A/N: I tried to get this one up quickly after the last, because I'd had the exact same thoughts as Sithtar (see in reviews) that the element of the somewhat predictable 'plan' would just make this fic awful. (Don't worry, I've scrapped that!) So, I've tried to adapt and this chapter hopefully changes that, and with some luck I've saved it, haha. Okay, enjoy.
Almost a week later, Lily lay awake during the early hours of the morning, thinking about Sam's 'plan'. In a nutshell, the idea was for Lily to become closer to Potter, sparking a flame of jealousy within Snape and hopefully causing him to realise he'd been wrong to assume Lily was unfaithful and fight to get her back.
The more she thought about it, the more she disliked it. First off, she was very uncomfortable with the idea of getting close to James Potter, for obvious reasons and despite his recent kindness. She could also find several potential flaws in this plan. One was that Potter might not co-operate with this plan, albeit unknowingly. Another was that Sev might not take the bait. She'd upset him enough, she didn't want to make things any worse. She imagined things from his point of view: the girl whom he loved had already been caught getting extremely close and intimate with someone he hated. If he saw her with Potter again, she knew this would anger him further and confirm his suspicions that something was going on between them. This, of course, was far from what she wanted.
These reasons had made it clear to Lily that this was in fact a bad idea. Kudos to Sam, though, she could see the logic. But it was too risky. She didn't want to deceive anybody. She didn't want to use Potter either.
Instead, she came up with her own way of doing things. Firstly, she would confront Sev, tell him what she needed to: the truth. She decided she would leave him to think about it, she wouldn't pressure him into sorting this whole thing out there and then. She understood it was difficult for him and how confused and angry he must be.
Then, she'd confront Potter. She needed to get to the bottom of his split-personailty behaviour. She didn't much care for why he'd been acting like he had, she just wanted it to stop. This was something she was not looking forward to, and she couldn't deny she was very nervous about this part. She didn't know how Potter would respond to her interrogations. She pushed this fear to the back her mind for now though; she needed to focus on sorting this out. It was something that had to be done. It was messing with her head.
So, the next morning, just before breakfast, she went down to the dungeons. She waited until someone walked by that she recognised. As if on que, Sev's foul mouthed friend, McNair walked by. She caught him just as he'd turned the corridor coming from the Slytherin common room.
"Hey!" she called in a dull tone. McNair turned around slowly, looking for who had called him. He spotted Lily and looked at her with curiosity.
"What are you doing down here? I thought we'd already told you that-" He began
"Fetch Severus," She interrupted.
"I thought we'd made it clear that he doesn't want to speak to you. Do I need to make myself clearer?" He sneered.
She took a few steps towards him. "Fetch. Him," she ordered, in a rather vicious tone.
Taken aback slightly, McNair nodded and scuttled off back in the direction he'd come, returning in minutes with a reluctant but intrigued looking Snape by his side.
"Leave us," Lily heard him mutter, and McNair did so.
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, until Lily awkwardly said, "Um, hi."
He didn't reply, but looked straight at her.
"I… I need you to just listen to what I have to say. And then I'm going to leave. Okay?"
Snape folded his arms and leant sideways onto a pillar. She assumed this meant 'okay'.
"I know… I know what you've seen must have looked like. I know what you must be thinking about me."
Snape scoffed.
"But," she continued, "you're wrong. You think that I've been interested in Potter, possibly that I've just been using you and have been going with him on the sly. You think that the time spent away from you is spent with him. Correct me if I'm wrong."
Silence.
"Then, you're a fool, Severus. And I'm hurt."
His gaze shifted from the stone wall to her brilliant green eyes. He scowled slightly.
Taking several steps towards him, she proceeded indignantly, "How dare you?! You really think I'm like that? You honestly, honestly think that I'd do that? To you?! We've been best friends for, what, ten years? You think I'd just throw that away?"
Snape's gaze returned to the wall. He looked rather guilty now, in Lily's opinion.
"And… and with Potter?! After all the horrible things he's done to you, and the way he treats everybody, you really think I'd just forget about that? You know what, I'll be honest. There was a time when I thought he was an alright guy, but seriously, now? That's what hurt me the most, Sev. The fact that you think I'm that disloyal."
After another round of silence, Snape spoke for the first time.
"Why are you only just telling me this now? I told your friend that you knew where I would be."
"I- What? Because I've not been able to get to you! You're stupid mates have been chasing me off every time I come down here or get close to you in the corridors! I have tried!"
"Oh. Well-"
"Nope, save it," she told him firmly. "I said I wanted you to just listen. I'm going now." She turned and made to leave, but stopped and added, "If you want to talk, you know where I am."
Climbing the stairs that left the dungeons, she let out a sigh of relief. She felt she'd made her point. The ball was in this court now. But the worst wasn't yet over. She still had the daunting task of talking to Potter.
A/N: Whew. I think I've just saved it. I hope. Just to add, a few chapters ago I said that I'd almost finished this whole fic. Lol, I think I lied. But I guess that's a good thing, right? More chapters for you to read? Unless you just don't like this fic (then gtfo why are you still here?). But yeah, if you also thought that the 'plan' in the last chapter was a bad move, please let me know your thoughts on this one. Have I saved it? I may have just made it worse. ARGH.