You guys are right! Slughorn is totally oblivious to everything that goes all. As we saw in Half Blood Prince and Chapter 11 of this story, all it takes is a little bit of bribery and kissing up, and he gives in right away.

Dumbledore isn't too great at his job either. Supervision in Hogwarts is terrible, and there should be wards in every corridor. That way, when fights break out, there is no question as to who started the fight, and who was defending himself.

Guest: Yeah, maybe I did exaggerate Snape's poor hygiene in Chapter 6. But Snape's greasy hair and crooked teeth were mentioned so frequently in canon, I thought it would be funny to keep it going.

Chapter 21:

"Muffliato." Instantly, an invisible barrier erected itself between Severus Snape and his group of former friends. After confirming that he would not be overheard, Severus crept away through the dark expanses of the Forbidden Forest. Throughout his time at Hogwarts, he had seen plenty violence and dark magic. But he had never seen anyone die—and he had no intentions of making today his first.

"Lumos." Severus crouched down and began following the trail of blood that would lead to his destination.

The little second-year had managed to crawl to the edge of the forest, stopping just a stone's throw short of Hagrid's cabin, before finally collapsing from fatigue. There was no color in his face, except for an icy blue tint begotten of hypothermia and hemorrhaging. As the child lay slumped over a fallen log, propped on two elbows, his weight was excruciatingly perched upon severed tendons and splintered bones. Both arms bowed out at such grotesque angles, he resembled a human crab. Liter after liter of blood continued to stream down from the deep punctures inflicted by Bellatrix's silver dagger.

Severus quietly drew his wand. "Vulnera Sanentur," he mumbled. "Vulnera Sanentur…" He choked back the urge to vomit at the grisly sights and sounds of what he'd just witnessed.

Suddenly, he was overcome with disgust at himself. Performing the countercurse to Sectumsempra made him realize just how dark and twisted he was, to have invented the curse in the first place. Waving his wand and uttering an incantation felt innocuous enough—the violence was indirect and impersonal. It did not require him to forcibly restrain a twisting, struggling body… to feel his victim writhing beneath his grip as he maimed and slashed and disfigured the helpless, vulnerable flesh.

Watching Bellatrix inflict such horrible cruelty with her own two hands was a chilling but intriguing illumination of his own hypocrisy. Sectumsempra would have done no less damage than Bellatrix's dagger. Truly, his creation was no less vile than what that sadistic woman had just done—it simply allowed Severus to maintain the pretense of keeping his hands clean. He lifted his eyes to the moonlit silhouette of Hogwarts Castle, where Lily lay in peaceful slumber, and resolved that he would never use Sectumsempra ever again.

The wounds slowly began to patch up. After ten agonizing minutes, the child stirred and feebly rolled over in attempt to face his rescuer.

"Your welcome," Severus muttered under his breath. He hoisted the diminutive second-year to his feet, and steered him towards Hogwarts Castle. "Go see if Madam Pomfrey can do anything about the scarring. Then beg Dumbledore to transfer you into Hufflepuff. But don't tell anyone that you saw me here."

"I would like to resign from the Quidditch Team." Snape's gaunt, sallow face was completely devoid of all emotion as he quietly took a seat in front of Slughorn's desk.

"Huh?" The Potions Master mumbled thickly as he swallowed a dozen Pumpkin Pasties in a single bite. It was apparent from his glazed eyes and confused expression that he was only half-listening.

Severus repeated himself with greater resolve and conviction. "After a great deal of soul-searching, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps Quidditch isn't for me." The greasy-haired boy could feel his blood boiling as he recalled all the vicious words that his fellow Slytherins had spoken against Lily. He wanted to tear them apart limb by limb. How dare they threaten his precious Lily! Play Quidditch with those idiots? Eat at the same table? Study together? Over his dead body!

Slughorn's mouth dropped open, causing his enormous double chin to fall past the third button on his shirt. "Severus m'boy, what are you saying?"

The greasy-haired teenager drew a deep breath. "In the past, I thought I had to play Quidditch to prove that I'm not weak. That I won't let anyone scare me away from anything. But I know better now. Just thinking that I need to prove I'm not weak already makes me weak."

"But Severus, you so hard to get on the team! Against all odds, you showed them. Against all odds…" The Slytherin Head of House continued to stare in crestfallen disbelief. He'd always had a soft spot for the boy. Although Severus was tough and scrappy, the Potions Master knew that the scrawny, unkempt, greasy-haired youth was in fact quite vulnerable. The boy had come so far. Severus had overcome his debilitating handicap and complete lack of natural talent, stood his ground in front of an entire crowd of jeering detractors, fought back against one bully after another… only to quietly surrender everything he'd worked to build.

"I really feel this is the right thing to do," Severus responded softly. "At first, it felt great to play Quidditch when everyone thought I couldn't. But I've got to stop pretending to be someone I'm not."

There was no turning back. Although Severus had always had misgivings about the shady activities of his former friends, his desire to be part of something grand would always overcome his common sense. But the truth was clear now. Seeing how these bastards treated people made Severus all the more confident that parting ways was the correct—and only—choice. He could not continue to dabble in cognitive dissonance. It was naïve at best, and idiotic at worst, to think that he could profess to be Lily's friend, while simultaneously hanging out with people who wanted her dead. Playing Quidditch with people who wanted to hurt Lily was unthinkable.

