"How come you're so good at this?" muttered Severus to Celeste.

Celeste grinned over her shoulder at him as she collected the little colorful tickets she had just won. Lily and Severus were next. After they had collected their own tickets, they joined Celeste in the center of a crowded aisle.

The dueling tournaments would not start until later in the day so the area they were in was the Pavilion. The three friends stood in a section filled with all sorts of games and amusements.

Upon entering the Pavilion, Severus had realized there was one section filled with merchants selling souvenirs, another filled with food to sample or buy and then the one they stood in now. It was as Celeste had described and there was certainly a lot more to see besides the tournament duels.

Celeste had made a hurried entrance into the games and amusements section that morning as soon as the Pavilion had opened. It rapidly became a favorite of every Hogwarts student; it only took about thirty minutes before the whole school learned just what this part of the Pavilion had to offer.

Because Celeste had given Severus and Lily special tickets to the dueling event, their cluster of tickets also included a courtesy game pass. This special ticket allowed Severus and Lily to play a certain amount of games for free. Those without this special pass would have to pay to play the games.

Celeste had chosen the first game they arrived at. She appeared familiar with it, so much so that the wizard running the game knew her by name. As Severus scanned down the long aisle, he noticed that each of the games looked different and had varying themes associated with them. Some were no more than little booths set up with a wizard or a witch; others were larger areas filled with colors and loud voices insisting you come play their game; some were even like small buildings that you could walk into, making him curious about what was inside.

The game they stood at now was quite simple. A sign over the booth announced this game as Target Dueling. Celeste hastily explained that you used your wand and hit the targets, which sounded easy enough to Severus.

He watched Celeste hand over her game pass to the friendly wizard standing at the booth. The wizard took out his wand and used it to black out one of the twenty-five squares on the game pass.

The wizard led Celeste over to stand on a round step colored red on the floor. She had already taken out her wand and, as the wizard stepped hastily away, she began to use her wand to shoot spells at little targets that sprang up or zipped around in front of her. As soon as the spell hit a target, a glowing number appeared above Celeste's head.

Lily was next and the wizard did the same thing: he marked Lily's game pass and then led her to an empty round red step beside Celeste. A moment later Lily was also firing at the targets.

Severus allowed the wizard to mark his pass and he followed the actions of the girls. He stood somewhat irritably on the next red step and then began to shoot at little targets as they floated around in front of him.

It ended far too quickly for Severus, but apparently Celeste had completed a second game while he had been shooting his own targets. The wizard marked her pass to indicate she had played again.

They each played a total of three games. Severus had glanced up at his score before it faded away. The wizard running the game had also written down the scores.

Celeste was the first to hurry over to the wizard again and for her efforts he presented her with a lot of little colorful tickets. Severus and Lily had also done the same thing, although they both seemed unsure what all of this meant. Severus had also noticed that Celeste was very adept at hitting the little targets and he had glanced at the glowing numbers over her head; he knew her score was better than what his had been.

Severus was intent to move on and see what other types of games were available. He hoped to find one where he would not be outscored by a girl.

"What do we do with these anyway?" asked Severus as he stared at the little tickets he held in his hand.

Celeste was stowing hers away into one of her robe pockets so Lily and Severus both followed her action and put theirs away as well.

"The gold ones are the highest, they count ten points each," Celeste began. "Each color has a number and that's how many points it counts."

"But what do we do with them?" pressed Severus impatiently. "I do know how to count numbers," he added gruffly.

"You can use them to play more games or buy stuff," replied Celeste, sounding annoyed by his grumpy tone.

"You always say stuff! What stuff!?" I have never done this before, if you had forgotten," he complained.

He felt completely out of the loop now and stupid. Usually she was so informative and rattled on about everything; this time she had not told them anything and this seemed rather important information to him.

Celeste frowned and it looked as though she realized her mistake in not telling them about the games and the aspect of the little tickets.

"If you look at the game we just left, see that little sign hanging on the front of the booth," Celeste pointed towards the game booth, to a smaller sign positioned closer to where the wizard was standing. On it was written: 100 tickets. Severus had noticed the sign that read 100 tickets, but at the time he had not really thought about what it meant; as he stared at the sign, the concept began to make sense to him.

"The food area and merchant area has them too. You can play free games or you can get food or … stuff, for free. Depending on how many points you get, that tells you what your ticket count is," she explained. "So what score did you both get?" she asked curiously.

Severus added up his three scores in his head to determine what his ticket count was.

"I believe my score was 652," he answered.

"I got 623," Lily announced. "What was yours?" she questioned Celeste.

