January 20, 1975 - Hogwarts

Severus breathed deeply, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Room of Demands. In front of him, against the soft, decorative rug, lay two sheets of parchment, written over with instructions from his grandfather.

Guides, outlined by one of the few remaining masters, regarding the meditations that were at the foundation of the magic of Occlumency.

With the business that was usual at the return to school, he had not previously had the time to slip away from his friends. He had tried the meditations in his dorm room, but found that even the smallest sound was enough to disturb his focus, to break his attention.

It was better in the room, the quiet seeming to permeate even his very skin.

In… Out... In… Out…

He blinked his eyes open slowly, his awareness returning with the soft sound of something falling against the carpet. Strangely enough, the noise had not startled him, like before, rather allowing him to gently exit the blankness that occupied his mind during the meditations.

Reaching out to grab the vial from the ground, Severus examined its contents cautiously, unwilling to trust whatever potion - for it was clearly an elixir of some kind- the room had decided to gift him with.

Why would it give me something I didn't ask for?

Feeling extremely foolish, Severus turned his head upward, incredulous that he was even considering asking. It couldn't answer him after all. It was just a room, it wasn't sentient–

"Should I drink this?" his voice, oddly quiet and scratchy, echoed too-loudly in the room. There was no response, and why would there be–

Golden light pulsed across the walls, crisscrossing the ceiling like spells during a duel, before disappearing into sparks. The room warmed, Severus' skin slowly heating until it felt as if he were sitting against the fireplace at home, curled against his mother's side.

"You– you're alive?" he asked, his voice rising slightly in hysteria as he considered his situation. He was talking. To a room. And the room was… answering? Had someone slipped him something?

The room pulsed again, quicker, but with a cooler tone of gold, in response. He got the distinct impression that it was saying yes. But… not quite?

"Is there a better way to… communicate with you?" he asked, feeling extremely foolish.

The walls turned a deep shade of orange for a second before returning back to stone. What was that supposed to mean?

Instead of clarifying, the room dropped another vial of the potion. On top of his head.

Scowling darkly at the walls, Severus grabbed the second bottle from where it had started to roll away. He was sure he had seen the potion before, but where–?

Merlin above, I'm an idiot.

"You want me to try the meditations again?" Severus asked, annoyance flashing through him when the room answered yes. He hadn't been able to sense anything when he'd tried with… Cassie. There was no reason why they would work now.

"No. I'm not making a fool of myself again," he told the room, making to stand and leave. He wouldn't waste his time.

The room cooled, and he found himself frozen, unable to move his legs. Panic rose within him for a second before he could control it, breathing deeply and clearing his mind until the fear of his lost control receding into the deep corners of his mind.

"You'll let me go if I try it?"

The answer was clear, his lower body becoming liberated. There was no question of making a run for it, however; Severus was certain the room could trap him just as quickly as it had freed him.

There was no other option, then. Severus unstoppered the vial, the grey mist rising to curl around his hands like smoke from Da's factory. Carefully tipping three drops onto his tongue, Severus vaguely felt his body falling backwards towards the floor before his sight became dark.

His tongue felt heavy in his mouth; it was the first thing he'd noticed. As if he was sick, his body warmer than it usually was, and uncomfortable against his skin. His eyes opened slowly, blurring as they adjusted to the darkness.

Where was he?

He looked around, lost in the pervasive darkness all around him. It felt like the first time he'd downed the Animagus potion, but different. Then he'd seen flashes of animals, his possible forms. Now there was only darkness.

He started to stand, and it was then that he noticed. He wasn't human anymore. The furthest thing from it.

Though without his sight, he could still feel. His body was bigger, stronger than he usually was. New muscles lined his back, his hands, his tail–

Tail. The thing swished against his side uncontrollably, smacking his front paws stronger than he would have thought possible. It wasn't tufted, like a lion, or fluffy, like a fox. Sleek and cord-like, it reminded him of the tail of Augustus' cat, Tavian.

