Chapter 12 Forging Friendships
Later that week, Harry met with Oliver Wood for the second time. He was the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, so naturally, he would be in charge of Harry's training as a Seeker. Gryffindor hadn't had much luck with their seeker the previous season, loosing every game they played in, so Wood was as determined as ever to train Harry to become the best possible Seeker that he could be. The previous Gryffindor Quidditch had been Charlie Weasley, Ron's brother, and he too had been a seeker; an incredibly fine one at that and one of the best Gryffindor had seen in its illustrious 900-year History. After his initial shakedown with Wood, Harry began training with the Gryffindor Quidditch team three times a week in preparation for his first match of the season. He already knew Fred and George, having met the two mischievous twins through their younger brother Ron. He also met fellow newcomer to the team in Katie Bell, a second year chaser, and the other two chasers who'd also just made the team in Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson.
While Harry had to divide his time between Quidditch and his studies, Lily and Severus were able to solely focus on their work and were off to a flying start as far as academics went. When it came to all-round academic prowess across the board, none were much better than Hermione Granger, but Severus and Lily had carved out niches for themselves in Potions and Charms respectively, in which they were widely acknowledged to be the best in their year by a significant margin. Lily Bergman was even seen as the go-to person for charms tips amongst first years, and with her bubbly personality, there was no shortage of fellow first years, Hufflepuffs in particular, that sought out her advice.
When it came to Potions, Severus Prince was a full head and shoulders ahead of the field, that much was made evident from the first class of the year in which he was the only person to earn points from Professor Snape. However, many of the students in their year chalked up Severus' talent as a brewer to him being a distant relative to the school's resident grouch and Potions Master, Professor Snape. They shared the same first name after all! There was even a rumor making the rounds, especially in Slytherin and Ravenclaw that Severus Prince had received Private tuition from Professor Snape, hence why he was so darn good at Potions, and why he seemed to be favored by him in class.
Lily Bergman on the other hand was considered untouchable in Charms, and had easily vaulted herself into her Head of House's good books as his best student in many-a-long-year. While people may have had reservations approaching Severus for advice on Potions owing to his abrasiveness, there were no such qualms held about asking Lily for help, she was always happy to help people out where they could when it came to the subject she was most gifted in. Naturally, Flitwick was well aware of Lily Bergman's true identity, and thus wasn't all that surprised that this version of Lily Evans was equally adept at Charms as the other, perhaps more so in certain respects.
So as the weeks and months wound by; Harry, Lily and Severus, as well as the new friends they'd made in Ron, Hermione, Anthony and Mandy all settled into their lives as first year students at Hogwarts. When Harry was away practicing Quidditch with the Gryffindors, Lily and Severus struggled to find things to do that would keep their interest. As a result, Lily and Severus decided to take Dumbledore up on his offer that would allow them to brew potions for the hospital wing in exchange for a small commission courtesy of the Headmaster himself.
Lily, Severus and Ron bade goodbye to Harry as the latter went off to Quidditch Practice. Ron then split from the two Ravenclaws and opted to return to Gryffindor Tower. Lily and Severus on the other hand would be heading in the opposite direction, descending into the bowels of the castle where their Potions lab was located. Today would be their first day 'on the job' so to speak, and they hoped they'd put in a good showing and churn out as many hospital-worthy potions as possible. At the end of the day, they'd submit their brews to Professor Snape, who would then conduct an exacting and demanding quality control check to ensure they were safe to administer by Madam Pomfrey. Severus and Lily were both well aware of the loftily high standards Snape expected of them when they brewed, and as such, they knew they would need their absolute focus and concentration to meet said standards.
They descended towards the potions lab, only coming across a handful of Slytherin sixth years on the way. As a result of Severus' cover story as a distant cousin of Professor Snape, none of the Slytherins had given Severus any trouble, and since Lily and he usually went most places attached at the hip, she escaped unwanted attention from the Slytherins as well. They walked down into the dungeons with impunity, Lily even waved at the gaggle of sixth years they came across—some of whom were kind enough to smile back at them.
