Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter seventy-eight

November 15th - Defense Against the Dark Arts

No one had lied to Nephera, Gallagher really was as horrible as everyone had described. The man was simply foul, and as would soon become evident, he was rather prejudiced as well.

He was adamant about assigning as much homework as possible, apparently making his life mission to render the teenager's lives more stressful than they already were.

This time, the Professor had tasked them with a project to do over the weekend, a ten-minute presentation per student on whatever topic they wanted. Everyone had protested loudly at that, it was the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match that Saturday night and everyone would be attending, both the match and the afterparty.

Nevertheless, it was now Monday morning and the students were sat at their desks, trying to keep awake as other students presented.

Nephera was leaning her head on Remus's shoulder, Alice's speech on the difference between hexes and jinxes not registering in her mind. The werewolf, who sat next to her in that particular class, was clutching a cup of coffee between his hands, him too trying to remain awake.

No matter how many early Mondays they had, they would never be able to get used to them.

Alice finished her presentation, and the class clapped half-heartedly, "I wish I could say good job, Mrs. Fortesque, but this was plain abysmal," drawled Gallagher, "Hopefully, Mr. Snape will do a better job and will actually manage to get some of his facts correct,"

The marauders all perked up at the mention of Snape as they exchanged sly looks and subtle smirks. They had stopped teasing him outright, but whatever he did always served as the topic of funny conversations between them afterward.

Little did they know, nothing was funny about what Snape was about to do, mainly because the class would soon realize that the greasy boy had a death wish.

"What will your presentation be about, Mr. Snape?" asked the Professor

The greasy boy smiled maliciously and locked his eyes with those of Remus's, "Werewolves,"

The tension in the room changed within a fracture of a second, although most students, since they were in the dark about Lupin's lycanthropy, were very confused so as to why.

Nephera sent Snape the coldest glare she could muster, her feelings towards the boy changing from disgust and annoyance to pure and utter hatred.

Remus tensed in his seat, his eyes wide and his face pale in fear. Snape wouldn't reveal his secret- he couldn't, not after Dumbledore had made him promise.

Peter was gripping his wand tightly in his hand under the table, ready to send an unforgivable curse at the greasy bastard, not caring about the repercussions he might face.

James was leaning back in his chair, his arms folded over his chest as he raised a threatening eyebrow. At that moment, the bespectacled boy had absolutely no reservations about launching himself across the classroom.

Sirius, perhaps, looked the most threatening as Snape's eyes widened slightly when they fell on him. On the outside, he was acting casually, making a show of clenching and unclenching his fist under the pretense of examining his rings. However, the dark look in his eyes revealed his inner sadist.

Severus, however, was adamant about continuing with his plan. Flicking his wand, an image came on the screen, that of a werewolf in chains, "Werewolves, or lycanthropes as they are known," echoed his nasal voice, "Are vicious beasts that are a danger to society and everyone within them. Over the past decades, for some reason, they have been integrated back into it, despite their bloodlust and monstrous nature."