Chapter Four: Severus Snape

The seventh year proved James wrong. He was sure that it would be the hardest year yet. So far fifth year had been the most difficult. Seventh seemed like another bookend, like the top on a bottle, just the capper to his first six years. All the principles, theories, and fundamentals of magic had been taught to them. Seventh year just seemed to be more of the same. The work load was more than it had been before, but neither James, Sirius, nor Remus seemed bogged down. They always managed to finish their work well ahead of schedule. Only Peter seemed to struggle. They used their spare time to help him through it all.

Quidditch season had also officially begun. James held try-outs for a Chaser position and the other Beater. He was satisfied to fill the positions with Amelia Avila and Danielle Stuart. He was a little taken aback that a girl would do so well at Beater, but Sirius later told him that Danielle had an extreme temper and a violent nature.

"She hit me once," he said, after James demanded that Sirius explain just how he knew this. They were walking back up to the castle after practicing all morning after tryouts.

"Why did she hit you?" James asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

"Well, it's a bit of a story."

"I've got all day," James said. "You broke her heart, didn't you?"

"Not exactly," Sirius said. "We'd been fooling around a bit, then she got kinda clingy, so I dumped her. She hit me." Sirius paused. "Maybe it wasn't such a story, then."

"How hard?" James asked.

"Pretty hard. Gave me a black eye. Isn't it funny how, when you're really raging, people seem to forget magic and go right to Muggle dueling?"

They entered the castle and walked into the Great Hall for lunch. "I've never resorted to Muggle dueling myself. It looks fascinating, though," James said. He sat down and slapped mashed potatoes on his plate then helped himself to sausages. He looked along the table hopefully, but hadn't seen her. In fact, he hadn't seen Lily all day.

"Where do you think she is?" James asked.

Sirius pulled food toward him and shrugged. But James was suspicious. Usually Sirius would've replied with an answer plus a mocking remark.

"Sirius?" James said again. "Do you know something."

Sirius looked up and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Liar. Where is she?" he asked.

Sirius stuffed half a sausage into his mouth and chewed slowly. James stared and waited for him to finish before asking again.

"Look, she's not your girlfriend."

"What's that mean?" James asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I heard she went out with some other guy," Sirius said.

James flushed with jealously. "What?" he asked, his jaw clenched.

"Yeah. Some Ravenclaw bloke. Claudia told me. She also told me to tell you not to get upset about it. Lily's not with you, she's not with anyone. She's not dating this guy, she's not exchanging vows, she's just going out with him once."

There was a loud ringing in James's ears and he was suddenly no longer hungry. "Where's Claudia?" James asked, rising from his seat.

Sirius sighed. "Hiding from you, probably."

"Well, if someone hadn't lost the map to Filch last year, I might be able to find her. But someone is a moron. So how I'm I supposed to find her now?"

"Someone has no idea. Maybe you could try looking for her the traditional way. Or maybe you could loosen up and relax. Maybe you could go out with another girl."

"There is no other girl," James said at once. "I want Lily."

Sirius shook his head in pity. "Oh James, how wrong you are. If only you'd go out with another girl…I know some good looking ones who'd love a shot with you. Or you could just ask Claudia, she's not bad looking. She's pretty funny as well."

"I don't want to settle," James said.

"Maybe it would be good for you to get out there with someone else and stop waiting around for just one woman. She might get jealous, ever think about that? Look at you. Your panties are all in a wad over her being out with someone else. Ever think it might make her mad, you being with someone else?"

Remus came and sat next to James. "How was practice?"

James wasn't listening. He'd heard girls speaking of this idea before…in fact just the other day he'd over heard a gaggle of fifth year girls whispering about how so-and-so just flirted with what's-his-name to make that-one-guy jealous. At the time James thought it was stupid. Why not just tell the guy you like him? What was so wrong with being direct? But James had learned, through Sirius of course, that girls were seldom direct. Lily's constant barrage of hateful words, in fact, weren't so direct as they seemed (this according to Claudia). Maybe it was wise to play dirty, just like the girls.

James turned to Sirius, a look of awe on his face. "Sirius, you are brilliant. How do you think of things like this?"

Sirius looked over at Remus, who's question was still unanswered. "Fine. We're talking about Lily again. Try not to look so surprised."

Remus nodded. "I see," he said, then grabbed a sandwich. "Peter's struggling with that Transfiguration dissertation, James. You're the best at it. Perhaps you could stop focusing on Lily for a second and lend him a hand."

