Centaurs Attack!

Lucius stepped out of the tub, his legs trembling under his own weight- but he held up. "Your hands are terrific- my legs are much better than what they were." He tested them out finding some strength in them while he sought out his clothes from behind the changing screen. He dressed himself quickly.

"...Yes." Lucius looked back at him, flushed. "It was fine for a first go, I never would have went that far on a first date--- ever. You must have some sort of spell on me because I never would have... have reacted... You are very good, James Potter." He murmured and limped back over to him. He dragged a towel gently down his chin, collecting any remaining fluid there, and over his lips.

"Such a gentleman." He smirked and then remembered something. He pulled James's glasses off the top of his head. "You're missing something." He murmured and put them back on his face- smoothing out the fly away bits of James's dark hair. "Let's go then, walk me back. I don't want Sev to worry about me too much."

James walked Lucius to the Slytherin entrance, and gave him a kiss goodnight. He left with a wink, and made his way back to the Gryffindor portrait with a hop in his step and a glimmer in his eyes.

Before Lucius had made it through the common room, a fellow Slytherin stopped him to let him know his friend was behaving oddly. Apparently Severus was smiling, which for him constituted odd behavior.

There was a small smile playing about Severus' thin lips and rather than scold Lucius with a frown the moment he stepped foot into the dorm room, he stood up from his bed looking rather pleased to see him.

"There you are." Severus said silkily, and seemed to be pleased. "Did you have a good day?" Ask me about mine his dark eyes seemed to say, and they had a sort of sparkle to them that was not born of malicious intent but of something more. Rather than so dark and penetrating, even unsettling, Severus' eyes looked alive.

He couldn't wait for Lucius to speak and in honest did not want to hear about Lucius' day nor did he want to practice the patience to wait for Lucius to ask him.

"I've got a job, Lucius. On Saturday and Sunday nights, so I will be gone." At this mention, Severus subconsciously touched the spot where the port key necklace lay beneath his shirt. "I will be able to buy dress robes for the ball, and gifts for Lily, and the best part Lucius...Lily wants to go on a date with me. A date. With me."

"Smiling?" Lucius blinked. He thanked his fellow house mate, limping up to his room to see his friend. Oh Merlin, he really is smiling. Something must have happened to Black, or Pettigrew. If he knew what I did with Potter, he probably wouldn't be smiling. "Er... my day went well. Just got back from the bath." He said cautiously and waited to hear about the untimely death of one of the marauders that was sure to follow with Severus's description of his day.

"Oh!" He blinked again, not expecting that. "Sev-- that's great. That's really something, I'm glad you found a job! There weren't too many places in Hogsmede that were looking for help. I looked earlier before the girl hoard chased me across the grounds."

He took a seat and grinned at him. "We'll have to make an appointment for madame Malkin to make you a set of dress robes when you've saved up enough. And... it's about time, really. I'm proud of you! You finally asked Evans on a date! I knew you had it in you. Well, where are you going to take her? I suggest you do something that doesn't involve centaurs." He teased. "Merlin, Sev! I'm so proud of you! I can't get over it. ...You know, outside of the library they have some advertisements for weekend events. Maybe you can take Evans to one of those. ...That is unless you have something planned already, which wouldn't surprise me you sly dog."

"Um...yes. Of course. I finally asked her." Snape coughed, and hoped the curtains of his long hair was hiding enough of his blush. Severus disliked being untruthful to Lucius, as he was one of Severus' very few friends. He sighed, and finally confessed. "Actually, it was Lily who asked. I...was shocked. I've wanted to ask her for quite some time but I was just--you know--waiting for the right moment." It sounded stupid, and Severus knew that Lucius knew better than that anyway.

"And I don't have anything planned yet--how could I? I've never done this before. I've been so excited to tell the truth I haven't given it much thought yet but I will plan it out painstakingly as I wish it to be perfect for her."

"Sev... It's okay. Whatever works, right? I'm just happy you're happy." Lucius went over and put a hand on his shoulder. "You deserve some good things happening to you, and this is one of them-- I can feel it. Just... do me a favor. I know you want to wait for the right moment, but don't wait too long now. You don't want to miss out, by waiting for the right moment. It doesn't hurt to be a little impulsive."

He tilted his head to the side. "You know... The best dates don't have to be impressive, or go to grand locations. The best date I ever went on was a ride with Volkav on his new broom on the pitch at sunset before he graduated last year. We flew to a secluded cafe for dessert. Simple yet... effective. But I enjoy flying, and he knew that- being our seeker last year he was good at it. Pick something you can show off to Evans." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Or something you both really like."

