It was Sunday morning. The students were slowly waking up and getting ready for the day. That was also the case with a group of Gryffindor boys.

"Are you sure you heard them right?" asked a boy with messy black hair, standing in front of the mirror.

"Yes. I told you at least a million times…" sighed Remus, who was in the middle of buttoning up his shirt.

"I don't know, mate. What do you think, Padfoot?" asked James Potter.

"Eh, I wouldn't be surprised," came the deep voice from Sirius's bed.

"So, how should we go about it?" asked Remus.

"We could steal her notes," suggested James, as he messed with his hair.

"Too much work," moaned Sirius from his bed, "she probably doesn't carry them with her. We would have to follow her around and keep an eye on her when she is researching in the library, and unlike Remus, I don't fancy spending more time in the library than I have to."

"You don't spend any time in the library!" said Remus.

"That's beside the point,"

"Wait a minute, why did we go straight to stealing? Sirius, you know her, you have been friends for so long. You could ask her about it," suggested Remus.

"No, she wouldn't tell me anything… She is too secretive about her projects, doesn't want anyone to steal her ideas," mumbled Sirius as he rolled his eyes.

"We could try sneaking into her room," suggested James.

"But we can't get past the stairs," said Remus.

"There has to be a way!" shouted James frustrated, "Come on, Sirius, try getting on her good side! Use the Black charm you always boast about,"

"Why? What's the point? She probably won't even listen to a word I say!" groaned Sirius.

"You don't know that!" tried to save the situation Lupin.

"Oh, but I do. Not only did we have a fallout, but she also confessed that she is dating Snivellus! Snivellus! Of all people!" shouted Sirius enraged as he sat up on his bed.

"Maybe she just said it to get a rise out of you," said Remus.

"To get-? Oh, then she did a great job!" huffed Sirius.

There was a moment of silence, before Sirius asked, "Do you really think she did that only to piss me off?"

"Probably. I mean, come on, it's Snivellus! He is disgusting," laughed James.

"Yeah, you are right!" smirked Sirius as he jumped out of bed to get ready, "Don't worry Moony, I will get you that research!"


It was Sunday morning and Evelyn was on her way to the Great Hall with her friends, when Sirius Black ran up to them.

"Evelyn! I - uh - I need to talk to you!" he said trying to catch his breath.

The girls just looked at each other, before Evelyn gave them a nod and they left her at the Entrance Hall.

"What is it?" asked Evelyn coldly.

"I - I just want to let you know that I forgive you." smiled Sirius.

"You- what?" asked Evelyn confused.

"I forgive you. I talked it over with the boys and they helped me to realize that you might have thought that you were doing the right thing…" explained Sirius, but then he added, "I mean I don't know what I expected, knowing the environment you were brought up in and what surrounds you on daily basis…"

"What?" asked the confused girl, before it dawned on her, "wait… are you insulting my upbringing?"

Before the boy could have answered, she took a deep breath and said, "You know what? Don't say anything. I don't want to fight so early in the morning so I'm letting this comment go."

"Now that we are back to how we were, why don't we spend the afternoon together? We could sit by the lake, just like we used to back then," suggested Sirius smiling brightly.

This made Evelyn remember the times, during their first year, when they would sit by the lake and talk about whatever they had on their mind. With Sirius being sorted into Gryffindor, they had different schedules, and their friend group was drastically changing. The other Slytherins who were on friendly terms with Sirius were now either too ashamed to be seen with him, or too busy trying to fit in and make friends with the right sort.

"I'm afraid I cannot. I already made plans, and I have club activities afterwards…" said Evelyn sadly, "Maybe Monday after classes?" she added hopefully.

"I'm sure Talkalot and the rest will understand if you ditch them for one afternoon,"

"It's not with the girls…" said Evelyn hesitantly.

"Oh, is it Bulstrode? I don't know why you are wasting your time with him; he is so boring! Can't talk about anything other than school," rolled his eyes Sirius.

"Actually, I have plans with Severus," said Evelyn nonchalantly.

"Snape? Oh, come on, I know that you only said that you are seeing him to piss me off, you don't have to keep pretending," laughed Sirius.

"Uh, I'm not pretending,"

Hearing that Sirius's smile fell. He opened and closed his mouth, apparently lost for words.

"Um, I will just leave you here to come to terms with it. See you around," said Evelyn as she gently patted his shoulder, before walking into the Great Hall leaving the shocked boy behind.


While Evelyn was having this conversation, her friends in the Great Hall were busy revising their plans.