James glanced at Remus and nodded. "What other girls are there?"

"Plenty." Sirius spread some butter on a roll. "School's full of girls you could ask out. Ask Samantha Irving in Ravenclaw. She's a sixth year. She just broke up with her boyfriend and is looking for a rebound guy. You could be him."

James eyed Sirius skeptically. "You've already kissed her , haven't you?" Sirius had a nasty habit of being the one girls kissed to make their boyfriends jealous. He was so tall and strong, no one was stupid enough to pick a fight with him. He was also very handsome, so girls were more than willing to take revenge on their exes with him.

"Yeah, she's good. She's a solid nine out of ten." Sirius picked up a chicken leg and ate it with gusto.

"I can't kiss a girl knowing your lips have been there," James said with disgust.

Remus, though he rarely stooped this low for a conversation, suddenly entered. "What about Lily?"

"I'm moving on," James said.

"Well," Sirius corrected after he gave a snort, "not really. He's trying to make her jealous. And if it doesn't work, then you'll know she doesn't like you and you can move on with your life."

James looked across the room at the Ravenclaw table. Samantha was a pretty girl with a very curvy figure. She had short, soft brown hair, brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and a giggly smile. She was currently talking with a friend. She was perfect for the job. James had only spoken to her a few times, but he'd liked her personality. She was nice and easy-going. She'd tried out for the house team, as Seeker, but lost it to a smaller girl.

It was either now or never. Time to move on. James pushed away from the table.

"Go Prongs, go Prongs," Sirius chanted under his breath. "Go get some! Shag her, shag her!" he whispered. James smirked then walked around the table toward Samantha. He tapped her on the shoulder.

She grinned when she saw him. "Hi," he said. "Can I have a quick word?" he asked. Samantha giggled then nodded. She stood up and walked beside him as they left the Great Hall. "Listen, I heard you, uh… broke it off with what's-his-name."

"Tom," she said.

"Yeah, that's the chap. Well I was thinking, if you wanted to go out sometime, maybe we could. If your interested," James said.

Samantha hid her smile. "I thought you liked Lily," she said.

James laughed. "Well, I did. But feelings fade. So how about it? Shall we give it a go?"

She licked her lips then grinned. "Sure."

James beamed at her. "Excellent. What're you doing tonight?" He found he was actually looking forward to her company. She was very cute.

"Nothing. Where shall we go?"

"Just around, I think. I know some good spots," he winked at her and she winked back. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall at about five. Sound good?"

"All right. I'll see you then." She put her hands on his shoulder, stood on her toes, and kissed his cheek, smiled again, then went back into the Great Hall. Pleased with himself, James decided to go for a walk. No doubt Samantha would tell her friend what had just occurred. James gave the school a total of ten minutes for the news to spread. Lily would know by the time she came back.

In the mean time, since there was no homework left to be done, and no one to snog at the moment, James had to fill his time. There had to be something he could do.

Oh yes…his eyes had just fallen on Snape, who was walking alone up to the library. James followed at a distance.

Snape made his way up, not looking behind him, then disappeared into the Potions section of the library. James made to follow, but Peter crashed into him carrying a heavy pile of books.

"Help," he said, as James picked up the books with his wand and placed them on a table. "I'll fail that assignment if you don't help me," he pleaded. James eyed Snape's back for a second, then sat a the table with Peter. "Only for a second," he said.

"Yes," Peter said. He wiped a great deal of sweat off his face but looked relaxed now that James was sitting with him. "I'm horrible at transfiguration essays."

"You're an underage Animagus, Petie. You're not bad at the subject. Look, I'll go and get my essay and you can get an idea for the format of it. But you can't copy me."

Peter's head fell to the table and he spoke into the surface saying, "Oh thank you so much."

James left for his dormitory to get the essay. Several girls he passed stopped whispering once he was within earshot. He grinned when he passed them. He certainly heard the name "Samantha Irving" mentioned. He retrieved the paper and marched back to the library, happy as ever, that something would be done about all this romantic nonsense.

"Here it is," he said, handing it to Peter. "Spill ink on it, and I'll slit your throat. It took me all week to finish." In the side of his eye, James saw Snape sit down at a table with stacks of potion books. He was hastily writing away. Slughorn's Theory essay was due. Lily had been talking of doing it for a week now, but hadn't. James finished three days ago. It had turned out that she was right—she reverted back to her procrastination habit after the first week of school.

