Thanks for all the reviews! My apologies for the late update this week.

Chapter Two

June, 1976

Severus awoke early, as was his custom, and, after a quick rinse in the showers, threw on his robes (and new glasses) and headed to the Great Hall. He knocked back a quick cup of tea, snagged two pieces of toast off the table, and, dreading a morning's conversation with Mulciber and Avery—Rosier was tolerable, but not the three of them together—strode swiftly out onto the grounds.

He threw his satchel under a tree and sat heavily next to it, munched on his toast, and tried to remember everything he'd ever learned about Arithmancy and forgotten about in the last two decades.

At fifteen past nine, he pushed his way through the crowd of merrymaking students who had already finished their exams and queued up behind the seventh year Slytherins in the Entrance Hall.

After a few moments, one of the boys elbowed another, who turned around. It was Marty Wilkes, the head Slytherin Prefect, who had always been uncharacteristically decent to him. "Snape," he said with some surprise, "have you forgotten? OWLs were finished yesterday."

"I think the Transfigurations practical is this afternoon," Severus said lightly, "but I won't be taking it."

Wilkes peered at him. "What's with the specs?"

"Too many fine print books in poorly lit dungeons," Severus answered.

"So," Wilkes said slowly, "you know you're waiting to take the Arithmancy NEWT?"

Severus nodded.

"And," Wilkes added, "you're wearing glasses to it?"

Severus nodded, and allowed some of his impatience to show in the set of his shoulders.

"All right then." Wilkes turned back to his friend and Severus clearly heard the words "bloody weird" and "none of my business, really."

The last few breakfast stragglers wandered out of the Great Hall. Severus tried hiding in plain sight by shaking his hair into his face.

"Sev!" Lily exclaimed as she entered the Entrance Hall, and Severus cursed under his breath. Honestly, if he'd wanted to go unrecognized as himself, he would have been better off pushing his hair back. With a damned ribbon.

Lily trotted over to him. "What's with the glasses?" she asked.

"My eyesight's been going," Severus said. "Too much reading in poor light, I think."

Lily grinned. "I almost didn't recognize you."

"Hmm." Severus leaned around Wilkes and peered into the Entrance Hall. They were still setting up the tables.

"So…what are you waiting for, here?" Lily asked. "Were you—were you waiting for me? Did you want to revise for the Transfigurations practical?"

"No." The tables seemed to be set up; they were adding the chairs.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry. I know we haven't done that in ages. I just thought, what with yesterday, if you wanted to… I didn't mean—"

Severus glanced back at Lily, who was chewing on her lower lip. "What?" Severus said. "I—Transfigurations? Sorry. Sorry." He felt his cheeks colour, which was, frankly, absurd. "No. It's not—thank you. I actually. Well." He took a deep breath. "I appreciate the offer, certainly," he said, "but I will not be taking the Transfigurations practical this afternoon."

"What?" Lily blinked. "Why ever not?"

"I have petitioned for, and been granted, permission to sit this year's NEWTs instead."

"Since when?" Lily said, surprise plain in her green eyes.

"Since—last night." The Slytherins were being called into the Great Hall. "Lily, I'm sorry, but I have to go—the exam is starting."

Lily frowned. "Okay. But I want to meet up later today. After dinner? In the rose garden?"

"Fine, fine," Severus said, and he walked quickly to catch up with the seventh-years.

Much to his surprise, Severus enjoyed the exam. Because of his experimental potions work, he was still well practiced with the application of many Arithmantic concepts—and he enjoyed the logic puzzle of figuring out the others. He rolled up his parchment a full ten minutes before the examination officially ended; he was confident his performance was enough to secure a solid E, if not quite the O he had achieved in two years, twenty years ago.

Maybe it was the tinted spectacles, but Severus' head was starting to hurt.

He found a quiet corner of the Entrance Hall in which to wait for the tables to be moved for lunch, and he leaned into the wall, his forehead pressed against the cool flagstones, and thought about ancient runes. He peripherally registered that he must have looked rather odd—he was fairly certain he heard a group of lower form girls giggling at him—but he was too engrossed in translating his thoughts to cuneiform to be concerned. (And even if he hadn't been lost in thought, what the devil did he care of what some brainless children thought of him?)

