"Seymour Shaw? Shall we say our goodbyes? We're leaving, okay?"
"No- don't do it. Alright, I'll tell!"
Both James and Sirius, as well as Severus, who was standing behind them unnoticed, froze in their tracks. What was he going to reveal?
Seymour Shaw, looking up at raised eyebrows, swallowed hard. He sat up from where he had been lying. He began to rub his sweaty hands together. He looked even more nervous now than he had before. He licked his thick lips, moistening them, then did it again, and again…
"Enough! You can eat your lips later! Tell us what you have to say now! We need to go. We have a class to attend!"
Shaw looked at Sirius with pleading eyes. His tongue seemed frozen on the roof of his mouth, as if he was afraid to move it. James, who had been mostly silent until then, couldn't help but snicker at the boy's pathetic state. Snape, well hidden in the darkness, realized he had smiled along and cursed himself. But he was right, wasn't he? This disgusting boy had a thing for Lily! His Lily! And he had said, 'She's yours, Potter, I know.' Lily belonged to Potter! Had the whole school accepted it that way? No, no, she was Severus's! Severus's! She would never be Potter's!
"I- I," Seymour broke the silence. "The other day… Something strange happened. I'm not-not sure but…"
Sirius was tapping his foot on the ground in irritation. He was so certain the boy was going to spout nonsense that listening to him seemed like a waste of time. Moreover, with the boy's stuttering, it seemed like he wouldn't finish his sentence before the end of Potions class.
"Without stuttering…" he said slowly. He had stopped tapping. Shaw swallowed and continued with an even worse stutter than before. This time, he also seemed to be confused about what he was going to say. The blood from his nose was slowly dripping towards his mouth.
"Snape!" he then said. Severus, standing somewhere in the background, was taken aback. "Snape did it!"
Sirius and James looked at each other and grinned. This time, James was the one who spoke.
"What did Snape do, sorry? Did he force you and Lily to kiss? Oh, what a convenient scapegoat. Because I don't like Snivellus, right Shaw? I would blindly accept any accusation against him. Quite naive of me."
"I didn't mean that. Snape did something."
"What did he do?" Sirius asked, curling his lips.
"I saw him the other day."
"Wow, scandalous! Merlin knows you might be at the same school!"
"And-and…" Seymour said, determined to finish his sentence, "And I don't remember what happened next. Then I-I must have fainted."
"Wait a minute, did Snivellus knock you out?"
Snape stood in the background, watching angrily. This was a big lie. Seymour Shaw, a nondescript boy, had never caught his attention, and he had never knocked him out, not in the past, the future, or any other time. The boy was lying just to save his own skin. Scatter his brain, Potter!
"Yes. He must have done it... I'm sure I saw him."
"Oh, so Snape came up to you, you chatted and joked around. Then he knocked you out, right?"
"No, no. What can I talk with Snape?"
"Nothing! If Snape wanted to knock you out, he would have done it without showing himself. Stop making things up!"
"He's not like you guys! He might not have thought of that. When I got up, I had even missed classes. You can ask McGonagall if you want!"
"What are we supposed to ask McGonagall? Are you making fun of us?"
"Lo-look... Don't you understand? He must have disguised himself as me! Polyjuice Potion! Slughorn taught us this year! To appear as someone else-"
"We know what Polyjuice Potion does!" Sirius and James said at the same time. Both had their arms crossed over their chests.
"So he must have disguised himself as me and – and"
"And then went and kissed Lily, huh?"
"Yes - I mean, I think so -"
"Why would he disguise himself as you?" Sirius now laughed outright. "Of course, what better disguise to woo a girl than the appearance of Seymour Shaw? Look at this guy. How many love letters do you get a day?"
Seymour appeared offended. He straightened up as if he wasn't the same boy who was begging on the ground a moment ago. Being teased about his looks seemed to have hit him harder than anything else...
"Well, just because I don't snog and cuddle with girls in the corridors doesn't mean-"
Sirius and James laughed so loudly that Seymour's words were drowned out. Snape stood in the background, his lips quivering. Laughing would give him away, which wouldn't be good, so he composed himself. He continued to listen intently to the increasingly interesting conversation.
"How should I know why he disguised himself as me? Why don't you go and ask him?"
