"SNAPE! I want a word with you!"

It was only thanks to his early warning wards that Severus Snape didn't ruin the potion he was brewing. It had taken him two days to get to this stage, and Poppy would murder him if he had to start over again.

As the current cause of possible delay slammed into the Potions lab, Severus cast a stasis spell over his cauldron and turned to face the intruder.

"Black," he acknowledged. "What are you yapping on about now?"

Sirius Black came to a halt with a lab bench between them. He rested his palms on it, leaned forward and growled.

"You stopped Harry's Occlumency lessons – again! You know Dumbledore wants him to learn to shut Voldemort out!"

"Well, perhaps if he was willing to learn, I wouldn't have felt the need to stop wasting my time," Severus drawled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Of course he wants to learn!" Black exclaimed. "No-one would want Voldemort in their head! Except his loyal followers, I suppose," he sneered.

Severus snorted. "Potter wants to know about the corridor he's been dreaming of. He hopes it'll bring him acclaim, like the attack he witnessed on Arthur."

"That's a lie!" a younger voice contested hotly from the doorway. Black jerked around. Interesting. He obviously hadn't brought Potter with him.

Severus raised an eyebrow at Potter. "Really? Which part?" he asked, silkily.

"I didn't report the attack on Mr Weasley for 'the acclaim'," Potter stated, moving further into the lab and halting next to Black. "I did it so he could be saved!"

"Hmm, didn't deny your interest in the corridor, though, did you?" Severus sneered at him. "Your right to know absolutely everything working overtime, is it?"

"Shut up, Snape!" Black said, sharply. Potter flushed, although whether that was due to anger or shame was anyone's guess.

Anger, Severus decided. Didn't like being taunted about something he shouldn't be interested in.

"Until Potter is willing to learn and works at learning, then there's nothing more I can do." Severus turned back to his potion and prepared to lift the stasis charm. "Run along now. I'm sure the Potter fan club is waiting for a glimpse of their idol, and there are sticks to be fetched, mutt. Some of us have real work to be getting on with."

"Yeah, all work and no play makes Snape a dull boy," Black taunted in a sing-song tone.

"Who'd want to play with him anyway?" Potter asked, sounding disgusted. He obviously felt safe with his dogfather there to protect him.

"Yes, maybe if you washed your hair more, Snivellus, people wouldn't run away so quick." Black chortled, amused by himself, as Severus tensed.

"Shame he couldn't do anything about that skin, though," Potter added.

"True. Sickly vampire is never a good look. And those teeth . . ." Black tutted. "Ever heard of dentists, Sniv?"

"Hermione's parents are dentists," Potter said to Black. "Perhaps she could arrange an appointment." He paused and looked over at the frozen Potions Master. "Free of charge, of course."

"Get out." The hiss was emphasized by the rattling of glass vials. Potter and Black looked around, uneasily, at the trembling potions. "Five hundred points from Gryffindor for insulting a teacher." Severus whirled on them, his eyes blazing with fury and his wand pointed directly at them. They both took a rapid step backwards, and Black's arms came up as though to shield Potter.

"Now, Snape . . ." he started, warily eyeing the wand.

"I said GET OUT!" Severus bellowed, and flicked his wand.

Black and Potter were thrown backwards, and landed hard in the corridor outside the lab.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Harry and Sirius slowly picked themselves up off the floor and stared at the closed door. They could hear breaking glass behind it.

"Guess old Snape can't handle the truth," Sirius said, cheerfully, then slapped Harry on the back. "Come on. Lunch time. Let's go find Remus."

Harry looked at the door again before turning to follow his godfather out of the dungeons. Shame was beginning to crawl through him. Even if it was Snape, greasy bat of the dungeons, he had been cruel. It reminded him unpleasantly of the taunting Dudley's gang used to do.

As they crossed the Entrance Hall, something caught Harry's eye. He turned to look, and stopped dead. "Sirius . . ."

There were more gems in the Gryffindor point hourglass than he had ever seen. Almost the entire lower section was full. But they weren't the red colour they should have been.

All of the gems were solid black.

"Sirius . . ." Harry repeated, faintly. Sirius came to stand beside him, and gaped at the hourglass.

"What the . . . ?" he muttered.

"My word! What happened?" came a shocked voice from behind them. Professor McGonagall approached to study the hourglass more closely.

"What does it mean, Professor?" Harry asked, curiously.

"The gems only go black when a House is in negative points," she said, frowning at the glass. "But how did Gryffindor end up at minus a thousand points?"

Harry gulped, and even Sirius looked taken aback. "M-minus a thousand?" he whispered. Oh, yes, Snape had been very angry . . .

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows at Harry. "Do you know why this happened, Mr Potter?" she asked.

"It was that slimy, no-good—" Sirius started to say. He was vibrating with rage.

"Sirius!" "Mr Black!" Harry and Professor McGonagall snapped in unison.

"Mr Potter? Perhaps you'd be so kind as to explain." Professor McGonagall eyed him sternly.

"Um, Snape . . . ah, Professor Snape took points because I . . . we were . . . well, we were kinda rude to him." Harry scuffed his toe along the ground in front of him, then eyed the hourglass. "Guess he took even more once we'd gone."

Professor McGonagall eyed both of them, then raised her gaze heavenwards. "I don't suppose I want to know what made Professor Snape that angry," she sighed, shaking her head. "But you will both apologise to him as soon as possible – sincerely – and do whatever he requires of you to earn back those points."

"But, Professor . . . !" Harry started, alarmed. With that kind of leeway, Snape could legitimately use him as potion ingredients. Or turn Harry into his own personal house elf.

"No, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall gave both he and Sirius a grim look. "Do you want to go down in the history books as the only student to ever earn a House negative points – let alone so many?"

"No, Professor," Harry mumbled, and hung his head. "We'll apologise first thing in the morning."

"All work and no play makes Snape a dull boy."

Severus sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace. He stared blankly at where flames had been, several hours before. A half-empty bottle of firewhiskey sat forgotten on a small table beside him. His hands rested limply on his knees.

And blood dripped continuously, unnoticed, from a gash on his left forearm. It trickled down his hand and pooled silently on the carpet.

"Maybe if you washed your hair more, Snivellus."

As his mind replayed the words of Black and Potter, over and over again, tears slowly ran down his face.

Hadn't the Marauders been bad enough? Did Black really have to teach the next generation to carry it on?

He may not be the handsomest in their year, like Black or Potter Senior, but he still had skills. He wasn't worthless just because he didn't chase after every woman out there.

"Who'd want to play with him anyway?"

"Sickly vampire is never a good look."

So he didn't spend hours sunbathing, or primping in front of a mirror. He had work to do, for Merlin's sake! Real work, important work!

"All work and no play makes Snape a dull boy."

As the taunts, both new and old, rang in his head again, Severus shot to his feet with an anguished cry.

Unfortunately, this put him at eye-level with the mirror above the fireplace. He stared at himself, really looking for the first time in years.

"My, we do look a bit rough," said his reflection, reaching up to touch his hair with his fingertips. "Need a bit of work doing, perhaps . . ."

At hearing the words from the reflection – from his very own self – Severus let out a heart-wrenching scream that held more than an edge of insanity. A bright burst of wild magic exploded in the room, shattering the mirror, the firewhiskey decanter and several dozen potion vials.

When the light cleared and everything settled, Severus was gone.