At lunch, he sat amongst the seventh-years—who shot him a few odd looks, but paid him no attention after Wilkes rolled his eyes and drew them into a conversation about the upcoming exams. Severus managed to eat half of a sandwich with one hand while the other supported a heavy rune dictionary. Rosier, sitting with Avery and Mulciber a ways down the table, tried to catch his eye; Severus simply ignored the other boy until he gave up.

Once the meal was over, Severus followed the seventh-years back out into the Entrance Hall and took up a sheltered position amongst them to wait for the next exam. The seventh-years, it seemed, had decided as a whole to ignore the sudden anomaly of his presence (which suited Severus just fine). But, he had to admit, there were far more fifth-years taking the Transfigurations practical OWL than Slytherns taking their NEWT in Ancient Runes, and someone was bound to spot him.

So it was with resignation rather than surprise that he heard, at last, "Oy, Snivelly, are you lost?"

Severus involuntarily turned around, the familiar hatred rising in his chest. Black was posturing near the front of the line of fifth-years, chest out, chin up, somehow swaggering while still. Severus wrestled with a child's instinct to shrink into his skeleton and hide, a teenager's impulse to pull his wand on Black and hex the bloody smirk off of his aristocratic face, and the adult's inclination to…pull his wand on Black and hex the bloody smirk off of his aristocratic face.

Severus settled for raising one eyebrow. "Black?"

Black snorted. "Decided to do us all a favour and hide that ugly mug at last, I see," he called. "Or were you finally blinded by all that grease dripping into your eyes?"

"Leave him alone, Black," Lily said angrily from her position in line. "He wasn't doing anything to you."

"Oooer," Black said suggestively. He cupped his hand around his mouth and called down towards the end of the line. "Hey, James. Better watch out. If it weren't a physical impossibility I'd think Evans has a thing for Snivellus."

All at once, Potter let out a clap of laughter—"Ha!"—Lily exclaimed, "Shut up, Black!"; Severus felt his face heat up as he sputtered, "You dare—"; and Wilkes whirled around and bellowed, "If you fifth-years don't shut up right this second I will start taking points." He glared furiously at each of them. "Some of us have a very difficult examination in four minutes and would like to be able to hear ourselves think."

Black and Potter fell silent with a great show of holding back laughter. Lily continued to alternate between glaring at Black and shooting apologetic glances at Severus, in which he tried not to be too interested. Wilkes murmured, "If you can't ignore them, Snape, then I don't know what good you are as a Slytherin," and turned back to his friends.

From the end of the line, Rosier finally succeeded in catching Severus' eye by expediently hopping up and down and waving. What? mouthed Severus.

What are you doing? Rosier mouthed distinctly.

Sitting the exam, you dunderhead.

Exaggerated confusion. What?

Writing, Severus pantomimed, the exam.

Over here. Wrong line. Rosier beckoned.

I'm taking the Ancient Runes NEWT.

What?

Severus rolled his eyes, pulled a spare scrap of parchment from his bag, and scribbled, "I'm taking the Ancient Runes NEWT. Other NEWTs too." He tapped it with his wand and directed the paper airplane at Rosier, who opened it up, read it, and mouthed, Why?

In response, Severus gave him a look that had withered two decades of first-years.

Rosier shrugged back at him, but then held up his hands to form two circles around his eyes. Why glasses?

Sod off, Rosier.

What?

Exasperated, Severus simply flipped him two fingers and turned back around to face the entrance to the Great Hall.

He fought the inane urge to smile when he heard Lily's stifled giggle behind him.

The Ancient Runes exam did not go quite so well as he had hoped. Although he had been in the habit, as an adult, of reading ancient Potions and Dark Arts texts in their original languages, it had been years since he'd been forced to do so without a dictionary. Really, the examination was a completely artificial environment that did not accurately reflect a real-world application of a sound knowledge of ancient runes. Severus refused to believe that a slightly lower mark on this examination was any reflection of his abilities as a translator. If anything, it would be evidence that his mind had far better things to do than retain five hundred characters that he'd memorized twenty years ago. So.

At dinner, he'd been unable to avoid sitting with the ever-curious Rosier, who had grabbed him by the elbows in the Entrance Hall and escorted Severus to a seat between Mulciber and Avery. Severus repeated his explanations regarding his decision to take his NEWTs and the sudden appearance of his glasses. Fortunately, Avery and Mulciber had easily agreed that the fewer years spent in school, the better—"And it's not like you've got friends who—er, sorry"—and that the glasses couldn't possibly detract further from his appearance.

