Chapter Six

"Sev, time to go."

"What?" Severus groaned. "What's going on?"

"That was the Dinner bell, we have to go before any Hufflepuffs come, you know no one but Hufflepuffs are allowed in here." Severus opened his eyes. That's right; he and Oz were sleeping the affects of the drug off…Severus stood up, wobbled slightly, then followed Oz out to the Great Hall.

"Why don't you try sitting at the Hufflepuff table with me?" Oz asked. He hesitated, uncertain about what he should say. He really did want to join Oz, but was uncertain on how the other Hufflepuffs would react to a Slytherin sitting amongst them. "Don't worry, they won't bite."

"Uh, okay, I guess I'll give it a go." Severus replied. When they reached the dining hall the echoing voices where chaotic and their volume was exaggerated to a painful level in Severus' ears. They sat down side-by-side at the end of the table as he winced at the cacophony of chatter.

"So what did you think?" Oz asked excitedly while filling his plate a mile high with mashed potatoes, chicken breasts, Sheppard's pie, and many other food items.

"Well, it was great while it lasted, but I don't feel very good right now…kinda sick and groggy actually." This was true. His head was aching and he felt a little nauseous and he could smell the stench of the weed that clung to his hair and clothing filling the air around him. Also now that the drug had left his system, the full weight of what had happed between Lily and Potter was starting to hit him again.

"Well, I dohave something that's in less demand than Pot or Ecstasy, it's stronger stuff though," Oz said, glancing over at him. "I have only tried it about four or five times so far myself."

"What is it?" Severus asked, curious.

"It's most commonly known as Void, it's a wizarding drug." Oz said as he reached for a piece of chicken.

"I'm not familiar with it." Severus said interested.

"Void is brand new, not many people have. It has a different effect depending on the dose you use. We should probably go to our classes for the next couple of days though, so as not to arouse suspicion, but I'm thinking about giving it another go in a couple of days, like Saturday. Care to join me?"

Severus thought for a moment wondering what he had to lose then said, "Sure." then drank from his goblet.

"Why aren't you eating?" Oz inquired. Severus detected a slight edge of concern to his voice.

"I'm not hungry." answered Severus.

"But you haven't eaten anything all day, or yesterday as far as I saw," Oz exclaimed. Then he whispered, "and it is my experience that smoking Pot increases your appetite, not decreases it."

"Look, what does it matter to you if I eat or not anyways?" Severus asked, raising his voice a little his voice edged with irritability.

Oz blushed, and looked down at his plate. "Never mind then." Severus raised his head as he felt a disturbance in the air behind him. It was a small girl he had never seen before, nothing out of the ordinary about her. She sat down with a flock of other girls and began yammering about shoes or some other God-awful topic.

"Ah damn, I've got detention with McGonagall," Severus said as he looked beyond the flock and up at the staff table. McGonagall was watching him, then she got up. He glanced at his watch. "I'm gonna be late."

As soon as Severus knocked on Professor McGonagall's office door just the once it opened. "Well, I didn't think I would be seeing you today Mr. Snape."

"Oh?" he said, confused and still very slow from the weed.

"I haven't seen you all day Mr. Snape, not even at the morning and the midday meal."

"Oh, yeah." Severus said, not meeting her gaze afraid that his unfocused eyes might give him away.

"Why is that Mr. Snape?" asked the professor shrewdly.

"I've been ill, Professor." he lied easily.

"I see," she said in a tone that said clearly that she was not convinced as she breathed in the stench of pot wafting in droves from Severus. He wished that he had had time to take a shower and change before going to dinner. "Today you will be cleaning the desks in my classroom." She gestured for him to follow her. After walking half the way from her office to the Transfiguration classroom, she asked, "Mr. Snape, how well do you know Oswald Dorflinger?"

Severus thought for a moment then replied, "I don't think that's any of your concern Professor." Professor McGonagall looked as if she had been hit by three stunning spells simultaneously.

"Mr. Snape, may I remind you – "

"No Professor, my I remind you that it is my choice to have whoever I wish as my friend, not that of a transfiguration teacher's."

"Sixty points from Slytherin!" Severus almost burst into laughter as she said this; what did house points matter to him anymore? None of the Slytherins had ever been there for him, never cared, and he didn't care about any of them either. He almost provoked McGonagall further just to get more house points taken away, but he decided against it. There was no telling if she would just take away more house points or do something more drastic such as more detention.

"I'm sorry Professor, I don't know what got into me." He said as he hung his head, pretending to be guilt ridden and ashamed. They walked on, McGonagall giving Severus the silent treatment all the way to the classroom before giving him a rag and some muggle cleaning solution; she had absolutely refused to let him clean the desks with magic, ("It wouldn't be a proper detention if you didn't have to do something you don't want to do.") Severus had wanted to argue that he didn't want to be cleaning the desks in the first place, but he kept his mouth shut.

