39

Eli and Sirius have been on the outs lately. Anyone with eyes can see that. Not only Gryffindor, but almost the whole school was watching in secret; they were also Slytherin rebels, a half-blood wizard of L^′Estrange's blood, the other is a maverick who entered Gryffindor's atypical Blake. Whether it is from the identity or position, their mutual animosity are quite deep value, let a person be curious.

They may not have been the usual shoulder-to-shoulder, Inseparable kind of friends, but in fact everyone knew they were always on good terms. Siris, Sardinia. Blake's haughty estrangement doesn't cut his score by half just because he's a Gryffindor. Baud was a friend, he was very popular with women, and he was not a bad character, none of which conflicted with his inaccessibility.

Eli, on the other hand, was one of the few people who could get Siris, Sardinia to talk to him, aside from their four-person dorm room. Last year, I heard they were discussing how to modify a Muggle motorcycle, this year, the situation had already changed to this extent. It had to be said that the sudden appearance of Voldemort could cause a panic among everyone around him.

Jaime was very upset about the bad blood between his two friends.

From a distance, of course, he should have been on Siris, Sardinia's side -- he was a good friend, too, but Siris, Sardinia was different from all his other friends. He was almost like a brother to him. He would not have hesitated to choose Siris, Sardinia over any other friend, but being on both sides of the fence, he was more objective, and felt that Eli had a point.

"Your brother is quite free to choose his friends, Sirius," said Jaime, clearly analyzing him, and hitting him with his shoulder, telling him not to be so stubborn, "It's none of Eli's business, it's none of your business-what exactly are you unhappy about? SNOTLOUT? Well, if that's the case, why not go straight to the Snot Actuary? Eli and your brother are innocent, only snotlout is annoying."

As Jaime spoke, he gave a weary look, and became very unhappy, he curled his lips in annoyance. "Why is that guy always where he shouldn't be? Ivans was friends with him, Eli was friends with him, and now your brother is friends with him -- why does he always get away with fooling people who are 10,000 times better than him? He doesn't deserve it."

Cyrus clicked his tongue, and at last gave a little response, as Jaime had hoped.

"You're right," he said. "Snotlout is a very annoying part of it."

"So what are we waiting for?" Jaime smiled and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Let's see where snivellus is now-maybe next potion class? I think that would be nice."

This deliberate provocation by Jaime and Siris, Sardinia took place the next day in Potions class. It was then that Gryffindor and Slytherin came into the classroom together, and before the class had even begun, their fighting strength had not yet been diminished by the potions lesson, and they had each erupted into an astonishing war effort, the drama ended with a dozen or so people in the nurse's office, including Jaime and Snape, who might not have had to go to bed if they hadn't been so hard on each other, their strength in the same grade in their own pre-eminence.

The good news was that, in spite of all the confusion, no one ended up with injuries that Madam Pomfrey could not heal. They were separated by a curtain after their respective deans had announced demerits and solitary confinement, and had been staring at each other in disgust until then.

Siris, Sardinia, Remus, and Peter were all around him, along with the players who had come to see if he would be late for his next quidditch session, and his noisy admirers. Eli went around to Severus Snape's side to see him. Severus Snape had been brought in without his book, and now he was staring at the ceiling, frowning impatiently.

"Do you like this one?" Eli lifted the curtain and handed him the book he had brought with him. "If you don't like it, I'll go to the library this afternoon and change it for you. You can give me a couple of titles. I'll help you look for them."

This is a good one. Severus Snape took the book from him and felt better at last. He looked behind him, not seeing who he wanted to see, looking disappointed. "Didn't Lily come with you?"

"Over there," Eli said, pointing his thumb back at Severus Snape, "She had come to see you -- but he found her first and began to court her indiscriminately, which made Lily very angry, and now they are quarrelling."

Severus Snape listened carefully, and sure enough, Lily's angry voice came from the other side, chatting him up in some half-witted, ill-advised way. The voices soon faded away -- Madame Pomfrey could not bear the volume, and drove all the people around him away without explanation, including Lily.

And now she can't come over to see Severus Snape. Severus Snape's mood darkened visibly, and he opened the book without a word, with a clear look of annoyance and disgust on his face.

"Baud, that obnoxious megalomaniac... and Blake, a fool... nothing like Regulus," he murmured viciously, staring at the book as if he were Jaime. Baud, apparently he hasn't read a single page of the book.

"Calm down," Eli said calmly and sat down on the chair beside his bed. "Although what Jaime did today was really hard to calm down. He was totally picking on me. It was really annoying."

Severus Snape's lower lip curled coldly.

"What, are you going to thank me for letting you see your two friends for the first time?" He said sarcastically.

"He's actually pretty good as a friend," Eli said rationally, ignoring his sarcasm. "It's just that when you're on the other side, you're not very happy. He's not a very respectful opponent."

"Opponent? Baud?" Severus Snape whispered, his eyes narrowing.

"Does he deserve it?" Severus Snape said disdainfully, with a sneer of contempt. "An arrogant, arrogant, arrogant, stupid idiot, to be my opponent? Him?"

In his disdain, Eli's reaction was bland, and in his scorn, he said, "Rivals are rivals, of course."

Snape froze, his face white at first, then red, as if he had been suddenly strangled. He stared at Eli, unable to say a word, his eyes filled with punctured consternation, anger, uneasiness, and a deep sense of dread.

