NB: This is set in an alternative universe where Lily Evans never married James Potter and turned him down for that 'one fateful' date. As a result, Snape never became a death eater, Voldemort chose Neville Longbottom as the chosen one, and Hogwarts is a much different place…
Intrigued? Read on….
All characters, concepts and situation belong to JK Rowling and all rights remain hers at all times. Please do not reproduce this story without express consent of myself, if you do, i will find you, then transfigure your eyebrows into caterpillars and your nose into lettuce. Then you will look like Voldemort, and that would be a bloody shame now, wouldn't it?
The Potion Master's Girlfriend 2
Chapter One
Snape didn't necessarily like Quidditch. In fact, he in all honesty hated it. The only time he actually went and watched a game was when he supervised his own team at the training grounds or when was expected to support his team against other houses. Fortunately, Slytherin's team made it something bearable by the various forms of bad play they performed during matches that led to Minerva stomping her feed and calling for the referee to award penalties. It was not fair granted, but nevertheless a form of entertainment that did not involve bludgers going into peoples bodily cavities.
Yes, Snape hated Quidditch.
So why on earth was he at the Quidditch world cup?
He had no interest in whether Bulgaria won or Ireland. The only difference it would make to him would be if Ireland lost he could use it as a punishment remark to O' Finnegan.
Lily, the love of his life, whom he had been reunited with just last year had come in from work saying that James had owled her with some tickets and asked if she had wanted to come with him. Snape had been a grumpy sod and moped around for a few morose hours before Lily added:
"…Oh, and he's invited you too, of course."
As it happened, Lily was rather fond of Quidditch and rather than admit that had no sporting inclinations of his own, he had accepted and watched her owl that sticky-up haired buffoon and accept.
And here they were. Surrounding by house elves riding llama's, merchandise being thrust in his face for 'bargain' prices and jostling idiots with painted faces whooping and rattling noise makers.
Yes, the entire stadium was full of everything he hated.
Lily, who was buying an 'IRELAND' shamrock badge and smiling, turned to him.
"…Want one?"
"No." he responded, smiling, trying to appear enchanted by the entire place and atmosphere "…I'm not one for badges."
"A hat then?" she asked.
"No thank you." he replied a bit more stiffly.
"Sev, come on…its like once in a lifetime to get tickets to this kind of thing, try and enjoy it…and at least join in with the cheers when someone falls off their broom."
Snape's eyebrows raised:
"…I can do that." he agreed.
She smiled and pinned the shamrock badge to her green beret.
"…Right, our seats are…along here…" she began reading the ticket. "…somewhere to the le-"
"LILY!"
Snape shuddered as James Potter came dashing towards them, a seat of green shamrocks and face paint as Sirius sidled behind wearing no teams colours-thankfully, Snape added as an after thought.
James grabbed Lily and gave her a hug so all that his rosettes that were shouting the players names in rapid, yet out of turn succession made a dreadful tinny din.
Snape sniffed dismissively as Sirius rolled his eyes at James who pulled back admiring what Lily was wearing.
"You look sensational, Evans." James Potter grinned. "And you're supporting my team! I say we sit together and insult the Bulgarians."
Lily laughed with a faint trace of unease.
"…I say I sit with my boyfriend, and you sit with yours." she smiled, winking at Sirius who chuckled.
"If you insist on breaking my heart on this special night." James mock wept and sat down.
"These are pretty good seats." Lily said, admiring the view. "…how did you get them?"
"Twisted Ludo Bagman's arm. He came by Puddlemere looking for sponsors and I happened to mention that I knew of a few 'friends' that were looking for him. He advised I kept quiet and gave me some tickets."
Snape was watching the crowds, something he always did at Quidditch games, usually looking for rule breaking.
He had to stop himself once or twice from telling two elderly fans to stop kicking the chair in front and a middle aged man not to pick his nose.
He scanned the stadium across from him and saw a fair few ginger haired people banded together and guessed that they were Weasley's, and a few spots down…
"Potter, give me your Omniculars-Quickly!" Snape urged as he saw a trio of silver haired people chatting to the minister of Magic, Pius Thicknesse.
