Here's a short update until I get back later to work on more!

When Sasha came back into the Slytherin girls' dorm Adri and Clara were still waiting up.

"So, how did it go?" Adri asked, excited.

Sasha had a silly smile on her face and as soon as she set eyes on her friends her face turned red. For some reason she couldn't seem to remember how to talk. The walk back out of the forest with Severus had been taken in silence. He'd held her hand, and she noticed him watching her out of the corner of his eye, but neither of them had the courage to speak. A shy kiss goodnight was how they had parted.

Clara snickered. "Judging from the look on her face she's been up to something."

Adrianne's jaw dropped. "Sasha Innes you tell me what happened right now! I can't stand the suspense."

Sasha let out a nervous little giggle and fell face first onto her bed.

"Merlin's pants, you've shagged him, haven't you?"

Clara howled with laughter at Adri's accusation. Sasha rolled over slowly, still grinning and blushing.

"No I did not" she insisted. "Well… not really."

Adrianne squealed and fell over, miming a faint.

"Not really?" Clara repeated. "You generally either shag someone or you don't. I don't see how there can be an in between."

Sasha felt her face get even hotter, which she hadn't thought possible. "Well, there is a bit of an in between, it turns out. I'm not telling you about it either, but, no, I did not shag him." She waited a moment before adding "Yet."

The other girls dissolved into a fit of giggles and Sasha buried her face in her pillow.

"Come on" Adri gasped. "You can't leave us hanging with that! We must know. It just isn't fair!"

Sasha looked up again and glared at her. "Oh come off it! You went all the way with that Ravenclaw neighbor of yours over the summer so I think you know more on the subject than I do anyway. Why must you hound me for information?"

"Well I didn't come back from the experience looking as happy as you do, for starters" Adri grumbled. "It wasn't exactly all I'd hoped it would be. No bells ringing and roses blooming, that's for sure. Come on, what happened?"

Sasha sighed. "He took me to the forest and at first I was a bit scared but… well he's quite clever isn't he? He told me he'd protect me and I believed him. I felt safe." The goofy grin re-plastered itself on her face.

Clara snorted. "Oh snap out of it and start spilling!"

"We went to a little clearing that had a lot of moss and some flowers. It was nice. We looked at the stars through the trees. Then… well, what happened then is none of your business and I'm not budging so don't bother."

Both girls groaned in frustration.

"It was… well it was fantastic, anyway. I've never felt like that before in my entire bloody life. I've always sort of loved him, you know that Adri. Now though… well now I feel like my heart could just burst with it. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at another boy again."

Adrianne shook her head, smiling. "You haven't looked at another boy in five years anyway, so what's the difference?"

Sasha smirked. "There's a huge difference because I'm talking about the rest of my life now, and that beats five years."

Clara clucked disapprovingly. "I heard he was a half-blood. I tell you, if my dad ever thought for a moment I might try to bring one of those home he'd have my head on the bloody wall. It's one thing to have a little fling with the school outcast… which frankly, I still don't understand… but talking about spending forever with him? I think you've really lost it. He'll be gone next year anyway. Aren't your parents scouting out any suitable pure-blood wizards for you? Take this as practice if you must, but don't be a fool!"

Adrianne and Sasha both rolled their eyes. They were used to hearing this sort of talk amongst the other members of their house.

"My parents, unlike some, are not concerned with that sort of thing" Sasha explained, for what seemed like the millionth time. "My dad couldn't care less, as he's busy with his own life, and my mum… well, my mum was a Hufflepuff. We aren't terribly concerned with what sort of blood anyone's got as long as it is still flowing."

Adri nodded. "My mum's obsessed with it but I don't give a damn. In fact, if I ever decided to get married at all, it'll probably be to some muggle-born wizard just so I can kill the old bat of a heart attack. If I knew where to find a decent one I might even marry a muggle and really get her." Her green eyes glinted wickedly. "Dad… well, dad's just mostly listens to mum. As far as I'm concerned they can both get stuffed. I don't care what they think. Let them kick me out! Do me a favor…"

Sasha got up to change into her nightgown. "Precisely. You can come and stay with me anyway."

