Flowers

Severus awoke suddenly the next morning. He had an Idea. He pulled the curtains back and looked out the window. The sun was barely visible over the horizon. No one would be awake for hours. Quietly Severus crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom. He took a shower and slicked back his hair. When he was satisfied with his looks he snuck back into his dormitory, grabbed his wand and his spell book, and pulled the curtains around him.

He opened "the standard book of spells grade 4" to the index. He was looking for a spell to make beautiful flowers. He had seen it a few weeks ago when flipping through his book, but hadn't given it any attention. Now he needed it.

He flipped to the index "Fame, Femur, Fix, Flowers!" He found it, page

266. He turned quickly to the page and read quietly to himself.

This spell makes flowers that are so beautiful, no

one can resist them. Just the thing to let someone know

how you feel. Perfect for starting a new romance or rekindling

an old one.

At the bottom of the page was the spell corymbus decorus. He pushed back the sleeves of his robe and sat up straight. He held he held his wand in front of him and performed the spell "corymbus decorus" from the end of his wand sprouted a bouquet of the most horrible smelling, ugly flowers. He quickly vanished the flowers, but the smell lingered on. He tried again and produced another foul smelling bouquet. After several tries the air was thick with the stench of rotting food and he still had not produced a good bouquet. The last one had been slightly better, but it only made the smell worse. "One more and the I'm giving up" he thought. "Corymbus decorus" this time it worked. The flowers were so beautiful. Their colors so bright, their smell so intoxicating, they canceled out all of the bad smells. He got out of bed quietly and checked his appearance in the mirror. He looked even better with the flowers in his hand. He snuck out of his dormitory and down the halls to the hospital wing.

He paused for a moment outside the door. He didn't know weather to knock on the door or just go in. After standing there for almost a minute, he pushed the door open slowly. Lily was leaning against some pillows in one of the beds writing furiously on the piece of parchment in her lap. As Severus walked into the room she looked up at him. Their eyes met for a moment and as Severus surveyed her potion-burned face he considered running back out the door, but he did not se hatred in her eyes, only sorrow. Without knowing what he was doing, his feet carried him over to the bed and he held the flowers out to her. "These are for you" his mouth said without signal from his brain. She took the flowers from his slightly trembling hand. "Have a seat' she offered. He sat down still trying to get his brain and body cooperating. When he finally succeeded he asked "do you like them?" She brought the flowers up to her face and took a deep breath. "They're beautiful" she said. Then she smiled at him and placed them on the bedside table.

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments until Severus finally blurted out "I'm really sorry". She smiled at him "it's ok" she said "and anyway I'm already getting better. It doesn't even hurt anymore". Her kindness did not make him feel any better, only guiltier. "I didn't mean to do it. I don't know what went wrong." He cried. Lily reached out and took his hand between hers, which Severus realized with another pang of guilt were also burned by the potion. "It's ok" she said softly. He was so touched by this simple gesture that he could think of nothing to say for several minutes. Thankfully the sound of other students told him that it was time to go. "I should leave" he said. She nodded and he left the room quickly.

Severus visited her in the hospital wing every morning for a week. During this time a strange friendship began to grow. Although Lily was in high spirits her face showed no sign of improving. On Monday morning Severus overslept. When he finally got out of bed all the other boys in his dorm were awake. "Now I won't be able to visit Lily". He felt really bad, but there was nothing he could do so he dressed quickly and went to potions class.

When the bell rang for lunch he packed up his books as fast as he could and headed toward the hospital wing. When he entered the room he found Sirius Remus Peter and James there. They were laughing about something and he heard Sirius say "that little creep". None of them were even aware of Severus's presence in the room, except Lily. She gave him a pained look. "Cut it out you guys" said Lily. "Why, are you all soft on us? You're always sticking up for him." Lily gave them an exhausted look and inclined her head towards the door. They turned around to find Severus standing by the door. "Severus" said James in a mockingly welcoming voice. James walked slowly toward Severus. For Severus time seemed to have stopped. James was about a foot away from him now. He had no idea how long they stood like that, but he was aware of his mouth getting very dry. Suddenly James reached out, grabbed the front of his robes and slammed him against the wall. Lily screamed and Severus was brought back to reality.

"Don't hurt him James" shrieked Lily. James turned around "why do you care". Severus's vision was getting foggy around the edges and he couldn't breathe. He could see Lily in the middle of everything with a horrified look on her face. "James he'd going all white. You're going to kill him." Lily shouted. She climbed out of bed and ran over. She pulled James off of Severus and he crumpled to the flood. "Are you crazy? What did he ever do to you?" Lily shoved James into a chair and turned back to the door, but Severus was not there. She breathed a sigh of relief and went back to her bed. "I think you all should go." She said sternly. The boys all got up and headed towards the door.

Meanwhile out in the hallway Severus stood against the doors breathing hard. Suddenly he heard voices from inside the room getting closer. He looked for a place to hide. He ran across the hall and tried the door, but it was locked. He quickly ducked behind a suit of armor just as the hospital wing doors flew open and James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came out. Severus held his breath as they walked in his direction. He tried not to think about what would happen to him if they found him. As they passed his hiding place he thought that James saw him, but they passed by. Severus stayed completely still until their voices disappeared down the hall. As soon as he was sure they were gone he slumped down against the wall and closed his eyes. A moment later a shadow snuck over Severus and a voice cut through the silence,"what are you doing here Severus?"