Chapter 5: An Act of Bitter Hate

Severus had spent the afternoon scouting the Slytherin Common Room for a competent second, and the majority of the evening plotting out the duel with him. Had he been a little smarter, he would have realized he should have checked on Lily to make sure she was okay, but that was the farthest thing from his mind right now. He was only interested in humiliating James, and would worry about Lily in the morning. As long as she was there to watch the show tonight, Severus would be exceedingly happy. He would prove to her again tonight that she had made the right choice out of her suitors; that he was vastly superior to Potter in every way that mattered at all. Sure Potter was athletic, popular, and probably better looking, but those things were not what really mattered. What mattered was that he, Severus, could curse anyone who ever threatened Lily into oblivion before they even had time to blink.

He and his second, a tall and menacing seventh year Slytherin who was the quickest man he could find at firing off curses both dark and menacing, entered the trophy room at five minutes to midnight. Severus was in the rear at first and then stepped out in front when he was quite sure that they were alone. There was no reason to risk himself getting harmed by a quick attack before the duel even began. "Be ready to attack as soon as it looks like Potter and Black will if they choose not to follow proper dueling etiquette," he said to his counterpart. "You never know with those two." With that he leaned plainly in sight against the middle of the wall furthest from the unlocked door, his second shifting his weight from one foot to the other as if he had no clue what he was supposed to do with himself while they were waiting. He was saved from deciding anything further, as the door opened again, admitting entrance to a group much larger than the two people waiting across from them.

James was standing out in front, leading the group gallantly into the area where the duel would take place. At his side was Sirius, who had his arm tightly around his latest girlfriend, a clear indicator that no curses would be fired until the proper niceties had been made at least. Just behind the two of them was Peter, along with a small group of girls who tended to follow James and Sirius wherever they went. At the very back, and trying to clearly distance herself from the rest, was Lily, who looked like she was very deep in thought about something, and almost did not realize where she was at. She made her way past the others as Sirius said goodbye to his latest fling and he and James took a few steps forwards to the middle of the room, the others heading to the edges of the room to leave plenty of room for the duel. Lily looked like she was about to say something, but she was stopped as Severus brushed past her with his second in tow to meet their opponents.

"Nice to see you know how to treat a woman Snivellus," James said sneeringly as he gave a short bow. "And Frederickson, I thought you knew better than to associate with such a lowlife as this, even most Slytherins won't go near him," he added as he bowed to the larger male. "Tonight will be the night I wipe that arrogant smile off of your face once and for all Potter," Severus said with a cruel laugh and a smirk. "Is it time for us to duel or are you not done trading insults yet?" In truth he wanted to get this going as soon as he possibly could. The more time he gave James and Sirius to prepare, the worse his chances were of even surviving this night. He was by far the worst duelist out of the four taking part, even if he did possess the most acquired knowledge. The reflexes and natural instincts of the two Gryffindors put him at a huge disadvantage any time they met in this way.

James merely sneered and pulled out his wand, making the necessary paces away and leaving his back to Snape, who had done the same as soon as James had started. Sirius and the Slytherin known as Frederickson had their wands pointed at Severus and James respectively, making sure that neither tried anything that would make the duel into an unfair fight. Both duelists got into the proper position and turned to face each other once more. Peter spoke from his place along the wall, directly in the middle of the room. "Alright, James, Snape, the duel will begin on the count of three. Make everything fair, no killing on school property, so stop your curses when your opponent is unconscious please." His squeak died out for a second as he looked from one to the other, and both nodded in acceptance of the terms, though the chances of either actually meeting those terms were slim to none. "Alright…one….two…."

"STOP!" shrieked Lily, running forward so that she was standing between the two bitter enemies and neither could fire a curse without risking hitting and harming her. "I am so very tired of you two behaving like children who both want the best spot to play in the sandbox. You are adult wizards and are less than a year from finishing school and being out in the world on your own. YOU NEED TO GROW UP. If you insist on going through with this duel, or any more that have no proper reason for happening, neither of you will be worthy of a minute of my time from this point forward. If you want a girl to fight over, you can just go and find another one." With that she stood, one stony set eye turned on each of them and a determined glare marring her pretty face. It was quite clear that she was going to see to it that this duel never happened.

Both would-be duelists lowered their wands, shamed looks on their faces. Neither had taken the time to stop and see what their feud was doing to the girl who they both dearly loved. As much as it hurt James to admit it, he would rather have Lily be happy with Snape than to have her be this unhappy. "I'm sorry Lily. I will never again lift an undeserved wand against Sniv- I mean Severus. I know I need to be more mature, and I will make this the first step in proving to you that I can be." With that he nodded to Sirius, who lowered his wand as well, which had been pointed at his greasy enemy still this entire time. As much as he hated to miss a chance to harm and humiliate an unarmed and unprepared Snape, he knew that James simply would not have it. The words of Lily were to be taken as law.

Severus meanwhile had never fully lowered his wand, but kept it slightly at the ready, where Lily could not see what he was up to. He also said nothing, but seethed angrily at the apologetic words of his enemy. Oh how he would regret lowering his wand. As soon as he had the opportunity, he would curse him into oblivion. His anger and hate now made all of his feelings for Lily like a tiny grain of sand on the beach. The only thing he cared about right now was getting even with Potter for making him look bad, no matter what it cost him. Tonight was to be a night of great vengeance if the downtrodden Slytherin had anything to do with it.

Unfortunately for James, Lily could not read the thoughts of Severus, and she thought the danger had passed. "I will see all of you later, when you have cooler heads and something more productive going on. Until then, I bid you goodnight." With that she stepped from between the two enemies, and crossed to the door of the trophy room. Just as she was preparing herself to leave, she heard a loud and abrupt noise behind her, causing her to spin around.