Welcome back everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely week.

I have to say I am LOVING all the reviews I am getting. Especially the critical feedback I have been receiving from duj, who has given me some very good points to think about. I promise I will provide better explanation in this story for why Simone holds such progressive ideals in regards to gender and sexual harassment in such a un-progressive era (I mean, we were starting to more towards progress, but this was a period when spousal rape wasn't even acknowledged as a thing). Simone will provide her reasoning for how she came to think about the importance of men's bodily autonomy the way she thinks about women's in regards to sexual harassment. Just bear with me until then :)

No warnings for this chapter, it's pretty tame.

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Thirty-Two: Party Hearty

"Sev, you have to come. Slughorn invited you personally."

Seated at their shared worktable, Lily was determined to win this argument she had started the moment Potions class had begun.

The redhead fixed her pleading eyes on her best friend, burning a hole in his head with her gaze as she continued, "Most Slug Club members get their invite by owl, but he sought you out to invite you in person. Clearly it's important you attend."

Severus continued to dice his potions ingredients methodically, looking about as interested in the conversation as a cow would be to hear philosophy.

"Clearly he only wishes to show me off to his friends in order to benefit from my hardships," Severus said flatly, lifting his cutting board to slide the diced and flobberworms into his cauldron, "My near death experience made the papers, so of course that's reason enough for him to parade around the fact that he's one of my teachers."

"Oh I'm sure that's not the only reason," Lily insisted, giving her potion a clockwise stir, "Maybe he is just finally recognizing your talents."

Severus snorted, "A year before a graduate? He has very short time left to try and make me any lasting connections that would lead to a lucrative career for me. No, I think he just wants to put me under a spotlight so that he may bask in it until the novelty of me wears off for everyone."

"I'd hardly call what you risked for me a novelty," Lily said sternly. She gave Severus's shoulder a gentle shove, "I'm serious. You being a good person isn't a passing trend and I think people are starting to notice what a wonderful person they've taken for granted."

Severus adjusted the heat under his cauldron, setting it to simmer. Seeing as they were the only ones to have already reached the last step before the potions were complete, it was a good time to hash some things out.

"Good and wonderful aren't mutually exclusive things, Lily," Severus explained, "Just because I'm no longer placing my eggs in a homicidal maniac's basket doesn't mean you can count me as pleasant or nice."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Ah yes, how could I have forgotten? You've got a reputation to uphold."

"Exactly," Severus agreed, "Just think what it would do to my good standing as a fearsome Slytherin if I started smiling at everyone and…and handing out candy or something?"

"More people might actually start to warm up to you and want to be your friend?" Lily suggested.

Severus gave her a deadpanned look, "Last thing I need is for the bumbling idiots of the school to start flocking to me like a flock of pigeons. I prefer to keep my circle of acquaintances—"

"Friends," Lily corrected.

"—to a small number of intellectuals with whom I can actually have decent conversations with," Severus finished.

"I'm not asking you to become bosom buddies with everyone," Lily pointed out, "I just think it would be better for you socially if you were at least civil with people."

"Of course," Severus said sarcastically, "You're absolutely right, Lily. In fact, why don't I go over to Potter's table and get into a rousing discussion on Quidditch? Why…he might even convince me to join my house's team. That would be a treat; walking around with missing teeth and numerous head injuries that ensure I can't even spell my own name let alone remember!"

"Perhaps having a head that's empty is better than one stuck up an ass," Lily muttered. Seeing Severus glaring at her she offered him a sweet smile.

"You don't want flobberworm guts in your hair," Severus warned, fingering his dirty cutting knife menacingly, "I assure you, it will not come out easily."

"I'm only teasing," Lily assured him, "Anyway, I'd prefer if you didn't become one of those musclebound jocks. I even like arguing with you better than a single discussion on Quidditch."

"Really?" Severus asked, "I thought you hated all our arguments."

Lily nodded, "I did. I still do; no one ever likes to argue with friends. And don't get me wrong; all those times before when we argued I didn't approve of the side you were on. I despised it, in fact. But even when we were at our worst with each other, it was still a discussion. It was stimulating, kept me thinking. We weren't just bouncing the same simple minded opinion back and forth at each other in agreement with nothing to be gained from it other than an echo chamber."

