Okay, so, I'm a liar xD

not really. I guess I'm just too naive when it comes to real life. For some unfathomable reason, I thought that getting a job after university would be easy. hahaha. Spoiler alert: it's not. I struggled to find a job in my field and the interviews sucked so bad that although I'm very chill about a lot of things, I cried through the two-hour train ride home. Yuck, that's embarrassing... All this made me spiral deep into depression (because come on, what does it say about you when there is a shortage of teachers in your country and yet you still cannot find a job?). So yeah, one bad thought followed the other and soon I was too depressed to do anything productive.

But then I got a phone call from a school where I did my teaching practice during uni saying that they need someone to cover for an English teacher until January and both the teachers and the students wanted me to come back.

Although it's not exactly what I had in mind, it's a good start, so I'm relatively happy. Therefore here is the next chapter, which I had edited like a thousand times because for some reason I just wasn't happy with it. But after working on it a week straight, I said to myself that it's not going to get better than this, so enjoy, and let me know what you think about it in the comments.

Have a nice summer, and if you are looking for a job, I'm sending you all the positive energy the universe has to offer because that shit is nerve-wracking.

Severus Snape never considered himself to be a lucky person. Quite the opposite.

He was poor and his family situation wasn't the best either. At school, he was picked on by Potter and his gang for 'simply existing' and he was sure that if it wasn't for Lucius Malfoy in his first year his housemates wouldn't tolerate him much, either. In addition, he was constantly biting his tongue to be on good terms with his housemates. Hell, his only luck was that he met someone like Lily Evans and by some miracle, they became friends.

Considering all this, he shouldn't have been surprised at how things turned out. He might have even expected that when he was actually interested in spending time with Evelyn, it seemed that the timing just wasn't right.

"I apologise. I promised to help some second years with potions."

That's what she said on Thursday when she spent her time between and after classes tutoring History of Magic and Potions to a group of second years. By supper time, she looked exhausted and had no interest in talking.

"What's with all that tutoring? Did Sluggy set you up for that?" asked Lucinda during supper.

"Hmm? Oh, no, they asked me and I saw no reason to refuse them," shrugged Evelyn.

The others just gave her a doubting look, not believing that she did it just for the good of her heart, but didn't say anything. Since neither Severus nor Evelyn was the extroverts in their little group, the rest of supper was spent listening to Lucinda Talkalot talk about the performance for the Halloween feast as well as Vanity's report on how the team was handling the preparation for the upcoming Gryffindor-Slytherin match.

'Doesn't matter. I will stop her before leaving to the dorms and have a quick chat then.' thought Snape, but once again his plans were destroyed; when arriving in the common room, Evelyn asked Regulus to sit with her because they had something to discuss privately.

When asked about what they were planning, Evelyn told the group in a very polite and roundabout way to mind their own business, resulting in Severus returning to his room. He took out the book about magical theory that Lily recommended to him (which was initially Evelyn's suggestion for Lily), but he found himself focusing more on the door of the shared dorm room.

It took a while for Regulus to arrive, and when he did all Severus wanted was to ask him what they were talking about, but he knew that it would not be the best approach to the situation. Thankfully, Rosier was quick to comment on how long it took him to get back.

"That was a long conversation. You were gone for almost two hours. Is everything alright?" he asked.

"It's nothing," mumbled Regulus as he went to change his clothes in the bathroom.

The boys shared a look, but it was evident that Regulus didn't want to talk about it, so they let it be. After all, that was how things went here.

After putting off the candles Severus lay in his bed, somewhat disappointed that he hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Evelyn; however, he told himself that there will be another chance tomorrow.

Yet, on Friday, she was once again quite occupied.

"I am so sorry Emma, I cannot attend practice today. I agreed to tutor some classmates from Ancient Runes and afterwards I have a meeting with my partner to work on our translation project."

It seemed that today was not Severus' day either. But that was alright. He would have more opportunities to talk to her, and it wasn't like he had anything pressing to discuss with her, anyway. So why was he beginning to feel irritated?

