Before beginning his day with another delightful helping of Potions, James Potter had an appointment with his Head of House. Though he understood the urgency, his stomach protested at the light breakfast he had blazed through in the Great Hall. A pre-class meeting had not been on his agenda when he had snuck out after curfew last night to enjoy a post-curfew rendezvous with his girlfriend in one of the school's spacious broom closets. Still, it was where he found himself ordered to be upon waking up. Somehow Evans had been able to get hers out of the way separately while he and Sirius had suffered through another of Sprout's detentions. Sirius was right. McGonagall truly was merciless. Still half-asleep and low on energy, James trudged into the Transfiguration teacher's office, quickly taking a seat in one of the offered wooden chairs.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," the older woman chirped.

"Morning, Professor."

"I take it you know why you're here?" she asked.

"The attack, right?" James questioned, stifling a yawn.

"Indeed," McGonagall answered solemnly. "From all I know of the history of this school, I believe this is the most disturbing event to take place on school grounds since a student died some years before I attended. Were it not for you and Miss Evans's timely intervention, it is unclear if the consequences might have been more severe than they were."

James awaited the inevitable questions.

"Given the gravity of the events, I have been asked by the Headmaster to oversee a full-scale inquiry into this incident. What I need from you, Potter, is to tell me exactly what you remember happening that day."

"Well, it was fairly sudden," James began. "I was on my way to Quidditch practice with Katie and Sirius, and then I ended up stopping to talk to Evans for a bit. All of a sudden we just saw two figures start firing spells at the first-years coming back from Care of Magical Creatures."

"Two figures? It was my understanding from Miss Evans that there were three."

"Right. Well, originally it was just the two of them. All black with some cloth covering their faces. Evans was helping the rest of the first-years get to safety, shielding them and such, while I took them on. I was about to take one of them out and that's when the third figure appeared."

"Dressed the same?"

"Exactly the same, though he seemed a bit shorter and thinner."

"I see…"

"He was the one who was really using the most damaging stuff. The others, it was all basic…stunners, leg-lockers, tripping jinxes. The third one is the one who dealt me the cuts," James said, gesturing to the parts of his body that had been affected.

"Did you see anything identifiable about them?"

"I didn't have to."

"Did you or did you not–"

"Professor," James interrupted. "I know who did it. Or at least the third one. It was Severus Snape."

"Severus Snape?" McGonagall scoffed, looking incredulous. "That is a very serious charge, Potter. Not one to make lightly or without evidence…"

"Look, I know I don't have evidence exactly. I just know it was him. He's been sneaking around with old books from the restricted section since the beginning of last year, hanging around making funny wand movements, muttering to himself…"

"Mr. Potter, surely you realize that strange activities, no matter how peculiar or suspicious they may seem to you are not sufficient to accuse a student of such a serious breach of the rules. Any student found responsible for this attack would be facing expulsion!"

"So he just gets away with it then? Because he and his friends were smart enough to cover up their faces?"

"I'm afraid if there is no more evidence that you can provide, then the individuals responsible, whoever they may be, will not be found or punished. Without wand confirmation or identifying eyewitnesses…"

"You can't do anything," James finished darkly.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall warned, "I strongly caution you to avoid repeating the accusation you have made here or from acting upon it in any way. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes, Professor," James grumbled.

"Well then," McGonagall started, "I believe Professor Slughorn will be expecting you in the dungeons shortly?"

"Indeed he will."

"Then I suggest you make your way there now. And Potter…we will be watching all paths to and from the school with the utmost care from this point forward. If the individuals responsible attempt an attack like this again, rest assured they will be punished. The Headmaster himself will see to it."

"Thanks, Professor," James said, frowning as he left to catch his friends and girlfriend on the way to Slughorn's next lesson.

As Severus Snape stared into his cooling cauldron a light peal of laughter caused him to look up and across the classroom. In front of him, Lily Evans's auburn hair rippled as her head bobbed slightly. He was only able to see the back of her head from his vantage point, but he could tell that the source of her amusement was Lily's boyfriend and brewing partner, Lionel Baird. The young Slytherin cursed himself again for the mistakes of the previous year. Before then it had been him that made her smile. It was supposed to be him over that cauldron now, basking in the warmth of her presence. All the times he imagined his future in his family's gloomy house in Spinner's End, it had been he who had won her heart.

