A/N: Hello All! Here comes another chapter, I think I'm finally settling into Severus' character a bit more and I'm really pleased with this chapter. Please read and review, really! Let me know what you think! please!

Severus tugged his thickest cloak over his shoulders, his white undershirt and black over shirt immaculate beneath the warmth. His long fingers brushed off a stray bit of hair and his fingers lingered on the left of his chest. He could almost remember the feel of the Slytherin robes he once wore, the beautiful and intricate green and silver of Slytherin's crest proudly displayed on his chest.

Severus dusted off his House crest and looked himself over in his mirror, his hair was shiny but not greasy that day. He had managed to snag some expensive shampoo from one of his room mates, wasn't his fault the bloke left it in the loo. He turned around, making sure nothing was placed on him unwillingly and grinned grabbing his wand and rushing past the others before breakfast could even start.

Severus still had a few hours before meeting up with Lily and he was positively excited at the thought. Only having a handful of classes with his best friend had left him in a foul mood until that day. Now, even though the castle felt a bit colder and winter seemed ever closer, he could only be happy at the biting weather.

He waved at Lily as he entered the Great Hall. She yawned sleepily, her eyes dreamy as she waved at him. He grinned as she turned back to her toast and he headed off to his own seat beside Lucius. The older boy grabbed him in a powerful side-hug and laughed, "First quidditch match of the year! Can you believe it Severus?"

"Um, yes actually I can." Severus tried to pull back but found himself unable to escape the older man's grip.

The older boy grinned down at him mischievously, "Taking anyone special to our first game?"

"N-no! of course not! I'm not going with anyone." Severus huffed, his face paling slightly as he managed to wretch himself from Lucius' grip. The older boy raised a curious eyebrow to the younger boy before his pale grey eyes darted to the little red-haired girl Severus was always hanging out with.

"Not even Evans?" It was a simple question, merely an observation really but Severus jumped from his seat, his black eyes boring into the older silver eyes beside him.

"The only reason I will be seen with Evans is because I will be escorting her." Severus glared, tempting the older boy to argue.

"Why?" Lucius found this amusing, though the dark stare Severus was giving he found was sending terrified shivers down his spine, it was a look that could rival his masters.

"Because Evans is being tormented by Potter and I agreed to accompany her to protect her from the dunderhead...for a price." Severus turned to look at Lily who was glaring at Potter, going as far as to mush a piece of toast into his face with a self-righteous smirk.

"Whatever you say Sev." Lucius patted the younger boy on the shoulder, who after a moment returned to his seat. They sat together for the rest of the meal, enjoying the delightful food and Severus hanging on the stories of quidditch seasons past. He could tell he was going to like quidditch.

Severus was watching the students pile into the stadium, chatting loudly and excitedly. The thought made him want to issue detentions immediately. However as he caught the eye of Minerva he found himself smirking and decided to join her on the walk up to the teacher's stands.

"So Minerva, have you prepared yourself for yet another Gryffindor loss?" Severus said smugly, though his robes were dark they held green in the fabric and Minerva's usually green robes were colored ruby red. She turned to glare at the potions master.

"For your information Severus, mister Potter is going to turn Gryffindor's loosing streak around." She smirked now as she leaned toward him, "Are you prepared for Slytherin's first loss in six years?"

"Please, Potter may be competent in your classroom but he shows no promise in mine. I can only assume that this is true in all his endeavors." The pair had reached their stand and the two shared heated glares before sitting in their seats. Severus turned for a moment to see Quirrell glaring at him and he raised a suspicious brow to him, causing the man to remember his nervous nature.

Loud cheers burst through the crowd as the teams walked out onto the field. Severus looked down, Potter was the tiniest one on the field and a strange thing happened, a laugh escaped Severus' lips. It was only for a moment and it was covered by the roaring crowd. The next thing Severus knew Madame Hooch had blown the whistle and the students were soaring through the air, bright red and dark green blurring as they raced across the field.

Lily and Severus were sitting in their respective houses sections, however thought it was a smart idea to put the Slytherins and Gryffindor's right next to each other must've been looney. However as the cold swept over the crowd Severus and Lily found comfort in the heavy woolen blanket that Severus had brought just in case. Wrapped around the pairs shoulders they watched in awestruck silence as Slytherin and Gryffindor duked it out above them.

"Ten points to Gryffindor!" the announcer yelled, Severus had missed that shot but Lily hadn't, her left hand fired out from under the blanket and her voice was high pitched as she cheered loudly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Lily yelled as one of the beaters flew over their heads, smacking a quaffle back into the field. The beater grinned down at the little red-head saluting her with his club before returning to the game.

