A/N: An interlude chapter of sorts. After a tiresome first few weeks, Snape receives an unexpected visitor.

Chapter 26 Troubling Signs

After three weeks of teaching dunderheads, Severus Snape was already beginning to feel the wear and tear of a new school year. On weekends he oftentimes resigned himself to the solitude of his quarters, or occasionally took tea or a meal with Albus, Filius or Minerva, even Pomona from time-to-time. He kept as far away from the staffroom as possible, in large part to avoid Lockhart's daily ramblings to the other staff, Minerva and he spent a lot of time grouching about it in good company. He hadn't left the castle once, and needless to say, someone he'd grown close with wasn't all too pleased about that. As he sat there on his sitting room settee perusing a potions journal, the fire in his hearth roared green and out stepped an unexpected guest. He was looking forward to a peaceful Saturday morning before having to babysit a trio of bratty second years for their brewing session on Sunday. Having his morning intruded upon didn't sit well with him to say the least.

"You haven't answered my owls for weeks," his guest said flatly, hints of frustration visible on their usually-calm face.

"I've been busy," he replied, briefly darting a glance up from his journal to his guest.

"And? You should at least have the courtesy to say as much, even a single sentence would've sufficed. Instead I received nothing, not a peep from you, despite my numerous attempts to reach out. Did they teach you no manners in that Muggle hovel you grew up in?"

Severus stood to his feet with a snarl and threw his magazine aside, his dark eyes smoldering as they bored into his suddenly-frightened guest. Her face, though startlingly pretty, was lined with worry, and her blonde hair looked as messy as a bird's nest, Severus'd hardly seen it in such a state. "What. Do. You. Want, Narcissa?"

Narcissa squared her shoulders and met his gaze, though she was unable to rise to the intensity of it. "To talk," she said simply. "And…and I'm here on Lucius' behalf as well. There are some…issues we're both worried about, and want to discuss."

Severus nodded jerkily at the chair across from him, the only invitation she would receive to make herself at home. Narcissa nodded silently and sat down across from him, her hands folded demurely in her lap.

"I would offer you tea, but seeing as you so rudely interrupted me in my private time, I shan't do that," Severus said silkily.

At her shocked look, his smirk broadened. "What, did they teach you no manners in that manor house you grew up in? Don't you know it's rude to waltz into someone else's home as if you own the place?" he asked snidely. "Come now, Narcissa, you're a smart girl. You should know better than to assume you'd be welcomed with open arms after turning up uninvited."

Narcissa flushed a dull shade of red, but quickly recovered and shot Severus a scathing glare. "I'm no girl, in fact, I'm older than you, Severus. Not to mention, my manners are far better than yours," she said icily. "And what do I care of how my lessers feel about my presence? I am a pureblood and a Black, and who are you to deny me what I—"

She abruptly cut herself off at his darkening look, his eyes narrowing into coal-black pits, his hands clenching in his lap. "If that is how you truly feel about me, then leave."

"What?"

"Don't be a fucking idiot," Severus snarled. "You truly think I'm your lesser by virtue of my blood? Is that what you really think?"

"Severus, I—I—didn't mean to—'"

"—then get out," he whispered menacingly. "Clearly, this isn't working. Clearly, I was mistaken about you. Clearly, I was wrong to consider you a friend. If you truly think that I am somehow lesser than you, then get the fuck out and don't even think about coming back, Cissa." He spat her endearment with complete and utter derision, and across from him, she flinched, a horrified look crossing her face.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, her words coming out as a jumbled mess. Severus glared at her, onyx eyes raking over her hunched form. She at least appeared contrite, but as to whether there was any truth in her apology, he didn't know. "I'm…I'm sorry, Severus. I didn't—I'didn't mean to…no excuses…I'm sorry."

Severus glared at her a moment longer, but released a long-suffering sigh and leaned back into his settee. In all the long years he'd known her, this was perhaps the second or third time he'd heard her apologize, and the first to him. He waved in the direction of his drinks cabinet. "There's a bottle of fire whiskey in there, pick it up and bring it here, you'll find tumblers in there as well."

"Aren't you going to get it?" she asked, trying and failing to hide her surprise.