After making one last right turn down a darkened corridor, they came across the potions lab they sought, but they were not alone. The other presence in that darkened hall, only illuminated faintly by a handful of wall-mounted torches, was not Severus Snape, but a girl their age with raven-black hair that fell just past her shoulders, and chocolate-colored skin. She was tall too, almost Severus' height and at least an inch or two taller than Lily. Lily recognized the girl as one of their classmates, but her name and her house escaped her memory.
Severus and Lily cautiously approached the girl, who was stood just outside the potions laboratory clutching some supplies to her chest. She turned as she saw them approaching, allowing the two First year Ravenclaws a good look at her face, and the crest on her robes. She was a Slytherin. But judging from the tentative smile she was giving them, she seemed to be of the alright, sort.
"Bergman," the girl greeted, smiling at Lily, "Prince," she added, now facing Severus. "It's good to meet you both."
"It's nice to meet you too…uh—"
"The name's Davis. Tracey Davis," the girl replied, her smile turning rueful.
"Oh right!" Lily exclaimed, face-palming in embarrassment. "Oh gosh, sorry, I'd forgotten."
"It's alright," Davis laughed. "My memory isn't the best either."
"So what are you doing here then, Davis?" Severus asked, eyeing the Slytherin curiously.
Davis jerked her head to the door behind her. "Same as you I'm pretty sure. I'm here to brew for the Hospital Wing…I'm assuming you two are here for that purpose as well…unless of course you're looking for remedial potions, in which case that's two doors down, over by—"
"We're not here for Remedial Potions," Severus said curtly, his eyes narrowing.
"I thought as much," Davis grinned. "Given all the rumors I've heard about you two in the other class, I think you'll be my main competition for best in Potions this year."
"I take it you're the best of the Slytherin and Gryffindor bunch then," Lily surmised.
Davis smirked proudly. "That'd be correct. And as it stands, I'm the only person in my half that's earned points from Professor Snape so far."
"Indeed," came the voice of the man in question.
How Snape could walk the halls so stealthily, Lily and Severus would never know. Yet the man had snuck up on them all the same. "Inside," he said, and the three children wasted no time obeying his command.
Severus, Lily and Davis set up their workbenches at lightning-quick speeds as the door swung open behind them, admitting Professor Snape. He strode past the three workbenches the first years had chosen, his cape billowing behind him as he went. Upon reaching the front of the class, he whirled around on the three first years and fixed each of them with a stern look.
"Today, the lot of you will be brewing potions for the Hospital wing," Professor Snape announced without delay.
"You three have been selected due to your…acceptable talents as prospective Potioneers. As it stands, the rest of your classmates lack the ability as brewers to join your exclusive number, and I do not foresee that changing in the future."
They'd finished unpacking their equipment now, their three sets of black, green and brown eyes, remaining fixed on their Professor.
"As a result, I expect nothing short of perfection from the three of you, and each potion you give to me over the course of your tenure, I expect to be brewed with precision and focus. The slightest mistake on your part…or mine, could cost a student nothing less than their health, or even their life. So. Should any one of you make more than three less-than-acceptable potions, by Madam Pomfrey's standards, you will find your brewing privileges revoked."
The three students nodded quickly.
"But if you can brew to an acceptable standard, and continue producing potions of sufficient quality for your fellow students, then the Headmaster has agreed to pay you a small commission, which I believe all of you are aware of."
Three more nods answered his question.
"Today you shall be brewing the Wiggenweld Potion. The instructions for which are found on the board, but I trust none of you shall need any instruction as I expect all of you to have read up on it in advance."
Three nods answered the Professor's words. Naturally, Severus and Lily, Davis too, had read ahead and learned the in's and out's of all first year potions and some second year potions too. In Davis' and Severus' case, it was their favorite and best subject, after all.
Professor Snape sat down in his comfy-looking leather-backed chair. "You may begin."
