still surprised by his sudden behavior. “Oh-“ she started.
“It must be all the beans he was eating,” Sirius immediately covered for his friend.
Remus gave a slight nod for thanks, disguised under a nod of agreement. He turned around and immediately scurried away far from the table where Lily sat, and the discussion of werewolves.
If only he could completely run away.
***
Severus Snape picked at the morsels of chicken on his plate. It could’ve been a great dinner, if it wasn’t for the fact his isolation bubble was disturbed by Regulus.
The younger boy ate patiently beside Severus, his table etiquette elegant and precise. It was the exact opposite compared to Severus, who ate like a child from the sewers- which actually wasn’t much of an exaggeration. The comparison between the two was like a royal prince and a beggar eating side by side.
Regulus delicately dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “You should eat more,” he commented, seeing Severus’ plate that only had a few pieces of chicken and corn.
“I don’t eat much,” Severus forced out.
“I can tell,” Regulus responded without hesitation, as he picked a piece of steak off the platter, and dropped it onto Severus’ plate.
Severus was a bit offended, but accepted it without much protest. He was sure that Regulus was here to monitor him, so he couldn’t act out of character. After all, younger Severus was usually obedient for any Slytherin, especially those that came from prominent bloodlines, like Regulus.
The two continued to eat in silence, the uncomfortable tension high in the air.
Severus could barely digest any of the food on his platter. He forgot that at this age, he practically had an eating disorder, which took him years to correct.
Regulus noticed his discomfort, and looked concerned. “You seem pale, are you okay?”
Severus knew his kindness was all an act, and forced a neutral face. “I’m not used to eating so much,” he mumbled.
Regulus shrugged casually. “You don’t need to finish your plate then.”
Severus bit his tongue. As someone who grew up in poverty, finishing his plate was the norm, and wasting food was a deadly sin. Even after years, he couldn’t bring himself to waste any food. “It’s fine, I can manage it,” he choked out.
Of course, Regulus, a privileged pureblood, wouldn't know the struggles and habits of a person who was raised by poverty.
Regulus clicked his tongue. “Do what you think is best then.”
Severus knew that Regulus’ actions and words contradicted each other. Regulus’ shadowing indifference hidden underneath his facade of concern. Severus detested the lies and masks people wore, thus he learned Legilimency, to read through people as if they were stretched into a book.
His eyes flitted over to Regulus, feeling a deep desire to dig deeper through his thoughts. After all, Legilimency was a gift he had, and gifts were meant to be used.
Regulus turned his head around, as if he was about to say something, and their eyes met. Severus took the brief opportunity to breach into Regulus’ mind and thoughts.
Going through the gaps of any barriers that were supposed to protect Regulus, Severus found himself hearing voices in his head. Regulus’ thoughts were a scramble, with nothing of significance. Other things would be much more interesting, like his memories.
Severus delved further into Regulus’ mind, until he reached a memory where Tabitha, Lucius, and Regulus were all present. He was immediately hooked, and dived into the memory.
Regulus storms into the DADA room, where only Tabitha and Lucius are present. “What exactly happened, that you felt the need to send Snape back, when it had been a perfect opportunity for you to monitor him?”
Tabitha and Lucius seemed unbothered, not even a change in their expression. “I think we’ve already reached our conclusion,” the woman says as she brushes a piece of hair under her ear. Her almond eyes lock with Regulus. “Severus is most likely one of us, and the one who pulled a recent tear through the time rift.”
Regulus lips curls into a sneer. “What do you mean, he’s a time traveler?”
“His boggart.”
Regulus is visibly shocked. “You think hes a time traveler because of his boggart?” he asks in disbelief. “What even was his boggart?”
“He had two boggarts,” Tabitha started as her hands flips through a stack of crispy papers. “One of them, was his dead mother.”
“So what? Changing boggart shapes isn’t so mind blowing. With occlumency, it could easily be achieved.”
Lucius rolled his eyes. “You’re missing the second part.”
“A dead mother as his boggart? That’s common.”
“This boggart was on another level,” Tabitha explains wearily. “As you know, a boggart is more detailed based on the limits of the victim’s imagination, or based off of their memories.”
Regulus, not understanding anything, wrinkles his nose.“I still don’t see what you’re saying.”
“A boggart will have many flaws if it’s based off your imagination, and something you’ve never experienced. In your mind, if a dead corpse is blue and purple, and it’s your biggest fear, a boggart would turn into a corpse that’s blue and purple.”
“I understand that-“
“Regulus, just listen,” Lucius lightly scolds.
Regulus bites his tongue obediently, signaling Tabitha to continue. “I’ve studied anatomy, for years now. I’ve seen many gruesome deaths, and I know exactly how a gut should spill out, or how a tongue could loll out someone’s mouth after death,” her voice strong and steady. “Severus’ boggart had no single flaw, as if it was a real memory he’s seen.”
Regulus eyes widen.
“You’ve said his mother did die in the past timeline, did you not? If you connect the thoughts, the most logical answer is that his boggart is a memory of the past.”
“You are correct,” Regulus confirms lightly. “But that’s not enough evidence to confirm that he’s one of us.”
“One of you two,” Lucius corrects him.
Tabitha’s neutral expression never changed. “I know you’re more diligent than the rest of us. Since you don’t believe he’s a time traveler, just keep an eye on him.”
“… what do you mean?”
“You will be the one to monitor Severus. And once you confirm, we will bring him back.”
The memory disintegrates there, and Severus is met with Regulus’ dark brown eyes.
His eyes immediately swerve the other way, with a bead of sweat emerging from his forehead.
Severus had been careless, not knowing something as simple as a boggart could blow his cover. If things continue along those lines, his hopes of a future for himself could be jeopardised by Regulus.
Severus needed to talk to Tommy, before things were too late.