Notes: I'm shocked that anyone checks on my stories any more after how long I've left them hanging. I've had horrible writer's block for all of them unfortunately. I try to write when I can, but I've been very bad about it, I know, and I apologize for that.

That thing where you say you don't own... DISCLAIMER! That's it! Hehe I don't own the characters. You'd know it if I did because Sirius would still be alive and well.

Toki Mirage- Well, I've updated... heh. Took me long enough huh? Glad you liked that little wrench.

Chaos-piper- I'm continuing it. It's the easiest to write now.

Person- I'll certainly try.

Lena- I'm glad you think it's original and well-written. beams

Lindiel Eryn- Well, of course Peter is a slimy git! What else would he be? grins As for Sev, well, I just like him. hehe

Chapter 8

Lily cornered the new addition to their group later that night in the library where he was skimming through a book, trying to keep caught up with everything that had happened in the wizarding world up until then. "Hey, Cole, nice to see that you're more focused on keeping up than the others are. Well, other than Remus that is. He understands the importance of good grades," she chuckled lightly, taking a seat across from the boy and dropping her satchel onto the floor next to her.

"Yeah, well. It'll be easier to get a better job if I have better scores on my NEWTS... But this is just history so that I know what's going on, so that I can understand why things are the way they are," he explained, marking his page and closing the book. "I take it you wanted to talk to me about something? And I doubt it was my grades or studying," he grinned, propping his elbows on the table and leaning forward a bit so that she wouldn't have to talk as loud and possibly be overheard. He thought he was justly due for a break anyway. He'd been studying all afternoon since he had gotten out of classes.

"Astute, aren't you? James would have assumed I was here to study myself... not that I usually run into him in here," she laughed, shaking her head a bit in amusement. "Only time they come in here, is when they want the Restricted section. But anyway, yes. There is something I wanted to talk about with you. Have time?" she asked, not wanting to be too intrusive.

"Sure I do. Shoot. What's on your mind?" he asked, leaning his chin onto the palm of one hand, his head tilted slightly in curiosity.

The girl took a deep breath before murmuring one word softly, "Peter."

Hazel eyes blinked, the boy visibly jerking a bit in surprise. "Peter? What about him? Is something wrong?" he asked, brows furrowing slightly. Why did she want to talk about him? She knew that he didn't like the boy. He'd already said that he would be polite and wouldn't cause any fuss about it.

"No, nothing's really wrong... Well, there is something wrong, but not how you're thinking, I bet. I was watching him earlier when James told him that you and Sirius would be dating. To put it bluntly, he looked livid. At least he did if you were looking at his eyes. I've never got the impression that he liked Sirius like that, so I figured that he must not like you... I'm so sorry," she finished quietly.

"I know he doesn't like me. That's why I don't like him. On the train, he was doing everything he could, short of making me disappear, to get any attention off of me. I'm not saying I need the attention, but that isn't the point right now. Is it?" he chuckled nervously, relieved however that he could finally talk to someone about the boy. He made him edgy when he was around, and even edgier when he wasn't because then he didn't know what he was doing. "I can tell that he hates me when I look at his eyes. I feel threatened... It's obvious that he doesn't want me in the group, and I wouldn't put it past him to make something up to get me out of his way either... I can't tell James because Peter's his friend. I don't want to put a rift between them or anything. He's known Peter longer," Cole sighed in defeat, looking somewhat miserable at the whole situation. He was used to not being liked, but it was difficult when one of his brother's close friends didn't like him and he was around all the time.

Lily nodded, having come to much the same conclusion as Cole had. He was in a rather tricky situation. "If it helps, I'll keep my eye on him as well. And don't worry. If you ever do talk to James about it, he'll believe you over Peter any day. Trust me on that one. 'Sides, I'll stand up for you if it comes to that. I saw the looks too. I've seen them before on Sirius concerning Severus often enough to recognize it," she added quietly, wanting to remind Cole of just how much Snape and his boyfriend did not get along.

The gentle reminder made him groan, his head slipping from his hand to 'thunk' loudly upon the table. "I nearly forgot about that. Uhhh... How wonderful. My twin's friend hates me and all of them hate my friend who thinks just as kindly upon them. Having friends is more complicated than I thought it would be," he groaned, finishing it was a sigh and just remained slumped there until Lilly prodded at him with a laugh.

