(          LEMONS          /          sirius black            )
levicorpus chapter three

september 11, 1976

            THE WIND IS UNFORGIVING on the Saturday evening in which Lenore is sitting beside the Great Lake, parchment and textbooks spread out before her. Each harsh gust sends the book pages flipping and paper flying across the clearing. The words coming on of Lenore's mouth are not at all as clean as her spotless white sweater. The overcast sky predicts a forthcoming storm and a slight drizzle already splatters her notes organized in columns in her journal.

            Lenore takes a bite out of a sour green apple and balances it back on her edge of her book. The Transfiguration essay assigned by Professor McGonagall on the use of nonverbal spells has had Lenore struggling for hours. While all her friends are hanging out in the Slytherin common room, competing in rounds of wizarding chess, she's stuck outdoors pouring out information onto seemingly endless pieces of parchment. Nearby, a group of first years marvel over the giant squid who's made an appearance in the depths of the lake.

            "You're still out here?" A voice behind her cries over the howling wind. She doesn't have to turn around to know it's Rosier. None of the others would take the time out of their Saturday to come all the way down to check on her progress.

            Lenore dips her quill into her ink pot and pierces her lips. "Well, what do you expect? It's Transfiguration at N.E.W.T. level for God's sake!"

            "Come on, Bisset. Make some time for your friends. For me. You know you're tired of this anyway. Finish it in the morning and come have some fun," Rosier says, sitting down close to her on the blanket. He fiddles teasingly with the hem of her sweater.

            "Piss off, you know I've got to finish. I'm this far in." Another rush of air has a few of her papers scattering out of place but thankfully, Rosier catches them just in time before they disappear into the sky. Lenore almost shrieks in annoyance. "How hard is it for the wind to calm down just for a few hours? I should've gone to the library at this rate."

            Rosier slips the papers underneath a textbook so they can't escape and turns to look the fuming Slytherin girl directly in the face. She doesn't notice at first, but it only takes her a few moments to look up at him. Even in the bleary lighting she can see every freckle sprinkled on his cheeks and every wild strand of his dirty blonde hair. Just the look into his mischievous eyes sends her heart pounding faster against her chest.

            "What is it?" She asks levelly, feeling the tug of his fingers on her shirt. Lenore doesn't understand how she lets the boy's flirtatious advances get to her but most of the time, they work well. However, she has no problem keeping that arousal off her face apart from the subtle tint of red on her cheeks.

            "You're pretty cute when you're angry." He moves in nearer than before, using his left hand to take the quill out of her left hand and discard it into the ink pot with a quick flick of his wrist.

            Lenore turns her head and suppresses a grin. "Quit it, I'm trying to work."

            He grabs her chin harshly to pull her face back towards him. "This'll only take a moment."

            Their lips hover merely inches apart for a few heartbeats until Rosier finally gives in and initiates the contact. The moment is heated and in fact, the kiss doesn't only take a moment. Lenore parts to take quick breaths while the two Slytherins entangle themselves on the blanket, forgetting entirely about the notes in their way. The whole ordeal sends a fire burning through her chest from the thrill and excitement. The feeling of Rosier's hands along her skin is intoxicating. She's glad no one is paying them any attention.

             But the sound of chanting snaps Lenore out of her trance. The wind amplifies the collective cry causing Lenore to pause against Rosier's lips as she studies the noise. Over and over a word is being chanted, perhaps a name or an insult. Rosier notices her absence and pulls away, eyes wide.

            "What's wrong?"

            "Do you hear that? That shouting?" She answers, grabbing her bag and shoving all her school supplies into it.

            "It's nothing. It doesn't matter. Just stay here and leave it be," Rosier almost begs. Afterwards, he goes in for another kiss which Lenore dodges with the palm of her hand.

            "I'm going to check it out with or without your permission, Evan Rosier."

            "Fine, whatever."

            She smirks and heaves her bag over her shoulder. "Good, good. Now, come on."

            The two Slytherin's make their way across the clearing, tracking the direction of the chanting all the while. In the distance, Lenore can see a group of people encircling a select few, crying out a name. A name that Lenore is practically programed to hate.

            James, James, James!

