Chapter 20: The Study Session

Summary: It's time for the end of the term exams and Severus is struggling.

Notes: It's been a while since I've posted, I know. I've been going through a tough time lately. It's not easy to hold on to a job in this situation, but lucky for me I have my family to support me. I hope all of you guys are doing alright. If you're going through something as well feel free to share.

I hope you like this chapter.

...

The day Severus told him his real age, Remus realized things had to change between them. It was crazy, thinking his best friend was still a child. It did explain why Severus was so much smaller than the other first years and why his behavior was sometimes childish. On the other hand, Severus often acted more mature than the rest of their friends. He was thoughtful and considerate and his presence was oddly reassuring. It almost made Remus feel guilty, knowing how much he relayed on the younger boy. Before coming to Hogwarts, he had been terrified of talking to other children. He had never dared to make friends, even though he yearned for it. Meeting Severus on the train had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. The boy's easy and friendly manner had lessened his anxiety and had given him courage and confidence.

Now, the dynamic of their friendship seemed wrong. Remus had to be the one to look after Severus, not the other way around. He tried to be more gentle with him and help him in any way he could. Unfortunately, his efforts were not well received. Severus was too insightful for his own good and started to pick up on it rather quickly. Things only got more tense between them when the end of the year exams started.

"You're doing it again!" snapped Severus, exasperated as Remus tried to help him with transfiguration. "You're talking down to me."

"I'm not talking down to you! I'm try to explain it in a way you'll understand."

"So you're saying I'm too stupid to understand if you talk to me like a grown-up?"

Remus sighed and closed his eyes for a second. "Severus, …" he started patiently.

"See? Now, you're talking in that tone! You do it all the time." accused Severus, with narrowed eyes.

"Cut it out guys. We've got to go now or we'll be late for the exam." said Sirius.

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Severus as he looked at the clock on his bedside table. "I'm going to fail transfiguration."

"You're not going to fail. Why would you say that?" said Remus gently. "Listen, just try to relax. I know spell work isn't your strong suit but you'd do worse if you're stressed." continued Remus as they made their way to the transfiguration classroom.

"Thanks a lot. Now I have to worry about that!" grumbled Severus, scowling.

Remus sighed in frustration and shook his head. He felt bad for Severus. The boy always studied harder than anyone else in their year and had been practicing his spells non-stop since the beginning of the exams.

McGonagall was standing by the door when they reached the classroom. She didn't look pleased. "Where have you been, boys? The instructions I posted on the board specifically say you need to be in the class at least fifteen minutes before your exam." she said, looking at each of them with narrowed eyes.

"It's Severus' fault. He was practicing until the last minute. He's losing his mind over the exams!" complained James.

"Hey!" exclaimed Severus, looking mortified.

The Professor's eyes softened. She studied the young boy for a moment. "The written exam is first. How about you focus on that right now, Mr. Prince? You've always done an excellent job on your essays, I'm sure you'll do well on that." she said kindly.

Severus gave her a small smile, the praise lifting his mood a bit.

"Now, go sit down. You've wasted enough time as it is." she added to the rest of them.

Remus chose a sit next to Severus. As the exam started, he kept glancing at the boy's direction. He was a little hesitant at first but as time passed, he seemed to gain confidence and started scribing frantically on the parchment. Seeing that, Remus turned his attention back to his own parchment and hurried to write down the answers.

Once the time was up, he could see that Severus had written more than any of their neighbors.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked.

"I think I did OK." answered Severus with a smile. The smile fell from his face a second later, though. "It's time for the practical exam."

"You're going to do fine, you'll see." reassured Remus.

McGonagall put a few items in front of each of them to transform and waited for them to perform the spells before inspecting their work and writing down their grade in a leather bound notebook. James and Sirius were the first ones to finish and jumped out of their seats as soon as the Professor checked their work. Peter followed them soon after, even though his transfiguration was rushed and sloppy; as McGonagall put it. Everyone else finished almost at the same time. Everyone except for Severus. The transfiguration Professor moved between the tables and wrote down their grades as slowly as possible to give him more time. By the time she reached Severus' table, only a couple of other students were left in the class.

"The time's up, Mr. Prince." said McGonagall gently. "May I check your work?"

Severus stopped mid motion and lowered his wand, a defeated expression on his face. "Am I going to fail?" he whispered. None of the items on the table were fully transformed. The matches were not uniformed and the snuff box still resembled a mouse.