"I will keep that in mind, Lucius." Severus nodded. "Something I could show off...well, I should take her to the beach then. I happen to look fabulous in a bikini. I'm sure you never would have guessed." Severus frowned, but he didn't really mean it, it was simply his habit to do so. He walked over to his bed and sat down upon it, his chin in his hand and deep in thought. He mumbled to himself a bit, and pulled a roll of parchment out of his bag.

Severus wrote a few things down in his small, tight script, and listed pros and cons beneath each one. Lucius was right, he was over-thinking this. The best times he had ever spent with Lily were the simple and random games they would make up as children, walking along the river bank, skipping stones as the sun began to grow low in the sky, sharing a handful of wild berries beneath their favorite tree, picking shapes out of the clouds in the bright, summer sky.

Lily was not a complicated girl, Severus knew this, but he still felt a need to impress that was probably silly. She liked him already, and he was certainly nothing impressive as-is. This was not some arrogant need to have Lily be impressed with him in the same way Potter felt all must be impressed by his wonder, no. It was simply that he held Lily in such high regard and he just wanted to be good enough for her...though seemingly she had never doubted this. She had been his friend from the beginning, and she had never seen him the way others did, and she liked him despite his appearance and temperment.

Calm down. He told himself, and scanned over the parchment again and then laid it down on the bed next to him.

"Lucius--"

Severus was interrupted as a handful of other Slytherin boys came into the room chatting rather loudly; Avery, Mulciber, Wilkes, Rosier, and LeStrange. The four of them went quiet except for Rodolphus LeStrange who seemed not to have noticed that the chatter had died down until Mulciber jabbed him in the ribs with a sharp elbow.

Avery's fists clenched at his sides and he turned towards Lucius, his eyes flashing darkly.

"Well well...if it isn't our resident whore and traitor, Malfoy." He spat. Mulciber was grinning at Lucius with a sadistic leer. "If we woulda known you liked cock crammed down your throat, I think we could've taken care of that quite easily within our own House."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure there are enough holes in your body to accommodate all of us." Mulciber added.

"If not, I'd be happy to make more. I know some deliciously nasty curses..." Rodolphus slid his hand lewdly down his wand and moved closer to Lucius, and then glanced at Severus who had gotten to his feet, wand ready, and stood next to Lucius.

"What is the meaning of this?" Severus demanded, his voice quiet and calm, but the look in his eyes dangerous.

"Oh Severus, haven't you heard?" Wilkes waved a bit of parchment, and Rodolphus snatched it away and pushed it at Snape's large nose.

"We thought you were one of us, Lucius--a proud, pureblood, Slytherin." Rosier piped up.

"And then this fuckery." Mulciber snarled, looking disgustedly at Lucius. "About you and Potter."

"Wha...what?" Severus asked, shocked, as he read over the lines in Lockhart's damned article. What little color he had drained from his face when he read was else was there: mentions of himself and Lily.

"And you, Snape--" Rodolphus began.

"Surely you don't believe a word of this rubbish that Lockhart--" Severus interjected.

"--Messing about with that Mudblood bitch--"

"One more word, LeStrange--" Snape hissed, jabbing the tip of his wand into Rodolphus' thick chest.

"Oh Severus, come now." LeStrange went on, his eyes seeming void of humanity, seeming not to care what threat was directed at his person. "We're all aware of how in tune you are with the Dark Arts, and your knowledge easily surpasses ours, however...there are five of us, and all of us much bigger and stronger than you. It would do the both of you well to remember what this House stands for, or you are to disgrace our proud wizarding heritage by associating with worthless filth like Gryffindors and Mudbloods." LeStrange spat the last two words, as if they left a horrible taste in his mouth.

"One more word any of you--I swear it--" Severus lips pulled back in a threatening snarl. "And you will be very sorry to have spoken it. One. More. Word."

"Never would have thought you had a bikini figure under all those clothes you wear, Sev." Lucius grinned at him, sitting back and looking pleased with himself- that is, until their moment was invaded. He sat up, looking wearily to the other Slytherins.

"Ah, my fellow snakes." He cooed crossing his arms across his chest. "Why didn't I tell you Avery? Oh, let me count the reasons. You resemble a troll. And I'm certain what ever you're packing in there-- is a roll of socks." He sneered. "My love life is no one's business but my own. If I want to roll around with James Potter, I'm going to do it. If you don't like it, tough bollocks."