            Lenore and Rosier near closer to the scene, desperately trying to see over the tall heads of the surrounding Gryffindor students. In the center of the ring, all four members of the Marauders stand, obviously picking on someone or performing some sort of magic show. The Slytherin girl stands on the tips of her toes and bounces in the attempt to see the actions.

             "Who wants to see Snivellus's underwear?" James's voice cries to be met with an explosion of cheers and applause.

            Rosier lowers down to Lenore's level. "Snape's in there. They've humiliated him pretty bad already. Want to get him out?"

            She doesn't reply because after she hears the cry of Levicorpus!, she sees Snape's figure levitate up above the crowd, dangling by his right ankle. His robes fall over his head and his greasy black hair ruffles up, too. After a scowl, Lenore shoves her way through the cheering audience up to the front row of students. James and Sirus are both extending their wands out towards Snape while Peter Pettigrew is cackling about a foot behind them. Remus Lupin is a bit farther off, shaking his hand and reading a book suspended in front of his eyes.

            Sirius, Sirius, Sirius!

            "Get away from him you pigs!" Lenore cries, stumbling out to stand between Snape and his pursuers. Her hand flies to her back pocket to whip out her wand and she holds it up in front of Sirius Black's nose. "Put him down now, Black, or there's hell to play!"

            James Potter whistles sarcastically. "Ah, have you come to see the show?"

            "Put him down!" Lenore cries while lifting her wand and chin a bit higher.

            "But we've only just started," Sirius says. Pettigrew giggles behind him.

            Rosier pulls out his wand as well to stand at her side. "You're not funny, Black! Just leave him be for once in your life and go back to playing with your dolls."

            James glances at Sirius, wide-eyed with excitement, and nods his head. Before Lenore has time to react, Sirius flicks his wrist and Snape's pants drop down to his ankles, exposing the boy's briefs beneath. Pettigrew howls from laughter and even from afar Remus looks a bit amused. Snape's face goes bright red as he tries to reach his drawers to pull them back up but to no avail.

             "That's it, you slimy git!" Lenore shrieks before stomping her way up to into the Black boy's face. James pushes her aside when she gets too close to his best friend, sending Rosier flying up in her defense.

            "Don't you dare touch her!"

            "I'll push whoever I'd like thank you very much," James counters. "Now if you don't move aside, you'll be next."

            Rosier scoffs. "Like I'm scared of you, blood traitor!"

            "Stupefy!" Lenore shouts over the chaos, aiming her wand at Sirius's chest. However, his reflexes save him just in time so the spell hits Pettigrew standing directly behind him instead. The stun catches the boy mid-laughter, leaving him frozen with an amused smile on his freckled face.

            Sirius's mouth is open wide as he looks from the Slytherin girl to Pettigrew, who is now lying unconscious in the grass. "Now you've done it!"

             Before the Gryffindor boy can take his threat any further, the appearance of an old woman leaves them stopping in their tracks. Professor McGonagall arrives at the edge of the crowd in her long, velvet robes and her large bejeweled witches hat. The surrounding students suddenly have somewhere to be as the teacher walks towards the bickering teenagers and Severus Snape still hanging by his foot.

           She takes out her wand and with a quick tap, Snape falls to the floor. "Dress yourself, Snape. I've seen too much."

            "Yes, professor," he mumbles, hiking up his black pants with flushed cheeks.

            "Bisset? Lupin? And Potter? I expected to find a group of first years rather than mature sixth year students! I'm extremely disappointed in all of you." Her eyes shift to Pettigrew on the ground. "Dear God, is that Mr. Pettigrew?"

            "She did it," James cries, pointing directly at Lenore.

            "I was provoked, professor. These Gryffindors here were messing with my friend, Snape, and they wouldn't leave him be when we told them-"

            McGonagall waves her hands. "Save it for detention, Miss Bisset."

            James and Sirius give each other a high-five that could be labelled anything other than discrete.

            "All of you." The boy's faces fall. "Now, Mr. Potter, I'd like you two to take your nonsense elsewhere and do something worthwhile for the rest of the evening. And you, Miss Bisset, I'd like to remind you of our policy against using magic against your peers."

             The students all nod with their heads down.

