A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating! I assure you that I want to write, but I have to study a lot at the moment because I have exams in May – so I am afraid that from now on I cannot write as regularly as I have since I first started this story. My usual fortnightly updates will resume near the start of June. Please understand this story is not abandoned! There is lots still to come. I really hope you will bear with me and stay with the story :)

Chapter 21: A Whirl of Feelings

Lily gave a great sigh and ran her hands over her eyes as a myriad of thoughts flashed through her mind. She felt as if she had aged a hundred years this evening – she did not even recognise herself any longer and she did not know what to think or how to feel. Everything was a mad confusion of emotions – shock at James' revelation – pain upon seeing his hurt – disgust at herself for causing it – trepidation at recognising how she truly felt for Severus – and a tentative flicker of joy. How could her heart contain so many conflicting emotions, all in one contracting heartbeat? She could barely breathe from the weight of it all…

She wandered tiredly over to the tall, narrow window and leaned on the stone sill, pressing her forehead against the cold glass as if it would help steady her thoughts. She looked out into the dark, fathomless night, trying to comprehend where she now stood.

Though she had not meant to, she still felt terrible for hurting James. All those times, when their minds had been linked by the Vallatus Charm, she had been unaware of what she was doing to him… of how she was slowly cutting away at his hopes and replacing them with pain and anguish. She did not even understand what it was she felt for Severus – and still she could not even allow herself to even consider what it was – but James had known, he had felt it, and he had recognised it for what it was…

She knew now it was not just friendship that bonded her and Severus, nor a passing fancy that was alight one day and burnt out the next. It was strong, deep-seated; an everlasting whirlwind of fire that burnt from her very core. It was powerful enough even to shatter James' pride like nothing else had before and leave him humbly laying his pursuit of her aside. It was this glimpse of respectful deference that first made the realisation dawn on her that she cared for Severus, in spite of his increasingly dark interests, more than she could admit in words – more than she had ever dared to admit to herself. Nothing else could have swayed James so powerfully.

And he had had the guts to admit this to her – Lily was astonished. It would have taken mounds of courage to not only accept that the girl he loved had feelings for another, for a mortal enemy, but to tell her, when she herself did not even realise! She had been unable to stop the tears of compassion from falling when she could almost feel every fibre of his being crying out for her, yet being forced into silence out of the benevolence of his heart. Never before had James shown such bravery as this, such utter disregard for his own feelings in order to show her the road down which she could find her own happiness…

Lily found it incredibly ironic that the moment he was no longer trying to impress her and persuade her into going out with him, she had never looked at James in a better light. She was tremendously glad to have a friend like him as her duelling partner; someone she could trust, someone who would always look out for her, someone who cared. Yet she felt a pang of guilt, for she had stricken him to the core by her inadvertent rejection; and he still had the courage and goodwill to let her go… It left her feeling undeserving of such kindness, which she had scarcely repaid with a fleeting kiss, and lamenting the pain she had inflicted on someone who cared for her so strongly that he was willing to put her first, whatever the cost.

Yet she did not love him.

That was the crux of the matter. She could not love James – not in the way he wanted, at least – not when she felt a flare of fierce, deep-rooted emotion every time her mind strayed to Severus. Its profundity and repercussions were so great that she had hardly dared acknowledge it until now; instead she had closed her eyes and let herself be blindly carried on the brink of a towering wave, desperate to ride it but frightened that at any moment she could fall and lose Severus forever…

This was the reason why she had kept such thoughts and unnerving feelings tucked away, in the darkest recesses of her mind. With the trauma of last summer, she already experienced more than any sixteen-year-old rightly should, and that was because she had been in love. Lily had known it then, and felt all too keenly the pain of a breaking heart and a lost love. From that point on she had vowed never to let Severus capture her heart again, out of fear of the same deleterious pain engulfing her a second time. It had been bad enough once, when they had not even been boyfriend and girlfriend! If she should lose him again when they were something more, her heart might be so broken and bruised that it would never heal… She was so afraid…