His eyes turned from Avery to Mulciber. "Please. Your family's so badly inbred a match between our families would be several steps back. You're probably impotent. I am a proud, pureblood- thank you for noticing. And just like a proud, pureblood- I only want the best for myself. How sad I couldn't find it within our own house, but what can I say...? Save for myself, the only purebloods in Slytherin are worthless garden snakes." He scowled at the lot of them.

Once LeStrange spouted off about Lily, he tightened his fists up. Lily was one of the few people he actually enjoyed being around. He considered her like a sister- and nobody, but nobody called her a mudblood. Before he could even stop himself, he backhanded LeStrange across the face. "Don't you dare call her that!" He snarled. "Only I get to pick on her! And for your information, Potter's got more ability than you will ever have in his mere pinky than you could EVER wish to have!"

-

Downstairs, the Mundungus twins were lounging in the common room.

"Bloody hell- what is goin' on up there?"

"...Sounds like trouble."

"Lots of trouble. What kind of trouble?"

"Bad trouble, I'd think. There's never such a thing as good trouble."

They listened to the argument, shaking their heads.

"Malfoy's got a mouth on im'."

"Yeah, but I like him an' Snape more than I do the other ones. ...You wanna get ole' Sluggy?"

"Sure! What about you then?"

"I'm gonna go run an' get Potter. He should rescue his bird, or somethin' like that." The one twin shrugged. "Then, in the chaos when everyone's here, we'll sneak off an' get some butterbeers!"

"Brilliant! Meet you back here in 10 minutes."

The twins broke off, one going to find Slughorn, while the other ran all the way to Gryffindor. "Hey! Hey all you lions!" He shouted down the hallway at a group of Gryffindors hanging outside the portrait. "I'm lookin' for Potter! His bird's in trouble. Right trouble-- bad trouble." He panted.

Remus stepped out from the group of students, blinking in surprise. "James's bird...? ...." He glanced back to the newspaper and then to the Mundungus twin. "You mean Lucius?"

"What other bird would I mean?! Hurry up an' get him! Our house is 'bout to explode into world war III, an' it's five against two!"

Remus wondered briefly if this was a trick, but decided to believe the twin and made his way inside. "JAMES! James, mate- you better get outside. There's trouble dealing with your bir- ...Lucius. Apparently his dorm mates are upset about something." He had an inkling as to what, but he didn't want to assume.

"What--Lucius?" James slapped Remus on the back quickly, and sped off with the one Mundungus twin back to Slytherin. "Merlin, what's going on, then?" James decided it didn't matter...if a Slytherin had come to get him, then it must be something big. James hurried through the Slytherin common room with Mundungus and up to the Slytherin dorms.

"Petrificus Totalus!" James shouted at the Slytherin nearest to Lucius. Avery fell over, stiff as a board, and with quick reflexes Wilkes aimed a slicing curse at James. James just dodged out of the way, the curse caught him on the cheek, leaving a gash from which rivulets of blood slid down his neck and soaked into his shirt collar. He and Wilkes began to duel, and with the first distraction of Potter's binding curse on Avery, Severus spat a nasty curse at LeStrange which caused his skin to irrupt in exploding boils. LeStrange eerily seemed not to notice the pain or the stench of the puss dripping from his bursting wounds. He fired an equally nasty curse back at Severus but Severus was fast enough to counter it. The two of them engaged as Mulciber and Rosier went after Lucius. A small burst of flame shot from Mulcibers wand and lit the tips of Lucius hair on fire. Rosier burst into a fit of laughter that seemed like madness among the fray.

"Aguamenti!" James shouted, aiming his wand at Lucius. James' dueling mate had been defeated and was collapsed stiff as Avery had under the binding charm. A jet of water spewed from Potter's wand and soaked Lucius, putting out the fire in his hair.

"Get him, you dumbfuck!" Mulciber shoved Rosier towards Potter, Rosier raised his wand, attempting to stop laughing, but then he froze, and so did Mulciber.

"CRUCIO!"

Mulciber and Rosier turned to LeStrange with complete shock on their faces--Rosier's also seemed to be tinged with fear, while Mulcibers expression held a touch of awed admiration for his more brutal brethren. None of them would have dared to use an Unforgivable, they would be finished, tossed from the school for good.

The first syllable of the countercurse escaped Severus' lips but he was not quick enough. LeStrange watched with a sadistic look of amusement, a dark smile twisted his lips, as Severus' body contorted painfully under his curse.

"James!" Lucius shouted out in horror when he was sliced across the cheek by Wilkes. He was distracted by the end of his hair being on fire, then doused out- growing more angry by the moment.

