Centaurs Attack!

"They are looking for someone to lead them. They'll be joining up with Him after this year is finished...maybe sooner. There are far darker things beyond these castle walls than in them."

Severus gazed into Lily's beautiful eyes. They were so lively and gorgeous. He wanted her to know that he would protect her but how could he tell her so confidently and expect her to believe that he could when he struggled to protect himself? What if LeStrange's cruelty had not been directed upon Severus, but upon Lily, and his failure to utter the counter curse quickly enough would have resulted in Lily's body being twisted, wracked with tremendous pain. Lily was fiery, and she was a brilliant witch, he did not doubt her own ability, but he loved her and desired to protect her--yet it was she who most often came to his aid when James and his bunch of rot were in fine form. He must look incapable to her. All of the times he had appeared to her damaged and abused both in school and back home, she must think him weak.

Severus swallowed a lump that was growing in his throat. His mouth was dry. At least Lily did not know the details of last night, about him being Curio'd at the hands of his fellow Slytherin, but no doubt it was all over the school and she would know soon enough...and then she would no doubt make an embarrassing fuss over him. Severus scowled slightly at all of these things running through his mind.

"Lily you do know that I...that you..." Severus struggled, wanting to tell her so much and finding it so difficult to do so. "You're so very...mean a lot to me." He finally finished, finding that his face was warming at his sloppy confession. "As for those in my House, that is for myself and Lucius to deal with. You have no need to worry over it. I hardly care that the'll hate me--in fact, I expect it. Very few people have ever done otherwise."

--

James touched the small pin Lucius clipped to his collar, his lips pulling up into a half-smile at one corner.

"I'm happy to see you too, Lucius." James laid his hand over Lucius' hand. "We should've played hooky from this class." James mumbled as their Divination Professor entered the room and began that days lesson on palmistry.

"Oh... HIM. Not surprised there. One good hatred deserves another. They'll never make it off the ground provided there's level headed human beings out there." Lily looked cross. "And for people to stand up to them. Maybe it won't be so bad if you and Lucius stand up to them more often, people in your house might see the other option and be less afraid of bullies."

She went silent while he spoke, listening to the words he had such a hard time trying to say. For as long as she's known him, which, not counting her sister, was the longest she'd known anyone he never had a hard time finding words. She remembered the sallow faced boy from Spinner's end in his over sized coat and dirty cheeks- she smiled a little at the memory, contrasting it with the man he had become.

"Sev, I know- it's okay." She murmured and leaned in kissing his thin lips. It was a soft and brief kiss, but it had happened. When she parted, she winked at him. "Give im' hell, Severus Snape. Because I know you can."

-

"It's alright James, I don't like missing class. Ever." He murmured back to him, gesturing to his prefect's badge. He'd never miss, unless something was the matter with him that he couldn't push on through. Once the professor began, Lucius sought out James's hand, holding it lightly while class continued. Soon the lesson was over, and the practice came to play.

"Besides, I get to read your palm. That should be fairly interesting, hm?" He smirked at him, taking James's hand. He glanced over his chart, concentrating on the lines and explanations of the lines before turning his sights on the hand in his own.

"You have a prominent ring of Solomon." Lucius began, trailing his nail gently along the ring under the finger closest to James's thumb. "That means you have a strong desire to help those who are in need. By looking at the areas of your thumb, I can tell you have a strong will, but lack in logic." He tapped the pad of his thumb. "Because this... meaning will... is larger than the bottom part of your thumb, which stands for logic."

He trailed his finger to the middle of his palm, and gasped quietly. "Your heart line--! It seems as if... oh my. You happen to have a strong inclination to be attracted to sexy blondes who constantly find themselves in a spot of annoying, yet difficult to get out of troubles." He broke his serious expression, smirking at him- his gray eyes sparkling mischievously. "But I think you knew that already."

Severus touched the tips of his long pale fingers to his lips, smiling a bit. He leaned closer to Lily, studying her lips through his dark lashes. He touched hers, tracing the outline of them, and then laid his hand gently cupping her face. For such a long time he had wanted to kiss her, but always became too unsure of himself to do so. Severus kissed her back, a quick press of his lips against her soft ones. He did it a second time, this time allowing his lips to linger a bit longer. Oh this...kissing Lily Evans...was so wonderful. He pulled back from her, feeling his mouth slowly form a smile.

--

"Of course." James grinned, and then took Lucius hand, tracing his fingers along the lines. "Your hands are very interesting...not quite as much as other parts of you. Hm, I wonder how Divination figures into that?" James smirked, but then lowered his voice. "Lucius...will you be alright? You've still got to share living space with those gits and I really don't like the idea of that."