Was that really his Animagus form? A cat?

The thought made him frown, at least mentally. No, something was off. He felt too big to be a cat, his mouth too far from his face. He turned his head downward, struck by an instinct to smooth his chest. His tongue flicked out, smoothing the– short fur covering his skin.

A small sound disturbed his grooming, and Severus snapped his head up, his entire body tensing in alarm. He despised not being able to see, and walked forward blindly, hoping to find the source of the disturbance.

He sensed the thing in front of him just before he would have walked into it, his whiskers twitching oddly as he sniffed it. It smelled… cold. Clean too.

Trying to test the object he'd found, he put his paws against it, hoping to knock it down.

It didn't work, but instead the darkness seemed to recede, revealing to him a giant, seemingly never-ending room, covered entirely in… mirrors. He knew what he was now, could see it every fragment of his body reflected around him, and smiled in satisfaction, though the curl of his dark lip against his teeth made it seem to be a snarl.

Unsure what to do next, Severus turned around, spotted someone sitting in the center of the room, hands laying against the floor, out of the corner of his eye. It had been the merest glance, not even enough to identify what he'd seen, but the darkness arose again, this time taking his consciousness with it.

Severus groaned, his eyes fluttering open to focus on the stone arches of the Hogwarts' ceiling. He felt spent, every muscle in his body aching as if it'd been stretched every which way; regardless that the transformation had been purely mental.

The room had warmed again, soothing his muscles and giving Severus a reason to spend just a bit more time resting on the floor.

He was… stunned, really, that the potion had finally worked. He'd quite given up on it, soothing his wounded pride and accepting that the transformation wasn't for him.

A panther, though. That had been even more unexpected. Although, his knowledge on wildcats was quite limited, so he wasn't completely certain.

He'd have to do some research in the library; maybe also see if he could find anything regarding a sentient room in Hogwarts: A History…

January 25, 1975 - Hogwarts

There had been no confrontation. No great big fight to sever the friendship between them. Instead, she had simply ceased to exist in his eyes. When she pleaded with him to talk to her, he ignored her, when she touched him — even accidentally — he turned away.

She hadn't known what had caused him to act so, at least at first. Confused and hurt, she's shut herself in her dorm room, refusing to even let Aurora inside. She'd apologized later, angry with herself for taking her hurt out on her friend.

Her dorm mate hadn't been resentful, thankfully, and had let Cassie take comfort in her arms. Or maybe it was she that had allowed Aurora to soothe her.

Her brown-eyes friend was easy with her affection, touching and hugging all of her friends as if they were family. She'd learned to curb those actions around Cassiopeia, however, noticing how uncomfortable she was with them even before they'd become friends.

It had been… nice.

She knew now, however; Severus' breakup with Lily all over the school - but it didn't ease the hurt. She wasn't fully certain - and it wasn't like Severus would tell her - but she surmised that Lily had found out about their kiss, one way or another.

It was awful. Even unsure, she still felt guilty; the feeling gnawing at her insides until she almost felt as if she'd be sick. She hated, hated whatever she'd done to end the friendship between them, his relationship with Lily.

Worse, she hated that part of her that was happy. That small voice in her mind that said no matter how hard Severus was pretending she didn't exist, at least he wasn't still dating Lily. That at least she'd gotten that.

She despised herself for that. For caring more about her own jealousy than Severus' happiness. It made her want to–

"Cassiopeia?"

The voice startled her from her dark thoughts, and Cassie glanced up to see Dolores standing behind her, a more extravagant pink bow adorning her head than she'd ever seen before.

"Yes, Dolores?"

The girl smiled brightly, sitting down beside her on the black leather couches that took up most of the Slytherin common room. She'd brought with her a quill, and was now fiddling with it nervously.

