Chapter 26 Racing Ruckuses

The start of fifth year served as a bit of a shock to the system for not just Severus, Lily and their friends, but pretty much everyone else in their year as well. The workload was significantly higher than the year before, meaning Lily, Severus and their circle of friends found themselves in the library a lot more. Lily and Severus managed to cope well enough though, and they were certainly glad that they only signed up for just one extracurricular activity, the dueling club. Through hard work, determination, and a number of late nights spent enslaved to their textbooks, they managed to make it through the gauntlet of daunting first week assignments that had been heaped on their shoulders.

Come the second week of school, their extracurricular activities started up in earnest. Billy and Sandra retained their places on the Quidditch team as second-string Beater and first-string Chaser respectively. John and Caroline returned to the gobstones and chess club, while Severus, Sandra, Lily and Scott would make their dueling club debuts. Dueling club was an activity only available to those in fifth year or higher, meaning it wasn't just Severus and Lily who were new to club, all their fellow fifth years had only borne witness to it in the past and had never actually participated. To cope with her increased workload, Lily decided to drop out of Advanced Potions, freeing her spot for Nicole, who gladly swooped in and claimed it. Nicole was the only member of their group of friends who opted against joining an extracurricular activity, in favor of pursuing her potions work and preparing for a post-Ilvermorny career as a Potions Mistress.

While the return of extracurricular activities served was an eagerly awaited event—there was one event that took precedence over the rest, and it was broom stick racing. Out of Severus' and Lily's circle of friends, only Thomas had tried out for the House team, and he ended up being one of the four racers that was accepted. Sandra initially wanted to give it a go as well, but scheduling commitments with the Quidditch team meant that she—and all her other teammates for that matter, were unable to even try out for the Horned Serpent Racing Team. At the tryout, Thomas performed excellently and was able to make the house team, by placing third in the the trial race with the top four finishers making the House team. Thomas was grateful for the chance to race for his house—and was more than happy with his result as a whole considering he was using a school broom. Out of the top four Serpents, only he had been using a school broom.

With the trials being conducted and concluded in the second week of school, the first inter-house races were scheduled to be held on the third week. Each house had four racers and two reserves—for a total of sixteen active racers, and eight reserves. With the first race due to be held in the third week, the professors had all agreed that all participants in the race would receive a slight reprieve from their coursework and anything due that third week of school would be pushed back a bit. Qualifying was held on an early Saturday morning, with not too many viewers in attendance. Nicole, Lily, Severus, Caroline and Scott made the trek to watch Thomas in action though, and were rewarded with him putting him a strong lap time around the Quidditch pitch which would be good enough for seventh on a grid of sixteen for tomorrow's race. Considering that he was riding a Comet 140, his lap was mightily impressive and would've certainly made his father proud had he been in attendance.

The following day for the race, the crowds were projected to be much larger with almost the entire school, staff included, in attendance to watch. It was the first of several inter-house races of the school year, and although others would be held across the ground on makeshift race courses mapped out by Professor Sawyer and Flight Instructor Andretti, the first would be held at the Quidditch Pitch and would be a simple oval track with two straights, and two turns. With the race scheduled to be held at three in the afternoon, Thomas and the other participants would have plenty of time to eat and digest before the start. There would be four races that year, with the first and last being held in an oval format similar to stock car racing and the two middle races being elsewhere on the grounds on more technical circuits.

Surrounded by his usual group of friends, and a few more admirers whom he'd hardly spoken to in the past, Thomas entered the Meal Hall for lunch just a few hours shy of his debut race. He took his seat at his usual table, and was promptly flanked by Nicole and Sandra, with the rest of his friends all sitting in the next closest seats to him. People he'd rarely interacted with over the previous four years of his time at the school came up to him and offered him well-wishes and good luck in the race, hoping he'd be able to bring their house to victory. Heck, even Walters and Abreu gave him nods of approval, and usually they couldn't stand each other.

"You feeling alright Tommy?" Nicole asked, her hand on his arm as he tapped his foot on the floor nervously.

"Yeah," the racer said, smiling at his girlfriend. "Just a bit nervous."

"You'll do great Tommy, and regardless of where you finish, I'll still be proud of you no matter what," Nicole said, squeezing his hand in reassurance. Nicole leaned closer and gave him a peck on the lips, hoping it would assuage his worries.

Nicole had been great so far for him, and was well and truly supportive of his endeavor to race. Thomas supposed he'd lucked out in garnering the courage to ask her out, and that she'd gotten over her small crush on Severus from back in fourth year. He couldn't envision anyone else being as supportive as Nicole was right now. Despite the positive support and thoughtfulness Nicole was giving him, Thomas was still a bit nervous about the race. Qualifying was very different after all, in the sense that he was only competing against himself. Now though, he'd be up against fifteen other talented broomstick racers, he'd certainly have his work cut out for him if he wanted to win or score well.

"You probably shouldn't eat so much Tommy," Sandra observed, glancing down at his empty plate then back into his eyes. "Take it from me, I've barfed a fair share in my early days as chaser thanks to eating a bit too much. If I were you, I'd stop right about now."