"There's nothing wrong with Quidditch," Lily went on, "I love the sport as far as watching, but it's such a mundane topic off the field. It's much better to see than hear about. Listening to Potter's nonstop chatter in the common room even nearly turned me off the sport entirely. When you and I talk though, you actually make me think. It's not always things I particularly like thinking about, but at the end of every conversation, I still walked away feeling like I had gained something new from it. Maybe some new detail, perhaps some unpleasant truth, but either way my mind was fuller for it."

Severus stared at Lily in awe, "That's…that's rather kind of you to admit."

Lily smiled, "I mean it. Really, I do."

Severus let the tiniest, almost unnoticeable smile flit across his face, "Thank you."

"But don't think this means I want us to argue all the time," Lily warned, "Debate is fine as long as we can hold our tempers, but I don't want to fight with you like we used to."

"No promises," Severus said smugly, "I'm pretty stubborn."

Lily side eyed him shrewdly, "Prat," she muttered, "Now, we got off track; I was trying to talk you into the party."

Severus sighed, "Lily, must we focus on this?"

"We must," Lily stated, "Because I'm going to the party and I want my best friend to be there with me in order to share in one of the best holidays of the year. It's when I feel…I don't know….the most magical."

"That's the muggle in you talking," Severus pointed out, "All that witching hour nonsense and ghost stories. In the wizarding world, all the holidays of the year have very powerful and magical connotations to them."

Lily pursed her lips, "Well it's the first big holiday of the school year," she said haughtily, "during my favorite season, too. So I want to spend it having fun with you."

"And you think being stuck in a crowded room with loud music and pretentious people is fun?" Severus asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Lily readied her potion for final inspection, "It won't be that crowded. Slughorn always plans for plenty of space to 'wine and dine', so to speak. And you and I normally stay close to talk to each other anyway, so who cares if the music is a little loud?"

Severus hadn't thought of that. With the music blaring and people milling around a crowded room, he and Lily would need to stick close together to even hear each other. It would be nice to have an excuse to be right by her side. Just the two of them…their shoulders touching….close enough he could smell her shampoo…

"Don't you want to spend Halloween with me, Sev?" Lily asked with a well-executed pout.

Severus found himself staring at that pouting lip; its full, pink plumpness messing with his head. Looking up slightly, he locked eyes with her lovely emerald ones, her eyelashes batting playfully as she tried to her hardest at bambi eyes.

Mouth dry, Severus stumbled over his words, shaking himself, "Um…well I….not that it wouldn't be truly—truly—enjoyable to spend the evening with you, Lily, have you forgotten whom might be in attendance? Slughorn is my head of house. Neutral he may be when it comes to politics, that doesn't mean he isn't rubbing elbows with Wilkes and Rosier in order to get a taste of their wealth."

"But this is all too perfect, Sev," Lily whispered excitedly, leaning in real close as Slughorn began making his rounds to each table, "It's a costume party! We'll practically be in disguise. Only a few people will even know we're there!"

Lily put her hands together, "Please, Sev, please? I know I've been a little distance lately and I've spent a lot more time in my room than with you. I want to make up for that. There's honestly no one I'd rather spend Halloween with than you."

Severus closed his eyes, sighing, "You don't owe me any apology or compensation, Lily. I'm more than aware that things haven't been easy for you these past few weeks. All I want is for you to feel safe and happy."

"And I will," Lily pushed, "I will if you come to the party with me. Honestly, I'd feel better with you there, especially with everyone walking around hidden behind costumes."

Severus looked at Lily.

"You're not going to back down unless I say yes, are you?" he asked wearily.

Lily nodded, "That's right."

"Fine," Severus relented, "I'll go."

Lily clapped her hands together, "Yay! I have just the perfect idea for our costumes. I know you'll approve."

"I was under the impression the costumes were optional," Severus drawled.

"Not for us," Lily said firmly, crossing her arms and looking up at him smugly.