Over the next two hours, Severus, Lily and Davis toiled away over their cauldrons, brewing vats of Wiggenweld that would be presented to Professor Snape at the end of their session. When the two hours were up, all three first years had just about finished their brews in time. Lily was the last of the trio to finish up, stirring the potion four more times and then taking it off the heat to cool down just as time expired. Professor Snape had been sat at his desk over the course of the three hours, marking his third years' assignments, he then stood and strode over to his younger self's desk.
Snape peered into Severus Prince's cauldron, scrutinizing the substance within. Without a word's comment, he strode past him and made for Davis' cauldron. Severus supposed that his work passed his test. Next, Davis was subjected to the same test by Snape, she too passed. When he arrived at Lily's cauldron however, he took a few minutes to scrutinize the cauldron's contents before finally nodding his head. All three cauldrons appeared to have been accepted by the Potions Master, and the students then spent the next ten minutes ladling their finished product out into single-dose phials for Madam Pomfrey. Once their ladling was done, Snape tallied up the fourteen phials each students was able to produce and then levitated them onto his desk where he sorted them into three racks.
Without raising his eyes, he said; "Pack your things then leave. The Headmaster shall dispense your pre-arranged commission for producing—" he waved his hand in the direction of the phials, "—these."
Lily, Severus and Davis nodded and hastened their pace to pack their things. Once their bags were filled, and all their just-cleaned equipment was hung neatly on the drying rack, the three first years dipped out of the classroom. They quietly left the Professor behind as they ascended out of the Dungeons towards the entrance hall.
"Phew," Davis said, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead. "Not a bad day's work, eh?"
"Speak for yourself," Lily muttered. "I should've added the Lionfish quills half a minute sooner. Mine…wasn't perfect."
"Is that why he was hovering around your Cauldron a bit longer than mine and Davis'?" Severus asked his friend.
Lily nodded mutedly. "You two certainly did better than I did," she said glumly.
"Ah it's no big deal," Davis said, clapping her hand on the smaller girl's back. "We're all here for a reason after all…and Professor Snape accepted your potion so it's all good, isn't it?"
"I guess so," Lily said, still sounding glum.
"Say Davis…" Severus started, "you never mentioned—"
"Just Tracey's fine."
"Pardon?"
Davis—Tracey huffed. "I said, just Tracey is fine, no need to call me Davis."
Severus blinked, then nodded. "Alright fine, Tracey. You never mentioned how you arranged to make potions for the Hospital Wing. Lily and I are Dumbledore's wards, so—"
"Ah that's 'cus Professor Snape knows my mum," Tracey explained.
"He does?" Lily asked, sounding surprised.
"Mmm, yep. I even got to call him Uncle Severus when I was—"
"No way!" Lily gasped. "Seriously? Grouchy, old Professor Snape allowed you to call him that? Uncle Severus…wow…"
"I was only five, in my defense. And he and my mum were mates when they were in school, same year and everything. Supposedly they stayed friends after graduating too," Tracey said, grinning.
"Wow…so he's like…he's almost a family friend to you and your family," Lily said in wonder.
"You could say that," said Tracey. "He's the one that taught me Potions when I was younger, said that he expected me to not be a dunderhead when it was my turn to come to Hogwarts. Needless to say, I don't think I've disappointed him so far."
"No you haven't," Lily agreed quietly.
"So through Professor Snape, you learned about this…program then, to produce potions for Madam—"
"Yes," nodded Tracey. "As I mentioned. Snape's a good family friend…and he informed my mum over the summer break that there'd be a program in place to—"
"Summer break?" Lily inquired. "Do you mean you went to Muggle school? I thought purebloods don't go to Muggle schools? Or are you not a pureblood?—"
Tracey's brown eyes seemed to widen slightly, an alarmed look passing over previously-smiling face. In seconds, she'd rounded on her two companions and pushed them up against the stone wall. Neither Lily nor Severus had time to react.
"Don't say a word of what I'm about to tell you," she warned, her voice a low, menacing whisper.
