A/N: An update at last! I am so sorry it has been so long. I'm afraid I really had to put my studying before writing over the last few months :( I had some big exams for my penultimate year at medical school at the end of May, and from January I had to spend most of my free time studying for them. Then straight after my exams I flew out to New Zealand for a holiday travelling around finding filming locations for Lord of the Rings (which is really cool!) and since then I have been doing a placement in a hospital in Auckland. But finally I now have time to write again, so updates will be resuming :D Woohoo!

In this chapter, recent events from the story crop up in conversation, so the intention is that it should not be difficult for you to pick up where the story left off if you can't remember everything that happened in the last few chapters (I wouldn't blame you, don't worry!). The story will move onto more new action in the next chapter – but till then, I hope you enjoy returning to the story!

Chapter 46: Unwelcome Visitors

The next few hours in the Hospital Wing were a dream come true for James. He couldn't get over the exhilarating fact that his best friend was awake and talking, laughing at his jokes and abusing the Slytherins with a humour that completely belied the gruelling ordeal he had been through in the wake of two dark curses. Sirius' awakening finally put an end to the tedium of the ward and James' loneliness, and heralded the start of endless hours of conversation. Sirius had so much to catch up on that James talked non-stop all afternoon – so much, in fact, that as Madam Pomfrey came over to chivvy James back into his own bed and check on Sirius' potions, she commented that the two boys would give a pair of gossiping girls a run for their money.

Time whizzed by, and James was amazed when they heard the sound of the bell ringing for the end of classes.

"Look!" cried Sirius, pointing over at the door to the Hospital Wing. "My first real visitor! No offence Prongs, but you, Remus and Peter don't really count."

James looked up and his heart slipped a little as he saw the red-haired girl approaching them. As Madam Pomfrey had kept him asleep until just three hours ago, he had not seen Lily since he had denounced Snape down on the Quidditch Pitch on Sunday night. On that occasion she had been so outraged that she had tried incredibly hard to hex him, regardless of the fact that Dumbledore himself was standing there watching the whole scene.

"Hey there, Evans!" Sirius called out jovially, unaware of James' trepidation. "Have you missed me?"

Lily approached the boys' beds, but something seemed off about her. It took James a few seconds to realise the reason; it was the fact that she was totally blanking him and looking solely at Sirius – she did not even give him a polite greeting.

"Hi, Sirius. As a matter of fact, it has been strangely quiet with you lying unconscious in here," Lily conceded, coming to stand at the end of Sirius' bed. "How are you feeling?"

Sirius considered this with an uncharacteristically thoughtful expression. "Famished," he concluded. "I haven't eaten anything for days. But I'm feeling pretty chipper, I must say." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Soon I'll have to fake it to get Madam Pomfrey to let me stay here any longer." He gave Lily a wink and James rolled his eyes. It was getting a bit irritating how Sirius was monopolising Lily's attention. He wished that she would just say what she wanted to say about Sunday night – which was surely why she had come… Hopefully she would announce that she was dumping Snape, or Snape was being expelled…

"That's great," said Lily, looking over her shoulder at the door.

"So… Why is it that you've popped into the Hospital Wing today?" said Sirius. "Is it because you caught wind of my miraculous return to health?"

James couldn't keep silent any longer – Lily obviously came to talk to him. "Don't be ridiculous, Padfoo-" he started.

"Actually," Lily said loudly over James, without even sparing him a glance, "you're right, Sirius. I wanted to call in to see how you were."

A smug smile settled on Sirius' lips as he turned to face James, who was feeling thoroughly put out. James let out a whine. "What about me-?"

"You?" Lily hissed venomously, rounding on him without warning. James gave a start, and a pillow slipped off his bed and plopped onto the floor. He had thought he had wanted Lily to look at him, but flames of rage were blazing in her eyes, indicating that her anger had not abated one bit over the last three days. "YOU, James Potter? Are you so obscenely self-centred that you have no idea of what you did on Sunday night meant for me? Are you so bloody arrogant that you have just assumed I will forgive you? Are you so conceited that you cannot even comprehend that I might want to see your friend instead of you?"

James stared at Lily, stricken by her words, while Sirius watched the exchange curiously and propped himself up on one arm for a more comfortable view. James had thought that by telling Dumbledore several solid reasons why he should not let Snape into the Vallatus class, Lily would finally come round to seeing why Snape was such a great mistake. He knew he had pissed her off on Sunday, but surely she should have cooled down a bit by now, after having some time to think about what he had said. Why was she still acting so tetchy?