Severus was all secrets and double-meanings. Nothing was ever straight or clear. What if she was wrong in believing he now loved her? Or what if his feelings for her were simply eclipsed by his devotion and veneration for Voldemort? She could not let herself open up her freshly-healed heart to him, only to have it gashed open again – no matter how much she wanted to give him the chance to love her properly. She could not risk that happening, not when the consequences were so crippling! No matter how much she wished to let herself go, she had to hold on until she knew he trusted her with the secrets of his heart, until she was convinced he would take her hand and let her lead him away from Voldemort.

Otherwise she would suffocate under the immeasurable grief of losing him.

She knew she could not recover from such a wound again. Even the memory of that time under the beech tree, when in his humiliation and rage he had sought to hurt her to her very core, sent her heart bounding in wild, frantic beats, as if struggling to escape from the frightening visions that descended once more in front of her eyes. If she let herself love Severus and he hurt her again… she would never be the same. She could never be the same. She would be hollow, a shell, able to feel nothing except pain and despair. For what was kept inside that floundering heart of hers was a secret hope, a wild desire, even love…

Absorbed in deciphering the forbidden feelings that were now rising within her, Lily was unaware that a figure had slipped out of the shadows that now flooded the dark hallway. She did not even stir from her contemplations until someone breathed right behind her ear,

"Good evening…"

A shiver ran down Lily's spine and she spun round, startled out of her thoughts. Even in the darkness, she would recognise that aquiline profile and those inky black eyes anywhere. It was Severus!

Oh god! She felt woefully underprepared to face him, and even worse, she had let the catch off her heart, allowing all of her mad, fluttering emotions to spill out in one great tidal wave!

"Oh!" she cried as her eyes became captured by his, which gleamed like dark coals in a dying fire. Her heart gave such a leap it was as if it was trying to launch itself right at him. There could be no way he would not realise-!

Consumed with disquiet, Lily summoned up the determination to tear her eyes away, all the while struggling to recall if she had seen Severus in the hallway at any point in her conversation with James to work out what he knew.

"How long have you been here?" she murmured uneasily, feeling her cheeks burn under the heat of his gaze.

Severus' hesitation drew her attention but his face was impassive. "Long enough…" he said, and once again held her gaze. It was only after a few moments that Lily realised his intentions, that he was trying to subtly invade her mind and glean something from its surface! – although what, she did not know, for she had no idea whether he had eavesdropped on everything or nothing – and the not knowing was maddening! She urgently needed to find out just how much he had heard – and seen.

"Did you…?" she began unsurely, losing her grasp on speech as she craned forward in an undisguised attempt to read the answer to her unfinished question in his eyes. Yet his expression was closed and she could not glean any clue whatsoever.

"Did I what, Lily?" Severus said, any humour in his voice masked with impatience.

A moment later Lily gave up. "Nothing," she muttered and looked back out of the window, annoyed that she was unable to discern his thoughts. Damn Severus and his impeccable Occlumency! She was always left in the dark, whether 'for her own good' or because he found toying with her was too enjoyable to resist… He was impossible! And though, it made him even more enticing…

"So, was it a good evening?"

Severus' words took a while to filter their way into her head.

"Err – yeah… It's given me a lot to think about," Lily said distantly. That was an understatement and a half, she reflected.

"That much I had surmised," Severus said dryly, having noticed her distractedness. Lily blushed but he persisted, "What happened in the class, then? Did Potter behave himself?"

Shocked, Lily's eyes flew to his and her mouth opened wordlessly. Yet if Severus was knowingly insinuating James' kiss, he did not openly reveal it.

"Err – yes, he did…" Lily replied finally, thinking back on James' recent behaviour in all respects, "he was much better than the last week."

