A.N. I don't understand. When I have Severus miserable and almost dying, I get loads of reviews. When he's actually happy, no-one cares. The world just hates him, doesn't it?
Disclaimer: My heeeaaad. you're damned lucky I'm updating, with the hangover I've got. I'm actually just doing it to avoid cleaning up the mess my mates left in the sitting room. And bloody Spike ate three months' worth of my birth control pills! And he's a sodding lad! How am I going to explain that, eh?
Mary caught up to Lily, who was slightly out of breath from her argument with Jennifer. 'What's up with her?' she asked, confused. Lily scowled. 'She was the one that got Sev beaten up last night. She was wittering on about it being for my own good, stupid cow. You saw how hurt he was. That's inexcusable. So I called her a slag and she ran off'. Mary shook her head sadly. She did not have Lily's fire, being the natural peacemaker of the group.
Mary was torn between horror that Jennifer was the reason Snape had been in such a bad state that morning when she found him, and disapproval that Lily had been unable to keep her temper. Curiosity beat them both. 'So tell me what caused that stupid grin when you came in!' she demanded 'You said it was something to do with Snape?'. The redhead nodded at her friend. 'Kinda. You know that night I came in late after that date with Potter?'. Mary nodded urgently.
'Well, I did something that made Jen describe me as 'The whore of Slytherin'. Which seems a pretty harsh way of putting it if you ask me, but…' Mary cut her off excitedly 'Oh my god, I know! You kissed Snape in front of, like, everyone! It was so unexpected. We never even knew you were going out with him. I mean, why would we think that? You're pretty and funny and dead nice. He's mean and angry and sarcastic'.
Lily shrugged. 'Most of the time he's just my best friend, right? Someone I can witter crap to and who will follow me when I get one of my great ideas that always seem to end up having a teeny flaw, who'll defend me and make me laugh and I'm completely comfortable with' she smiled 'But then sometimes he looks at me all intensely and…it just stops me breathing' she said hoarsely. Mary looked shocked. 'He stops you breathing? That's really dark magic!'.
Lily snorted and clapped a hand to her head. 'See, this is why it's so difficult. It was a figure of speech! He's not a bad person. Ok, so he's not a nice person either, but…'. Mary scoffed. 'You can say that again. Those boys he hangs out with are just plain evil. Especially that Mulciber' she shuddered violently 'It's bound to have an effect'. Lily looked extremely uncomfortable. 'Don't you think I don't know that? It worries me sick. Sometimes I think I'm all that stands between him and the Death Eaters. If I weren't muggleborn…' she trailed off, avoiding her friend's eyes.
'There you go, you admit it! You're playing with fire' Mary insisted 'You're both going to get hurt'. Lily shrugged. 'You think I don't know that? A Slytherin and a Gryffindor on the edge of a war between the two? I'm not stupid, Mary. I know what I'm doing, and he's worth it'. The brunette sighed. 'Is he? I know you're best friends and all that, but it'd be so much easier and safer to go out with a Gryffindor. You could stay friends with him, just distance yourself'. Lily was glaring at her. 'Mary, I know your intentions are good' she said angrily 'But I'm not going to stop seeing him. You think it was easy for Romeo and Juliet? Or Mark Anthony and Cleopatra?'.
Mary rolled her eyes. 'Look how they turned out! And for Merlin's sake, Lily, you're a couple of teenagers, not star-crossed lovers. Be realistic'. Lily grinned 'Ok, so that was stretching it a bit, but I know what I'm doing'. Mary sighed. 'I know you say there's some other side to him that only you see, but the rest of the school sees a creepy, scary, frankly weird-looking boy who just so happens to have the prettiest girl in our year 'in love' with him. Forgive me for being a teensy bit sceptical about this'. Lily was silent for a moment. 'Well, you know what I see?' she asked distantly. Mary shook her head.
'I see my best friend. I see a guy who's been there for me through everything, no matter what shit was going on in his life at the time, and there's been a lot of that, trust me. I see myself at the altar wearing my mum's hideous wedding dress, him smirking because he knows how much I hate it. I see kids; a little girl. I see us arguing over what house she's in before she's born. It'll serve us right if she's a Ravenclaw. She's got my eyes, but she's dark like Sev. I see a big house near my parents so they can babysit' she sighed softly 'I see my future'.