"Come on, up. No need to damage brain cells. You'll need every one of them in order to get through this," she chided good naturedly, offering him some butterbeer which she had earlier hidden in her satchel. She'd had a feeling that he would need a treat. It was obvious that he didn't like not being liked and hated to cause problems.

"Thanks, Lils," he took the offered drink thankfully, tipping his head back and downing a healthy swallow. "Clever witch," he chuckled with a tired smile.

"Of course I am. I wouldn't be able to keep up with James any other way," she chuckled, standing up from the table and hefting her satchel back onto her shoulder. "I'll let you get back to your studies. Don't stay up too late. You look beat," she smiled, waving over her shoulder as she left.

"And whose fault is that," he muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"I believe the fault lies with you for letting Miss Evans keep you on subject for so long as well as for letting it get to you," a low, smooth voice drawled, the owner making himself known as he stepped around the corner.

"So, I'm nice and won't be rude to a lady. So, shoot me already," Cole muttered, taking another swallow from the flask. "Sit, Sev. Might as well. I'm not going to be able to read anymore of this tonight," he answered, making a broad gesture with his hand including most of the table covered with books in the motion.

Severus chuckled, but did as he was told. He wasn't one for eavesdropping on friends... friends? Was that what they were? Yes, he supposed so, as odd as it was to say that he was friends with a Potter. He had wanted to talk to him about tutoring sessions however and didn't want to be seen talking to the Gryffindor at breakfast in front of the entire student body.

"To what do I owe this pleasure of your company this time?" he grinned a bit, leaning back in his chair as comfortably as possible. He still didn't even know why the boy had spoken to him in the first place earlier that day by the carriages. Probably to make James and Sirius mad. It was the only thing that made sense really.

"You asked for my help in Potions earlier today. Did you not? Or did you already forget about that?" he drawled, mock insult lacing his voice as he raised an elegant brow, an amused smirk crossing his features as Cole coloured slightly at the jibe. "I thought we should compare schedules and find some free time to work on it, if that's all right with you? I assume that you don't need to refer to Potter and his playmates about this matter," he sneered, though it was light and more teasing than insulting.

Hazel eyes blinked, a smile breaking once he deciphered the message and had decided not to take offense at the small jibe. "Of course it's okay. I really appreciate this. It would take forever to get caught up if I let James or Sirius help me with it. Oh! Uh, here," he fished out his schedule from his robes and handed it over, watching as the dark eyes looked it over thoughtfully, finally sliding it back with a nod.

"We have a few classes together, Potions being one of them at the end of the day. We could merely stay after class and work on getting you caught up. I would suggest that you allow me to be your partner instead of Potter or Black if you actually want to learn something," he added in all seriousness.

Cole had the distinct feeling that he also wanted to annoy James and Sirius as well, no matter how true the statement was. He nodded however, because it honestly was true. He would do better if he worked with Severus than he would if he were to work with his twin or his boyfriend. Sirius would probably try to distract him any way he could now that they were dating. "All right, that sounds fine, I think," he smiled, offering some of the butterbeer to his new friend who took it with an appreciative smile before taking a sip and handing it back.

They sat there talking for another hour or two about anything and everything, but avoiding the topics of Cole's friends. Severus couldn't say that he wasn't interested in where the boy had come from however, but he knew those answers would have to wait until he had the boy's full trust if ever. They would have sat there past curfew had the librarian not given them warning that time was drawing near.

''

Lily made a detour on the way back up to her room, stopping off at the boy's dormitory first to speak with Sirius. She didn't know when Peter would figure out some sort of plan, but she wanted to warn her friend before anything was put into motion. "Hey Siri? Can I talk to you? Cole wanted me to relay a message for him," she made herself blush a bit, giving the impression that it was a personal message and that she didn't want to say it in front of everyone else.

Like she had hoped, the wizard made his way into the hall and shut the door behind him, waiting patiently to hear what Cole had wanted to tell him.

"Okay, so Cole would probably rather I didn't tell you this, but I really thought that you needed to know. Peter's jealous of Cole, I think. In any case, it's obvious that Peter hates him, that's just why I think he does. I'll be keeping an eye on him, but obviously I can't all the time and I don't know what he'll try telling you, especially since Cole is friends with Severus. I'm sure he'll play on that since it's the easiest way to upset you. So, please, please, talk to Cole if Peter says anything," finally she took a breath, releasing her nerves, daring to look up into silvery eyes.