"Do we have to do that?" moaned Lucinda.

"It's worth a try," said Emma.

"But it will make us sound so dull…"

"Get over it! Oh, here she comes! Get into the role!" whisper-shouted Emma and the three girls went back to their breakfast.

Evelyn, who just entered, went to sit next to her friends.

"Okay, that was weird…" she said as she sat down, "but I guess, we made up. Anyway, what's the topic of discussion?"

"Ah, you know… just talking… about stuff" shrugged Lucinda.

"I was saying that I can't believe that it's already the middle of October. It feels like school started just a couple of days ago," said Bonnie excitedly.

"You are right! And it's still so nice outside. It's probably one of the last days before the chilly weather arrives." said Emma.

As the girls kept talking Evelyn just looked at them confused. "Don't tell me that you were talking about the weather…"

"We were! Anyway, now that Emma pointed it out, why don't you and Snape enjoy the last nice day and take your study date outside," suggested Lucinda and Evelyn let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, so that's what it is about! Look, we are working on our Transfiguration essay, so we need to use the books for references. Also, if I finish it now, I can help you with yours later."

"Well, you could take the books outside- " said Emma.

"And suffer the wrath of the librarian if they somehow get damaged? No, thank you. And you know that I work better in the library. Not to say that if I finish it now, I will have more time to go out later," said Evelyn calmly as she started to put butter on her toast.

"Look, Evie, we are just trying to help you," said Emma.

"And I appreciate it, but I don't need your help."

"No offence, but if you continue being you, Snape will sooner or later cancel the agreement, because you are boring," said Lucinda as she took a sip from her tea and Emma facepalmed.

"So much for being subtle," she mumbled.

"You are being too dramatic," deadpanned Evelyn.

"Am I? It's your first date, one of the most important moments, and you are going to study in the library," pointed out Lucinda.

"And? A lot of people do that…"

"Yes, but they are not actually studying! Knowing you, you will switch into full study mode and bore the poor bloke to death," said Lucinda, and surprisingly Evelyn went quiet.

"So, what do you suggest instead?" she asked calmly.

"Postpone it until next week. It's a Hogsmeade weekend. Go to Madam Puddifoot's." said Lucinda simply.

"What? No, I hate that place!"

"You don't have to like it, but that's where people go on dates, so you have to go there as well."

"Um, no. That's stupid, so I'm not going to do that!" said Evelyn laughing.

"Well, you could have this little study date, but don't call it your official first date. Just a – uh – get together? Hanging out?" suggested Bonnie, causing Emma to shoot her a look, "What? I want her to help me with my essay…" she mumbled embarrassed.

"You know, this makes sense. Okay, I guess we could do that," said Evelyn as she thought about it.

"But the agreement says that Sunday is the date day. I thought you took that seriously," said Lucinda and both Bonnie and Emma shot her a look that said "really? When we already got her to agree?!"

"Um, yes, but there are also additions saying that it can be rescheduled or cancelled because of a couple of reasons," explained Evelyn.

"Oh, okay. I didn't read that part. Too many small letters." said Lucinda and Evelyn just rolled her eyes.

"The small letters and additions usually contain the most important parts." she deadpanned.

"Whatever, I don't care," said Lucinda before she returned to her breakfast.

"So, are you going to talk to Severus?" asked Bonnie.

"Uh, yes," said Evelyn as she leaned forward, looking left and right, "I think I saw him somewhere here…" she mumbled, "Rosier and his gang is sitting at the end, but he is not here."

"Maybe they know where he is," suggested Bonnie.

"You know, we should start having meals with Rosier and his group. It would make things easier," said Evelyn as she looked at Emma, who started to choke on the sausage she was eating.

"Ha-ha, if that happens, sooner or later that won't be the only sausage you will be choking on," laughed Lucinda, while Bonnie patted Emma's back and handed her a glass of juice.

Evelyn just laughed as she stood up, said goodbye to their friends and walked up to the boys.

"Excuse me, do you know where I could find Severus?" she asked.

"Oh, he went back to the common room. He should be either there or in our room," answered Rosier.

Evelyn thanked them and left looking for her supposed-to-be boyfriend.


Severus Snape was just finishing his meal in the Great Hall, when his eyes met with a pair of green eyes, from the other side of the hall. With a small gesture the red-haired girl motioned to the door. Severus just nodded, gave a hasty excuse to his fellows Slytherins, and left the Great Hall. He waited a couple of minutes, standing by the door leading to the classrooms when Lily arrived.