"I've signed over my free will by agreeing to this, haven't I?" Severus asked, shoulders dropping in defeat.

Lily smirked, patting Severus's shoulder, "Fear not, dear Severus, for I am a merciful master."

Slughorn made his way over to their worktable.

"Marvelous," he exclaimed, taking in each of their cauldrons in turn, "As usual, you two never fail to impress! Let's vial them up and you may be on your way."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said courteously.

Slughorn beamed at her, his bushy mustache twitching, "I trust I'll see you both at my party?"

Lily nodded, "Of course, Sir. We're looking forward to it."

Severus remained stoned faced.

Slughorn laughed, his belly shaking, "Wonderful! I hope to see you in costume. Now off you go."

Lily and Severus bottled their potions and brought them to Slughorn's desk to be graded. Cleaning up their workspace, the grabbed their books and wandered off into the hall.

Potter and Black watched them leave.

"Did you catch anything?" Black asked.

Potter shook his head, "Nothing. They whispered all of class. I knew we should have sat closer to them."

"Lily would have iced you with her glare if you tried sitting closer," Sirius pointed out, "She knows better than to trust us near Snivellous's cauldron."

Potter frowned, bringing his potion to the front with Sirius, "Well now what are we going to do? I was hoping to get some idea of what Snape's going to wear to the party so I know how to find him."

"You were probably also hoping to hear what sort of racy thing Evans might be wearing," Sirius teased, elbowing James in the side, "I've heard how muggle girl's dress on Halloween. It's all sexy cats and naughty nurses."

James shoved Sirius away with a huff, "You don't even know what a nurse is."

"It's like a healer right?" Sirius asked, "Anyway, I bet you can't wait to see what Evans comes up with."

"She would look gorgeous in just about anything," James said dreamily. Lily would surely pick something fitting of her beauty. Something regal, or impressive. Something that made her look like a star.

He could see her as dressed as the wife of Godric Gryffindor in elegant golds and crimsons, hair slightly curled and spilling out over a dress that showed off her collarbone and just the slightest hints of her shoulders, showcases her long and graceful neck. The skirts and petticoats would end just above the ankles so that when she walked, one would get a tantalizing glimpse of leg encased in silk stockings.

She could dress as a Veela or wood nymph, her unbelievably long hair falling around even longer limbs covered in translucent lace as fine as spider's silk, a glimmering white gown hugging her frame and making her skin glow with an ethereal quality.

James pictured Lily walking into the party in a modified version of his Quidditch uniform; pants replaced with a small pair of shorts, the boots ending in heels and the jersey form fitting to highlight her curves. On her back would be his name. Oh, what a thrill it would be for others to see her in it and know she had transfigured his own uniform to clad her body as a token of affection.

If things went well and James managed to abscond with a truly dashing costume from some sorry bloke, he could maybe ask her for a dance; woo her under the secrecy of a mask, only to later reveal himself and show they were perfect for one another all along.

Sirius eyed his daydreaming friend, "I get the distinct feeling what your imagining is less dirty and more pathetically loopy than anything."

"Oh hush up," James snapped, "Maybe they're still talking about the party; let's catch up and see what we overhear."

"Overhear about what?" Remus asked, coming up to them from his and Peter's table, "Who are you two talking about and why are you planning to eavesdrop on them?"

"Uh…Well Mary and Marlene of course," Sirius fibbed, his mind working quickly, "We wanted to go to the party Old Slughorn's having and we were hoping that they'd take us as their plus ones."

"Really," Remus inquired, not entirely believing them, "Marlene's not even in our class. She's a year above us."

"We were hoping that Mary would relay the message to her," James lied.

Remus looked back and forth between the pair, suspicious, "Well…I'd hate to burst your bubbles, but Mary isn't a member of the Slug Club and even though Marlene is, she wouldn't take either one of you to a funeral, let alone a party."

"She's just jealous of our far surpassing skills on the Quidditch pitch," James sniffed disdainfully. Marlene was the new captain of the team since the last one graduated and she had been cracking down hard on James and Sirius's shenanigans on the pitch.