             The old woman seems satisfied. "Good, now get Mr. Pettigrew out of my sight and off to Madam Pomfrey. I'll send you information on your detention later this evening."

            The Gryffindor boys give the three Slytherins a final glare before they pick up their stunned friend and carry him off towards the castle. Lenore sighs as the professor swishes her robes and makes her way to tell off some other playing children by the lake. She turns to say something to Snape to find he's already on his way back to the school, many classmates pointing at him and yelling out crude insults.

              Lenore begins to run after him but Rosier grabs her wrist. "Leave him be. He's embarrassed enough. Even Professor McGonagall saw his underwear." The Slytherin boy has the audacity to let out a small snicker.

             She tugs her hand from his grasp. "Oh, shut up." Lenore storms off after Snape.

            "Come on, Bisset!" Rosier shouts. "You don't even like him that much!"

            Lenore pays him no mind and continues her jog towards the ashamed, greasy-haired boy now only a few meters away. She can see the tears in his eyes and the pain written on his pale face. In the attempt to hide from his offensive paparazzi, he slings up his robe hood, hiding his troubled complexion. By the time the brown-haired girl reaches him, she's slightly out of breath, due to her lack of exercise at Hogwarts and the slight incline of the path.

            "Snape," she says, not really knowing what direction she wants to take the conversation. She finds herself sympathizing with the half-blood for once her life. They're more similar than he realizes.

            "Just go away. You're of no help to me now," he spits. His teary eyes don't divert from his destination in the distance. His voice is full of anything but embarrassment. Fury and annoyance, more like it.

            Lenore knows he's just taking his anger out on her, but she still takes it offensively. "Hey, I'm trying to cheer you up."

            "Take it elsewhere."

            She pauses her fast pace beside him and scoffs as he keeps walking without looking back.

            Rosier comes up behind her. "I want to say 'I told you so' but I know I won't receive a good response."

            Of course, Lenore shoves him out of spite. "I hate them! I hate them so much! If I have to see Sirius Black or James Potter's faces again, I'm going to flip my shit!"

             Rosier hums in agreement. "That blood traitor, Black, makes me want to tear my hair out. His ugly bun and his stupid leather jacket. He prances about the castle grounds like he owns the place."

            Lenore crosses her arms against the chilly air. "If I have to see Black again, he's got hell to pay."

            The Slytherin common room is packed when Rosier and Lenore arrive just a few minutes later. They were delayed slightly because a new student had fallen into the trick stair on one of the connecting stairwells, which had the corridors jammed for an excess amount of time. The duo finally made it down to the dungeons when some aggravated Gryffindor yanked the poor child from the trap and told everyone to get on their way. To the common eye, the entrance to the Slytherin common room may appear as a blank stretch of wall but if you know the right technique, you'll be permitted in an instant.

            "Look who's finally decided to show up," Wilkes says as Lenore walks around the scattered placement of tables and ornate emerald chairs. The room always seems to hold a dark presence as it's always dimly lit and the decoration across the large stone fireplace and dull chandeliers can't help but be noticed. Avery and Mulciber sit across from each other with a chess board sat in between. Just as Lenore studies the process of their game, one of Avery's white bishops takes out it's sword to slay one of Mulciber's helpless rooks.

            Just as Mulciber cries out, Regulus Black chimes in, "Been down by the lake all day? You missed lunch."

            "Yes. I saw your brother actually."

            Everyone looks up and Regulus raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

            "Yes, tormenting Snape. He was getting quite a laugh seeing Sev's underpants," she snorts before collapsing down on a large green love seat beside Wilkes. The girl glares at Lenore out of the corner of her eye. "I got detention next week for knocking Pettigrew unconscious."

             "Snape deserves what he got," Avery says without taking his eyes off the chess board. Mulciber looks stressed as he watches his opponent move one of his knights. "Finally got some sense struck back into him. Checkmate, Mulciber."

            Lenore bites her lip and hesitates. Her words are risky, but she decides to speak her mind anyway. "He didn't deserve nothing."

            Avery looks up at her, exasperated. His green and silver tie is strung loosely around his neck overtop his crumpled white shirt. His dark hair doesn't redeem him either, for its disheveled nature doesn't make him look any more appealing. Over weekends, boys must cast personal hygiene aside for more important things such as chess. "Ah, Bisset, when did you get so empathetic?"