His expression darkened, but she didn't flinch. "I thought you said I grew up in a Muggle hovel with no manners? So, isn't this what you'd expect? Go fetch it yourself, Narcissa."

He waved in the direction of the cabinet once more, and with a sigh, Narcissa stood and went to collect the drinks. Severus sat there in stony silence, stewing on what he'd just heard as Narcissa silently set about pouring a couple glasses and bringing them over to the table. She set one down in front of him, then the other in front of herself, reclaiming her seat in the armchair.

"Salazar knows I don't apologize often," Narcissa chuckled weakly. "But I—Severus, I truly am sorry about what I said. I don't think of you as lesser than me, not at all. You're not like the others…you're special to me, and I truly don't think lesser of you than—"

"—then what makes me so different?" Severus asked quietly.

She wilted a little under his intense gaze but soon recovered and took a sip of her drink. "You're very talented at magic, for one. You respect pureblood traditions, even if you don't always adhere to them, two. You've befriended me and others like me, done all that you can to ascend above your blood, three. And…you're a good friend, of a sort. Though I suppose we're a bit more than friends now," she said with a smile.

Severus shook his head sadly, much to Narcissa's shock and dismay. Sitting here now, he couldn't help but recall long-forgotten conversations with Lily during their schooldays except with their roles reversed. Lily asking him what made her so different compared to other muggleborns, asking why Severus liked her so much when he displayed scorn or indifference to others of her blood. Now, he was asking Narcissa those same things, and her answers infuriated him. He was beginning to get a taste of the frustration Lily surely would've felt when he answered her intrusive questions in much the same way, which is to say, not addressing them at all. Lily was special to Severus, just as he was special to Narcissa. He was the exception, not the norm, or so Narcissa thought.

He frankly wasn't in the mood to discuss such things, so he only answered her with a nod.

"So, what are you really here for, Narcissa?" he asked calmly, then taking a sip of his drink.

Narcissa folded her hands in her lap and fixed Severus with an icy-blue stare. "I am here because of Lucius, partially, I wasn't lying about that," she said calmly. "But I am also here for my own reasons beyond that…though I think we should discuss the nature of our displeasure with you first."

"Our?" Severus echoed.

"Lucius' and mine," she clarified. "Why did you not cover for Draco when he was given detention by that McGonagall?" she asked sharply.

"Do you know what he did to earn that detention?" Severus countered.

"No. But I believe that you had an understanding with Lucius to cover for Draco whenever the need for it arose, Severus," she responded, her tone challenging.

"And the need for it didn't arise. Draco called another student a mudblood in class. Minerva heard as much, and dealt with it as she saw fit. Her status as Deputy Headmistress outstrips mine as a Head of House, so I couldn't overturn it even if I wanted to, and frankly, I didn't want to overturn Draco's punishment."

"And why would you not?" Narcissa shot back. "You're his godfather for Merlin's sake, Severus!"

"And seeing how you and Lucius have coddled the boy, he needs to be taught that he won't always have the red-carpet laid out for him wherever he goes," Severus retorted. "He deserved the detention for that, especially because the girl he called a mudblood was none other than one of the Headmaster's wards."

Narcissa didn't reply, but her fingers'd tightened around her glass.

"Tell me, Narcissa. Do you think Draco will receive preferential treatment when our Lord returns?" he asked in a quiet whisper.

Narcissa shuddered at that, her already pale skin palling some more. "Well…considering it is just the two of us, Severus. Between us I hope that shan't come to pass. I quite enjoy my life as it is, at the moment," she whispered.

"You hope the Dark Lord doesn't return?" Severus asked. This was news to him, and perhaps a small flicker of hope that Narcissa wasn't as far gone as her husband, at least when it came to throwing their support behind a terrorist maniac, which to be fair, he once had.

"I believe in the Dark Lord's cause and his philosophy," Narcissa said quickly, masking her fear with cool aloofness. "But I'm not lying when I say I enjoy how I live currently. And his return…would change things…"

"For the worse, in your view," said Severus, observing the witch intently.

"And in yours too, no? Will you lie to my face and admit that you enjoyed your life ten years ago more than you do now?" she asked challengingly.

