Chapter Two

Snape strode viciously around the bedchambers he shared with the Slytherin boys, muttering to himself. His fists clenched and unclenched, his short fingernails digging dangerously into his skin. Never before had he wanted to hit anything as much as he did now. He wanted to lash out at the stone walls and wooden door, but more than that he wanted to knock Potter senseless.

"Slimy bastard... I'll give you a slimy bastard..." He slammed his fist against the wall, and immediately regretted it. He withdrew his fist and cupped it in his other hand, massaging his injured knuckles. "Damn it all," he muttered, turning in a whirl of robes to storm down the stairs and out of the common room amidst his housemates' curious stares.

Lucius Malfoy arose from where he was flirting with a Slytherin girl and followed his friend, slipping out before the portrait once again covered the entrance. Severus was already halfway down the hallway, moving quickly. Malfoy quickened his steps to catch up.

"Sneaking out for a late-night rendezvous, eh Severus?" he joked. Snape didn't answer, but his expression grew even darker than it already was, if that was even possible. Malfoy tried a different approach. "Ah, I see. Then we are out to murder someone in their bed? Sounds like fun."

Snape turned on him with a snarl. " 'We' are not going anywhere, Lucius." Stuffing his hand in the pockets of his robes, he stalked away, hoping to leave his fellow Slytherin behind. The only person he would tolerate talking to right now was Lily, but as that situation was highly unlikely, he wanted only to be left in alone.

However, Malfoy had other plans. The attractive Slytherin boy matched his steps to those of the brooding, self-proclaimed outcast of Hogwarts.

"I thought I told you to leave?"

A smile tugged at Malfoy's face. "You said no such thing. You simply said that we were not going anywhere. I simply figured that I would join you on your journey to nowhere. If you would have asked me to leave, I would have gratefully respected your wishes."

"Very well. Leave."

The smile broadened. "As much as I respect your wishes, I cannot follow them." He laughed. "After all, I have an obligation to fill to Hogwarts."

"And what, pray tell, is that?"

"To prevent you from murdering James Potter and causing an uproar... before we graduate."

The words caused Snape to stop dead in his tracks. Was his hatred so blatantly obvious that the entire school knew of his supposedly secret affairs? But that was not what bothered him the most, he realized. What had truly caught his attention were the last three words Malfoy had spoken. 'Before we graduate,' like he would condone the murder of Potter after that event.

He turned to Malfoy, his dark hair falling over his face as it usually did. "What do you mean by that?"

A malicious smile crept over his friend's face, icy eyes sparkling with an untold secret. "Let's just say that it could be completely in your power whether Potter has the successful future everyone apparently thinks he deserves."

"Don't talk nonsense to me, Lucius," Snape snapped, "Tell me straight out what you're babbling on about or don't waste my time."

"You'll find out in good time," Malfoy said simply, eyes still shining as he turned and disappeared down the corridor.

Though he wasn't about to show it, Snape was bewildered by his friend's strange behavior. What the hell was he rambling on about, suggesting that he had the power to kill Potter?

Shaking his head, he attempted to dismiss it all as talk. After all, what else could it be, unless his after-graduation plans were to start a 'Let's Kill Potter' club.

But vicious, conniving, and sly as he was, Lucius Malfoy was a man who meant what he said.

~*~

Lily was worried.

Around her in the Gryffindor seventh year girls' dorm, her friends were giggling and swapping gossip, activities which Lily usually enjoyed. But tonight, she remained quiet, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Lil, you're sure quiet tonight," Vanessa Holmes commented.

"Is something wrong?" Jaina Watson asked in her signature soft tone, looking concerned as she tucked a loose strand of silky black hair behind her ear.

"No," Lily replied automatically, then added as an afterthought, "Not really. Nothing important."

"If it's bugging you, it's obviously important," Vanessa said. "What is it?"

"It's just that Severus seems completely disgusted by me now," Lily said. "He just loathes James, and I feel like I haven't been paying enough attention to Severus and Airelle, and-"

"Ugh," cut in Priscilla Anderson, wrinkling her perfectly shaped nose in disgust. "That Severus Snape is so disgusting. I mean, he apparently doesn't know how to operate a shower. His hair just drips grease. It's disgusting."

