Chapter 13

Severus sat on a sofa in the Gryffindor common room, his new book and fresh parchment in his lap and his wand in his hand. According to the book, he had done everything that should result in a proper Invisibility Charm . Unfortunately , it was wrong , otherwise it wouldn't have made it into this particular book . The only problem was he couldn't figure out what was going wrong with the charm . If he could correct just one spell ... one hundred galleons could go a long way if he was careful . He could buy some decent-looking robes for one thing, maybe even a cauldron that didn't leak.

"I'm bored. Who wants to go for a fly around the Astronomy Tower with me ?" James said suddenly .

"I'll race you!"Sirius said brightly .

"I-I'll just watch," Peter said hesitantly .

"Sev ? you coming?" asked James.

"I'm better off on the ground , thank you," Severus growled in annoyance .

"Spoilsport ," Sirius grumbled . "Come on, Remus , while it's still light outside."

"Not in the mood, " the smaller boy mumbled.

"Fine . Sev , keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't lapse back into his Slytherin ways."

"Whatever ,"Severus muttered .

The other three boys disappeared through the portrait hole . "I don't need a babysitter !" Remus snapped suddenly .

Severus looked up from his book in surprise . "I was only humoring them,"he said quickly. "If you want to go off on your own I'm not going to stop you."

Remus visibly relaxed and sat down beside Severus , opening the book he was reading. "Sorry ," he said quietly.

Severus shook his head. "I know how overwhelming they can can be at times,"he said.

"At times ?" Remus repeated. "Try all the time ."

Severus smiled. "You'll get used to it . I will admit , however , that it is refreshing to have someone more level-headed in the dorm with me. I could use help managing the other two."

Remus frowned. "Two?" he said in confusion.

"James and Sirius," Severus clarified. "Peter's not a problem at all. He's just a tagalong we tolerate only because we happen to share a dorm with him. "

The confusion cleared from the other boy's eyes, but his brow was still furrowed. Severus winced inwardly . He just wasn't good at socializing, and now he had given Remus the wrong impression of how their little group operated. He didn't have James's power of persuasion or Sirius's charm, so he would have to fix this his own way.

"It's like this , " Severus tried again. "If you bring something useful into the group, you're respected. James likes being center of attention , Sirius likes to make sure everyone knows he's the black sheep of his family, so they like to cause complete and utter chaos. They complement each other perfectly. Peter is their one-man fan club, and makes a decent lookout . I just try to dissuade them from doing anything illegal and try to keep them out of trouble, but with those two, it's a full-time job."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Remus asked hesitantly.

Severus stared at him in dismay. Was the kid truly dense ? Perhaps he should put it in even simpler terms. He took a deep breath and began again. " James and Sirius want to bring you into our little group. I know you're not like them-you're not as-as hyperactive as they are. That won't deter them at all. But you're not like Peter , either. You don't strike me as the sort to follow people around just to bask in their popularity. I need- well - how do I put this?-"

"Another voice of reason?" Remus suggested quietly.

Severus sagged in in sofa in exhaustion. " Yes," he said faintly. Merlin, but that was hard work ! And it lasted all of ten minutes!

"If you really think I can be any real help..." Remus voice trailed off.

Severus sat upright. "I don't think. I know you'll be an excellent help. You'll be a real asset. The things you can do with the simplest spells are amazing !"

"I'm afraid our dear professors don't share your enthusiasm ,"Remus said dryly. "They think it's downright annoying."

Severus smirked. "They think the same thing about the Marauders in general. See? You already fit in perfectly. And you'll need our help if you hope to survive against upset Slytherins ."

"If I'm fr-friends with you guys, you won't mind if I'm friends with Lily, too? It's just that you don't seem to like her very much ."

Severus smirked. "So Sirius was right. You do have a girlfriend ," he teased.

Remus flushed. "I do not !" he protested. "She was there for me last year when no one else was. It was nice to have someone nice to talk to."

He fell silent suddenly, as if he thought he'd said too much. Severus fished around in his head for something, anything to say to cover up the awkward moment. Surprisingly , Remus beat him to it. "So you're still working on that book, I see," he said hesitantly.

"Yes !" Severus seized on the topic gratefully.

"One hundred galleons for each spell you straighten out, " Remus said thoughtfully. "How many spells are in that book?"

Severus glanced at the book in his lap. "About six hundred pages' worth of spells," he replied.

"That's a lot of money if you managed to straighten it all out, " Remus said carefully.

Severus's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting- but that would take a lifetime!" he exclaimed.

"Not if you had help ," Remus said quietly.

"Are you offering your help?" Severus asked.

"Well, it's right up my alley," Remus said with a shy smile. "I mean, do you have any idea how many teachers have to tell me repeatedly not to alter the spells we're learning? That's basically what you need to do to get through that book. But if you don't want any help I completely under-"

"Quit your babbling," Severus interrupted. "I can think of no one better to help shape these spells up. "

Remus's face lit up, and Severus smiled. He had never seen the other boy look so genuinely happy before. He was sure it didn't happen often, so he knew he wasn't going to regret having this talk.

"So what are you working on right now?"