"What I believe in doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, does it Cissa? I will admit that I enjoy my current circumstances more than I have at any point in my life…but my view on whether or not I'd prefer for our Lord to return doesn't change the fact that one day, he will return. Make no mistake, Narcissa, the Dark Lord will rise again and when he does, Draco will have to learn by then that life isn't all sunshine and roses."

He's good, Narcissa thought.

"Well then, for Draco's sake let's hope he doesn't return. And if I may be so bold…for our sakes as well. I think we can both agree that life these days…is pleasant," she said with barely a whisper. "I trust what we both have said will remain between us…won't it, Severus?"

Severus' eyes narrowed slightly, but Narcissa was just about able to make out him giving an almost imperceptible nod of agreement. "It shall."

Narcissa breathed a silent sigh of relief and slouched slightly into her chair, oh, if her mother could see her now. She took a long draw of her whiskey and set the empty tumbler down on the coffee table.

"For what it's worth, Narcissa, even though I wasn't able, nor was I willing to rescind Draco's punishment; I did advise the boy on his word-choice in public. He is a Slytherin, after all, so doing something as foolish as name-calling the Headmaster's ward is not very Slytherin-like," offered Severus, breaking the silence between them.

Narcissa gave a hollow laugh of agreement. "If you'd just said from the outset that Draco received a detention for being un-Slytherin, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat, Severus," Narcissa chuckled. "And in any case I agree, if that is indeed your reasoning. As powerful and influential as Lucius is…well, there's only one Albus Dumbledore now is there."

Severus gave a sobering nod. "I trust that is all Lucius has asked you to visit me for?" he ventured.

Narcissa met his gaze and nodded. "Yes I think it is," she murmured. "In a way…I suppose I should be grateful that Lucius is busy with one of his whores today. That gives me all the more reason to come visit you for my own purposes, as well."

"And what reason do you have for visiting me, Cissa?"

"Not what you're thinking of, I'm sure," Narcissa said pointedly, her gaze drifting over his form. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Severus, I'm not here about that. Believe it or not, I am here out of concern for Draco, and to share my misgivings about what Lucius is up to."

Severus refilled their glasses with more whiskey, and let his gaze drift over Narcissa's shoulder. "And I thought you said you weren't so concerned with Lucius' extramarital affairs, not when you have me," he said pointedly, refocusing his onyx eyes on her's.

"I am not," she said swiftly. "Lucius' exploits with other women, though it once hurt me, is no longer of concern to me. It'd be more beneficial for Lucius to spend more time with me, but I'm past caring about it now. What I am concerned about are his machinations with the ministry, his attempts to ingratiate himself in Fudge's good graces, and his ill-hashed plan to undermine your dear Headmaster."

Severus' dark eyes narrowed a fraction, the intensity of his gaze leading Narcissa to blush. "What about the Headmaster?"

"Nothing serious," Narcissa replied. "Though he wants to…take him down a peg or two, I suspect, after what happened at Flourish and Blotts. Lucius was furious for weeks after that."

"Ah," Severus chuckled. "You must be referring to how he and Weasley Senior were chastised in public by Albus, aren't you? I must admit, I did find that rather amusing."

Narcissa offered up a wry grin. "So did I, if I'm being honest; though of course, Lucius will never know that."

"There's a lot of things he'll never know," Severus said huskily.

Narcissa grinned, stood to her feet and walked around the table to his side, sitting down beside him on the settee. Severus cupped the pale skin of her cheek with his palm, turning her head towards him, before planting his lips fleetingly on her's. Narcissa sighed breathily, but drew away soon after, her head downcast.

"If I could do things over…I would choose to be here with you, Rus. In heart, in spirit, in life with totality," she murmured softly. She lifted her gaze to meet his, her eyes wide and earnest. "In time…I hope in the not too distant future, we can be together properly, Rus."