"I – I don't understand – what I did on Sunday was because I was concerned about you –"

"Me?" said Lily shrilly. "You did it 'out of concern for me'?" Her hollow laughter made James sink down under his sheets. "You have no idea, do you James? No idea how you've made me feel, how you've made Severus feel? …Judging by your self-righteously wounded and blank face, clearly not! Well let me tell you! You, James Potter, are so bloody self-absorbed that you do not realise that what you did on Sunday night solely comes down to the raw fact that you hate Severus and you want me to be your girlfriend! You don't care what I want! You don't give a rat's arse about Severus' feelings! You cannot even get your big fat head around the fact that you did something completely and inexcusably out of line."

"It was not!" yelped James. "I had eviden-"

"It was way, WAY below the belt," Lily growled, glaring fiercely at him with her hands planted squarely on her hips. "You had no right, no right at all to go interfering, ruining other people's lives just for your selfish ends – so don't act all innocent! And you've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to forgive you for this in the blink of an eye just because you were my original Vallatus partner and you have neatly ensured that Severus has been wiped out of the picture! I'd rather partner anyone else on the planet than you – or even better, not go at all!"

James gaped at Lily, aghast. She couldn't not go to the Vallatus class just because Snape wasn't going, she'd been going with him up until now anyway! She couldn't sacrifice her chance to fight back against You-Know-Who just because she couldn't accept that she was better off partnering him instead of Snape. "But–"

"Don't!" Lily bit out. "Don't even speak to me! Or by God I will hex you so badly that it will make what those Slytherins did to you look like a piece of cake!"

James gulped and glanced nervously over at Sirius, who looked thoroughly engrossed in the row. "A piece of cake?" Sirius said dreamily. "Blimey, I wonder how long it'll be till we get to eat one of those…"

Lily whirled around and shot Sirius a murderous look. Thankfully he had the presence of mind to look apologetic. James was just relieved that Lily had stopped yelling at him, and he hoped that she might go back to ignoring him once more. Merlin, it had been such a good day until she had showed up…

"Was there anything else you wanted, Lily, aside from ensuring that I am on the mend?" Sirius said, somewhat tentatively.

"Yes, in fact there is." Sirius' politely enquiring expression morphed into one of apprehension. Surprisingly, Lily was wearing an amused expression. "You see – Severus is waiting outside, and he was hoping that he could come and see you too."

Sirius blinked. "Snape?" he spluttered. "What in Merlin's name does he want to see me for?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you owe him thanks," Lily said, shooting him a stern, meaningful look.

"I'm not quite sure – " But before Sirius could finish elaborating, Lily was striding over to the door to the Hospital Wing and had admitted the tall, hook-nosed profile of Severus Snape onto the ward. The second James' eyes connected with the black, bottomless eyes of that stalking, smug-face git, who still in spite of everything had Lily clutched in the palm of his hand, he felt a tidal wave of concentrated, bubbling hatred surge up within him. And yet, amidst such dark, resentful emotions, a flare of triumph rose even higher – for he, James Potter, had successfully convinced Dumbledore to expel Snape from the Vallatus class, and Snivellus could no longer call himself Lily's Vallatus partner…

"Well, well, I see that the rumours are indeed true, Black," Snape drawled as his eyes swept across to Sirius. "You have returned to the land of the living."

"What do you want with me?" Sirius growled, eyes harbouring a deep suspicion.

Snape cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms, standing back to survey Sirius with an unimpressed expression. "Oh, so Potter has omitted to inform you of who came to your aid last week, when you were vomiting up your own innards?"

Sirius pressed his lips tightly together. "I heard that you had something to do with it," he bit out reluctantly. Sirius had only believed what Snape had done because James had confirmed it was true – and even then he had struggled to get his head around the concept.

"I did indeed," Snape continued. James saw Lily shooting him an appraising smile and almost gagged. Merlin, Snape was drawing this out far too long. "I am afraid you were too out of it to have any awareness of me, but Potter here can assure you that I was the one to send away your attackers, reverse the curses on you and even withdraw the vomit and, err – " He wrinkled his nose as if remembering a particularly pungent smell " – intestines obstructing your windpipe. Without which you would have promptly suffocated and died – a most tragic outcome, you would surely agree."

Sirius' eyebrows sunk low and he glowered up at Snape, saying nothing.

"Well?" said Snape impatiently.