"Hi, Sev," she smiled, and Severus could feel his heart skipping a beat.

"'Morning,"

"What are your plans for the day? I thought that we could start working on that Transfiguration essay for Professor McGonagall. It looks difficult and I'm afraid that I won't finish it in time. It would mean the world if you helped me out,"

It would mean the world if you helped me out, she said, and it was more than enough for Snape to agree.

"Amazing!" smiled Lily brightly, "So I will see you in the library later? Maybe after lunch?"

"Definitely," he said breathlessly.

Lily just smiled and left to join her friends, waiting for her at the Grand Staircase. Severus watched her climb the stairs with her friends. As she left it suddenly dawned on him. He agreed to meet Lily at the same time he had a meeting with Evelyn.

'Damn, I messed up,' he thought, 'Think, Severus, think!'

It was then that he felt someone tap him on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Severus," it was Evelyn's voice, and Severus almost jumped at the contact.

'She knows!' was the first thing that came to his mind, and he could already picture her dragging him into an empty classroom and threatening to kill him.

"Um, are you alright? You look paler than usual," she said.

'Keep cool, Severus, keep cool,'

"Yes! Yes, everything is perfect," he said.

Evelyn waited a moment, before she replied, "If you say so… um, anyway, are you doing anything important at the moment?"

"Uh, no…"

"Well, I'm on my way to the greenhouses. You could join me, since I have something to discuss with you, and I wouldn't like to do it here." she said as she looked around at the people entering and leaving the Great Hall, "It's about our study date," said Evelyn causing a couple of passing Hufflepuffs to turn to them surprised, before sharing a look.

It surprised Severus how ready Evelyn was to use the word 'date'. Especially in connection with him.

"Alright," he said as they left the entrance hall, "What business do you have in the greenhouses?"

'She is going to bury you or feed you to the dangerous carnivorous plants in one of the greenhouses...' said a small voice in his head.

"Oh, sometimes I help out Professor Sprout." said Evelyn and seeing Severus's surprised face, she laughed as she added, "Margaret, my maternal grandmother, has a large garden. Everyone in my mother's family has one, except us. Of course, my parents are busy with work, so they cannot tend to it, and Mother refuses to entrust it to the house-elves,"

"You have house-elves?" asked Severus before he could stop himself.

He knew that some wizarding families still kept house elves to do their bidding, however, it was only the richest and the most influential families.

"Of course, we do! Who do you take us for?" laughed Evelyn, "When I was younger, we had three, however, two died of old age, then father got one from France, so now we only have two. But I think they are more than enough for us since it's only the three of us…"

Severus just listened, not knowing how to react.

"Wait," she said as she stopped, shooting a look at Severus, "you are not a house-elf rights activist, are you? That would make things difficult,"

"No,"

"Good," smiled Evelyn, "Just so you know, it's not like we are making them do things against their will. They want to serve, so who are we to deny them? Anyway, I got thrown off the track," said Evelyn.

"You wanted to discuss our meeting later today," said Severus nervously.

"Yes. Well, it came to my attention that first dates are quite important in a relationship and it might be considered to be disappointing to have it in the library. Therefore, I suggest that we reschedule, and visit Hogsmeade together next week as our official first date."

This made Severus think. Could he be in luck today? Truth be told, he was actually looking forward to it, interested to see the way Evelyn worked, since she had top marks in almost all of her classes. But by the mention of Hogsmeade, he could see himself sitting in Madam Puddifood's with Evelyn, her talking about something or another, and him ready to stab himself with a dessert fork.

On the other hand, if he agreed, he could meet up with Lily.

"So, should we cancel today's meeting?" he asked.

"Well, I'm still going to the library to work on that essay, however, you are free to do as you please. You probably have something better to do than work on an essay that's not due in a couple of weeks."

'Damn, that means that she will be there, and will probably see me with Lily,'

Evelyn was looking at him, expecting an answer and he knew that he had to come up with something quickly. He had to make a choice; meet with Evelyn and lose his chance to spend the afternoon with Lily, or choose Lily and risk Evelyn's annoyance, while sentencing himself to an afternoon at Madam Puddifoot's.

"I - um," Severus searched his surroundings for an escape route when he saw Regulus with Barty Crouch Jr and a couple of other people, "Regulus! Regulus needs me, I – I will see you later! In the greenhouses!" he said as he quickly made his way to Regulus without looking back at the bewildered girl.

"Wait, I'm not finished!" shouted Evelyn.