"If you have nothing else to say, we're leaving Shaw! We'll drop by now and then to check on you. Maybe we can come this weekend. Do you need anything? Food maybe… Of course, you might be dead-"
"Why aren't you pressing Snape?" Seymour asked, looking quite upset, with a malicious glint in his eyes directed at James. "Oh, right, because you can't handle him anymore. That's what they say-"
The laughter stopped. Sirius dragged Shaw with a wave of his wand back against the wall. Then he looked at James. James nodded. Snape, who was a breath away, understood everything at that moment. They had decided the boy was innocent, and now they were going to erase his memory! This unpleasant situation would not reach anyone's ears – especially not Lily's.
If Lily knew about this, she would be so angry at Potter... But how could he tell Lily? He needed to get out of here and find a way – wait a minute… Snape suddenly stopped as a plan popped into his mind. His smile turned into a wide grin. Then he raised his wand and, with a single spell, captured Potter's and Sirius's wands in mid-air. The boys, whose wands had flown out of their hands, narrowed their eyes and peered into the darkness.
Snape delightedly lifted the disillusionment charm off himself. He watched with satisfaction as the curious looks on the faces of the two Marauders turned to hatred. Behind them, Seymour had finally managed to stand up, and judging by the fading hopeful expression on his face upon seeing Snape, he was no happier than James or Sirius. Of course, he must have been hoping for a Professor to come. For a moment, the idea of locking up this miserable boy along with Sirius and Potter forever seemed like a very good idea. But then he shook his head and convinced himself that it wouldn't be sensible thing to do.
"Hello! I am not invited to the party?" he said, smiling at James and Sirius as if to say, 'you guys are in big trouble.'
"You!" James bellowed. "What are you doing here, Snape?"
"Just wandering around. What are you doing here, Potter?"
"That's none of your business, coward! Give me my wand!"
Severus looked at Potter's outstretched fingers and grinned victoriously. He certainly wasn't expecting him to hand it over, was he?
"Come on, you were cornering the kid, trying to get words out of him. I heard you!"
"You eavesdrop on conversations?"
"I think what I'm doing is more ethical than what you're do-"
"Give the wa-"
CRACK!
Snape, unable to control himself, had lashed his wand like a whip across James's face. The 'CRACK' sound was followed by a red mark running from James's eye to his chin. Sirius roared and lunged at him. The same 'CRACK' sound, this time, opened a wound on Black's knees. Severus backed away. He shouldn't be acting this way, he needed to be more composed. He had to keep himself under control!
"Shaw, get out!"
"What-?"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
Seymour didn't wait to be told twice and left. Now, only Snape, James, and Sirius remained. They stared at each other hatefully in the silence for a long time. Then Snape began to speak in a voice smooth as velvet.
"Did you call me a coward, Potter? Beating up some poor kid who is way smaller than you in a deserted place with your giant friend must be very brave-"
"It's none of your business!"
"But Lily would be interested to know."
James's face quickly paled. Snape, pretending not to care, examined his nails. James approached him, getting right in front of his face.
"She wouldn't believe you!"
"Are you going to lie to her?"
"Stay away from that girl, Snivellus!" said Sirius, who had recovered from his initial shock and swaggered over. "She's ended her friendship with you."
"Why did you corner Shaw?"
"It's none of your business!"
"You're a terrible liar, Potter. Who would believe that Lily kissed that boy?"
"Why? Wouldn't you believe it?" said James, his eyes shining. "Didn't you fantasize for years about her kissing you? Anyone who would kiss you could kiss anyone, right?"
Sirius smirked in approval. Snape's face fell. He pushed James back by the chest.
"Idiot! How do you know we didn't kiss? Did you ask Lily?"
"You didn't kiss!" said James, looking dazed. "No, she didn't kiss you, no!"
"Oh yes, we did!" said Severus, taking pleasure in the lie. Potter could never know after all. "And now we're thinking of getting back together. Who do you think Lily met with yesterday?"
"No- no!"
"Oh yes, that's right! She met with me! With the same person who turned you into a pig that morning! While she should have been comforting you, she was with me." He added gleefully, looking at James's disheveled state. "We were kissing!"
"You liar! Lie-" James stumbled back, clutching onto Sirius. What had Lily said?
"Sev-"
Sev! Severus! Severus Snape! He looked at his closest friend in horror, expecting Sirius to deny it, to say something rational! But Sirius remained silent. His face turning purple, he just stared at Snape and the wands in his hand.
"Lily's poor taste doesn't concern us, Snivellus! She must pity you! Now stop sullying our wands with your filthy hands!"