While Severus have never really thought about his habits, now he was glad that he frequently went to the library. This way he could read in peace, while also keeping an eye on Evelyn without anyone questioning his motives. Not like the other students paid him much attention, but one could never know.

Another advantage of the library was that it allowed him to spend more time with Lily without being judged or interrupted by either Gryffindors or Slytherins. In addition, ever since Evelyn claimed that they are not anywhere close to being on the same level, Lily has moved to the library to prove that she can be an equal and force Evelyn to take her seriously. Thanks to this, he could pretend to be studying with his friend, and if anyone in their group asked questions, he could just say that he was keeping an eye on Evelyn as they agreed. Although nothing happened recently, he could still use the agreement he made with Black as an excuse, and no one would question it.

And while he was proud of how he thought it all out, he was still nowhere to feeling satisfied with himself. While his assignments have been completed and he had nothing coming up in the next weeks, for some reason he was feeling both irritated and gloomy at the same time. Something that Lily pointed out when he joined her in the library after the classes ended.

"What got you sulking like that? It's Friday and the classes are over! Cheer up, Sev!" said Lily as he sat down next to her.

"I'm not a child, I don't sulk," mumbled Snape, opening the book he was pretending to read last night.

Lily scoffed loudly and looked at him over the top of her books. "Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night. But just so you know, you are not fooling me," she stated before she showed the books away so she could see her friend better. "Now tell me, why do you keep looking so strange lately? Our assignments are done, and we have nothing to do until Halloween, so what got you so down?"

She sounded genuinely concerned and Severus felt stupid for ever feeling even a little upset about the whole thing.

"It's nothing, really. It's just…" he sighed. What exactly was bothering him?

There wasn't much to tell, really. At least not without sounding pathetic. The problem lay in the fact that he couldn't just admit that he was upset for not talking to Evelyn in the past two days. Saying it out loud would make him feel worse about himself, so he chose to go with the safest option, suffering in silence.

Lily stared at him for a moment, seemingly searching his face for an explanation.

"Well, if it's nothing, then why are you sulking?"

"It's complicated," he said as his eyes strayed to the brunette sitting a few tables away.

And it really was complicated. Because how could he explain that he was feeling upset because he wanted to talk more to Evelyn, but she was busy doing her things, which was perfectly fine because one of the reasons this relationship existed was for her suitors to become discouraged so she could work more on her things in peace?

It wasn't like he expected Evelyn to drop everything to hang around him. She had things that interested her and she wanted to know more about them, and he respected that. And yet, the thought of being completely ignored in favour of doing more important things irritated him more than it should have. It made his stomach twist and his heart ache.

This was getting dangerous.

'I guess it would be best to keep my distance for a while.' he thought. He knew that it wouldn't do him any good to grow attached.

Besides, he had his own things to do. Keep his grades, maintain his friendship with Lily, and last but not least, go through the piles of books on the table in front of him. It wasn't going to do him any good to spend every minute worrying about a girl who clearly didn't care about him. So, with his decision made, he pushed all the feelings aside and focused on his studies once again, ignoring the voice in the back of his head, telling him that he was making a mistake.

Now, he could tell Lily with confidence that it was nothing, and he was just being silly.

"You know, it's not good to keep your feelings all bottled up," said Lily, trying to get him to share his thoughts.

Forcing himself not to sigh, he answered simply. "Nothing is wrong, Lily. Why can't we leave it alone? Besides, we still have books to go through, don't we?"

"Fine. I was just trying to be a good friend. But you know… if it keeps bothering you, you can always come to me. Or if not me, at least tell someone else. You will feel better."

Severus just nodded, hoping that with this she would finally let go of the topic. But she didn't. She just kept looking at him expectantly.

He really didn't understand why Lily cared so much about him and his wellbeing, but he was not about to complain. While at times it was annoying, he was glad that at least one person cared for him to some extent.

He knew that he was not getting out of this, but he couldn't bring himself to confess everything, so, instead, he just said, "You're right; I will speak to someone about it tomorrow. Now please let me concentrate," and started reading the pages in the book again. He knew he was being stubborn, but he couldn't help himself, he needed space.