Lily couldn't believe it when Severus kissed her back, she wasn't certain if he ever would. But once he did, it felt wonderful- as if she had been waiting forever to exhale. She put her hand on his cheek, smiling at him through half lidded eyes. She watched him touch his own lips, as if he were cementing what they had just done forever in his mind.

"Sev... I have to sleep. I don't want to, but I need to. I'm too tired to make it through the rest of the day without any. Take a nap with me." She murmured and wrapped her arms around him, her warm body pressed against his own. "I like you here in bed with me. You're warm... and your kiss is nice." She pressed a kiss to the end of his nose, before shifting just slightly to nestle her head between his shoulder and neck- closing her green eyes for some well deserved rest.

-

Lucius's expression faltered just slightly at the mention of his house. "James, it'll be fine." He murmured quietly. "I'll be fine. I have Sev, and apparently the Mundungus twins on my side..." He glanced up to see the rest of the Slytherins in class giving him a deadly glare. He swallowed hard.

"That's all I need, really. They only consider me to be a traitor, that's not too terrible, is it?" He said lightheartedly, though his stomach was full of dread.

"Gladly." Severus replied, enjoying her nestled close to him. It didn't take him long to drift off, sleeping far better than he had last night.

--

James looked around the room at the expressions on many of the faces who were watching them.

"People should mid their own business." James said, loudly enough for others to hear it. He didn't want to make things any worse but he couldn't help it. He was mad--why should these people think they had any right to persecute Lucius for this? Damn Slytherins. Damn biggots.

"You have me too, you know. I'm sure Lily as well, she seems rather fond of you and Sniv--er...Severus. I know I've not been the most pleasant to Slytherins in my earlier school years but...I'd like to think I've grown up a bit."

"You have-- otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here with you, or have given you my dragon pin. However... my house doesn't easily get over things in the past. While you aren't the same James Potter as you used to be, they don't see it that way. ...And neither does Sev. It's hard to forgive the bully when you're on the receiving end of some bullying, James."

He looked up at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You have never experienced it, you and your friends are top dog. But last night... You saw what it's like to be attacked in an unfair situation by people who are punishing you for being different than they are." He said and fell quiet, remembering the sexual comments his house mates made toward him.

He twisted his Hogwarts robe in his hands, chewing on his bottom look. He looked troubled and uncomfortable. "I'll use the prefect bathroom, and put up wards around my bed. They won't touch me. I'll be fine." He repeated hollowly.

James rubbed at the back of his head, looking down at the cover of his Divination book. He knew he had been a jerk, though at the time he had just been 'having fun with his friends' and showing off for his admirers. Severus had never been the most pleasant person...but that did not mean things should have been as they were the previous years.

"I was a jerk...I probably still am to a small degree...but there won't be anymore picking on Snape. We took things too far many times." James sighed. "I don't expect Severus to accept my apology any time soon. He seems like hard person to deal with."

James chewed on his lower lip a little.

"Wards should be helpful though...I'm sure there's dark magic which could break them. The question is if any of your housemates might know that. There is another option. I know a room you could use, but then your housemates might have even more reason to dislike you should you sleep elsewhere altogether."

--

Severus woke hours later, shocked at how long he had slept. It was past time for supper. Severus had never needed many hours of sleep to go on, and rarely did he take nap, and never one that lasted the majority of the day. This must have been due to the curse from last night. Dark Magic had strong affects on the body. However, he now felt very rested and wide awake.

"Yes, I expect he's quite sore with me for dating you. Something I would have liked to have told him myself, privately- rather than having those five idiots use it against us. I'll have to talk to him later. I haven't seen him all day." He felt a ping of worry inside him. Severus rarely missed class, they would always sit together during them. Again, he reminded himself that Lily was missing too- they were probably together some place. At least, he hoped.

"Severus would know them. He's quite gifted in... that area." Lucius cleared his throat. "I would assume LeStrange did, but he's expelled..." He paled a little- he was the one who told Slughorn who did the unforgivable curse. "I do seem to have a knack for painting a huge target on my back, don't I...?" He mused.

"I can't leave my house. I'm a prefect-- and I can't leave Sev either. I'll just have to stick it out." Lucius sighed and gathered his things. "Things have a way of working out." He leaned over to peck James on the lips. "I'll see you down in the great hall later. I forgot my book for Ancient Languages, I'd better run and get it. See you later, James." He slung his bag over his shoulder and went straight for the dorms to collect his book.

