PART ONE: IN VITAM

Chapter XV: Knight of Swords Reversed

I took two steps into the Divination classroom that Friday and immediately wondered if it was too late to feign illness. Perhaps I could throw myself down the trapdoor, break an arm, and spend the rest of the day in the Hospital Wing. Anything, anything, to avoid seeing Rosier.

I could feel his gaze on me as I walked across the classroom to our usual table. When I took my seat, he didn't greet me, and I pretended I couldn't find something in my bookbag until Professor Vablatsky arrived to start the lesson.

Only when Professor Vablatsky began explaining the nuances of different types of spreads did I allow myself to glance over at Rosier. His attention was on the professor, and he wore his usual good-student mask. I couldn't read anything of anger on his face, but that didn't mean much with the self-contained Rosier.

Today's Divination lesson was primarily lecture-based, much to my relief. I took notes with more detail than usual. Anything to distract me from the boy sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Professor Vablatsky's voice rang through the room, deep and melodic. "If the querent has a particular topic, such as love, career, or financial matters that they wish you to discuss, a spread based on that particular topic may be a better option. For instance, if the querent wishes to know about the tone of their romantic relationship at the moment, you may use a single card spread."

From the moment Dovetail had left Snape and me standing in that corridor, I'd dreaded coming to Divination. At first, I'd clung to the thin hope that Dovetail wouldn't find a free moment to tell Rosier about what she'd witnessed. Then, I'd at least have a couple days to come up with a good lie. However, at lunch, Remus had told me that he'd seen the seventh year Slytherins arguing in History of Magic that morning, and I knew any hope I'd had of Rosier remaining ignorant had gone out the window.

"For this demonstration, I will ask about my career." Professor Vablatsky flipped up on card onto her desk, and then said, "For my single card spread, I drew the Lovers upright. Miss Johnson, how would you interpret this card for me?"

What could I tell Rosier? Could I pin the blame all on Snape? Say that Dovetail had misunderstood our conversation? Would Rosier believe any of that hogwash? Probably not. He would read the lie in my expression.

"Yes, Professor Vablatsky," said Lucille Johnson, in a tone eager to please. "The Lovers in the upright position represents a union or partnership, but it can also represent choices. This reading seems to indicate that you are in a partnership beneficial to your career, professor, but you may also be at a crossroads. It may be that you face a decision in regards to that relationship that might require some sacrifice on your part."

What could I do? Did I have to wait around and hope that Snape's anger at Elise Flint would cause him to cut ties with his Slytherin friends? The problem was that Rosier knew I'd been the one to switch Lily's potion ingredients. A few words from Rosier, and Snape's anger at Flint would turn to me.

A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered the feeling of Snape's hand around my wrist, his fingers digging deep to the point of painful.

"Excellent, Miss Johnson. Ten points to Ravenclaw. As you can see, the single card reading gives a more ambiguous answer. If the querent desires more details to understand the situation, then a spread using more cards may be required."

Would I have to beg Rosier to keep my secret? If Rosier told Snape that I was responsible for the potion, then I would tell people that Rosier had interrogated me in a broom cupboard. Of course, then Rosier would start saying that I wasn't the real Marlene McKinnon and I would start saying his family were Death Eaters. Mutually assured destruction. Would I have to bet that he wouldn't take that road? Was that my only option?

I stole glances at Rosier. He hardly bothered to take notes, jotting down a few words here and there. Instead, he flipped through the deck of hand-painted tarot cards. He stopped at one card, apparently the one he'd been searching for. His gaze hardened as he looked over the picture.

I lifted my head, trying to see which card had caught his attention.

Rosier noticed, and a faint smile crossed his face. After a quick glance at the professor, Rosier slipped the card into the pocket of his black robes. He then sent me a smug look, as if daring me to tell Professor Vablatsky what he'd done.

The cold stare of Dovetail flashed through my mind. You always were an eyesore, McKinnon.

Rosier knew. He knew what I'd done.

I returned to my notes and refused to acknowledge Rosier's existence for the remainder of class.

When the lecture ended, there were only fifteen minutes of class remaining, Rather than start practicing, Professor Vablatsky let us leave early. I shoved my textbook and notes into my bookbag and flew through the door. I could hear rustling sounds and quick footsteps behind me.

My pace sped up when I reached the spiral staircase. I had to get out of there. I didn't want to face him. Not yet. I still needed time—

A firm hand landed on my shoulder. I didn't have to look back to know Rosier had caught me.

"I can't. James and I made plans to meet before Charms." I'd made those plans on purpose, so Rosier couldn't drag me off to that godforsaken broom cupboard. If only Vablatsky hadn't let us out early. Then I could have fled to the sanctuary of Charms class. Instead, Rosier knew I had fifteen minutes to spare.

"Would you rather have this conversation in the corridor?" asked Rosier.

His voice was surprisingly calm. I glanced back, expecting to see anger or frustration in his expression, but instead, he looked at me with what might have been pity.

