Severus and Lily

Chapter Five

It was the morning of the dance.

Severus sat in the Great Hall, eating his breakfast slowly. The whole school was a-buzz. Girls talking in excited whispers and giggles, guys pulled their heads together, surveying the girls that were their partners, teachers watched the students like hawks, the slightest rule-breaking was attacked.

Severus had his eye on Lily the whole time. He nodded and grunted when the Slytherins around him asked his opinion on discussions and arguments. Every now and then, Lily would look up and catch his eye, she would smile, wink or blush and Severus couldn't help but smile or chuckle back.

The first class was a double of Potions. Severus watched Lily stand up, wave goodbye to the fourth years she was talking to and watched her leave the hall. As soon as she disappeared behind the doors, Severus got up and walked quickly towards the dungeons.

Lily sat in the front row. Severus slipped into the seat behind her and quietly began to unpack his bag.

In no less than fifteen minutes, the whole class had arrived, the two last people being Potter and Black.

"Good Morning, or is it?" Slughorn said gruffly as he handed out assignments. "Only two! Only two people in this whole class understood every word i said to them! This is pathetic! I asked you to make a simple potion then write a two page assignment on it! All of you, except two, cannot read! Are you all going blind? I specifically said to remove the heat, add the snails eyes, stir until purple and frothy, then let it simmer for five minutes! Only two of you in this whole class follow instructions! Mr. Severus Snape and Miss Lily Evans will both be recieving 40 points for their houses. The rest of you will be re-doing the assignment. I expect by the end of this lesson for all of you to have made a perfect potion or detention will be too light a punishment!" Slughorn roared at the class.

Slughorn handed Severus and Lily their papers. Severus looked down to see an alomst perfect mark. 98 percent. He looked over Lily's shoulder to see a 100 percent written on hers. He smiled. She was very talented at this subject.

Slughorn flicked his wrist and the instructions for the potion they were re-making appeared. "Get to work."

He motioned to Severus and Lily to follow him.

They got up. Severus heart leapt. Where they going to be doing something together? Just him and Lily?

They followed Slughorn into his office and then into another small room which held a gold cauldron in the middle with a desk, two chairs and a black board with the instructions on how to make the potion. Around the walls were bookcases full of potion ingredients.

"Ok, well, since you two went so well in the last potion, i don't see the need for you to do it again, so, if you want, you can challenge yourselves with this potion." Slughorn grinned at them.

"We'd love to, sir-" Lily began but was broken off by screams, loud BANG's and laughter.

"Well, i'm going to have to leave you because that lot, " Professor Slughorn inclined his head to the rest of the class, "Cannot go more than one minute without an authorative teacher breathing down their necks." With that, slughorn ran out the room, leaving Lily and Severus to get started by themselves.

Severus could no believe his eyes. He and Lily would be able to spend time together with anyone annoying or splitting them up.

Lily glanced at Severus before reading the ingredients on the blackboard and went around gathering them.

They set to work making the potion. Half an hour in, they had to let the potion simmer for twenty minutes, giving them time to talk and laugh.

"Sev, I swear, I've never seen you laugh and smile so much!" Lily smiled warmly.

Severus blinked at the nick name she used; she hadn't used it for seven years. "Well, you're not talking about anything depressing and you're not hanging me upside down, why shouldn't I?"

Lily laughed quietly to herself and turned to face Severus. She held out her hands, stuck together, grinning.

Severus smiled back. He remembered this game. Lily had taught him when he saw her playing it with Petunia. It was some Muggle game called "Chicken" where you had to slap each other's hands and the first to wimp out, looses.

Lily slapped his hand first, not hard, but enough for a tingle to arise through his hand. Severus hesitated a second, should he slap her? He did, but lightly.

"Aw, C'mon Sev, I can take it, slap me!" Lily said, slapping Severus hard.

"Ah! Ok, ok, ok! That one hurt!" Severus slapped Lily who moved her hands to avoid it and fell off her chair. "I think... I just won." Severus said laughing

Lily erupted into a fit of giggles. Severus got off his seat and sat by Lily with an indifferent look on his face.

Gasping between giggles Lily spoke: "Don't - Give - Me - That - Look!"

Severus wiped it off his face. "Sorry."

Lily sat up, breathing deeply, recovering from her attack of giggles. "You know, I'm actually looking forward to tonight." Lily blushed lightly, but held her gaze on Severus. "Me too."

Lily leaned towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Do you know what theme they're decorating the Great Hall as?"

Severus shook his head. "No."

He looked at her. Her beautiful red hair fell down his back as she lifted her head to look at him. Her brilliant emerald eyes were shining so brightly.

Lily lifted her head, they were very close. Severus's nose was an inch away from hers. Severus stomach clenched up, its insides churning away.

Please do not let me be sick on her, please! Severus pleaded with himself.

Their noses were half an inch away when a timer buzzed and Lily turned around and shot up back onto her seat, head butting Severus on the nose.

Hold his nose, Severus got up slowly and sat back down in his seat. The potion was almost finished. They began adding the next lot of ingredients.

Professor Slughorn came in half-way through the next bit. He told them they could finish it now and he would give them a note for them to have lunch in the kitchens and another note explaining their lateness for the next class.

Severus sighed as he stirred the potion and watched it go from a bubblegum pink to a watery lime green, he was going to have to wait until the dance to see Lily again...