Slughorn made one final entreaty. "Severus, are you sure about this? If you quit the team, people are going to think that you finally let all the snide comments get to you! Do you want to give those Gryffindors another excuse to taunt you? Do you want to open yourself up to that sort of misunderstanding?"

But Severus had made up his mind. This was war. The days of letting bullies get him down were long gone. With his beloved Lily in the crosshairs of Bellatrix Lestrange, he had far more important things to worry about than a few snide comments.

"I thought that playing Quidditch proved that I'm not weak. But in the end, the only thing it proved was that I care about what people think of me."

Quietly and stoically, he laid his resignation slip onto Slughorn's desk, along with a case of butterbeer. "Thank you for the opportunity," he whispered.

"Have you taken your potion today?" Severus asked Lily for what must have been the millionth time. The two friends were at their usual table in the library, poring over a Transfiguration assignment.

Lily emitted a slightly exasperated sigh. "Yes I have," she recited mechanically. "Two drops every morning, as always."

Severus shifted back and forth uncomfortably, deliberating over whether or not to reveal what he had learned in last week's Forbidden Forest escapade. His practical, utilitarian, self-preservation-above-all Slytherin mentality was screaming for him to tell the truth. But fear kept him silent. What if Lily deemed him guilty by association? What if she was angry that it took him five years to fully renounce the Junior Death Eaters—when he'd known all along what Bellatrix was capable of? What if Lily became convinced that Severus hadn't truly seen the error of his old ways, and decided that his friendship wasn't worth it?

"I think we should increase it to eight drops a day. Just to be safe." Severus unzipped his bag and laid two freshly brewed bottles of Immunity Potion on the table in front of Lily. The canary yellow liquid sparked and fizzed like pineapple soda.

The greasy-haired Slytherin continued to argue fiercely with himself. Lily needed to know the danger she was in. She must be warned. But his tender side—which almost nobody knew that he possessed—disagreed. He didn't want to scare Lily or break her heart. Lily had always believed that as long as she worked hard, mastered her spells, and was a good, kind, sincere friend, nobody would care that she was Muggle-born. The red-haired girl was so full of hope and confidence that after six years at Hogwarts, she had gained full acceptance from her peers. The last thing Severus wanted to do was to shatter that ideal.

Lily gave her friend a half-grimace, half-smile. "Honestly Sev, at the rate you're going, I'm gonna to wind up in St. Mungo's as a drug addict. Didn't you say that two drops would protect me from most hexes?"

"Yes, but two drops won't do anything against Unforgivables! Please Lily, we've seen what Mulciber is capable of!" Severus wanted to tear out his hair in frustration. If Lily knew what he knew… if Lily knew that she was in the crosshairs of Bellatrix Lestrange… she would have accepted every last drop of Immunity Potion without a single question.

Lily chuckled. "But Mulciber isn't here anymore. Thanks to your timely intervention, he is heading to Azkaban, where he belongs."

Severus continued to protest. "But Rosier, Avery…"

Lily was becoming visibly annoyed. "I appreciate your concern, but I think you're being way too paranoid. We can handle Rosier and Avery. It's not like Bellatrix Lestrange is hiding in the Forbidden Forest, waiting to get me."

Yes she is! Literally! Severus wanted to scream. He was nearly tearing out his hair in frustration. Just tell her, you coward! Lily isn't naïve… she can handle the truth!

If he didn't have the nerve to tell it straight, he would have to warn Lily indirectly. "But what if it isn't just Rosier and Avery? What if there are others? Lily, this so-called Junior Death Eaters movement is bigger than you think!"

Lily laughed. "Sev, what do you think is gonna happen? You really think You-Know-Who and all his buddies are gonna break into Hogwarts just to get revenge on me for ratting on Mulciber?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt. If anything happened to you, I would die," Severus confessed. He was close to crying, as frustration continued to explode in his chest in pulsating waves of agony. He hugged Lily and laid his head on her shoulder. His voice became a high-pitched whine, crackling with unshed tears. "Please, please don't take any chances."

"Aren't you going to take the potion today?" James asked as he met Lily in the Gryffindor Common Room on the way to breakfast.

Lily playfully raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "Do my ears deceive me? Are you and Severus actually agreeing on something?"

James stopped himself right as he was about to crack another joke. "Not really. But I think you should trust Snivelly on this one. He sees those bastards every day. He would know exactly what they're capable of."

James tousled his hair, every inch the brash Quidditch star. "Eight drops a day. Is it really that much to ask? Snivelly poured his heart and soul—and maybe even his grease—into those potions, just to keep you safe!"

"I'm sixteen, not six!" Lily was almost shouting. She was getting quite annoyed and indignant at the relentless pestering from both boys. Why did they insist on fussing over her like a baby? Did they think she was nothing but a damsel in distress needing to be saved? "I can take care of myself, thank you very much!"

"Of course you can." James quickly placated the irritated redhead. "You're the brightest witch in our year. But there's a fine line between confidence and foolishness. You really think you can stand against a whole group of pissed-off Slytherins out for revenge?"

Lily's defensive demeanor softened. "I've taken the potion every day for several weeks now," she admitted. "Honestly, it is becoming kind of an annoying routine. Just let me go for one day without it. I'll be fine."

"All right, then," James conceded. "But make sure you take it tomorrow."