"Malfoy has the quaffle! Dodged Longbottom, passed the quaffle-No! He's faked it! Malfoy throws and SCORE! Ten points to Slytherin!" The announcer yelled, his voice echoing over the field.

"YEAH!" Severus hopped to his feet, the blanket forgotten as he hopped up and down in excitement. He could hear the soft sound of Lily's laughter and he grinned sheepishly as he sat back down beside him.

"Seems like Quidditch is as interesting a game as everyone says."

"Yeah, I mean mum talked about it occasionally but I never knew it was this bloody brilliant!" Severus grinned, his eyes alight with excitement.

"You know this is probably the first time I've seen you so happy. Maybe if your flying lessons get straightened out you can join the House team next year and I'll be able to cheer for you."

"Yeah, maybe." Severus smiled, hiding the hurt he felt from the statement. He was a downright mess on a broomstick, like a fish out of water all he could seem to do was hold on desperately as he attempted not to get bucked off.

Gasps from the crowd alerted Severus to the game at hand. Potter had some talent on a broomstick, and Severus couldn't help but glare as he watched the lithe movements he managed in the air. He had just missed a bludger when he began gripping the broom more, leaning over the thin wood and grasping on for dear life as the broom began to buck around wildly.

"What's going on with Harry's broom?" Was a whisper he had heard somewhere beside him, he also heard a hissing whisper coming from directly behind him. Readying himself Severus trained his eyes on the young boy and began the counter-curse, his words whispers under his breath but the broom reacted. The rough bucking had slowed, allowing Harry to hold onto his broom while the entire crowd watched breathlessly.

"Y-You're on fire! Snape, you're on fire!" Flitwick cried alerting Severus to his own worries. Flinging his arm backward he knocked Quirrell over while stomping on the blue flames that danced on his cloak. They fell from him then and disappeared from sight as if someone caught them up and hid them away in their cloak. When Severus looked back up he found the boy was fine, gliding through the air, arm outstretched.

However in the blink of an eye that all changed when he fell off his broom, hitting the field on all fours -coughing. Something gold then popped out of his mouth and he stared at it for a moment before holding up the saliva dripping orb. Severus sneered at the sight, catching a snitch like that was disgusting and as he glared down at the red of his jersey he knew he'd be hearing it come dinner time.

"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it." Flint was howling over the cheers of the crowd, wasting his voice. Severus rolled his eyes and stood, his black-green cloak blocking Quirrell's view as he lingered there, turning his head ever-so-slightly to glared down at the now terrified man. When Quirrell was a shade of white only fine china could match Severus turned from him, disappearing down the winding staircase and out past the quidditch pitch.

"I can't believe that Slytherin won!" Lily sighed dragging her feet as they walked back to the castle. Severus was strutting, enjoying the precious moment of pride.

"No offense to Gryffindor, but Slytherin has much more superior flying skills than Gryffindor. It'll take a lot more than a fast seeker to win their matches for them." Severus smirked as Lily glared up at him.

"Well no offense to Slytherin but I think they're dirty cheaters." Lily growled shoving the blanket into Severus arms. She was about to stalk off when Severus yelped, the blanket protecting his face as something grabbed his ankle and pulled sharply causing him to fall face first to the ground. "Sev!"

"Geez Snivellus, are you sick or something? you're not as greasy as usual." Potter loomed over the black haired boy with a wicked smirk on his face. Sirius and Potter were holding something in their hands and Severus tried scurrying backward, this wasn't going to end well. "Say Sirius, let's help him out, shall we?"

"Severus!" Lily's voice hung in the silent air as the mysterious items found their way into Severus' face. the revolting smell of rotting eggs and a very pungent loo filled the air, causing all nearby to step back seeking air. Severus' eyes grew wide as he fearfully breathed in, instantly regretting it as he turned over, heaving anything in his stomach to the ground.

"Smelly Snivellus!" Potter and Black laughed through pinched noses, their voices hollow as Severus closed his eyes. His head was pounding, his chest felt like lead. His lungs convulsing in his chest as it begged for air. Shoving the blanket in his face he breathed in deeply, refilling his lungs as she struggled to his feet, rushing off to rid himself of the god-awful smell.

"You stupid, stupid PRATS!" Lily's voice echoed in the main chamber of the castle.

Severus growled as he passed the three, they were finding refuge at the gamekeeper's hut. He had papers to finish grading and he would be damned if Potter and his insignificant oaf of a father got in the way of his work. He shoved past Quirrell as well, who had managed to catch up with the dark professor, on his way to the dark dismal dungeons. He was going to figure out what Quirrell was up to if it was the last thing he did. He may not have liked the arrogant little boy that reminded him so much of his school nemesis but he had to protect him.

He had to protect Lily's son.