Severus searched her eyes as if he suspected that she was not just alluding to the lesson. Lily hurriedly changed the subject, knowing it would take little probing for Severus to unearth her recent thoughts about him.

"So, how was detention with Slughorn?"

Severus shrugged nonchalantly. "A breeze. I sneaked in a couple of extra ingredients to speed up the process and gave him a shock when the potions were completed ahead of time."

Lily grinned. "Oh Sev! You are such a tease. Poor Slughorn… I bet he was bewildered."

"He thought his pocket-watch was half an hour behind time," Severus affirmed. Lily laughed, amused to hear stories that Severus was running circles mentally around someone else other than her for a change. As she was wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, she leant back against the wall and realised that Severus, despite his usual reserve, was actually smiling at her. Her laughter faded to a gentle smile, lingering on her lips and around her warm eyes as she drank in the precious rare sight.

Without warning she found herself feeling an echo of the emotion stirring behind those dark eyes – a flutter of caged hope joyfully awakening, tempted out by some promise unbeknown to her. Its unexpectedness left her breathless.

"I haven't seen you smile like this for a long time, Sev…" she murmured quietly, thinking wistfully back to innocent times they had shared by the river, years ago.

At her words, fear fleetingly passed over Severus' face. Seconds later he contorted his expression into a sullen scowl, and she knew he was frustrated with himself for letting his tight mask slip.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said dismissively, yet the tightness of his voice suggested otherwise and a second wave of panic darted into his eyes.

Lily smiled brilliantly, searching his face and wondering what in Merlin's name could prompt Severus into forgetting himself and wearing a soft, genuine smile. "You don't need to hide it, Sev. I'm just curious as to why you're so happy…"

"Hmmph." Severus grouched, crossing his arms in annoyance. Another flare of anger that was not hers hit her, and Lily stumbled as if she had been slapped in the face, clutching her hand to her eyes.

"L-Lily?"

Her head was swimming but she felt two strong hands grab her just as she was about to reel over. In the aftermath of the extreme emotions that had surged through her in the last hour, she felt so giddy that she barely detected the concern in Severus' voice, or the fact that she was sagging completely in his arms.

"I'm – okay –" she gulped, taking in deep lungfuls of air and fighting to keep hold on her consciousness. She had never fainted before, but god she had come close to it then. She opened her eyes to find Severus looking at her anxiously and she felt shame for worrying him needlessly. He felt her struggling and let her find her feet, yet he kept close.

"What happened?" he whispered, frowning at her worriedly.

"I'm probably just tired from the Vallatus class," Lily murmured dismissively, "you know how draining it is to forge a mental connection with someone and maintain it for a long time…"

"Hmm." Severus appeared unconvinced and she knew his mind was working fast, yet if he had any other theories he did not say so.

"I think you should go and lie down," he said at last. Lily bit her lip and nodded, letting him lead her over to the Fat Lady. He did not touch her, and the pensive frown did not leave his brow, yet she knew he was poised to catch her should she fall again.

"Will you be alright from here?" he asked when they reached the Portrait Hole. She noticed his eyes were carefully devoid of any kind of emotion and her lightheadedness subsided a little.

"Of course," she replied bashfully, even though in truth she really had no idea if she would black out again. She lingered for a moment in the open Portrait Hole, unwilling to leave. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow…"

Her eyes travelled to his face while her heart pounded, wondering whether her words would goad Severus into embracing her before they parted. His eyes burned into her and immediately she felt a rush of giddy yearning quickly followed by one of embarrassment, for by the twinkle in his eye she knew he had read her intentions with effortless ease. He took a step back and gave a tiny shake of his head, smiling.

"Goodnight, Lily. Get some rest." And with that he backed away and left.

Lily sighed and climbed wearily into the almost deserted Common Room. As she dragged herself up to the girls' dorm, she supposed it was for the best that Severus had left when he did, for his searing gaze had been enough to make her feel giddy again. If he had put his arms around her, she was sure she would have passed out completely, and she had already experienced quite enough drama for one night-!

xXxXx

He was stunned. Utterly stunned.