"You-can't-" he said, his face stiff, his teeth clenched, his voice lowered, his words laced with a hint of hysterical intensity. "Whatever-say this-"

"The old me wouldn't, I know," he said dryly, Poker Face at his tense mood, "I'm a little different now. I thought my friends had noticed. I just don't understand you, Severus."

Severus Snape stared at him, still unable to say a word. Eli cocked his face sideways, his chin pointing in the direction of Jaime's bed.

"The Horace Slughorn Professor's Christmas party is coming up, and it's held every year, and only the fourth-graders he admires are invited, and everyone can bring a dance partner," he said, "Jaime had already asked Lily when I was walking by."

Severus Snape caught his breath and stared at him intently, suppressing his emotions, but there was still a hint of impatience and urgency in his voice.

"There's no way Lily's going to say yes," he said, in a hurried voice. "That Nasty Potter-"

"In fact, before Lily could respond, she got into an argument with Jaime and was thrown out," Eli said, her voice muffled, in a private conversation between the two of them, "Jaime will definitely ask her again, he's not a quitter, but I noticed you didn't do anything about it. Why? Jaime's pursuit of Lily is well known, and you haven't even said a word."

Severus Snape was stunned by his question. He was silent for a long moment, and the corners of his lips curled up in a self-deprecating smile.

"Which do you think would be better, if it were you?" He said dryly, without any change in his voice, "He was being courted by the It's a Wonderful Life at school, he was stupid and arrogant, but there was a very popular quidditch player at school, with a good family background, good grades, and a group of equally popular friends. Or was it pursued by a dirty, disgusting Slytherin, nicknamed snotlout?"

"Lily never thought of it that way," Eli said, frowning.

Severus Snape was silent for a moment, "But she's too good to be laughed at for that," he said softly. "Muggle-born wizards don't need more bad press. She'll be the laughingstock of Gryffindor."

Eli looked at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Severus Snape looked at him for a moment, then changed the subject.

"I can't believe you want to talk about this," he said, "This really surprises me. From what I remember, you're a polite but courteous friend. You've always had a good grasp of social distance. You've never touched anyone's sore spot, and you've never shown such deep concern."

Eli took one look at him, and the corners of his lips curled up.

"Because I remembered something," he said. "The girl I like used to wish you luck with that opportunity, so I'm here to see how you're doing."

Unfortunately, there is almost no progress at all. Eli added, and Severus Snape stared at him in shock.

"The girl you like?" He asked in amazement, staring at him with unusual vigilance. "Who? Do I know her?"

Eli stared at him for a few seconds, then moved closer to him, keeping his voice to a minimum.

"Well, it's fair to trade secrets," he said, speaking slowly as Severus Snape watched him closely

Severus Snape's pupils constricted and he gasped.

"Another one you know."

Severus Snape was stunned and still hasn't fully recovered. Eli sat up again with a smile in his slightly frozen gaze, obviously in a good mood to share the secret.

After a heart to throat after a false alarm, no one's emotions will be some fear of the horror. It was only after Eli got up and left that Severus Snape calmed down completely, and as he came to his senses, he didn't know why, a strange sense of security -- not because he wasn't attracted to his Ivans, but because he suddenly realized that love wasn't just about anyone's will, when it comes down to it, no one is immune.

This conclusion caused him to silently curl his lips and smile faintly, and his normally gloomy expression was extremely soothing at this moment. As he relaxed, Jaime's voice came faintly again-apparently, his daring friend had once again sneaked in when Madame Pomfrey returned to her office.

Severus Snape, who had listened to the noise on the other end of the line with a weary passivity, suddenly paused and realized that something had been wrong with him from the moment he lay there.

Jim. Baud's friend -- the least obtrusive other than Eli -- Remus. Lupin didn't show up at the School Nurse's office. He didn't see anyone in the potion class just now. He seemed to be sick again. He seemed to get sick once a month.

Snape had expected to see the frail Lupin himself in the School Nurse's office, but, strangely, he had not shown up, and his friends seemed in no hurry -- Severus Snape hated them very much, but also because of that, be more aware of their anomalies than others. He stared thoughtfully at the white drapery beside the bed, and his eyebrows rose gradually as he thought about it.

Disappearing once a month, there must be some mysterious story behind. And since the truth was hidden, it must have been a secret he did not want anyone else to find out, and he believed that he should not hesitate to hold on to any of these people's secrets.

The corners of Severus Snape's lips lifted slowly, and there was a meaningful sneer in his voice.

What a pleasant surprise. He thought, because of Baud's stupidity, he seemed to have caught on to something interesting.

Severus Snape has launched a painstaking investigation into Lupin's regular disappearances.

Such investigations are not kept secret for long -- and if you're dealing with a couple of sharp-witted pranksters, your initial desire to investigate quietly is hard to achieve. By Siris, Sardinia. Severus Snape was prepared when Blake cornered him and gave him a scornful sneer.

"Guilty and scared, aren't you?" He looked down at him and said with disdain.

Siris, Sardinia. Blake did not answer, and he gave him an entirely different look, a deep stare and a sneer.

"Don't stick your big, ugly nose in our business, Snivellus," Siris, Sardinia said with a blank look, narrowing his eyes slightly and raising an eyebrow at him.

"If you want to know, why don't you come to the Shrieking Shack next week? It's all there." He smiled faintly and threw him a defiant look.

"How about that? Come on, Coward."