Mary stared at her. 'You're mad' she stated bluntly. Lily immediately fired up 'Why? Because he's a Slytherin? You don't think they're capable of love? Or do you just think he's got me under some kind of evil Dark spell?'. Her friend grinned. 'No. Because no-one sane would ever wish Severus Snape's hair on a child'. The redhead laughed. 'Ok, ok. But you're right. There is a whole other side to him. I don't care if no-one else ever sees it. It's enough'.
Mary sighed. 'Alright. I'll support you if you've got your mind set. I'm not going to be happy about it, though. I'm not going to change my opinion on Slytherin, I'm not going to be nice to them, and I'm not going to betray Gryffindor' her tone became less severe and grudging. In fact, it was positively hyper. 'So go on. Details!' she demanded. Lily laughed. 'You're sure?' she asked. Mary nodded eagerly. Rolling her eyes but grinning affectionately at her best female friend, the redhead tapped her chin thoughtfully, wondering where to begin.
'Well, I've, uh' she blushed 'you know' she blushed harder and Mary giggled 'twice. The first time…well, you know that date I had with James Potter?' the brunette nodded 'Of course. The one when you came back late and all happy and…oh my god. You didn't!'. Lily bit her lip. 'I did. Potter wouldn't let me go swimming, so when I got back I asked Sev to. He did, so I shagged him in one of the rowing boats out on the lake. Hmm. When I put it like that, it sounds just the teensiest bit crazy'.
Mary was gaping. It was a few moments before she could speak again. 'A teensy bit crazy? You lost your virginity to go swimming?! Jesus, Lily, if you'd wanted to go that badly you could have just asked me! You didn't have to go and do that'. Lily shrugged. 'I wanted to. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, Potter had stolen my first snog. I didn't want Sev to miss out on anything else. He's the only guy I trusted not to hurt me. And to be fair to him, he was surprisingly gentle. Then again, he's always had iron self-control'.
Her friend was still getting over the shock. 'So…you…what?' she seemed very confused 'Let me get this straight. You had James Potter trying to kiss you, and took this to mean you should run off and have sex with Snape? Not to be nasty or anything, but are you insane?! Have you not seen James? Or Snape, for that matter'. Lily waved her hand nonchalantly. 'That's pretty much it, yeah. That was my first time. And you asked what caused that stupid grin I had when I came in? Weeellll….' She did another example of such a grin.
'Never! Oh, you're such a dark horse! I'm probably going to regret asking this, but go on…what's he like?' Mary asked. Lily paused for thought, or possibly dramatic effect. 'Have you ever seen him in potions when he's really concentrating, and he gets all intense? He's like that' Mary nodded. 'He's…let's put it this way, if you could feel what I felt a couple of hours ago, you'd never doubt him again. Ever been worshipped but completely controlled? Been treated like a goddess but made to beg? Been teased until you think you're going to go mad but never want it to stop? That's what he does to me' she shivered involuntarily.
Mary's expression was at odds with Lily's dreamy smile. She looked vaguely sickened, partially fascinated. 'So I take it what they say about Slytherins is true?'. The redhead nodded solemnly 'Yup. You heard it here first. Slytherins really do make the best lovers. Oh, god, when he's just staring at me with that possessive look in his eye and his dark hair's just falling over his slender shoulders, towering over me…'. Mary cut her off there. 'Eurgh. Please, no more. I'll do anything you want, just please, please don't make me picture Snape naked. Ew. Ew. Ew' the brunette was close to hyperventilation. Lily laughed. 'Ok, ok, but you asked. I've got to go and see what he wanted now anyway. Try to talk some sense into Jen for me, will you?'. Promising to do so, her friend left for Gryffindor tower, as she made her way outside.
When she arrived at the oak by the lake, it was very dark. Severus was nothing but a black silhouette, staring out across the water. She laid her hand on his shoulder to alert him of her presence. He turned to her, his long black hair covering most of his face. 'So what was so bad you couldn't tell me about it in front of everybody?' Lily asked nervously. Severus paused. 'Promise you won't hate me?' he asked. Lily frowned. 'Couldn't if I tried, Sev. No matter what you did. You're scaring me. What did you do?'. 'I ruined your life' he replied hoarsely 'I forgot the charm'.