"Your early days as a chaser?" Thomas asked, his brow raised in silent speculation. "You've only been on the team for two years, so you're referring to third year then?"

Sandra twirled her fork in her aglio olio and lifted the utensil to her lips. "Exactly. And if you recall, I got sick a few times during and after the games I played because I ate too much—" her blue eyes drifted to Nicole's, she then jerked her head in the direction of the boy sat between them. "Talk some sense into him, will you?"

Nicole snorted and turned her attention back to her food. "It's like trying to talk to a brick wall. Not a thing I say is absorbed through that thick—"

"I'm literally right here. You're talking about me as if I'm not even here," said Thomas.

"C'mon babe, I'm only pulling your leg. You know that."

"Do I?" he muttered under his breath.

After lunch, Lily, Severus, Caroline, Scott and Sandra made their way out onto the grounds whilst Nicole and Thomas went off on their own for some alone time before the start of the race. The five friends headed for the Quidditch Stadium to get some good seats before the start of the race. They expected the grandstands to be packed out so they aimed to get the best seats in the house before all the good seats were taken up. The fivesome made some good progress on their assignments over the next couple hours as more students and staff alike filtered into the stadium. As the clock struck two, the stadium was practically filled by then and much too noisy for any of them to make anymore progress on their assignments. With only forty five minutes to go before the race, Lily heaved a sigh and finally called it quits on her Transfiguration assignment. She'd been the last hold-out of the group and only now ceased her attempts to work like the rest of her friends.

"The noise got a bit much for you?" asked Severus.

Lily packed her notebook into her backpack and placed it down in her lap, then tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear. She didn't need to look over at him to know he was smirking, she could tell by the inflection in his tone alone. "You could say that," she said idly.

"I wonder when they'll start coming onto the field," she mused aloud, her eyes raking the crowds surrounding the stadium. They were sat on the second row of their grandstand, and only ten meters or so off the grass of the Quidditch field, meaning they had an excellent, up-close view of the action.

"Should be soon, I think," Sandra supplied with a hopeful smile. "Instructor Palou and Andretti are pretty punctual when it comes to Quidditch so…hopefully the same'll be true here."

"Speaking of being punctual, where is Nicole?" Scott asked. Being the second tallest of the lot, he gazed around the crowd seated around them, but there was no sign of Nicole's bright-red bob of hair anywhere in the crowd.

"Well she's not always been the most punctual person, has she Scott?" Sandra said dryly. "But she should be here soon hopefully, wouldn't want her to miss her boyfriend's first race."

"Or maybe she found better seats somewhere else in the grandstand," Caroline suggested.

"Not likely," Lily said loudly, dispelling the pureblood's thoughts. "Take it from me, as a racing fan, being up close to the action is the best place you can be. It doesn't get much better than where we are."

"What do you know about having the best seat in the house?" Scott asked, without a hint of sarcasm, he seemed genuinely interested in what Lily had to say.

"For starters, I've been to my fair share of Grand Prix races back in England before I went to Hogwarts," said Lily. "I watched the '67 and '69 Grand Prix at Silverstone with my dad, and both times we sat at eye level in the grandstands at Copse, it was a great overtaking spot on the track so we had a really good time there."

"What's a Copse?" Sandra interrupted, her brows knitted in confusion.

"It's one of the corners at Silverstone," Lily explained. "As I was saying, watching from ground-level really gives a good perspective of the racing, you can watch overtakes and…"

Whatever else Lily intended to say, would have to wait as a massive roar erupted from the far grandstand packed with mostly Thunderbird supporters—the roar grew louder as more and more people in the stands spotted the cause of the commotion coming out onto the field. The racers were coming onto the field on their brooms and wearing their full-racing attire. Basically, it was the same as a Quidditch uniform with some added padding on the knees, elbows and a helmet with goggles as well. The sixteen racers flew out onto the field in pairs according to the order they qualified in. Thomas, who had qualified seventh was lined up in the fourth row of pairs, alongside the fourth year girl from Pukwudgie who'd qualified eighth on a pricey racing broom her family must've bought her.

"Sorry I'm late!" Nicole shouted, hoping that her friends could hear her voice over the noise of the enraptured spectators. She'd appeared just in time as the racers began their lone formation lap of the stadium. Seemingly, only Sandra had heard the girl thanks to her sharp hearing. The rest were seemingly ignorant of Nicole's shouted greeting.

"You're just in time!" the Muggleborn Chaser shouted back. "They're beginning the formation lap now! What took you so long?!"

The roar of the crowd grew even louder now as the sixteen racers banked around the first turn of the field towards where they were sat. Nicole's mouth moved rapidly, but now even Sandra couldn't hear a thing as the crowd's cheers grew positively deafening. Sandra could just imagine that her ginger-haired friend was in the middle of some elaborate story describing her last moments with Thomas before the race and how she inspired him—but all she could hear were the raucous cheers of their fellow Horned Serpents. As the racers flew past, Thomas gave his friends a friendly wave—having spotted them amidst the sea of Horned Serpent racers thanks to Lily's and Nicole's vibrant reddish hair. Although Severus, Lily and the rest couldn't see his expression beneath the blue and black helmet he wore, they could tell he was smiling as he gazed upon his friends and his supportive housemates.