Severus scowled while Celeste blushed and was hesitant to answer. She glanced at him rather sheepishly.

"Oh bloody hell, just go on and say it. I already know your score, if you want to know. I kept up with it," he muttered.

"715," Celeste revealed, grinning deviously at Severus.

"I would have done a lot better if somebody would have told me the games actually meant something," grumbled Severus.

"I'm sorry," Celeste apologized. "We can share our tickets if you want. I don't mind," she offered.

"I think that is a great idea," said Lily before Severus could respond. "I'll gladly share mine," she added.

"Well … I suppose so," he responded hesitantly. Severus did not want his tickets used in a way he thought inappropriate. He was quite sure two girls could end up buying things he would not approve of.

Before he could say more, the girls both nodded and started to head over to the next game area. Severus noticed that lines had started to form at all of the games on this aisle. The one they had just left had quite a few students already playing as well as waiting in line to test their skill. Four of these happened to be James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

"Severus, are you coming with us?" asked Celeste.

"Yes, you go get in the queue. I'll be there in a minute," said Severus absently.

"Get in the what?" asked Celeste, sounding confused.

"Queue, don't you know what a queue is?" he muttered, annoyed she was distracting him from seeing the scores of his rivals.

Lily quickly went into an explanation of what a queue was.

"Oh, you mean get in line; we say get in line," Celeste offered.

Severus had barely heard her and did not care what they called a queue in American; he ignored her. What he missed was her unhappy frown as she and Lily made their way over to wait at the next game.

Potter and Black had moved up for their turn on the target game and Severus was keenly interested to see what they would score. Severus slowly edged over to get in line with Lily and Celeste, all the while continuing to spy slyly at what was happening over at the first game.

Potter's game ended while Severus and the girls were still in line and the little numbers changed to reflect Potter's total score.

"Ha! 650!" announced Severus triumphantly. Even though it was very close, it was still lower than his own score.

"What?" Lily said in dismay.

"Er … nothing," he replied awkwardly, looking away from the target game.

"I bet I know what you were doing," whispered Celeste as she allowed Lily to pass in front of her. The wizard on this booth was marking Lily and Celeste's tickets.

"Oh hush up and go on," scolded Severus, giving her a little nudge with his elbow. She pushed his elbow away and gave him a grumpy glare.

The wizard marked Severus' ticket. He had no idea what this game was since he had not been paying attention. He was following Celeste through a painted doorway, not even realizing it until after he found himself in a darkened room.

"What is this?" he asked, nervous and unsure of what to do.

"It's a ride, I think," Celeste offered.

Someone grabbed his hand and was pulling him along with them.

"A WHAT!?" he uttered in dismay. "Who's that?" he fussed.

Someone began to laugh nearby, it sounded like Lily.

"It's me, silly," Celeste said sweetly, giving his hand a squeeze. "I've got hold of Lily … the man said just keep walking."

"How are we supposed to know when to … OH MY!" Lily announced as the room slowly brightened.

Severus blinked a few times. They appeared to be floating high up in the clouds.

"W-what is this?" Severus asked again, but this time he was not sure if he was scared or in awe. He stared down below himself and it was as if there was no floor and no walls, just clouds and bright blue sky.

"Whatever this is, I want one!" Lily decided. She let go of Celeste's hand and it was as if she floated away. She used her arms, spreading them out wide, and it was very much like she was flying.

Severus simply stared at Lily, struck by how beautiful she was floating there in the air ahead of him. It was like she was born to fly. Celeste was next and lifted up to stop beside Lily. Both girls grabbed hands and laughed as they steadied each other. Severus could not move; he simply wanted to stare at them. It was the most beautiful scene to him: his two favorites, who at the moment looked like a couple of angels.

"This is perfectly wonderful! I love it! It's just like how I dreamed it would be to fly…really fly!" said Celeste excitedly as the two girls leaned back and then somehow managed to spin in the air while holding hands. They let go of each other's hands and both were laughing as they twirled away from each other.

"Aren't you going to try it, Sev?" asked Lily when both girls had stopped spinning and steadied themselves again.

Severus frowned, unsure and feeling awkward that he would have to perform in the way they had. He knew he would never be as skilled as they were.

Celeste moved forward towards him, smiling brightly. Rather than floating elegantly like Lily, she had started to fly with quicker, darting movements. He was surprised how skilled she was, considering how bad she was on a broom.

"I knew it would be easier to fly without a broom, now I can prove it," she alluded. "Come on and try before it ends. You wouldn't want to have come in here and not even tried, would you?" she suggested, taking hold of his hand and pulling him forward.