"Uh, excuse us."

The light, airy voice of Joanna Stebbins caused both Rosier and I to twist around. Our two Ravenclaw classmates stood on the stone staircase behind us. They glanced from Rosier to me, their expressions in equal parts nervous and curious.

"Sorry," said Johnson. "We didn't want to interrupt, but you were blocking the stairs."

"Oh." I stepped back against the wall to make room for them to pass.

Rosier did the same, and we watched as the two Ravenclaws continued down the stairs. Johnson threw a glance over her shoulder at us and then leaned over to whisper excitedly in Stebbins's ear.

I fought back a sigh. I hoped there weren't any strange rumors about Rosier and me floating around the Ravenclaw common room. I needed to be more careful about who saw me with Rosier.

"We should leave the stairwell," I said. I didn't want to run into Professor Vablatsky as well. Then, maybe the whole teaching staff would know about us arguing after Divination.

Rosier led the way down the stairwell and the trap door. Once we reached the seventh floor, he started towards the all-too-familiar broom cupboard.

As soon as I saw the small door and brass knob, I grabbed Rosier's wrist and said, "No, I can't stay long."

I refused to enter that broom cupboard, certain I'd end up in another Body-Bind Curse. Thankfully, Rosier didn't push the matter. He pulled me to the side, out of sight of the main hallway.

With a flick of his wand, he cast the muffling spell around us and then he said, "What a snake you are."

I let go of his wrist and took a step back. We stood in a small alcove between two pillars. A statute of a wizard wearing a necklace of stars looked over us as we spoke in hushed voices.

"You should have been in Slytherin," said Rosier.

"To join your little pureblood gang?" I sneered. "My ma is muggleborn, in case you forgot."

Rosier didn't both responding to this. Instead, he said, "Edythe came to find me and John before History of Magic this morning. I suppose I don't need to tell you what story she had for us."

"She stumbled across Snape and I talking." I didn't see any point in lying about that. "Snape has been worried about Lily, and he came to me asking how she's been doing."

"Edythe heard more than enough, Marlene. I can put two and two together. You switched the ingredients to drive a wedge between Severus and his fellow Slytherins, and you're using Lily Evans as bait to get him to separate from us completely."

I didn't bother to confirm or deny. Rosier knew the truth of his own words.

"Why?" asked Rosier.

"To stop him from becoming a Death Eater."

"I didn't know you cared so much. Severus must feel flattered."

"I don't want anyone to become a Death Eater. Even you, you knobdobber."

A faint smile crossed Rosier's face. For once, his smile felt genuine.

I scowled, ignoring the discomfort in my chest.

"What is the real reason you want to isolate Severus?" asked Rosier. "You're not so generous as to go through all this effort and guilt for no personal benefit."

Rather than answer, I said, "I'm surprised you're not angry. I know you're protective of Snape. Shouldn't you be raging at me, telling me to keep my distance?"

Rosier's mouth quirked up into a humorless smile. "I was angry at first. I have my own reasons for looking out for Severus. But then Edythe told me what she'd overheard, and I realized there was no need to be angry. Your scheming will never succeed."

My head jerked at that. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't realized it yet?" asked Rosier. He sounded genuinely surprised, as if he expected better of me.

I didn't want to give him the satisfaction, so I kept my mouth shut.

Rosier frowned. Then, he pulled the tarot card he'd stolen earlier out of his robes and slipped it into my hands.

I glanced up at him, at the unreadable expression on his face. Then, I turned the card over and saw the carefully painted image of a man and a woman wrapped in a tight embrace. They stood beneath an oak tree, its lush branches spread wide across the top of the card, forming an umbrella over the couple. Rosier had given me the Lovers card.

"What's this?" I asked. "Are you confessing to me?"

"You won't succeed," said Rosier, "because you've misunderstood Severus from the beginning."

We stood less than a meter apart between the walls of the small alcove. The faint buzz of the muffliato spell surrounded us, making my head feel thick and stuffy. We were roughly the same height, so I could stare directly into Rosier's dark eyes as I tried to puzzle through his words.

I looked backed down at the Lovers card. The Lovers in the upright position represents a union or partnership, but it can also represent choices, a crossroad. Why was Rosier so convinced I would fail? What had I misunderstood about Snape? What did the Lovers have to do with it? I doubted Rosier intended it to represent a crossroad, so then what union would cause Snape to—

"Oh," I said. "I see."

He was such an arrogant dobber, too confident in his own assessment of the world. Unfortunately, his assessment had been horribly correct so far.

"And you called me a snake," I muttered.

"Well, I am in Slytherin."

"I—"

"What are you doing to Marlene?" a voice called out.

Rosier's wand was out of his pocket and pointed at someone behind me even before the question had finished being shouted.

The speed of Rosier's reflexes shocked me, but before I could even form a coherent thought, a hand had grabbed me by the forearm and dragged me out of alcove. The muffliato spell broke, and the buzzing noise disappeared.