The racers completed their formation lap of the field and took their position on the start/line beneath the starter's box. The pole-sitter, Damian Patterson, a sixth year boy from Thunderbird House lined up first, and his fellow front-row starter in Patricia King from Wampus slotted into her starting position alongside, but just behind him. The rest of the grid moved into their spots—with most of the racers using state-of-the-art racing brooms. To Sandra's trained eye, only two of the racers were using standard school brooms, with Thomas being one of them.

"How do you think he'll do? He seemed a little nervous just now," Nicole hollered to Sandra, once the noise had died down a bit.

"That's normal, he'll be fine Nikki, don't you worry about him. He looks calm, poised, and dare I say, ready to win this race!" Sandra shouted back.

"Pay attention, the race is about to start!" Lily snapped harshly.

Lily raised her binoculars to her eyes and turned her gaze over to the far side of the field where the racers were lining up to start.

Sandra and Nicole scowled at Lily, she was taking this way too seriously for their liking, it was just meant to be a casual race after all but the redhead made it seem as if it were a matter of life and death.

"She can get like that sometimes, especially when it comes to racing or other things she's passionate about," Severus explained quietly, taking extra caution not to alert his girlfriend.

Lily was still peering out over the field through her binoculars and seemingly couldn't hear what Severus had to say. "She needs to ease up a bit," Sandra muttered, the scowl she sent Lily's way deepening. "Merlin, Severus…you really need to do something about that. She's so high-strung, after the race, maybe you can get her off so she's—"

"Sandra!" Nicole exclaimed, punching her on the arm. "You can't say that."

"Be quiet you two, the race is about to start!" Lily snapped again, causing the two subjects of the redhead's ire to roll their eyes in exasperation.

No sooner had Lily shouted that when a loud bang rang out across the stadium as a red spark shot into the air, and the racers leapt forward.

"And they're off!" the announcer shouted. "Patterson's got away well, as has King! They lead down the main straight as the top six get away as they were from the grid. Baker's had a poor start and has dropped back down the field. Ryerson's made up positions and he's now up to eighth—"

"Oh no!" Nicole moaned, watching Thomas drop back down the field towards the back. he'd been jumped at the start and caught unawares as the other racers reacted to the starting flare faster than he had. "C'mon Tommy! You can catch up!" she shouted as the racers soared past their section of the grandstand.

Thomas had dropped back to thirteenth from his starting position of seventh, and now had his work cut out for him if he wanted to get back into the top eight and score some points. There were only nineteen laps of the race left so the clock was ticking for him to get a move on. Lap by lap, the field began to stretch out with the top three breaking away from the rest on their brand new racing brooms. By the end of lap ten, Thomas had made up four positions from the lowly thirteenth he found himself in at the end of the opening lap. He was already up to ninth and knocking on the door of the final points position, but he was having difficulty getting past the eighth-placed racer in large part due to her defensive maneuvers.

The sky above darkened, casting a grim, ominous shadow over the Quidditch field-turned racetrack. As the racers started lap eleven, Patterson still lead the race, Monroe was up to second, with King having dropped back from the front row to third. A distant fourth was Kendrick Jackson Thomas was right on the heels of the eighth placed racer—the person he'd started the race alongside, Danica Adams.

"C'mon Thomas, you can do it! Pass her on the inside!" Lily shouted, flailing her hands in the air as Thomas and Danica soared past them. The Muggleborn boy was jinking left and right on his broom, but couldn't seem to find a way past the fourth year girl's stalwart defense. They made their way around the stadium to start their twelfth lap.

The sky above darkened even more as a distant crack of thunder rang out across the stadium. Jagged, forked tongues of lightning seemed to illuminate the darkened sky far above the stadium as the cracks and booms of the accompanying thunderclaps filled the air with a sense of foreboding. The eyes of the race-watchers turned to the sky as glum looks fell upon their faces. A silent prayer uttered within the sanctuary of their minds in hopes that the heavens wouldn't fall.

"Darn," Nicole muttered, scowling up at the ominous, grey-black clouds that had gathered overhead. "Of course it had to rain right now!" "This is a good thing Nicole!" Lily said. She pulled her pair of binoculars away from her face and let them hang against her chest. The first droplets of rain began to fall on their shoulders. "Rain'll bunch up the field a bit, hopefully, and give Tommy more opportunities to pass that girl in eighth and hopefully get further up the field."

"That's if he can stay out of trouble though," Severus pointed out, bringing Nicole's temporary elation back down to earth. "If Thomas can avoid crashing…then he stands a good chance of making up some places and—"

"Look there he goes now!"

"What an incredible move by Thomas Baker, around the outside at turn two of a struggling Danica Adams! What a brilliant, spectacular overtake that was by Baker, swooping around Adams to get back into the points-scoring positions, on a school broom no less! This guy is something else, isn't he folks?"