Seeing that she was getting nowhere, Lily went back to reading her book again.

"You know… At first, I was suspicious, but seeing that your attention keeps drifting to her, now the chance of you dating is not that impossible," commented Lily out of the blue.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Yes you do, Severus, please don't try to deny it. Also, she doesn't seem to mind,"

Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Just because she hasn't run up to me telling me to stop staring, it doesn't mean that she doesn't mind it."

"Aha! So you admit that you were staring at her!" exclaimed Lily with a wide smile on her face.

"No, Lily, I was not. And even if I was, there is nothing to discuss. As long as she continues to ignore my presence, there is no need to worry about it."

"Right… Is that what is bothering you? That she spends a lot of time with other people in the library? Now that I think about it, she has been in there a lot in the past two days… And that look on your face appeared around the same time… Do you feel neglected? If so, maybe you should ask her on a date. This week is a Hogsmeade weekend. You should go out!"

"That's ridiculous, Lily. Of course not! I have no idea why you would think that!" snapped Severus, irritated.

He thought that they were over this debate. In addition, she unknowingly hit the nail on the head, but he really didn't want to get into a discussion about his 'love life', especially not with Lily. He knew that she wanted him to open up to her and trust her, and she seemed willing to listen, or at least she did for the time being, but he also wasn't ready to deal with her teasing remarks that would follow her advice.

And also how would he go about asking Evelyn out? He could already imagine her reaction.

"Yuck, why would I want to spend my weekend with you?"

or

"Can't you see that I am busy? Go ask someone else and stop bothering me!"

Yes, that would be a complete disaster.

"I don't know, maybe because you have been walking around like a kicked puppy and keep looking over at your girlfriend? It's pretty obvious that something happened," she replied calmly but firmly, "so spill it, Sev, what is it? Did you have a fight or-"

"I haven't fought about anything with her!"

"Then?" asked Lily, raising her eyebrows.

"Can you please stop pushing it? For once in your life, let me handle my problems by myself!" he yelled at her, surprising himself with the intensity of his tone.

His anger surprised Lily as well. She blinked at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish, obviously shocked by his outburst.

'Oh no, I fucked up…'

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he started to apologise, but he was cut off by Lily waving him off.

"I get it, Sev. I know that you have a lot to deal with... Just don't shut me out. That's all. You know I am here for you, right? Always." she said, smiling at him kindly, raising her fist.

"Yeah, always," said Severus and raised his fist to fist bump Lily.

It was such a simple gesture, yet it was so meaningful for them. It was a little thing they had, which made them feel better. There were times when they both felt that it was them against the world, but the thought that they could always count on each other made things a little bearable. Putting up with a jealous sister or an abusive parent was a little easier when they had someone to vent to knowing full well that the other would understand. No matter what happened, they could always rely on each other and they knew that they would always be together. They were best friends, after all.

"Alright, now on a brighter note… I figured that we could divide the books between us because at this pace this is going to take forever," said Lily, looking at the pile of books on the table in front of them.

"When did this become a group project? I'm just here as mental support. Unlike you, I have nothing to prove."

"Oh, come on! If you weren't at least a little interested in these books, you wouldn't be here." laughed Lily.

He couldn't argue with that.

"I just wanted to see what kind of books she recommended for you. That's all."

"See? So, how about we divide the books between us and then give each other a brief description of what it was about? It should be fine and we would save a lot of time!"

"Are you sure it's not because you are having difficulty with the book you have? It doesn't seem like you have read much since yesterday…" pointed out Severus looking at the book she had.

There was a moment of silence before Lily let out a groan. "Ugh, it's not my fault. This book is just so boring! I guess it was a bad choice to start with the Great British Wizarding Families and Their Histories. With all the praise, it's almost like the writer is giving the families' ego a blowie - frankly, it makes me sick."

Severus just looked at the thick book with disgust. While he has read through any book that looked interesting, this book was one of those he had no interest in reading. Sure, it might be useful in the future, but all the arse-licking that was probably there would make it difficult to read through it without vomiting.