I stumbled over my own feet, clutching the Lovers card to my chest to hide the picture. Then, I saw the familiar round glasses, hazel eyes, and unruly black hair. It seemed my headaches were only just beginning.

"Potter," said Rosier. He held his aspen wand in front of him, but made no move to cast a spell. "Why are you dragging my Divination partner around by the arm?"

James pushed me out of harm's way with his left hand, while with his right, he aimed his wand at Rosier's chest.

"Me dragging her around?" sneered James. "Why did you have her cornered in an isolated corridor?"

James's expression had been distorted by rage and a hint of worry. Rosier, on the other hand, appeared undisturbed. A mask of cold indifference had settled over his face as he regarded James and me.

Finally, Rosier lowered his wand slightly and asked, "Should the Head Boy be threatening students for having a conversation?"

I sent Rosier an annoyed look. Then, trying to keep my voice calm, I said, "James, you're misunderstanding. I accidentally took a tarot card with me out of the North Tower, and Rosier came to tell me."

Because James refused to take his eyes off Rosier for even a second, I lifted the Lovers card so he could see it in his peripheral vision. I made sure to only show the back. I felt that my headache would only grow bigger if James knew the stolen card in question was the Lovers.

When he saw that I was unharmed, James finally stopped pointing his wand at Rosier. He glanced over at me and said, "You shouldn't be alone in a corridor with this tosser."

I opened my mouth, but no words came to me.

"Have I cleared my name then?" asked Rosier.

"You can go," snapped James.

"Don't worry, Potter. I won't wait around for an apology." Rosier left the alcove without looking back.

James and I watched until Rosier was out of earshot. Then, James asked, "Are you really all right, Marle? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No, he didn't," I said firmly. "He just came to talk to me about the card." I shoved the Lovers card into my bookbag before James could get a glimpse of the picture. I'd return it next class.

James breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "I know he's your Divination partner, but you can never be too careful. He's friends with all those blood-purity wankers. He is one of those blood-purity wankers. Did you forget your mum's muggleborn? Just because you're Divination partners with him, it doesn't mean you're exempted from being attacked in some empty corridor."

From what I'd heard, being Rosier's Divination partner did exempt me from being attacked in some empty corridor. However, I wasn't going to tell James that.

"I'll be more careful next time," I lied.

James seemed satisfied with my promise, at least. Though, this definitely wouldn't be the last I heard of this incident. If James kept this a secret, I'd eat my Hufflepuff badge. No doubt I'd have to deal with lectures from the rest of our friends when dinner came around.

"Come on," I said. "We need to get to Charms soon. You had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

As we started towards the moving staircases, James gave me a sheepish smile and said, "Right, I forgot about that. I did want to talk to you."

Something in his tone caught my attention. There was a lightness in his voice that had overcome even his anger at Rosier. When he looked at me with a small, shy smile, I knew exactly what James was going to tell me.

My hand touched the top of my bookbag as I pictured the stolen tarot card sandwiched between my textbooks.

"Sirius also knows, mind," said James. "But that's because Lily slipped up and told him. Even though, she was the one who didn't want everyone to know right away. I would've shouted it from the North Tower if she'd let me. But then, we thought we should tell you, because it wouldn't be fair if Sirius knew and you didn't. And because Lily told Sirius, I get the honor of telling you." James grinned proudly. "We're dating now."

"You and Sirius?"

"Don't try to mess with me. I'm too happy to be messed with." James's smile didn't falter in the slightest. "I told Lily that I fancied her, and she said she fancied me too."

The Lovers.

That tally-washer. How long had Rosier known? I supposed having an outsider's perspective helped.

It seemed obvious now, in hindsight. Lily had been unusually cheerful after leaving the Hospital Wing, and over this last week, James and Lily had avoided one another in public. While the rest of us made bets about when they'd get together, they'd happily begun dating in secret.

How much longer would it stay a secret? The only reasons for James and Lily not to tell their friends were for privacy and to pull one over on all us busybodies. One day, they'd grow sick of sneaking around, and their relationship would become public knowledge.

What would happen once word got out? I knew a certain Slytherin who would not be pleased.

Was that what Rosier had meant when he said I hadn't understood Snape? That Snape would dislike James and Lily dating so much that he'd stop wanting revenge on the culprit? Surely not. This was the same Snape who would betray Voldemort and spend years passing information to Dumbledore after Lily's death. His Patronus had been a doe for her.

Still, it was probably better to do damage control with Snape before James and Lily announced their relationship to the world. Maybe the news would go down better if Snape heard it from me.

Despite my inner turmoil, I managed a smile for James. "Congratulations! It's been over a week now, right?"

"Did you know?" asked James, suddenly panicked. "Were we obvious?"

I managed a laugh even as I felt my headache start to grow. "No, I suspected something had happened between you two, but I didn't realize you had already started dating."