Clara sighed and shook her head. "Well, better you lot than me" she mumbled. "I'll stick to my own kind thanks. More power to you if you want to be branded a blood traitor, but I personally would rather die a spinster."

"And what would be so bad about that either?" Adri asked, giving Sasha a little smile, which was of course, immediately returned.

Severus stared up at the ceiling from his bed, thinking about her, as he found himself doing so often lately. It used to be always Lily, and ways to win her back, but now… well, now it was a fifty-fifty split between sadly agonizing over Lily's relationship with Potter and daydreaming about Sasha Innes.

Their trip to the forest earlier had been… well it had been positively amazing. If it weren't for a bit of dirt he'd found smudged on the back of his shirt he wouldn't believe it had actually happened. He couldn't get the sounds she had made out of his head, and to think… she had made them because of what he had been doing to her! She'd clung to him and begged him to keep doing it all the while doing what she had been doing to him in return. Now that had been… Severus had to bite his lip to keep from groaning out loud just thinking about it.

I don't have luck like that he thought. That sort of thing happens to other wizards, not to me. What is it with her that makes her like me so much? Is she crazy?

Suddenly he had a thought of Lily doing something like that with Potter and he had to close his eyes and concentrate hard to keep from throwing up. No, no, no, please no!

Although, what right did he have to be upset about the thought when he had just got through doing that with another girl himself? Lily didn't belong to him and she never would. He knew that. So? Why should it bother him anymore? It shouldn't, he knew. He just couldn't help it.

He also knew that he had absolutely no reason to feel so guilty for what he had done with Sasha. Lily wouldn't give a damn if she knew. She might even find it amusing. Still, he hated himself for it as if he had been unfaithful to her. To a witch who wouldn't even look at him anymore, let alone talk to him.

If he were honest with himself, the thought of even himself doing things like that with Lily made him a bit sick. He'd never really thought of her quite that way. She was… well, she was too angelic and pure to be doing things like that. Right?

It's official; I'm a complete nutter he thought. I may as well just accept the fact that I'm totally off my rocker and stop trying to deny it. Anyone would have to be mental to think like I do.

"Hey Snape?" came a voice from the next bed over. It was Avery.

"Hmm?" he answered, annoyed by the interruption of his thoughts.

"Where were you earlier?"

Damn. "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that, you snuck out. I saw you leave. What were you up to?"

Severus considered his options quickly. He knew he wouldn't have much time to come up with an answer. Luckily he was good at thinking fast.

"I wanted some fresh air" he lied, knowing that it wouldn't be believed.

"Ha! I'll just bet you did. Was it that Innes girl? She's cute, and I've seen her hanging all over you."

Severus smirked in the darkness. "It may have been" he said smugly. "Perhaps."

Avery laughed evilly. "Nice. Well, if you think you might be meeting up with her again, perhaps you could put in a word for me? I'd like to get to know her friend a bit better. The black haired tall one?"

"Adrianne?" Severus snickered. He couldn't picture Sasha's boisterous friend wanting anything to do with Avery, no matter what sort of word anyone put in for him.

"Yeah, her. What do think my chances are of getting some fresh air with that one?"

Not wanting to find himself on Avery's bad side Severus answered carefully. "I'll see what I can do. She's a bit of a snob though. We'll see."

"Excellent."

Obviously it was a blatant lie. Severus had absolutely no intention of ever suggesting any such thing. He and Adrianne weren't exactly friends, but he knew she meant a lot to Sasha, and honestly… well, she wasn't really as bad as he'd originally thought. She was certainly far too good for Avery, who was a bit of a thug. There wasn't a snobbish bone in Adri's body, he knew, but if Avery thought there was then maybe he'd give up. Severus made a mental note to warn Sasha of his intentions toward her friend tomorrow. Avery wasn't the sort of fellow a girl wanted to find herself alone with unprepared, he knew. He didn't like to be told no.