What with Peter reading his essay and Sirius and Remus having lunch, James was thoroughly bored. So he decided to do something about it. He got up from his table, walked over to Snape's table, and sat down.

Snape looked up, a look of revulsion on his sneering face. "Leave."

James smirked. "No. What're you doing, anyway?" He snatched the parchment away from Snape and began reading. Madam Pince was just behind them, re-shelving books. Snape merely drew his wand but did not use it.

"I see you're arguing Slughorn about methodology. Very interesting Snivellus," he tossed the parchment back. "Going to rewrite the books with that one, eh?" James pulled the wand out of his pocket and held it under the table, pointing it at Snape.

"Get out," Snape said, his teeth barred like an angry animal.

"Oh yeah?" James said. "I'd like to see you try and make me."

Snape leered. "How childish."

"I see. That's what you say when you're too cowardly to do something."

Snape stood, James stood as well. Both held their wands at their sides. And right on cue, Lily came and slammed her books on the table, looking between them.

"What's going on?" she asked, drawing out her wand as well.

"Nothing," James told her. "What're you doing here?"

"Well seeing as how this is a library, Potter, I expect she's here to study," Snape replied.

James readied his wand, but it flew out of his hand and into Lily's. "Stop it," she said, glowering at him. "Get a hold of yourself."

He could see Snape looking smug, one corner of his mouth pulled up into a horrid smirk.

"Give it back," James said, holding out his hand.

"No. I should give it to McGonagall. She'd like to know what you're about to do. In fact, maybe I should do that right now."

"Lily, stop!" James said, but without his wand he could do nothing. "Give it back!"

"No. Stop yelling. You need to control your temper."

"Oh ho, look who talks."

"Huh?" she asked, frowning.

James thought for a second. Okay, that was lame. He had nothing to say to her after that. So he just stood there, not looking at her or smirking Snape, but at the table.

"James, just leave," she said.

"No. I'm here helping Peter."

"So help Peter and leave Severus alone."

James looked at her books and saw they too were for potions. "Finishing your essay?" he asked. "I've finished mine. Maybe we could work on it together."

Snape grunted a laugh and Lily ignored him. "Actually, I finished that essay. Professor Slughorn asked for Severus and I to compose one together. As a team. If it's good enough he'll publish it in the Potions Quarterly Journal. He's one of the editors."

James didn't know what to say. So he stared, dumbstruck, at Lily with, as he later thought about it, a stupid look on his face. She and Snape, together, working on a Potion's essay, to be published. And Snape was smugger than ever before.

"We really must get to work," Snape told him, sounding quite calm now that James didn't have his wand. "Lots to do. Plenty to research."

James tried ignoring him. "But you hate Snape. He called you a you-know-what."

Lily looked at Snape, who's smirk had faded. "Well, I'm sure he's sorry for saying that. If he is, I forgive him. And I'm sorry for calling him Snivellus. It's a horrible name."

James nodded, his heart pounding like a war drum, his face burning, that ringing in his ears was deafening. "Fine," he said. He made a fuss of looking at his watch. "I have things to be doing. Good luck then," he said to her, then turned and left, forgetting she still had his wand. Once he was clear of the library he banged doors, slammed his fist into suits of armor, then hurled himself through the portrait hole.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

At five James was in the entrance hall waiting for Samantha. She arrived on time. James, feeling more than a little reckless, grabbed her hand and they marched up to the Astronomy tower without speaking a word to each other. According to Sirius, she wasn't much of a conversationalist. She was still, according to him, in love with Tom the boyfriend and was trying to get over him by kissing as many boys as possible. This was all well and fine for James. He was in no mood to talk. Maybe snogging her would take his mind of Lily and Snape snuggling together in the library working on a Potions essay to be published.

There was already a couple in the Astronomy tower, however. They were probably just thirteen or fourteen. "Out," he said, and they both ran down the stairs, looking fearful. James locked the trap door then turned to Samantha.

He grabbed her waist and she flung her arms around his shoulders and they commenced the rebound session. But the moment his lips touched hers, he felt a squirm of guilt, like he was cheating on Lily somehow. He tried ignoring the feeling but found it hard. He wished he was up here with Lily, not Samantha.

"Something wrong?" she asked, pulling away from him.