"I confessed to her when she was in the Hospital Wing," James spoke quickly. "I know, I know. Bad timing. She was hurt and in a vulnerable place. I shouldn't have done it then, but it slipped out. I had been so worried about her, mind. I didn't want to miss the chance to tell her how much she means to me."

So, the confession had come about because Lily had been injured. But this incident wouldn't have occurred in the books, because I wasn't in the books. Had my actions caused the time when James and Lily would start dating to occur earlier?

"Thank you, Marle," said James with surprisingly seriousness.

I blinked. "For what?"

A warm smile spread across his face as he walked beside me. "Thank you for believing in me and speaking up for me and looking after me all these years."

His thank you wasn't for me, of course. It was for the real Marlene McKinnon. But I smiled and said, "You're welcome," all the same.

"Look at him," said James, his voice dark with loathing. "'I won't wait around for your apology.' Who was going to apologize to you, you prick."

Dorcas cut her steak with more force than necessary as she said, "He's insufferable. I had to be his partner once in Charms. He always looked so amused whenever I cast the spell wrong. Didn't even try to help me."

"Well, you probably would have called him arrogant if he had," Mary couldn't help but point out.

"All those years of being duel champion have gone to his head," said Sirius. "A good Bat-Boogey Hex could cure him."

"I like the way you think," said James.

My friends glowered over at the Slytherin table. Rosier took a sip from his goblet of pumpkin juice while listening to whatever story Simon Goyle was retelling. Rosier either hadn't noticed my friends' murderous stares, or had noticed and decided to simply ignore them.

I knew I couldn't trust James to keep the incident a secret. As soon as we'd reached the Great Hall for dinner, he'd recounted the story of finding me alone in a corridor with Rosier. Immediately, Lily had started fussing over me, while Sirius and Dorcas had started making revenge plans. Only Mary had actually listened to my lie about the tarot card. Remus and Peter hadn't arrived yet, so I'd probably have to hear James tell the whole story all over again. My headache just kept getting bigger and bigger.

I held back a sigh as I turned my mashed potatoes over and over again on my plate. "Are we going to spend all dinner talking about what a dobber Evan Rosier is?"

"He deserves it," said James. "How dare he corner you like that—"

"We were having a conversation," I said. "We're Divination partners. We have conversations twice a week."

"He could have been using the tarot card as an excuse," said Mary. "Who knows what he might have done if James hadn't come along."

I snorted softly. "Yeah. He could have put me in Body-Bind Curse and locked me in a broom cupboard for twelve hours."

"Or he could've hit you with one of those nasty curses Snape likes to use," said James. "Who knows what book on dark magic he found them in."

"Or he could have tried an Unforgivable Curse." A shadow crossed Mary's face as she spoke. She obviously hadn't forgotten what Mulciber had done to her fifth year.

"He wouldn't have done that," I said. "We're Divination partners."

"You can't know that," said Lily.

James nodded along with her words. "These Slytherins can hex someone to oblivion and then sit beside their victims in class without a hint of guilt."

"You shouldn't see the best in people all the time, Marlene," added Sirius.

"James, I can't believe you drew your wand on Rosier." Dorcas placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Did he try to hex you?

I glanced in the direction of the Slytherin table. Rosier still ignored us, but I noticed another pair of eyes watching me. My gaze skimmed down the table, past the group of gossiping first years, to find Snape staring at me. He sat alone, far away from his usual crowd. His thick brows were furrowed in anger, and his lips stretched thin. I frowned and tilted my head to the side in a silent question. In response, his expression twisted into a snarl.

"Oh, here's Remus and Peter," cried Mary.

I tore my gaze away from Snape and turned to look down the length of the Gryffindor table. They made an uneven pair, with Remus towering over Peter. Remus had a slightly frustrated expression on his long face, while Peter bounced on the balls of his feet, excitement radiating from him.

Once they reached us, Peter slid into the seat beside me, and asked, "James, Lily, is it true you two have been snogging behind the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor?"

James coughed. "What?"

Lily's ears turned bright red, and she suddenly became very interested in her boiled peas and carrots.

"What are you on about?" asked Dorcas, while Mary added, "Who's been snogging behind the statue of Boris the Bewildered?"

"We're all bewildered," muttered Sirius. He was completely unphased by the news, and when he caught my glance, he sent me a conspiratorial grin.

"James and Lily," explained Remus. "Emmeline Vance told us the rumor as we left the library. Apparently, the whole school knows."

"Well, that was fast," said Sirius dryly.

"Rumor," I repeated the word slowly, my brain trying to catch up. I'd just been told about their secret relationship not five hours ago, and now apparently, the whole school knew.

"She heard it from Emika Yamamoto who heard it from Persephone Rowle who apparently saw you," said Peter. He shook his head. "I can't believe we needed to hear about this third hand."

"Well, we're hearing about it fourth hand," said Mary.

"Is this true?" asked Dorcas as she turned to a red-faced Lily.