Once Rosier turned from Lucius and toward James, he roared "Protego!" casting a shield spell around the Gryffindor. He whirled around to help Severus deal with LeStrange when he heard it. He nearly dropped his wand at the forbidden curse. At first he thought he had misheard- but Severus's screams quickly brought him out of it. He gripped his wand so tight he thought he might have broken the handle. "Stupefy!" He snarled and fired a bolt of red light straight for LeStrange.

He had never been so angry, nor so upset in his whole life- standing there sopping wet with the ends of his hair singed, his best friend in agony, and his lover cut open. He cast his gray eyes toward the remaining two Slytherin boys. "Not a true Slytherin, am I..? Serpensortia!" A large snake erupted from the tip of his wand, hissing angrily at Rosier and Mulciber. "Bite them!" He shouted at the creature, who seemed only too happy to oblige.

Before it could strike, the snake vanished. Slughorn lowered his wand, and looked at the boys in the room utterly confused. "What in Merlin's beard is going on in here?!" He demanded looking to Avery on the floor, a sopping wet and angry Lucius- Severus in agony on the floor, and James Potter of all people.

"They attacked us, professor! James came to help us!" Lucius sputtered and got down on the ground beside Severus to see if he was alright. "LeStrange fired off... off......" He still couldn't believe it. It was insane- one of the three unforgivable curses. He couldn't even utter it out of shock.

-

Downstairs, the Mundungus twins left off toward Hogsmede for a few well deserved butterbeers.

"The Cruciatus Curse." James said, in a small voice that was much unlike him.

Rosier was trying to slink away, out of the dorms, and Mulciber pointed at Snape.

"He-he--" Mulciber struggled to find some way to cast blame on Snape, as it was well known that he knew many curses and had a liking for dark magic.

Severus tried to sit up, but the pain was still too much. His body had stopped contorting but continued to tremble. Instead of sitting he managed to roll onto his side and take a few deep breaths, attempting to get a hold of himself.

"He--er--he put us all under the Imperius Curse!" Mulciber shouted, stupidly.

"Right..." Severus ground out, his voice ragged. "I had you all un--under the Imperius Curse so I could use LeStrange to torture myself. How bloody-fucking-brilliant of me." He snarled, trying once more to sit up. "If I had wanted to torture myself with LeStrange..." Severus winced when he finally sat up, his face scrunched up for a moment with a few random stabs of pain left over. "Nn--ow--er---merely staring at the fuck-ugly wanker would've sufficed."

Severus sat there continuing to tremble, not at all trusting his legs to support him in standing.

Lucius scowled at Rosier, pointing his wand at the boy trying to sneak away. "Rosier! STOP! Stupefy!" Another bolt of red light went racing toward the other boy- but Lucius looked away to scowl angrily at Mulciber. "Bullshit!" His gray eyes flashed angrily at him. "You... you and your friends came up here, you made lewd comments about myself, insulted Evans, and threatened Severus!"

Slughorn bristled slightly. He looked at how angry Lucius was, and the words the blonde teen just said. Insulted the lovely Lily? How dare they! He scowled at Mulciber. "So I see. Let me piece this together, as far as I know..."

While Slughorn began to speak, Lucius put a comforting hand on Severus's shoulder, gesturing to James to come over to him, as he didn't want to leave his best friend's side after he experienced something so horrible, but wanted to thank his boyfriend at the same time.

"...Mulciber, Avery, Wilkes, LeStrange, and Rosier came up here. According to you, Mulciber, by the imperious curse cast by Snape- who was up here the whole time with Lucius. While under the effect of the imperious curse, no less cast and controlled on five different people, Snape had LeStrange cast the cretaceous curse on him, and while being tortured still managed to hold his original unforgivable curse." Slughorn looked unimpressed to the say the least. "Quite impossible. I don't believe Snape could cast an imperious curse from up here, on five people, hold it, and hold it while being tortured. Good try, terrible lie." He looked over to James. "Your story doesn't even remotely explain the appearance of James Potter, nor does it hold up to the account by the Mundungus twin who came to get me. Here's what I think: The five of you were upset about that article in Lockhart's little paper and came up here to harass your fellow Slytherins about their choice in partners. Five against two... Quite despicable really. Potter, thank you for coming to provide the calvary. Granted, either story is hearsay, but we will have an excellent time in the headmaster's office tomorrow bright and early with a dash of truth potion to get the real story out."