"Do you need something?" she asked, perhaps a bit less politely than she should've. On one hand, she was glad to have a distraction from Severus and seemingly never-ending guilt. On the other, well… Dolores Umbridge was not exactly what one would describe as pleasant company.

You're being mean, she chided herself. She may be a tad annoying, but she's perfectly nice. Apologize.

"Sorry, I'm not having the best day."

Dolores grimaced in sympathy, clearly guessing the cause of her short temper.

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me some with my Transfiguration work. You're the best in your class, and I'm just horrible at it - it's almost my worst subject. I'm sure you could help me at least a bit; is there anything I could do for you in return?"

Cassie considered the offer, curbing her initial urge to refuse outright. She could spend an hour or two with the girl in return for a favor - it would be smart to do so. But was there really anything she wanted from… Dolores?

"I can help you, if you'd like. Tomorrow? Here? And, I'm not sure what I'd want in return, but I'll keep it in mind."

"Oh thank you!" Dolores simpered, her beady eyes shining in excitement. "I can't wait!"

January 27, 1975 - Hogwarts

Cassiopeia cursed whatever had compelled her to come down here, choosing to slip away from the crowd heading to supper and instead hide herself somewhere far away from the general populace.

She hadn't thought she'd be able to stand seeing Severus' blank eyes, studiously avoiding her gaze even as he conversed freely with Augustus - but perhaps this was even worse.

"What are you doing here, snake?"

Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans stood side-by-side in front of her, wands drawn, and distasteful expressions marring their faces. Lily in particular had none of the kindness that she usually showed around Cassiopeia. No, now there was only anger.

"Nothing. I'll leave now," she answered quietly, hoping to avoid being hexed.

Marlene scowled, advancing forward as Cassie fought not to cower from her.

"I don't think you will, you fucking slut. Because you know what I've heard? That you've been trying to stick your cunt onto Sirius Black's cock."

She cringed at the harsh language, her heart racing as she tried to figure out what Marlene knew.

"You do know that's the only reason he's not protesting the proposals, don't you?" Lily asked, her voice affecting a light air. "He knows any other witch would at least try to seem uninterested. But you? You're positively throwing yourself at him. "

"I'm–" she tried to protest, but it was futile.

"Really? You're trying to marry him?" Marlene asked, surprised for a second before her voice turned concerned. "Pity he doesn't yet know he shouldn't go for slags. You don't seem to have much self-respect don't you? It's a shame the school doesn't know."

No, no, no–

"We'll at least warn the boys. I don't think they all got the message in second year," Lily added, and it was clear who she was talking about. "I don't think even Snape would go for someone with so little self-respect."

"Please, don't tell anyone –" she begged, even as she could breathe a little easier knowing that Severus would know it was all false.

"But for now, why don't I leave you with a little reminder not to go after Sirius?" Marlene said angrily. "After all, it wouldn't do for him to do something stupid because he's horny enough to ignore your ugly face. Diffindo!"

"Protego!" she slashed her wand in a protective circle, thankful for her many months of practice with Severus.

"Confringo!"

Her shield held strong against the spell, and she braced herself for the next–

"Expulso."

She hadn't been expecting the spell from her side; perhaps believing that Lily wouldn't try to hurt her. She paid for that foolishness now, the curse slamming her head against the bathroom wall as she was blasted to the floor.

Her vision blurred, the contents of her stomach threatening to reappear with her dizziness; and she felt the back of her head becoming sticky with blood.

Vaguely, she registered the two Gryffindors leaving the bathroom, but she lost all consciousness soon thereafter.

•••

Thank you for reading; I hope you liked this chapter. I just wanted to say, thank you so much to the insanely high number of people who have favorited/followed my story; this week, and across the entire course of the past few months. It's impossible to put into words just how much each of those notifications means to me, and I truly hope I don't disappoint any of you. With that, if you have any ideas for future scenes, I would love to hear from you. And lastly, a great thank you to Silent Mayhem whose help has been indispensable. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and are staying safe :)