"Well, maybe." Lily looked up from her boiled peas and carrots. "Yes?"

James grinned at her and then announced to the table, "Yes. It's been ten days now."

I could barely process the conversation. Apparently, the whole school knows. Ah, so that's why Snape glared at me with such loathing.

"You kept this a secret from us for ten whole days?" asked Mary.

"I didn't think James had it in him," admitted Remus. "I thought he'd be handing out posters to let the whole school know."

Lily buried her face in her hands, while James laughed and said, "No, I kept my trap shut. Actually, it was Lily who spilled the secret first."

"To me," said Sirius with a smug smile.

"You tricked me into it," snapped Lily, finally managing to contribute a full sentence to the conversation. When she saw our questioning stares, she mumbled, "He bribed me with chocolate."

"Expensive chocolate," added Sirius.

"So, you told Sirius but not us." Despite his words, Peter didn't sound mad at all, his eyes shone as he looked at Lily and James. I couldn't reconcile this image of a boy so happy for his friends with the person who would sell them out the Voldemort. What would happen over the next four years?

"I'm sorry," said Lily. "We planned to tell you eventually, but we figured you had all placed bets, and we wanted some privacy in the beginning."

"Oh, we definitely placed bets," said Sirius. He clapped a hand on Remus's shoulder and said, "Remus here owes me five sickles. And I need to have a word with Ludo Bagman later."

"Ludo Bagman too?" asked Lily.

'Well, I can understand that," said Dorcas. She had apparently decided not to mention the bet between her and Mary. "Everyone's been wondering about you two since ever third year. Remember James's public announcement outside the Transfiguration classroom?"

If possible, Lily's face turned even redder, while James roared with laughter. Upon hearing him, Lily turned her head to the side and sent him a small, private smile.

"They're flirting already." Dorcas let out a resigned sigh. She glanced across the table at Mary and said, "This is going to be as bad as when Reggie ate with us all the time."

"We won't be that bad," said Lily indignantly.

"Reggie and I didn't flirt all the time!" cried Mary.

Then, amongst all the cheerful banter, Peter looked over at me and said, "You don't seem surprised, Marlene."

Torn between happiness for the new couple and shock at the anger I'd seen in Snape's expression, I could barely focus on the conversation around me. I found myself saying, "Ah, no. I found out earlier today. Uh, James told me."

"Well, fat lot of good it was," said James. "I didn't expect that the whole school would find out right after."

Remus sent James an amused smile. "That's what you get for being careless. You got caught by Persephone of all people."

Persephone Rowle.

A mocking smile crept onto my face. I'd been outplayed.

I wouldn't have realized if Snape hadn't told me about Persephone Rowle. Rosier had probably told Rowle about James and Lily during their History of Magic lesson this morning. He'd planned the rumors to spread before we'd even set foot in Divination class together.

As Marlene's friends celebrated the long-awaited couple, I struggled to hold in my bitter laughter. All my planning and scheming, and Rosier had managed to drive a wedge between Snape and I within a matter of hours.

And he had called me a snake.

I looked over at the Slytherin table. Rosier was still chatting with Goyle, while Dovetail and Avery sat a little ways from them. Dovetail had her face set in a grimace, while Avery rubbed her shoulders and seemed to be comforting her. Even further down the Slytherin table, I spotted Black chatting with Wilkes, Burke, and Madler. They smiled as they spoke, looking like regular schoolboys and nothing like the arseholes who'd cast an Unforgivable Curse on me.

Past a section of first and third years, I once again found Snape seated by himself. He pushed his dinner around his plate with his fork. Then, slowly, his gaze raised to meet mine. I couldn't mistake the emotion in those black eyes for anything but hate.

What could I do about this? Perhaps Snape thought I'd kept Lily and James's relationship a secret. Perhaps he struggled with his broken heart and wanted to pin the blame on me. Perhaps he'd come to believe that isolation from his friends was too high a cost for his revenge.

No doubt Snape would be angry when he confronted me about this. He'd probably yell. Maybe grab me by the arm again. Hopefully not hard enough to leave bruises.

But maybe if I explained, if I spoke with reason, he'd see that Lily could still be friends with him even while she was dating James. In the books, Snape had loved Lily even after she married James. James had changed. He'd grown up and deflated his head a bit. That's why Lily had fallen for him. Snape could change too. That's what all this had been about. Helping Snape change so that he could help me in the future. Snape loved Lily, and he would love her for the rest of his life. A few little tricks by Rosier couldn't change that.

Judging by Snape's glare, if I didn't talk to him soon, I ran the risk of getting hexed in the back. Better to get this over with than let the anger fester.

While Sirius started planning the common room-wide celebration of James and Lily finally getting together, I picked up my bookbag off the floor and announced, "I left a textbook in classroom eleven. I'm going to run and grab it. I'll be back in a bit."

My friends stared up at me with expressions of surprise. Mary had her goblet half raised her mouth, and Peter gawked at me with a mouthful of food.