Lily nodded quickly, as did Severus. Wisely, neither made a move for their wands. Tracey breathed a sigh of relief and backed off, easing her arms off Severus' and Lily's chests. She took a step back from them, allowing them to collect themselves.
"I'm not a pureblood. I'm a…a halfblood," she whispered, sounding half-ashamed of herself.
The revelation didn't seem to take Lily or Severus by surprise. Tracey's minor slip up in revealing she'd had a summer break seemed to have alerted both Ravenclaws in to the fact that she'd attended a Muggle school. And the odds of a Pureblood witch attending a Muggle school…let's just say you'd have better odds of seeing a purple Hippogriff on a night with a blue moon.
"I'm a halfblood, 'cus my mum was disowned after she eloped with my dad."
Lily swallowed thickly, and reached out for Tracey's arm. "Your dad's a Muggle?"
Tracey lifted her gaze from the floor and nodded. "Please don't tell anyone," she whispered, a begging look etched onto her face. "You already figured it out on your own thanks to my big, fat mouth. But if you tell anyone else I'll be ruined. They'd hate me even more than they do already."
"Hate you even more? What do you mean they hate you already?" Lily whispered. The redhead stepped closer, then cautiously placed a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. She hoped the gesture would reassure Tracey, but she merely shrugged out of it, causing Lily to pull back her hand.
"Never mind that," Tracey said despondently. "I…everyone assumes I'm a pureblood, 'cus my mum is one and my housemates all assume she married a foreign pureblood or something."
"No one knows your Mum married a Muggle then," said Severus.
Tracey shook her head. "Davis is a Pureblood name from America, so I've just…adopted that as my background, sort of," she explained. "My housemates know my Mum was cast out of her family, and that she's a blood traitor, that's bad enough as it is, but no one knows the reason behind why she was…disowned. And if word gets out that it's because she married a muggle, then—"
"Sev and I won't tell a soul," Lily promised solemnly. She elbowed him in the ribs. "Right?"
"R-right," Severus said quickly. "Your secret's safe with us…Tracey. We won't tell anyone."
"How can I be sure?" asked Tracey, the desperation and fear she felt audible in her tone.
"You have no way of being sure," Severus answered honestly. "But you'll just have to trust us. I don't intend to betray your trust, if my word counts for anything."
Tracey gave him a weak smile, then turned to Lily who quickly nodded. Lily's hand sought out Tracey's, she gave the Slytherins' fingers a squeeze of reassurance. "I won't say anything, Tracey. But it's as Severus said, you'll just have to trust our word on this."
Tracey gave a resigned sigh, but nodded. "Alright. And thanks, I guess."
"It's the right thing to do," said Lily. "And besides…it wouldn't really endear us to you if we went around spilling your secret now would it? Not when we want to be friends and—"
"You'd want that?" asked Tracey, ignoring Lily's earlier words and focusing on the last sentence she'd uttered. She seemed genuinely hopeful, causing Lily to feel a pang of sadness that the girl could feel such hope when confronted with the prospect of making a friend or two.
"Of course," Lily smiled. "After all, you, me, 'n Sev'll be brewing potions for the Hospital Wing for the foreseeable future right? Wouldn't it be better if we could do so as friends?"
Severus backed up his friend's words with a series of nods.
A true smile bloomed on Tracey's face then, as she eyed the two Ravenclaws. "I'd like that," she said at last.
"Friends?" Lily asked, offering a hand for Tracey to shake.
"Friends," Tracey agreed with a smile, then shook Lily's and Severus' hands.
The three first years exchanged smiles all exchanging smiles along with their verbal promises of friendship.
"Alright then Tracey," Lily said, clapping her hands together. "Now that we're friends, what say you to going to the library and getting started on our DADA assignment, yeah?" (the First Year Ravenclaws and Slytherins shared DADA classes)
"We may as well claim the good books now, Merlin knows Quirrell hardly gave us anything to go on for it," Tracey concurred.
With their new friend, a Slytherin Halfblood, Severus and Lily headed for the library to get started on their weekend assignments.