"You no longer seek to reconcile your marriage with Lucius?" Severus asked in return. "I'd been under the impression…that if you could fix things with him, go back to the way you once were, then you'd choose to do so in a heartbeat—"

"—I no longer love him, Severus," she said fiercely, her eyes flickering with white-hot heat. "I…mourn the relationship we used to have, that I thought we once had…but all this time I've never been enough for him, he's sought out other women to warm his bed—and he's been doing it since we, fucking exchanged vows, Rus," she growled savagely, Severus nearly flinching at the vitriol in her tone. "I was happy with Lucius, I did love him, rather, a man I thought him to be…but I see now that I was never enough for him since he's been doing this since we were newly-weds. I once wanted to be enough for him…but clearly, I am not, and I no longer love him now, Severus…" she fixed him with a hard gaze, "and I haven't for some time."

"For Draco's sake…you must remain with him, Narcissa, I couldn't bear to have a hand in breaking up your family," Severus beseeched. "As much as I would love to be with you in whole…what we have now, our current arrangement…it must be enough to satiate you."

"I know that," Narcissa answered, her tone morose. "And as much as I love you, Rus, Draco remains my top priority and that will never change. And as much as I despise Lucius for going behind my back and for not accepting my best efforts…I cannot fault him as a parent to Draco." Her blues eyes set upon his black ones firmly. "The only way I could see myself ever leaving Lucius, is for Draco's sake, and though I love you, not Lucius, Draco loves his father as dearly as I once did. I know I cannot leave him, not for the foreseeable future at least…but I can't help but dream of what we could've been, Rus, if in another life I would've chosen you over Lucius from the very beginning. Alas, since that cannot be…I have to settle for what our current arrangement allows," she said soberingly.

"Well, when Draco reaches adulthood, perhaps you'd be able to convince Lucius that a cessation of your union would be in both of your best interests," Severus replied, offering a small smile. "It would free him to sleep with as many women his heart, rather, his prick desires."

Narcissa released peals of laughter. "Yes, I suppose it would. But Draco's seventeenth birthday is still many years away…we have to be satisfied with what he in front of us, for the time being. In the future, though…I would love to be with you in every way possible," she said resolvedly.

"You and me both."

Severus punctuated his statement with a kiss to the crown of her forehead, a gesture intended to comfort her and show her his resolve in equal measure. Thought the act itself was rather chaste as far as most kisses go, the brief touch of his lips on her forehead ended up having another effect entirely as it stoked the flames of her lust.

"Just know, Narcissa…that in time we will get our chance. In time we can make this work, and we will be together in a way that you deserve," Severus said confidently, massaging her arms with his hands.

Narcissa sighed and drew away. "But what about you, Rus? You know what I want…but what do you want? Are you happy with our current arrangement? Are you happy with us being…friend with benefits and nothing more? Don't you wish for us to be together in more ways than—"

"—It's not about what I want," Severus said harshly, cutting across Narcissa's ramblings. "I have unpaid dues to settle…Narcissa; and if at the end of it all, you are still there and all obstacles otherwise preventing our union are gone…then I will be waiting for you. I shan't hold my breath, and as much as I'd want to be with you, we both know that won't be a reality for some time."

"But when Draco is an adult and is grown, then all that remains between—"

"—that is the least of our concerns," Severus interrupted yet again. "Retribution from Lucius, for one. Though he may have once valued you and treasured you as any man should, their wife; he undoubtedly feels entitled to your marriage, despite his affairs. And loathe as you are to hear it, Cissa, Lucius remains my friend."

Narcissa scowled at him and pulled her hand away from his lap. "Yet that hasn't stopped you pursuing me, now has it?" she pointed out snidely.

Severus rolled his eyes and took another draw from his tumbler. "Must I remind you that it was you, not I, that initiated this?" He presumed her silence meant her inability to answer. "Though, I suppose I should be grateful for that, for I doubt I would have taken the first leap towards what we have now, so, it could've only been you to set us on this path," he added, Narcissa smiling.

She kissed him again, though this time on the lips, his mouth burning as her tongue swiped across his. "Coming on to a married woman is definitely in poor form, Severus. Even an uncouth halfblood such as yourself should know better than that, and to your credit, you did. You let me pursue you and start our little dalliance," she teased.

His eyes sparkled and his lip curled upwards deviously. "If I didn't know any better…I think you enjoy slumming with uncouth halfbloods, don't you, Cissa?"

"Yes," she breathed nigh-silently.