"'Well' what?" said Sirius sulkily. "What do you want from me?"

Snape shook his head, looking down on Sirius with disappointment. "I hardly thought a little gratitude would be hard to come by when I had saved your life, Black… But then, it is you, so I suppose I should have had the lowest expectations possible."

Sirius scowled furiously and James seethed with indignation on his friend's behalf.

"Sirius!" Lily hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't be so ungrateful! You should thank Severus for what he did for you!"

Sirius fixed Lily with a look of utmost scepticism. "Really?" he said. "I want to know what was in it for him. What did you stand to gain from rescuing me, huh?" he shot at Snape. "Did you want to look good for Lily, or maybe for Dumbledore?"

At those words the strangest look flew across Snape's face – James could not be sure, perhaps it was terror, or perhaps it was rage – but then it was replaced by an ugly, disdainful sneer.

Before he could speak, however, Lily said, "Don't be so rude, Sirius!"

"It's a simple enough question!" Sirius retorted. "Answer it and I'll offer a sign of gratitude."

"I think not," Snape said coolly. "You patently have no gratitude whatsoever, and I have no wish to be on the receiving end of a dungbomb or some such unpleasantry."

Sirius let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll thank you just like Lily wants, if you tell us why you did it."

"You know, I am beginning to regret saving your miserable head after all," said Snape dispassionately.

"Dammit Sirius! Stop nit-picking in an attempt to save your pride!" said Lily crossly. "It doesn't matter why Severus did it, he still saved your life, whether you like it or not! Stop being a berk and just thank him!"

Sirius flinched at Lily's raised voice. She held his gaze unwaveringly, her face as hard as a stone gargoyle's. After a long moment, Sirius turned to James.

"What did you do?" he mouthed silently, his eyes begging for an escape ticket.

James grimaced. He'd thanked the bloody git, that's what.

Sirius pulled a face and slowly swallowed, as if a revolting piece of maggot-infested meat was being forced down his gullet. "Th-thank you, Snape," he choked out, his eyes screwed shut as if he was trying to convince himself that this was not really happening.

"Do my ears deceive me?" Snape blinked, looking mildly amused. "Is this true? You, Sirius Black, owe me your thanks?" Snape proceeded to taunt him, now smirking openly and clearly thoroughly enjoying the painful affair. James was bursting with frustration – because of Lily being there, he and Sirius couldn't object – but Merlin he wanted to! He couldn't take much more of Snape's nauseating milking of the situation.

"Yes," Sirius conceded with a rasp, making a funny retching movement as if he was vomiting out the word against his will. "Now is there anything else you want?"

"Oh, there are a great many things I would like from you, Black," said Snape lightly, "but I think your thanks will be enough for today. I think I shall leave now to spend a quiet evening studying with my girlfriend."

Snape's reference to Lily as his girlfriend made something in James snap. He couldn't stand it any longer.

"I am surprised you have the gall to assume that Lily will be your girlfriend much longer after what I brought to light on Sunday night!" said James. "–How you're consorting with You-Know-Who's newest recruits, how you've been spying on our Vallatus class, how you're meddling in Dark Magic." Lily looked so outraged at his words but James was too incensed to care. "I'm frankly stunned you can show your face in here. Now Dumbledore knows everything. Shouldn't you be packing your bags and lamenting the imminent loss of your place at Hogwarts, your girlfriend, and perhaps even your precious Dark Lord's favour?"

Snape's eyes slowly moved onto James and bored relentlessly into him. When he spoke, it was very soft. "I am surprised that you have the courage – or is it stupidity, Potter? – to bring up the pathetic way you told tales to the Headmaster to get your own way and bring the limelight back on yourself… It must have been so hard for someone as self-centred as you to cope with being forgotten on the sidelines, left out in the Hospital Wing, while Lily chose to partner me, her boyfriend, in place of you…"

James flung an arm under his pillow and whipped out his wand, pointing it with blistering hatred at the Slytherin. Yet he found that he too was facing wand-point, the tip of a black ebony wand that was glowing orange in warning of what might soon erupt from the end.

"Don't think that I won't curse you just because you're in the Hospital Wing," Snape hissed, advancing on him menacingly.

"Severus, don't!" Lily cried, latching her arms around Snape's chest and pulling him back. James' heart was pumping hard, eager for a savage duel, as he watched Snape look down at his girlfriend. "James is making it all up, and the proof of that in the days to come will be punishment enough for him!"

