The Not So Perfect Potter

31 ~ The Marauders

"Isabelle, Professor Snape's at the door to take you to the castle for your lessons." Clementine called from outside the bedroom door. Isabelle reluctantly opened the door and followed the girl down the steps, dragging her feet as she walked. The past two weeks had been hell, Isabelle never had a moment alone, in the castle she was followed by the eyes of the portraits each of them making a note of where she was and where she was going. In the carriage, Madame Maxime had ensured Max, Alex or Clementine were near her at all times. Finally of course, if she was in the grounds or Hogsmeade one of the professors would be with her. Clementine swung the door open to reveal Professor Snape, as dull and greasy as always. "Good morning, Isabelle." He called, much more chirpy than normal. Isabelle sent him a weak smile and followed him out into the grounds. Clementine waved her off, having a free lesson meant she could catch up on her homework in the carriage. 

Severus lead her round the side of the castle, away from the entrance. The girl followed after him, a puzzled look on her face, "Ummm, Professor...Where are we going?" She croaked, Snape sent her a coy smile as he continued leading her around the grounds.
"Well, I have a free lesson right now and I thought rather than you being stuck in Divination with Trelawney, you'd appreciate spending some time in the grounds. Plus, the champions have been shown the maze for the third task and you're their best hope so you better start helping them plan." He explained, sending Isabelle looks of pride. The girl nodded slowly and gazed around the empty grounds, she hadn't been to this side of the castle yet. Only the Quidditch pitch which wasn't in use was positioned here. 

As they turned a corner, the Quidditch Pitch which Isabelle had only seen momentarily whilst flying over was now covered in huge bushes that would towered over even Hagrid and Madame Maxime. The bushes blocked out a lot of the spring sunlight making the depths of the maze even darker and more sinister than before. "So they've got to get through a maze?" Isabelle rolled her eyes, running her fingers through the leaves of the bush. Severus took a seat on the grass, his dark cloak spilling around him on the floor. Isabelle let out a small giggle, she count help but think how out of place he looked, the pale skin and dark hair against the bright grass and sun light peaking over the top of the tall hedges. 

"There will be various creatures and enchantments in the maze, they'll have to find a trophy in the middle. The first one to find the trophy wins." Snape chuckled, Isabelle shrugged thinking it still seemed rather easy to be the final task. Isabelle looked over to Snape and voices began to rumble around her head, Sirius' words kept creeping into her thoughts.
'I'll be worse than whatever James would've been and he wasn't the most pleasant to Sniv-Severus when he hurt Lily.'
'Snape knew my parents?
'We went to school with him, why?'

Gingerly, Isabelle sat beside Snape and looked up at him, "Severus, what happened between you and my parents? What were they like in school?" The man turned to her surprised, the sudden question caught him off guard causing him to stare blankly at the girl for a second. "Well, your mother wasn't the biggest fan of James all through school. Your father was more of a bully if I'm being honest, therefore your mother didn't like him. She and I were good friends from first year up till sixth year. She and I had a falling out about my friends and her's so we just sort of drifted apart. Do you know anything about The Marauders?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow.
"I know that my father, Sirius, Remus and Peter were apart of it but I don't know much about it, they rarely mention it because of my parents." 

"Well, The Marauders would sneak off into Hogsmeade to the Shrieking Shack via the Whomping Willow every full moon, obviously for Remus' problem. They became animagi to do so, though at the time I didn't know this. Based on their animagus form they created the nicknames that you know, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Moony being Remus, in school he was very quiet and due to his condition, he wouldn't allow many people to get close to him. When he met James and Sirius, I hear it brought him out of a dark path that he was heading towards. Wormtail was the disgraceful Peter, he's always been a coward that has no purpose. Padfoot is obviously your beloved uncle. He was a ladies man during school, he was very cocky but had the magic to back it up. Him and James were always getting into duels and the two would dominate them, they had incredible magic if I'm honest. Finally, Prongs being your father. He was arrogant and strutted around the castle, his hair was always windswept and he kept a golden snitch in his pocket to show off in front of girls, specifically your mother."