"True as that may be, shut up," ordered Vanessa. "He's Lily's friend....though I'm sorry Lil, but I can't see why."

"I mean, you should just forget the slimeball and go with James. He's so cute!" squealed Priscilla.

"And he likes you, Lily," added Vanessa teasingly.

"You two would make a nice couple," Jaina said.

Lily resisted the urge to scream at the top of her lungs. It was obvious that she couldn't even begin to discuss anything with her friends.

"I'm going to go walk around the corridors for a bit," she announced before rising from her four-poster and leaving the dormitory. She made her way quickly through the common room, not wanting to talk to anyone. Much as she liked her fellow Gryffindors, sometimes they drove her absolutely nuts.

The sound of her footsteps on the stone floor filled her ears as she made her way aimlessly down the hall, wishing for someone, anyone that she could talk to.

A glimpse of long white hair on the other side of the long hallway served as the answer.

"Airelle!" Lily called, voice echoing through the corridor.

Her Ravenclaw friend spun around, a smile on her face. "Lily! Hi!"

Lily hurried to catch up to her and once she had, announced, "You're just the person I needed to see."

~*~

Airelle couldn't say that she wasn't surprised to have Lily telling her that she was the person she needed to see, because frankly, Lily hadn't been all that close to the Ravenclaw girl, especially the past year. But then again, Airelle wasn't one to hold grudges.

"What is it, Lily?"

The Gryffindor girl seemed hesitant. "Do you have time to talk?"

"Certainly. There's always time for a friend."

The words made Lily flinch. Some friend she had turned out to be, ignoring both Airelle and Severus.

"Thanks," she said.

Airelle leaned back against the wall, adjusting her signature headband as she waited for Lily to begin. When she didn't, she inquired, "So, are we planning on

a heart-to-heart, a simple chat-in-the-hallway, or asking for advice?"

Lily glanced up. "I'm not exactly sure. I just...need to talk to you."

"All right." She waved her hand, giving the girl an encouraging smile. "Talk."

The red-head joined Airelle in leaning against the wall with a heavy sigh. "Do you feel like I've been... ignoring you?"

Airelle's brow furrowed. She had definitely not been expecting this. "Do you feel like you have been?"

"Please," she answered plaintively, "Don't turn the question around on me. I don't know what I feel right now."

"Well then, can I pose another question?" Lily nodded. "What exactly has brought on this sudden guilt that you feel you have... ignored me?"

A sigh escaped her lips. "Severus, actually."

Airelle had to choke back a laugh. Oh, this was rich. "Really?" was all she managed to get out without smiling.

"Yes. He stopped me today on my way to Gryffindor...and I was a bit... curt with him. I mean, not that he wasn't, but he's always that way, and it got me thinking, and I realized that it's been ages since I've actually talked to you two, and I cannot talk to

the girls in Gryffindor about anything remotely serious... and... I'm rambling," she admitted with an embarrassed smile.

"Well, I must admit that is the most I've heard you say to me since our first day back." Airelle's eyes sparkled brightly with good humor. "But honestly,

Lily, if you take everything Snape says seriously, you'll be in depression for the rest of your life."

The comment forced a laugh out of the Gryffindor girl, the first one Airelle had heard from her that night.

"You know him so well, compared to how little I seem to care to know."

"Seem to care?" If this was going where she thought it was, she was going to have a hard time controlling herself the next time she saw Snape.

Lily pushed away from the wall in exasperation. "I don't want him to hate me."

Airelle allowed herself the pleasure of a smile. "Oh, Lily, he certainly does not hate you."

"He certainly acts like it," she retorted.

"Yes, well, he's very good at acting like he hates the world. Trust me, Lily. He wants to be your friend." She restrained herself from saying further on the

subject. "You just have to ignore the biting sarcasm."

"I know. And I have to learn to pay attention to all of my friends." She smiled shyly at Airelle, who grinned back.

"We all could learn to do that, Lily."

~ * ~

As if a spur-of-the-moment decision, Lily threw her arms around Airelle in a brief hug. "Thanks," she whispered, before turning to head back to the Gryffindor dorm. Now at least she could bear to spend the rest of the night with her gossipy friends. The

next step would be actually talking to Snape, though she was far from thrilled about the idea. He wasn't nearly as good at talking as Airelle was.

And that was an understatement.