It was with bitter disappointment that James saw Snape lower his wand and stow it away once more. "Of course," Snape murmured, smiling intimately at Lily. "You are quite right…" Then, without warning, he wound his arms around Lily's waist and bent down to kiss her full on the lips. James stared, horrified, at the nightmarish scene, his wand slipping through his slack hand and clattering onto the floor. He could not believe what Snape was parading in front of him, how a faint blush had appeared on Lily's cheek and yet she was not pulling away, how she was going along with his sly game…

"Urgh!" Sirius held up his hands in front of him to obscure the obscene vision. "Madam Pomfrey!" he yelled down the Hospital Wing, making the nurse turn around from her work. "Snape is making me and James feel more sick!"

Snape mercifully detached himself from Lily, then closed his eyes in an act of summoning up his reserve of patience for a pair of toddlers. "Fine, I am leaving, you pair of immature brats."

Snape gave Lily one last burning look and then strode out of the Hospital Wing, just as Madam Pomfrey was approaching them. "It's fine, Severus has gone now," Lily said quickly.

"I still need some more anti-sickness potion," James proclaimed loudly. He was feeling in a particularly bad place, especially after being robbed of the chance to duel Snivellus sodding Snape. Lily shot him the filthiest look but the nurse, oblivious to the insinuations about Snape, kindly tended to the potions suspended in inverted spherical flasks at his bedside, increasing the flow of one particular potion down his line.

"You should probably leave the boys now to get some rest," she told Lily, before returning to her office.

"Well–" For a second Lily's eyes awkwardly met James', and then she recovered herself and hurriedly looked back at Sirius. "I'm glad you're on the mend, Sirius. Err – I'll see you around." She shot James a glare and then scurried away.

James lowered his eyes, feeling downcast. Dread was gathering in the pit of his stomach. What had come between him and Lily? Sure, he had slagged off Snape on Sunday, but everything he had told Dumbledore had been true and to safeguard Lily and the Vallatus class. But Lily could not see that. No, she was in denial, and that meant that he had to suffer her fiery temper and come away completely scalded. She had either burnt him with words laden with anger or acted as if she barely knew he existed. He'd not enjoyed her yelling at him, but when she hardly dared look at him… Now that really hurt…

Yet James barely had time to wallow in his own self-pity, for Sirius was clambering onto his bed and fixing him with an expectant expression.

"Well? What's going on with you and Evans?"

Sirius' question sent an electric shock through James' body. "What do you mean?" he bleated immediately.

"Oh come on," Sirius drawled, "I'm not a troll. I heard what she bellowed at you! Plus there was more tension between you and her than there is between you and Snivellus, for Merlin's sake! What's happened?"

James swallowed, feeling sick. How could he phrase how he felt?

"Ah," said Sirius knowingly. "Is this because you slandered innocent, misunderstood Severus when you charged into the Vallatus lesson on Sunday, raving about him sneaking out of the school with the other budding Death Eaters?"

James looked up at him, wincing. "Yeah… and not only that… I dragged Lily into it too…"

Sirius cocked an eyebrow curiously.

"I – I may have said Dumbledore should boot out Snape for Lily's own safety…"

Sirius withdrew as if burnt. "Ouch."

"Yeah, Lily was mad," James said heavily. "More than mad." He had riled Lily by badmouthing Snape many times over the years, but it seemed like he might just have taken it as far as when he'd shown the school Snape's pants last June by the beech tree. He'd thought that by exposing Snape's true character she might begin to doubt her relationship with the untrustworthy git, but she seemed staunchly adamant that he'd just made up all that stuff or something, and he James Potter was the one in the wrong…

"Congratulations, Prongs, on successfully insulting Lily Evans' boyfriend in the most comprehensive way possible. I do believe that, as well as doing Dumbledore a service, you have also done wizardkind as a whole an even greater favour by snatching a magnificent prize from right under Snivellus' greasy nose." He sighed, suddenly wistful. "Oh, I wish I'd seen his ugly face when he realised Dumbledore wouldn't let him into the Vallatus Class after all. Ha." He gave a chuckle.

James ignored him, staring morosely at Sirius' pyjamas. It didn't matter that Sirius thought he'd done the right thing. Lily didn't. He'd gone racing down to the pitch for her, hadn't he? He'd saved her from the treacherous clutches of Snape's Dark Magic. He'd given her the perfect excuse to not let him meddle with her mind… But she hadn't sent any thanks his way, not even when she'd had time to cool down… He'd done this for her, but now it looked like he'd ruined everything between them, the friendship he had been desperately clinging onto ever since he'd realised her affections had laid elsewhere. If she was going out with someone else, and she wasn't friendly to him anymore, what was left between them? Would they be like strangers from now on…?