They were the pranksters of Hogwarts for years, I wasn't particularly fond of them as most of the pranks were aimed at me. One of their pranks being the reason Lily and I started fighting." Isabelle sighed and gazed to the ground, she could hear the hurt and sadness in his voice as he spoke.
"What did they do?" She asked, her voice soft and gently as to not push him too far. Snape sighed and breathed heavily through his crooked nose.

"After an exam, I was sat beneath a tree with a book. James and the others came into the grounds, they were very restless after the intense few hours in the hall. I tried to pull out my wand to defend myself but James was quicker, he made me float upside-down exposing my underwear. They bullied me for months about it, but he didn't let me down then. Lily asked him to put me down, and I snapped. I didn't mean to but when your dangling in the air by your ankle it's quite hard to think straight. I...I called her a mud-blood. I didn't mean it and I regretted it straight after but of course James got involved and Lily hated me. For weeks I tried to apologise but she wouldn't listen, she repeatedly accused me and my friends of being Death Eaters and for a time she was right. It was her death that stopped me, that's when I started helping Dumbledore." Isabelle sighed and gently hugged the man, he smiled and hugged the girl back.
"I loved your mother, but she didn't love me. She fell for James and I resented him, I still do. But I vowed to protect you and Harry for as long as I could and that's a promise I intend to keep."

The girl smiled and nodded, "What about the others? Was it just my father or did the others torment you too?" Snape chuckled and shook his head, Isabelle could feel the thoughts whirling through his mind but made the effort not to read it. They were his memories and she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. "They did their fair share of pranks too, but Remus was much more timid than the others and he preferred to watch rather than take part. While, Peter hid behind the others power, not having a great deal of skill to think up his own. The worst one was by Sirius... he told me how to freeze the willow so I could get to the passage. At that point, I had no idea about Remus but I ventured down and caught sight of him. James pulled me back and saved my life, I've always felt in debt to him because of it. I hated every second, that's why I vowed to help Harry. You looked like your mother, so there was part of me that felt guilty about her death, I needed to help you and that's what I did. You don't think Dumbledore would've given you that 2-way mirror if I hadn't suggested it. But Harry was my way of repaying a debt, once he is safe then James and I will be even.

Isabelle stared into the maze, her own thought were consumed by anger. Her whole life she thought her parents had been nice people, two people who were kind to those around them and risked their lives to save others. They had been known as the 'Great Lily and James Potter' when in reality, they were just bullies who only grew up when they found something worth growing up for. "I'm so sorry Severus, no one deserves to go through that. I had no idea that they did any of those things." Snape shrugged his shoulders and stood wiping the grass from his robes.
"We better head into the castle, Dumbledore didn't expect me to keep you away from lessons for this long." Isabelle nodded and did the same before following him into the castle.

"Isabelle Potter!" A dark voice rose from outside, Isabelle and Snape spun around to see Pansy Parkinson. Snape's mind clouded as he stormed up to the girl. "What did you just say?" He demanded, his voice deep and booming. The girl suddenly seemed less confident than before and slumped her shoulders. "I said, that's Isabelle Potter. Older sister of Harry Potter." Isabelle shook her head and stumbled backwards Snape retrieved his wand and held it up at the girl. "You will not raise such accusations, as head of Slytherin I take away fifty points as well as your memory of her." Severus raised his wand and violently waved it above her head, instantly Isabelle could hear all traces of Isabelle Potter being removed, the only thing left was Isabelle Evans. "Return to lessons this instant Miss Parkinson or else I will personally expel you on the spot!" The girl nodded and bolted into the castle, her face filled with pure panic and her heart racing.

"Thank you." Isabelle muttered, her gaze not meeting Snape's. The man chuckled and shook his head, "As I said, I'll help protect you." Isabelle smiled and made her way up the castle steps and towards Defence Against the Dark Arts.