James shook his head and kissed her again, which she returned very enthusiastically. James found that if he tried hard enough, he could forget about Lily. Samantha was, as Sirius had said, quite good. They kissed for quite a while, over an hour James guessed when he next examined his watch. He would've continued had Peeves not interrupted them. He looked gleeful and cackled, too sadistically happy to even think of a clever song. He zoomed out of the astronomy tower as fast as he could.

To be honest, James was glad Peeves would tell anyone he came into contact with that he'd been snogging Samantha Irving. He wanted people to know. And by the looks of it, she wasn't bothered about it either.

"It's getting late," she said. "Same time tomorrow night?"

James nodded. "I'll be here." And they both left for their dormitories.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sirius was too thrilled to not wake James the next morning. He jumped on James's bed and shook him.

James sat bolt upright, smacking his head on Sirius's, knocking him to the floor, both crying out in agony.

"What the hell were you doing?" James asked, his eyes watering.

"The whole school—Peeves—told everyone. I mean the school is buzzing! Everyone knows about you and Sam. Tom Wilkinson, her ex, was fuming this morning, swore he was going to hex you when you came into the hall. Prongs, you're brilliant!"

It was ten in the morning. He'd slept in again. "Seen Lily, have you?"

Sirius smiled. "Nope. But how did you like Sam?"

"We didn't talk much."

"She's good, huh?" he asked, winking. "How far did you get?"

James threw off his covers and got out of bed. "Sirius, please. I'm not going to shag her. This is just a stage thing. She's using me just as much as I'm using her."

"So why not make things interesting?" Sirius asked. "Come on, at least get some action out of all this."

"No," James said. He rubbed his forehead again then bent over his trunk to pull out his clothes for the day.

"Why not?" Sirius asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. "What, are you waiting for marriage or something?" He looked ready to laugh.

James shrugged. "So what if I am."

"You're joking. Why would you do that?"

"Sirius," James said, trying to be patient. "There is something called 'love' believe or not. And life is a little more interesting if you have it. I'm not going to shag a bunch of girls just to say I've shagged a bunch of girls. Sorry, but I want that emotional element to it." He pulled a shirt over his head then put his glasses on. "I think that sort of thing is only okay if you're in love. And I don't love Samantha. She doesn't love me. So there you go."

Sirius narrowed his eyes as James pulled on his trousers. "You sound like a girl."

James laughed. "Whatever. That's what I think about it. Sorry if I've disappointed you. And now I'm going down to breakfast and maybe kiss Samantha good morning." He left the dormitory with Sirius in his wake, who was trying to convince him that sex was no big deal.

"What the difference between that and kissing?" he said as they walked down to breakfast.

"I can't believe you don't know. There's a huge difference."

"Well, if you've never done it, how do you know?" Sirius asked.

"I just know. It's a big deal."

Sirius kept shaking his head. "Your folks talked you into this, didn't they? They're a bit old fashioned."

"They seemed good enough for you," he snapped. "You see, they love each other. It wasn't a family arranged marriage like your parents. Mine married for love, yours married for pure-blood child breeding."

For a moment it looked as though Sirius would explode with rage. His face reddened, his eyes bulged, and his fists clenched. But once he sat down, he said, "Harsh, but true."

Remus was, of course, already sitting there with a charms book. Peter was also there, still flustered about his essay. James pulled it toward him, looked it over, and scribbled a few pointers in the margins. "There you go. That'll put you in the right direction."

Peter read the tips and nearly cried. "Thank you!" he said. "Thank you!"

"It's not a problem. So did you hear about the project Sluggy proposed to Evans and Snape?"
Remus and Sirius exchanged looks of meaning. "Yes," Remus said. "And I think you should let it be."

"And I think," Sirius said, "you should get after him."

"What's to be gained by that, Sirius?" Remus asked. "You've been bullying him for years. Just drop it."

"So why stop now? James, he should know Lil's off limits. He should back away from her."

"He's not dating her or anything," Remus said. "She's perfectly capable of handling herself. She's a very gifted witch. She doesn't need either one of you bulling Snape in the name of defense," Remus said, his voice rising.

"I agree," James said. "With both of you."

Remus sighed. "Look, she's not stupid. She knows you're obsessed with her, she knows you loathe Snape. She knows that if Snape is 'mysteriously' attacked, that you will have done it. What is to be gained by it, James?"

"Pure joy," Sirius answered.

Remus pushed away from the table and got up. "Fine. You'll just do what Sirius says anyway, you always do," he said, then left without another word. He marched out of the Great Hall and back to the Gryffindor common room. To hell with them and their stupid immature ways. They never listened to him. Never. When would they grow up?