"You look far too serious, James."

James raised his eyes and found Sirius looking at him critically.

"Oh, come on, Prongs," said Sirius, smiling warmly. "Lily can never stay angry at you for too long. She'll come round."

"Yeah?" James hardly dared to be hopeful.

"Of course. You know how Lily is – she cares too much about the War, about fighting for muggleborns like her and for the safety of her family. She's not going to let some petty argument between the two of you stop her from her one chance to really fight back against You-Know-Who. Once she gets used to the idea that Snape is never going to learn how to make the Vallatus Charm with her, she'll understand that it is you or no one and remember what is most important to her. You'll see."

"Great," said James, praying that Sirius was right. She'd had a good shout at him, so hopefully she had got what was bothering her off her chest and soon they could get on with being friends again. Maybe she just had bad PMT…

"Just give it a few days. And please, Prongs, try not to do anything to annoy her. Don't you remember how Moony warned you against going to Dumbledore about Snape because it would infuriate Lily? That night she went on a date with Snape all dressed up?"

James looked at Sirius blankly. "Huh?" That evening he had been unable to concentrate on much else except what Lily might be doing with Snape, so it was unsurprising he was having difficulty recollecting Remus' lecture.

Sirius shook his head, grinning. "Moony told you that if you went to Dumbledore, claiming that Snape was spying on the Vallatus class and feeding information to You-Know-Who, Lily would not take it at all well. In fact she would likely be absolutely livid and hate your guts with a vengeance. It was bound to be even worse if you came out with even more incriminating accusations about Snape, and if you did it right in front of her."

James grinned guiltily. "Oh yeah. But I couldn't help it. I mean," he said fervently, "everything I told Dumbledore was true!"

Sirius leaned in to pat James' arm in a brotherly fashion. "I know," he said understandingly. "But we both know that Lily is hopelessly blind when it comes to Snape…"

James sighed, and as Sirius sat back to lean against the foot of James' bed, James caught sight of someone at the door to the Hospital Wing. But it was one of the last people he had been expecting…

"Err, Sirius?" he said unsurely.

Sirius looked around, and the head quickly disappeared behind the door. "Reg?" he said in disbelief.

After a second, the black-haired head of Sirius' younger brother slowly peered back around the door. With his brother's eyes glued to him, Regulus reluctantly entered the Hospital Wing and dragged himself nearer to the two boys' beds.

"What the hell are you doing here?" cried Sirius, echoing James' thoughts exactly. Sirius and Regulus spent most of the time pretending each other didn't exist. It had never even dawned on James that Regulus might come to visit his wounded brother, particularly after Mrs Black's letter.

Regulus came to a standstill several feet away from Sirius' bed, looking awkward.

"Look – I shouldn't be here – we're not meant to be out in the corridors without a teacher or a prefect – "

Sirius snorted. "Well, you're here now, so it makes little difference. Why'd you come?"

Regulus plunged his hands deep into his pockets and lowered his eyes to the ground. "I just wanted to see if the rumours were true… if you really had woken up," he mumbled.

Sirius' face brightened upon hearing that he had been the subject of 'rumours'. "Yep, you can see for yourself, they're true alright," he said proudly, but then his expression sank and he became serious. "Mother and Father would not be at all pleased to know you had come to see me."

Regulus glanced up. "I know," he said quickly. "Mother sent me a letter too. But don't worry, I won't tell them I came."

"A letter? I didn't get a letter. Did I, James–?" Sirius turned to James, whose heart was racing ten to the dozen at the mention of Mrs Black's letter.

"I – err – I can't see one…" James said, feeling very hot and bothered, and pretending to search around Sirius' bed for the accursed letter he knew all to well was in Remus' possession and unlikely to ever reach Sirius' eyes for fear of the hurt it might bring him (though, knowing Sirius, he would no doubt deny it).

"Ah well, it was probably a load of crap anyway," Sirius said dismissively. He looked up at Regulus, who was checking the beds over his shoulder and then the door. James scowled, figuring that the Slytherin was verifying that none of his housemates were around.

"So…" Regulus trailed off uneasily at the silence grew longer.

"So," said Sirius, forcing a cheery voice. "I heard Slytherin had a House outing on Saturday evening. Did you join the big boys?"