"I'm alright." Severus said lowly to Lucius, the more his pain lessened, the more embarrassed he became at having been Cruciated in front of many members of his House, and Potter of all people. Now he would never hear the end of it...and if Potter had come in to save Lucius, then Lockharts printed word must have more merit in it than Severus had hoped. Lucius had the right to like whomever he wanted but...James Potter? His best friend had turned all gooey for that relentless bully. Severus could not help feeling betrayed. "You." Severus spat at Potter, with a look of disgust. "I'm sure you quite enjoyed LeStrange's hex. I bet you just can't wait to run back to your lovely little group of golden boys and tell them all about it."

James had knelt next to Lucius, resting a hand on Lucius' shoulder.

"No...Severus, no." James held his hand out between them. "No more of this. I..."

Severus snorted. It had only taken himself being tortured by an Unforgivable for Potter to finally see him as human. Now was not the correct time for a handshake and a make-up, the audacity of Potter to even consider it.

"And now it's Severus, suddenly?" Severus struggled up to his feet, but managed it and willed himself to stay upright. "I think not, Potter." He said, his words clipped and rude, unwilling to take part in what James had offered. James pulled his offered hand back, and ran it through his messy hair instead.

"Well then...er, see you all in the morning, I suppose." James gave Lucius' shoulder a small squeeze. "I'm glad you're alright." James hesitated for a moment, and then brushed a kiss to Lucius cheek.

Severus scowled and moved on wobbly legs over towards his bed, and sat down on the edge. Potter was doing this now just flaunt that he had Lucius, it was just like him, Severus knew it. Even now after everything that had just happened, Potter was still being the arrogant bastard he always was. That was why Severus refused to ever shake Potter's hand, because he was James Potter and he was not going to change.

James nodded politely at Slughorn, and left the Slytherin dorms.

"Goodnight, James. Thank you." Lucius murmured to the other teen before he left. He casted a drying spell on himself, still in shock about everything that had just happened. Thank Merlin for those damn twins. He would never roll his eyes at their antics ever again. And James- James who came because he was in trouble, because he wanted to help. It didn't seem like he hesitated in the least bit to get here so quickly after the fight began.

Slughorn nodded to James, looking to Severus and Lucius. "Five against two." He shook his head. "Our house is often demonized, but you two brought out the best characteristics of Slytherin. You stood your grounds. ...The nasty boils on LeStrange, that looks like your handy work Severus. And Lucius, you were the one who stopped LeStrange."

Lucius nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes, sir."

"Well then, thankfully you both thought quickly. 100 points to Slytherin for your skills Severus, and Lucius for your fast actions. I'm sorry this happened tonight. Goodnight, boys." With a flick of his wand, he levitated those who were unconscious out of the room.

Once they were alone, Lucius looked over to Severus- chewing on his bottom lip. "I'm sorry- I didn't think he would... use... He'll be thrown out of school. I should have countered, I didn't... think." He looked to the other boy and frowned, filled with guilt. "I'm sorry it happened."

Severus knew Lucius meant what he said, but he was too hurt and angry over Lucius and Potter to let Lucius know that. Severus thought nastily, that it would be fine for Lucius to continue on with his guilt for awhile, or at least until morning. Severus did not feel like accepting any apologies at this time.

"Tired." Severus said flattly, and closed the curtains of his bed and crawled under the covers, using a corner of the sheet to dab sweat from his brow.

The pillow felt cool and soft against his face and his body welcomed the heavy hand of sleep quickly. Severus woke a few times during the night, lingering pains driving him awake, but by early morning they had left him to sleep the few last hours in peace. When he woke up, he still felt weak and a bit shaky, but when he held his hands out and watched them, they were still enough. He dressed quietly and sat in the middle of his bed with the curtains open, watching Lucius through curtains of oily hair, waiting for him to wake up, thinking many deep thoughts.

The longer Severus sat there, at first wishing to speak to Lucius when he woke, the more he felt against it. He finally slipped out of the dorms, through the common room, and went to wait for Lily near the Gryffindor portrait. He didn't care how long he had to wait for her to step through it, he would wait. Right now he really wanted to see her, as she was the only person just now whom he felt he could trust completely.

Lucius winced slightly, staring at the curtains surrounding Severus's bed. Slowly, he laid back down- but could barely sleep himself. That morning, he had over slept, unable to drag himself out of bed like he normally did. It wasn't until his last ditch alarm went off that he jolted out of bed, hair a mess and guilt of not stopping LeStrange hanging heavily in his stomach. "Sev?" He yawned and went to go look for his friend.