The Horned Serpent crowd roared their approval as now three of their four racers were in the top eight positions that would net their team points. As the laps ticked by and Thomas continued to gain ground on his competitors, the rain began to fall more heavily on the racers' and on the spectators. By lap nineteen, Thomas had pulled off a string of impressive overtakes to elevate his standing to fifth. While the other racers floundered during the rain, Thomas really seemed to come into his own as he reeled in his competitors using much faster brooms. Now, he was tracking down the fourth-placed racer Kendrick Jackson who seemed to be struggling quite a bit in the hazardous conditions. Lily, Severus and Nicole cheered loudly as the racers embarked on their penultimate lap, hoping that Thomas could gain one more position before the end of the race. He was trying just about every trick in the book to get ahead of Jackson but nothing seemed to be working as the two started their second-to-last lap.

"Thomas Baker is all over the back of Kendrick Jackson, he's jinking left, jinking right…which way is he going? Only Baker knows as he tries to find a way past Jackson. Here they come out of turn two—ooh and Jackson's had a bad exit out of the final corner! This will give Baker a great run down the back straight, here he comes! Jackson, switches to the inside, here comes Baker around the outside…he's alongside and ahead! Baker is ahead and into fourth place. What a brilliant—oh they make contact! They've made contact and are tumbling out of the race! Baker and Jackson…barreling towards the ground and they're out!"

A collective gasp drowned out the noise of the falling rain as the two racers plummeted towards the earth. Thomas tried in vain to pull out of the nosedive he found himself in on his half-broken broom, but try as he might, he crashed to the earth alongside Jackson. For a long moment, silence fell upon the spectators—the pitter-patter of rain and the crack of thunder was all that could be heard over the defining silence. The two boys groaned and rolled over onto their backs, prompting massive cheers from the crowd, relieved to see that the two racers were moving a bit, and seemingly, okay.

The race was called off immediately, and all students and spectators were told to remain in their seats as the medical staff swarmed the pitch to cart the two boys to the infirmary as fast as possible. Whether Nicole never heard the call to remain in her seat, or she just blatantly ignored it, no one would know since she'd leapt from her seat, down the stands, and dashed out over the rain-soaked grass to where Thomas and Jackson had crashed. She didn't leave the semi-conscious' Thomas' side until they physically pried her off of him once they reached the hospital wing.

As she was told to leave the hospital wing by the fierce Mediwitch Madam Taylor, she was approached by a man dressed in a charcoal grey suit asking to speak to her about Thomas. Unsure of what the man's intentions were, she initially sought to rebuff the finely-dressed stranger's propositions until he produced a business card for her. Nicole took one look at the card, then back at the man, and decided to give him five minutes to hear what he had to say. By the time his five minutes were up, the man bade her good day and told Nicole to keep the card. As the man left, Nicole could hardly believe what the stranger had just told her, but if it were true…she knew Thomas would be leaping for joy if he found out. For that reason, Nicole opted to keep what the main told her a secret, but one she'd reveal to Thomas in due time.

For his efforts, Thomas received a DNF, 0 points, two broken ribs and a fractured wrist. Madam Taylor was able to heal the latter two ailments in a matter of minutes—mending his chest and arm to be as good as new, but the pain of not even finishing the race would linger with Thomas for many days afterwards. He only spent an hour in the hospital wing; but in the immediate aftermath of his injury, Thomas' mood soured and refused to brighten regardless of Nicole's and his friends' efforts. For what felt like months—but in reality was only a week or two, Thomas seemed to be locked in a vicious cycle of bitterness and disappointment. For a time, it seemed nothing could pull the miserable boy from his perpetually glum state.

Little did Thomas know, Nicole was planning a surprise for him that might do just that.

When the first visit for Fifth Years to Worcester rolled around in the fourth week of term, only Severus, Lily, Nicole and Thomas intended on making the trip. Sandra had gotten into trouble again, after getting into a bit of a scrap with a Pukwudgie beater during the opening game of the season. The ensuing scrap meant points were taken from both and both girls were barred from the trip. Caroline and Scott on the other hand elected to stay behind, simply because they didn't need to get anything from the village and wanted to relax as much as they could over the weekend. Their first scheduled visit to Worcester was a week after the first race of the season on the Saturday after the fourth week of term, and Nicole hoped that her surprise for Thomas would help improve his mood.

Severus woke bright and early on the morning, well before Thomas did and quickly had his turn in the bathroom. All four boys from their dorm today would be making the trip to Worcester, so all would be waking earlier than usual to be ready for their nine o'clock Portkey. Severus didn't take long in the shower, nor did he dawdle in front of the mirror either and in no time flat he was dressed in his most comfortable pair of jeans and a Boston Celtics pullover. When he exited the bathroom, he did so just in time to see the blinds on Thomas' bed being pulled back, and his friend's face appearing in the gap seconds later. Severus dumped his pyjamas in the hamper and headed over to his friend's four poster to say good morning. As he neared Thomas' bed, Severus felt relieved to see that his friend seemed to be in a much improved mood today.

Severus knocked his knuckles on one of the four posters, drawing Thomas' attention towards him. He wore a tired, but genuine smile as he turned around to face him.

"Morning Severus," Thomas said, smiling for what felt like the first time in weeks. "Slept well?"

"Morning to you too, and yes I did, better than usual," Severus muttered. "Didn't hear much of Billy's snoring so…can't really complain."

