School: Beauxbatons
Theme: Elixir to induce euphoria
Prompts: Potions book [Object] (Main Prompt), Severus Snape/Lily Evans [Romantic Pairing], Cauldron [Object],
Year: 6
Word count: 2152
Severus had been surprised when, several days ago, Lily had asked for help with brewing a potion that had been giving her particular difficulty. She had waited for him outside after Potions class, her arms holding her books tight to her chest as she looked up at him with her bright green eyes. It was confusing to Severus for many reasons, not the least being that he and Lily Evans could not be considered friends any longer. She had not spoken to him for months, not after… not after he had said that word.
Why would she have suddenly wanted his help, out of the blue and after all this time? He did not understand. But he didn't need to understand her motivation before accepting her offer. Their separation had hurt them both, for they each had lost a friend in the other. After all, they had been nearly joined at the hip as children, and despite the fact they had been Sorted into different houses they still had spent a lot of time together. In reality, she had been his longest and truest friend, and he had been lonely without her.
They sat together in the cold dampness of the dungeons. They were alone in a workroom off the side of the main Potions classroom and sat on opposite sides of the table, looking into the same cauldron which was currently a sickly shade of green. The silence was heavy between them.
Severus had one finger below a line of text within the instructions, to keep his place. His other hand was holding several porcupine quills above the simmering liquid. He let them go, listening to them sizzle and pop when they hit the liquid, before turning his head to look at the book. He moved his finger down to the next line of the directions to brew an Elixir to Induce Euphoria.
"I'll do it," said Lily, looking up from her own copy of Advanced Potion-making. She took her wand and motioned for the ladle beside the cauldron to levitate, enter the liquid, and stir several times before resuming its prior place.
"Thanks," he said quietly, looking back down at the book. His right hand went to his chin, scratching it thoughtfully before he picked up a sprig of bright green leaves from the worktable.
Lily frowned. "What's that?" she questioned.
He looked at her, his lips pressed thinly together. "Peppermint."
"Peppermint? But that's not what the book says to do," Lily insisted, her eyes scanning the page.
"You've not been adding it? No wonder yours hasn't been turning out."
She looked annoyed. "Why would the book leave out a necessary ingredient?"
"This book really is just a... guide, not an instruction manual. In any case, adding the peppermint just makes sense." He paused. Lily looked at him with confusion upon her face, and he realized it perhaps didn't make so much sense to her. "Well… you know… Potions aren't that tricky, once you really understand the basics. It's all just variation on a theme. Such as, a potion should be balanced. And, for every agent, there is a counteragent. And-"
"Yes, yes, I get it," she said irritably. He shut his mouth tight, berating himself for being such a know-it-all. He knew she was a bit prideful, and that he shouldn't have insinuated that she didn't know as much as he did. This whole thing, really, wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. There was still a distance between them, much bigger than the width of the table.
He dropped the herb into the cauldron and watched the potion turn a bright shade of yellow. He looked pleased, leaning over to scrawl "peppermint" in the margin of the instructions before placing his quill back into the inkwell.
He added the Sopophorus beans and the wormwood, explaining to Lily what he was doing and the effects of each ingredient, trying to sound helpful rather than dictatorial. When he had finished, the potion was fizzing and had turned a bright, sunshine yellow. It cast a golden glow upon both their faces as they looked into the cauldron.
"Well, it looks a bit better than my attempts," Lily admitted. "What do you think?"
"There's only one way to really find out." He flicked his wand and two goblets appeared on the table.
"Drink it?" she asked, as though the idea was repellent.
His eyes looked down at the table, then met hers. "Don't you trust me?"
Even after this time apart, he knew what her reaction would be. She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ears before decisively picking up the goblet nearest her. He slowly gestured with his wand, watching the ladle pour a cupful into each vessel.
He picked his goblet up and tipped it back first, draining the sweet potion in one swig. He set it down and watched Lily do the same, feeling the effects begin to take a hold of him.
It was similar to the tickle in his head that came with drinking butterbeer. But instead of numbing his mind it made everything sharper. Everything was becoming just a bit… funny, as if a laugh was forming in the bottom of his stomach and soon would be uncontainable. It was not a feeling he had much experience with, but he still recognized it.
In fact, he didn't think he had ever felt this good. Not at Hogwarts, bullied by Potter and his friends, and hardly accepted by Avery and Mulciber. And certainly never in his childhood, his father an ever-looming threat, dangerous and imposing as a thundercloud. It seemed to him that the only good memories he had all shared one common occupant, and she was sitting across the table from him.
Severus could feel the happiness in his body as though it was a physical thing, the tingle of joy extending down his arms and legs and into his fingers and toes. He could see Lily's face began to express the delight that she too was feeling, and he could not help it - he smiled.
She giggled. "I guess it works, then."
"Yeah, I guess so." He could feel the happiness roiling in his stomach, almost as though it would soon burst out of him. He wondered to himself when had Lily become so pretty. The thought caused him to blush and he looking away, touching the base of his goblet nervously. He then removed his hand, feeling silly. Where did he normally put his hands? He couldn't really remember. A thought came to him, and he shook his head, as though he wished to be rid of it.