He was not used to behaving frivolously, but since it was only Celeste and Lily, that made it easier to do something out of the norm. He was not as graceful as the girls and for him it was more enjoyable to watch them play, but he allowed them to drag him into their games, albeit reluctantly at first.

When the ride ended, the room grew dark again and Severus felt his feet touch a solid floor. He felt disappointed that he had not been more exuberant in his behavior. But he had participated and both Lily and Celeste appeared to appreciate his efforts.

"Did you like it?" Celeste asked as they made their way out.

"Yes … but just warn me next time of what it is," he cautioned.

"I would have, but that one is new. Even I didn't know what it was," Celeste explained.

"Sometimes it's fun to be surprised," said Lily as they exited back out into the crowded aisle of the gaming area.

"I prefer knowing, thank you. Surprises just get you into trouble," Severus commented as they made their way along the aisle to the next game. Severus would make sure he knew what he was getting himself into on the next one.

--88--

"I'm starving, can we get something to eat?" Lily asked.

They had already spent half the day playing games and Severus was becoming rather hungry himself. They all headed over toward the area where vendors were selling food.

"The True Love's Door, what is that?" Lily commented as they walked past a larger booth with two strange-looking doorways shaped like hearts. It was painted a bright pink and all around it were frilly flowers in the colors of red, pink and white. People were walking in one doorway and emerging from the other; most who were exiting had a goofy love-struck expression on their faces.

"It shows you things you love, but also there is a spell inside it. My dad says it shouldn't be allowed here and he doesn't let me go in there - I'm not allowed. It can make you act silly when you leave," Celeste informed. "And sometimes people come out of there not liking what they saw or each other … like those two."

She indicated a couple that were walking out of the second door whilst arguing furiously.

"So, you go in and it shows you things about love or how you feel?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah, and if you are going in with someone that you're supposed to like, it might just happen to show you someone else," Celeste described. "It can kind of be a love killer," she added, grinning mischievously.

"It's stupid and I'm not wasting my tickets on that nonsense," muttered Severus grumpily. There was no way he was letting himself suffer that kind of humiliation on purpose.

They continued on to the bustling food area, where were so many different booths that it was overwhelming. Both Celeste and Lily began to walk around all the food booths in an attempt to find the cheapest but best buy for their ticket winnings. Severus simply thought all this walking was too complicated due to the amount of people combined with the choices available.

"Can we just pick something?" he asserted.

"That is what we are going to do right now," began Lily. "We're going to split the cost, so we need 400 points worth of your tickets," she revealed.

"400! What are you two buying?" he asked.

"We're making a choice since you will not say. We're getting food, drink and a dessert for each of us," Celeste began. "You didn't think they'd give you the free things cheaply, did you? You've got over 1,000 points now," Celeste went on. "Besides, you're getting it for free anyway," she argued.

"I didn't force you to give me something for free, did I!?" he snapped, pulling out all his tickets and thrusting them at Lily. "Here take them, I don't need them anyway," he added sourly.

Celeste crossed her arms and glared at him spitefully. Lily took the tickets hesitantly; her expression was of annoyance as well.

"What is wrong with the two of you today? All you've done is bicker and argue," admonished Lily. "If you're both going to keep acting like this, I don't know if I want to stay with you. Maybe I'll just go and find some other friends. It's no fun if this is all you two are going to do all day," she complained.

Celeste and Severus both glanced at Lily and then at each other.

"I'll go find seats for us," said Severus as he walked away. He would let the females deal with the food if that was what they wanted to do.

He noticed that a group of students had just left a table, so he took it before anyone else could claim it. The Pavilion was packed with people now and he felt sure that the room should be a lot louder than it was. Perhaps there was a special design to the place that kept the noise down. He glanced around and up at the roof and considered there was possibly a spell on the building to dampen the noise. Then there was also the fact all the hot food gave off a lot of heat, smoke, noise and smells; perhaps there was some magic in place to cut down on all that too.

"Snivellus! Are you lost or are you thinking how nicely a slimy bat like you would hang from the rafters in here?" James Potter's voice asked.

Severus glanced over to see Potter and his group already eating at a nearby table.

"I haven't lost anything," replied Severus. "I see as usual you managed to scrape enough tickets together to stuff your face. How did you do in the games, Potter?"

"A sight better than you ever would," Sirius Black commented. "You look hungry, Snape. Couldn't get any Slytherins to send you some pity money? Had to scrounge tickets off girls to get you into this area? Yeah, we saw you with Evans and Fairstone," he went on.