"Yeah, me neither," Thomas said, smiling wryly. "I guess that decongestant potion he took worked like a charm."

"It would've been better if the Hospital Wing prescribed it for him from now until graduation," Severus snickered.

The two boys shared a hushed laugh, careful not to disturb their two roommates who still slumbered away within their four-posters, albeit without the sound of Billy's incessant snoring that usually plagued their nights. They'd be waking soon though, but Severus planned on being long gone by the time John and Billy woke from their deep sleeps.

Severus headed out into the common room next as Thomas gathered his things to get ready. He didn't have to wait too long for Lily, thankfully, as she appeared five minutes after he did. They both exited the common room soon after to the relative privacy of the first floor corridor their wing was on.

Lily's green eyes swiftly darted up and down the corridor, and upon ascertaining that there were no other students about, she and Severus shared a brief, yet sweet, kiss.

"Have you thought much about what you want to do today?" she asked, as they entwined their fingers together.

"Not really," he answered honestly. "I think visiting Barton ought to be a good idea though, provided he's not too busy and has time to see us, of course."

"Mmm, not to mention Francesca should be there too," Lily agreed. "Anything else you wanna do?"

"Let's play it by ear for now," said Severus.

"Works for me."

They set off for the Meal Hall hand in hand, enjoying the early-morning quiet of the castle for as much as they could before the rest of their fellow students awoke. They made their way to the Hall and sat down in their usual table, and were joined not long after by Sandra, Nicole and Thomas. Their pureblooded friends, it seemed, were sleeping in today—not that anyone could find fault with that.

As expected, Nicole feigned ignorance to Thomas' questions on what she had in store for the day, only giving vague promises that 'he'd enjoy it'. When the time came to take their Portkey, Sandra bade goodbye to the group and headed off for her detention with Professor Rosier, while the remaining quartet wandered into the Ceremony Hall for their Portkey. As Severus, Lily, Nicole and Thomas gathered around the coat rack that would serve as their Portkey to Worcester, they noted that far fewer people than usual would be making the trip with them—within their house and year, at least.

Their thoughts on why so few of their classmates would be making the trip with them were pushed from their mind as the Portkey activated and whisked them away to Worcester as the clock struck nine. Once all the travelers had oriented themselves, they were all given that same speech not to leave the village and to return to the empty field upon which they'd just appeared, in five hours time for their return journey back to school. Once the students were released upon the Magical enclave, Lily, Severus, Nicole and Thomas congregated on the edge of the clearing.

"Do you guys want to meet up for lunch?" Lily suggested.

Nicole was the first to respond with a shake of her head. "I've got something planned for Tommy and I, Lily, so perhaps next trip instead? I think our meeting might run a bit long anyways…"

Thomas echoed his girlfriend's sentiments with a resolute nod.

"That works for us," Severus replied. "I guess we'll see you guys back here in five hours, then."

He offered Lily his arm and the two couples parted ways from the clearing and entered the enclave itself. As a result of the recent cold-spell that had befallen western Massachusetts, the town was rather quiet compared to the previous times they had visited. There were only a handful of shoppers out and about, so Lily and Severus had little trouble finding their way through the not-so-busy streets of Wizarding Worcester. Their first stop of the day was Scrawlabus' Inks and Quills, where the two fifth years planned on getting stocked up on all their writing needs for the rest of the year. Scrawlabus' was one of the few stores that opened at nine, so they figured they'd kill some time browsing the various inks and quills the store had for sale before making their way to Barton's apothecary later in the day.

Just off of high street, the aged and intimidating-looking sign marking the entrance to Scrawlabus' loomed large over the two fifth years. From a brief look through the tinted glass, Severus couldn't see anyone inside, except for the bored-looking attendant at the cashier. Severus reached for the handle and pushed open the door, the rusted bell just above tinkled, he held the door for Lily and followed her into the shop. No one in their right mind who had visited Scrawlabus' before, would call the shop efficiently designed, or even welcoming to the average passerby; but just about everyone could agree that there wasn't a better place in all of Magical New England when it came to buying high-quality inks, quills and parchment. What the shop lacked in terms of ergonomics or overall friendliness to any of its visitors, it more than made up for in product quality and quantity. Every time they visited the store, it never failed to have more than sufficient choice of just about anything one could wish to find.

"What are you gonna buy Severus?" Lily asked as they perused the stacks of parchment arranged neatly on the display case.

Severus' fingers grazed over a particularly rough bit of parchment, too rough for his liking so he turned away. "'m not sure yet," he muttered softly, his dark eyes sweeping over the display cases for a parchment roll of suitable fineness. "Perhaps…well see here, Lily—" Severus reached for, and grabbed the parchment he'd just felt and handed it over to Lily, "—what do you make of this?" he asked, holding the parchment out to her.

Lily's fingers dragged across the coarse surface in much a similar manner to his had done. The frown that formed on her face was rather telling of her opinion of the material. "No, not for me thanks," she said swiftly. She set it down back where Severus had got it from and turned her gaze further along the aisle. "Aren't there some finer parchments here?" she mused aloud.