"Oh, you can collect your wands from McGonagall's office," said Snape as he turned away. "I'm off to class."
When James Potter and Sirius Black entered the potions class with sullen faces, a few heads turned to look at them. But most were focused on their challenging potions and didn't turn around.
"Sirius! James! Where have you been? The class started fifteen minutes ago! I suppose I should deduct points from you!" Professor Slughorn chuckled, his belly jiggling. He didn't seem angry at all. "Let's see, one point each! Don't let it happen again."
The boys didn't return the smile as they took their seats. James's eyes quickly scanned the classroom and found the two people he was looking for in the same spot. Lily – his Lily – and Snape were standing together at a cauldron, working collaboratively. Together again!
"Where were you?" whispered Remus. He wasn't looking at Sirius, addressing James instead. "I thought something happened to you. Also, you could have waited for me after Astronomy."
"I'll explain later," James muttered out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes still fixed on the pair. Snape, who usually sat at the back of all classes, in the darkest, worst spot, only partnered with Lily in Potions class. When their friendship had ended, Lily hadn't sat with him. Snape had moved back to his rightful place – one of the moldy back rows, alone. But now, he was again seated with Lily, stirring a cauldron with her!
"What's wrong with you?"
"I told you I'll explain later..."
Remus's forehead creased in confusion. He glanced at Sirius sitting beside him.
"Right..." And then he moved to the back row to sit next to his cauldron partner, Steve O'Henry.
"I'm thinking we should add five or six of these little worms at this stage, Remus," suggested Steve, brimming with the spirit of experimentation. "Maybe it will speed up the process to the second phase."
"Or directly to the final stage, Steve," Remus replied with evident distress. "The stage where we dump it in the trash."
"Why do you say that? This intestinal worm-"
"Merlin, Steve! That's a wrigglewart!"
"Really?... Is there much difference between them? Both are from the insect family."
"You added them, didn't you?"
"The instructions said to add three intestinal worms."
"-And these are not intestinal worms!"
"Hmmm, what shall we do?"
The two brunettes looked worriedly into their cauldron. The potion was supposed to be a pale blue color in the first phase. However, theirs was-
"Red! Merlin, boys, I'm curious to know how you managed to achieve that color!"
The majority of the class laughed at the situation, but Snape didn't even turn to look. He was gazing at Lily, filled with hope. Lily's profile was so beautiful to him. Such a flawless nose... Such radiant, snow-white skin...
"Alright, alright... Make sure to follow the instructions properly. Otherwise, I'll have to give each of you a 'Poor' grade."
Remus quickly nodded his head in agreement and took the ladle from Steve's hand, starting to stir the potion clockwise.
"Can you check the fire under our cauldron, Steve?"
"Don't worry, Remus, it's burning blazingly!"
"That's what I was afraid of!" Remus said, rolling his eyes. "Please lower the flame. We're not making soup here."
Lily glanced at Snape's profile, who appeared to be completely absorbed in their shared potion. She was deeply annoyed. Snape had entered the class with an inexplicable cheerfulness and had offered to be her partner in the potion-making. Lily hadn't been able to refuse, feeling somewhat intimidated. The conversation they had the previous evening had kept her awake, mulling over its contents.
"We never actually talked. I can't stand you keeping distant from me, Lily. You are the only thing I have in life, and if it continues like this..."
"If it continues like this?"
"I'll kill myself,"
"Are you threatening me?"
"No, I'm stating a fact."
"Why would you kill yourself? You finally got what you wanted. You Know Who must be waiting for you with open arms!"
"I realized that this is not what I wanted."
Lily felt a wave of fear remembering Snape's chilling declaration that he would take his own life. Merlin! He had been so serious about it. Did he really mean it? Would he go to such an extreme, over her? Lily was scared; it was a frightening thought.
Desperately, she glanced sideways at James, who was sitting a row behind, and to her surprise, noticed a large cut on his face. What had happened to him? Had he fallen? Then, as their eyes met, she realized he had been watching her since he entered the class. What was he thinking about her sitting with Snape again? He must have been upset. They had just had a fight the other day in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where Snape's actions towards James were completely uncalled for. Snape could have simply disarmed James, but he had gone much further, humiliating him. Lily looked back at Snape with a mix of anger and worry. He was absorbed in perfecting their potion. Because of Snape, her relationship with James was at stake. Snape's threat of self-harm was an uncalled threat! Through and through. He had no right!