'What the hell was that?' she thought confused.


"That was stupid," deadpanned Regulus.

"I think you meant suicidal," said Evan Rosier, who stood with his arms crossed.

"You are both wrong. I think you meant, awesome!" said the grinning Mulciber and the boys turned to him with a questioning look, "Oh, come on! It's really cool! He is the first one in our group juggling girls! Don't worry mate, we've got you covered!"

"And how exactly are you planning to cover for me?" asked Severus with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, do tell. Are you ready to face the wrath of the girls, if it comes to it?" asked Rosier crossing his arms and leaning on the tree around which they were gathered.

"Tch, I'm not scared of them," sneered Mulciber.

"I don't know, I would be terrified of Williams. One wrong move and we will never hear from you again," said Regulus casually.

"You are exaggerating," said Mulciber, but they could see that he lost some of his confidence.

"She is very spiritual. Her whole family is. Maybe they will sacrifice you to the Gods," shrugged Regulus, "Thought you would like to know," he added after seeing the shocked expressions.

"Uh, Reg, it would be better if you shared this kind of information with us beforehand," said Rosier, while Mulciber just sympathetically patted Severus' shoulders.

"Your memory will never be forgotten," he said sadly.

"Thanks… so much about having my back…" mumbled Severus, before he asked, "So what should I do?"

The boys shared a look before they said in perfect unity, "Ditch Evans."

Severus just rolled his eyes, "Why do I even bother asking you?"

"Well, if you ask me-" started Avery, but he was interrupted by Severus.

"I'm not asking you. I asked Regulus, then we looked for Rosier, and you two just tagged along for some reason," said Severus frustrated, already knowing where this discussion was going.

"Hey!" shouted both Avery and Mulciber, but Regulus just shrugged.

"He is right," he said.

"Still! We were ready to help him, and this is what we get… Shame… Come on, let him deal with his problem alone." said Mulciber as he and Avery left.

However, none of the boys paid them any attention. Otherwise, they would have seen that they were walking towards the greenhouses.


Evelyn liked the greenhouses. Whenever she felt that she was doing too many things at once the greenhouses were there to help her relax. While other people listened to music, read, painted, Evelyn returned to nature. She packed her dragon-hide gloves, her radio, put up her long brown hair in a ponytail and visited the greenhouses. At first, it was strange for her to be there outside of the classes, but eventually, she got used to it and seeing that she was useful, Professor Sprout gave her permission to visit the greenhouses whenever she wished.

That said Evelyn was in the greenhouses, the calming sound of a harp was playing from the radio, while she tended to the plants. She was deep in thought, making sense of the things that happened in only a week. In just one week she got a boyfriend, even if it was a fake one, had a couple of small misunderstandings with Sirius, and didn't work on her potion at all. The thought of the potion made her more frustrated than anything ever.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't realize that someone entered the greenhouse.

"I see you are still volunteering for Sprout," said a deep voice next to her and Evelyn jumped a little at the intrusion.

"Merlin! Don't scare me like that," she said as she placed a hand on her heart.

"Sorry," laughed Sirius, "I see you are still doing this little volunteering project of yours."

"It's not a volunteering project," said Evelyn.

"You know, most pure-blood girls don't like to dirty their hands,"

"Too bad, I am not like most pure-blood girls then," said Evelyn as she took off her gloves, "And what brings you here?"

"Oh, just… passing by," said Sirius, as he turned to look at the plant Evelyn was tending to.

"Passing by? Do I want to know?" asked Evelyn with a smile.

"Nah, probably not," said Sirius as he turned to look at Evelyn, "But there is something I want to know. Why do you listen to this old Celtic music? It's so boring, and here I was thinking that Lupin and his love for Jazz is the worst thing," he said laughing.

"It helps me relax, and it's good for the plants," answered Evelyn as she magically lowered the volume, before she crossed her arms, leaning on the table, "Now, the truth. Why are you here? I don't think that you came just for making fun of my music. You are not following me around, are you?" she asked laughing.

"Would it be that bad if I were?" asked Sirius leaning closer.

"Yes, it would make you a creep," said Evelyn not missing a beat, but her light tone suggested that she was just playing.

"A handsome creep," added Sirius as he smiled and leaned closer.

"But a creep nonetheless," said Evelyn as she stepped away, "So, out with it,"

"Is it weird that I just came to say hi and see what you are doing?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, it wouldn't be weird, were it not for your friends standing guard at the door," said Evelyn as she pointed to the entrance of the greenhouse, where the rest of the Marauders were standing, keeping watch.