"That's a fine speech coming from you, Black, considering I'm not the only one getting pity money around here," said Severus waspishly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius said sharply.

"Only that I have heard Regulus speak about you and your very unfortunate family dealings this year," Severus began. "He's told us in the Elite Club that you were officially disinherited by your family over the holiday. He also commented about the fact that an uncle of yours has been disowned as well because he sent you … how did you put it … pity money," Severus insinuated.

Sirius leaped up and was making a move towards Severus' table, but he stopped when Lily and Celeste appeared, coming forward and placing two large trays down on the table.

"Is everything alright?" said Lily as she sat down.

"Yes," Severus answered, ignoring the glares from Potter's table.

They ate their meal and did not talk very much, Celeste remaining especially quiet. Severus realized that, given Lily's threat, he was going to have to avoid arguments with Celeste.

Once they had finished eating, Lily volunteered to take the trays back and throw away the trash.

"No more arguing when Lily is around," stated Severus in a firm voice once Lily was far enough away that she could not hear him.

Celeste gave him a grumpy face. For a moment she looked as if she was going to say something to him, but then she appeared to decide against it. She half turned away from him.

"Having fun, Snape?" Evan Rosier's voice asked.

Severus wanted to crawl under the table. What was with these people who would not leave him alone? Severus turned to see Rosier heading towards the table with a group of Slytherins following along. Without invitation they all sat down.

"What a cozy little group we have. You two looked a bit lonely sitting here," Mulciber commented; he was in the group along with Connor Avery and Rabastan Lestrange.

Celeste was horrified and scooted her seat closer to Severus, away from Rabastan Lestrange, who had sat down in Lily's seat on Celeste's left.

"W-we're not alone," Celeste corrected. "Someone was sitting there," Celeste told Rabastan.

"Hey, little big mouth, you don't tell me what to do … got that?" Lestrange snapped viciously.

Celeste took offense and abruptly stood up to leave the table. When Severus did not move, she stared at him intently.

"Are you coming, Severus?" she asked.

"Yeah, Snapey … are you?" Rosier said in a mocking imitation of Celeste's voice. The rest of the Slytherins started to snigger and watched both Severus and Celeste intently.

"Going to run along with the girls, maybe?" Rosier pressed, pretending to toss hair over his shoulder in an imitation of someone who had long hair.

"Are you coming with me or are you going to stay here with them?" pressed Celeste, glaring at Evan Rosier with dislike.

"Ooooh, she doesn't want you to stay with them," Rabastan Lestrange announced, mimicking Celeste's tone. "Why don't you run along, little girl?" he commented over his shoulder to Celeste.

Severus felt like he was stuck in the middle, exactly where he did not want to be. If he left the table, he would forever lose favor with all of these Slytherins; if he did not go with Celeste, she would be angry and thus Lily would be angry.

"So, you gonna hang around with the girls, Snape, or with your mates?" Mulciber asked curiously.

"Severus," Celeste said his name insistently. "Come on … please."

"You're not my boss!" Severus spat at her spitefully. He was angry with her and them equally, but she was the easier target on which to take out his anger. Celeste's eyes widened and he knew he had hurt her again.

"Fairstone, I was wondering how much money you are paying Snape here for lessons?" Rosier began. "You know, I'd give you lessons for free. All you gotta do is ask," he leered.

Celeste's cheeks turned bright red; she turned and marched away. Lily appeared through the crowd and stopped abruptly when she saw Celeste coming towards her. Lily had not seen what happened, but, after a short conversation that Severus could not hear, the two girls walked away together without looking back.

Severus' heart sank. He knew it was a mistake, especially as he had to listen to the humiliating laughter of the boys around him and their obnoxious comments about Celeste. Plus he had given all his tickets to Lily. He still had his pass, but there was no way he would let them see it; it would only be mocked and be the subject of more humiliation.

"I don't have any tickets," Severus muttered when Connor asked him. Severus did not even want to participate in the conversation because they were talking about getting food. "I've already eaten," he answered dully.

As they all began to debate over what food to buy, Severus noticed Mr. Fairstone walking along with some other men. Severus watched the man intently, blocking out the chatter of those around him.

Mr. Fairstone moved in a certain way that defined him. Severus could not really explain it except there was a sureness to the man's walk. Severus wanted to walk like that, to imitate that confidence.

The group of men stopped not very far away and Severus turned to listen, trying to catch a word here or there of what they were talking about. Mr. Fairstone was listening to one of the other men and it was at that moment he noticed Severus.