Lily breezed past him and began sifting through all the different parchment rolls Scrawlabus' had on offer with startling efficiency, searching for a few rolls of suitable fineness. While Lily set about finding some scrolls that would suit their needs, Severus instead wandered off to the inks section of the shop and began perusing the shelves for a new multi-colored ink he'd been wanting to try. He ended up buying a four bottles of black ink for himself and Lily, as well as two multicolored, and two navy blue bottles for them to share. He briefly contemplated buying a peacock feather quill, but instead went for a falcon feather instead. By the time he'd found all the quills and inks he and Lily would need to see them through to the end of term, if not, the end of the year; Lily had already picked out the finest parchment rolls in the shop and was paying for them up at the counter. He swiftly paid for his things once Lily had finished and the two left the shop.

"Did you manage to find the multi-colored ink?" Lily asked, as the shop door clanged shut behind Severus.

Severus revealed the contents of his paper bag with a smile, resulting in an even larger one from Lily. She reached into her jean pocket for her wallet, but Severus' hand caught her wrist halfway.

"A gift from me to you," he said, smiling at her.

"I'd be an idiot to say no to that. Thank you Sev." Lily leaned up on her toes and kissed him as a way of thanks.

"My pleasure," he replied. He reached into the bag and drew out two of the four black-ink bottles, and one of the navy blue, and multicolored ink bottles each and set them down in Lily's bag. In return, Lily handed Severus four of the eight rolls of parchment she'd bought.

After exchanging their goods and stuffing them into their backpacks, they set off for Barton's Apothecary on high street. The tall, red-bricked building looked just as proud as ever as Severus and Lily approached. Unlike the side-street on which Scrawlabus' was located, high street seemed busier, but the two fifth years had little trouble weaving through the crowd to reach the Apothecary. As they neared the door to the Apothecary, a tall man with long, pale blonde hair and a cane strode past them, roughly brushing past Severus and heading towards the door to the eye-catching Apothecary. He was dressed in all black and silver robes, his cane clicking against the ground with each step he took. he seemed to carve a wide path through the crowd as he made for the door to the red-bricked building.

"How rude," Lily grumbled, glaring at the man's back. She brushed off Severus' shoulder where the man had barged into him.

"Tell me about it," Severus said, scowling at him.

Severus thought the man looked vaguely familiar, he felt an odd sense of deja vu as he watched the tall man enter the Apothecary. For some strange reason, Severus felt like he'd seen this man before, but for the life of him he couldn't recall who he was, or when or where he'd seen him. Lily and Severus followed the strange man into the Apothecary, where they noticed him making a bee-line for the front counter. They briefly took notice of the man conversing with the woman at the counter—Francesca—scurrying into the back of the shop, and about a minute later, coming back out with an irate-looking Alexander Barton. Lily and Severus quickly moved to hide behind a shelf housing Copper Cauldrons, peeking out around the edge to spy what was going on.

…No. I have told you countless times, no! Leave my shop at once and do not return!

Alexander…surely you can—

I refuse to do business with the likes of you, Abraxas, you and your ilk are precisely the reason I left my old life behind, now leave!

You're making a mistake Alexander, you must see reason that doing business with us—

For the thousandth time, no! Barton shouted, his voice reverberating and echoing through the packed first floor of his shop. And do not call me my given name, you lost that right after what you did! Leave my shop now, Malfoy, unless you want to get the Aurors involved.

Have it your way then, Barton, Malfoy acquiesced, his hands raised in a mockery of surrender. I'll leave, but just now that you'll come to regret this, old friend.

"Quickly Lily," Severus hissed, he grabbed Lily's upper arm in a vice-like grip and pulled her back from the shelf as the ominous clack, clack, clack, of Abraxas' cane drew nearer. They moved to hide behind the shelf completely, peering through the cracks between cauldrons as the man dressed in expensive, black and silken robes strode through the otherwise-empty shop and out into the street. With a crack, he disapparated.

"Who was that?" Lily whispered, her eyes wide with fear as she stared into the empty space Abraxas Malfoy had once occupied.

"That, Lily…was Abraxas Malfoy, father of…Lucius Malfoy," Severus murmured quietly, speaking as though the man could still hear them from god-knows-where he'd gone.

"Lucius' father?" Lily hissed, glaring at him insistently.

Severus blinked, taken aback by the anger bubbling up in Lily's green eyes that had quickly supplanted any and all fear she'd felt. "Yes, he's not a…pleasant man, Lucius himself told me that, but he's a very powerful and dangerous man. Back in England at least," he said in a low murmur.

"What's he doing here?"

Severus blinked, the cogs of his brain whirring as he tried and failed to come up with an explanation for why the Malfoy Scion had come all the way across the Atlantic to meet up with a renowned potioneer he'd once called an 'old friend'. "I don't know," he said more softly, "I don't know. But if I were to hazard a guess…I think he was trying to gain Barton's support for you-know-who."

"Voldemort?" Lily whispered, her voice tinged equal parts with fear and anger.