"...What made you think that it was a good book to start with? I'm sure there are other - more interesting - books there," he said, motioning to the piles of unread books on their table.

Lily just shrugged, "Some of our schoolmates have their surnames here. I thought it would give me an insight into why they are so… arrogant,"

Severus just raised his eyebrows at her reasoning, but he knew better than to tell her that it was a stupid idea. Instead, he looked at the book he was holding, pretending to be nonchalant about the topic.

"I don't think that you will find an explanation for this in a book. Some people are just arrogant snobs because they had everything handed to them from the moment they were born because at one place in time their family member did something that made them rich, and by association, they believe that they are also exceptional simply for being born in that family."

Even though he tried to sound nonchalant, by the time he finished talking, his dislike has seeped into his tone as it became more and more hateful.

"Hmm, sounds like someone we know…"

"Sounds like a lot of people we know." sneered Severus.

There was a moment of silence, before Lily said, "You know… there is a huge part dedicated to the Williams family… in case you were interested,"

"Thank you, but I don't care enough to read through what seems to be an exceptional drool fest."

Lily just laughed at her friend's response before both of them went back to their books. Now Severus actually felt kind of bad for having this book in his hand for a while and having no clue what it was about.

"Fine, let's take quick notes of notable things in the books, and then we will summarise them to each other. But you are going to be the one to finish that book," he said, shooting a look at Lily's book.

"Deal!" smiled Lily.

With that, they went back, or in Severus' case, started reading their books. Turns out the book he held was about magical theory in practice and it covered a lot of interesting facets of magic. The more he read, the more interesting the book has become. It described the origins and practice of witchcraft among different cultures, their most common spells and rituals, and provided interesting tips and tricks for beginners. Among many other things, it also talked about the different tools, crystals, and oils that one can use and further explored the spiritual side of magic like the different Gods and Goddesses that some practitioners work with, while also highlighting the importance of different candles, colours and the zodiac in rituals and different practices. He liked that it was written for practical use and so there were fewer theories and more tips on how to use the theory in practice, and while religion and crystals weren't really his things he thought that he could still read through those chapters out of curiosity.

After realising that this book could be useful, Severus quickly took out a piece of parchment and noted down a few things. If only it was his book, instead of a library book, he could have made his notes right into it, but beggars can't be choosers…

The two friends read quietly, breaking the silence only when they wanted to show something interesting to the other.

And while the book was quite interesting, Snape just couldn't focus. He constantly felt someone's eyes on him. However, when he looked up, he didn't meet the brown eyes of the girl he thought was watching him. No, he met the eyes of a couple of Hufflepuffs some tables away, who, upon realising they were caught, started whispering to each other.

"You are probably going to say that I'm being paranoid, but recently I feel that I am constantly being watched and talked about," he mumbled.

He expected Lily to laugh and tell him that he was overthinking...

"Oh, yes! I completely forgot that I wanted to tell you this! You see, I got so into studying that it just slipped my mind!" slapped her forehead Lily. "There is a rumour going around saying that ever since you saved her, Evelyn has been absolutely smitten with you. Apparently, when she was asked about it she just laughed, but they say that she has been speaking very highly of you, so of course, everyone will want to see who you are," laughed Lily.

"W-what?" choked Snape.

"Bertha Jorkins claimed that she met you two and I quote ' Williams was all over him' . Just what were you doing when Bertha stumbled upon you two?"

At first, it was quite surprising and somewhat overwhelming for Snape to think that just because of Bertha's rumour, other students were actively wanting to know more about him. On the other hand, Lily's comment has made him feel something he couldn't quite name.

"You are making it sound as if Bertha caught us shagging in a corridor," sneered Snape.

"Then you should have heard the way Mary told us the story," laughed Lily, clearly relieved that nothing serious happened.

"Well, since you are that interested in rumours, rumour has it that Bertha likes to run her mouth and has a habit of making a mountain out of a molehill,"

"Hmm? And since when are you interested in rumours enough to know what they say about Bertha?"