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked James, his eyes wide with worry. The incident with Rosier must have shocked him more than I thought.

I smiled and said, "No need. Stay here and celebrate. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, you can come look for me."

Before they could utter another word of protest, I abandoned the Gryffindor table and headed for the large double-doors. I stepped into the corridor beyond, not bothering to check if Snape had followed, and then started towards classroom eleven. Hufflepuff students frequently walked by since this way led to our common room. This meant I could call for help if needed.

Every muscle in my body ached with exhaustion, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up under the blankets of my four-poster bed and sleep for twenty-four hours. Of course, I doubted I could manage more than a few hours. The inevitable nightmares would leave me shaking, sweating, and painfully awake.

I reached the door of classroom eleven, but rather than go in, I took a right into the empty corridor beside it. No portraits looked out at me in this corridor, only a few suits of armor with swords in their hands. The undying candles cast an orange glow on the metal, making the knights seem wrong, almost demonic.

I heard footsteps to my left, and I look over to see the pale face of Snape. The flickering flames cast strange shadows across his face, accentuating his hook nose, high cheekbones, and long face. His whole body seemed to tremble with barely contained anger, and his eyes flashed as he looked over me.

"I didn't know either," I said before he could get a word out. "James told me this afternoon."

His hands curled into fists. "You made a fool of me."

"No, I didn't. I want to help Lily too—"

"Edythe was furious. She called me a traitor, a mud-lover, a—" He broke off, took a deep shuddering breath, and then continued, "My friends couldn't understand why I'd want to find the culprit, why I'd want to help Lily. Mud likes mud." He spat out the words with disgust. "Rosier couldn't understand why I'd work with you. They hate me. I gave up my friends for Lily, and this is how she repays me."

My hands curled around the strap of my bookbag. Lily hadn't asked Snape to do anything for her. It'd been all my words, all my encouragement, but I wasn't going to point that out. Instead, I said, "Just because she's dating James, it doesn't mean Lily's a different person."

"Dating that half-soaked tosser? Lily would never. Not the Lily I know. It was bad enough when she called Potter a friend but now— That's not the Lily I know, not the Lily I grew up with. Do you remember what he did to me? What he and his arse-faced friends did to me?" Snape lunged forward and grabbed me by the shoulder. His fingers clenched down to the point of pain. "Do you remember, McKinnon? They hexed me. They jinxed me. They called me Snivellus. They humiliated me."

"I'm sorry they did that. You didn't deserve it. They also didn't deserve the hexes you threw at them as well." I tried to keep my voice gentle, but I couldn't stop the tremble of fear that snuck its way in. Snape's fingers curled into my flesh. Familiar, all too familiar. I could feel the thick fingers closing around my throat— No, Now wasn't the time to remember that house. No, now I had to focus on the raging boy in front of me.

"You're laughing with them, aren't you?" sneered Snape. "I helped you, I worked with you— And you're laughing with Potter and his friends. Edythe and Rosier were furious with me. But I believed you, like a fool. I wanted to help Lily, but she's probably laughing with them too."

"No, she's not." With each word that came out of my mouth, Snape's grip on my shoulder grew tighter. Desperately, I tried to maintain my calm, confident tone. "They've changed. James, Remus, Peter, Sirius. Lily saw the change in them. You can change too. And then—"

Snape shoved me backwards.

I breathed a sigh of relief as his hand left my shoulder, but my relief didn't last long.

Snape reached into his robes and pulled out his ebony wand.

Panic shot through my body. The memory of the Cruciatus Curse still burned in my skin. And then, there was sectumsempra. The Half-Blood Prince spell that caused deep lacerations, like a sword cut.

Forgetting all pretense of being calm and confident, I threw my hands in front of my face and cried, "I told my friends to come look for me if I don't return soon. Do you want to get expelled?"

Snape didn't cast a curse. Instead, in a voice that quivered with hate, he said, "You planned this."

"Planned what?" My heart thundered in my chest. For a mad moment, I thought Snape knew the truth. Rosier had told him that I switched the potion ingredients.

But then, Snape said, "You wanted to get my hopes up. Tell me that Lily would forgive me. But you knew all along that James would get her. But you'd only let me find out after my friends had turned against me."

You won't succeed, because you've misunderstood Severus from the beginning.

It was then, looking at Snape's white face, contorted with rage, that I realized I'd lost him.

No, I realized that I'd never had him in the first place.

Rosier had been right. From the beginning, I had misunderstood Snape so completely that my plan would never succeed.

I'd ignored a simple truth. In the books, Snape had betrayed Voldemort after Lily had died. He'd spent the rest of his life mourning the death of the only woman he'd loved. But I'd ignored one detail: Lily hadn't been the only person killed that night in Godric's Hollow.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I overestimated you. I thought you loved Lily more than you hated James. My mistake."

Snape hit me with the Cruciatus Curse.

