"Shut up, Snape!"
Sirius slammed the Daily Prophet down onto the table and leapt to his feet, blocking Snape's path.
On the front page of the newspaper, the photograph of a curled-up werewolf twitched its ears uneasily at the sudden vibration.
"Oh, it's our dear Padfoot," Snape stepped forward, leaning close to Sirius's ear and lowering his voice. "I wonder if you still have that little crystal vial I gave you once. I have a feeling you might need it."
"Get away from me," Sirius snapped, stepping back with a scowl. "If you're looking for trouble, we'll gladly oblige."
"Oh, no, no, why would I?" Snape waved his hand dismissively, using the other to smooth an imaginary crease on his robes. "I'm the Head Boy now, you know. Maintaining order is my duty."
"Then get out!" James finally exploded, his wand raised and pointed directly at Snape.
"Look at you, still such a hothead." Snape brushed the wand aside lightly while keeping his eyes locked on James's lips, ready in case of a sudden spell. "I was merely patrolling and overheard your little chat."
At that moment, Snape noticed Lupin at the far end of the carriage.
Lupin, too, had seen him standing at the compartment door. He hurried over and stepped between James and Snape.
"Calm down, James," Lupin said wearily.
Snape's eyes drifted back to the newspaper.
"Damocles has invented quite the remarkable thing," he said. "His Order of Merlin is well deserved, isn't it?"
He tapped the photograph of the wizard wearing the ornate medal, holding a tall goblet from which faint white smoke rose.
"I think it might go a long way toward solving your friend's... hairy little problem." Snape gave Lupin a pointed glance.
"What's that got to do with you?" James growled, trying to get around Lupin.
"Yes, what has it to do with me?" Snape pretended to think. "Potter, with your performance in Potions, even a small problem of the 'hairy' kind would remain... a problem."
He turned as if to leave, then stopped and looked back, feigning sudden recollection.
"Oh, right, I must meet with the new Head Girl. We'll be having a productive discussion in our private compartment about the duties for this school year."
He paused, watching James's face redden. "My, it's been almost half an hour since I last saw Miss Evans..."
A red flash burst past Lupin's shoulder.
Snape instinctively jerked his head aside. The spell missed him by an inch and struck the ceiling, blasting a small hole into the metal.
"Detention, Potter," Snape said lazily, waving his wand. "Reparo!" The damaged ceiling mended instantly.
He turned back toward the compartment. "Starting tomorrow, let me think, a week of detention, perhaps? In the Forbidden Forest?"
He shook his head. "No, I think Mr. Filch's office suits you better. I'm sure he'd love the help. See you around, Potter. Behave yourself, because I'll be following you, like a stag, watching your every step."
"Get out!" Sirius shouted, shoving Snape hard out of the compartment and slamming the door.
Just before it closed, Snape caught sight of James hurling his wand onto the floor in fury, while Lupin held his shoulder, saying something in a low voice.
Snape turned away, humming softly under his breath, "Potter the Fool, can't even cast a spell," as he strolled back to the Head Students' compartment.
Sliding the door open, he found Lily already there, holding a copy of the Daily Prophet in her hands.
"How did it go?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Perfectly," Snape said, pointing to the newspaper. "And there's an extra bit of good news, Mr. Damocles has invented the Wolfsbane Potion..."
"Hmm?" Lily looked at him in surprise.
"Oh, you know," Snape said, "we learned to recognize werewolves back in third year. I did some stupid things before, but now... I want to do better. As Professor Slughorn's two best students, perhaps we can help a certain someone."
"We can wait for the next issue of Practical Potion Mastery, it'll have the full formula." Lily nodded slightly. "Until we reach the station, there's not much left to do. You can go back to your friends, Severus."
"Will you come with me, Lily?" The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Lily looked at him for a few seconds before replying, "No, I'm going to find Mary. When we arrive, remember to help Hagrid organize the new first-years."
When Snape returned to Pandora and the others, the food trolley had already come by. The table was piled high with snacks, and his friends were busy trading Chocolate Frog cards.
"Give me one," Snape said, grabbing a Chocolate Frog and dropping into the seat beside Pandora.
He tore open the wrapper, bit off the frog's head, and glanced at the card in his hand. "Here, Abbott, Ptolemy the astrologer. You were missing this one, weren't you?"
"Wow, Severus!" Abbott exclaimed, beaming as he took the card. "What kind of luck is that? Now I can go claim the prize from Mr. Flume, free Honeydukes products for a whole year, plus a trip to France!"
"No need to thank me," Snape said, speaking around a mouthful of pumpkin pasty. "It's not like you're short on money."
"That's not the point!" Abbott said happily, tucking the card into his robe. "I'm going to write to the Daily Prophet and tell them I've completed the set. Some people even claimed Honeydukes never made the full run!"
The train rolled northward. Rain began hammering against the windows again.
The sky darkened, and the compartment lights flickered on. In the distance, the outline of Hogwarts appeared.
Finally, the train slowed. Footsteps and the sound of dragging trunks echoed through the corridor.
Snape stood and straightened his robes. As Head Boy, it was his job to maintain order during disembarkation.
When he opened the carriage door, thunder rumbled overhead. In the pouring rain, he and Lily helped Hagrid corral the frightened first-years.
"Firs'-years, over here!" Hagrid bellowed, but his voice was nearly drowned out by the rain.
"Hagrid," Snape said, pulling on his cloak and raising his wand toward the half-giant's throat, "Sonorus!"
"FIRST-YEARS-" Hagrid's amplified voice boomed so loudly that several students nearly toppled over. He quickly lowered his tone. "Oh, thanks, Severus."