James watched with interest as Regulus' expression soured. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Sirius was unfazed by the cold rebuff. "Where'd you go, Reg? Anywhere fun?"

"It's none of your business, Sirius," Regulus snapped haughtily.

"Oh, but it is my business," said Sirius, grinning wickedly. "It will be our parents' business if you are punished for leaving the school grounds for some questionable activity with certain unsavoury characters, and it's my business if you're getting up to mischief… breaking school rules… following in my footsteps…"

"I'm not following in your stupid footsteps!" snarled Regulus. "I'm nothing like you!"

Sirius nodded, putting on a false smile. "Yes, you're right. You worship the scumbags who landed me in here, whereas I detest them. What d'you think of your housemates' curses, huh? Have they given you any inspiration? D'you think you could do even better and polish me off for good?" Sirius spoke cheerily, but he was eying his younger brother with distaste, for the two Gryffindors both knew that Regulus, being brainwashed by the Black ideals, idolised Voldemort and the older Slytherins who had gained his favour.

Regulus looked livid, but by the way his eyes kept flicking to Madam Pomfrey's office it seemed he was reluctant to enter a full-blown argument with wands involved while the nurse was around. "You'd better watch out, because I might just do that," he hissed. "You have no idea how terrible it is having you as my brother! Between you and me, Sirius, you might want to work on your duelling technique. I hear it leaves a lot to be desired."

At this, Sirius' expression switched to one of infuriated indignation. "Oh, you think I was an easy target, do you? Is that the rumour that's going around Slytherin?" he said, sounding irate.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," huffed Regulus. "It's damned humiliating hearing everyone talk about how pathetic you are and having them laugh at me because I'm unlucky enough to have a prat like you as my stupid older brother."

"For your information," Sirius explained brusquely, "it was an unfair duel. We had no warning – and your lovely housemates used Dark Magic."

"Stop making up excuses," Regulus said scornfully. "It doesn't change the fact you spectacularly lost the duel and nearly died."

"Well, I didn't," said Sirius, who was now looking just as cross as his brother. "So what would you have preferred? That I'd jinxed my opponents to smithereens? Or that I'd popped my clogs for good?"

"At least then I'd be rid of the embarrassment you cause!" shot Regulus.

Sirius' eyes narrowed to grey slits. "I am so sorry for the disappointment," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "Remind me again why you came?"

"I have no idea," spat Regulus, backing off with gathering haste. "This has been a total waste of time."

"I could not agree more," said Sirius, and Regulus turned away. Sirius twisted around further to yell at his brother's retreating figure, "And next time, don't bother to come visit me! Just carry on playing with the Dark Arts with your stupid Death Eater pals!" Regulus turned to give Sirius one more look of loathing before vanishing wordlessly out the door.

James watched Sirius turn back and hunch over, unsure of what to say. "What a twat…" Sirius muttered. "You know, for a moment I thought he actually cared. But really…" He made a noise of disgust and looked up at Prongs with an expression of disillusionment.

"Never mind him, Padfoot," said James. "You've got three real brothers."

A smile slowly formed over Sirius' wan face. "Yes… you're right. Where'd I be without you, Prongs?"

James smiled. "You'll never need to worry about that. I'll always be here for you mate. And so will Moony and Wormtail."

Sirius nodded, and swept a hand weakly through his long hair. "You know, I might have a rest before they come visit after dinner…"

James watched his best friend fondly as he unsteadily crossed the gap between their beds and crashed out within seconds of his head hitting his pillow. He'd been without Sirius for ten days, dreading that he might end up having to live without his best friend for remainder of his lifetime, and it had been so awful he hoped he'd never again have to go through the same thing. He never wanted to be without Sirius. Whatever happened, the two of them would always stick together. Through thick and thin, through troubles with girls and relatives and enemies and classes, they'd always be there for each other. Padfoot and Prongs. Always.

xXxXx

As he and Lily made their way to the Library, Severus mulled over the delicious 'thank you' that he had dragged from Black's lips and basked in a wonderful sense of smug satisfaction. The profound humiliation that the expression of gratitude had brought to Black almost had him laughing.

Merlin knows he'd needed the kick after the last few days. They had been hellish days, dominated by a crushing fear that any moment Dumbledore would walk into the room and announce his and his housemates' expulsion. For not only was Dumbledore confident that they had left the Hogwarts grounds on Halloween and on the look-out for hard evidence so that he could punish them, his friends had got their hands on Potter and Black's revolting intestines – as if they were trying to get themselves expelled.