He walked on in thoughtful silence, back to the tower. He passed Snape on the way. He was looking smug, of course. He knew that the project with Lily was eating away at James. He was probably going to spy on him now, just to see how irritated James really was. Remus ignored him and carried on his way. Snape did the same.

He was shuffling through the Charms corridor, taking a bit of a detour as he mused, when Lily came out of an empty classroom with a very blank expression. She didn't see him but started in the same direction.

"Lily?" he called.

She turned and stopped, apparently waiting for him to catch up. "Hi," she said plainly. "How're you?"

Remus shrugged. "I feel ignored. But I'll get over it. What about you?"

Up close Remus could see her eyes were slightly puffy and bloodshot. "Oh, I'm…okay. I feel a bit under the weather. I'm stressed out, this essay and all. But Severus is really good at Potions, and I'd be lying to say I wasn't. I think with some more hard work it'll be okay."

Remus looked back at the empty classroom. "Why were you in there?"

"Common room is packed. It's drizzly outside so everyone's holed up in there. It was too much excitement. Are you going back there?" she asked.

"I was thinking about it, but I'm not too keen on being up there with the rest of the house. I might go to the library." Remus paused. Should he ask her to go with him, or would James kill him for it? They were so busy plotting something nasty against Snape, they might not even notice. "Want to come?" he asked.

Lily bit her lip as she thought it over. Remus thought he saw her eyes shining a little too brightly, like perhaps she would cry. "Um…sure, for a bit. Why do you feel ignored?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"They're…they're just…they can be so childish."

"Yes they can," Lily said coolly. "What are they plotting this time?"

"Well, they're discussing if they're going to plot anything at all. The usual target, of course," he said. "Not a mystery to why, though, is it?" he said.

Lily crossed her arms. "I can't see why he cares, what with that Irving girl he's got now," she said acidly and this time Remus definitely saw tears. "I'm sure he's told you all about it."

Remus swallowed and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "No, he hasn't. I've only heard rumors. But I know they were up there last night."

"Snogging like their boat was sinking," she said just as violently as before. "I always knew he was a superficial egotist, but I wouldn't think he'd sink so low to Samantha Irving, who'd kiss a house-elf if it showed enough interest. Of course plenty of boys, Black included, think she's rather pretty. Do you, Remus? Do you think she's pretty?"

"No," he said truthfully. "She's not my type, actually. She's not very sophisticated. James will get bored with her, I expect. She seems dry."

They entered the library but Lily didn't have her book bag, nor did he. He wasn't sure where to go now. "Do you just want to sit?" he asked her.

She nodded and pulled a random book off a shelf and sat at a table and opened it. "James, Sirius, and Peter, they're just stupid boys you know," Lily said. "Without bullying they'd have nothing to live for. I wonder what misdeeds they'll find for themselves after the term ends."

But for all her complaining, Remus wasn't deceived. It was as if she was trying to convince herself. She had been crying in that empty classroom so no one would see. If she'd locked herself in her dorm, with her hangings drawn, girls would talk, rumors would spread, and James would get the best of her. Looking like she was handling it, then leaving and crying someplace else, allowed her some dignity. Remus wondered if it had taken this, an act of jealousy, to wake her up to her true feelings about James.

She'd said for years that she hated him, but Remus could tell she didn't. She spent an awful lot of time complaining about him, describing the stupid things he would do to impress her, how he'd ask her repeatedly to go out with him, and what he would do that she found irritating. To the untrained eye, it would seem she hated him. But Remus, after spending so much time with her, knew she spent far too much time talking about him to really hate him. Perhaps she didn't know it, but he did. She liked James. She was flattered by his constant devotion to her. Any girl would be. In fact, if a girl had been so devoted to him for years, Remus thought, then suddenly went out with someone else, he'd feel strange too. He'd feel abandoned.

"They can be great friends," Remus said. "They didn't leave me after I told them about my problem. They wouldn't think of it. James has always been very supportive of me, always standing by me. He'd never abandon me, not ever. He's my best friend."

Lily rubbed her eyes again and pretended to yawn, then stared at him. "He's so—he's so arrogant."

"Not so much," Remus said. "He used to be, but not that much this year. My dad says teenagers are always stupid. Seventh years grow up fast because they have to. The real world comes after this. James isn't as much of an idiot as he was last year or the year before that, or before that."

