Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
***
Lily Evans was neither gullible nor stupid. But she was trusting, incredibly so. It was what Severus Snape admired most about her. Second to that was her ability to love deeply, except where James Potter was concerned. Of course, Severus already knew that she would eventually fall for her current enemy and his two most favorite traits of hers would be given to someone who, in his opinion, didn't deserve their beauty.
He roughly pushed Potter out of his mind. This was his time with her, and his alone. Dumbledore had at least granted his wish for the redhead's friendship, and for that, he was eternally grateful. His heart clenched. Him coming back might have saved his friendship, but it didn't change what was fated to happen.
So he'd take the borrowed time he'd been given, however short it may be, and he would treasure it, love and never, ever forget it.
It would be burned in his mind, heart, and soul.
***
He looked around the potions class again and suppressed a sneer. The Slytherins and even the brave, heroic Gryffindors looked jumpy. He rolled his eyes. They were always on edge in this class, something Severus was sure the Potions Professor was proud to say she caused.
Even Lily was uneasy and it unnerved him, though he didn't know why.
The door shut almost soundlessly and the sharp click-clack of a woman's heels echoed throughout the dungeons. Once she had reached her desk, Professor Mallory turned to face her class, her dark eyes flashing dangerously.
Severus almost laughed at the tense silence. It was ridiculous of these idiots to be frightened by this bitter woman. In his mind, she was partially insane and scary only to two year olds.
"I'm sure, by now, you have all heard about the first few weeks of sixth year potions class. The rules are simple. Get along with your partners and you'll an 'Outstanding'. Anything short of that, will get you a straight shot to seeing a whole lot more of your partners than I'm sure you're willing to put up with. I'm ending the rumors as of right now. I do not care what you've been told. This project is hard, yes, but not the extent that you need gouge your eyes out. Simply put, you don't get along, you get one warning, no more. After that, you get to be chained to your partners for the entire day, every day, for the remainder of this project. The shackles disappear after dinner and re-appear after breakfast the next day.
"Sniveling to Dumbledore won't work, either. He completely approves. Some rubbish about 'bringing the Houses together.'" It was clear that Mallory didn't care how this affected the Houses, just that she could watch them tear each other apart. Severus thought she had no tactic. To not hide her distaste for the Headmaster's opinions and then to completely deny the only sane reason for her actions, was hardly something to go waving about. It simply wasn't wise.
"And no, bribing me will NOT work." Her gaze turned to Nott, whose face flushed slightly, "This…project will be 90% of your grade for this semester. In other words, fail this, and no matter how well you do on the rest of your work through out the year, you will get a nice sized Troll to show to your parents for Potions. You have absolutely no say on the pairings I choose. I don't care about family history, nor do I care if your partner happens to be a muggle-born." She looked over at the Slytherins while the Gryffindors snickered.
"Your group may be big and it may be small, depending on my mood. You will all be labeled in the order you were chosen. For example, the first group will be group One, and so on. You will all move into a line against the back wall. When I call out your names, you will immediately move somewhere. If you take too long, I will assist you. Any questions?" Her eyes brushed passed all of them, daring them to ask something. When no one did, she moved on.
"Back wall, now!" The students quickly scrambled and lined up against the wall.
"Evans, Snape." Lily gave him a relieved smile. But to Severus, the offer was too good to be true and he doubted it would just remain the two of them.
Mallory grinned maliciously. "Black, Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew, join them." The four looked horrified, but didn't dare say anything. Lily looked over at Severus, concerned, before fixing a glare on her face directed at Black and Potter.
"Oh, and Malfoy, you pair up with them as well." Pettigrew's whimper echoed through out the room.
"What was that, Mr. Pettigrew?" Her voice was sickeningly sweet.
"N-nothing."
"Good."
"Um, Professor, don't you think--"
"50 points from Slytherin Mr. Malfoy. Anything else, and you'll be seeing a lot of your group for the next three weeks." He paled. She smirked, walked away, and continued barking out names. The Slytherins looked murderous.
The group sat for a moment, glaring at each other. Lily sighed, cursing her luck. "Well lets get on with it. In the middle seems like a good place to sit."
The teenage boys seemed reluctant to follow, but seeing as Severus and Remus were already making their way towards the spot Lily had pointed to, they decided to move.
"Ok, so we need beetle wings," She started, sitting down on the nearest stool, "Powdered dragon bones, a vile of a python's brain, oh, and a vampire's fang." Lily finished, setting her book down. She looked up at the teenagers' faces, "Well?"
"Wait, so what are we making?" James asked.
"Um, we're making Fangs Illness." She said, biting her bottom lip.
"What's that sup--" He continued, but Remus stopped him.
"It's a potion, that, given soon enough, can prevent the poison from a vampire from changing you. It's a difficult potion to brew, but we'll be ok.
"What an inspiring speech." Malfoy said, a cruel laugh escaping from his lips. Remus ignored him.
"What's the first thing on the list, Lily?
"Add a pinch of powdered dragon bones, stir counter clock wise for ten minutes and let it brew for another five." Remus volunteered to get the ingredients, while the rest of the group sat and grumbled, avoiding each other. Lily read the instructions silently.