To Severus' immeasurable relief, his friends had hidden the jars of innards somewhere in the dungeons and talked of 'waiting for the opportune moment to use them'. Personally Severus hoped that after a few days they'd forget about the damned things and he would never have to set eyes on whatever perverted act they were intended for.

Once he and Lily reached the Library, Severus led them over to a table in a quiet corner so that they could start on their Charms homework.

"Sev?" whispered Lily whilst he was digging his books out of his bag. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmm?" Severus murmured, only half-listening. His books had crushed the roll of parchment in his bag, and he was trying to smooth out the creases.

"It's just – this is the first time we've been able to talk in private since Sunday evening…"

Severus abandoned the parchment and warily looked up at Lily, wondering what she wanted to talk about. They had discussed about a great many things on Sunday night, none of which had been easy.

Lily chewed her lip, warning him that her question would be rather probing. "Since James told Dumbledore that he'd seen you and some other Slytherins leaving Hogwarts on Halloween, I was just wondering if Dumbledore had asked to speak to you about it?"

Severus answered heavily, "Yes, he did."

Lily clutched his leg and leaned in, searching his face. "Did you tell him the truth?"

"And get myself expelled?" said Severus sardonically, setting his quill and inkpot on the table. "You know who I met, Lily. I can't tell Dumbledore. I'll be lucky to avoid Azkaban."

"He'll help you! He'll forgive you! He'll understand, but only if you tell him!"

"Shh!" Severus hurriedly scanned the surrounding tables, checking that no one had overheard Lily's raised voice. "I'm sorry, Lily," he said shortly, turning back to her, "but I can't tell Dumbledore."

Lily's expression wilted. "I suppose he won't let you be my partner, then, if he suspects there is some truth in what James said."

Severus gripped his quill tightly and shook his head. Merlin, he hated Potter for ruining his perfect deception. "I am permitted to watch the class… But not participate in it. I cannot partner you." He looked up at her, feeling wretched. Each Sunday would he be watching her with Potter once more, now that he was exiled and Potter was on the mend? Would she happily return to that bastard's open arms? "What will you do?" he blurted hoarsely, scarcely wanting to know her answer.

Lily looked at him pityingly. "Oh, Sev," she said, and he cringed. He hated himself for being so pathetic. "You should know I wish we could do it together. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I half wish I could throw in the towel and say to James I've had enough … But…" She trailed off, looking down at her hands in thought. "This is something I really want to do. It's magic that is actually useful, that will make a difference, and dare I say I'm quite good at it. When it comes down to it, I don't really want to give it up…"

She tentatively looked up at him, as if scared of how he would react to her noncommittal answer. Severus wanted to be angry that she might give Potter another chance after what that git had done, and out of envy he considered using all his devices to manipulate her into promising that she would only ever again make the Vallatus Charm with him… But when he saw how much this magic meant to her, and reminded himself that he could not cast the Vallatus Charm with her without risking his darkest secrets, he hadn't the heart to do it.

Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded and turned back to his Charms textbook.

"Sev? Are you okay?"

"It's fine, Lily. I understand."

Severus hunched over his work and pulled his textbook closer to his nose, hoping Lily would get the message. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that, after watching him unsurely for a little longer, she too started on her homework. Glad Lily had let him be, Severus skimmed through his textbook and found the page he'd been looking for. He began to copy down useful facts for his Charms essay on a scrap piece of parchment, but his mind was only half on the uninspiring work. The other half was lingering on his conversation with Lily, and his lamentable inability to partner her in the Vallatus class.

He was certainly in a sticky position after having bragged to the Dark Lord that he had been given a place in Dumbledore's class. Now the Dark Lord would expect a wealth of detailed information about the Vallatus Charm at their next meeting, as well as viable ideas on how to undermine it, but that would be immensely difficult now that Dumbledore had revoked his permission for him to take part. There was only so much he could glean just by observation…

"What's wrong, Sev? Tricky question?"