The next couple of days seemed to drag on in a haze of pain; every time his thoughts were to come across Lily, a cloud anguish consumed his entire being. In addition to this emotional agony, all the teachers seemed to always ask him the same question over and over again, ("Where is your homework?") Severus just waved off the questions like flies on a hot summer's day, but seriously, didn't they have any originality? Things weren't made any easier by McGonagall's watchful eye during his nightly detentions either.

Severus opened his eyes quite suddenly to realize it was finally Saturday. Looking around the Slytherin dormitory, he saw four boys in beds in the round stone chamber, all still sleeping. He glanced at his watch, (There was no way to tell what time it was because of the lack of windows, like the Hufflepuff dormitories.) and saw that it was half past seven. Severus got dressed and walked to the Great Hall where he played with the sausages on his plate while waiting for Oz.

"Hi ya." said a familiar voice in a familiar greeting. Oz sat down next to him and lowering his voice said, "Sorry I was late, I overslept; ready for today?" Severus nodded. Rubbing his hands together Oz said, "Excellent."

"Where are we going to do it? The Owlery is far too busy on a Saturday."

"Astronomy tower."

Severus took a quick intake of air and said, "I love the astronomy tower, everything is always so beau – " He stopped short. He wasn't sure why he almost opened up Oz but it was a very odd experience. "Do you have it with you?" he asked quickly, changing the subject.

"Yep." said Oz, patting his robe's inner pocket.

In almost no time at all, the two of them were up in the Astronomy Tower. "So as I said before, each feeling is caused by a different dose of the stuff. It is capable of creating any feeling you can possibly imagine; from happy to sad and everything up and beyond."

"Can it do peaceful?" Severus asked tentatively. He could use a bit of relaxation from the stressful week he had just escaped from.

"'Course it can! I just told you it can cause any feeling under the sun."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I would really like a bit of peace after the week I've had."

"Totally understandable mate." Measuring out the two dosages they would need for their preferred feeling the opaque liquid splashed playfully about. Severus thought about the way he had said 'mate'. What was the relationship that he had with Oz? Was it mere acquaintanceship or was it something more than that? Friendship? He had stood up for Oz against Professor McGonagall, but he was also standing up for himself in the process. Maybe there was something in it, but it was probably just nothing. Severus shook these strange thoughts from his mind when Oz offered him the little glass bottle in which he had poured the bright purple fluid.

"What do I do now?" Severus asked, though he was fairly certain he knew what the answer would be.

"You drink it all at once. Here, I'll go first." Oz lifted his bottle to his lips and drank the entire content in one swift gulp. "There, it should begin to work in about ten seconds. Now it's your turn." Severus fingered the bottle in his hands for a moment, then lifted it to his lips and downed it all summarily. Severus leaned back against the wall facing the railing and let the Void take its effect.

No matter what it seemed to Oz, the effect seemed almost instantaneous. He breathed in deeply as the world lost its focus and he felt his whole body and mind relax. Severus was more at rest than he could ever remember, even more so than in Lily's presence. Lily, he couldn't think about her without remembering the aching loss. Bracing himself for the overwhelming pain he clenched his fists and screwed up his eyes, but it did not come. Slowly he realized that as long as Void was in his system, thoughts about Lily or any other thoughts would never trouble him.

Gradually Severus unclenched his fists and opened his eyes; Oz was watching him with a blank expression on his face. "The girl?" He asked.

"Yeah, the girl." Severus replied, finding it very easy to keep his voice cool and controlled. Suddenly Oz's hair changed from blue to black to yellow. "Whoa, what did you just do?" He asked. He found that he was surprisingly calm despite what just happened; it must be the Void he decided.

"What do you mean? What did I just do?" Oz asked, thoroughly perplexed.

"Your hair, it just changed color, twice."

"Well that can't be right; I didn't change it on purpose…" Oz got up and walked to the model globe which was suspended peacefully in the center of the room. "Hmm, you're right," He muttered, leaning down and inspecting his reflected appearance in the metal. "That's really weird…" he said unconcernedly then giggled. Severus knew that he should at least be slightly concerned and thought that was a bit odd that he wasn't, then he remembered: Void. It was keeping both of them calm, even if they were just about to fall off a cliff or something. Severus knew that this should bother him just a little, but neither of them could work up enough energy to become even faintly worried.

And anyways, why should it matter if he died? It's not like he had anything left to live for. He was just a waste of space using up someone else's oxygen and eating someone else's food. The next step seemed quite logical to him and he was amazed that he had not seen it before. He stood up, wobbling slightly, then made his way to the edge of the Astronomy Tower.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"Sky diving." Severus replied sarcastically.