James unhooked them from his neck and handed them to Snape. Snape looked at them and zoomed in with a tap from his wand.
Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were sat chatting happily to the black haired minister who looked as though he was a reanimated corpse from the paleness in his face and the grey tinge under his eyes.
Snape slowly set Omniculars down and swallowed a few times.
Recently, those unplanned steps back into his own memory of last year when he had inadvertently helped revive the dark lord under duress of Lily being killed. Luckily…and surprisingly James Potter and Sirius Black had rescued him and Lily from certain death, although Snape had undergone terrible injuries from torture.
He couldn't be sure, but he knew the Malfoy's were involved somehow.
Draco's suspension from the school after attacking Neville Longbottom, known as 'the boy who lived' provided the blood that was so desperately needed for the potion to revive the dark lord. Had the dark lord marked him and his family for other things?
Was there a way to prove it?
The memories of that night…they were returning.
Closing his eyes and feeling a cold wave of nausea flooding up his chest he remembered waking beside Lily in the dead of night, the sheets soaking with cold sweat and his heart trying to escape, and her gentle touch on the back of his neck, soothing him back to sleep.
"…Sev?" she began.
"…hmmm?" he asked.
"…What is it?" she asked softly, her hands wrapped around his cold, clammy fingers.
"…heights…I don't like heights."
"You're lying Severus." she sighed pulling the Omniculars away. "What did you see?"
Snape swallowed and looked wanly at her.
"…The Malfoys, are over there…"
She looked into the crowd and her eyes met them as she back at him as if she had simply been gazing around.
"Do you want to go?" she asked softly.
"What can they do here?" he asked. "Nothing, I'm not running."
Lily nodded and stroked his cheek.
"Just try and enjoy it. I hear that they have a really good seeker, the Bulgarians."
"Oh?" Snape asked weakly.
"Yeah." Lily nodded, checking her programme. "…Viktor Krum."
"Durmstrang, am I right?" he asked, checking the glossy programme.
And correct enough he was shown a picture of the Bulgarian seeker standing formally in the Durmstrang brown uniform with a man in dark robes beside him clapping him on the back and roaring in pride at the camera with a clenched fist.
He looked familiar, he had no idea why.
"Durmstrang?" Lily asked.
"Yes, it's a school out somewhere around Russia, that kind of region. I'm not entirely sure." he muttered, looking at the Ireland seeker who was a light built, typically Irish man called Lynch with a charming smile and a wink.
James was hanging over the balcony wolf whistling the last of the Veela at the pre-game show and offering him a ride on his 'broomstick' while Sirius pulled him back trying to bring his shoulders up to his ears.
Lily was scanning the auditorium.
"…Are you 'on duty'?" He asked, inclining his head towards her.
"…Am I ever 'off duty?'" she smiled and looked at him.
He wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed it.
"I suspect that is what I get for dating an Auror." he sighed breezily before smiling half playfully as Bagman announced the Irish's 'act'. A troupe of gold scattering leprechauns.
She chuckled, but he noticed her hand was on her wand. Willow, and 'swishy' as Ollivander had dubbed it.
"That reminds me, we've got this newbie coming in next week. Mad Eye said she has talent but is a clumsy little 'sod'." Lily sighed, rolling her eyes.
"…Anyone I'd know?" he asked watching as the spectators scrambled for the gold being scattered around like huge, metal confetti.
"Nymphadora Tonks?" Lily replied.
Snape tried to recall the name but it was lost in time amongst countless faces.
"No. Nobody I know." he confirmed.
"GOOD EVENING! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Began an enthusiastic, buoyant voice that boomed magically through the stadiums. "And welcome to the 422nd Quidditch world cup! IRELAND VERSUS BULGARIA!"
There was roars of support and loud cheering as Bagman, just visible next to the Malfoys and the minister bowed to the crowds. He was dressed in his usual Wimblebourne Wasps kit.