Severus glanced up, finding Lily looking at him in concern, and he realised he had not written anything for a few minutes. He shook his head and then hesitated. An idea had just occurred to him. Could he persuade Lily to give him the information he needed about the Vallatus Charm to pass on to the Dark Lord? He would have to be subtle… He would have to make her believe it was for his own interests, or their joint future interests… But it might work…

Severus set down his quill and leaned closer to Lily. "It's about the Vallatus Charm," he admitted in a low voice. "I know I am not currently in a position to make it with you and learn how to use it – but I am still very interested in it. Will you – will you tell me more about it someday? You know – just in case…"

"Just in case we make the Vallatus Charm together someday?" said Lily, smiling at him encouragingly. He gave a hesitant nod. "We will, Sev. Yes, of course I'll help you, I'll tell you everything you want to know. You'll be quite the theoretical expert by the time we come to try it out!"

Severus' lips curved into a soft smile. "Thank you," he said huskily, overcome with immense gratitude to Lily for being his saviour in this precarious situation. He felt guilty for concealing his true intentions and using her so that he could take classified information to the Dark Lord. But as she slipped her hand into his and rested her head on his shoulder, he told himself that if she knew what punishment she would save him from by giving him this precious information on the Vallatus Charm, she would not think twice about aiding him.

Severus confessed himself relieved that he now knew he would be able to satisfy at least one of the Dark Lord's latest requests of him. But as for the other, arguably more important request… His stomach twinged with unease. Converting Lily to the Dark Lord's side still seemed like an insurmountable challenge most days, and time was running short.

Yet there was one thing that stood in his favour. He had won both Lily's heart and her trust, and somehow - unexpectedly and most miraculously - having confessed to her that he had met the Dark Lord on Halloween had only strengthened her trust in him even further. He had succeeded in opening her eyes to the concept of Dark Magic… He had obtained from her a promise that she would conduct a thorough, honest appraisal on the Dark Arts. If she followed it through, if she began to understand the Dark Arts' appeal and the incredible value that they held… then he would be one step closer to bringing her into the Dark Lord's fold.

Dark delight leapt within Severus' chest. They had reached tipping point on Sunday night. He was now close, very close to guiding her slowly away from Dumbledore and with him down the path towards the Dark Lord. Now it appeared more possible than ever before that he might succeed in bringing Lily with him into the Dark Lord's ranks… And as Severus truly realised for the first time that he might actually fulfil both of his lifetime ambitions, he could not hold back a self-congratulatory smirk. Lest any wandering eyes should see, he pressed his lips into Lily's hair and turned his smirk into a lingering kiss. His heart swelled with pleasure as he heard a sigh of contentment escape Lily's lips.

"Lily?" he murmured, unable to hold back his eagerness to see his plan through. "May I ask – have you given much thought to what we discussed on Sunday night?"

Lily pulled away so that she could look up at him. "What do you mean?"

Severus frowned. It would seem that Lily had not given the matter any thought after they had parted on Sunday evening, after all. "The Dark Arts," he clarified, a trace of irritation creeping into his voice.

Lily looked terribly apologetic. "I'm sorry, Severus," she whispered, "but what with everything going on – work, the Vallatus class, Sirius waking up and James being a dolt – I haven't had time to think on it. Sev, please – " she said, touching her hand to his face and guiding it so that he was forced to look in her remorseful eyes. "I really do want to work out what you see in them and weigh up their uses. Can you just give me a few weeks? This is – this is a big decision. I need more time to think about it properly."

"I understand," he replied. A dampener had so quickly suffocated his excitement. Lily had made him believe she was keen to find out what he saw in the Dark Arts, but it seemed he had been deceived. Perhaps it would not be so quick or easy to convert her after all…

Suddenly Severus felt irrationally bad-tempered and did not want to be around the cause of his worries any moment longer. He snapped his textbook shut and stuffed his quill and parchment back into his bag, gaining a bitter pleasure from Lily's startled reaction. He swung his bag onto his shoulder and was on his feet in seconds.

"I'm going back to Slytherin. I can't work properly here," he snapped.

Lily looked up at him with large, bewildered eyes. "Oh, don't go!" she whispered plaintively. "I'm sorry, I'll be quiet and let you work. I didn't mean to distract you… Please stay!"

But Severus was too irritated to be moved by the dismay on Lily's face or to care about the trouble he would be in if he was caught in the corridors without a teacher or a Prefect accompanying him. "Goodnight," he said roughly, and he marched out of the Library without looking back.

xXxXx

Thank you SO MUCH for reading despite the long gap since the last update! I really appreciate you sticking with the story :) Next time will see the Marauders returning to action, with James and Sirius engineering a brilliant scheme to get revenge on the Slytherins, and Lily getting up to enterprises that would make any other prefect horrified!

Till then, please review and let me know what it's like to have this story up and running again, and what you'd like to see more of!