Chapter two :
Lily walked down to dinner, while Severus walked off to the Slytherin dormitories to drop off his bag. He left the dormitories and started towards The Great hall. Lily was sitting with some other Gryffindors. Severus sat down near a blonde, curly-haired fifth-year girl.
"Hey Severus! Care to give me the story on those new bruises? Or perhaps spill the beans on what you heard James and Sirius of Gryffindor talking about in the library?", she asked. Her lime-green quill whipped through the air alongside her notepad.
"Not now Rita. I just want to eat.", he answered, not trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. She always seemed to know everyone's business. How she knew about the library, he didn't know.
"Fine.", she said. Turning around, she spotted Avery and went off to talk to him, her quill and notebook buzzing after her. Severus turned back to his plate. Scooping some mashed potatoes topped with gravy and stuffed bread onto his plate, he began to eat. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, he saw that The Marauders were absent from dinner. The lonely dinner gave him time to think about where they were.
They must be up to something. Surely they wouldn't miss dinner, would they? Or maybe they're in trouble for what they did yesterday.
He looked over at the staff table. Sure enough, Dumbledore was gone from dinner. Severus narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Dumbledore loved The Marauders, right? He would never punish his 'golden boys' would he? No, he wouldn't, and Severus knew it.
When he had finished his dinner, Severus walked over to the Gryffindor table, wished Lily goodnight, and walked off to the dungeon that served as the Slytherin common room. Having finished all his homework in class, but the essay. A little while later, the essay was finished and with extra notes. He decided to do some light reading. Grabbing a book from his trunk, he settled down in an armchair near the study table. It was a stiff leather that made you sink in, but he didn't mind. He was sure that the other houses had much better things, more welcoming colors. But he didn't mind. He opened his copy of The Essential Defense Against the Dark Arts and began to read. His became so absorbed in his reading that he didn't realize the time until prefect, Lucius Malfoy came down from the dormitories.
"Oh. Hello Severus.", he said with his classic sly smile that would give most an uncomfortable feeling, anyone but a Slytherin.
"Hello Lucius.", Severus replied, still engrossed in his reading. He could tell that the sneaky prefect was wearing the sly smile, and squirmed in his chair a bit.
"You do realize that it's almost midnight?", Lucius asked him. Severus looked over at him.
"Sorry. I was reading.", he answered, not at all sorry. The reading had taken his mind off of the library.
"Just get a good nights sleep. Don't you have a test for Slughorn tomorrow?"
"Oh yeah." Severus had had no worries about the test. He knew all he should and more that might earn him extra points. He marked his book on the next page to continue another time. Heading up the stairs, he could feel Lucius's stare bore into him. He changed into his night robes and set his book down on his trunk once more. The page 394 saved with his quill...
The next morning, Severus could almost feel the frost under his feet as he looked out of the window and saw that winter had begun at last. He rushed off to breakfast. His arrival at the Slytherin table wasn't noticed, but he didn't mind. Even though he knew everything he had to, he couldn't help get a little sick at the thought of Slughorn's test. It always happened. A natural feeling. After a breakfast of unfinished eggs and sausage, Lily walked with him to potions class. He was having a hard time keeping up, his foot aching again.
"You should put some ice on it Sev.", Lily advised him. Severus shook his head.
"I just need to sit down for a while.", he replied, giving a half-hearted smile. Her vibrant green eyes were filled with concern and Severus suddenly felt full of love. He loved it when she looked at him like that, the look his mother had always given him when his father beat him. But Lily made the hurting stop, his mother never could.
They got stuck at a pair of desks near the middle of the classroom. James and Sirius sat together a few seats ahead of them, Peter sitting beside another Gryffindor. Remus was nowhere in sight. James was whispering something to Sirius, Peter looking longingly over at them. Just then, Professor Slughorn walked in.