The seven brewed the potion, all of them slightly scowling, despite their efforts to hide it. But none of them argued, in fact, they didn't even speak, except for the occasional mumble of instructions. They were the ones who worked the most efficiently, but it helped that they were the only ones left that weren't shackled together.
Bellatrix Black had already hurled several vials, empty or not, at Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend hadn't taken it too well. Alice Preace flung the ladle she was using at Bellatrix's head, completely aware of the acidic liquid still on the spoon's tip.
It was just a shadow of what was happening around the room. Lily had long ago put up a magical, invisible shield around herself and her partners in an attempt at not getting something chucked at their heads.
***
The next day wasn't much better. Everything had been fine, that was, of course, until the chains had been put in place again. And it all went to pot after that.
Severus was desperately trying to avoid the other five around him, but found that he couldn't. Lily's presence beside him was almost impossible to ignore, as was Potter's glare.
You'll get your chance soon enough. He thought bitterly and settled for looking around the six crowded together on either side of him.
He glanced at Pettigrew disdainfully. Even after being back for almost too years, he still didn't know how to react around the Rat. Well yes, he did, but he couldn't. (His first thought was to call the nearest cat.) A part of him wanted to kill the man for all the suffering he had caused. It was partly because of him that Lily had died. But Severus knew that, when it came down to it, the only reason Pettigrew had known what to do was because of him. Severus knew that he would never forgive himself for overhearing the prophesy, but he had come a long way from his hate filled shell.
On the other hand, Pettigrew had died saving Harry in the end. He also knew that fear was what drove him to the Dark Lord. It was also because of him that Black was thrown in Azkaban, although Severus couldn't feel too bad about that, but he also knew that not even Black deserved that fate. The Rat was a different story.
Severus' eyes went to Potter and was again reminded of how much Potter's son resembled him. He felt a pang of guilt. His eyes then sought out Lily. She sensed his gaze and looked up. She smiled at him. He caught a glimpse of her eyes, the ones he loved so much, and the pang of guilt grew as he thought of who else had had those eyes.
Deep down, he knew that Harry Potter didn't deserve how Severus had treated him. The boy had been through so much, and each time, Severus had accused him of wanting the spot light, the glory, just as Harry's father would have. And each time, he watched as the boy defended his father blindly, not knowing what his father was truly like.
But then again, if he had manage to capture Lily's heart in the end, something must've changed with in him. Perhaps a brain transplant…
"Don't put that in there!" Lucius yelled as loud as he dared. He successfully snapped Severus out of his revere.
"We're supposed to let the dragon bones brew for twelve minutes, and then add the beetle wings." Potter was not in a good mood.
"No, it's the other way around, Prongs." Black pointed out.
"Padfoot, I know what I'm doing." He was getting impatient.
"I think we're supposed to let the dragon bones brew for fifteen minutes, actually."
"If that was it, it would have already blown up in our face, Moony!"
"You're all wrong. We add the brain, then the wings. Oh, and it's five minutes. " The three Marauders all turned around and faced their fourth, whose eyes were more watery than usual.
"You should listen to Wormtail more often, he's correct." Severus took this moment to sneer at them all. He knew this potion by heart and could do it blind folded. But it surprised him none the less that the least talented Marauder was the one to figure it out.
"What cute little nicknames," Lucius drawled, "Will I get a wedding invitation?"
"Cranky are we, Lucy? Is Nott not giving you any?" Sirius asked innocently.
"Watch it, Black." Lucius hissed, furious that Black actually had the nerve to accuse him of being gay. "You're tainting your blood and shaming your family name by hanging around this… filth." He looked pointedly at Remus.
"You know what? Cissy's hair is as blond as yours, the same shade if I'm not mistaken. When they say Purebloods inbreed, they really have no idea, do they?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows raised suggestively.
"YOU--"
"Quiet!" Lily had come back from retrieving ingredients and looked like she wanted to stab something.
"I will not be stuck with you people for two weeks! I won't, so shut up! Heal your wounded pride else where, Malfoy." She turned away from him and had started adding things to cauldron again.
"I don't take orders from Mudbloods."
Four wands were suddenly pointed at his face. It had happened so fast that Mallory hadn't notices at first, but then a smirk crossed her face as she made her way slowly to their side of the room.
Pettigrew hated arguments or violence, but his fellow Marauders needed him. So faithful Wormtail whipped out his wand.
But Pettigrew didn't notice that Lily had an entire vial full of Dragon Bones over the cauldron, he didn't notice that it was the verge of tipping, letting the contents spill out. He didn't notice that Lily had forgotten about the vial and was frozen in shock.
Just as James Potter was about to shout a curse, to defend the honor of the girl he loved, Pettigrew's wand arm collided with Lily's outstretched one.
And it happened so quickly.
Wormtail, being ever clumsy, lost balance, hit the stool behind him, and fell over, landing on a disgusted Malfoy.
The powdered bones spilt, and with a BANG! The three Marauders, Lily, and Severus were gone.
"Get Dumbledore!" Mallory whispered, her face very pale, "IMEDIATELY!"
***
So this chapter has been re-written. I re-read it the other day and was disappointed that it wasn't written very well. I'm still not sure it's improved much. It was four pages longer and had 1500 more words. Chapters two through six were re-edited, too. But it wasn't as major.
Anyways…REVIEW!