"Did you see? They're sitting together!" James exclaimed.
"I saw it, James!" replied Sirius, trying to calm his friend down.
"That means they're together, doesn't it? Snape's probably telling the truth!" James's frustration was evident.
"Just because they're sitting next to each other doesn't necessarily mean they're dating," Sirius reasoned. "It's Snape we're talking about. He's always full of words."
"But Lily said 'Sev-' that evening... I thought she meant... It never crossed my mind that she would get back together with that jerk! And now Snape's claiming they've kissed before!"
"We can't be sure of that," Sirius tried to offer a more rational perspective.
"But why would Snape lie about it?" James's voice was tinged with desperation.
"Why wouldn't he? Don't jump to conclusions, James. Calm down. We'll get back at him, don't worry. He's been too cocky these past two days," Sirius reassured him.
"Lily did not tell me about it," James lamented.
"Told you what?" asked Sirius, balancing between irritation and sarcasm.
"That she kissed that filth!" James's voice cracked with emotion.
"Well, James," Sirius began, his tone a mix of annoyance and mockery. "It's not like she would come up to you and give a detailed report, right? What I mean is… at this point, it's really none of your business…"
"Our relationship was good!" James protested. "I was going to ask her out. At the Christmas ball! And she would have said yes!"
"C'mon James! You always ask her out!" Sirius pointed out, his voice rising.
"She would have said yes this time, I know it. She would have!"
Sirius added the measured amount of shrinking solution to his cauldron and stirred counterclockwise slowly, glancing at James.
"Look, James, I think Snape's just making things up—"
"But they're sitting together, look! It means she really did meet him that night. He was telling the truth there!"
"Well, yes, maybe—" Sirius stumbled over his words, unable to find a convincing argument. "But even a broken clock is right twice a day—"
"What am I going to do?" James asked, his spirits crashing as Sirius seemed to accept the situation. He buried his face in his hands, slumping over the desk.
"Hmm… Maybe we could drop a frog into their cauldron?"
James just groaned in response.
Snape adjusted the flame under the cauldron, increasing its intensity. They were already in the sixth stage of the potion, a relatively simple concoction for someone of Snape's skill. He could have completed it in two classes if needed. As he efficiently chopped the ginger roots, Snape glanced sideways at Lily, who seemed rather idle. Had he been wrong to take over the potion-making it himself entirely?
"Don't you want to do anything?" he asked.
"You seem to be handling everything just fine on your own," Lily replied, observing his work.
Snape added the freshly chopped roots to the cauldron, followed by two drops of daisy extract and a pinch of mustard seed. He then stirred the mixture: twice clockwise, once counterclockwise.
"I just wanted to sit with you," he muttered through clenched teeth. "I could easily make my potion alone."
"If we're working together, we should both contribute. You're just sitting there, focusing only on the potion!"
A fleeting smile appeared on Snape's face, quickly disappearing as if it had never been there. Was Lily upset because he wasn't paying her enough attention? Interesting...
"What else should I focus on, Lily?" he asked, pausing his stirring to look at her.
"I don't know," Lily said, a bit flustered by his sudden attention. "I could have chopped the roots, for instance."
Snape's expression momentarily shifted to one of annoyance, but it was so brief that Lily might have imagined it. Now, he looked entirely impassive, as if void of any thoughts or emotions.
"In that case, you can grind these dittany leaves," he suggested, indicating the task with a nod.
Lily looked down at the disheveled pile of dittany leaves in front of her, their pungent smell wafting up. No one else in the class had touched them yet. She glanced up at Snape, who was watching her with an almost mocking smile.
"But we don't need these yet, do we? They're for the final stage..." she pointed out.
"We'll need them soon. We can finish the potion faster this way," Snape replied.
Lily examined their potion, surprised at how advanced it already looked. Despite Snape's proficiency in potion-making, this seemed unusually quick.
"I thought you wanted to help!" Snape remarked from above her.
"Yes, of course," Lily muttered, and without another word, she began the tedious task of sorting and chopping the foul-smelling leaves. The process was not just difficult because of their appearance, but their smell was repugnant, a mix of mud and – Merlin's beard! – manure. Typically in partnered work, everyone tried to pass off this unpleasant task to their partner. And every time she had made a potion with Snape, he had handled these leaves. James had done it for her as well. It was a common gesture of chivalry among the boys to spare the girls from such disagreeable tasks. But now, Snape had conveniently chosen all the easy ingredients to handle himself, leaving the dittany leaves for Lily.
