Silvanna Snape {Marauders}

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Happy Friday!!! :)

The next day, it rained, which Silvanna took to mean that no one would be practicing quidditch. She was wrong. Marlene and James marched out, dragging with them poor old Sirius, who didn't really fancy the house team. Peter had tagged along too, although Merlin knew why; all he'd do was cheer them along from the stands.

This meant that Remus met her for their reading session earlier than usual, explaining he'd have to leave early for a prank they were pulling, but he wouldn't say who on. Silvanna hoped it wasn't her.

Just before lunch time, he closed his book, before opening it again straight away. He looked up at her, and then looked back down, placed his bookmark in and then removed it, and then started choking on his saliva. "Oh spit it out, Remus!" hissed Silvanna, grinning at her own joke.

He smiled at her, massaging his throat. "It's just - you look - you look different."

Silvanna felt a horrible lurch in her stomach. She'd done the makeup just like Marlene had, she was sure! "Does it look bad? Is it the eyebrows? Marlene gave me a makeover last night-"

Remus seemed to realise he'd panicked her, and waved his hands around wildly. "No, no!" he whispered quickly, "It looks nice! It suits you."

Silvanna frowned at him. "Are you sure?" she asked, biting the inside of her cheek. "It doesn't look bad?"

"No," whispered Remus firmly, going back to his book. "Very nice."

"Oh," Silvanna said quietly, going back to her own. "Thanks."

*****

  Unlike the rest of the Gryffindor second years, Silvanna was loving Transfiguration with the Slytherins, because Severus was rubbish at it, and she was great. It had been a sore spot for him over the summer that Silvanna had come top in something (even if it was just Astronomy) and he'd had to share his only top spot with her. He hadn't even done all that well in Defence Against the Dark Arts, his favourite subject, where even Marlene had beaten him in their tests.

But today, Silvanna was surprised to see that she wasn't the first Gryffindor to arrive, which, aside from Lily, was very unusual for classes they had with the Slytherins.

The four boys were stood outside the Transfiguration classroom, looking guilty as anything. Remus had his nose in a book and was tapping his foot. Next to him, Sirius was leaning casually against the wall, one foot up, and his arms crossed. Peter was trying, and failing, to mimic him. And James was ruffling his hair and looking uncharacteristically nervous. This changed upon seeing Silvanna approach him with a face full of judgment, and he launched into a rant about how interesting the second year content looked.

She shook her head. "You're such a nerd," she said with a grin.

"Uh, says the one who spends all day everyday in the stuffy library," Sirius piped up.

"Yeah, bet you don't even know where it is," Silvanna retorted.

Sirius beamed. "A fact I hold close to my heart." Remus chuckled and shook his head, but stopped when he saw McGonagall approaching the growing crowd outside her classroom, looking harassed.

"I'm sure you didn't give me as much trouble as this years first years," she said to Silvanna and Remus as she unlocked the door with her wand. "Crying over lost chocolate..."

"Sounds like something Pete might do," called Sirius brightly. "Or Moony."

This was shortly followed by two hisses of, "Shut up, Sirius!" and Peter thumping him on the arm.

McGonagall entered the classroom first, and James started laughing which he hastily turned into a coughing fit. Sirius was grinning from ear to ear, as was Peter, and Remus had become very interested in a part of the wall.

Silvanna looked over Professor McGonagall's shoulder and into the classroom. It was filled, right to the ceiling, with hundreds of colourful balloons. Silvanna's jaw dropped. They were going to be in so much trouble. A few whispers flew around the waiting group, and everyone began looking at the boys, who were all grinning and looking pleased with themselves. Almost hopeful that they'd get in trouble.

McGonagall turned around to face the four of them, who didn't look at all ashamed of themselves. She raised her eyebrows slightly, in a challenging manner, and Silvanna was banking on at least a month's detention. Then, she turned around once more, facing the classroom, and flicked her wand. The balloons disappeared. They just vanished. Almost in synchronisation, the four boys' jaws dropped open. Silvanna laughed loudly.

"Inside, quickly," said McGonagall. "We don't have all day."

Lily and Severus were smirking widely as they passed the four of them, who seemed rooted to the spot. "I hope you didn't blow those up the muggle way," sneered Severus.

From the furious look on James's face, they had.

"Yeah, alright, Beaky," said Silvanna, "Calm your hooter." Severus went an angry, splotchy red, but was ushered in by Lily. Silvanna turned to the boys. "Looks like you're gonna have to try harder next time," she said with a shrug, before going to take her seat.

She couldn't quite hear them behind her as she focussed on turning her beetle into a button, but it certainly sounded like a lot of angry whispering. And plotting. Lots of plotting.

*****

That weekend was quidditch tryouts for the Gryffindor house team. Somehow, Silvanna had been dragged along to the stands to cheer on James and Marlene after she'd been cornered in the common room by Remus and Peter. "Come on," Remus had said. "You're up anyway. You just need to grab your cloak."

And that was why Silvanna was now sat in the drizzling air, watching and cheering from the quidditch stands. The captain was a sixth year called Stephen Gould, and Peter told them he played chaser and had done last year too. James and Marlene looked very small next to all the older years.

James, it seemed, flourished in the sky, looping and diving as he dodged bludgers and tackles. "Fucking hell," Silvanna muttered to Remus. "Is it a try-out or an audition?"

"Bit of both for James," said Sirius, leaning over and making them laugh.

Marlene was a darn sight faster than James, but had a nasty tackle at one point. They returned to the stands while the seekers tried out, both of them nervous and jittery, and Marlene repeatedly saying she'd messed it all up and it was all for nothing. Silvanna secretly suspected that the real reason for her nerves was that she was the only girl on the pitch.

Regardless of what Marlene had thought of her try-out, Gould was impressed, because he gave both of them a spot on the team. And James simply couldn't get over the fact that both of them had beaten 'actual, real-life seventh-years' to it.