It was the day after Snape visited Lily outside Gryffindor Tower. He had his head bent down, deep in thought as he headed to Herbology. He hated how things had turned out with Lily but wasn't sure what could be done about it, letting her cool off might be the best move he could play right now.
Before he knew it he was at the greenhouse, and with gritted teeth, he steeled himself for what was to come. The Gryffindors were paired with the Slytherins so it was with absolute embarrassment that he shuffled in. He avoided Lily's eyes as he surveyed the room.
"Come in, come in!" barked Professor Sprout impatiently. "Group up, grab some soil and some clean pots, we need to re-plant the Venomous Tentacula, they're sick and need a fresh home."
Snape went to Avery and Mulciber's table and dropped his bag. He muttered a quick hello and went to get the pots and soil. With his arms full he started making his way back to the table when he heard the sound of ripping. He looked down to see the bag of soil he was carrying had split open. He leaned over to try to grab it from the bottom to stop spilling but the pots he was carrying toppled out of his hands and shattered.
"That was smooth!" James called out above the class's laughter. "Hey Snape, I thought you were a wizard!"
Snape's face turned deep red as he started muttering "Reparo" to the pots.
Professor Sprout looked up from helping a Ravenclaw on how to properly replant them and her brain seemed to be catching up with what had happened.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" she called out angrily. The class quieted. "I heard what happened after the OWL exam, Potter. If you do something like this again it will be detention."
While Snape appreciated the sentiment that Professor Sprout showed he was only more humiliated that a teacher stepped in. He went back to his seat and noticed that Lily was glaring at James from her table across the room. Slightly cheered by this he bent his head and got to work.
The rest of the class went by slowly but without further incident. As soon as the bell rang Snape leapt to his feet to get out of there and started heading towards his next class.
After a few minutes, he turned a corner and heard someone behind him walking at a quick pace. He turned around and was surprised to see Mary MacDonald, she stopped suddenly and looked at him, she seemed taken aback at their abrupt meeting. Mary was a very pretty fifth-year Gryffindor, a Prefect at that. She had dark caramel-colored hair, hazel eyes, and a different energy about her.
"Are you following me?" he asked harshly, even he blanched slightly at how rough his voice had sounded but he didn't retract it, he simply glared at her.
"I was just trying to catch up with you," Mary said unperturbed. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what Sirius and James did to you the other day, and today in Herbology. It wasn't nice and I didn't think it was funny at all."
Snape's cheeks flushed with embarrassment; he didn't like anyone reminding him of what happened.
"Don't talk to me about that," he spat out. "And don't repeat what happened to anyone."
"There's no need to be so hostile," Mary snipped.
Snape took a half step back, his black eyes glinted strangely. Mary kept staring at him, waiting.
"Why are you even talking to me?" asked Snape suspiciously.
"You went to see Lily outside the Gryffindor common room," she said quietly.
"What of it?" sneered Snape.
"This isn't the first time I've seen you guys around the castle, sneaking around. Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get along and yet you don't seem to care that she's in Gryffindor. You apologized to her for calling her a Mudblood."
"I didn't mean to use that word," said Snape grimacing.
"Then why did you?" asked Mary.
She didn't appear to be angry, just curious. She looked at Snape unflinchingly, it wasn't often he found himself in the company of someone who didn't look at him as if he was a nasty bug or of indifference.
"It…slipped out," said Snape lamely. "I was dealing with a lot of thoughts…." Snape's voice trailed off.
"I see," said Mary quietly.
Snape wasn't sure what else to say but they kept eying each other, sizing each other up.
The bell rang and they both jumped, startled. Without another word they both took off to their respective classes, and both would be late.
Over the next week, Mary sought Snape out on his own in between classes, after dinner, and at the library. After a couple of uncomfortable conversations, they finally started to trust each other and started talking more as friends. Mary was quite different from anyone else Snape had ever met. She didn't seem to mind Snape's severe demeanor and the rough way he sometimes spoke.
During that first week of their friendship, Snape found out everything he could about Mary. She was pureblood but a blood traitor, her family was well to do, and most of his year had a crush on her. He had never noticed because he had been so focused on Lily. Snape could not deny that Mary MacDonald was vivacious.
In the second week of their friendship, it was Snape who sought Mary out after breakfast on Saturday.
"I'm going to the library later to study up on counter curses, did you want to come?" he asked tensely, he could feel his voice was tight.
"Sure," she said as she gave Snape an unreadable expression. "Meet you at 12."
Mary found Snape in the corner of the library later that day pouring over old black volumes from the restricted section, he had a long-standing note from Professor Slughorn. She looked down at what he was reading and saw he was on a page about the counter curse for a very nasty hex.
"God you're smart," she said in admiration. Snape looked up at her and flushed slightly. It was so very rare that he got compliments of any kind.
"I would say anyone can do this but that would be a lie," he said trying not to brag as he bent over his book once more.
"You know, you should pull your hair back, it's in your face," said Mary.
Before Snape could stop her she had reached forward and gathered his hair in her hands, she was attempting to put his hair in a loose ponytail. He recoiled as she ran her fingers through his greasy hair. She didn't say anything until she was done.
"There," said Mary softly. "That's better….you know Severus….I think we should meet tonight, privately. It would be good for us to talk without worrying about everyone else. We could meet in the Prefects bathroom. I already had it booked for eight tonight."