Once all the first-years were gathered, Hagrid looked anxiously toward the Black Lake. "Ah, blast this weather. Can yeh two help me watch a few o' the boats?"
"Fine," Snape said after exchanging a look with Lily, rain pouring down on them like buckets of icy water.
Lily drew her wand, tapped their clothes lightly, and said, "Impervius!"
"Excellent!" Snape called, motioning for the first-years to follow him toward the nearest boat.
The poor children were already half-dazed by the downpour, some standing with mouths open as rain streamed down their faces.
"If we don't drown first," Snape shouted to Lily, "I'll see you at the feast!"
As the boat reached the middle of the lake, the storm reached its peak. A flash of lightning illuminated a mountain-like wave surging ahead. Before Snape could warn them, it crashed toward their small vessel.
The gale tore at the surface of the lake. Behind Snape, four terrified first-years clung to the sides of the boat.
"Hold on tight!" he yelled, his voice almost lost in the roaring wind.
The boat shot upward, nearly vertical, before slamming down again with a tremendous splash that drenched everyone.
A young wizard screamed, his small body flung toward the edge of the boat.
"Help-" The cry was cut short as a wave surged over the side, sweeping him away into the black water.
"Bloody-" Snape cursed, pointing his wand at his face. "Bubble-Head Charm!" He knew this spell perfectly by now, pity there was no Triwizard Cup to show off for.
A transparent bubble encased his head. Taking a deep breath, he dove into the stormy depths.
The freezing lake swallowed him instantly. Snape brandished his wand. "Lumos!"
Light flared, but the murky water limited his visibility to only a few feet.
He kicked downward, the only sounds his own ragged breathing and the gurgling flow of the lake.
Then, a flicker of movement at the edge of his vision.
Snape spun, wand raised.
In the faint glow, he saw scales glinting silver-green in the dark.
Merpeople, at least five or six of them, were swimming rapidly toward him, their long spears in hand and powerful tails churning the water.
Their skin was iron-grey, their tangled hair dark green; yellow eyes gleamed above jagged, yellowed teeth. Around their necks hung necklaces of pebbles strung on coarse rope.
"Stay back!" Snape tried to shout, but the words came out as muffled bubbles inside the charm.
He tightened his grip on his wand, ready to cast, but the leader, a male merman with a green beard and a short necklace of shark teeth, suddenly veered downward.
Snape followed his gaze and saw, deeper below, the small form of the missing boy drifting limply downward.
The boy had stopped struggling, limbs slack, bubbles escaping steadily from his mouth.
The merpeople surrounded the sinking child, lifting him with their strong arms and pushing him toward Snape.
Snape took the boy in his arms, his face was pale, his lips blue, and immediately cast another Bubble-Head Charm, followed by a Reviving Spell.
The boy coughed violently inside the bubble, spewing out a stream of water, then began to breathe weakly.
Snape turned to the merpeople, pressing his wand to his chest and making a circular motion before extending his hand outward, a gesture of gratitude he had learned from the full version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The merman leader tilted his head, baring his sharp teeth, then led the others back into the dark depths.
Holding the boy with one arm, Snape swam upward with all his strength.
With a splash, they burst through the surface just as lightning illuminated the lake.
Snape gasped for air and spotted a boat only a few yards away.
Lily stood at the prow, wand raised high, its light illuminating the churning water.
"Severus! Over here!" she shouted.
Snape swam toward the boat, and the students reached out to pull both him and the boy aboard.
"Is he all right?" Lily asked anxiously, immediately checking on the child.
"Swallowed some water," Snape panted, dispelling his own bubble. "There were merpeople, they helped."
The boats continued toward shore. At last, the silhouette of Hogwarts loomed ahead.
When they stumbled onto the muddy bank, Hagrid came rushing through the rain, his huge frame dripping, his beetle-black eyes full of concern.
"Thank Merlin ye're both all right!" he said, clapping Snape on the back hard enough to nearly knock him into the mud. "An' the little feller?"
The young wizard had woken, still trembling but looking much better.
"All right, kids, get inside and warm up!" Hagrid called, ushering the rest of the students up the slope. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start!"
Their wet robes slapped against their legs as they splashed up the stone steps.
"Oh, I can hardly imagine rowing across the lake in this weather," Snape muttered, drying the first-years' robes with a spell. "Outdated traditions and ridiculous stubbornness."
"Eek!" A huge red water balloon fell from the ceiling and burst above the students, drenching them all over again.
The children shrieked, slipping and stumbling in the puddles. Panic rippled through the group.
Snape looked up, and there, hovering ten feet above, was none other than Peeves the Poltergeist, wearing a bell-topped hat, an orange bowtie, and holding another balloon in hand.
"Peeves!" Snape roared, drawing his wand. "Get down here!"
Peeves cackled, lifting the next water balloon. "They're already wet, aren't they? Hey, little brats! Catch this!"
Snape instantly raised his wand, aiming straight at Peeves. "Waddiwasi! Silencio!"
With a whizzing sound, the burst balloon shot up from the floor like a bullet and jammed itself into Peeves's nose, then the silencing spell hit, choking off his laughter.
Peeves gagged, flipped in midair, dropped the balloon, and flailed away out of sight.
At that moment, Professor McGonagall arrived at a brisk pace, giving Peeves a look of utter disgust before ushering the drenched first-years through the entrance hall and into the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was as magnificent as ever, freshly adorned for the start-of-term feast. Hundreds of candles floated in the air, illuminating the four long house tables packed with students.
Snape looked toward the staff table. Every seat was filled except for Professor McGonagall's and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's.
At the center sat Dumbledore, who inclined his head slightly when his eyes met Snape's.