"You should probably just forget the party," Remus told them, "I'm only going out of politeness. There's no reason you can't have a happy All Hallows Eve anyway. I'm sure the house elves would whip you up plenty of tasty treats. Anyway, Peter here appears to be struggling with his potion homework," he placed a kind hand on his shorter friend's shoulder, giving him a warm smile, "Normally I would be all too happy to help him, but I'm doing my rounds as prefect tonight. So I'm counting on you two to help him."

"More homework?" Sirius whined, dismayed.

Remus narrowed his eyes at Sirius, "You know he'd do anything for you two if you asked," he reminded them.

"Alright," James complained, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "We'll help him. I swear you've been really mollycoddling him lately, Moony."

"He's been really struggling with classes this term," Remus insisted, "We owe it to him to help him succeed."

Peter looked up gratefully at Remus. Remus in turn patted his back.

"Let's get going, alright?" Remus turned to leave, Peter following after as he left the classroom.

"So much for following Snivellous and Evans," Sirius whispered.

"Don't worry," James said quietly, "There's still a few days before the party, we have time to figure out what they're going as."

"Moony's been getting awfully chummy with Wormtail lately," Sirius whispered back, his eyes fixed carefully on their friends' backs to ensure they wouldn't be overheard, "I'm worried Peter will start to have seconds thoughts about our plan; feel too guilty to hide it from Moony."

James shook his head, "We're doing this in part for Remus. If anything Peter's going to feel even more determined to protect Moony from slimy snakes like Snivvy."

Sirius grinned, "Good point. We'll just have to make sure we remind him how important it is to put Snape in his place before he gets too cocky and causes trouble."

Confident in their plans, the duo followed their friends, identical smirks on both their faces.

{page break}

"Hi, Severus," Mary greeted coming out of her herbology class just as the dark haired boy was walking by.

It was midway through the week and students were buzzing with excitement for the upcoming festivities. Most of the new muggleborns had never seen a wizarding Halloween before so they were over the moon to witness their first. Instead of pretending to be magic like they did as children, this year they actually were the witches and wizards they dressed up as in Halloweens passed.

The younger years were anticipating candy galore and a plethora of sweets and pastries at the Halloween feast Friday night, the healthier main courses competing with the far more tempting goodies of sugar. The older years were looking forward to a weekend without homework—as many professors expected the students to be waylaid by candy induced comas come Saturday morning—and the energy Samhain brought with it, their charms and spells vibrating with an untamed and exhilarating wildness on that special night like it had a mind of its own. Even if you never cast a spell, the tingling of it under your skin was thrilling.

"Hello, Mary," Severus nodded kindly to the curly hair brunette, "How have you been?"

"Been better," Mary admitted, falling into step beside him. She lifted a lock of her hair, showing Severus the leaves sticking out of it, "My flower sneezed just as I was pruning it."

Severus smirked, "Charming." Flicking his wand, the leaves untangled themselves from Mary's hair, fluttering to the ground.

"Thanks," Mary said gratefully, "So what are you up to, getting some fresh air?"

Severus held up a small pouch, "I asked Hagrid if he would take me around some of the perimeter of the forest to get some potions ingredients. It's not necessarily dangerous at the edge of the forest, but I didn't want anyone seeing me walking around by myself there and start spreading rumors that I'm up to no good."

Mary nodded, "Makes sense. So, I hear Lily convinced you to go to Slughorn's party."

"I was a contentious objector until the bitter end," Severus said mournfully, "But it's very hard to resist when she begs."

"I know, it's those puppy dog eyes," Mary agreed, "She really pulls at your heartstrings. But she means well. Really, I think you'll have fun on Friday."

"I hardly doubt that," Severus drawled.

"Well, let's think of some pros, alright?" Mary suggested, "For one, Slughorn is sure to have plenty of esteemed guest there, some of which you could get to know or be introduced to and hopefully get an apprenticeship or something."

"That's true," Severus conceded, "And frankly the most tempting reason to attend."

'Aside from spending time with Lily,' he added in his head.

