Silvanna Snape {Marauders}

Chapter Seventeen

Sorry we're a little bit late today folks! Have a good one! :)

The week went on, with Silvanna and Black's detention scheduled for that Friday evening. "You're cleaning at the cauldrons in the dungeons with Professor Slughorn," McGonagall told them after Transfiguration on Friday morning. Silvanna made a note to look up a spell that could do it for them. "By hand," McGonagall added, somehow reading her mind. Silvanna scowled, and trudged off to History with Black, not really caring if she was late.

Black, however, was perfectly cheerful. "Better than with Filch," he said as the bell rang. "He's a nightmare." Silvanna didn't respond.

At six o'clock that evening, Silvanna reluctantly left her early tea and trudged down to the Dungeons. Slughorn was waiting for her, but Black showed up five minutes late, looking dishevelled and like he'd forgotten. He grinned at the Professor.

"Now, now," Slughorn said, at the look in his face, but he didn't look like he felt like scolding them. "You're not here to have fun, Black." He ushered them over to the stack of cauldrons, each of which had thick layers of dried out potions lining the insides.

They began scraping into a bin, and while it was hard work, Silvanna didn't much mind it. She'd rather have been in the library, but it wasn't like Black was horrible company, and Slughorn pretty much left them to it. "It's a real shame I can't get you chopping my ingredients for me," the Professor joked. "I saw your excremented flobberworms today, Snape, very well done indeed." Silvanna just smiled faintly, flinging off a particularly stubborn part.

Fifteen minutes in, Slughorn left them to it. "Knew he was going to do that," said Black, putting his knife down.

Silvanna gaped at him. "You can't just let me do all the work!"

"Don't worry," said Black, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out a shining mirror in a golden frame. "I won't. James gave me this - watch. James Potter." He tapped his wand against the glass.

The picture of them in the Potions classroom swam before them, and instead they found themselves looking at Potter's spectacled face, peering through the mirror with a mischievous grin on his face. "Thought you'd forgotten," he said as Black propped him up in the desk. "Hi, Snape."

"Hello," she said politely, going back to her scraping. Black did the same.

"Oi, Remus!" called Potter across the room. "Come and say hello to your girlfriend!" Remus appeared, blushing furiously and shoving Potter. Laughing loudly, Silvanna blew him a mock kiss, which made Black bend over with laughter, and poor Remus turn a shade darker.

At some point, Pettigrew made an appearance too, and the five of them spent the next forty-five minutes laughing and chattering away, making her detention ten times more bearable. After the hour was up, Slughorn appeared and dismissed them, and Silvanna rushed off to the library, hoping to finish the homework questions about doxies before it closed.

On Saturday night, it was the full moon. Remus spent the day enjoying the peace and quiet of the library, reading away with Silvanna, and looking extremely tired. He'd leant her a book he'd got for Christmas called The Famous Five. Apparently it was a whole series. But he'd made her promise to use a bookmark and not dog-ear the pages like she usually did.

"Do you want me to come and visit tomorrow?" Silvanna asked him as he turned the page.

"What? Oh," he said, sounding surprised. "Right, in the hospital wing?"

"Yeah," she said, putting the book down into her lap. "Or will you be asleep?"

"Not in the afternoon," he said. "But I don't want to trouble you-"

"Don't be silly!" she scolded with a smile. "It's no trouble." She secretly had another reason for going, though. Tomorrow was her birthday, and she wanted to spend at least some of it with the one person she could confidently call a friend.

That lunchtime, Potter wondered out loud why McGonagall wasn't there. Indeed he was right - she wasn't present. But she reappeared that evening at tea-time, so maybe she'd just been busy.

Unfortunately, Silvanna's birthday the following day didn't get off to a great start, even if the stars were in their quantum positions. For starters, there was the post. Black had got yet another howler, and its contents put her on edge.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" cried the woman that Silvanna assumed to be the woman she'd seen at the train station. "HOW DARE YOU TELL SUCH FOUL LIES TO YOUR PROFESSORS! I AM DISGUSTED AND ASHAMED TO CALL YOU MY SON! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE HAVING SERIOUS TALKS ABOUT MOVING YOU TO DURMSTRANG IF YOU KEEP THIS UP, AND DON'T THINK WE WON'T DO IT. YOU'D BETTER HOPE TO SALAZAR THAT WE'RE FEELING SLIGHTLY MORE MERCIFUL WHEN YOU COME HOME, OR YOU WILL REAP THE CONSEQUENCES."

The chatter in the hall picked up again as the howler ripped itself to pieces, and Black looked at Silvanna, clearly wondering the same thing. Had McGonagall told their parents what she suspected? She swallowed and he quickly set it on fire as he had before, but this time McGonagall didn't tell him off.

As if her day couldn't get worse, Severus stalked over, clutching a brown parcel with a note on top. He threw it onto the table in front of her, making the silverware clatter. He also shoved a letter under her nose that he'd already read. "Happy birthday," he hissed, looking closer to wanting her dead than hoping she had a nice day. "I hope you're pleased with yourself." He stalked off and Lily gathered her things, rushing after him.

"Bye, Snivellus!" Potter called cheerily, making Pettigrew snort.

"Happy birthday," Lily said quickly before departing.

Wondering what Severus meant, Silvanna went to read the letter, but was interrupted. "Oh, happy birthday, Silvanna!" exclaimed Marlene, leaning over and thumping her shoulder. She jumped a little at the impact, but nothing noticeable.

"I wish I'd known, happy birthday!" Mary added, giving her a kind smile.

"Yeah, happy birthday!" said Potter and Pettigrew at once.

"Have a good one," said Black, having quickly recovered from his howler.

But Silvanna didn't think it would be a good one. Not by the looks of the handwriting in the letter.

Silvanna and Severus,

I am ashamed of the both of you. The way youve disrespected me and your mum is evil. You should be grateful for us and what we do for you. We put clothes on your backs and food on the table. We even payed for your things so you can go to that school of yours in the first place.

All for me to hear that youve gone and cryed to one of your teachers, saying weve been hurting you. Well let me tell you something. Life isnt fair and the sooner you realise that the better. Ive got half a mind not to give you your presents but we already bought them when that teacher came by yesterday. Dont worry youll pay for it when you get home.

Severus if you think about pulling a stunt like that at christmas again Ill come and Ill drag you from that freakhole myself and youll never see the light of day again.

Dad

Silvanna concealed a shudder, looking past the appalling grammar to the venomous tone. So McGonagall had visited their houses yesterday, and that was why she'd been missing at lunch. She folded the letter in half to see a small message from their mum. Happy birthday! Silvanna scowled, ripping up the letter herself and following Black's lead, lighting it on fire. She could see the satisfaction he got in doing it. Marlene jumped back, frowning and staring at her.

Silvanna forced a smile as it crackled in front of her, before going to open her present. A bar of chocolate (the muggle kind) and a book from the charity shop nearby called The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

She glanced up as McGonagall approached, flicking her wand and putting the fire out. "Five points from Gryffindor, now really!" she exclaimed, looking between Black and Silvanna. "I don't care what your letters say, you can't be setting fire to them!"

"But, Professor!" whined Marlene, "It's Silvanna's birthday!"

"And what a gift to all of us it would be it she burned the castle down," scolded McGonagall. Silvanna concealed a smile, and saw a twinkle in McGonagall's eye, before she headed back to the staff table.