After class, Snape hurriedly left, saying he had urgent business. Lily watched him go, hoping they would talk a bit after class. They hadn't had much time the night before. But throughout the class, Snape had focused solely on their potion, perfectly completing what was supposed to take three weeks in just the first class.
Slughorn, annoying the entire class struggling with their difficult potions, kept praising how flawless Severus's and Lily's potions were - the best two students in his class. He went on about how the additional ingredients they added with their brilliant minds balanced the potions so well.
Lily, trying to rid her hands of the horrible stench of dittany leaves, began walking toward the lavatory. Before she could reach it, her friends caught up.
"What are you doing, Lily?" Susan blurted out. "Why did you sit with that guy? His face was completely messed up."
"Whose?" asked Lily, confused. "Severus'?"
"No, of course not, silly. James'. He kept looking at you."
Lily bit her lip.
"Ah, but... I think Severus and I have made peace and he's my... uh... friend..."
"Made peace, huh?" Mary interjected. "What are you trying to do, Lily? That boy is nothing but a nasty little Death Eater! He must already be in service of the Dark Lord – didn't you see the show he put on in Redhouse's class?"
"He didn't put on a show!" Lily retorted, even though she thought the opposite. "James is always bothering him too. You can't claim James doesn't show off!"
"Well, but that's James' style..." said Susan.
"Style? So, bullying others is a style, is it? Then Severus did the right thing!"
"Merlin! Are you alright in the head? You're defending Snivellus!"
"Don't call him that! You wouldn't say it to his face, would you? Behind his back it's 'Snivellus' this, 'Snivellus' that..."
"I don't associate with that boy!"
"You don't even know him! But I do! He was my childhood friend! My best friend!"
"What are we then, Lily? Aren't we your friends?"
"Susan's right, Lily! I understand your past friendship with Snape. But just when you've seen his true colours, I don't understand why you're warming up to him again."
"Because... because..." Lily hesitated. Severus had said he changed sides. He said he realized his mistake. He promised to help, to join the cause... even at the risk of his own life. And he had actually gone to meet with Dumbledore... He must have been telling the truth. But she couldn't tell Susan and Mary all this. "Let the reason remain with me. Just trust me. I know what I'm doing. I know Severus well! Let's not dwell on this topic!"
"What about James?"
"What's wrong with James?"
"You told me you liked him!" Mary said, looking knowingly.
"I never said that - Mary!" Lily turned around, but it seemed there was no one there who shouldn't hear this.
Susan looked from Mary to Lily in astonishment, then started jumping up and down with glee, wrapping her arms around Lily's neck.
"Ah! I knew it, Lily! You two are so perfect for each other!"
Lily, untangling Susan's arms from her neck, couldn't help but grin.
"Come on, stop it!" she said half-heartedly.
Snape walked swiftly along the second-floor corridors, peering into empty classrooms. What he needed right now was something like the Marauders' Map. How else would he find the two people he needed in this huge school?
Then like magic, there they were - Melody Candy and Edward Cotton! They were listening to the latest gossip from Bertha Jorkins, the school's biggest chatterbox. Actually, it was Melody who was listening, while Edward seemed to be just watching her. It was a well-known fact that Edward fancied Melody. Snape couldn't figure out why the girl kept ignoring the boy's obvious interest. If there was a couple that matched in heaven, it was these two! He approached them quietly. Jorkins was talking breathlessly.
"-Then I said: 'I saw you!' The look on his face when I suddenly popped out from behind the bushes! Then he sent the girl away."
"Oh, you're so brave!" Candy exclaimed, nibbling on her nails, evidently breathless from the excitement of the story. "That nasty boy could have torn you to pieces!"
"He might as well have. Who do you think cast that spell on me? Why do you think I was in the hospital wing?"
"You mean Rosier?" Cotton interjected incredulously. "Why didn't you tell someone?"
"I did!" Bertha insisted. "I told Professor Dumbledore. But I don't know if he cared." Jorkins looked genuinely upset about not knowing something.
Snape chuckled to himself from behind. Perfect! The three biggest gossips in the school, just what he needed for his plan. He couldn't have gathered them together like this even if he tried. He drew his wand and swiftly cast three Stunning Spells. Luckily, there was no one around to witness it.