I should have seen it coming. But I believed he still had the common sense not to curse me after the warning I'd given. How foolish of me. Truly, I'd never understood Severus Snape.

The white-hot knife of the Cruciatus Curse felt as though it'd been stabbed into my back, just below the right shoulder blade. More knives joined, twisting, turning, digging through my body until my knees gave out beneath me and I collapsed onto the cold, hard ground.

Snape crouched down beside me. He didn't yell anymore. Instead, his voice had taken on a shaking fury. "What do you know, McKinnon? What do you know about what Lily means to me? Do you know what it was like in that house? What it was like growing up with those parents? Do you know how it feels knowing that everyone in school laughs at you? Lily was the only one—"

My fingers curled, nails scraping against the stone. I should've kept my mouth shut. I shouldn't have let the anger take over and said what I did. The curse twisted its knives into me. I didn't want to die. I wasn't dreaming, but the memories of the rain-soaked road came flooding back to me. I didn't want to die again.

I couldn't hear what Snape said after that. The pain seemed to fade out, and my vision filled with green light. I wouldn't die. Not again.

And then, a clear voice cut through the green light, "Severus, stop it."

The Cruciatus Curse lifted almost immediately.

One by one, the white-hot knives withdrew, and I was left lying on the floor with only the memory of pain.

I could hear heated comments being exchanged overhead, but my mind wasn't ready to process them. Finally, I rolled over enough to see the familiar face of Evan Rosier.

He stood a few paces away from me. He didn't look at me, instead keeping his focus on the taller boy in front of him. In his usual polished tone, he said, "Even if you're upset, Severus, you can't go cursing my Divination partner. What if you get caught? Think about what you're risking."

"Who cares?" snapped Snape. "So what if I get expelled? Edythe and John won't—"

"They still need your help," said Rosier. He glanced down at me. I lay sprawled on my side, pretending to be dead. Our eyes met, and then Rosier turned back to Snape, saying, "Go back to common room for now. We'll discuss this later."

Snape now remembered my existence. The hate still burned in his eyes, but he listened to Rosier. He sent me one last ferocious glare that told me this wouldn't be the end. Then, he walked away, leaving Rosier and me alone.

Even as my body trembled, overwhelmed by the memory of the Cruciatus Curse, my brain tried to process everything that'd just been said. Dovetail and Avery needed Snape's help with something. Perhaps this related to the conversation I'd overheard when I'd first traded placed with Marlene. The one where they'd said Snape was a better option than Goyle. Perhaps this conversation had been more important than I'd first thought.

"Try not to think too much," said Rosier in a dry voice.

My limbs protested as I hoisted myself off the floor. I let out a cough. My frustration and anger mixed with pain, making breathing even more difficult. "You knobdobber."

"Is that what you say to someone who helped you?" asked Rosier.

"I'd thank you, if you weren't the cause of this." I tried to move myself into a sitting position, but my body wasn't quite ready to support itself yet, and I collapsed against the wall.

"I can help you." Rosier pulled out his aspen wand.

I didn't want to accept any more of his help, but if it meant relieving this pain, I could put aside my pride.

When I nodded my head, Rosier waved the wand in a half-arc. Immediately a soft and warm feeling filled my body. It was the same spell Regulus Black had used after his dreadful friends had tortured me.

"Really, you Slytherins need to stop cursing me," I muttered.

"I agree," said Rosier. "But you brought this one on yourself. Why did you leave the Great Hall alone? You knew Severus would follow."

"I did tell reinforcement to come find me."

"Reinforcements?"

"My friends should come looking for me soon. You should leave."

However, Rosier made no move to go. He glanced over his shoulder and said, "Your reinforcements are late. This wasn't a well thought out plan."

"Snape would've found a way to corner me sometime. Better to choose the time myself." My eyes narrowed. "You spread the rumor, didn't you?"

Rosier smiled. "Persephone Rowle spread the rumor. How unfortunate for you. But I don't think you could have kept the relationship hidden even if you'd learned of it sooner."

I didn't argue the point. "You're a real arse, you know that?"

"You approached Severus on your own. If you'd asked me, I would've told you that he would never betray his fellow Slytherins."

"That's not true." My voice came out as little more than a hiss.

Rosier surveyed me with his usual unreadable expression. "I'll amend my statement. He would never betray us for Potter's girlfriend."

I wanted to argue. To explain that, in the books, Snape had betrayed the Death Eaters. But my protests were meaningless. In the end, Rosier had been right. So what if Snape betrayed the Death Eaters after that night in Godric's Hollow? The Snape before me now was a teenager who loathed James and desperately wanted the approval of his friends. Perhaps one day, Snape would realize how important Lily was to him. But that day certainly wasn't coming any time soon.

"If I'd known what you'd intended sooner," said Rosier, "I would have stopped you."

My eyes narrowed. "You would have stopped me from helping him?"

"I would've stopped you from making an enemy of Severus. He never wanted to be rescued. He's happy with his friends."