Lily laughed in relief. 'Oh, is that all? Thank goodness. It's ok, I'll just make a dose of morning-after draught'. Severus looked surprised. It was not very often that he hadn't heard of a potion. 'I've made one for half the girls in our year. I suppose they think it's difficult, but it's not after you've made it a hundred times' the redhead explained 'Besides, even if I couldn't it wouldn't be the end of the world. I always figured I'd end up having your kids sooner or later anyway'. He turned away from her, scowling. 'Don't say things like that if you don't mean them' he said angrily. The thought of Lily, gold ring glinting on her finger, belly round with his child, glowing with happiness…it was too beautiful. Too painful.
She slipped her fingers between his long cold ones. 'But I do' she said softly, leaning into him. He finally looked at her, black eyes filled with disbelief and cautious hope. He tipped her chin up and silently kissed her. Lily was surprised. It was almost unheard of for him to initiate a display of affection. He never pulled away when she did, but for him to do anything without prompting was very unusual.
'I'd better be getting down to the potions room' she said quietly, not moving. 'I understand' he replied, not moving either. There was a silence. 'You know, I've fallen out with Jen' Lily mentioned, mainly for something to say. 'Oh dear' Severus did not sound particularly upset 'Would you like me to curse her for you? I know some rather good ones'. Lily smiled and hit him gently 'No! She's still my friend. Even if she did call me the 'Whore of Slytherin'' she added angrily. The black-haired boy laughed.
'That's ridiculous, everyone knows it's Narcissa Black. She'd do anything for attention. By Slytherin standards, you're still unicorn bait'. Lily did not seem reassured. In fact, her lips pursed. 'Well, just damn well keep away from her, ok? You think you know good curses, but I swear, you even look at another girl and you'll need an army of Dementors to take me on'. She sounded strangely angry, and pink spots had appeared in her pale cheeks. Then, to his surprise, she kissed him and stalked away. She gave a very satisfied smirk as she left. 'To remind you what you'd be missing' she shouted back, in response to the unasked question.
Lily knocked on the potions classroom door, but it was merely a formality. She didn't wait for an answer before she pushed her way in. 'Professor?' she called, making her way across the cold, dark room. A door slid open and Horace Slughorn appeared, beaming. 'What can I do for you, m'dear?' he asked jovially. She gestured towards the end of the classroom. 'Can I borrow a few ingredients?' she asked.
'Help yourself, Miss Evans. You know my rules; if it's anything illegal, you never spoke to me. If it's anything new, I was helping from the beginning'. Lily grinned and began to fill up her cauldron. 'So where's the other half of my little wonder duo?' he asked cheerfully 'I've hardly ever seen one of you without the other'. 'Ah' said the Gryffindor, rooting through the rows of strange objects 'He's sort of the reason I'm here'.
The head of Slytherin's eyebrows rose almost to his ridiculous purple velvet hat. 'If I'm not very much mistaken, those are the necessary ingredients for a morning-after potion, are they not, Miss Evans?'. Lily's cheeks burned, but she refused to be ashamed. 'You won't tell. You know why? Because you've let Sev and I have all kinds of illicit ingredients over the years, and we've made some pretty dangerous stuff. If you take us down, we're dragging you down with us' she stuck her chin out stubbornly.
Slughorn looked at her contemplatively for a moment. Then he roared with laughter. 'Oh, you should have been a Slytherin, Lily. I'd been wondering why Severus was acting so strangely recently. Almost…happy'. Lily raised an eyebrow. 'Well, as close as he's ever going to get' the potions professor admitted 'He's a lucky man'. Lily smirked. 'Sorry, Professor. There's only room in a Gryffindor girl's heart for one Slytherin at once. Try not to be too devastated'.
He laughed. 'I shall try, I shall try. Take whatever you need, m'dear. As much as I look forward to teaching your offspring, I should hope it won't be for a good few years yet. I expect great things of you two, you know'. Lily nodded her thanks, carrying out a very heavy cauldron.
A.N. Ok, so nothing has happened in the last few chapters. I'm building up to something, I swear. I've got a couple of great ideas, the only good result of the house party I had last Friday. My parents left the bloody country; what did they expect?! Better go and see to the sitting room. If anyone knows how to get port out of cream carpets, review, I beg you.