Severus sat on his bed in quiet stupefaction, his arms draped over his knees as he rolled his wand idly between his fingers, replaying the moment over and over again in his mind as if he couldn't get enough of it. He couldn't even believe it, for a start.

To hear, from Potter's mouth, that Lily had feelings for him… She, Lily Evans, the prettiest, cleverest, most popular girl in the whole school… How was it even conceivable? He was well used to being the worthless, loathsome scum that was never good enough for anybody. If he hadn't heard the words proclaiming it to be so passing from his adversary's own lips, he would never have believed that any girl could like him in that way. But for it to be Lily – when she knew all about his miserable family, and was intimidated by his friends, and scandalised by the Dark Arts he delighted in flirting with – how could it be possible? How could she want him as anything more than a friend? That she still trusted him enough to forgive him was amazing in itself. Most people would not even go near him with a broom pole; instead most favoured a solid Shield Charm and turned their heads away rather than endure the sight of him.

How? he kept asking himself. When? When did all his dreams start weaving their way into reality? When was the moment Lily had started looking at him differently…?

The thought that Lily might just be in love with him left him quite breathless and for a moment he just closed his eyes and savoured the thrills of excitement that erupted through his body. Slowly his lips curled into a soft smirk.

He was delirious. There was no other word for it. Madly, unstoppably, brilliantly delirious.

This was a hundred times better than a Cheering Charm – although that one time he had taken a sip of his Elixir to induce Euphoria to attest whether it was effectual and been singing most uncharacteristically like a lunatic for an hour did come fairly close. He hadn't even used a drop of Felix Felicis, and Lily was a breath away from being his! And if she gave him her heart, and her trust, he would be able to slowly guide her towards accepting their future in the War, and finally open her eyes to the path that would ensure their success and safety once it was all over.

Severus Snape would get his happy ending and prove to the world just how phenomenally wrong they were about him…

A low, soft chuckle slipped through his lips and Severus' eyes opened, glimmering ebulliently in the darkness.

Soon, no one would dare to look down on him and say he wasn't good enough. When the most beautiful witch alive was in his arms, how could they possibly proclaim that he was so hideous that no one in their right mind would want to touch him in a million years? No longer would there be rumours that his hooked nose was gargantuan enough to scare away not only girls but every species of animal, that his greasy hair emitted such a stench that it would make any girl vomit, and that his eyes were so cold that they couldn't possibly warm anyone's heart… When they realised Lily Evans wanted none other than Severus Snape, those fresh-faced soppy-eyed Ravenclaw boys would choke on their disbelief! His Slytherin housemates would look upon his conquest in dazed admiration, wondering just how he managed to get the most desirable girl in Hogwarts, and Potter would not be wearing his usual and exceptionally annoying cocky smile for a long, long time.

Severus could hardly contain himself – the thought that he would have to wait at least another nine hours before he saw Lily again and had the chance of hearing her finally say 'yes', in that soft voice of hers that made the hairs prickle on the back of his neck, was utterly insufferable, and he itched with fitful anticipation. He had wished that Lily would requite his love, prayed that she would feel some fraction of what he felt for her, hopelessly dreamed of it for so interminably long, that to know it was real and it wasn't all a cruel trick made him soar on such sweet ecstasy he'd never before thought could even exist! He found himself quivering uncontrollably from the overdose of adrenaline now flooding his blood as he fought to resist the urge to break his way into Gryffindor Tower, to take Lily into his arms and tell her that he knew, to look into her verdant green eyes and see for himself that it was possible to drown oneself in love – to die of pure happiness.

If only it could be tomorrow now… for by then she would have had time to address her feelings for him, to understand what it was, what they shared… and then she would be his. Whatever flimsy constraint had been hitherto making her reluctant to confess they were more than friends – that they had been much more than friends for a long while now – would crumble and perish.