"They are just waiting for me, while I dropped by," said Sirius, but he knew that he wasn't fooling anyone.

"If you say so…" said Evelyn as she put her gloves in her bag.


The boys standing by the door did not go unnoticed to the passing students, either.

"What are they up to?" asked a second-year Hufflepuff girl.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Better to just walk past. Don't even look at them," said the fifth-year Ravenclaw girl, who she was walking with.

"How long do we have to stay here? It's almost lunchtime…" whined Peter.

"As long as it takes for Padfoot to get the info," said James, "We need to make sure that no one gets in, so Williams lets her walls down and tells him what we need to know."

The boys were standing there for quite a while, looking at people passing by. Most of them thought that they were setting up a prank and knew better than to get involved. That was until Mulciber and Avery showed up.

They looked around, but when Avery spotted them, both walked up to where they were.

"And what do we have here?" asked Mulciber when they came face to face with the Gryffindors.

"None of your business. Get lost," said James.

"Hm, I don't know, it looks like you are up to something. What do you think, Avery?"

"Definitely. Otherwise, why would you be standing there like bodyguards?"

"Exactly. And where is Black? I thought you never go anywhere without each other," said Mulciber, while Avery took a couple of steps back and took a look around.

"What do you want from Sirius?" asked Remus calmly, but cautiously.

"From him? Nothing" laughed Mulciber.

"Then?" asked Remus, however, before Mulciber could reply he was interrupted by Avery.

"I think I found what we were looking for," he said, pointing to the inside of the greenhouse.

Mulciber turned to see what his friend was pointing at. There he could see Evelyn with Sirius, being quite close.

He just smirked as he said, "Indeed. Even more…"

With that, the two Slytherins shared a look and left.


"What are you working on anyway?" asked Sirius, who turned back to the plant trying to remember what kind of plant it was.

"Nothing interesting. Why?"

"Just asking, you know, trying to find interest in your hobbies… as friends do," he added as a second thought.

"If you expect me to ask about your most recent prank so that you can brag, I will have to disappoint you. I don't want to know about it,"

"Why do I need to have a hidden motive just to talk to you? You know, I'm not one of your Slytherin friends aroundwhich you need to have your walls up all the time," said Sirius and Evelyn let out a small sarcastic laugh.

"And we are back to you insulting me and my house..."

"I'm not insulting you," said Sirius seriously.

"Just my house, my upbringing, and my friends," said Evelyn casually as she crossed her arms again.

"But not you!" said Sirius as he sighed, "Never you. You are not like them."

"Maybe you don't want to see it, but I am exactly like them,"

"No, you are not!" said Sirius as he raised his voice.

"Why?" asked Evelyn raising her voice to match Sirius'.

"Because you are the only one who didn't abandon me after my sorting!" screamed Sirius, and suddenly the air was full of tension.

There was a moment of silence before Sirius spoke again. He was breathing heavily, leaning on the table, and looking at the ground. "You were the only one who continued to talk to me regardless of my house. The only one who didn't hate me…"

"They don't hate you," said Evelyn as she stepped closer and put her hand on Sirius's arm.

"Yeah, right,"

"I mean, your behaviour is not helping the matters, but I'm sure they don't hate you-"

"Yeah, sure." rolled his eyes Sirius.

"Look, they might not like you like before, but they don't hate you. I don't know about your parents, but Regulus still looks up to you. You are his brother, regardless of the house. And let's be honest you never liked Bellatrix, so she is not a loss and Narcissa… she could come around. Other than that, I'm still here, and uh, I'm pretty sure that if you put your differences aside, you could make things work with Rosier too," said Evelyn.

"You really think so?" asked sceptically Sirius.

"Definitely! You just need to let everyone know that you still value the old ways, stop with the mischief and I'm sure that they will welcome you with open arms," smiled Evelyn.

"But the thing is that I don't believe in the old ways anymore! The people, who I was taught to hate, to look down on, are now my housemates, my friends. I have had more fun with them than I ever did with my family or the people I was forced to befriend, like Rosier…"

"Look, you are probably confused – " started Evelyn, but she was interrupted by Sirius.

"On the contrary, I don't think I have ever seen anything more clearly," he said looking Evelyn straight in the eyes.