"Just because I'm not a social butterfly, it doesn't mean that I'm deaf,"

"Yes. Sure. It's not because of your new girlfriend, who, by the way, just left. So, if you want to talk to her, you should hurry," said Lily, turning back to her book.

"How did you-"

"Sev, please. I have been your best friend for years. I can read you like-" here she looked around the table, "... maybe not like these books, but I guess I could read you like a picture book."

"A picture book?"

"Yes, like a child's picture book! You know like 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street'!"

Seeing Snape's confused look, Lily continued, "Oh, come on, I'm sure you know it. 'When I leave home to walk to school, Dad always says to me: Marco, keep your eyelids up and see what you can see. But when I tell him where I've been and what I think I've seen, he looks at me and sternly says: Your eyesight's much too keen.' It's one of the most common children's stories. You must have heard it before."

"No, I haven't. I grew up on Dahl's books, not on picture books," he said, but Lily just rolled her eyes.

"Dahl is for older kids than I had in mind, Mr Renowned Literary Critic," deadpanned Lily. "By the way, shouldn't you hurry? You will lose your chance to spend time with your girlfriend."

Snape looked at the doors of the library. Should he follow her? Would it be too obvious that he was waiting for her to finish and now he was looking for her? Did he even have to go and find her? He will see her at supper, anyway, and here he could spend some more time with Lily doing their own things without interruption.

"I have seen you watching her both yesterday and today. It's alright, go talk to her. We will see each other at Potion club anyway, won't we?"

Snape hesitated for a moment but then bid goodbye to Lily and left the library without taking a look back. If he did, he would have seen Lily's soft smile and would have heard her mumbling: "Yeah, you don't need to have keen eyesight to see what is happening here." Before going back to the book she was reading.

Leaving the library, Severus heard the bell chime signalling that supper was being served. Although he tried to make sure to catch up to Evelyn before arriving in the Great Hall, it seemed that he was once again unlucky. However, arriving in the Great Hall, he could see their group at the table, but there was no sign of Evelyn or Regulus anywhere.

He figured that she went to the dorm to freshen up and would join their friends shortly. Maybe this was his chance! With that, he hurried to the common room so they could go to supper together.

When he entered the common room, he saw Evelyn talking to Regulus at the back of the room. However, it seemed that they were arguing about something. It didn't seem like a good time to join them, but he was curious about what they were arguing about, so he carefully walked toward one of the long-backed armchairs. It seems that today he was quite lucky since someone left some books on the table next to it, so he could pretend to read while he listened to their conversation.

"Oh, come on! I wasted all this time tutoring half-bloods and muggle-borns just to find out all the information that we needed!"

"My answer remains the same. I cannot go there! If my mother hears of this-"

"She won't! Trust me, it will be alright. We will just go in and out! No one will notice us!" tried to convince him Evelyn.

Regulus was quiet for a moment and Evelyn took it as her clue to continue. "It's perfect! I have everything planned; it's a Hogsmeade weekend, and there will be students everywhere - we will perfectly blend in!"

"You don't understand! My mother has eyes and ears everywhere! She will find out…"

"And?! What can she do? We are not doing anything bad, so I don't see what the problem is!" exclaimed Evelyn.

"She wouldn't like me going there…"

"Gosh, Regulus, stop being such a wimp! It's nice that you love your parents, but you are such a mommy's boy!"

"Oh yes? You are one to talk... Should I just ask what your plans are for All Hallows' Eve? Hmm, why is it that you are going to miss out on Talkalot's performance? Or maybe I should just go ahead and inform the headmaster?" threatened Regulus.

"First of all, that's different. And second, at least I have the balls to take risks. Something that I can't say about you…"

There was silence after that, but Severus heard both of them taking a deep breath to calm themselves down. By this time, he was more and more intrigued. What were they talking about that was so bad that even Regulus' mother would disagree? And what was that about Halloween?

"Come on, Reg. There is nothing to be afraid of. I will make the purchase. I just need you to come with me. If you get in trouble, you can put the blame on me." pleaded Evelyn.