"I will need to grade your written exam, but I'm pretty sure you're going to pass my class."

"Really?"

"Yes, as long as you've answered most of the questions you will pass."

"I answered all the questions!"

"Then you don't need to worry." said McGonagall, patting Severus on the shoulder who slumped in his chair in relief.

"See? I told you." said Remus when the Professor walked away. "And there's only one exam left."

"The last exam is charms. I'm even worse in charms than in transfiguration." said Severus quietly, looking down at his hands.

"I can help you practice if you want." said a female voice, making them both jump.

They turned to see Lily Evans standing right beside them, her long red hair framing her face.

Severus blinked a couple of times. "I … um…" he stuttered.

"That would be really great, Lily." said Remus. "If you're sure."

"Yes, it's no problem." said Lily, giving them a big smile. "I'll see you in the common room after lunch." she continued, turning to Severus.

The boy stared back at her for a moment before nodding. Lily smiled bigger before turning on her heel and leaving out the door.

"Why did you do that for?" hissed Severus as soon as she was out of the earshot.

"What? What did I do?"

"You talked for me, like I'm a kid!"

"You ARE a kid!" snapped Remus, at the end of his patience.

Severus gasped. He gathered his things and stormed out of the room. Remus cursed and ran after him.

"Severus, wait up!" he called. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Severus did slow down, but he didn't say anything.

"Is it so bad? That I'm trying to look out for you?" he said quietly. "Lily is really good at charms. She can help you."

"I don't want to study with her."

"Why ever not? She's a nice girl." asked Remus. Now that he thought about it, Severus had been avoiding her the past few months. It was odd, considering Severus never missed a chance to make a new friend. "Do you have a crush on her or something?"

Severus' eyes widened. "No, I don't!" he snapped.

Remus shrugged. "I wouldn't blame you if you did. She's beautiful, with her red hair and green eyes."

"Then maybe you have a crush on her." said Severus as they sat at the Gryffindor table.

"Remus has a crush on someone. Who's the lucky girl?" asked Sirius, a mischievous smile on his face.

Remus blushed. "There's no girl!" he snapped.

"It's a boy, then? That's cool, you know." James chimed in.

Remus covered his face with his hands, as he felt his chicks burning.

Severus put a comforting hand on his back. "Quit teasing him. You're making him uncomfortable." he defended.

"You're the one who started it." shrugged James. "Besides, we only want to help."

He turned to Severus and they shared a look. They both knew James and Sirius were not going to drop the issue any time soon. Remus sighed and braced himself. They left the table as soon as they were done with lunch.

"Sorry about that." said Severus.

"It's alright." murmured Remus. "I hope they don't see us studying with Lily or dinner will go pretty much the same."

"We can tell her we've changed our mind."

"What's with you? Why don't you want to study with her?"

"Because, …" Severus trailed off. It looked like he didn't want to say anything for a moment but then he continued. "Her family leaves in the town we used to live in."

Remus frowned, confused. "I remember you guys talking about it the first day of school. What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

Severus bit his lip. "They might know where my dad is." he answered quietly.

Remus knew Severus' dad was a sore issue. It had come up a few times but his friend didn't like to talk about it. "I don't think studying with her is going to change anything. You've been living in the same place for the whole year. If she wanted to tell you something or do something about it, she would have by now." he reasoned.

"I guess you're right." said Severus.

They chose a spot in the common room next to window and waited for Lily. The girl arrived a few minutes later. She got right into the practice as she sat down nest to them.

"Charms is really not that hard. All you need to do is pronounce the spells carefully, do the right wand movement and focused. We'll start with 'wingardium leviosa' and go through the rest of the spells one by one. You can practice them a bit more later." she explained and took out her wand.

"Hold on, I want to take some notes." said Severus and took out a roll of parchment and a quill.

"What a beautiful quill! I've never seen anything like it." exclaimed Lily, her eyes wide in awe.

Severus smiled at her. "Sirius gave it to me for Christmas. I can't give it away since it's a gift but you can borrow it for the exam tomorrow." he said and handed it to her while he fished out another quill.

"Really? That's so nice of you!" said Lily blushing with pleasure.

Remus smiled to himself to turned his attention to his charms book. He didn't need to worry any more. Severus was going to do fine on the exam.