"Mmm. It's a good thing he didn't see us, but I think we should…we should go talk to Barton, to warn him. To scorn Malfoy like that…" just thinking it was enough for a small shudder to pass through Severus, "it's…it's risky, the Malfoys are very connected Lily, very powerful, and to rebuke their Head of House, no less…in such a manner…"

Lily nodded swiftly. Her political savviness was not up to scratch compared to Severus by any stretch, but she too realized just how much power the Malfoys wielded back home. "You're right Severus, let's go warn him."

The shop was still quiet as Lily and Severus finally came out from behind the stalk of Copper cauldrons and made their way to the counter. Francesca had returned to her post and was straightening out a few things as the two young fifth years approached. She recognized her fellow Potions Prodigies and excitedly waved them over.

"Heya Severus, Lily. Wasn't expecting to see you here today," she greeted, smiling at them. Francesca was undoubtedly grateful for the distraction her two friends—or potential customers—posed, after the abrupt and frankly, unwelcome appearance of Malfoy. "Can I help you two with anything?" she asked.

"Is Master Barton around?" Severus asked, his gaze drifting past Francesca to the door Severus knew led to his office, then back to Francesca.

"He is," Francesca said a little more curtly than she intended to. "Can I ask why you wish to speak to him?"

"It's…well, it's about your last customer, he should—"

"You heard?"

"Yes," Lily said immediately, before Severus could even begin contemplating the merits of telling the truth or lying. "We heard all of it. And Sev—" green eyes darted to his, radiating concern. "—he's…he's got, insider knowledge, sort of, about this whole…thing."

Francesca's untrusting frown deepened as she turned her attention back to Severus.

"And just what were you doing eavesdropping on our conversation, Severus? That's a bit nosey of you, isn't it?" the sharp accusation in her voice made Severus wince, but he quickly masked his rising feeling of embarrassment with a look of defensiveness.

"He shouldered into me outside," he explained. "He looked sort of familiar to me, and I'd sworn I'd seen him somewhere before but I couldn't remember who it was for the life of me. When I saw he was headed for your shop, Lily and I followed behind him."

Francesca's eyes remained narrowed on Severus. "I know the Malfoys, although given that I'm a Marconi, maybe that's not too much of a surprise to you Severus. I know damn well they can't be trusted, but frankly, the same can be said of some in my family as well, it's why we don't shy away from doing business with them. Master Barton is well aware of what dealing with that sort of people entails…which is why he threw him out as you two saw."

"That's not the point Francesca," Severus growled, his lip curled upwards into a sneer. "I'm glad that Barton isn't associating with someone the likes of Abraxas Malfoy, that's good. The issue is the manner in which he dismissed him. Abraxas Malfoy is a very dangerous man, and despite how commendable it is that Barton didn't want anything to do with him, he should tread lightly around him to say the least, Francesca! You may not know this, but the Malfoys wield immense political power where I come from, and to cross them so openly and blatantly is inherently dangerous!"

"I'm well aware of what may potentially befall me given what I just said to Abraxas Malfoy, Severus, thank you very much. To your concerns I say, do have some faith in an old man's abilities, I have dealt with Malfoys for generations well before you were born."

Master Barton leaned against the door to his office, wearing an unimpressed look on his aged features as his eyes found Severus. "Did you really think I haven't dealt with schmucks like Abraxas Malfoy before, Severus?"

"N-no, I…I was just concerned, sir," Severus said. "I wasn't aware if…if you were aware of how much power the Malfoy family wields…they're very dangerous, and—"

A raised, wrinkled hand halted Severus ramblings. "I have dealt with Abraxas Malfoy many times before going all the way back to when I attended Hogwarts. He was several years my junior, after all."

"He was?"

"Indeed," Barton said, sounding as assured of himself as ever before. "I know all the old tricks that Peacock-loving fool has up his sleeve, considering I've done business with him for the better part of thirty years before I made a life for myself here in Worcester."

"Abraxas Malfoy is a prideful man, Severus, since you're aware of who he is and the power he wields, surely you must know this—" Severus nodded. "—Prideful men do not think straight when their pride is insulted, Abraxas Malfoy is no different. Should he try something against me, which I doubt he will, I will be ready and show the insolent fool his place." Barton radiated confidence and assurance, and it seemed to spread to Severus as well as he now looked a little more relaxed than he had been mere minutes prior.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Lily?" Barton asked more quietly.

"I…well, about Malfoy, sir, I'm not sure how abreast you've kept of political developments back in England, but…there's a…well, there's a very powerful dark wizard over there gaining power, and Severus thinks he's already recruited the Malfoys and Abraxas included over to his side. He's—"

"I'm quite aware of who Lord Voldemort is, Lily," Barton said swiftly. The cavalier way with which he spoke was partially concerning to Severus and Lily, but was also assuring in the sense that he well and truly wasn't afraid of the supposed Dark Lord on the rise back in England. "I have no intention of doing business with people of that sort, not any longer, at least…so rest assured, if you think I do not know who I am dealing with, then you are sorely mistaken. Voldemort's crusade is limited only to England for the moment, he cannot touch me here in America, let alone someone like Abraxas."

Barton's steely blue-grey eyes shifted back to Severus. "Rather than talking about Abraxas Malfoy all day, why don't we really get down to why you've come to my humble shop today, you two. It's been quite some time since I last saw you both, after all."