What kind friends he'd had.

Immediately after dinner, Severus managed to lose his housemates under the guise of heading to the library to revise for the NEWTs. Once they'd ambled off towards the dungeons, Severus doubled back, headed out of the castle, and waited for Lily in the gardens.

She caught up with him within only a few minutes and plopped down onto the bench, sitting sideways so that she faced him. She leaned forward and peered into his face.

He edged away. "What?"

Lily withdrew. "They're all right," she said. "The glasses, I mean. You can barely see your eyes behind them at all, but they're kind of stylish, so." She nodded. "They'll do."

"Thank you." Severus' upper lip quirked into half a smile.

"Now," Lily said, "regarding your sudden insane decision to take this year's NEWTs."

Severus leaned back on his elbows, reclining on the bench. "Yes?"

Lily drummed her hands on her knees. "Well? Why?"

Severus glanced at her, once more grateful for the slightly-tinted glasses. "I've spent enough time here," he said. "I know the material, and the only thing I'll get out of two more years at Hogwarts is two more years of being attacked by Potter and his cronies."

"But what will you do?"

"Go into Potions," Severus said evenly. "Just…two years earlier than I'd originally planned."

"Will you…be going home for the summer?" Lily asked.

Severus shook his head. "Not if there's any way to avoid it. Slughorn is looking into an interim position for me, for the month before our exam results are in. I think he's also going to write me a recommendation for an apprenticeship." He snorted. "Strangely, after five years of ignoring me, he's taken a sudden interest in my career."

Lily lightly pushed his shoulder, grinning. "I told you he didn't hate you."

Severus sniffed. "I never said he hated me. I said he was completely indifferent to me, which I rather thought he was."

Lily laughed. "I'm honestly just surprised he hasn't tried to collect you before." Her eyes snapped open. "Oh. Oh Severus. You realize he's going to invite you to the end-of-term Slug Club dinner."

"Oh joy," Severus said dryly. As Lily laughed, Severus' hearing picked up a small scrabbling noise—and out of the corner of his eye, he saw something small and furry scurry through the leaves—

"Stupefy," Severus snapped out, pointing his wand behind the bench. The noise stopped.

Lily jumped off of the bench and drew her wand. "What is it? What's going on?"

Severus held up one hand. "I think I got it." He lit his wand with a flick of his wrist and shined the light into the leaves.

"What is it?" Lily repeated.

Severus' lip curled. "It's just a rat." He snatched it up and walked away from the bench.

"Please don't kill it!" Lily called after him.

Severus glanced back. "Of course not. I'm just taking it to the Forest." And he set off toward the trees.

When he was well out of earshot, he Ennervated the rat, and, holding the point of his wand against its trembling belly, said, "Listen to me, Wormtail."

The rat stilled.

"I know," Severus said, low and threatening, "that Martinius Wilkes occasionally spares a kind word for you. Perhaps, at this time, he has even extended to you an offer of a beneficial friendship to be taken up when you leave Hogwarts."

Wormtail twitched.

"If I hear," Severus said, "that you have had any contact with Wilkes—or with Rosier, Avery, Mulciber, or any Black other than the disowned Black the elder…"

He jabbed the rat with his wand.

"I will personally make your life a living hell." Severus paused. "Minus, of course, the 'living' aspect."

Wormtail squealed, and Severus let him fall to the ground.

Thursday and Friday brought the Transfigurations and Charms exams, respectively. Severus performed the practical portions with no problem whatsoever, and was reasonably certain that he had remembered the theory well enough to do almost as well on the written exams. He'd had a brief moment of panic when the Charms examiner, a jittery-looking old man, had asked Severus if he'd invented any spells of his own. If he demonstrated a particularly vicious combat hex, or an extremely advanced defensive spell, of his own devising, it would be to his detriment—but which of his spells would seem impressive without being unlikely—

And then Severus almost rolled his eyes when he remembered that, at sixteen, he had invented a few spells of his own. Severus demonstrated muffliato and langlock and the instructor had seemed impressed, if a little nervous.

But that moment had reminded Severus that he'd have to be most cautious—if he displayed ability that surpassed "precocious sixteen-year-old" to the point of being uncanny, he'd draw extremely unwelcome attention to himself.