"The bathroom?" asked Snape in disbelief.
"We'll wear bathing suits," said Mary shrugging. "Bring your swim trunks."
Mary leaned over to look at the book again.
"I bet I could work the counter curse," said Mary.
She sidled up close to Snape to where he was, leaning out of his chair to make room for her. He watched her for a minute as she read the page, her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how to do it. With some hesitation, he reached over and hooked his fingers into a loop on her jeans and softly pushed her to the side so he could sit on his chair better.
Mary smiled and took out her wand quietly and said, "Evanesco!". The chair vanished and Snape crumpled to the ground. He got up quickly and started to glare when Mary stealthily reached past his robes and put her hand on his hip, her warm hands surprised Snape.
"Just a prank, Severus," smirked Mary.
She squeezed his hip gently before letting go. Mary got in his way again as she picked up a different volume titled Curses for Mortal Enemies. She flipped through it idly before looking at Snape.
"Not just studying counter curses huh?"
Snape didn't say anything, he watched her curiously as she stopped here and there to read something.
"You know, this is very interesting, I can see why you like this stuff. Which of these is your favorite?"
Snape gave her a small smile and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking about curses, counter curses, and why he was going down his dark path, a path he wasn't sure about anymore.
Snape stepped inside the Prefects bathroom at 8 PM sharp, he had brought plain black swim trunks as instructed. He marveled at the large tub that was inside which he saw was already full to the brim with water and bubbles. He gasped when he saw Mary smiling at him from the tub's edge.
"Hey Severus," she called out giggling. "I was hoping you'd come. Get into your swim trunks and get in, I won't look."
Snape watched as she swam to the corner of the tub and looked away from him. He quickly changed, he put on his swim trunks and a large white t-shirt, and he slid into the water. She turned around when she heard him enter the tub, she swam over to him and smiled.
"You didn't get the towels? I'll get them."
Mary swung herself up and out of the tub with ease. Snape went slack-jawed as he saw Mary was in a flattering red bikini, he tried not to look directly at her small but ample bosom as she placed towels by the edge of the tub. She got back in and turned to face him.
"Wash my back?" She held up a washcloth. Snape took it from her wordlessly. He was so stunned he could not think of anything to say. He started washing her back with one arm, afraid to do anything.
"You can touch me, Severus," she said laughing. She seemed to enjoy bossing him around. Snape hesitantly brought his other hand to her hip so he could scrub a little harder with his other hand. Mary sighed softly, Snape reflexively gripped her hip a little more firmly, she gave another sigh.
Snape kept washing her back, not sure what to do. This was very dangerous waters to be in. Mary turned around and swam to one of the nearby jets to get soap out of it and went to him and placed it on his head. She started lathering Snape's hair from the front. He looked at her tenderly before trying to pull her arms down.
"You don't need to do that," he said softly.
"I want to," she whispered back.
Mary reached back up and continued scrubbing, Snape closed his eyes as he let himself enjoy it. After his hair had been thoroughly washed she guided Snape over to one of the spigots that gave off clean water and she rinsed his hair.
"Close your eyes now," Mary said gently. Snape obeyed and felt Mary scrubbing his face with a washcloth. After she was done rinsing his face he opened his eyes to see her staring at the clock on the wall.
"We should probably get going," said Mary regretfully.
"I guess so," Snape agreed.
They got out of the tub slowly and started drying off. Mary watched Snape as he awkwardly tried to squeeze the water out of his t-shirt.
"You know, you've seen a lot more of me than I have of you," she called out.
Snape looked up and saw she had put down the towel, she was still in her bikini and was overall flawless in her appearance. He looked down at himself and his t-shirt and shook his head.
"You don't want to see me," said Snape in a disgusted voice. "I'm too…."
He wasn't sure what word he was going to use. Skinny? Pale? Ugly?
Mary went over to him and tentatively put her hands on the bottom of his shirt. She slowly started raising his shirt, and when he didn't protest she took it off him completely.
She gazed at his pasty white hairless chest and observed that he had several long scars in various places. His rounded shoulders also bore small scars. Mary traced the scars with her fingertips, she felt Snape wince but he didn't stop her. She looked up into his face and saw that Snape looked nervous.
Mary brought her arms and hands around Snape's waist, embracing him as she leaned forward and started gently kissing the scars on his chest. Snape seemed to melt in her arms, she could feel him hugging her back now. She finished kissing each scar and broke away slowly to get a small package out from under her pile of clothes, she gave it to Snape.
Snape inspected it and saw that it was a pack of the nicest boxers he had ever seen. He blushed crimson and was about to say something when Mary kissed him on the cheek. Snape started and looked quizzically at Mary.
"It's so I can picture you wearing them," she said daringly, blushing. Snape blushed harder than he thought possible and sputtered, not able to form words.
Mary stood on tiptoe to kiss Severus directly on the lips, her hands on his bare chest. Snape kissed her back, his hands on her lower back. His arousal grew and she felt it because she stopped kissing him to gasp in surprise.
"Severus! Now I really have to go," she teased. He watched hungrily as she put her clothes on quickly. She put her hand in his before leaving and told him that she'd see him tomorrow.
As the door closed behind her Snape couldn't believe what had just happened.