For the most part, Lily and Severus only hung out with Tracey on Wednesdays and Fridays, the two days when they brewed potions together for the hospital wing. The rest of the week they usually stuck with Anthony and Mandy—their two closest friends in Ravenclaw, as well as with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
A few weeks after Severus' and Lily's first meeting with Tracey, Halloween had finally arrived, and with it, came the first major holiday of the school year. The day started much the same as any other, except with the added decorations and sense of festivity present throughout the castle and the grounds. Everywhere Harry, Lily, Severus and their friends went, the scent of candy, sandalwood and pumpkins filled the air. On the morning of Halloween, Severus, Lily and Harry all woke earlier than usual in their respective dorms, and quickly readied themselves for the day before making their way down their towers to the Great Hall. Harry and Ron slid onto the bench alongside and opposite their fellow Gryffindor first years, while Lily, Severus and Mandy sat down on the other side of the hall with the Ravenclaws. Anthony wasn't with them since he wasn't feeling all that well; he'd headed off to the Hospital Wing to go pay Madam Pomfrey a visit.
"So what did Anthony say he had again?" Lily asked as she sat down beside Severus.
"A stomach bug of some kind, I think, or at least…that's what Anthony thinks. He thinks it was something from dinner that set him off," Severus replied. He then reached across the table to serve himself some rashers of bacon, then passed the platter of meats over to Lily.
"It would've happened sooner or later," Mandy said offhandedly. "With him and his sweet tooth, I'd be willing to bet ten galleons he'd have a stomach ache by the end of the day."
"Yeah. You're telling me," Lily chuckled, before taking a large bite off the end of a bacon rasher. "Honestly, I thought that sooner or later this would've happened. You should've warned him off of eating too much, Sev, should I tell Mandy about the time you ate too much cake—"
"No," Severus said with a pointed glare.
He leaned closer to Lily. "Are you out of your mind? That's from you know where!" he whispered harshly.
Lily winced internally at her near-gaffe. "What is it?" Mandy asked, leaning closer to them both.
"It's nothing," Severus said quickly. "Just a…a bit of an embarrassing story." Which it was, it was an embarrassing story.
Severus'd eaten too much cake for his tenth birthday, so much so that he ended up bent over a toilet bowl barfing up the contents of said cake while Lily held his greasy, black hair out of his face and Missus Evans popped down to the store to get a stomach relaxant. It was a harrowing affair and Severus learned right then and there, never to eat too many sweets in one sitting, as well as the fact that his stomach simply wasn't built to store that much food.
"An embarrassing story you say?" Mandy asked, grinning curiously. "Now this I must hear."
"Maybe another time then, when Anthony's here, for instance," said Lily in an effort to cover her tracks. She reached for a bowl of pastries and buns and grabbed a bunch, then wrapped them up in a napkin and tied it together with a hairband.
"What was that for?" Severus asked.
"For Anthony," Lily explained. "He'll be bummed to miss out on this for sure, so thought I'd get something for him to savor."
"Surely he won't be there for long, right?" Mandy said fretfully. "I mean…Madam Pomfrey's one of the best in the business so he should be right as rain soon enough."
"I hope so. Madam Pomfrey fixed Longbottom's arm rather quickly after all, but just in case, I'm sure Anthony would appreciate what I've got here more than the hospital food he'll be made to eat otherwise."
"Fair enough," Mandy conceded. She reached across the table for a pitcher of Pumpkin Juice, which Severus was kind enough to fetch for her.
"So what're you two expecting for the feast this evening?" Mandy asked, her gaze fixed on the pitcher and her goblet as she poured herself some pumpkin juice. "Should be something pretty lavish, right?"
"That's what I'm hoping for," said Severus. "At least it should be better than the food we usually eat by a good margin."
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Lily chimed in. "That being said, good ole' greasy stuff like this here bacon—" she waved the rasher in her hand in front of her. "Or those kippers over there—" she waved gestured airily in the direction of the plate of fish a little further down the table. "Are just fine with me, if I'm being honest."
