CHAPTER FIVE
Peter's Agony
"Severus, where are we going?" Lily demanded, though her giggling reduced the effect of her request.
"Be patient, we'll be there soon," he replied, casting a glance at her, still disbelieving his good fortune. Lily Evans wanted him, had denied James Potter and all his annoying charms to be with quiet, plain, lanky Severus. It's insane, he thought, to think that anything this sweet could lead to anything but harm. But, for now, it feels good. His inner ramblings led them to Le Baton, the only sit-down, black-robe dinner affair in Hogsmeade. It had taken nearly all of his savings to afford the reservation for that evening, but he knew it had to be perfect. Everything had to be perfect for Lily.
Lily deserved only the best.
"We're here," he told her, and smiled inwardly when Lily's green eyes shone with excitement.
"This is where we're eating? Oh, Severus, I couldn't possibly. . .I'm not dressed for it. . .it must have cost a fortune!"
"It wasn't much," he lied, but Lily shook her head.
"Do you expect me to believe that? I've heard about this place, it's supposed to be very high-end. Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Snape's scrawny frame. Severus stiffened slightly at her touch, but soon relaxed and patted her on the back awkwardly.
"You're welcome." He checked his watch habitually, and realized they were running behind. "We're late! Come on!"
They rushed inside, chuckling and joking, vainly trying to make their reservation.
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"Wormtail! Are you dressed yet?" Sirius yelled at Peter, who was still holed up in his closet, refusing to come out.
"Do I really have to wear it?" he whined plaintively.
"Does he?" James muttered.
Sirius grinned. "Not really," he replied to James, but to Peter, he called, "Do you want the plan to work? Do you want Lily to wind up with Snivellous?"
"No!" Peter squeaked, and the door cracked open. "But, Sirius-"
"No time! We're running late! Yeesh!" And Sirius dragged Peter out of the closet, who looked rather dashing in his powder blue cocktail dress. "You look lovely, darling," he chortled.
"Very flattering," James added, throwing on his Invisibility Cloak and heading for the staircase. "Come on, turtledoves, we're already behind."
The three boys set off for the statue of the one-eyed witch, and Hogsmeade.
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Soft candlelight cast shadows across the table, and Lily's face was thrown into just the right light. Even Severus felt that he could forget who he was, where he came from, and allow himself to fall in love.
If such an emotion even existed, which he seriously doubted. "Are you enjoying yourself, Lily?" he asked politely, and perhaps too formally.
"Very much, Severus," she replied, covering his hand with hers. Maybe he wasn't being too formal, after all.
For a moment, everything was perfect, but something Snape saw across the room considerably darkened his mood.
Why on earth were Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew at Le Baton? And why was Peter wearing that dress?
Whatever their intentions were, Severus knew they weren't benign. "Son of a horned toad. . ." he muttered darkly, his eyes losing the shine that Lily's affection had brought to them.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked shrewdly, her kindness and concern enveloping him.
He knew he couldn't let her evening be ruined by the presence of those imbeciles. "Nothing, dear," he replied, the pet name rolling easily off his tongue, feeling completely, one-hundred percent natural.
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"Do stop fidgeting, Wormtail, it's not becoming," Sirius scolded.
"I can't help it! This skirt keeps riding up on me! And these panties. . ." He squirmed in his seat in a futile attempt to make himself comfortable.
"Do you honestly think a woman would squirm if her panties pinched a bit? No, she would not! She would sit still, in pain but retaining her dignity! Are you a woman, Wormtail, or are you a squirming rat?"
"I'm a woman!" Peter protested, and stopped moving.
"Good, because here come our desserts."
Peter was good, and remained still, right up until the waiter approached their table, when a sudden twitch seized him. At, of course, the completely wrong time. His leg spasm tripped the pudding-laid waiter, sending him flying into Lily Evans.
Dripping with chocolate, she shrieked and stood up suddenly. "What is the matter with you?" she demanded of the apologizing waiter.
"I'm terribly sorry, madam, please, don't be angry," the waiter pleaded, but Lily was looking past him now, her eyes boring into-
-Sirius.
"Sirius Black! What are you doing here?" she thundered, raising up her own bowl of pudding and sending it at him. Sadly, she missed, and the poor wizard who got hit with it sent his own dessert at Severus, whom he thought had thrown it in the first place. He missed, as well, hitting something that ought to have been nothing, and which loudly exclaimed, "Ow!"
The bowl had tugged away his Cloak, revealing James Potter.
Lily was beside herself. "What are you doing here? You can't possibly tell me it was a date, I can't think of a single person who'd date you."
"I was spying on you," James admitted meekly, deciding that honesty was the best policy. "I'm sorry."
"No, you're not! You're sorry you got caught!" Lily screamed, and ran out of the restaurant.
Snape shot James a look of the deepest contempt, and perhaps a bit of gloating, and went after Lily.
In the meelee, Sirius and Peter had slipped out.
"My life is over," James proclaimed darkly.