Chapter Text
“I solemnly swear I am up to no good," James Potter lazily muttered as he waited for the Marauder's map to reveal the Hogwarts' layout and its occupants, the map and his wand on his grip. Pushing his glasses up to his nose, he adjusted his position on his four poster bed to a more comfortable position, his lips tugging drowsily in a smile.
When the map finally revealed itself, his eyes automatically searched for that name…where…..Oh, there she is. The name Lily Evans sat still in the Gryffindor dorm room, probably sound asleep, like every normal person is in this late hour. He yawned loudly, his little smile on his face growing bigger as he lovingly touch Lily’s name on the map, his mind stuck replaying the remnants of his dream: Lily finally admitting that she liked him also, their embrace, his rather quite big and muscled body fitting perfectly against Lily's smaller one, Lily tiptoeing seemingly wanting to kiss him, Oh this is it, this is finally it, their faces getting closer and closer and closer, and then he woke up, much to his annoyance.
Still, the sleepy smile remained plastered on his handsome face. What a wonderful way to wake up. After a while of dreamingly staring through the map, still lost in the thoughts of his wonderful dream and the beauty of his Lily, his smile dropped when he spotted a familiar but unwelcome name, moving on the upper layout of the map. The lone dot of one Severus Snape went up and up and up till it stopped on the seventh floor. Where the bloody hell are you going—he casted a quick tempus charm which showed 3:34 AM, —at 3:34 in the morning, Snivellus? He sat suddenly upright, first night of the Christmas holidays and Snivellus was already on the move, doing bad and dark things, no doubt.
Yes, he nodded eagerly, his face contorting into a sly grin, aside from wooing Lily, he was gonna spend his two-week Christmas break punishing the evil wizard that Snivellus himself would wet himself and wish his miserable self didn't exist.
James was about to jump down his bed to follow Snivellus when he remembered that it was Christmas break, the three Marauders were in their own families, Sirius was staying now with Remus, he couldn't just follow Snape, he was alone. His parents were out of the country going to Italy for his father's Potions conference. He could stay with his friends’ house but then the news of Lily staying in the castle for Christmas reached him and he decided to just spend time with her. For the first time in his Hogwarts years, he was truly alone. That evil bat could….outduel him, he admitted to himself grimly. No, I need to plan this out carefully, he said to himself as he went back sitting on his bed.
Snivellus’ dot was now pacing back and forth in the seventh floor when for the second time in this hour, his sly smile slid from his face as he gasped when he saw Snape's name gone on the map. Gone!
“What the—!” he sputtered as he gripped the map tighter, his eyes bulging out as he scanned the parchment nearer his face, but that spot that was supposed to have Snivellus’ name was eeringly blank. He scanned the other parts of the castle but to no avail, Severus Snape was gone! Gone.
But…but that was impossible! The Marauder's map was impeccable! They spent their five years researching, casting incantations after incantations, traipsing every part of the castle, perfecting it, and that they did! There was no way, no bloody way, they missed a spot. There was no way the map was the problem!
Snivellus is the problem then, as usual, he nodded to himself, convinced that this was the git’s doing. He just needed to find out what Snivellus did and what was he up to.
Did he apparate? But that's…impossible, no one could apparate in Hogwarts, not even the headmaster himself. But…does that rule apply to…dark creatures of the wizarding world? What if Snape was really a vampire? And he did his dark magic thing to—As James’ thought centered on dark creatures, he was abruptly reminded of his werewolf friend, and he guiltily winced. There are no ‘dark’ creatures, he corrected himself, but there are dark souls. Remus Lupin is a werewolf and a good man, Severus Snape isn't, and that makes the git a danger to him, his friends, his family, and his Lily.
What if the bastard used one of his dark spells? That could be a possibility….evil, greasy, ugly, thin, pale, sickly, smelly, yucky teeth and ewwy hygiene….the list of the bastard's imperfections went on but the Slytherin was…..smart, and powerful. The Marauders had first hand experience to know just how much. However, deep inside, there was doubt, Even though smart, could a student, a 7th year student, bend the will of an old and powerful castle? Hmm, he doubted it. A more powerful, old, experienced, wizard, perhaps. Someone that could be evil and savage enough to break the great Hogwarts' protection to its students…With that thought in mind, his mind automatically spiraled down into one name: You-Know-Who.
James felt his hands go cold, and he gulped audibly. Did You-Know-Who do this? Did Snivellus finally go and sell his soul to You-Know-Who? He knew it from the start that that bastard’s fate would end up like this, but he still felt a glimpse of disappointment. Huh. This is serious, should I tell somebody? McGonagall? Dumbledore, perhaps?
He wished his friends were with him, Padfoot would joke, Wormtail would laugh, and Moony would know the smart thing to do in every situation. It was just a day without them, and he missed his friends already.
After minutes of contemplating, he decided that he would catch Snivellus all alone, besides, if he tattled this to professors they might sniff around, discover their map, and that could lead to the confiscation of the Marauder's Map, and that won't happen, not on his watch. It was up to him and only him to punish and catch the evil git, if he were lucky he could have the slimy snake caught red handed enough to throw him out of Hogwarts to Azkaban where he really really really belonged.
Satisfied, he reminded himself to write this discovery of him to Remus in the morning, and went back to laying back on his bed, willing his eyes to close again.
Before he succumbed to sleep, his thoughts were still in the greasy head, still eager to unravel the supposed dark secret of one Snivellus Snape. Oh, he would find out what darkness the bastard was hiding behind his miserable hide, just he watch.