The knowledge that she beheld him in this way was gave him all the assurance he needed to step up his advances – Severus could picture it now, looking piercingly into her eyes, murmuring in that soft, compelling tone she could not resist, running clever arguments around her until there was no way left to evade him and she would at last admit the words he was aching to hear…

The only thing holding him back was his fear that he would somehow, inexplicably, make her faint again.

Severus' half-smile faltered and he frowned at the gloom that huddled within the tent created by the four curtains of his bed, willing himself to make sense of Lily's near-faint. It concerned him more than he had shown her for he was convinced it was not an innocuous accident. Lily had never once fainted in all the years he had known her.

Magic was the only feasible cause.

But what could it be?

Severus stopped fiddling with his wand and instead focussed all his energy on rooting around in his mind for the missing link. There had to be a concrete reason and he knew he would not get a wink of sleep until he had determined what it could be. Not when it was endangering Lily… for not only could she hurt herself by collapsing, her mind was being meddled with – and that was a serious matter. If he had not known her movements that evening, he would have suspected that someone had hit her with a dark curse – perhaps even had an attempt at possessing her. But Lily had spent the previous two hours in Dumbledore's company, and then he had been with her! It was not possible.

This was so infuriating! He was so intent on solving the mystery, but at that moment Wilkes' gruff snores from the other side of the room disturbed his train of thought and Severus cursed in anger. He snatched aside his curtain and sent a non-verbal silencio! in the direction of Wilkes' bed, finally securing the calm silence he needed to think…

The only other potential clue he had garnered was that Lily's giddiness seemed to have coincided with the angry moment he had berated himself for getting his hopes up too soon, foolishly believing that Lily might declare her love for him that very night. He knew, as sure as Lupin was a Werewolf, that Lily was wholly incapable of Legilimency – but perhaps she had reacted to him through some other means? It was a tenuous link, but he had noted that she seemed to be more grounded when, later, he had guarded his thoughts from her with Occlumency. The brief instant he had realised she was hoping he would hug her and had been unable to prevent desire from consuming him, however, he had noticed her lilt to one side and grip the picture frame more tightly. So could it be that she was reacting to his emotions?

Severus shook himself. What was he thinking? – The notion was preposterous! Lily had no knowledge whatsoever of the Mind Arts. To suppose that she had somehow managed to tap into his every feeling, without even realising how she was doing it, was ludicrous!

He was just about to dismiss the preposterous thought when an idea sprang into his mind.

The Vallatus Charm was not a Mind Art. But Severus knew that it opened up a link between the casters' minds… He recalled the begrudging astonishment he had felt upon seeing Lily and James' perfect co-ordination in the tasks they performed in their lessons, and Lily's ability to see some of the erotic scenes that his Dreaming Draught had planted in James' mind. Hell, this mental link had been the reason Potter had learned that Lily had feelings for him! Perhaps their ongoing practice of the Vallatus Charm was enhancing Lily's pre-existing ability to discern others' feelings and was making her hypersensitive to those around her… If so, she might have noticed a gradual change over the last few weeks. He would have to ask.

If his suspicions were right… fuck, if he was right, he was going to murder Dumbledore and jinx the shreds of his remains into next week! Angry red sparks burst out of the end of his wand and Severus fumed. How could the Headmaster advocate a Charm that was fiddling with students' minds? A Charm that the Dark Lord suspected was of the Headmaster's own sodding invention! And he, Severus, knew from his own experimentation how risky creating new spells could be. How in Merlin's name could Dumbledore justify putting students at risk for his own ends – putting Lily at risk? He'd bet all the galleons he had that the Ministry didn't know this was an unauthorised spell with unknown, potentially debilitating side-effects when they sent Dumbledore two Aurors to help train up students. Furious, Severus gave a snarl and shoved his wand under his pillow before he accidentally set his bed alight. If Dumbledore's stupid Vallatus Charm was to blame, hell would come his way. He would make sure of that, most industriously.