            "He just didn't deserve it, that's all," she says stubbornly.

            Wilkes leans closer to her. "Well, if you care for Severus so much, why don't you go find him then?"

            Lenore stands up and crosses her arms. "Well, maybe I will."

            Rosier shakes his head. "Bisset, sit down."

            "Quiet, Rosier." She walks away from her friends indifferently, not even looking back when she hears Mulciber cry out in defeat again over their ongoing chess game. Lenore doesn't know what made her so eager to show sympathy for Snape this time. Maybe it's because she almost feels like him. Muggleborns are hated and persecuted for absolutely no reason but their heritage. And often, Snape is treated the same. The Gryffindor boys target him for nothing but sport.

            Lenore stomps out of the Slytherin common room and down the dungeon corridors until she reaches the connecting hall. During the school week, it's always bustling with children going back and forth between classes and the Great Hall. However, Saturday leaves the hall serene with only a few stragglers making their way to their destinations. She can't believe she let Wilkes bother her so much, but Lenore will do whatever she can to prove her point.

            The only issue is that Snape could be sulking anywhere in the castle or any of the various courtyards within. She sighs and decides to search the grounds the best she can and if she doesn't find him, she'll tell the others she talked to him anyway. Every hallway and bench void of Severus Snape leaves the dark-haired girl more frustrated by the second. If only she'd followed him in the first place.

             Just as she's about to turn back to the dungeons, she checks a final courtyard in which she sees a hunched figure sitting alone on a bench under a large oak tree. Lenore suddenly feels an immense amount of sorrow for the boy. The fact that he's sitting by himself makes all her frustration disappear. She nears closer to him and purposely cracks a stick beneath her boot to signal her arrival. Snape glances up slightly, giving her a wary look beneath hooded eyes.

             She approaches the bench slower and when he doesn't show any sign of objection, Lenore sits down beside him and looks up at the sky. The wind still blows, and she watches the decaying oak leaves rush across the empty courtyard and into the sky. Snape follows her line of sight up to watch a few stray birds disappear into the distance.

            "Are you alright?" A beat of silence. Another. Still no reply. The Slytherin boy stays quiet and shakes his greasy hair into his vision. "I know you have no desire to talk to me. In fact, you have no obligation to."

             Snape still doesn't speak but he doesn't send her away either. By the red splotches beneath his eyes, she can tell he doesn't want to be alone and she may not be his ideal companion, but she is one, nonetheless.

            "I just wanted to make sure you're okay." His gaze stays trained on the cloudy sky. "When I saw you out there being mistreated when you did absolutely nothing to deserve it, it reminded me of myself." Now that catches his attention. "I'm not what you and all the others think. I'm not like you. There are secrets I've kept and childhood memories I still relive."

             Lenore glances around the courtyard to make sure that the two Slytherins are truly alone. The compulsiveness of her upcoming decision doesn't seem to frighten her, and she lowers herself down so she's nearer to Snape. "I'm not a pureblood and everything I've told you and the others have been lies. I'm a muggleborn. I have no magical family."

            Snape almost falls off the bench. "What?"

            "Lenore Bisset is a muggleborn. You and I are more alike than it seems. And I've told this to you because I feel sorry for you. And before you get angry, you should not feel sorry for me, for all the lies I must uphold. I've done that to myself. But for now, you will keep your mouth shut." Her heart beats faster and faster.

            "So, I can't tell the others?"

            "Please, Snape. I've told you my secret to be of some comfort towards you. It would be terrible if you'd betray me in such a way as this."

            The black-haired boy nods. "I've always liked you, Lenore. There's always been something about you that's never been like the others. This is the nicest you've ever been to me."

            His words are odd, but they make her grin. "I'm glad. But I warn you, Snape, if word goes around that my blood isn't pure, I'm denying all accusations. And you will be the one I target. Do you understand?"

            "Yes."

            "Good, now, cheer up and come back to the common room. I've just seen Avery and Mulciber in a rather intense battle of wizarding chess."

            And as the two walk down to the dungeons, the weight of her words drops on her shoulders, yet it feels nice. Finally, to someone at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she's herself.