Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
October 22, 1976 / Serena PoV
I was nervous. There was no reason to lie to myself about it. I was about to face Albus of many names, Dumbledore, alone. Lucius had wanted to come as support once I told him about the appointment, but it was better if he didn't show up. I was expecting several things in this meeting, and many of them weren't something that could be freely discussed with Lucius listening, at least not for now.
Once I got in front of the gargoyle, I stopped momentarily when I realized that I hadn't been given the password. I was about to talk to the statue when it moved completely on its own.
"Please come up, Miss Snape." Dumbledore began with his power play. I rolled my eyes and walked up the stairs. Once I entered the room, I couldn't help but snort, I wasn't surprised at all to see Dumbledore sitting in his chair, but the other visitors were surpriseing. Potter, Lupin, and Black were present along with McGonagall. It wasn't surprising that Lupin's parents were there, but for some reason, Potter's are here. Now I see how he was playing this, and I allow myself to smile mockingly in Dumbledore's direction. I ignored practically everyone and dropped into the seat in front of the headmaster.
"Let's get this over with." I leaned back in my seat and turned my hand around, a cigarette appearing before I raised my thumb, lighting it with a small flame.
"Miss Snape!" McGonagall exclaimed in horror, Dumbledore raising his hand before she could continue.
"Miss Snape, Sere-"
"You can't use my name," I interrupted. McGonagall was about to reprimand me again, but Dumbledore just nodded.
"Miss Snape, I would like to introduce you to Lyall and Hope Lupin, Remus' parents."
"Uh huh, and?" I asked absentmindedly, or at least pretending to be distracted. The last thing I wanted was to look Dumbledore in the eye this entire meeting. I may have relied heavily on my Occlumency shields since I'd improved with them during my training. While they certainly weren't on Severus' level, I was still confident that they could hold him off long enough to break the bond in case he tried to read my mind. I still didn't want to take any more chances than necessary. So I started looking at the portraits in the office; I was looking for the one of Niamh Fitzgerald.
"Please!" The plea made me look at Lupin's mother; she looked like she was about to cry. "I beg you, please, help my son!" She sobbed, and I inwardly grimaced. Dumbledore was playing dirty; I tried to ignore him while searching through the portraits.
"Mom," Lupin murmured sadly.
"Ma'am, I don't know what they told you, but I can't, nor do I want to help Lupin. I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey or St. Mungo's will be able to fix whatever ailment he has." I waved my hand dismissively before taking a drag on my cigarette.
"Stop playing Sni-Snape, you know what you did." Black growled, and I rolled my eyes.
"Sirius," he was interrupted firmly. Charles Potter? No, Charlus, I corrected myself mentally. Charlus was James Potter's father. Sirius clicked his tongue.
"I swear I have no idea what I did, Black." I slurred to annoy him. "I swear." I lazily made a cross over my heart and everything. He just groaned.
"Miss Snape, please stop joking," I ignored Dumbledore, who sighed. "You know very well that we are discussing his condition as a werewolf."
"Gasp!" I gasped. "Nooo! Lupin is a werewolf?!" The scathing look everyone gave me clearly showed that my masterful performance wasn't believed.
"Did she just say gasp?" Sirius muttered in disbelief, and I laughed internally.
"Please, Miss, let's be reasonable. We're not asking to get anything for free, just that we're allowed to buy the potions at the apothecaries. We'll even pay extra if necessary." Lupin's father spoke.
"Mmmmm," I hummed in consideration before shrugging. "No thanks."
"Miss Snape." Now, Dumbledore sounded thoroughly disappointed, which made me roll my eyes. "Please stop this childish revenge. This is really important."
"You make a good argument, Headmaster," I nodded, eyes closed. I could almost hear the group sigh with relief. "But again, no, thank you." That stopped them, and now both Sirius and James groaned. It was fun- my eyes finally stopped on a painting, Niamh Fitzgerald, the person herself… well, the painting? Anyway, if the Headmistress, one of the guardians of ancient magic, existed, then everything else did too. Perfect, I smiled widely.