Her eyes fluttered shut, but she didn't need her sight to know that Severus was smirking. She felt his rough hands on her chin, and her eyes opened, meeting his smoldering black ones. The kiss he stole this time was rough and plundering, leaving her wanting and needing of more. "Then if you're quite finished with all you've come here to…discuss, then I suggest we adjourn to a more comfortable setting."

He took her hand in his and brought her to her feet. She allowed herself to be led to his bedroom, and soon grew to forget the world around her as the entirety of her thoughts and consciousness was consumed by all things Severus.

When Narcissa left Severus' quarters later that day, having settled her business with him and Lucius', she was in a much happier state of mind. Even knowing that tonight she'd have to share her husband's bed again on the same day he screwed around with the Minister's wife wasn't enough to dampen her spirits. Though, she remained more optimistic than Severus that their time together would come sooner rather than later, she still didn't understand why Severus was so sure they couldn't have anything more than their current arrangement. She sighed resignedly and felt the arm of her husband curl a little tighter around her waist. In the past, such a gesture would've lent her comfort, peace, tranquility; but now it only made her skin crawl, knowing that just hours earlier he'd have held and bedded another woman which only served as further proof of her inadequacy.

A few more years of this, and then I can be with 'Rus.

Back at the castle on the following day, a Sunday, Lily and Severus bade goodbye to Harry in the entrance hall as they set off for the castle dungeons for their weekend brewing session.

The morning after hearing that evil voice during his detention with Lockhart, Harry told Severus and Lily about it and the trio, along with Ron and Hermione, searched tirelessly in the library for answers. Alas, three weeks of fruitless searching yielded nothing and Harry was just as perplexed as to what that voice was now as he had been when he first heard it. The general consensus among the group was that the voice must've belonged to Peeves, and that the pranking poltergeist must've only sought to scare Harry. The fact that Harry hadn't heard any voices since then lent further evidence to that theory, and Harry, Severus and Lily were all content to believe that it was only Peeves and nothing more. They let the matter drop since Harry wasn't hearing that strange voice anymore, and at his insistence, they didn't let Dumbledore know about it. The old headmaster seemed awfully busy and tired these days, constantly zipping in and out of Hogwarts to attend to all his duties, and the last thing Harry wanted was to burden him with more of his troubles. With that set to the side, Harry, Severus and Lily dove into their studies and extracurriculars, content to carry on with school as normal.

"I'll see you guys this evening, yeah?" Harry asked, as he shouldered his broom and prepared to leave.

Severus and Lily nodded. "Should be, unless Professor Snape isn't satisfied and decides to keep us back longer," Lily replied.

Ron's and Harry's noses wrinkled in distaste while Hermione huffed a short laugh. Harry and his two Gryffindor friends then headed out of the entrance hall into the courtyard, before setting off for the Quidditch field.

With the Gryffindors gone, Severus and Lily turned their attention to Mandy and Anthony.

"So, what about you two? Meet up at our usual place?"

"Err—maybe not for me," said Anthony, wearing a small frown. "I'm gonna be meeting with the Quidditch team after lunch, gonna be going over some strategy among other things."

Lily frowned. "I thought you had practice with them just yesterday? Isn't practice for you lot usually on Saturday morning?"

Oh, right. Anthony managed to make the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, albeit only as a reserve and not as a starting chaser. Out of the three active chasers on the roster, one was a seventh year and also their team captain, Martha Jorkins, and when she graduated at the end of the year, Anthony hoped he'd be first in line to fill her roster spot. For the time being, he trained with the team, attended all their get-togethers on and off the Quidditch pitch, and learned as much as he could about being a Quidditch player.

"Yeah, but today we're gonna be discussing tactics, not flying or anything like that," Anthony replied. "First thing after lunch in one of the fourth floor classrooms. Gryffindor's using the pitch so we couldn't fly even if we wanted to."

"All right," Lily sighed. "Well, Sev and I had better get going, see you guys at lunch."