She just sighed before she answered, "If that's how you feel, then fine, I guess what matters is that these people make you feel happy and accepted. Just – be careful when voicing your thoughts. If you continue acting the way you do, you will just make enemies and if it comes to worst and you end up like Andromeda, and I don't know if I could help you get back your status…"

Sirius just rolled his eyes, "They won't disown me. It would be too shameful for my parents… and even if they did, I would never want that title back! You know that I never wanted to be the 'Black heir'."

Evelyn looked at the ground before she said quietly, "But you want to change their ways, don't you? I told you before, we were born with great privilege and in the best position to change things. We just have to keep playing our role and endure whatever they throw at us, so when the time comes, we can finally change things…"

"I don't have to be a noble to change things," said Sirius.

"For God's sake just look at Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix or the Lestrange brothers! They are all idiots! If we give up on our roles then who will stand up against them when they try to pull some shady stunt that will not only harm people but also make all purebloods look bad! Who do you think has a chance to win against them? Bob from Diagon Alley, who works twelve hours a day, has a family to provide for and just manages to get by? No. Common people don't stand a chance. But us, we are different. They have nothing on us. We have money, we have status, we are practically untouchable…"

Sirius sighed.

"I'm just getting so damn tired of their bullshit. They are just getting on my nerves,"

Hearing that Evelyn smiled, "I bet your mother says exactly the same thing about you,"

Sirius stopped for a moment to think about it before he just shrugged, "The old hag deserves it. Maybe it's her bad karma coming around…."

Evelyn just laughed as she said, "Imagine your parents' faces when you officially become the leader of the ancient and noble house of Black and start taking steps towards a better relationship between muggle-borns and purebloods."

Sirius laughed as he said, "Good old mom would have a heart attack,"

Evelyn laughed.

"How did we even get there?" asked Sirius, when he remembered why he actually entered the greenhouse.

He was supposed to get the information from Evelyn, and yet there they were talking about his mother.

"It's the shared traumatic experiences... I don't think you talk to the boys about your mom," Sirius was about to defend his friendship with the boys, before Evelyn added, "God knows, I don't talk about my family with the girls either…"

This made Sirius worry.

"How is it back home?" he asked concerned.

Evelyn just made a face.

"Well… you know them… busy as always. The last time we spoke was just before school started when I went shopping with my mom… or more like she dragged me through the streets of Diagon Alley and played dress up with me for hours while criticizing everything in the stores and deciding that she will make my clothes herself,"

Hearing that Sirius snickered.

"Don't laugh! It was so embarrassing in the store. Poor Madam Malkins, I ended up sending her a small amount of compensation money for the trouble, but still… So yes, it's been almost two months. In the latest issue of Witch Weekly I read that Mom is doing business somewhere in Italy, so here is that. And dad... dad is probably busy in the ministry. He has been on the edge lately…"

"At least they are too busy to keep tabs on you. My mom sends me a howler every time I do something stupid, Reg is probably her little spy, writing to her every single day…" rolled his eyes Sirius, but Evelyn just laughed.

"He just loves his mom. I think that's cute, but it will probably end soon. I heard that he has some fangirls, so who knows, maybe it will change once he starts dating…" smirked Evelyn, but Sirius' jaw dropped.

"Regulus? Fangirls? What?"

"I know right? I was surprised too… But you know, he is cute, and now that he is in the Quidditch team, it was just a matter of time,"

Sirius was lost for word. His little brother was getting popular among the girls?

"Too bad they will only be second to mommy dearest…" smirked Sirius and Evelyn laughed.

"You are awful," she said, shaking her head and packing her things, "anyway, I would like to leave soon, so that I can clean up before lunch, so do you mind explaining why are your friends standing guard at the door? I suspect it's not just so you can talk to me,"

"It's… complicated," said Sirius, not knowing how to ask what he wanted to know without getting into a row with Evelyn.

They had a good talk and he didn't want to mess up.

"Try to explain, I'm quite smart," said Evelyn and Sirius sighed again before he spoke.

'Here it goes,' he thought.

"Remus heard you talking to Travers about your project concerning werewolves and we want to know what you are working on," he said simply.

Evelyn's eyes went wide, but she quickly gathered herself.

"So, why isn't he the one approaching me?"

"He is shy,"

"Also, why would any of you care about my research?" asked Evelyn confused.

"Um, Remus is interested in creatures. Yes! Yes, he is a huge nerd, and he wants to learn as much as he can. You know, like you, except he only cares about werewolves,"

"I see… Too bad, I'm not working on anything regarding werewolves as creatures, more like lycanthropy as a disease," said Evelyn.

"That's fine. It's related to werewolves, he would love to learn more,"

"Well, I can recommend him some books for further reading," suggested Evelyn.