"You actually like our usual food?" Mandy asked, her nose wrinkled.
"Well not all of us can afford top-class house elves like you Mandy," Lily said teasingly, her giggle taking the bite out of her words.
"Yeah. Us peasants have to make do with school food, which we find very appetizing and would gladly consume for the rest of our lives," Severus chimed in.
Mandy snorted and rolled her eyes at Lily's and Severus' antics. While she adored her new friends here at Hogwarts, at times, she really wished she could just wipe the grins they wore after telling a particularly corny joke, right off their smug-looking faces. The trio of Ravenclaws made a quick stop at the hospital wing after breakfast where Lily unloaded her pastries onto Anthony's bedside table and encouraged the boy to hide them before Madam Pomfrey came back. They learned he was suffering from a nasty bit of food poisoning, but that he expected to be up on his feet again by lunchtime. Severus, Lily and Mandy all expressed their hopefulness to see him later in the day, before bidding their friend farewell and leaving him to rest.
The day seemed to pass in a blur, even Anthony's return to classes from his brief stint in Madam Pomfrey's care was hardly noticed. Pretty much every first year in the castle had their eyes set on the Halloween feast, all students in the castle eagerly anticipating the delicious fare the House Elves would cook up for them. After their last class of the day, Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs, had finished, Severus and Lily informed Mandy and Anthony that they were going back to Ravenclaw tower to drop off their things, and then they'd meet them in the library for their usual study and homework session. Mandy and Anthony wanted to get a head start on their potions assignment that was due next week, Severus and Lily didn't feel the need to rush that assignment though, given their prowess at Potions.
"Save a spot for us, will ya? We shouldn't be too long." Lily said, as she and Severus walked away from their two housemates.
"Don't worry about it, I'll lie down across three chairs to keep 'em warm too while I'm at it. So long as that ruddy vulture of a librarian we have doesn't notice, it'll be fine," Anthony replied, laughing at his own quip.
"Just don't take too long," Mandy added seriously. "I don't want to have to put up with this bozo's antics alone for longer than necessary."
Lily and Severus chuckled quietly and then turned away from their two Ravenclaw friends to make their way up to Ravenclaw tower.
They were a few corridors away from the base of the tower when they heard a pair of familiar voices. One voice was familiar, welcome, even; the other…not so much. The two friends' thoughts immediately began to wonder why on earth two first year Slytherins were doing so far from the dungeons.
"No Draco, I've told you, that's not what the club, as you call it, is about!" came a familiar, friendly voice. One belonging to Tracey Davis.
"Oh c'mon Tracey," another voice whinged, this one also quite familiar to Severus and Lily—but decidedly less welcome, it was Draco Malfoy. "What is it you and Snape are doing? Is it private lessons? Because if it is, then I want you to—"
"It's not private lessons Draco, and no, it's not even run by Snape. The Headmaster started the program, so if you want in, then you can go talk to him."
"So the old coot's started a potions club of some kind," Malfoy said, chuckling darkly.
Lily's small hand tightened into a balled-up fist, her knuckles turning white. Severus quickly reached for her hand and pulled her aside.
A moment later, they heard Tracey's voice again, responding to Malfoy.
"It's not that, and no, I don't have a say as to who can be involved. My advice though, would be to take it up with the Headmaster, or Professor Snape yourself, you get along with Snape well enough as it is, don't you?"
"That's true, I s'pose," Malfoy muttered, reluctantly conceding to Tracey's sound logic. "Ah forget it, it's probably not worth it anyways," he said flippantly, making it seem as though the matter was of little importance either way to him, which of course, it wasn't.
"Can you at least tell me who else is involved in this…what was the term you called it?—"
"Brewing program," Tracey said flatly. Severus and Lily could almost picture the tall and tanned girl folding her arms across her chest to go with her words.
"Right…right, the brewing program, as you put it. At least tell me who else besides you is a part of it."