Apparently he had missed him. Frowning, he dressed and got ready for breakfast down in the great hall. He noticed a large portion of his table had taken one large shift to the left, away from him. He let out an annoyed sigh, too tired to deal with it at the moment. He caught the nasty little rumors, the majority of their house, save the Mundunguses who waved cheerfully at him, had sided with Mulciber over Lucius seeing James.

James. He wished he could have told Severus about James, he wished he could have had a heart to heart with him about his feelings for the other boy, but it was out in the open now. He contemplated joining James and the other Gryffindors, but what if Severus came in? What if he didn't, and he was screwed? Silently he packed up his breakfast, leaving the great hall to eat alone in the courtyard.

-

"Ugh, what are you doing here?" Anne scowled at Severus after stepping through the portrait. She was the same girl who had called Lily a freak from the night before. "Waiting for your weirdo girlfriend? Evans isn't here. She left last night. I figured the traitor would have gone to sleep with you and the rest of the snakes."

The girls she was with snickered.

"Get out of here- you don't belong here."

From down the hallway, a half exhausted Lily Evans dragged herself toward the portrait. She clutched her pillow and blanket in one hand, the other balled into a fist- annoyed at having spent a cold, sleepless night on the couch.

"Oh there you are!" Anne sneered. "Looking a bit mangy there, Evans."

Lily didn't say anything. Instead she hauled back her fist and punched Anne square in the face. She smiled in sleepy satisfaction as the girl sobbed and ran off with her friends, casting her tired eyes down at Severus. "Sev... not going to class today. Too tired." She rubbed at her eyes. "Come on in with me and play hooky." She extended her hand to him to help him up.

"I would love to." Severus replied, completely ignoring the girls as they departed. He didn't feel like saying anything to them and then Lily's punch to Anne had said it all anyway. "And do not listen to her, you don't look mangy. You look lovely though...tired. Merlin, where did you sleep last night?"

Severus passed through the portrait hole with Lily, and followed her.

"You know, you shouldn't let those horrible little tarts drive you out of your own bed. You've as much right to be here as any of them do, and probably more. You're a brighter witch than all of them put together."

Sirius suddenly hurried down the stairs and through the common room, but he stopped short nearly falling over at the suddeness of it when he saw Severus with Lily.

"Merlin." Sirius looked at them both, and gave a bark of laughter. "After what your housemates did to you last night Sniv, you show up the very next morning in our common room? I think all that grease on your head has leeched into your brain and caused impairment." Sirius shook his head. "And you...Miss Evans...such a shame. So beautiful and yet so...misguided."

"Black. I hardly care what you or anyone else has to say about Lily and I. We were friends before Hogwarts and that is not going to change, as far as I am concerned." Severus snipped at Black, his taunting being the last thing Severus wanted.

"Hm. How sweet. But I must be going, morning Divination would not be the same without me." Sirius vacated the common room, leaving it all to Severus and Lily.

"Library." She croaked out as they walked into the common room. She scowled at Sirius. "Fuck off, Black. What makes you think I care about what you have to say... Not in the mood." She trailed off and took Severus's hand. She lead him up the set of stairs to the girl's dorm rooms. Everyone had gone to breakfast, it was just them. She went over to her bed, flung open the curtains, and flopped down on the mattress. "She called me a freak, Sev. Remember that day, with Tuney? Tuney called me a freak too... I don't... I don't like that." She murmured and made room for Severus to join her. "Lay down with me. Close the curtains- it's too bright in here."

She rolled onto her side, her red hair falling around her in a messy heap.

"What... what happened in the Slytherin dorms?" She gave a tremendous yawn. "'Fraid I'm not up on my gossip. Amazing what sleeping in the library will do to keep you out of the gossip mill."

-

Lucius slowly finished up his breakfast, watching as the plate vanished back to the kitchen. He gathered his school bag, trudging his way to divination. James was soon on his mind again. He was so brave, rushing to his rescue. Again. He really was a damsel in distress. He made a face at that, but it was true.

He fiddled with the dragon pin he clipped on to his collar. Abraxas gave it to him on his 11th birthday, as a symbol of pure strength and power. But he never particularly felt strong, though the symbolism was nice to have. Once he stepped through the door, his fellow Slytherins all gave him a similar shunning, and the same shift away from him.

"Oh for Merlin's sake." He muttered and made his way to the back, to the table he usually shared with Severus. However the other teen was no where to be found. They had joined divination with Gryffindor, and his eyes went to work toward finding James. He still had to thank him properly for last night.

