Severus... Reformed #2 / SNILY

Chapter Four

Remus had dozed off to sleep very quickly after he finished playing Exploding Snape and Regulus had been too tired to play a prank on him after that, choosing instead to go and find some of his classmates. Lily and Petunia never returned but Severus had expected that; who could stop girls from gossiping when they were in mid-flow?

Upon entering the Great Hall, Severus found it disconcerting to note that he was getting quite a few discreet glances. The Daily Prophet article on his magical core potion had made the front page and meant that he could no longer keep a low profile. He was also getting the majority of any malicious glances from the Slytherin table and noted in particular Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus Lestrange giving him dark looks. He resolved to keep an eye on them in the future. Thankfully, Lucius Malfoy had graduated in his first year and Gibbon and Rookwood last year so he didn't need to worry about them, at least not while at Hogwarts.

Before Severus even managed to sit down at the Ravenclaw table with Remus, an excited boy came running up to him and said breathlessly:

"Y-you're Severus Snape, aren't you? My younger brother took your potion and now he's at Hogwarts with me! I never thought it would be possible but you made it possible - you're my hero!"

The boy said this without taking a breath. Severus exchanged an awed glance with Remus.

"Well that's very kind of you," Severus replied, bending down slightly to be on the second year's level. "Let me know if you have any other relatives who need it."

"There's my cousins and my grandma and_"

"Settle down, please - the Sorting Ceremony is about to begin."

Severus couldn't say for definite but he thought he saw a twinkle of amusement in Dumbledore's eyes as his announcement cut across the boy's talking.

"Speak to me later," Severus said quickly and the boy quickly went away.

"Now that was fun, wasn't it?" Chortled Remus. "You're famous, Sevvikins!"

"Shut. Up."

*

Fortunately Petunia didn't look too out of place among the other students waiting to be sorted. There were more than the usual amount of first years and countless other new students, which did mean the ceremony was much longer.

"Honestly, Severus, this is all your fault," George complained.

"It'll be fine as long as you don't drool on Remus as you did last year," Severus reminded, pleased to see red dots appear on the other boy's cheeks.

"Hey, you had your revenge! You threw water in my face!"

"Actually, it was Aguamenti," Nicholas pointed out in the pompous tones of an intellectual. "A charm we learn in sixth year."

"Well, don't boost Snape's ego any more," Edgar said, alarmed. "It's large enough as it is."

Severus was about to preen a little and bask in the face of admiration but then Remus nudged him.

"It's Petunia's turn - look."

Now, Severus did have a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Yes, Petunia was well-suited to Ravenclaw or even Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but she also had the resourcefulness of a Slytherin. They hadn't seen much of her cunning side this time around but Severus knew it was there, somewhere out of reach.