"Yep, see you then," said Mandy, flashing Severus and Lily a smile before heading towards the grand staircase. Lily and Severus turn to go in the opposite direction, taking the lone flight of stairs leading into the bowels of the castle. Cutting through the corridors with well-practiced ease, they arrived just outside the door to the Potions lab with a few minutes to spare. Moments later, their Slytherin friend Tracey appeared wearing a cheery smile. In the three previous times they'd met up for their weekly brewing session, Tracey had always looked happy; but today, she was positively beaming.

"G'morning Severus, Lily," Tracey greeted, grinning at her two friends.

"Someone looks like the cat got the cream," Severus noted, now smiling too. "What's got you feeling so upbeat?"

"Oh, nothing really," Tracey said idly, twirling a loose strand of dark-brown hair around a finger. Though she usually wore her hair down and loose around her shoulders, she usually did it up in a ponytail when brewing so as to keep her hair out of her face, a practice Lily also picked up when brewing.

"Ah…come on Tracey, it can't be nothing. Go on, spill the beans for us, would ya?" Lily egged her.

Tracey's brown eyes darted up and down the corridor in suspicion, her momentary look of wariness soon being replaced by unrestrained glee. "My mum got in contact with a cousin of her's on the continent, turns out, they know some famous potioneer in Belgium who's willing to have a sit-down with me over the summer! Not only that, but she's willing to mentor me for a couple days as well!" Tracey gushed, her uneven teeth flashing in a broad grin.

"Who's the potioneer?" Severus asked eagerly, the excitement in his tone palpable.

Tracey's grin broadened. "You may or may not have heard of her. Her name's, Anna Bridgewater and she's—"

"—the youngest female potions mistress in history!" Lily exclaimed. "Oh my gosh! That's incredible, Tracey! And you get to meet with her? Oh, that's incredible!"

"She invented the starlight potion, didn't she?" Severus asked curiously, his dark eyes narrowed, but curious.

Tracey nodded emphatically. "Not only that, but she's the second youngest person in the world to get their potions mastery this century. Youngest woman and second youngest over all," she said with a hint of pride.

Lily blinked slowly. "Wait, if Bridgewater is the second youngest…who would be younger than her?"

"That would be me," came a cold, quiet voice. The three potioneers whirled around only to see Professor Snape staring at them imperiously from the doorframe to the potions class. "Miss Bridgewater and I have a bit of a rivalry," he explained. "So, Miss Davis…I must confess that I am more than a little disappointed in you for agreeing to meet with my, ah, rival, of a sort."

Tracey flushed a dull shade of red and ducked her head. She could already imagine the next letter she'd receive from her parents when Snape inevitably had his next meet-up with her mum. "It was too good an opportunity to pass up, sir…n-not that I think you're not as good, or anything, but I wanted to get different view-points from different potions masters, sir," she clarified.

Snape smirked, which depending on his mood, heralded the imminent utterance of a joke or a cutting barb. Thankfully for Tracey, who would soon breathe an audible sigh of a relief, Snape appeared to be in good mood and his next words were not a skin-deep insult but a quip.

"Good save, Miss Davis, good save. Though, I'm afraid I must ask at the end of the summer whom you think is the better Potions Master and teacher. Depending on the answer you provide…you may not like what I'll have in store for you."

"Oh, come on, sir," Lily quipped. "The answer is obviously—" Lily's best impression of Snape drew a snort from the man himself and a small grin from Severus and Tracey, "—you. No one's a better potions master than you, sir," she tacked on with a cheeky grin.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Miss Bergman," Snape said with a cold voice, though his dark irises flickered in apparent amusement. "Now, we've wasted enough time prattling on about nonsense. Inside. All of you."

Snape's unexpected moment of lightheartedness was over as quickly as it'd began, and the trio quickly followed in the potions master's wake into the classroom. The group wasted no time donning their appropriate protective gear and then set about setting up their workstations for the next three hours of brewing. Lily would be tackling a batch of stomach soothers, Severus would be brewing some headache potions, and as for Tracey, she was tasked with brewing a cure for boils potion. Even though their Potions professor had been in a joking mood just minutes prior, they knew his temperament could change as quick as a light-switch and now that they were in the classroom, they knew to treat their work with absolute concentration and focus. After gathering their things and indicating to Snape that they were all ready to go, he gave them the go-ahead and their brewing commenced.