Mr. Fairstone made a motion with his hand that indicated he wanted Severus to come over to him.

"Oy, who is that, Snape?" Mulciber questioned.

"It's the big mouth's father," Evan said bitterly before Severus could answer. "Looks like he wants you for something, Snape," added Evan.

"Snape's in trouble!" taunted Rabastan.

Severus stood up without comment and headed slowly over to Mr. Fairstone. He was glad to escape but also wary as to what Mr. Fairstone could possibly want with him.

"We'll see you later, John," one of the other men commented. The rest of the group that had been with Mr. Fairstone made their way onward through the crowd.

"Severus Snape," greeted Mr. Fairstone. "Shall I call you Severus?"

"If you wish, sir," answered Severus evenly.

"Where is my daughter? Her mother is looking for her."

"She and Lily went off on their own, sir," said Severus. "I believe I have offended your daughter," he added hastily.

"Oh? How so?" Mr. Fairstone responded.

"She …"

Severus hesitated a moment but decided it was too late to try and wriggle out of the admittance. "I did not do as she asked in front of … them, sir," implied Severus, indicating the table he had just left with a slight movement of his head.

Mr. Fairstone studied the group of boys at the table and then Severus. He did not say anything right away, but Severus got the idea he was comparing Severus with those still seated at the table.

"Do you want to impress that group of young men?"

"I … don't know, sir," said Severus, not sure how to answer the question.

"Perhaps you should come with me for a while then, since you don't know what you want," Mr. Fairstone suggested.

To Severus it was more of an order and he was in no position to refuse or disobey Mr. Fairstone.

He walked off with Mr. Fairstone, quite unsure why the man asked him along, but Severus figured it would give him an opportunity to study the man and discover more about him. Lily had admitted to liking him, so there was something about him that Severus was sure he could deduce by observation.

--88--

"Hello."

Celeste and Lily both looked up to see Sirius Black standing nearby. Lily was investigating some very sparkly jewelry and Celeste was examining a row of antique books. They had wandered over to the merchant section of the Pavilion for a while after leaving Severus.

Celeste and Lily both eyed Sirius a little warily as he came forward to stand with them.

"Fun day," he commented cautiously.

"Yeah, mostly," replied Lily, moving over to stand beside Celeste. "Where are the rest of you? Usually there are three others attached if one is around," Lily teased, giving him a lopsided grin.

Instead of being offended, Sirius grinned back.

"I just wandered off … you know … on my own for a while," he informed. "James was going to try and sneak into the dueling arena to watch the practice," he added.

"If he gets caught, he'll get in trouble," commented Celeste. "Nobody is supposed to be in there, it's distracting," she added.

"Well, you know, trouble is all relative, isn't it? Depends on who is doing it, I think. James just wanted to watch, not cause any problems," Sirius replied.

Lily made a face that suggested doubt in James Potter not wanting to cause problems. Celeste quirked her mouth to one side; she had heard enough about those four Gryffindor boys to know they liked to cause mischief.

"I … er … kind of ended up with a prize, but I'm not sure what to do with. I thought you might like it," Sirius alluded as he held out a small plush owl to Celeste. It was white with a gray speckled back and big yellow eyes and quite adorable.

Celeste was taken aback by the offer and stared at it warily.

"Go on, you can have it," he said. "I didn't really see anything I wanted for my ticket winnings … for myself, I mean, and I thought you might like it," he insisted.

Celeste timidly took the offered owl, half grinning at it and then at Sirius.

"You don't have to give me a gift," Celeste replied softly, playing idly with the little owl's wings.

"I just reckon it was a good idea," said Sirius kindly.

"Did you use all your tickets for him?" wondered Celeste.

"What I had left," he responded.

"Thank you," Celeste said sweetly. "It's very cute. Are you going to play any more games?" she asked.

"I've sort of spent all my money I had with me. I'd have to go -"

Sirius stopped talking because Celeste held out a fist full of her remaining tickets and her game pass. Sirius' mouth turned up on one side.

"So, a few games with a new friend?" Sirius asked, giving Lily and Celeste a rather playful smile.

Celeste nodded, giving Sirius a hesitant smile. She stowed the little stuffed owl in one of her robe pockets.

Sirius hurried excitedly along beside Celeste and Lily as they headed towards the gaming section. He was thrilled that for the first time he was really getting a chance to be with Celeste. There was no way he was going to spoil this moment; he simply wanted to enjoy the opportunity to have fun with someone new.