"Prince and Bergman from Ravenclaw are," Tracey said. Lily let out a little, disgruntled noise at their friend's admission. "Prince, Bergman, and myself. That's it. It's only for first years who have a sound knowledge of potions, Draco."
"Well the standard can't be all that high if Prince and Bergman are in it," said Malfoy, sounding skeptical of his fellow Slytherin's words.
"They're not bad—"
"I'd beg to differ—"
"Well you've hardly seen them brew!" Tracey exclaimed. "I may be the best in our class amongst us and the Gryffindors, but they're the best in theirs, and they're as good as me."
Malfoy scoffed again, he hardly sounded as if he believed Tracey's claims on Severus' and Lily's brewing prowess in the slightest.
"Whatever," he muttered. They couldn't see him, but they hadn't any doubt that Malfoy was scowling too. "Don't even seem that interesting in any case."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Tracey replied.
Malfoy muttered something under his breath, too quiet for Severus or Lily to hear—but when they heard his approaching footsteps, they both ducked into an alcove well-hidden behind a tapestry and waited for Malfoy to pass before stepping out into the corridor. Just as they stepped out, Tracey herself rounded the corner at the end of the corridor, just in time to see her two Ravenclaw friends stepping out from behind the tapestry. Lily and Severus both heard an approaching set of footsteps, expecting Tracey, they turned towards the source of the noise in unison and weren't disappointed with the sight of their Slytherin friend cautiously approaching them.
Tracey looked nervous, her chocolate-colored cheeks adopting a slight, rosy tinge in a faint blush. "How much of that did you hear?" she asked fretfully, her hands wringing each other.
Lily and Severus shared a brief look, then turned back to face their tall, Slytherin friend. "Not a lot," Lily said honestly. "We heard you discussing with Malfoy something about him joining our club, as he put it."
Tracey glanced nervously at her two friends, then nodded. "Yeah…that's most of it, he kinda…well he noticed Professor Snape taking greater interest in me, you know…with the Hospital Wing brewing and all that stuff…and I guess he was kinda jealous, y'know? Draco's like that."
"Jealous?" Severus asked softly. He blinked, but it did nothing to clear up any of the cobwebs that littered his thoughts. "Why would he be jealous?"
"He's just a jealous person at heart," Tracey explained, shrugging slightly. "He's…well, you know of course that my mum and Professor Snape are close…close friends from their school days and he's been a big part of my life so far—" Both Severus and Lily nodded, recalling the time Tracey told them of her long-time acquaintance with the Professor. "Well…he's also a family friend of the Malfoys, so if I were a betting woman, I'd guess that he's jealous I'm a part of the program and he's not."
"He does seem the jealous type," Lily agreed.
"Mmm…so I assume you won't be saying anything to Professor Snape then," Severus added.
Tracey shook her head firmly. "Of course I won't be. He seems to have convinced himself of the notion that a potions club wouldn't really be his cup of tea. Which is just as well, really, because just between the three of us—" Tracey's hazel eyes glimmered as she leaned in closer to her two friends, "—he's a bit of an arrogant ponce and I don't really like him all that much, but don't quote me on that."
Severus' lip twitched into a smile, a small chuckle forcing its way between his mostly-pursed lips. Lily, on the other hand, was far less successful at reining in her amusement—a stark contrast to her stoic best friend. The redheaded witch had erupted in full-on peals of laughter that rang out without restraint, she'd bent forward with her hands braced on her knees—gasping for breath as she struggled to recover from her sudden spate of laughter.
Tracey glanced down at her wristwatch, then back to her two Ravenclaw friends. "I'll see you two at the feast, then?"
Lily blinked, then frowned—the confusion she felt evident on her face. "Where are you off to?"
"I've got commitments," Tracey said flippantly. "I…I'm already late as it is. Are we still on to meet up after the feast?"
Severus nodded, although his gaze still remained just a bit suspicious. "Yes."