Initially, they carried on silence, Lily and Tracey following the written instructions to the letter, while Severus free-lanced a little bit and made the odd change to the recipe here and there. Once they'd settled into a rhythm, and Snape's good mood seemed to persist, the trio started talking once again.

"How far along are you, Sev?" Lily asked, chancing a peek into Severus' boiling vat of headache potion.

"Another hour or so, but I've gotta let it simmer for another thirty minutes so I'm already beginning to tidy up," he replied.

Lily frowned. "Shouldn't it be another twenty-five minutes? It's what the instructions say…"

"The instructions are wrong," Severus said emphatically, drawing a pair of surprised glances from both girls. "Well…they aren't wrong, I guess, but they could more correct if you know what I mean."

"Show off," Tracey teased, throwing Severus a small grin.

Severus merely shrugged his shoulders. "What? I had to stake my claim as the proverbial top dog, don't I? I don't want either of you muppets coming for my crown after all."

Lily lightly socked Severus on the arm. "I don't see a crown on your head," she pointed out, grinning at him.

"Yeah, well, there may not be; but you both know who's the best out of the three of us, and it isn't really a question, is it?"

Neither girl could disagree with Severus on that, no matter how much they wanted to. While incredibly talented in their own right, there was only one Severus, well, two Severuses. But discounting Severus Snape, there was no one quite like Severus Prince when it came to using a ladle, stirrer and cauldron.

"Before you carry on with your chatter, there's something I wish to inform you of before I forget," said Snape, drawing the trio's attention from their brews to their Professor.

With the eyes of the three second years on him, Snape said; "Next month, I'll be introducing all of you to a potion that you may or may not have a chance to brew yourself in the future. It is a tricky, complicated brew…which is why I'll only be revealing the recipe to you three among a handful of other passable students. So, do ensure that your focus remains as committed as ever, if you wish to be among the select few deemed competent enough to learn it. That is all."

Professor Snape's surprising bit of news shook the three potions prodigies immensely, and discussion over what the brew might be ended up leading their conversation for the remainder of their time in the lab. By the time they'd finished their brews and packed up for the day, Severus and Tracey received high marks with Lily once again lagging behind the pair of them a little bit. After tidying up their workstations and ensuring all their things were packed away neatly, the three second years left the classroom.

"Well, that's it from me. I said I'd meet up with Daphne later so I'm off for now," said Tracey, giving her friends a parting wave.

"All right Tracey, tell Daphne Sev 'n I said hi and that we hope to see her at Hagrid's sometime in the future."

Tracey blinked in surprise, her brown eyes widening a bit as she stepped back. "You…you know him?" she asked curiously, though hints of thinly-veiled derision littered her words.

"Yeah, what of it?" Lily snapped back, picking up on said derision rather easily.

Tracey blanched and quickly shook her head. "N-nothing, erm—just a surprise. I know Daph likes Hagrid, spends loads of time with him, I know that…just surprised to hear that you two love animals as much as she does."

"I wouldn't say that we do," said Severus, speaking up on both his and Lily's behalf. "Daphne's more of an animal lover out of the three of us…Lily and I prefer the company, mostly."

"The…company?" Tracey echoed.

"Yeah, Hagrid's a good bloke if you give him a chance," said Severus firmly, his steely words not wasted on Tracey who didn't say anything to refute him.

She nodded just once but quickly looked over to Lily. "I'll tell Daph that you 'n Severus are looking forward to seeing her, Lily."

"Thanks Tracey," Lily beamed. The girls hugged, while Severus and Tracey settled for an awkward handshake. With a wave of her hand, Tracey made to leave, but she hadn't made it very far when she spotted an odd sight at the end of the corridor. Severus and Lily spotted what, or rather, who it was, just moments later.

"What the—what's she doing down here?" Severus asked, gazing perplexedly at the small, first year girl at the far end of the corridor.

The red and gold highlights of her robes were unmistakable, as was her coppery-red hair. Whatever her reason was for being down in the bowels of the castle, on a Sunday of all days when there were no classes, little Ginny Weasley was certainly far from home.

"Oi you! Whatcha doing down here! You're a long way from Gryffindor tower, aren't you?" Tracey called out, startling Ginny.