Severus laid down on Lily's bed gratefully. He wanted to sleep for a very long time, especially here with Lily. For a few moments he just took in her face, her pretty eyes heavy with sleepiness, her hair, the tiny freckles on her milky skin.

"Oh..." Severus began, unsure if he should tell her or not. He was embarrassed over what had happened--he should have been quicker and instead of striking LeStrange with the boil inducing curse to satisfy his own dark streak, he should have just used the binding charm, and the Crucio would not have happened. However, Lily was bound to find out soon enough, no doubt most if not all of the school was talking about the chaos in the Slytherin dorms last night. Severus sighed. "There was...a confrontation. Just as many of your Gryffindor housemates do not approve of you seeing the Greasy Slytherin, so many of my housemates do not approve Lucius seeing The Self-Proclaimed God of Gryffindor, or of me seeing the..." Severus scowled deeply, the exact wording that was used last night towards Lily still fresh in his mind. "Well, you. However they did not phrase it quite the same, and myself and Lucius did not approve. I threatened LeStrange, and Lucius slapped one of them, and then they attacked us."

Severus paused here, not sure if he wanted to go into any more details.

"It was quite the eventful night."

"Awww. You guys defended my honor?" Lily grinned. She leaned in and kissed the middle of his forehead. "Thanks, Sev. I'll have to thank Lucius too when I see him later at the Slug Club. I'll have to go now rather than sleep through it like originally planned."

She rested her hand on his cheek, looking into his dark eyes. "So it was you two versus a bunch of your own housemates? Wow.... And one of them was LeStrange? He's... he's a pyscho." She shivered at the thought. "He's got dead eyes, Sev. Eyes you can look into and see nothing but darkness. Tell me you'll be careful around him- he's too far gone inside his own madness if nothing else." She yawned.

"It's a good thing you two have each other, you know. I don't think they'd care too much about you and I, but Potter? ....He's a toe-rag. I'm sure he's made lots of enemies in Slytherin. I'm not sure what the hell Malfoy was thinking. But... I suppose you can't help who you fall for. He must possess some stupid power that sees the good beyond HUGE walls of toe-raggedness he built up around him."

Severus closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle feel of her hand on his cheek. He wanted to savor the touch, something so simple, he was not used to it but he was sure he could get used to it very easily.

"LeStrange...you're correct, however, we won't have to worry about him anymore. He will be expelled from the school for last night." Severus frowned when she mentioned he and Lucius having each other. "Lucius...I did think I could count on him, but then he--he--he's with Potter." Seveurs draped his arm around Lily, holding her loosely and cautiously, not sure of himself when it came to affection. "I should probably forgive him for his stupidity, but it is too much to ask of me just yet. I'm sure I do not need to tell you Lily, that I do not trust people easily. I thought I could trust Lucius, and yet he has turned his attentions to the very louse who has tormented me relentlessly for these last seven years."

"Ohhh... so you're upset with him. Can't blame you. I'd be upset too." Lily sighed. "I don't know, you know? Maybe Potter's shown Malfoy something we don't know existed in him. He's stupidly brave, that much I know. Charging at us in a tree with a battle cry to save us from centaurs." She shook her head, chuckling at the memory. "But he did come to save us, even though he fouled it up. Thank Merlin you were there to be sensible and save us without gaining more breathing holes." Lily scooted over to him, putting an arm over his side.

"Merlin, Sev- I can feel your ribs. You need to eat more." Lily shut her green eyes, curling up to him. "How the heck did you find out about them anyway? It must have happened rather suddenly. ...You know, he'll probably catch more hell from his classmates. Kind of like me here. I'm a house traitor, you know. Girls are so much meaner than boys. But I can take it- I don't give two shits about what they say about us. If I feel like I'm going to strangle someone... I just leave. Like last night. This is our last year here, I'm not going to let anyone ruin it."

"I...well Lily, it's all over the school I think. That insufferable flamboyant git Lockhart wrote about us and them in his rag of a paper." Severus yawned. "One of them shoved the parchment into my face when they were blathering on about our disloyalty to our House. But...that wasn't all. Potter came to rescue his damsel again. He was there last night, fighting them off with us. I think this school has turned itself upside down. Teenagers and their dramatic affairs are ridiculous, honestly."

Lily's eyes shot open. "So... that's why they were complaining. Those girls were all pissy that Potter didn't want to date them. I thought they were just being dramatic. And that's how they knew about us!" She shook her head. "I was wondering how everyone knew I was going to see you yesterday. Ugh! Lockhart! What a menace." She grumbled, looking disturbed for just a brief moment. "Stupid git should keep his nose out of everyone else's private affairs."