Eager for a distraction, he glanced at the contents of his cauldron again. Not nearly thick enough yet to begin heating once more. Brewing a Pepperup Potion was a pedestrian assignment that was a waste of he and his more talented classmates' time and effort he stewed. It was sadly typical of his Head of House's permissive approach to N.E.W.T.-level instruction.

From the back of the room he could feel a pair of eyes watching him. James Potter. The arrogant Gryffindor disgusted him. He was the source of so many of the problems Severus had, both now and throughout school. Potter's constant targeting of him for hexing and his own inability to fend him off had, until recently, sullied his reputation in his own house. The swine's boastful manner and incessant pursuit of Lily Evans had successfully thwarted almost every quiet moment in which Severus had contemplated telling his ideal mate how he felt about her. At the beginning of the week, he had managed to repel the attack that had been so carefully planned by Severus and his new associates.

Thoughts of the attack naturally turned his attention back to Lily. Did she know he had been involved? Had Potter relayed to her his obvious suspicions? In the depths of his heavily-walled heart, Severus still ached for an opportunity to set things right with the witch he loved. She was never supposed to be there he thought bitterly. He had known of Gryffindor's scheduled Quidditch practice, but the pitch was far enough away and Potter had never delayed his arrival before. It was Lily's most precious quality he realized – it was her constant kindness that had sent everything pear-shaped. It was all that made sense. She despised Potter, but in class that morning she had attacked him with an unjustifiable slight that her conscience would never bear for long. So she had followed. Interrupted Potter's progress. And now he was responsible for an attack that placed her in jeopardy. Were she to find out he would truly be beyond forgiveness.

Avery and Mulciber were fortunate he considered. Had they harmed her in the slightest…Severus had been practicing a truly devastating new curse to which only he knew the counter. It was dark. The darkest he had yet to develop, but they would have deserved every moment of suffering it gave them if they had touched her.

His gaze fell upon Lily again. After all he had been through it amazed him how the mere sight of her could still pull on his heart. It was the best, purest magic he knew. She had turned to face the front of the classroom again and now he could see her face. Her face was awash with the perfect glow generated by her smile. Her slightly-reddened lips parted again as she let out a soft giggle. Baird whispered something in her ear and the giggle became a laugh which stabbed him like a knife again and again. Lily flicked her head, tossing her hair back behind her again. For just a moment, it gave Severus a glimpse, however distant, of the emerald eyes he had looked into so many times before. They were alight with happiness. Happiness inspired by his replacement.

He stared into his cauldron again, growing more anxious than ever to proceed. The red-orange liquid within had cooled enough now, drying slightly into a semi-solid gelatinous goo. He was the first to ignite the fire under his cauldron again, waiting expectantly as the mixture became brighter in hue. He glanced at Lily Evans once more as he added more of the mandrake root shavings along with an intense burst of heat. The potion in his cauldron steamed and crackled before he immediately reduced the heat to add more water to the concoction. As he did, the flecks of mandrake root sparked exactly as they should have. Severus smiled faintly before elbowing Mulciber to resume preparing their ingredients.

He sighed. Cauldrons he could control. Potions he could meticulously plan and prepare until ready. Love was different. It arose unexpectedly. It grew and waned inconsistently. It could be given endlessly, but still go unnoticed. Love was cruel.

A/N: Apologies for the delay in updating. I knew I wanted to address Snape again, but it was something of a bear to write him again. I am always left wondering a bit how far to go with his emotions because while I feel like we know he feels very strongly about things, his ability to mask this on the outside (at least as an adult in canon) makes it hard to know how powerful they are in the moment and how heavily they weigh on his mind. Where I feel like I probably went a bit over the top with his bitterness last time, I worry that I might have gotten a bit rambly and excessive with his thoughts and feelings about Lily here. If you have feelings about how Snape is playing out so far, I would love to hear it (or anything else you'd like to share). Thanks again for reading and reviewing!