Outside of the examinations, Severus had passed the days without incident. He had managed to avoid the fifth-year Gryffindors by staying amongst the Slytherins and had managed to avoid the fifth-year Slytherins by simply refusing to be drawn into conversation with them (Rosier thought he was nervous about the NEWTs; Avery and Mulciber just thought he was an arsehole). And—he allowed himself to feel pleased—he had thoroughly resisted the temptation to follow Lily around and stare at her.

Ah, maturity.

So it was with some dread that he finished dinner on Friday with nothing but the vast emptiness of Saturday and Sunday looming before him. He had resigned himself to two days of lurking in the library—the only other students this time of year would be seventh-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs—and decided to get a head start by lingering at the Slytherin table and hiding behind the seventh-year Herbology text until everyone had left.

When the noise in the Great Hall had dwindled to a minimum, Severus snapped the book closed and stood up—only to drop back down into his seat with surprise.

"Hello," Lily said, smiling at him from across the Slytherin table.

"What—what are you doing here?" Severus said in a harsh whisper. He glanced up and down the table, but the only other students there were the first-year girls, who seemed to be making plans to get together over the summer.

Lily's face fell. "Well, if you don't want to be seen with me I can—"

Severus quickly shook his head. "No, no, that's not what—" He shook his head again. "Please, that's not what I meant. You surprised me, that's all."

Lily broke into a seemingly relieved grin. "I'm not surprised. Working hard, then?" she said, indicating the book.

"Yes. Quite. I am. Working." Severus briefly considered hitting himself in the head with the book.

"Well, you've got two days to study for the next exam," Lily said brightly. "Do you need to spend the whole time in the library?"

Severus leaned back and looked at her warily over the tops of his glasses. "What would the alternative be?"

Lily leaned forward over the table. "Come to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow."

The heavy book slipped slightly in Severus' fingers. "I—me?"

Lily pressed her lips together, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Yes, you. Unless…you need to focus on revising?"

Severus blinked. "Well, I—I probably should be revising. Er. I still have three exams left."

"Which ones?" Lily cocked her head to the side.

"Herbology, Defence, and Potions. So," he added wryly, "only the most important ones."

"Ah," said Lily, "but also the ones you know the best." She smiled at him expectantly.

Severus exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry," he said at last, "I would love to, but—" Lily frowned. Severus hastily added, "Really. I'm—I'm honoured that you've asked me to. But I don't think it would do for me to be seen gallivanting in Hogsmeade while the seventh-years revise for their NEWTs—especially when I've been given a special dispensation to take them."

Lily smiled softly. "I suppose that makes sense," she said. "But…if it weren't for that, would you be going with me?"

"Certainly," Severus said. "As I said…" He swallowed. "I would be honoured." He repositioned the Herbology textbook in his arms, holding it loosely over his chest.

"Well, that's nice to know," Lily said, ducking her head. She glanced up and added, "I've noticed, by the way, how you've been ignoring Avery and Mulciber."

Severus shrugged.

"Well…I'm proud of you, that's all," Lily said, colouring slightly. She rose to leave, and then turned back to him. "By the way, Sev," she said. "'Gallivanting'?" She snorted, grinning, and left.

Severus dropped the book on the table, leaned over, and rested his forehead on top of it, exhaling in relief. Amazingly, he had managed to avoid making a complete fool of himself, and she had believed his explanation, which was fortunate, because somehow he doubted she'd accept "I don't want your husband from an alternate timeline to see us together, or the Dark Lord, or—worse—Dumbledore," as a reason to avoid going to Hogsmeade.

A hand suddenly came down on Severus' shoulder. He jumped, and a voice behind him chortled. "No need to be frightened, Mr Snape."

Severus sat up. "Hello, Professor," he said, looking up over his shoulder.

Slughorn beamed. "I've been in touch with my business partner," he said, "and he's willing to meet with you to discuss a possible summer position."

Severus sat up a little straighter. "That's excellent, sir. Thank you."

"Be in my office at four o'clock on Sunday," Slughorn said, and, with a barely-discernible flick of the eyes up to Severus' hairline, added, "And do try to make a good impression, Mr Snape." At that, Severus allowed the smallest sneer to appear briefly on his face.

To his surprise, Slughorn raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly. "Very good," he said. "The glasses suit you, my boy." He turned and waddled off.

With a groan, Severus slumped back over onto his Herbology book.