The next day. Before Potions classroom.
.
.
"Oi, our slippery Snivellus looks like he's finally had a shower! How long has it been, a month, two months?"
James Potter's merry voice echoed down the corridor, before the classroom.
...
The dark-eyed boy stared expressionlessly at the cheerful-faced Potter, the hazel eyes sparkling with accomplishment. If he speak well enough, provoking him, he might confess out of his own mouth, Severus thought briefly.
And then stopped the thought.
His head was throbbing with the after-effects of the drug, and he couldn't be bothered to think.
Lupin glanced back and forth between Potter, Black, and him. He seemed to know what had happened last night, as he started to say something to Potter, then stopped, his eyes uneasy.
Was he standing around watching out for them in the corridor? Or was he pacing the dorm, biting his nails? Typical bystander bastard.
Last night, Severus managed to deal with his grease-soaked body, cracked bones, and bruises. But the headache didn't go away with the headache potions he had on hand. He went to the Infirmary in the early hours of the morning and stole a concussion potion from the matron, and after a few sips, his stomach felt less rumbling and his vision was clearer; so it had been a concussion, he supposed.
But concussions don't heal as quickly as broken bones in the first place, even if you take the medication. If he'd been caught by Pomfrey, he'd likely have been ordered to sit down and not move for at least three or four hours.
He'd take the potion at dawn, so he'd just have to endure this headache a little longer, but right now he had neither the energy nor the inclination to start another fight with the gang.
Severus ignored them and walked into the potions classroom as soon as the door opened and took his seat.
Lily's eyes widened the moment she saw his complexion. She tried to move closer, but the Slytherin pureblood pricks around him blocked the muggleborn's approach, squawking like a delicate lady seeing a cockroach. Lily glared at them in exasperation and took a seat a couple of seats away from Severus.
The raucous atmosphere immediately quieted as Professor Peverell entered the room. The professor didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary and began his lesson. For once he was glad that Potions was a theory class today. Severus barely held his throbbing head and pretended to read his textbook.
Admittedly, it was getting better. He was feeling better and better as the class progressed. His vision was clearer now, and his head was no longer in a state where he felt like it was going to crack like he did while throwing up in the early morning. However, the headache wouldn't go away completely. It'd be relatively okay for about five minutes, and then, as if on cue, the throbbing pain would reassert itself, making him go mad with himself.
Peverell's lecture, which he usually paid attention as the content was consistently helpful and unique, was now a blur. Binns' lecture would have been more brilliant at this point, since he could have just laid down on the desk and fall asleep.
The professor's even voice combined with Severus' tickling headache to create a fantastic mélange of tensity and irritation on his senses. I'd pay anything for someone to turn off that clear, compelling tone which is piercing through the sticky pain in my skull, Severus thought in frustration.
Lily had thrown him a few wide-eyed, silent questions at first, but now she had given up and was more engrossed than usual in her notes. An unspoken sign that she would lend him her notes after class.
"...you could say. So... ... will do, and ... in the sense of ...what would... if... have, Mr. Snape?"
Severus blinked. The professor's words had ended in a question... and Mr. Snape was himself.
And Professor Peverell was gazing at him.
...I remember he was giving a lecture on bezoars. About 10...no, 20 minutes ago.
Lily was sitting in her seat, mouth moving silently, urgently trying to give him an answer. Uh, so... she's saying...
Lived... dead? ...what?
Severus turned his gaze from Lily to the professor. Rather than the sternness of a professor catching a student not paying attention in the class, Peverell seemed to have a hint of mischief in his green eyes. As if he found this situation amusing.
Somehow, the whole situation felt annoying. The Slytherins watching him curiously around him, the Gryffindors giggling blatantly in the distance, and most of all, Professor Peverell, who had not noticed him in the corridor last night.
"...Uh, dunno?"
Lily covered her face with her palms as she dropped down on the desk. Looking down at him, Peverell furrowed his brow.
"'I don't know, sir'."
"...You don't have to call me sir, Professor."
The words escaped his mouth before he knew what he was saying.
"..."
An eerie silence fall around them, eighty students momentarily not believing their ears.
Lily looked up at Severus, her eyes huge. Her eyes, dark pupils dilated to make green rings, looked remarkably identical to Peverell's green eyes, that was staring at him with a similar expression, Severus mused idly.