--88--

Severus had a bounce in his step as he walked along beside Mr. Fairstone, leaving the dueling arena. Not only had he been allowed to watch the dueling practice, but he had also enjoyed seeing James Potter ejected from the arena.

Severus had stood with Mr. Fairstone as they watched the practice up close right down on the arena floor. Mr. Fairstone very politely explained the rules, best dueling positions and talked about the different teams. One team would emerge, have their time in the arena to practice and then leave as another came out.

It was all very orderly and Severus felt quite special that Mr. Fairstone was allowing him the privilege of watching. There was a commotion a short time into the practice, above in the seating area. Severus' spirits were lifted to an immeasurable level when he saw that James Potter had been caught hiding and was being escorted out of the arena.

"I'll take you back to the Pavilion, they'll be setting up for this evening's events," Mr. Fairstone commented as they walked along quietly.

Severus had chosen to be as polite and quiet as he could; he did not want to take the chance of offending anyone by something he said. So he listened most of the time and Mr. Fairstone must have appreciated it because he even gave Severus a friendly pat on the way back into the Pavilion area.

"If you see my daughter, tell her to remember not to be late or dilly-dally till the arena fills up. All of you will want to get good seats, so you should leave this area early to be sure to get the best position," offered Mr. Fairstone.

"I will, sir, thank you," Severus said softly as Mr. Fairstone left him.

Severus set out immediately to find Lily and Celeste. After he had started searching, the realization hit him that Celeste was angry with him, and possibly Lily too, because of the earlier argument.

Severus frowned and stopped at the edge of the wide aisle that separated the food area from the gaming area. They might not even want to talk to him, but then he thought about the fact he had a message to give to Celeste from her father. No matter how insignificant it was, he had to deliver it.

It took him a little while to find them. He saw Lily first: she was waiting for Celeste who was walking over to Lily from one of the games. Severus continued heading towards them, but he stopped abruptly when Sirius Black followed Celeste to stand with them. Black was talking and his hand was full of tickets, and the two girls were laughing at whatever it was he had said.

Anger drove Severus forward - he just was not sure exactly who he was more angry with, himself or them. Then the actual fear hit Severus that Black might have told Celeste about their bet. That thought occurred right before he reached them. When he stopped, he was staring at Celeste, trying to gauge her reaction.

All three saw Severus at the same time. Celeste frowned and Lily did as well, but Black was staring at Severus with an arrogant lopsided grin. Severus felt betrayed and, what was even worse, he found he could not speak. As much as he wanted to yell and complain, he could not do it.

"What's wrong with you, did someone hit you with a Stunner?" said Black sarcastically.

Severus glowered at Black with hate, but at least the two girls had not said anything. Severus was sure that if Black had told either one or both about the bet, they would be yelling at him by now.

"I am here to give Celeste a message from her father," Severus said stiffly.

"What?" announced Celeste, her expression one of concern.

"Why would he give it to you,considering he could have just come and told her himself?" challenged Black.

"Because I was in his company and was allowed to go with him into the dueling arena," Severus began, recovering his composure. "He allowed me to stand in the arena with him while the practices were going on. You also might be interested to know Potter was there, but not for very long … he was thrown out for sneaking in. I told Mr. Fairstone that I know Potter and that he is a determined rule breaker," Severus went on. "I wonder if they'll even let him attend the duels tonight, considering Mr. Fairstone does not think too highly of people who go out of their way to break rules," he finished.

Sirius looked furious and was now the one who seemed unable to speak.

"M-my dad let you go with him?" asked Celeste awkwardly.

"Yes," answered Severus.

"What did he want to tell me?"

Severus opened his mouth to speak, but then he realized the information was so insignificant that he would look like a fool.

"I'm supposed to tell you privately."

"Privately, why?" Celeste said, sounding confused.

Black began to laugh and Celeste and Lily both looked very confused.

"What is your problem?" snapped Severus coldly.

"Trying to make yourself seem important. Don't you know how his kind operate yet?" Sirius said, glancing at Lily first then Celeste. "It's probably nothing. I'd say he didn't even see your dad, but Snape here wants to give himself lofty airs like he's doing something grand and noble."

"You spiteful git," spat Severus. "So what are you doing, Black? Moving in like a scavenger to steal my -"

Severus stopped abruptly.

"Steal your what?" Sirius barked, glancing at Lily and Celeste. "Steal your toys, your friends … what is it, Snape?"

Severus did not reply.

"Oh wait, maybe it was steal your women? Oooooh, Sniv's got property! Too bad nobody told them they were owned by you," Sirius accused in a lofty voice.