"No! No, he can't learn just from books,"

"Really? But he has no problem in classes…"

"That's – that's because we go through the material together! Yes, that's it,"

Evelyn thought for a while before she said, "Why not, I could meet up with him to discuss it. Let me know when he is free," said Evelyn before she got her bag.


While Evelyn was talking to Sirius, Avery and Mulciber didn't waste time getting back to Severus.

"Oh, you are back," said Regulus, not even looking up from his book.

"Are you two done sulking?" asked Rosier.

"Hah, funny you say that. We were just having a walk to clean our minds when we came across something interesting. Though I don't know if you deserve to know about it, seeing how you treat us," said Avery.

"Oh, wow. Now we will never know what you saw. How tragic…" commented Regulus, but the boys decided to ignore him.

"Yes. But! I think we could tell you if Snape apologized," said Mulciber and Severus just rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I apologize," he spat.

"Not so fast! We want a full apology!" said Avery.

Severus just looked at them before he said, "Fine, then keep it to yourself."

"W-what? Excuse you? You don't even want to know?" asked a shocked Avery.

"No, not really. Although, I think you want to share it with us more than you want me to apologize,"

"Really? Even if it involves your little girlfriend?" asked Avery.

Severus went quiet, however, Regulus asked, "Which one?"

"Williams," said Mulciber.

"Yes, it seems that Severus is not the only one two-timing…" smirked Avery.

"I'm not two-timing," piped in Severus.

"Call it what you want, but it seems that Williams and Black made up if you know what I mean,"

"What?" asked Severus surprised.

"Impossible!" said Regulus, "I mean, they probably made up, but not in the way you are suggesting. She doesn't think of my brother that way."

"Eh, they seemed too close for comfort to me. But that's none of my business…" said Avery nonchalantly.

"Where are they?" asked Severus.

"In the greenhouses," smirked Mulciber and Severus wasted no time leaving.

"Wait, Severus! Great... Now I have to go and make sure that he doesn't lose us points or gets killed," sighed Rosier before he left.

"You do realize that you never got your apology…" said Regulus and the two boys looked at each other before groaning.


Evelyn was just about to open the door when she heard the sound of commotion from outside. When she opened the door, she saw the backs of Potter, Pettigrew, and Lupin. In front of them stood an angry Severus with Rosier behind him.

"Alright, I don't know what is going on, but you need to move this somewhere else. You are disturbing the plants," said Evelyn, deciding to ignore the fact that both groups of boys had their wands drawn.

"It's nothing, Snivellus is just asking for a beating," smirked Potter.

"I believe that he just asked you to move," pointed out Rosier.

Evelyn just raised an eyebrow at Severus, who remained quiet but kept looking behind her, at Sirius, with hatred in his eyes. Evelyn just sighed before she spoke up.

"Okay, this ends here today. Sirius," she addressed him while she turned around, "it was nice to talk to you, I guess I will see you around. Lupin," she turned to look at the boy, who appeared to be shocked by being addressed, "I hope to see you later. I'm curious, what you have come up with. Now, excuse us," she said as she stepped up to Severus and Rosier, taking their arms and walking away.

While the Slytherins left the boys turned to Sirius.

"Sirius… exactly what did you tell her about me?" asked Remus quietly, but Sirius knew that he was furious.


"So troublesome..." sighed Evelyn as she let go of the boys when they were a far distance away.

"What were you doing in the greenhouses with Black?" spat the question Severus.

Evelyn looked at him confused, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me,"

"We are friends, we were talking," said Evelyn simply.

"And why did the rest of them stand guard if you were just talking?" asked Severus and Evelyn looked at him surprised.

"Um, no offence Evan, but could you please leave us?" she asked Rosier, who nodded and left.

It was evident that he was feeling uncomfortable being caught in the middle of what seemed to be a lover's quarrel.

"Okay, first of all, I don't appreciate you talking to me in this manner," said Evelyn sternly, but Snape just rolled his eyes.

"I don't give a-" he started, but Evelyn quickly cut him off.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I put a clause in the agreement, concerning relationships. I will not tell you who to be friends or cease to be friends with and I expect the same treatment. I don't care about your friendship with Evans, and as such, I will not stand for you badmouthing my friendship with Sirius,"

Snape just snorted, "Friendship you say, but everyone knows that Black wants more,"

"It doesn't matter. If he tries anything unseemly, I myself will put an end to this friendship. Contrary to what the majority of you likes to believe, I am capable to manage my own relationships," said Evelyn with a little more force than she wanted to.