Ginny's large, brown eyes quickly snapped to Tracey's intimidating form, but relief settled on her features as she spotted Severus and Lily just a pace behind the second-year Slytherin. Tracey was nearly as tall as Severus, and one of the tallest students in second year, so to Ginny Weasley she made for quite the intimidating figure.

"I—I don't—I don't know…I'm not sure how I—"

"—Did you get lost, Ginny?" Lily chuckled fondly, moving past Tracey.

"Erm—I think so," she said sheepishly. She was holding a small, black book, possibly a diary of sorts. She put it back into her book bag and glanced around the corridor. "I don't…how did I—"

"—Just follow us," said Lily, wearing a friendly smile. "Sev and I know this castle like the back of our hand, we'll make sure those big mean Slytherins don't bother you, right Sev?"

Severus nodded; but Tracey, to his side, looked affronted.

"Hey! We're not all big and mean!" she exclaimed.

"Then why'd you try to intimidate her, then?" Severus shot back, daring her to retort.

"Oh, that was just some casual ribbing," Tracey sniped, sticking her tongue out at Severus who only rolled his eyes and held his head in his hand as if staving off a migraine.

Turning back to Ginny, Tracey now sported a wide grin. "I was just having a go at you, Weasley. I've got nothin' against you," she chuckled. "Name's Tracey. Tracey Davis, I know your—"

"—Ron's told me about you," said Ginny, her eyes wide with recognition.

Lily swore she saw Tracey's olive-tanned skin turn red a little bit, but she didn't say anything.

"Yeah, Ron mentioned you a lot after Christmas, said that's when he realized that not all Slytherins were nasty, I didn't know he was talking about you," Ginny went on.

"Yeah, well, your brother's an all right bloke himself," said Tracey, grinning. "But in all seriousness, Weasley…not all of my housemates would take too kindly to you showing up here on a frequent basis, 'specially on a day with no classes," Tracey said gravely, the seriousness of her words not lost on Ginny who nodded fiercely.

"Sorry about that," she muttered sheepishly.

"Just make sure it don't happen again, and I'm bloody serious about that. I happen to like your brother as a friend…but most of my housemates, as I said, don't. Now you'd better follow Lily and Severus and head on out of here before anymore of my housemates show up," she said sternly.

"C'mon Ginny, let's get out of here," said Lily, reaching out for the younger girl's hand. Severus nodded in agreement and the trio set off while Tracey headed in the opposite direction towards the Slytherin common room.

Ginny looked unusually pale, almost as pale as her Ravenclaw guardians in Severus and Lily, even though her skin was usually freckled. Lily chalked it up to her feeling a little fearful of Tracey's words. Even though she and Severus could walk through the dungeons with relative impunity, partly due to being Ravenclaws and not Gryffindors, and also due to Severus being 'related to Professor Snape,' Lily knew full well that their other friends didn't enjoy those privileges. After escorting Ginny out of the dungeons, and mercifully not bumping into any wandering Slytherins along the way, the three of them headed for the Great Hall where a pleasant weekend lunch awaited them. As they opened the doors to the Hall only to see lunch in full-swing, Lily was relieved to see some color being restore to Ginny's face and her brown eyes light up brightly as she spotted her roommates over at the Gryffindor table. A dark-haired girl, who Lily recognized as first-year Becky Waters, waved Ginny over.

"Thanks for that, guys, I really mean that. I honestly don't know how I ended up there, but thanks for helping me out," Ginny said sincerely.

She clearly meant every syllable, that was clear to Severus and Lily.

Severus smirked at the redhead and rolled his eyes. "Just don't go slumming with Slytherins from now on, y'hear? Go on. Go tell your roommates about how you need two, Ravenclaw knights in shining armor to rescue you from the depths of the dungeons."

Ginny only rolled her eyes at Severus to the tune of Lily's giggles. With a grateful smile, Ginny left to the Gryffindor table while Severus and Lily wandered over to the Ravenclaw table where Mandy, Anthony and the rest of their fellow second years were sat.

A/N2: Up next, Severus has some issues with his roommates and Nearly Headless Nick's Death day party. Thanks for reading!