"That's not what I was going to say," Severus replied through clenched teeth.

"Would you two please stop, this is stupid!" ordered Lily. "Arguing like two children right here in the aisle where everyone can hear, embarrassing Celeste and me for no reason except your stupid male pride," Lily ranted. "Not to mention what you said to Celeste earlier, Severus. That was completely uncalled for," she went on, turning to Severus.

Severus had seen Lily angry before and knew she always had a way of going off into a tirade. Trouble was, she was so pretty when she got angry, it distracted him such that all he could do was stare at her and try to find the right words.

"Well now, apparently I missed something," Black said cheekily, grinning at Severus stupidly.

Severus glanced at Celeste who looked as though she wanted to run away; she had such a desperate expression on her face.

"I want to talk to Severus alone!" Celeste demanded forcefully, unable to contain herself any longer.

Severus felt a relief wash over him as she came forward and they both moved away. He was walking away from Lily, but he knew it was to set things right. If Celeste were willing to forgive him and talk to him then Lily would surely accept that outcome. Now he just had to formulate exactly how he was going to explain himself.

Celeste and he walked along until they were far away from the crowds of people. They stood in the waiting area outside the arena where it was quiet and dim because all the entry doors were closed.

"Why did you say that to me earlier?" Celeste asked when they stopped. "I wasn't trying to order you to do anything. I wanted you to come with me because I didn't just want to leave without you," she explained.

"You said you understood about my position … yet what you said in front of them was the same as ordering me. I'd have heard about it for weeks if I had gone with you. They wouldn't have ever let me live it down," he replied.

"I wasn't ordering you, Severus," she complained. "Why do you care what Evan Rosier thinks anyway? You know he's a jerk … you even told me about Hector Wilkes helping you. Why do you want them as friends or care what they think if -"

"I did not mean to yell at you, alright!" he cut in forcefully. "It just happened, it was a mistake," he responded. "What are you doing with Black, why is he with you and Lily?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"You don't mean to do a lot of things, but you do them anyway!" she argued, ignoring his attempt to change the subject.

"And you being with Black is like slapping ME in the face!"

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't want you hanging around him!"

"Now you're trying to order me around!?" Celeste cried. "I can be friends with him if I want! Just because you don't like him, doesn't -"

"Oh, you like him now, do you!?" he interrupted.

"At least he doesn't yell at me for no reason!" she spat back.

"I suppose snogging you against your will is okay?" Severus accused, which caused Celeste to make an angry noise of frustration. Severus was going to say more, but something caught his attention that startled him. "What the bloody hell is that?" he asked warily.

"What?" said Celeste confusedly.

"In your pocket," he said pointing at her robe pocket, seeing two eyes staring at him. "There is something odd in your pocket."

Celeste pulled out the plush owl. Severus stared at the owl a moment and then lifted his eyes to meet hers, gazing into them intently. Something about the way she held her mouth and the way her eyes lowered told him what he wanted to know.

"He gave it to you, didn't he!?" Severus announced indignantly. She did not have to answer for him to know it was true. "Why would you take it!? Why would you accept anything from him!?" he cried.

"It's just a toy, Severus!"

"Don't you know anything!?" he insulted. "He wants you! He's trying to buy your friendship and I can't believe you'd take a gift from HIM!" Severus went on, tossing his hands up in frustration.

"I don't know what is wrong with you!" Celeste complained. "I don't know why you are mad at me today. I haven't done anything to you and I'm not going to put up with it any more! So if you want to argue, you can argue at the walls!" she spat and started to walk away.

"Don't you walk away from me, Celeste!" he ordered, grabbing her arm to stop her. He pulled her forward towards himself, filled with resentment that she would walk away from him again.

"Take your hands off her, Snivellus! You don't give orders here," Black's voice called out as he came forward out of the shadows; apparently he had followed them.

"You stay out of this!" spat Severus.

"You're talking about me, so I don't think so," Sirius replied, coming to a stop directly in front of them.

"This is a private conversation," said Severus coldly. "Or don't you remember, she asked me for a private conversation," he added.

"Looks like she was leaving the conversation," Sirius countered.

"Nobody wants you here, Black … go away!" Severus insisted.

"I'm tired of this," Sirius started. "If you really care about how -"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" screeched Severus. He just wanted Black to go away and knew what he was trying to do.

"Do you really think he actually likes you, Celeste?" Sirius said defiantly, turning to Celeste. "You have to know the truth. I didn't want to ruin our time today because I knew after I told you that you would probably never speak to me again. I've been trying to tell you for ages, but I can never get close to you … I never meant to get you hurt. What happened with -"

"What are you talking about?" Celeste cut in, bewildered.