And the next moment, his brain cleared completely.
What did I just say?
Fucking CRAZY HELL INSANITY-!
The last edge of his headache was completely knocked off by the massive impact.
I'm so totally DEAD.
Even the Gryffindor gang were staring at him with their mouths hanging open in disbelief; even they had never pulled a stunt like this in front of a professor before.
The boy's eyes quivered wildly. His face was completely frozen and expressionless. His naturally pale skin and charcoal-black eyes made his shock barely noticeable.
Professor Peverell slowly raised his hand and pressed it tightly to his brow. His face hardened into a stone, covered under his hand.
The professor's shoulders shook minutely, as if to contain his fury.
The Gryffindors, who would normally have giggled, remained deadly silent as they stared at the professor. They had never heard or seen such a stunt in all their years at Hogwarts.
A few seconds, or an eternity, passed, and then Peverell let out a long breath. He looked down at the boy, his eyes composed.
"...Detention, this afternoon at five o'clock. Report to my office, Mr. Snape."
Whew, the students let out a collective sigh. It was a perfectly natural outcome, a normal resolution to the unexpected incident in class.
For the rest of the class, the mood was subdued, and the students glanced over at the Slytherin boy who would receive a thrashing of his life on his sorry arse that evening.
.
.
.
As soon as the lesson was over, Lily tugged on his arm. Severus sagged without protest and followed her to the empty classroom.
"What the hell happened today, Sev?!" / "I'm going to go fucking kill myself, Lils."
The words came out simultaneously. Lily sighed heavily and turned to look at the boy.
"Don't be silly. Are you on something? Did you take something strange?"
"...I must be cursed, no, it's not even a curse, I'm just not worth living."
Severus sank to the floor of the classroom and hung his head. Peverell was the only professor at Hogwarts he wanted to impress. No, he was the only adult at Hogwarts whom he wanted to impress.
And here he was. What an impression. Last time, he was caught in the middle of mass bullying after curfew, and then he was late for his summon, and now, what? You don't have to call me sir?
Severus barely held back the urge to bash his head against the wall. His head felt better now, but he hated any more headaches. Instead, he began to rack his brain for a painless poison recipe.
"...Lils, would you loot me a few ingredients for a potion I could use? Bugleweed, roots of asphodel, a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and..."
A sharp jolt hit him in the back of the head. The boy involuntarily raised his head and looked up at Lily with indignation. Damn, that hurt!
Lily snorted, holding high in her hand the two-inch thick textbook that had just hit Sev.
"You utter nuts. Stop being silly, and be there at five. Go and get punished. You more than deserve it."
Severus puffed out his mouth. That book's definitely more of an assault weapon than a professor's paddle. For a supposed female friend, Lily was far from girly and sweet. Practically a thug!
...And what should have been a thought, came out of his mouth, verbalised.
(He seriously suspected the concussion medication; it must have had a side effect of removing the filter between one's brain and mouth.)
Lily smiled very sweetly at Sev's comment. "Oh dear. You want a girly Lily Evans?"
Ugh. Severus gulped, being stiffened on the spot. The ache in the back of his head faded away, replaced by the pounding of his heart. A cold sweat broke out on the nape of his neck.
He couldn't tell if it was trepidation or anticipation. ...To be honest, the former seemed to have a greater proportion.
Lily smirked as she saw the clumsy desperation that'd been in Sev's shaky black eyes had vanished. No more bullshit about taking poison, it seemed.
"Forget it, Sev. I'm sure Professor Peverell doesn't think too badly of you anyway, so stop worrying about it and go get smacked. You did earn it, didn't you?"
"Lily!"
Severus shot the girl a look of exasperation. How could she be so cavalier about it? Even if Peverell had ever thought the slightest bit favourably of him, the chances of his favor were absolute zero after this incident today!
Lily, however, only scoffed at his words.
"What, do you think a teacher would hold a serious grudge against a schoolboy for a cheeky comment? You just go, get your punishment, and apologise, 'sorry sir, I won't do it again, sir,' What more? All worried about nothing!"
Of course he won't forgive me. Until my death!
Severus, who was entirely capable of holding an eternal grudge against a schoolboy if he were in Peverell's situation, could not disagree more.
..