"Two, James and Sirius can't go," Mary continued, "and the only Slytherins in the Slug Club either don't care a lick about You-Know-Who or are too obsessed with appearance to risk making a scene in such a public place."

"Also a good point," Severus agreed.

"And three, wouldn't you rather be at a fancy party where everyone is expected to act sophisticated and dignified than in your common room surrounded by sugar-high, grubby fisted, screaming first years all evening?" Mary seemed rather proud of that point.

"Now that, I truly hadn't considered," Severus admitted, "I would rather choke on toadspawn than spend an evening with that sort of idiocy."

"See, it'll be fun," Mary surmised, "You should count yourself lucky; my evening's going to be spent listening to my dormmates go on and on about how sweets make you fat and sugar is bad for the skin and blah, blah, blah," she opened and closed her hand like a mouth talking.

"And then they'll be giggling over Witches Weekly's supposed love spells that apparently are at their most strongest on Friday. That will just lead Jessica and Mel to argue about which guy has the cutest eyes and what Witches Weekly's star signs predicted about how many kids they'll have," Mary rolled her eyes, "I may pay a prefect to turn a blind eye so I can sneak out and sleep in Marlene's dorm."

"You're not in the Slug Club?" Severus asked.

Mary shook her head, "Nope, never could get my grades high enough. Didn't you ever notice I wasn't there?"

"I was never very interested in the goings on of those events," Severus confessed. Normally he stuck to the corners, watching Lily socialize and waiting for her to come back over to talk to him.

"Would you be interested in going to the party?" Severus offered, "Technically we are each allowed a plus one. Lily would probably love having you there."

"Really?" Mary asked, her eyes lighting up.

Severus shrugged, "Why not?" He and Lily were only going as friends- he had to actively remind himself that it was not a date—so what was the harm in one more person?

"That would be great!" Mary cried, stopping Severus to grab his hand within her own. She squeezed his hand excitedly, "Thanks, Severus. You have no idea how happy that makes me. I would love to go!"

She let go of his hand, her cheeks flushed pink as she beamed at him, "I need to prepare a costume. Maybe Lily and Marlene can help me. What are you going as?"

"No clue," Severus replied, "Lily said it's a surprise." Lily intended to wait until before the party started to unveil hers and Severus's costumes, but she was confident Severus would like her choice. Severus honestly didn't know if this reassured him or worried him.

Mary grinned, "Sounds like she wants to avoid you seeing the costume and having second thoughts until the very last minute."

"That's what I'm worried about," Severus said, "She knows it would make me look like an insensitive git to wait until right before the party to decide I'm not going. She's working with the forces of guilt here and it puts me in a precarious position." He scratched his chin, "It's very Slytherin of her…"

A crash from behind them had both students looking over their shoulder. One of Professor Sprout's flowerpots had fallen off a windowsill. It rolled across the floor of the hall, the small, sentient plant inside helpless to stop its momentum.

Severus narrowed his eyes. Walking closer, he stopped the pot with the tip of his shoe. Carefully righting it, he glared off into the corner of the sill from which it had fallen.

"It was probably a cat," Mary said flippantly, "Look, there's one over there."

A familiar large beast of a cat sat adjacent to them, watching them intently.

"That's Amadeus, right?" Mary asked, coming over to pet the great hairy beast, "Simone did say he likes to wander while she's in class. He's certainly big enough to knock over a pot that large."

Severus stared at the cat in thought, "I suppose you're right."

"Whatever," Mary said with a dismissive shake of her head. With one last scratch under Amadeus's chin, Mary straighten up.

"Come on," she said, grabbing Severus's hand, "Let's go tell Lily the good news. She'll be happy we can all enjoy Halloween together."

She led a reluctant Severus away, the dark haired boy still peering curiously over his shoulder until they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

Back by the window, a deep exhale emanated seemingly from nowhere.

"That was close," James whispered from underneath his cloak, "I was sure Snivvy was going to find us."

"You almost got us caught, Prongs," Sirius hissed. He gestured at the pot Snape had put back, "What the bloody hell was that?!"