"Something I … or we … did. It was at the beginning of the year. Snape and I, we -"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! GET AWAY FROM HER!" Severus yelled and leaped between Sirius and Celeste.

The two boys began to struggle and were grabbing each other by the front of their robes. Suddenly they both were knocked off their feet and hit the ground hard. They both lay in a surprised state. They lifted their gaze to stare up at Celeste who had actually physically pushed both of them down.

"What's he talking about? You and he did what?" said Celeste.

The two boys scrambled up and yanked out their wands.

"NO!" Celeste growled and leaped between them, not letting them attack each other.

"We made a bet! We bet at the beginning of the year that you would kiss one of us first," said Sirius. "Whoever you picked to kiss first would be the winner of that bet," Sirius finished.

Celeste kept her eyes on Sirius, searching his face, then turned to stare at Severus.

He could not keep his glare on Sirius, no matter how much Severus wanted to. He slowly met Celeste's eye.

As she stared at Severus, Sirius continued to explain exactly what had happened and how the bet had come about.

Her eyes were boring into his and Severus kept his face emotionless and his eyes as empty as possible. Celeste was not accomplished in the powers of the mind, but, as they stared at each other, he watched her face twist into a pained expression as soon as Sirius had finished his speech.

How she knew it was true, he had no idea. Nobody had ever been able to read him and it scared him that she had somehow seen the truth in his face.

"It wasn't real? It was just for a stupid bet!?" she cried and shoved Severus away from her. She turned on Sirius and did the same thing. Neither boy replied to her and she forced her hands up into her hair and walked a couple of steps before she turned on them. She marched forward to Sirius, glaring up at him.

"He won! I kissed him! Weeks ago, I'm surprised he didn't tell you. He must have been waiting for the right moment to taunt you with the fact he could use me so easily!!" Celeste stated. "How does it feel to be the loser!?"

Sirius looked down, ashamed to meet her eye. Celeste turned on Severus.

"I thought it meant something! You just used me to humiliate him!?" she said ferociously, pointing back at Sirius.

Severus stared at her with a devastating mixture of anger, loss and humiliation. The utter disappointment began to take over all those emotions rather quickly. He felt utterly wretched.

"Celeste, you do not understand, you must see, I … I did not -"

"Don't! I can't believe you did this to me … all this time!" she cried, cutting him off. "Don't come near me! Don't even talk to me! I HATE YOU!" she screamed.

She turned and scurried away from them before she could be humiliated further by the tears that were now falling from her eyes.

Severus watched as Celeste ran away. He was unable to go after her and felt like his chest was going to collapse in on itself.

Sirius glanced over at Snape as the two stood silently. They both had a similar expression of disappointment, but Severus was simply staring in the direction Celeste had gone, unmoving.

Sirius continued to study the side of Snape's face because that cold, sallow face all of a sudden fell a little. Sirius almost thought Snape was on the verge of breaking down; he even began to shake.

"She said it happened weeks ago," Sirius began in a calm voice. Severus turned his face to Black and glared at him with cold hatred. "How come you didn't gloat about winning?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

Severus gave him no reply; he had the great desire to wring Black's neck.

"You can't be serious!" Sirius announced. "You're … in love with her?" he went on, almost like he had just witnessed something that could never happen. "Why else would you not say … I don't get it … this makes no sense," Sirius sputtered.

"I still want what's owed to me. You broke the deal. We were not supposed to tell her about it, so I want more," said Severus in a waspishly dangerous voice.

"I'm not keeping the deal, it was a mistake … don't you get it? Look what we've both done. Let's just forget the -"

"No, Black, you're not getting out of this, even though I always knew you were a filthy liar and could never keep your end of a bargain," Severus announced. "I have seen Lupin head out of the school with Madam Pomfrey, what is his illness? Somehow I think all of you are hiding something."

"You wanted one of the ways we get out of the castle, and that's all I'm giving you, you greedy bastard," Sirius insulted and backed away.

"You broke the deal, I want more," hissed Severus and took a step towards Sirius. "You owe me, you will always owe me for this! I will remind you of it every day what you did until you pay up. You OWE ME!" he went on.

Sirius' expression was filled with disdain because of what that would mean; how those words sank down inside of him. Maybe it was the guilt and anger mixed together. He hated Snape for what had happened; it was easier to blame Snape than himself.

"Fine, Snape … if you really want to know, I'll tell you," replied Sirius in a more casual voice.