Lily nodded at the book, avoiding his eyes on purpose. She bit her lip and put her hand on her brow, as if trying to hide her eyes. Remus heard her sniff, but stayed in his seat. Seconds later Lily had covered her face with both hands and sobbed silently into them, tears leaking out of the crevices between her fingers. Feeling bewildered and not sure what to do, Remus just stood. Finally he pulled up a chair beside her and pat her back.

She pulled her hands back and wiped her face with her sleeve. She forced her face into a smile and tried laughing. "This is silly. I'm not going to cry over that pigheaded fool. There are better things to be doing. He's not worth it," she said, but more tears were coming and she couldn't stem them in time.

"Maybe you should talk to him," Remus suggested.

Lily guffawed. "No way. He's got the right to kiss any slut he wants, I'm not going to stop him. It's his problem if that ex-boyfriend of hers hexes him into oblivion, not mine."

"Lily—" he started, but she grabbed his hand.

"Don't tell him about this," she pleaded. "Promise you won't tell him." Two more tears rolled down her face. Remus tried to recall a time when he's seen her cry, but he never had. He always assumed Lily was a girl who was beyond tears, like they were a weakness. She must really like him.

"I won't. I promise."

Lily stood up and Remus did as well.

"I'm going for a walk. Thanks for talking."

"Any time," he said, offering her a sad smile.

"You are a good friend," she said. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, then left the library, leaving Remus feeling quite strange.

o-o-o-o-o-o

It was everything he'd ever hoped for. The ultimate revenge. It had always been dreadfully unfair that Potter got everything he always wanted: the friends, the skills, the popularity, the ease of work, the Quidditch Captaincy. Finally he'd fall short and wouldn't get what he wanted most.

For the next week, Lily spent most of her free time with him, not James Potter. He could tell it was bothering Potter, but that made it all the more enjoyable. Why, he even found Lily to be a joy. She was exceptional at Potions, even for a Mudblood. In fact she was quite an impressive witch. She mastered nonverbal spells, was a natural at Charms, and she'd defeated the Imperius curse the second time around. He told no one, least of all her, that he was impressed.

Professor Slughorn had leant them the classroom for that evening to experiment on their potion, and he was glad to have the opportunity alone with her.

"It's still too thin," she said, ladling it. "Let's add wormwood to counter the effects."

Brilliant. Exactly as he would've done. He nodded to her and she pulled it out of the cupboard and added the perfect amount. She stirred the potion again and allowed herself a small smile. "That's better, isn't it?"

"Much," he said. "I suggest we let it brew for two nights before adding the next ingredient."

Lily jotted down a note in her book, then examined the potion again. "Good idea. That should bring it to the correct consistency. So we'll meet here on Thursday night then."

"Yes. Same time."

"Yes," she replied. She pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear then bagged up her things. "Well, see you around," she said.

Severus also packed his things but hurried after her. If anything would rip apart Potter, taking Lily to Hogsmeade would be it. Maybe, if he asked right and made it seem like it was for the project, she'd go with him. She wanted to publish this article as badly as he did. If only he could persuade her…

"We might need some specialty ingredients," he said. "I fear it may be too strong. Perhaps we should go to the apothecary on Saturday."

Lily hitched up her bag a little farther up her shoulder and scrunched her nose. "I don't know. I think it's all right."

"Maybe I'll go alone anyway. I just thought you'd want to do it as a team."

Lily walked a little slower. "If you want to go with me to Hogsmeade so badly, just ask," she said, smirking.

"I don't," he said at once.

Lily snickered. Severus felt a little hot around the collar.

"Oh all right. I would've said yes. But if you don't want to, just as friends… I understand. Me being a Mudblood and all, and you being a Slytherin." She glanced at him and shrugged. "I'll see you around. Bye." She took the stairs to the right, toward Gryffindor tower.

Severus stopped and watched her run up the steps. If she went with him, Potter would squirm. It was the ultimate revenge.

"Lily!" he called. She reached the top step and turned around.

"Yes?"

He'd never asked a girl out to do anything, not even as friends. "It would be strictly for the project."

Lily smirked. "Just ask already," she said.

"Will you go to the village with me on Saturday?" It was probably a trick. She'd just wanted to lure him in and reject him, she'd think it was funny.

"Yes. I'll meet you in the entrance hall." She turned again and vanished.

Tomorrow morning would be the real show. It was ultimate revenge.