"He wasn't happy without Lily. Why do you think he came crawling to me after her potion exploded?"

"Severus wants Evans on his terms, no one else's. As long as she's with Potter—which we all knew would happen—Severus will never forgive her." Rosier didn't get loud when he got angry. He didn't shout or speak quickly. Instead, his voice turned cold, and the shutters went down behind his eyes, blocking out all emotion. "I will do my best to convince Severus to let you be, but I cannot make promises. He wasn't raised in the Sacred Twenty-Eight. He wasn't trained with obedience."

"I don't need your help," I snapped.

"You—"

"What's going on?"

I had a moment of déjà vu as the sharp voice carried through the corridor. Why was everyone so determined to find Rosier and me in suspicious situations today?

I lifted my head to see two figures in Gryffindor robes standing at the end of the corridor. The candlelight fell on their faces to reveal the mousey-features of Peter Pettigrew and the proud nose and high-cheekbones of Sirius Black. Peter kept looking at me with frantic eyes, his hands opening and closing as if he had to hold himself back from running to help me. For once, Sirius didn't wear a confident smile; instead, his intense gaze fixated on the wand in Rosier's hand.

"It was not me," said Rosier at the same time that I said, "It wasn't him."

"Who was it then?" sneered Sirius. "Peeves? The Bloody Baron?"

"Another Slytherin," said Rosier calmly.

"It was Snape," I said.

Rosier sent me an annoyed glance, but I ignored him. I wasn't in the mood to play along with his games.

I placed one hand on the stone wall and used that to push myself into a standing position. "Apparently, Snape is not a James and Lily shipper."

All three of them gave me blank stares.

I wasn't going to explain the terminology of my Potterhead friend, so I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Rosier stopped Snape from hexing me, Snape left, then you lot came along. Don't fret so much."

"Snape hexed you?" asked Peter. He took a step closer but the sight of Rosier's aspen wand stopped him in his tracks. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." I turned to Rosier and plastered a smile onto my face. "Thanks for your help."

"No need to thank him," said Sirius darkly. "He probably encouraged Snape."

"I'm being accused of all sorts of things today," scoffed Rosier. He glanced at me and said, "I'm glad I could help. I'll see you around."

I nodded my head. I kept my expression warm, as if I was actually grateful, but hopefully, Rosier would notice the strain around my eyes as I held off my anger.

Rosier pocketed his wand and started down the corridor, but as he drew even with Sirius, he paused. I couldn't see his expression, but Rosier's voice was clear as he said, "You should talk to your little brother more often. He misses you."

My head jerked up at the mention of Regulus Black. It was an involuntary motion, one that betrayed some of my real feelings, but thankfully, Rosier's back was to me and he couldn't see it.

"Get lost," said Sirius. He spoke in a careless drawl, as if Rosier's words had nothing to do with him.

Rosier didn't bother to say anymore and walked away.

Peter rushed to my side, grabbing my arm to help stabilize me. His brown eyes looked me over, searching for any physical injuries.

"I'm fine," I said again.

"That arrogant prick," muttered Sirius. His voice sounded a bit different than usual. He barely seemed to notice Peter and me. Instead, he stared at the spot where Rosier had disappeared around the corner.

I wanted to ask. I wanted to know what lay between Sirius and his brother. Why had Rosier encouraged Sirius to speak to his brother? Did Rosier want to repair that relationship? No way. Knowing Rosier, this was some elaborate scheme to separate the brothers even further. If I let myself think of Rosier as a half-way decent person, I'd fall for his tricks one of these days. If I hadn't already.

"James was right to worry," said Peter, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I can't believe Snape attacked you just because James and Lily started dating."

Well, it wasn't just because of that.

"Snivellus has always been a frustrated little worm," said Sirius. His movements were lazy, but as he checked to make sure I was all right, I could see concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine," I said.

My words were for my sake more than theirs.

I'd well and truly fucked up this time. I'd relied too much on my knowledge of the books. I'd been overconfident in Snape's love for Lily and believed too much in my own ability to persuade Snape. I'd been too excited about my knowledge, about saving the McKinnons, and about winning Snape over that I'd acted without thinking things through.

And where had it gotten me?

I'd lost any chance with Snape and probably earned his eternal enmity. And I'd revealed some of my goals to Rosier. And now my friends would be suspicious of my relationship with him.

It was fine. Everything was fine. I just had to keep telling myself that.

I glanced down at the boy who stood beside me, asking over and over again if I needed help. It was fine. Even if I'd lost Snape, I still had Peter on my side.

A/N: This is not the last time Marlene will get cursed by a Slytherin. This is also not the last time Rosier's going to get interrupted by a Gryffindor. Life's tough all around.

This is the end of Snape's arc for now. I'm assuming y'all noticed, but the Upright and Reversed chapters of each card are meant to be related. Usually a consequences or a result of something from one chapter showing up in the other. The chapter titles are not random lol.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! I really appreciate it!