Chapter Five: Tripping Up

As the Great Hall emptied, two students could be seen purposefully pushing aside the remnants of the crowds and moving steadily toward the raised dais. Lily Evans and James Potter were heading for the same destination, and for once, neither wore a disgruntled expression or a hard glare of fury.

"Ah, there you two are," Albus Dumbledore called out through the chattering voices. "I was beginning to think that…well, anyway, welcome back, this year with the added responsibilities of Head Boy and Girl."

"Is that all?" Lily frowned, wondering if that was all that the Headmaster had to say.

"No, no, of course not," he chuckled. "You see, we're sorely in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, as the previous one seems to have left in quite a hurry to escape to safety. So the other professors and myself were wondering—"

James cut in sharply, "He was a fool then, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore waved aside his comment and continued. "As I was saying, we were wondering if you would accept an additional set of obligations. Of course, nothing will be held against either of you if you refuse, but for the good of the school I thought that—"

"Oh, let him continue," snapped Lily. Exactly three hours of the school year had passed so far, and she was already beginning to feel the same irritation toward hopeless Potter as before. Only this time, it had very little to do with herself.

"Thank you, Miss Evans. Anyway, I thought that a few of the older students might be willing to help instruct a few classes? If the first through fourth years are taken care of, I do believe that I would have enough time to work with the fifth through seventh year students. And you'll be paired, so there'll be fewer tasks for each person involved." Dumbledore clasped his hand together and lifted his white brows. "Any opinions, now that I've finished?" he asked.

For once, James creased his forehead in thought before nodding slowly and deliberately. "Yes, it seems like the only way, Professor, unless you could call up another teacher on such short notice." Then he brightened and flashed a smile. "And I've never had the Headmaster teach a class, so it'll be quite an experience."

"Well then, Mr. Potter, now my suspicions that you have any sense at all have been confirmed. Miss Evans?"

She bit her lip gently and sighed. "Yes, I will. By the way, what are the pairs?" A sudden horrifying thought popped to the surface of her mind, and if it were true, then she would most likely drop out. No, no, and no. It wouldn't be possible…would it?

"That," he smiled kindly, "would be something you will find out soon enough. And as for the others, they have already been selected. Good night, then, and do enjoy yourselves walking the halls."

Meanwhile, Sirius and the other two Gryffindors had managed to slip off into a small side corridor away from the mass of students moving slowly up the stairs. It was cold and held a slightly musty odor, and would have been of no importance to them except for one crucial fact. This particular sorry excuse for a decent hall happened to lead to the Slytherin dormitories.

"Good, we're early," he whispered and pulled out his wand. "Moony, get the support charm ready. On the count of three—one, two three!"

No sparks or beams of light appeared, but any onlookers would have felt the peculiar sensation of wings gently brushing past them. Fortunately, there were no other students, and their spell seemed to have worked. Exchanging grins, they whisked around the corner to find James casually leaning against the wall.

"All set," smiled Remus. "Went without a hitch, actually, but pity it isn't as large-scale as we could have made it. So how was the talk with Dumbledore?"

"Fine, fine," James replied absently. "So now we wait…"

They nodded.

Sirius and Remus agreed to walk back and pretend to be passing by, though they were walking much more slowly than usual. As the minutes ticked by, they found themselves wondering if anyone would come…but there was no avoiding them, not tonight.

"For her to come by?"

But they never heard the rest.

One Severus Snape strolled through the hall, his chest puffed up with the semblance of pride and his expression sour for the sake of the other Slytherins. Even on the first night back, he had already been assigned the duty of patrolling the Slytherin hallways, and by Lily Evans herself. But it had been no real surprise; she always seemed to be torn between hatred and pity for the Slytherin git, and Evans was always fair as well.

He managed to anticipate the crowd of Slytherins heading down to the dungeons and station himself at the corridor where they would be soon turning in. As usual, part of his mind was focused on finding the Gryffindorks…surely they would have shown themselves by now? But the only sound was the sound of voices drifting away, and the only discernable movement was that of booted feet. What luck.

Suddenly a series of sparks flew up farther down the hallway, accompanied by a deafening "BOOM". Severus snapped awake and glanced around hastily but saw no one. He whipped out his wand and began running towards where the obviously rule-breaking wandwork had occurred. Whoever that fool had been was going to pay, unless, of course, it was a fellow snake.

Spinning around, he caught a flash of movement to the right, followed by a rather chubby figure waddling much more slowly than the other two. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snarled softly and took off after them. "Get out of—"

But Severus never did finish his sentence, for his feet were handily intercepted by an invisible wall that spanned the corridor. Too surprised to cry out, his head, then scrawny body, were propelled by the force of his feet flying out from underneath him, and he landed with a loud "thump" in the middle of the main hall. A crowd of students formed a ring around him, and when he rose, James Potter was looking down skeptically.

"You won't hear the end of this." Severus Snape was a true Slytherin at heart, and the new humiliation was too much. He scooped up his wand and held it up to James's chest. "Don't move, or the words just might slip…and that might just be the end."

James stood and stared at his furiously pale face. "What exactly are you talking about?" Pushing apart the circle of students with a commanding look, he strode over to where Snape had fallen on his large nose. "There's nothing here," he muttered, then raised his voice. "You must have just tripped."

"Don't lie like that, Potter!" Clicking heels preceded the appearance of Lily Evans, and the expression on her face was one of undiluted fury. "Go on, apologize to him. It's only been the first day back. Or," she drew a deep breath, "I'll never speak to you again. And that's absolutely final." Redheads were a force to be reckoned with, and she would show them that, preferably right then and there. And Potter was getting to be too much…trying to proclaim his innocence to her face indeed.

Snape, however, had shoved his way through the clusters and was now outside the circle. "I don't need your help, Evans. Now go on and be a good little girl." His voice was a low growl that only Lily could hear, but James saw his mouth twist in dry sarcasm. Quick mental reflexes developed through six years of inter-House feuds understood.

"Evans, I don't see how he's much better," he tried to sooth her through his own anger. "And if it makes you feel better…then I'm sorry for anything I may have done. That fix anything?"

"No," she declined vehemently, "it doesn't. Just, just, go away, will you? And you're taking the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff side tonight, since you can't be trusted with Gryffindor or Slytherin."

Sirius and Remus drew their friend away to avoid any further conflict. "We know he can't," Sirius called as he strolled away nonchalantly. "And we're most sorry for any inconvenience caused, Snivellus."

Lily sighed deeply and pushed a stray auburn curl behind her ear, but she thought only of Snape and Potter. If they would both grow up…then 99 of all her problems would be solved in that one moment. But as much as she wished, inside, she knew that said situation was nearly impossible to achieve. The old wizarding families, of which all Potter's friends and all Slytherins were members of, held certain prejudices that lasted through centuries. Teachers, or herself, or even Dumbledore, could not truly influence them, for old traditions and beliefs refused to die.

Slytherins and Gryffindors were doomed to be enemies.