"What?" asked Lily, leaning over the table. As he knew her, she knew him - his expressions, his reactions. She was suddenly seized with a pang of sadness that they had spent so much time apart, but her feeling was quickly replaced with glee as she watched his reaction to her question.
"You'd laugh." There was a funny light behind his eyes, one she had seen before only rarely, only in his happiest moments.
"Tell me," she insisted.
"I was only thinking of that old… that old Celestina Warbeck song." His black eyes glittered with joy. Whatever coldness had been between them had now melted away. It was like nothing had ever happened, and they were two best friends again.
"Celestina Warbeck!" she cried, her hands clasped over her smile. She laughed as though it was the funniest thing she'd heard in ages. "What could possibly cause you to think of her?"
"I don't know!" His cheeks were beginning to hurt from how big his smile was. "I can't help it; it just kind of… came to me."
"Oh god, not A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love?" She laughed again, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. "Your mum used to play that all the time when we were younger, remember?"
"What an awful song." His smile twisted into a smirk. "Do you remember the lyrics?"
"How could I forget?" She stood up theatrically, gesturing towards the large metal pot between them. "'Drink from my cauldron full of hot, strong looooove,'" she crooned, her last lyric echoing off the stone walls of the dungeons.
She looked at him, and he found his mouth opening almost against his will, her soprano joining his baritone as they sang in unison, "It's all the magic you'll ever need!"
Lily was standing close to him now, looking at him intently, her cheeks bright and rosy. He had missed her so much, her tiny freckles and her apple green eyes. She was really very beautiful.
Suddenly, his heart was seized with the enormity of his feelings for her, feelings he had not really understood before. He felt brave, and before he could stop himself he blurted out, "You're so pretty, Lily."
He felt almost horrified at his admission, but it seemed as though she was not. She only blushed a deeper shade of red. "Really?"
"Well, of course," he mumbled. "How could you not be?"
"You're not so bad yourself," she said, reaching up and tweaking his nose.
He rolled his eyes at her, and she chuckled merrily. Even in his state, he couldn't believe her words. He was unattractive and he knew it, and it was so like her to try to be kind when he hardly deserved it.
Lily's hand drifted from his nose down his arm, her fingertips lightly brushing over the fabric of his robes. It mesmerized him. She stepped closer, her eyes never leaving his, and he found himself leaning over her. Her eyes closed, her arms went to his waist, and somehow his lips were suddenly pressed against hers. Severus's heart was banging in his chest, and he was sure she could feel it through his jumper. His shaking hands went to her back, as though he had to hold onto her to know that she was real.
They broke apart, staring at each other once more. "Sev, I…" she whispered, but she didn't finish her sentence. She leaned in to kiss him again, her hands pressed to his chest, and as she moved her foot it caught against the leg of a stool tucked under the table.
She fell forward, and he failed to catch her, instead hearing her cry of pain as she hit the floor.
"Oh," she cried, rolling over and sitting up. Her palms were scraped where she had caught her fall, tiny pricks of blood appearing on her skin.
He knelt beside her, taking her hands in his. "I could get some dittany, or murtlap essence," he offered, but he stopped as soon as he saw the expression on her face.
She was looking at him with something akin to panic, as though the fall had instantly sobered her. Severus, too, felt a curious sinking feeling, as though he was deflating.
"Oh, Sev, I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I… I don't know what came over me," she mumbled. "I think... what happened... it really was the potion." Her cheeks now matched the color of her hair.
"What?" he asked breathlessly. He felt as though he would soon sink into the floor, as empty and insubstantial as a ghost.
"Well… I'm… me, and you're… you," she said ineloquently, gesturing towards both of them in turn.
"That never mattered before," said Severus. He looked stricken. "You never minded me before."
"There was nothing to mind, before," she retorted.
"And there is, now?" he said angrily. He got to his feet and crossed his arms. She dusted herself off and did the same, looking into the potion once more when she could not match his angry stare. "If you dislike me so much, why did you want me to help you with your revision in the first place?"
"Oh, well…." She could not meet his gaze. "You're a great student, Sev, and I just thought you'd be the best one to help me."
He looked devastated, feeling used. "You don't even like me," he said, his eyes hard on hers. It was a statement, one he half hoped she would dispute.
When she said nothing, his face became taut, as though hearing himself say the words aloud had made them true and indisputable.
"I'll see myself out, then," he said, bitterly.
She stepped back from the worktable and he picked up his book, shutting it with a quiet thump before tucking it into his schoolbag. Severus slung it over his shoulder and grabbed his wand, his movements quick and determined. He had to leave the room before she suspected how much her words had hurt him, and before he allowed himself to feel the pain of what had happened.
He turned to her once more. "Don't ever ask for my help again," he spat. And with that he stepped out of the workroom, leaving Lily and the bubbling yellow potion behind.