Severus sighed and closed his eyes. If he was right, he would also need to keep an extra-firm grip on his emotions when he was around Lily or he would be vulnerable. With that worrying thought he decided to practise Occlumency right away. He took a deep breath and lowered himself beneath the covers, and as he sank into the mattress and slowly let out his breath, he cleared his mind until it was cool and bare and perfectly featureless. All remnants of anger at Dumbledore and excitement about Lily dissipated, and Severus descended into the calm Occlumency state, allowing a dreamless sleep to claim him.

xXxXx

Not long after dinner, Lily was to be found in a quiet corner of the Library, working through an exercise they had been set for their DADA homework. It was one of her favourite subjects and so, thanks to her enthusiasm, she was racing through the question. She was just about to write the final few lines of her answer when someone slid into the seat beside her.

"Lily." Severus gave her a half-smirk and then began to methodically take out his work. Lily was surprised; carried away in her enthusiasm she had forgotten that Severus might be joining her. Recently they had worked together most evenings in the Library, but on occasion Severus did not appear. It was on these evenings that Lily suspected Severus was teaching some of his Slytherin friends intriguing off-syllabus spells that had aroused their interest – whether from his Grandfather's book or his own inventions.

But so far Severus had always sat opposite her, with a solid table in between the two of them. Lily felt flustered by his sudden closeness and attempted to busy herself with the last sentence, although now she had quite lost her train of thought. She was delighted that he had joined her, after spending all day longing to be with him, and yet now he was actually here she felt twinges of nervousness. All she could think of was how obvious it must be that she was in love with him, and it was ridiculously difficult to pretend that she was not when his sleeve was brushing against the back of her hand, making her envision other ways he could touch her there… caressing the skin with his fingers… letting his breath skim over it before he kissed the inside of her wrist…

"How are you feeling?" Severus' concerned voice shook her out of her reverie.

"Fine," she muttered. Lily knew Severus was referring to her embarrassing near-faint the night before and his scrutiny of her only made her more self-conscious. She was about to change the subject when he cut over her.

"I need to ask you something."

Her heart juddered in her chest, but when she looked up at Severus he hesitated.

"What is it?" she prompted him gently.

"It wasn't just tiredness that made you come over faint last night, was it?" he said, looking her straight in the eye. "Am I right in thinking it was… something you felt?"

Lily twisted uncomfortably. Was it plausible that he knew of her feelings for him? "Maybe, but it wasn't that unexpected…" she prevaricated until she saw the look of grim concentration Severus was focussing on her. "Do you think there was something wrong?" she asked, surprised.

Severus swallowed and averted his gaze. "You could feel what I was feeling, couldn't you?" he whispered, as if he was afraid to reveal this information to her.

Lily was shocked, because nothing at the time had made her aware that this had been happening – but just as she was about to contradict him she remembered the way she had felt hope stir within her when she had looked into his soft, dark eyes – and had not known why. And – her mind raced with the ramifications of it all – the gush of anger she had felt following Severus' unintended smile had most definitely not belonged to her-!

Lily sought his eyes, filled with alarm. "Yes," she breathed, her mind whirling. What did this mean? She didn't understand. How could she suddenly be so perceptive of what other people were feeling that she could feel their very emotions herself?

Severus clenched his hands. "Has this happened before? – Have you been aware of other people's emotions too?" he elaborated, in answer to her blank look.

"No," she replied at once.

"Are you sure? Think…"

Lily frowned. What did Severus think was going on? She thought back, trying to recall a situation where she had felt something incongruent. Suddenly she remembered the argument she'd had with James last week – when he had been furious upon learning that Severus had given her a bunch of roses. Before the roses had come under examination, she had been soaring on euphoria after procuring several pleasurable kisses from Severus… Now she looked back on it, perhaps she had only flown into a temper because she was feeding off James' soured outrage. And the next day, she had felt confusion emanating from the other girls and saturating the air – it had been so evocative that she too had started to question why she had lashed out at James…

She bit her lip and met Severus' eyes, but it seemed she did not need to answer – he already knew.

