He'd told himself that he was going to stay away from Lily and her group of friends. There was no need to speak to any of them since he was no longer dating her and, to be honest, he had always dreaded being around them anyway. Between their giggling and whispering - not to mention their pointing at every boy they thought was remotely attractive - it was hard to focus on whatever task was at hand.

His plan had proved easy enough until the end of the winter holidays. From the time they broke off their relationship in October to the night before term began, they stuck to separate sides of the library to read and study. When they needed a book from the other person's end, they pretended they weren't there. In double classes, they sat at opposite sides of the classrooms and never made eye contact while walking along the corridors of the castle. Both of them had opted to stay at the school rather than go home for Christmas and despite having meals in closer proximity than usual, they didn't speak.

So he was surprised, that night, to see a shadow fall across his book as somebody stepped front of him. He was even more surprised, upon looking up, to see that it belonged to Lily. Careful to keep his tone cool, he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, you could say that." She glared at him, clearly unhappy about having to speak to him at all. "Professor Slughorn asked me to pass the message along. He's decided to switch our partners up again."

Snape shrugged slightly. The students were used to Slughorn changing them around, although he left them the same all of last term. "All right."

"He's put Remus with me. You've got Marlene."

"Okay." There was something about the way she said it that made him arch a brow. She sounded jealous. He chanced a glance toward the other side of the library, where Marlene stood waiting for Lily. "You'll still do well with Lupin. And you'll probably be paired with Marlene again soon enough."

"One can hope," she muttered, staring down at her feet. "Anyway, that's all I had to say."

He didn't respond, returning to his book instead. Half an hour later, when he heard the girls leaving, he couldn't stop smirking. He knew the reason that Lily was jealous - whoever was partnered with him would end up getting top marks.

If there was one class she hated being bested in, it was Potions.

By the first of February, it was hard to hide his satisfaction in Potions. Lily, ever Slughorn's favorite, still couldn't manage to outperform him and blamed it on Lupin. She refused to listen to anyone who stated that it couldn't possibly be his fault, saying instead that he just wasn't trying hard enough. He used to be partners with Snape, after all - surely he picked up on some of his knowledge. But facts are facts - and another one that was becoming increasingly well-known was that Lily and Marlene were out of sorts.

What wasn't known was the exact reason for it.

Snape glanced to his left, checking to see Marlene's progress on the notes Slughorn had asked them to turn in by the end of the period. She was nearly to the end of the parchment, writing furiously. She was frowning and her eyes seemed troubled. He felt his lips lift in a small smile at the sight; she reminded him of himself.

"Having fun over there?" He kept his voice low, hoping that he could talk without catching Lily's attention. She and Lupin had taken to sitting at the table just behind and to the left of he and Marlene, and she'd been throwing him dirty looks every time she looked up.

"Oh, loads." She barely looked up. "Did you finish?"

"As if you have to ask." He nudged his own parchment in her direction. "You?"

"Mhm." She took a piece of parchment from beneath the one she was writing on and pushed it toward him. "Look over it if you want, Merlin knows you've got time before Sluggy actually collects anything."

Brow furrowed, he took it and skimmed over it. She'd hit every point about aging potions that he had, and just as spectacularly. So then what was she actually working on…? He tapped his fingers on the table for a moment, trying to figure it out.

And then he got lucky.

"Papers, everyone, papers!" Slughorn looked around at the students, beaming for no apparent reason, before waving his wand. The assignments flew toward him, landing in a neat pile in his hands. "Once you've cleaned your messes, please head out and do enjoy your weekends!"

The robust professor left quickly, surprising everyone, though they hardly complained. As the rest of the class filed out after him after hurriedly cleaning and packing, Snape kept his eyes on Marlene. She was still writing, so she hardly noticed and when she turned her head to look behind her, he reached over and took the paper.

His eyes raced over the paper, picking out names and words that seemed the most important. By the time he started reading it more thoroughly, he could feel her stare, but he didn't look up until he was finished.

"You…you weren't really supposed to see that," she murmured. She had taken the time he spent reading to stand and stuff everything else in her bag.

"I gathered." He smiled faintly, but she was already looking down at the floor, a light blush turning her cheeks pink. It was that shyness more than the note's contents that prompted him to move; he knew that she wouldn't. Slowly, he stood as well and closed the distance between them. "She's just jealous, you know."

"Of what?" She jerked her head up, surprised to find him so close.

He didn't answer verbally, but leaned forward instead, his eyes flicking between her lips and her eyes. She smelled like peaches, he noticed, just before they made contact. It was awkward for a moment, each of them waiting for the other to move, but then they came to their senses and all he could think was that she felt so soft.

She pulled away after a bit, still looking surprised but not at all unhappy. In fact, she was smiling slightly. "I see."