"Uhh, right. Yeah. Sev and I were hoping that you'd have all of these in stock. I've got a list of it somewhere—" Lily reached into her trouser pocket and grabbed a slip of paper, "—here we are," she said, handing the slip of paper to Master Barton.

Barton's eyes pored over the list, and upon reaching the end, he nodded once. "You're in luck, a new shipment of Flobberworms and Salamander legs came in just yesterday as a matter of fact. Had you come two days before I'm afraid you'd have missed out on them."

He turned to Francesca and said; "Francesca, could you show Lily where these ingredients are? I need to talk to Severus in private for a moment."

Francesca smiled at the old man and nodded. "Sure thing boss," she said. "Follow me Lily, we've re-arranged our shop layout a bit so you might need some help finding a bunch of the things on your list."

Lily flashed her graduated classmate a grateful smile and gestured for her to lead the way. Once the two witches had gone out of earshot, Severus turned to Barton.

"What was it you wished to speak to me about, sir?"

"Follow me."

Severus needed no further prompting and followed Barton through the door to his office, a room he'd never visited before.

"Have a seat," Barton said, gesturing to the lone chair facing his desk.

Severus did as he was asked and sat himself down in the chair. Barton's office was modest and relatively plain in comparison to the many offices Severus had sat in over the years—which suited the man just fine, in Severus' opinion. Barton sat down across from him in his bland-looking chair and regarded Severus with a curious look.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" he asked.

"I had breakfast not too long ago sir," Severus said. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it you wanted to speak to me about?"

"About a potential mastery opportunity," Barton replied. To Barton's surprise, Severus' reaction wasn't really all that much as far as reactions go.

"Are you referring to me, sir?"

"That's correct." Barton's blue-grey eyes twinkled as he leaned forward in his seat. "There is a possibility that if all goes well with Francesca's apprenticeship, I'd be willing to take on another apprentice in a few years time. And if you play your cards right, Severus, and indicate your interest early, that apprentice could easily be you."

"I'll pass."

His answer was immediate and as clear as crystal. Needless to say, Barton was quite shocked, if his slow blink and arched brows were anything to go by. "Do you care to repeat that?"

"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I'll pass on it," Severus said more slowly, leaving no room for doubt as to his intentions.

"In case you're wondering why, I've already received an offer from Professor Rosier, and I intend to take her up on it, sir. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but—"

"I'm not disappointed Severus," Barton said. His aged features seemed to soften as he broke out into a true, genuine smile. "If anything, I'm very happy for you. You seemed very fixated on pursuing an apprenticeship with me last year, and I see now that that ship has sailed, by your own choosing. I cannot fault you for that."

Barton sighed and sank back into his chair, a wistful look etched into his features. "I'm quite proud of Esme, Severus; she's quite possibly the best student I've ever had in all my years as a Potions Master. Certainly in the top three at least. If you've made the decision to apprentice under her…then you'll be in very capable hands,. Perhaps Miss Evans would prefer—"

"Sir," Severus interrupted, "if I may, Lily is…I think she's not planning on pursuing a career in potions anymore."

That got Barton's attention. "She isn't?" he queried.

"I think spellcrafting and enchanting is the new field of study she's been enamored by. Do you know who Professor Lambert is, sir?"

"I do. I met her briefly a few years ago, last I remember."

"Lily's already approached Professor Lambert, and she's already started looking both here and abroad back in England for potential mastery programs she can enroll in after graduation."

"Well I'll be!" Barton exclaimed with a hearty chuckle. "It seems I've missed out on not just you, but Miss Evans as well!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you s—"

"None of that Severus, don't give me any of that," he said firmly—silencing the apologetic teen with a sharp look. "I am happy for you both, truly. And if Miss Evans' true calling comes from somewhere other than Potion brewing, and you've already got your future set, then the least I can do is be happy for the both of you."

Severus smiled and dipped his head in a show of respect for the man he had come to respect, and even admire in some instances. Mark Evans was great and all as a father figure, but when it came to all things magical, there wasn't much he could provide in the way of guidance and teaching. Severus had learned so much from the letters he'd exchanged with the old man sat across from him over the past year, and in that time his respect for him just continued to grow and grow.

"Even though I won't be apprenticing under you, sir. May I still write you?"

Barton laughed heartily, the wrinkles on his face doubling number as he expressed him amusement. "Of course, Severus, of course. Now I do believe it's time we finish up here, I do think I can hear Francesca and Miss Evans calling for us outside."

A/N: So the first race of the season didn't entirely pan out the way Thomas would have liked, but up until his crash, things did seem to be going pretty well for him as he advanced up the field. The unexpected and unwelcome appearance Abraxas Malfoy brings the coming prospect of war to the forefront of Severus' and Lily's minds, but both pretty much have their minds made up as to how they want to contribute to the war effort. The strength of their commitment and resolve to fight in Vold War One will only strengthen as the story progresses.

Also, thank you to stonegnome1 for pointing out that Quidditch isn't played in America and that Quadpot is, to be frank, I had to search up what Quadpot was and I'm sorry for the oversight on my part. Quidditch won't be a plot point going forward, only mentioned in passing since it won't be one of the main aspects of this story.