"When was it?" he asked, his tone heavy with resignation.

"A few days ago…" she replied. "Sev, what's going on?"

He turned his head away from her. "I'm not sure," he said crisply and scowled ahead at the nearest bookcase, but in spite of the intense look of concentration on his face Lily knew he was not trying to read the titles along the book spines. She recognised the way his eyes were alive with a purposeful energy, and how his lips set in a grim line, signifying the ferocious driving force that was propelling his mind onwards, hungering insatiably for answers.

"But you have an idea."

Severus slowly turned to her and raised his eyebrows. "And what makes you believe that?"

"I just – know. I recognise that look. And you wouldn't have interrogated me like this without a great deal of thought beforehand."

Severus did not say anything, but one corner of his mouth twitched and his eyes were alight with humour. Lily smiled. She knew him well, and he knew it!

Severus turned back to face the bookcase. "I do have an idea… but it is incomplete. I feel like there is something missing…"

"Couldn't I help you work it out?"

Severus appeared reluctant to acquiesce straight away and seemed to be teetering on the verge of speech, as if he was holding an internal debate. With a ripple of panic, Lily discerned the wary way his eyes hovered over her and how he was slowly withdrawing behind the closed expression that meant he was hiding something.

"Sev, please…?" she begged him, her voice constricted with emotion as she pleaded for him to trust her.

He closed his eyes and said softly, "There's – there's a book. It might help. But it's in the Restricted Section."

Lily's heart sank. "Oh. Couldn't we ask a teacher for permission to take it out?"

Severus smiled at her wryly. "Not when the book is entitled 'Demystifying the Mysteries of the Mind Arts'," he said smoothly.

Lily blinked, somewhat startled by the subject matter which was way beyond the magic covered in the classroom. "How do you know of this book?" she asked curiously.

Severus smirked. "I 'borrowed' it three years ago when I was intent on learning Legilimency… It was not easy to get my hands on it with that confounded Sensor charm Madam Pince sets on the Library every night. Needless to say, I returned the book once I had gathered what I required from it before she – or worse, Dumbledore – realised it was missing. But I dimly recall something that may encompass what you are experiencing…" He trailed off, his eyes narrowed as he stared through her, clearly endeavouring to picture a page he had glanced cursorily at years ago. Lily desperately wanted to find out what his suspicions were, but she knew Severus would not say until he was sure. The sooner they procured this book, the better! And this time, she would be there to help him. A devious plan occurred to her…

"I'm sure together we can get hold of it again without being caught," she said, her eyes suddenly twinkling. Severus raised his head.

"Is a Prefect – a noble, virtuous Gryffindor – plotting on stealing a book from the Library?" he whispered, his eyes glittering with amusement. Lily blushed. "I see… And how do you propose we go about this?"

She smiled mischievously. "I think we could borrow James' Invisibility Cloak for one night…"

Severus seemed far less thrilled that she had expected. "As if he would help me, Lily!" he snorted contemptuously.

"You don't understand; he doesn't need to find out," Lily insisted eagerly. "I'll just borrow it from him, while he's asleep-!"

Severus twirled his quill in his hands; the idea of being the one wielding the Cloak of Invisibility for once, instead of being the sorry soul duped by it, appeared to be exceedingly tempting.

He finally looked up at her, revealing barely suppressed excitement glowing on his face. "Which night is good for you?"

Lily grinned.

xXxXx

Thank you for reading and please leave a review, it makes me really happy to hear your opinions on the story!

Many thanks to Death, LXS and Saint Snape for your encouraging reviews! It really helps me to write :)