"Why don't you just ask Snape to go with you? He could probably help you more than me," suggested Regulus.

"... He probably has other things to do. And I don't want anyone who I know to see me make a fool out of myself."

"Then what about me? Does it not matter to you at all if you make a fool of yourself in front of me?" questioned Regulus, but Evelyn just laughed.

"I meant other people. You are you - we have seen each other make a fool of ourselves quite a lot growing up, haven't we? Do you remember the time when you- hmph!"

Severus could imagine that Regulus jumped to cover her mouth before anyone could overhear the story Evelyn was about to tell. Not like anyone other than Snape listened to their conversation. Other than them, there were five more people, and they were talking around the fireplace.

And they were minding their own business until Regulus let out a loud shriek, "Ew, you licked my palm! What's wrong with you?!"

And that was when everyone turned to them, seeing the disgusted boy wiping his hand on his robes and the older girl grinning.

"I can't believe you licked my palm!"

"That's what you get for covering my mouth," said Evelyn as she stuck out her tongue at the boy.

"You are being so childish now!"

"So are you! I can't believe you are so afraid to go to-"

Evelyn couldn't finish her sentence, because she was interrupted by Regulus, who had just seen Snape and called out to him.

"Snape! Good thing you are here. See, Evelyn here has something she needs help with. She is just too shy to ask. She would like to ask you to go with her to Hogsmeade tomorrow. I will leave you two to talk out the details. Bye!" he said and before any of them could react, he was quick to disappear, probably to his dorm room.

No wonder he was the team's seeker. One second he was there, the next he was nowhere to be seen.

"I am going to kill him..." mumbled Evelyn.

"What is it about the Hogsmeade visit that Regulus mentioned?" asked Snape, trying to act nonchalant.

"Uh, well, you see… Um…I need to run some errands and I needed Regulus' help for that, but as you can see, the little jerk tried to push it onto you. But you don't have to worry. I am sure that you have your own things to do and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you." explained Evelyn.

"It's not a problem. I can accompany you," he said without thinking.

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly and Snape nodded.

Evelyn thought for a moment before she said, "Alright, so I guess we can switch it up. If we are already going out tomorrow, we can count it as a date that we rescheduled from Sunday to Saturday."

This made Snape take a step back.

"Why? Would it be too bad to spend more time together?"

"No, of course not! It's just that we agreed on one date a week. To keep up appearances. There is no need to go overboard. Other than that, Bertha is doing an amazing job creating rumours. I was also busy singing praises about you and acting like I was head over heels. Everything is going well!"

Hearing Evelyn say this reminded Severus that he decided to keep his distance. What was he even doing? Just because she has been nice to him a few times, he got his hopes up. They were nothing more than 'business partners' using each other. They were not friends, and not even relatively close to something else.

"I see." he mumbled.

"The point of this relationship was that I would be able to pay more attention to my own research while helping you make connections, and I would hate to inconvenience you just because of our agreement. So, there is no need to force yourself to go along with everything I do."

"Of course not. What kind of a fool do you take me for? I offered simply because I also had some errands to do, so, it would be like killing two birds with one stone." lied Snape.

"Oh! I see… But still…" hesitated Evelyn."Um, I guess I should warn you; you might see some... um… what would be a good word? Maybe surprising? unsettling? Anyway, you might see shocking things."

"What kind of shocking things?" asked Snape intrigued.

"Um… I can't really tell you now, but you will see."

"Alright." shrugged Snape.

"In light of this, do you still wish to accompany me on my outing?" asked Evelyn seriously.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure."

"W-well, then I guess we could head out right after breakfast?"

"Works for me,"

"Alright, it's a date then!" smiled Evelyn before she turned around and left for her dorm room.

'What have I just gotten myself into?.' asked Snape, and while this outcome was not what he expected when he entered the common room, by the end of the day he found himself in a better mood than in which he has began the day.

While Severus' mood has improved, Evelyn Williams was leaning with her back on the door of her room, her eyes wide, face pale and a slight blush on her face.

"I messed up. Oh, no, I messed up…" whispered Evelyn to herself in panic.