There was a moment of silence while Snape was quietly seething.

"And why do you care anyway? Are you by any chance jealous?" laughed Evelyn, trying to change the atmosphere.

"Tch, don't be ridiculous," sneered Snape.

"Then?" she asked, and Severus sighed before he answered.

"Mulciber and Avery saw you getting up and close with Black – "

"We were not getting up and close. Just talking. Though not like any of them would know, since they never even had a proper conversation with a girl,"

"I don't care about that! You- you asked me to play the role of your boyfriend, and yet there you are getting caught with Black! Was that the plan from the start? Making me play the part only to have Black take my supposed-to-be girlfriend to make me look like a fool?"

'So, this is what it is about…'

"Okay, listen. You are getting carried away. He is my friend; we were just catching up. The other boys were there because apparently Lupin heard me talking to Bonnie about one of my little projects and he sent Sirius to get some information. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less," explained Evelyn, before she sighed, "Not everyone is out to get you, Severus. You need to relax,"

She said that, but Snape was still not convinced.

"Project? What project? Why would he be interested in your project?" asked Severus confused, and Evelyn just shrugged.

"Well, Sirius says that he is interested in magical creatures, so when he heard me talking about werewolves, he needed to know what it was about,"

"Werewolves? What exactly are you working on?"

"Um, I think I have already said too much. Nothing dangerous, don't worry."

Severus just gave her a sceptical look but didn't ask more.

"Anyway, are you ready to continue our discussion from before? I hope we can finish it without you having the urge to run away…" she said, and Severus could feel his face heat up, remembering how he has run away from the conversation.

He cleared his throat before he replied, "Yes, uh, since we are both going to work on that essay, we could work together, and you can call it whatever you want to, I don't really care."

"Wonderful!" said the relieved girl, before she caught herself, "I mean, good, yes, of course, we could do that. Though if you think that I will do all the work, you are mistaken. I'm pretty much useless when it comes to transfiguration," laughed Evelyn.

Severus just raised an eyebrow, "Don't play stupid, I know that you are passing with an E,"

"I know! With an E! It might be good for some people, but I can't afford to settle for an E," she said passionately.

Now Severus really couldn't wait to see how she works.

"Oh, yes, and I also wanted to ask if it would be possible to have meals together," said Evelyn suddenly and Severus choked on air.

"What? Why?"

"Oh, no, I don't mean it in the way, that just the two of us. Like both your group of friends and mine. It would be easier to find the other if we need to discuss something, and you know, it would look better if we were to have meals together,"

"And your friends won't mind?" asked Severus.

"No, probably not. I think they would enjoy it," said Evelyn though her tone suggested that she was just guessing.

"Um, I will have to discuss it with the boys," he said awkwardly.

"Alright, now if you excuse me, I'm going to clean up before lunch. I will see you in the Great Hall." she smiled as she left.

Now, Severus knew what he had to do. He set out to do something he never thought he would do. Walking to the Gryffindor Tower, he couldn't help but wonder what mealtimes will look like with the girls.


"Lily, that Snape boy from Slytherin is looking for you outside," said a blonde witch, who just walked into the common room.

"Oh, thanks, Marlene," said Lily Evans as she stood up from the couch and walked out of the room.

Severus was standing not far from the painting, which led to the Gryffindor common room.

"Hi, Sev!" smiled Lily as she emerged from the hole behind the painting, "I heard that you are looking for me. What's up?"

"Um, I – I'm sorry but I can't meet with you after lunch. I have already made plans with someone…" he said ashamed.

"What? But why didn't you tell me about it sooner?" asked Lily.

"I don't know," he said lamely.

"That's fine. Next time just tell me," laughed Lily trying to ease the tension.

"Is it really okay?" asked Severus surprised.

"I mean, I'm not happy about it, but if you already made plans, I guess it's only fair. I can still study with the girls," said Lily, "and I guess we could compare our essays later," she finished with a smile.

As Severus walked to the common room, he almost laughed out loud at how stupid he had been. Turns out he was worried for nothing. Though he couldn't help but wonder, why was Lupin interested in Evelyn's project. For some time now, Snape has suspected that there was something off with Lupin missing so much from school. Was Evelyn's research connected to that? After all, he was interested enough to send Black, to make sure that he gets the info. It might be nothing, but Severus felt the need to know more about that project. And as Evelyn's boyfriend, he had a better chance to learn about it than anyone else.