Disclaimer: yeah yeah, we own nothing *slips on beggars cloak* "Alms for the poor? Alms for the poor!"

"Bonjour!"

An overly-happy voice chirped from behind Severus just as he was sitting down next to Lucius at the Slytherin Table. He turned around to see his "stalker" as Lucius had dubbed her, smiling at him. Suddenly she grabbed his shoulders, kissing the air next to his cheeks and plopped down beside him, ignoring the stunned looks.

"I did not meet you yesterday properly. My name is Aurelie Lafayette, and you?" She asked.

Severus, being too stunned to form a coherent sentence simply stared in silence. Lucius took the initiative to introduce them both to her.

"This is Severus Snape, and I, my dear, am Lucius Malfoy."

"It is a pleasure to be meeting you, Monsieur uh… how you say Luscious?" She said uncertainly as the Slytherin Table erupted in laughter.

"Um actually it's Lucius, but you can call me that anytime you like, sweetheart."

Narcissa sauntered over, draping herself over Lucius, "I'm Narcissa Black, Lucius' fiancée."

Aurelie smiled, leaning in close to Narcissa and whispering, "Does Severus have a little friend?"

"What?"

"A uh… girl friend?"

"Oh! No, he doesn't." Narcissa answered, a bit surprised.

Aurelie sighed in relief, "Merci."

"Well I have to get to Potions!" Severus said, standing up abruptly.

Aurelie stood up too, "I will go with you. It is my first class, also."

Snape groaned, walking as fast as possible down to the dungeons to Potions class, hoping to lose the creepy frenchy in the crowds. Unfortunately she managed to keep up with him and ended up taking the seat next to him in Potions class, leaning in to him quite too close for his personal comfort.

Severus' eye twitched, "Why are you leaning so close to me? You have your own text book, you should use it."

"Oh…well, I cannot read the English too well, and was hoping that you could be reading it to me while I look over your shoulder at ze words, and…how you say, follow along?"

"No, it's not my problem you can't read!" Severus snapped.

"Please?" Aurelie pleaded, gazing at him with wide, begging eyes.

Snape groaned, "Fine, just not so close!" He said, pushing the book closer to her so she wouldn't have to lean in so close and began to read the instructions for the potion on the board.

Aurelie leaned closer, nuzzling his shoulder. "You know, your voice, she is so dark and silky, like the blackest velvet."

"…Thank you? But, why is my voice a she?"

Aurelie blushed, "I do not speak English so well…"

Slughorn entered and greeted the class, thus ending their conversation as it was now time for class. Slughorn frowned as he caught sight of James and Sirius partnering up.

He shook his head, "Not this year, not again; we don't need another tragedy in Potions class. Sirius, you partner with Snape, Miss Lafayette, you partner up with James."

Aurelie frowned, but collected her books and headed to the seat next to Potter.

Sirius' face fell at the prospect of working with Snivilus for an entire year. He glanced over at James, disappointed. James, however, did not seem too heart broken and simply said, "Sorry mate," nudging him out of the seat to allow Aurelie to sit down.

As the lesson began, James ignored Slughorn's instructions and immediately began talking to Aurelie.

"So what's your favorite color, beautiful?" James inquired.

"Black…" Aurelie sighed, staring dreamily at Severus.

"What's your favorite animal?"

"Snape… I-I mean snake!" She stammered, her cheeks bright red.

Aurelie ignored James' advances and continued to gaze longingly at Severus, prompting several glares from James in Severus' direction.

"James, I know that it's hard for you, but you need to actually do your work in this class."

James gazed lazily back up to Slughorn, "Come on Professor, I thought we were friends, cut me a little slack here."

"Be as that may, both you and your partner need to stop staring at your fellow students and work on your potion to turn in for a grade."

Aurelie blushed, snapped her gaze from Severus' back, and quickly began working on her potion, mortified for being caught staring at her recent infatuation.

Severus fumed silently as he worked on the potion, giving frequent glares to his partner who was doing absolutely nothing. Suddenly, something on the other side of his room caught his eye. Aurelie, despite the fact that she couldn't read 'ze English,' was diligently working on her potion and by the looks of it, not screwing up.

Slughorn was walking up and down the aisles, watching the students and making sure they were working. As Slughorn approached, Sirius suddenly grabbed a bezoar and was about to throw it into the cauldron to make it look like he was working, when suddenly the ingredient was knocked from his hand by a knife.

"Just try and add an ingredient to my potion, Black, and see what happens; either lose the ingredient-adding impulses you suddenly have, or lose your hand."

Sirius glared at Snape and sneered, "I'd watch your greasy mouth if I were you Snivilus, you never know what accidents might find you in a lone hallway."

Sirius watched as his partner added the final ingredients to the potion, and stirred it counter-clockwise. "Hey Snivilus, you're doing the potion wrong! According to the book, you need to add a different ingredient and stir it clock-wise you greasy git!"

Severus ignored his antagonist's jeers, bottled his finished potion, and handed it to Slughorn as he was making his rounds again.

"Hmmm, perfect as usual Mr. Snape, I do believe you and Mr. Black are done with class early, perhaps you should get started on your homework early."

Sirius immediately took a seat between James and Aurelie, giving James an angry, what-was-that-about look.

"How could you just abandon me with that psycho like that, Prongs, I thought we were friends?! Friends don't leave friends with people who attempt to kill them, Prongs!"

Aurelie glared at Sirius, "I hardly think he was to be trying to kill you."

"He came at me with a knife, and he hates me for no reason, I think that practically constitutes as an attempted murder!"

"Perhaps he was playing."

Sirius and James exchanged looks.

"Why is she defending him?" James whispered, too quietly for Aurelie to hear.

"I don't know." Sirius whispered back, "Maybe he gave her a Love Potion."

James raised an eyebrow, "It would make sense. He's the best in Potions class."

"And that's why she keeps ignoring you and defending him! We have to tell someone; man, we are such geniuses!"

"Yes, we are." James nodded, "But who do we tell…?"

"We'll need evidence first…" Sirius mused.

"I've got it! We should sneak into the Slytherin Common Room and snoop through Snivilus' things for evidence."

"Great idea!"

"If you do sneak into Severus' room," Aurelie said suddenly, "can you get me one of his underwears?"

Both Sirius and James' eyebrows twitched.

"Yeah… we'll get right on that…."

"Merci beaucoup! Ah, I see that Severus is leaving ze class, I shall go, good luck to you both!" Aurelie skipped off after Severus who was hurrying out of Potions class, but was stopped by Slughorn on her way out the door.

"Excuse me, Miss Lafayette, why are you leaving class without handing in your potion?"

"Oh, Monsieur Potter has it and shall be turning it in."

"Well, right then, could I bother you for a moment before you leave to your next class? How would you like to join my special potions club that's meeting later today after dinner in the Great Hall?"

Aurelie pondered the notion for a second, "Could I bring a friend to ze club?"

"Of course, of course! Now, be here in this classroom after dinner tonight; I look forward to your visit!"

"Merci, and I shall be here."

With that, Aurelie pranced down the hall after Severus, intent on inviting him to the special potions club meeting.

"Severus, would you like to go to a meeting of special potions with me?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Monsieur Slughorn has invited me to his meeting of special potions. You want to come with?"

"Fine," Severus sighed.