The Old Gang
It seemed like the whole gang was back together again. Or at least those of the old gang that remained. Too many had died or were otherwise incapacitated after the First Wizarding War, which at the time was of course just a wizarding war, as no-one could have predicted that there would be another one to make that one the first one.
Snape looked around the big kitchen table in Grimmauld Place.
His former school pals, Lupin and Black, definitely had seen better days. The years of battling with his monthly affliction had aged Remus well beyond his years and Sirius looked like a shadow of his former self after more than a decade in the worst prison imaginable. When Snape catches their eyes, he sees a glimmer of distrust reflected in their stares, and who could blame them. If he were in their place, he would not trust him either and given the recent revelations that their trusted friend Pettigrew not only betrayed James and Lily, but also framed Sirius and spent the past 13 years living in hiding as a family pet, it is a wonder they trust anyone at all.
Snape does not care about Black’s opinion, as he and Potter were always like two peas in a pot when it came to making his life at Hogwarts a living hell, but Remus’ opinion mattered.
In the period that Remus looked out for him when he was carrying a baby squid and saved him from certain death during the underwater birth, Severus had grown to like and respect this sensitive human being. Referring to him as Werewolf would be wrong, as Lupin was so much more than that.
Snape forced himself to look away and check out the other people gathered in the room.
Molly and Arthur were there and looked remarkably well, as did that funny cousin of Black. He did not blame her for not wanting to be call Nymphadora, but Tonks just did not roll readily of his tongue. There were some other faces that he recognised from visits to the Ministry, but all in all it was a pathetically small gathering, considering the immense force of evil they were facing.