It wasn't until Lily appeared outside the orphange the night of the secret meeting that Severus remembered the owl she'd sent him. She'd expressed a desire to come and visit him and was obviously under the impression that her friend was quite miserable. When he saw her fiery hair gleaming in the dark as she rushed forward, he and Nott stopped short.
"Oh no," Severus muttered impatiently as Lily hurried toward them, beaming, her trainers thumping the pavement.
"Who's she?" demanded Nott, apparently in ecstasy. He was gazing at Lily as if he'd never seen a prettier girl. Then as Lily ran beneath the white hoop of a street light, he pointed and cried excitedly, "That's Lily Evans! But I thought she was dating that skinny kid -- Dupin or Mupin or something of the like." He looked at Severus with round eyes, "She's dating you?"
Severus didn't answer. He waited for Lily to reach them, then took her forearms and dragged her into the shadows of the building.
"What is it?" Lily said, seeing his look of impatience and obvious irritation.
Severus's black eyes flashed as he checked over his shoulder to see if any lights in the orphange windows had come on. All were dark.
"Who's that?" Lily demanded a little loudly in disgust as Nott wagged his eyebrows at her and smiled like an sly old fox beside Severus.
"Shh! Lily, listen!" Severus hissed, shaking her forearms until her red hair fluttered into her eyes. "About tonight -- "
But Lily brushed him off and composed herself. She seemed to guess already what Severus would say.
"You're brushing me off," she said over him, her chin lifted with dignity. "After I came all this way you're just going to brush me off. Well, what is it for?"
Severus merely stared at her with his hands limp at his sides, his eyes glittering.
"Oh, I see," she said, slowly, angrily, "You're not even going to tell me. Just going to let me travel all this way and for nothing! Why do I even bother? It's obvious you don't want to be close to anyone. I'm you're best friend and yet it's like I knew nothing about you -- and what I do know I know by accident!"
Her voice became angrier and angrier, rose louder and louder, until Severus stepped forward suddenly and pressed her to the wall with his hand over her mouth. One of the windows on the second floor burst suddenly with a buttery yellow light that flooded the street and sidewalk with its square glare. The three teenagers leaned rigidly against the wall, waiting for the silhouette to disappear from the window. When it didin't, Nott raised his wand and aimed it at a passing cat, which gave a horrible yowl and streaked under a car across the street.
The shape in the window seemed to find the cat's yowl a satisfactory explaination for the noise and turned its light off again.
Lily shoved Severus off angrily, "How dare you -- "
"Shut up!" Severus snapped.
"No, you shut up, Severus, I've had it with you!"
"Just tell her where we're going," butted in Nott, watching Lily with apparent delight as he scratched his nose with his wand. "Then she can come along -- and you both can shut up," he added pleasantly.
Both Severus and Lily glowered at him.
"You don't understand," Severus said irritably, "She's not like us -- she wouldn't want to come -- "
Lily was watching them both with narrowed eyes.
"Severus . . ." she said slowly. "by 'like us' do you mean -- ?"
"You're not coming," Severus said to her sharply, and turned on his heel and jogged across the street.
"I hate you!" Lily shrieked after him as Nott wagged his fingers at her and followed Severus.
Severus called over his shoulder, "You don't!" and in the next moment had disappeared with Nott between two houses.
"I know I don't," Lily said to herself, almost pouting. "That's why I'm going to stop you!" she cried suddenly, and ran across the street and into darkness.