"Okay, Snape, what's your problem! I know you're a selfish bastard, but how did it get to this point?" Black growled, making me laugh.
"I know I've made it clear about your poor Black vocabulary, but I didn't think it was that serious." I smirked at him. "It's called consequence. It's a pleasure to introduce you."
"how dare you-"
"apapapap, calm down, Black, we're the adults are talking." I interrupted his growl.
"Adults? An adult wouldn't go that far just for some light school pranks," Dorea Potter commented with a frown. I let out a giggle before it turned into a full-blown maniacal laugh.
"light school pranks? Is that what they told you?" I laughed again, and it took me a few seconds to compose myself as I wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes. "That was funny," I gasped for air.
"I didn't know I was making a joke," Mrs. Potter pursed her lips, and I snorted.
"I see that no one informed you about these 'light school pranks.' allow me to clarify it for you. In the-"
"Miss Snape!" I Ignore Dumbledore's interruption and continue.
"In the last 5 years I've been at Hogwarts, your son and his group of misfits have sent me to the infirmary over 100 times. Fractured and broken bones, potions of strange origin, transfiguration on different levels, jinx and painful or humiliating charms, sometimes both, and why not." I shrugged. The group of parents seemed surprised by the news.
"Stop lying, Snape! You have no proof!" Sirius tried to growl, and I rolled my eyes.
"Leaving aside that your stupid defense was simply a confession of guilt." He gritted his teeth, I just moved my hands, and a wad of papers appeared between my fingers. "My medical records, how funny. I just had them on me. How lucky I am." I smiled innocently as I handed the papers to Mrs. Potter. She raised an eyebrow but took the papers; her lips tightened the more she read. She even grimaced with disgust as her husband and Lupin's parents read over her shoulder.
"This doesn't say that James and the others were the culprits." He said simply, I hummed.
"That's true-" Black scoffed "-but-" I moved my hand again, and other papers appeared in them. "These are McGonagall's personal school records, specifically of Potter and the rest's punishments." I smiled widely, which seemed to surprise the rest. The marauders paled.
"You broke into my office?!" McGonagall looked genuinely horrified, and I shrugged.
"I found them on the ground while I was walking." I smiled innocently as I passed the papers to Dorea. She frowned but took them. My smile grew bigger as the group of adults became paler. The dates of the detentions and the reasons aligned with my trips to the infirmary.
"Miss Snape, that is unacceptable. Breaking and entering Professor McGonagall's office is a crime." said Dumbledore, looking in my direction, I smiled wider at him. This was funny.
"A crime huh? Something like the attempted murder by Black?" I asked simply, and the group stopped stiffly.
"Snivellus!" Black growled.
"That's a strong accusation, Miss. These jokes, however painful and humiliating, would not count as attempted murder, even if they are completely unacceptable." Mr. Potter said with a frown as he said the last part in the group's direction.
"Gasp! You mean they didn't tell you about when Sirius Black locked me in the Shrieking Shack on a full moon with Lupin transformed to try and kill me?" No one commented on my masterful performance this time, probably because they were too shocked to say anything. They all had a different level of horror and paleness in their expressions.
"It was a joke!" Potter said quickly in defense. "I saved your life, Snivellus!" I rolled my eyes.
"You helped your friends avoid being sent to Azkaban for a crime. My being safe and sound is simply luck on my part." I snorted.
"So it's true?" Mrs. Potter muttered angrily.
"You used my son to try and kill someone!?" Lupin's father roared, the marauders flinched at the shout, and Lupin's mother was crying even harder now. My smile was one of amusement as I watched the group try to defend themselves.
"Do you find this amusing, Miss Snape?" Dumbledore asked, his grandfatherly disappointed look gone. Now, he had no expression that betrayed his feelings, I wanted to shudder, but I bit my tongue and forced my smile in his direction.
"Immensely." I replied with a malicious smile that didn't reach my eyes.