'Too small for that beer gut' thought Snape dismissively
"BUT! Before we start, a few words from our recently elected Minister of Magic, Pius Thicknesse!"
The crowd had become subdued, there were cheers but they had no warmth, and seemed rather forced. Snape did not applaud, and neither did Lily who appeared to be studying him with a set jaw and distrustful eyes.
"Wizards and Witches, ladies and gentlemen." he began sleekly. "We are united tonight by our love of sport and by the pride of two nations. And it is my honour to release the snitch that will kick off tonight's game. I wish both sides the best of luck." and with that he held up the golden snitch and let it free.
The game moved so fast. So much faster than Snape was able to keep up with. He watched in relative discomfort as Lily, Sirius, Potter and the entire crowd moved as one.
Celebrating as Troy scored the first goal of the match.
Lamenting when Ivanova equalized.
The general concern when Lynch was injured by some sort of faint that Krum did and the moment when the referee had to be kicked for responding to a Veela's advances at the sideline which resulted in a minor fire.
Snape had felt very proud for avoiding the Veela altogether, he knew what they could do to men…well, men who didn't know occlumency at least.
The game had ended (mercifully) fast and had ended shortly after Krum's nose was broken by a bludger, and Krum had caught the snitch, but not for the win.
He watched with mild amusement as the Irish team carried the concussed Lynch around on their brooms to celebrate their success.
Soon enough, people began to leave the stands as Potter cheered and whooped, joining in songs that insulted the Bulgarian team's captain's mother and swigging from passing flagons of fire whiskey.
Snape walked arm in arm with Lily as she tried to get the fact he enjoyed it a tiny bit out of him.
All Snape wanted to do was leave and get to their rented tent as soon as possible so that he could avoid dealing with the Malfoy's as they exited.
But as he crossed the muddy and souvenir trampled fields towards the tents he didn't see even a slither of silver hair.
He saw a few students gathered around here and there from school.
The former keeper from the Gryffindor squad who greeted Potter with great enthusiasm and exchanged some banter. He saw that Diggory boy who was flanked by the man he assumed was his father. Arthur Weasley and several of his children including to his mild surprise, Longbottom and Granger. He also saw Seamus leading some form of trailing dance that involved holding on to the person in front's waist and kicking out to the side.
Finally, they reached their rented two person tent.
Potter, who had had a sip of everyone who passed him's drink was obnoxiously drunk when they reached the tent neighbourhood and insisted on kissing both Lily and him good night. Lily smiled, turned him around and nodded for Sirius to lead him straight to his own bunk and to magically seal the flap shut.
As Lily turned Snape to enter their own tent. The flaps opened and spoke in a bossy welsh accent:
"Password?"
"Painted Quail Egg." Lily said eloquently.
The flaps of the tent became still and they walked in.
Snape had never stayed in a tent before…not a muggle one, nor a magical one. But what lay before him looked similar to a bedsit but with cloth walls, a single bedroom with bunk beds.
Snape's last hope, the last thing that had kept him going through that mind numbingly dull 'sport' where grown men rode around on brooms trying to insert large round objects into each other had been dashed.
A cuddle with his face buried in her hair as he fell asleep.
Denied by two single beds that lay on top of each other.
Sighing, he collapsed into the armchair next to the tent's support.
She reached up and undid her hair from under the beret and he watched as her beautiful red hair cascaded down her back like a river of loose curls into her black polo neck shirt.
He couldn't resist.
He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in those curls, wrapping his hands around her waist possessively.
He heard her chuckle and felt her reach up behind her to stroke his hair.
"…You need some rest. You've been on edge all evening." she softly said.
"As if I can sleep without you beside me." he muttered, planting kisses on her shoulder. "Those twin monstrosities to the idea of carnal love prevent me from holding the one I love while I sleep…"
"…The bunk beds?" she translated. "Is that what has your wand in a knot?" she smiled.
He nodded and moved to kiss her neck.
She idly flicked her wand at the bunk beds and as he watched, he saw them transform into a double bed.
Smiling genuinely for the first time all night he turned her to face him.
"…and this is why I love you."