Tracey smiled—but Severus could tell it was tense, forced. Her eyes briefly flickering to her watch again, then back to her friends. "Well I really must be going now, I'll…see you two after the feast then."
She then turned tail and headed off down the corridor Malfoy had gone, but took a left at the end of it instead of the right Malfoy had taken. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, the meeting Lily had brokered between her two closest Ravenclaw friends(not including Severus, of course) in Mandy and Anthony, and Tracey, was forced to be put on hold. A troll had managed to make its way into the castle, according to Professor Quirrell, and so the Halloween feast was cut short just as the delicious, house elf-prepared deserts began appearing on the tables. The Prefects shepherded all their housemates back to their common rooms, with the Slytherins staying behind in the Great Hall owing to the fact that the troll was currently lurking about in the dungeons. The majority of the staff took the lead from the Prefects in escorting the students back to the dorms, while some others went to take care of the troll and remove it from the castle's premises.
A team of teachers headed up by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick confronted the creature and stunned it. It was then levitated out of the castle and safely released in the forbidden forest later that night. While the night may have ended earlier than Severus, Harry or Lily would've liked; Severus was observant enough to notice that Quirrell had left the hall very abruptly amidst the chaos, and he, unlike the other faculty members, was heading in the complete opposite direction to the troll. Severus also noticed Professor Snape swiftly heading after his Defense Professor colleague, for what purpose, Severus didn't know. All that he did know was that despite being the one to alert the castle that a troll had somehow gotten past the castle's protective enchantments, Quirrell wasn't doing anything to protect the students, nor was he going to head off the troll. And for some reason, Severus' older self in Professor Snape saw it fit to trail after his shady-looking colleague.
The very next day, Professor Snape was spotted with a limp, prompting Severus to share his findings with his two best friends. For the time being, Harry, Lily and Severus reached an unanimous agreement, at Severus' insistence, to not tell anyone else about what they'd found. With Severus' eagle-eyed observation the night before coupled with the sudden limp Professor Snape seemed to have gained the day after, Harry couldn't help but wonder if Snape leaving the hall, chasing after Quirrell had anything to do with the artifact hidden in the castle and guarded by that three-headed dog. Naturally, he knew Snape wasn't trying to steal the bloody thing, hell, he was the one that put it there, so that meant his suspicions fell on Quirrell. Then again, maybe Quirrell just had a stomach ache and needed the bathroom really badly. After all, the stuttering, nervous wreck of a defense professor had practically fainted on his feet from fright the moment he bellowed his warning that a troll had somehow made it into the castle.
At the end of the day, Harry, Lily and Severus lacked the evidence to properly suspect Quirrell of anything, and perhaps it was just coincidence, or a stomach-bug, as Harry thought, that had him running out of the hall entirely away from the danger. Lily surmised that it would be par for the course for the Professor who was widely acknowledged to be terrified of his own subject.
A/N: Tracey won't probably ever be a main character in this fic, but she will be recurring and interacting with the main cast on a fairly frequent basis. I checked her canon backstory and there's surprisingly little to go off of, only that she's a Slytherin, and a halfblood. All that stuff of her mom being friends with Snape was thrown in by me to give her a reason to be there. I've read a few different versions of Tracey in fanfic so I'm gonna try to incorporate bits of her fanon characterizations as well as chuck some things in myself that I don't think have been used in fanon before.
Apologies for not much Harry in this chapter, next chapter will feature him more heavily, along with a brief snippet from Professor Snape's POV. As mentioned in a previous A/N, most POVs will be Harry, Lily, or Severus, but on occasion, Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore or other characters will feature.
On an entirely unrelated note, 2021's F1 season is coming down to the wire, so if you've never ever watched a race in your life and you're only ever gonna watch one, I highly suggest tuning in for this Sunday's race in Abu Dhabi. The two title protagonists Hamilton and Verstappen are literally tied on points going into the final race, which is insane because this stuff never happens. The last time a season went down to a finale was Alonso V Vettel back in 2012(spoiler alert, Vettel won and I was very happy that day).
Thank you for reading!