"He came to help? ...Thank Merlin he did. There was just the two of you against plenty more and one sociopath. It could have been far worse." Lily frowned looking at Severus seriously. "I don't doubt they'd execute something terrible on either one of you. I'm so glad you're alright!" She hugged Severus tight this time, resting her head on his shoulder. "Not that I don't doubt your abilities, I just don't like the thought that they could exploit the numbers game. You don't think they'll try to come after you again, do you?"

Severus stiffened a bit at Lily's hug, but then allowed himself to relax. She laid her head on his shoulder and he listened to what else she had to say.

"Hm...Avery and Mulciber are rather sadistic. I know this first hand from my prior...friendship...with them." Severus grimaced at his words. "You were right about them as I should have known. I...I think they might've never really been my friends anyway, it was sometimes hard for me to tell. Perhaps they were simply pretending so they could leech onto my knowledge of...certain things."

Severus did not like to discuss Dark Magic with Lily, as it was a point of conflict between them. On the other hand, she should've at least been glad to know that Severus association with those fellow Slytherins whom she had not approved of him being so chummy with had finally been broken off. It had however, felt very nice to have been respected by that group of Slytherins--by anyone really--and up until last night he had been struggling with distancing himself from them. Last night however had done the trick fairly well as he no longer had any desire to be a part of their group, and they had made it very clear how they now felt about him.

"Anyway, their friendship is no longer of any concern to me. Though I may be lacking in the area of socialization, even I understand that friends do not attack friends. And shall they com after us again? Avery and Mulciber as I said are sadistic--and they will no doubt be angry that they've lost LeStrange. They will lay low for some time after last night, but it is not my feeling that we've seen the last of them. Wilkes and Rosier will no doubt follow the lead of the other two. I will watch my back and be on guard, as always."

--

James pushed his way through the group of girls huddled outside the Divination class room. One of them latched onto his arm, looking up at him with doe eyes.

"Oh James, you're so brave!" She cooed, James shrugged her off, usually one who would have basked in the attention he did not feel like it this morning. He only wanted to see Lucius.

"Of course, but ladies, please." James moved into the classroom and the little knot of girls followed him.

"James--oh your face! Was that done by a curse?"

"Of course not." James replied. "Only nicked myself whilst shaving--you should try it sometime."

That girls mouth dropped open at his response, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Does it hurt?" Another girl asked. James turned to her, and grimaced a bit.

"Only when I look at you, dear." He said, and broke away from them. He spotted Lucius and sat down next to him. The cut on his face was slathered with a magical cream which should have it healed before lunch without so much as a scar left over. "You know Lucius, sometimes it's a hassle to be this good looking." James smirked at him, and then gave him a one armed hug. "Have you heard anything about the other Slytherins?" He asked, lowering his voice. "I mean, I wondered what Dumbledore means to do about them."

Lily moved back just a bit so that she could look him in the face. She put her hand on his cheek, looking worried still. "I'm glad you're not friends with them. They were hateful idiots. I'm sure they were trying to leech off you, as you're talented. Like Black and Potter cheating off Lupin." She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I think that they'll try and do something. They're try and find someone else to lead them. LeStrange was homicidal. Is there anyone else like that left in Slytherin?" She suddenly shivered. "...Macnair. He's violent, he's gotten rough with a bunch of muggle born students before." Lily said and frowned deeper. "Though, I've never seen him attempt to form a group. He seems to like to stalk and cause pain all by his lonesome."

She shook her head." Regardless- You and Lucius are outcasts in your house, especially if your housemates are afraid of that nasty group that attacked you guys. They could hate you simply because they don't want to make the others upset. I don't like any of this."

-

Once Lucius saw James, he hugged him hard. When he finally pulled away, he frowned at the knick on his cheek. "James... I'm sorry that happened to you." He murmured and placed a kiss underneath it, not wanting to disturb the cream covering it.

"Thank you for coming last night to help us- Two against five- one of which was a psychopath- could have seen Severus and I in some awful shape. You came so fast too. I don't know where we would have been without you. I'm just... so happy to see you." He didn't do well with isolation, and the chill he got from his house was starting to get to him and the day wasn't over. Coupled with Severus and his mysterious absence. He looked around for Lily but didn't see her either. He wondered then, if they were off together somewhere.

"You are something else, James. A good something else." He added and pulled the little dragon pin from his shirt collar, pinning it on James. "You have my gratitude, my favor, and feelings I'm not quite sure how to explain yet."