"I'm sorry!" James apologized, "I didn't mean to. I just slipped forward and bumped it." He scratched his head awkwardly, "I guess I sort of got caught off guard when he compared Lily to a Slytherin."

"Well try and keep it together," Sirius snapped, "Last thing I need is him catching us and blabbing to Evans; she'll run off and tell Remus for sure!"

"Um…guys," Peter whispered hesitantly. He tugged lightly on Sirius's sleeve.

"Not now, Wormtail," Sirius said, batting Peter's hand away.

"But guys," Peter pointed over to the corner, "Look."

Amadeus sat across from their hiding space, his big lily pad green eyes peering up at them eerily.

"I think it sees us…" Peter whimpered worriedly.

Sirius snorted, "Yeah right, it just heard us talking."

A crowd of students came bustling down the hall on their way to class, talking boisterously.

"Let's move over and keep quiet," James suggested, "It will lose track of where the sound came from."

Together, the shifted carefully and quietly over several paces, the sound of other people's laughter and yelling masking their foot falls.

Amadeus slowly rotated his head, following their every move. As they got about six feet down the hall, the cat got up and proceeded after them.

"It's following us!" Peter hissed in a panic.

"No way," Sirius insisted, "It's just a stupid cat. There's no way it can see through an invisibility cloak."

They began to run with the crowd, maneuvering serpentine through hustling bodies.

Looking back, they were dismayed to find the cat hot on their heels, weaving in and out of legs with ease.

"It does see us," James said in shock.

"Try and lose it," Sirius cried, his voice nearly lost over the voices of the rowdy students around them.

Breaking off from the crowd, they turned a corner sharply and duck down a stairwell.

"Is it still behind us?" Peter asked in worry, looking back.

"Don't know," James answered, craning his neck to see behind them.

"We must have lost it," Sirius said over his shoulder, "There's no way a stupid cat could—Look out!"

Preoccupied with looking back for the cat on their trail, the trio hadn't been paying attention to where they were running. Sirius warning coming too late, they collided with a suit of armor.

The resounding crash echoed up and down the halls as the three boys tumbled headlong into the armored suit, sending metal arms and legs flying haphazardly through the air and landing with an almighty clatter.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Professor Vector cried, emerging from her classroom in a flurry of sky blue robes, "Explain yourselves at once!"

Sprawled across the floor, James and Sirius were a tangled heap of limbs. Sirius arm was hooked at the elbow behind one of James's knees. A hollow armored arm was caught up under James's torso, the enchanted fingers drumming irritably on the floor in annoyance. A metal foot was propped up under Sirius chin, tapping in impatience on the floor.

A few feet away, Peter was face down on the ground, his knees tucked up under him and his butt in the air; the armored helmet sitting on his rear.

Several students poking their heads out around Professor Vector from her classroom giggled at the sight.

"We are in the middle of class!" Vector fumed, "How dare you cause such a scene."

"Sorry, Professor," James grunted, "One of us tripped and you know how it goes," he chuckled weakly, wiggling one arm free to prop his chin up in his hand as he looked up at her, "If one goes down, they take the others with them…"

"Yeah, our bad," Sirius added with a pained wince.

"I want you three to fix this immediately!" Vector demanded, "Without magic! And this evening I shall see you for detention for disrupting my class." She stormed back into her classroom, the door slamming behind her.

James and Sirius untangled themselves from one another with some muttered curses.

"Good thing she didn't notice your cloak," Sirius said, pointing to the rumpled fabric peeking out from underneath the torso of the armor.

"Yeah," James said, picking up an armored foot.

"At least she didn't assign detention for Friday," Sirius said with a grin.

James nodded, "And we got rid of that pesky…" he turned his head and trailed off.

Sitting at the top of the staircase watching them was that enormous cat. It stared down at them with wide, knowing eyes, and it's tail seemed to flick in amusement. Casually cleaning off a paw, it daintily rose to its feet and gracefully walked away, tail in the air.

"Bloody cat," Sirius growled.

Got to love that Amadeus! He's based off my own Maine Coon, Pandora, who is a regular talker and mischief maker.

So Revelry is coming up for our heroes, here's hoping it will go well.

Read and review!