"You're sure of this?" he asked quietly, his eyes darting towards the door behind which Peter and the others were.

The redhead bobbed her head sharply. "Yes, positive. Cole even said that he feels threatened... and even Severus doesn't make him feel threatened, so I think you can understand why I thought you should know. He's a force to be reckoned with and you know it, but he doesn't bother him and Peter does. Peter looks at him like you look at Severus," she said softly, hoping that Sirius would have enough common sense not to tell Cole that she had said anything.

Cool eyes continued to watch the door as if he could see through it, a sigh slipping past his lips as he nodded in understanding. This would have to be handled very carefully. He didn't know to what lengths Peter would go to and he didn't want Cole to get hurt. "Thanks, Lils. I appreciate you letting me know," he murmured softly with a slight nod of his head before opening the door again and leading her inside so that she would be able to say goodnight to James. He wanted to talk to Cole about it, but then he would find out that Lily broke his trust. The only thing he could do was to watch Peter as well and make his own observations. He would have to tell James as well. If Peter were to go through James, it would give the story more credibility and he didn't want to deal with trying to figure out what Peter had told James and what the truth was.

''

Cole barely made curfew as he slid into the common room through the portrait of the fat lady and made his way up to his dorm, arms laden with books. He had to twist away from Sirius in order to get him to stop trying to take them from him as if he were a woman and incapable of carrying them. "I charmed them. They're light. Stop fussing already," he laughed, setting them down upon his night stand, a volume on potion ingredients sitting at the very top of it. Severus had given it to him so that he could get himself familiar with ingredients and what they were used for, as well as what would happen should they be handled poorly or improperly mixed.

"Potions? I thought you were studying history tonight," Sirius questioned, flipping the top book open to a few pages in and glancing it over before shutting it again as he flopped onto the bed, disinterested in the topic of potions.

"Huh? Oh! I was. But Severus came in, and we were figuring out when was a good time for him to tutor me and asked that I read that," he answered with a shrug, not at all concerned about spending time with a Slytherin.

Sirius sat up suddenly at the news, turning his silvery eyes upon Cole in slight alarm. "He's going to tutor you? You could have just asked one of us to," he muttered, trying not to sound as upset about the situation as he was. First he finds out that his friend hates his boyfriend, then that his boyfriend really is friends with his worst enemy.

"He's not as bad as you think if you give him a chance. And before you say it, yes, I do know that he is partially being so friendly to annoy you. I'm not blind," he conceded, offering a small apologetic smile.

"Then why?" Sirius asked in confusion. If Cole knew why he was doing it, why was he letting him?

Cole shook his head at Sirius' predictability on the subject of Severus. "Because he's better at Potions than either of you are and he won't distract me like you guys will. That's why. And, I should probably tell you this now rather than later. I agreed to be his partner in Potions. For the same reason as I've already told you... Please don't try to sabotage our potions?" he pleaded, sitting down next to him and taking one of his hands in his own.

Sirius had to clench his teeth for several long moments to keep himself from saying anything nasty about the Slytherin. "Alright. But. If he does anything, anything that makes you uncomfortable, you come straight to me or James. Got it?" he demanded, knowing that there really wasn't anything else he could do. Cole could be just as stubborn as James or himself if he wanted to be, and he knew this would be one of those times. He visibly relaxed when his boyfriend gave his word to come to him if anything were wrong concerning Severus. Deciding that it would be in his best interest to drop the subject, he did and pulled the smaller dark haired boy down, causing him to go sprawling across his chest, a dark blush staining his cheeks.

"Sirius!" Cole cried out in surprise and embarrassment, burying his face in the other's neck. "Please..." he murmured softly, trying to pull away.

Sirius chuckled heartily, lifting Cole's face up with a finger underneath his chin, kissing his nose with a grin. "You're off the hook tonight. To bed with you," he continued to grin, giving his boyfriend a gentle shove to dislodge him, slipping out from underneath him. "See ya in the morning, Kitten," he laughed as the boy spluttered and drew the curtain shut swiftly.

TBC…