Snape gazed triumphantly at the three bodies lying on the floor, now carefully transported to the upper floor. He had successfully implanted identical fake memories in their little minds. Bertha Jorkins had just been discharged from the hospital wing and had not attended classes. Yet, she could roam the corridors and spread gossip. Candy and Cotton, on the other hand, had failed their Potions OWLs and were absent from class. They were the perfect trio for Snape's needs. He pointed his wand at them.
"Rennervate!"
As the girls and the boy groggily tried to stand, Snape quickly aimed his wand at each of them, repeating the same incantation.
"Imperio!"
With empty stares, they remained standing as Snape whispered their tasks to them.
Lily knelt to gather her exploded backpack. Despite not being overly full, the seams had split open. Frustrated, she began collecting her scattered items. Mary and Susan crouched down to help her. None of them noticed Severus, standing in the background, his wand pointed at Lily.
"Oh, look at this! Everything's covered in ink! Oh no, my homework is ruined too! What am I going to do now?"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Mary reassured her, using her wand to absorb the ink from the soaked books.
"...Then I noticed an entrance on the wall. I had never paid attention to it before."
Cotton, Candy, and Jorkins arrived at the top of the stairs near the girls, stopping abruptly. They seemed oblivious to the girls. Edward and Melody listened intently to Bertha, who was animatedly describing something.
"Oh Merlin! Let's quickly gather these up! I have no energy to listen to the weekly school magazine now!"
Mary and Susan chuckled, but the trio nearby showed no reaction to their not-so-quiet conversation.
"-Then I started hearing noises from behind. A boy - he sounded scared. I immediately hid to the side to see what was going on... And who do I see? Potter and Black!"
"What?!" Lily raised her head from the book she was drying ink off. Which incident was Jorkins referring to? Mary and Susan next to her also listened intently.
"There's this boy from our year, from Ravenclaw - Seymour! Scaredy Seymour! He was lying on the ground, covered in blood. Black and Potter were standing over him. They had taken his wand and beaten him!"
"Why?" asked Edward and Melody. Lily raised her eyebrows and gestured to the blonde girls beside her to be quiet.
"Well, apparently Shaw has a crush on Lily Evans. Potter was like, 'How dare you!' It was awful to watch really."
"Is that why they beat him up?" the two Hufflepuffs chimed in without missing a beat, as if orchestrated by someone, creating a perfect chorus.
"Yes. There was no other reason. Potter said: 'She's my girl, haven't you learned that yet?' And do you know what happened next?"
"What?" The Hufflepuffs seemed eagerly awaiting the answer as if it held the meaning of life.
"Potter's and Black's wands flew into the air. They flew right next to someone standing by me. He was under an invisibility charm, I didn't notice him. Guess who?"
"Who?" melody and Edward asked. Lily sat up straighter, her brows furrowed in concentration.
"Severus Snape! Then he told Shaw to get out of there. Then he left with Potter's and Black's wands."
"What happened next?"
"Snape said he was going to take the wands to McGonagall. They must have gone and got them back later. After they all left, I came out from where I was hiding. I went back to the common room. But there was no one there to tell the story to-"
"Merlin! Is what you're saying true?"
Bertha Jorkins looked blankly at Lily Evans. Someone whispered something quietly from behind. Jorkins began to speak.
"Yes."
"When did this happen?"
Again, blank stares followed by a mouth that suddenly seemed to make a decision,
"Two class ago... I have to go now!"
Bertha Jorkins ran off, disappearing down the corridor. Cotton and Candy followed her. The remaining three girls stood there, after a while the one with red hair said;
"Let's go, girls. We're going to be late for class!"
The boy with lifeless, straight black hair watched from the shadows as Lily's diminishing figure disappeared. Once the girl and her friends were completely out of sight, he silently blew a kiss into the void.
"Everything for you..."
After lifting the Imperius Curse from them, he left them back at the corner on the second floor where he had found them. When they came to their senses, they remembered nothing. But that wouldn't matter. Severus had already implanted the recent events into their minds. Melody and Edward would recall having those conversations as if they had actually participated in them willingly. Bertha would believe she had been at that secret spot from the very beginning. Professor McGonagall was already aware of the situation. The plan had worked flawlessly. Now it was time to go to the charms class and observe Lily's reactions. But first, he needed to secure the strand of hair he had meticulously plucked from Potter's messy locks. That hair would be very useful to him later.