He climbed the stairs of the empty common room up to the dorms. He winced at what he saw. His and Severus's bed curtains were sliced open, their pillows and mattresses stabbed- feathers where everywhere from the down comforters. On his bed hung a sign written in red paint that read "TRAITOR" while Severus's said "MUD-BLOOD LOVER".

He let out jagged breath, dropping his bag on the floor. He didn't see Macnair standing by his own bed. He silently made his way behind Lucius, putting his hands on his neck. "Traitor. You ratted Lestrange out on us. You're no Slytherin." He hissed and squeezed harder. "Do you know what we do to traitors?"

Lucius cried out, struggling violently in Macnair's hands. He scratched at them, pinched, rocked himself back- anything to get free. He caught the other teen off guard and used it to his advantage- shoving them both as hard as he could into the back wall of the dorm. Mcnair let him go and Lucius took the opportunity to run. He ran as far as he could, out of the dorm, out of the dungeons, and for the black lake. He flopped down on the grass, sucking in breaths of cool air. Once he had calmed down, he walked down to the dock and sat there for the rest of the day.

-

Lily wasn't in bed. She had woken up awhile ago, showing up and getting dressed for the last part of the day. "Sev, you up?" She asked, poking her head beyond the curtains. "You were still sleeping so I didn't want to bother you." She grinned at him. She had her hair up in pigtails, wearing a turtle neck and a pair of faded jeans.

"Come on. I'm starved- let's go see if we can get something from the house elves in the kitchen. We missed dinner! Can you believe that?"

"Mm...no, I can't believe it either. I never sleep that much." Severus confessed. "But I do feel much better, and I'm quite hungry too. In fact, I don't remember when I've last eaten something."

Severus followed Lily through the halls towards the kitchen, looking around them and on his guard even more so than usual. He seemed twitchy and paranoid, but he assumed that was understandable. A few people passed them in the halls, and would whisper together or stare as they passed by. It was extremely annoying, and Severus made sure to glare at each of them to remind them exactly what he thought of them.

"Ah, Evans! Snape..." It was Arthur Weasley approaching them. His arms were full of books, he had obviously been to the library. He stopped in front of them, grinning largely at them both over his stack, his bright red hair in longish curls over his ears, his glasses slid down on his freckled nose. Severus glanced at the titles on the spines of Arthurs books: [i]Muggles Who Notice[i] by Blenheim Stalk, [i]My Life As A Muggle[i] by Daisy Hookum, and the like along with a couple of fictional books that Severus recognized including one that he did not, which was titled "Sexus". Severus raised an eyebrow when Arthur spoke his name.

"Is it true?" Arthur continued. "About last night, I mean. There all sorts of rumors..." Arthur glanced around as if to make sure they were alone, and leaned in a bit closer lowering his voice just in case, so only Severus and Lily could hear. "That LeStrange cast the Cruciatus on you?"

"Weasley--" Severus glowered. He really knew that Lily would no doubt find out about that bit of information sooner or later, but nonetheless it came as an annoyance to him that Arthur had just blurted it out, asked him about it like that.

"Very sad when these sort of extreme things begin to happen within our own school. People should be more tolerant, I don't understand all of this closed-mindedness and prejudice. It just isn't right. Listen, don't either of you let what others say get to you. There's nothing wrong with being Muggleborn, or loving one." Severus was embarrassed that the last bit about loving a Muggleborn had caused a light blush to cover his cheeks.

"Arthur--"

"I best get on before I drop my books, then. Good luck!"

Lily shook her head. "And that is why you're skinny as a rail, Severus Snape. You need to eat. As in, more than once in awhile." She took his hand while they walked, ignoring the whispers from their fellow students. She didn't particularly about what they thought of them.

"Hey Weasley! Just went to the library I see..." She said and glanced to his stack of books. "I see you're reading Henry Miller. ...Don't read that aloud." She giggled, having read a few of his works before. "It's true, Sev and Malfoy took on.... what?" Her green eyes shot open as she looked at Severus.

While Arthur continued, whatever he continued on, she didn't hear. She couldn't. She stared at Severus with a shocked expression on her face. It melted away from shock to concern, but when it dawned on her that he was fine, it morphed into admiration. "...See you later, Weasley." She waved slightly to him before turning her eyes back on Severus.

"You took that curse?" She murmured to him. "You took it, didn't tell me, and are walking around fine? ...What are you made of?" She joked lightly and knocked on his shoulder. "Wow." She shook her head slowly. "You really are something, Severus Snape. Why wouldn't you tell me? That's... amazing. Lesser people wouldn't... some people just can't take it under that curse. And you're up walking around like it's nothing." She shook her head in disbelief. "...My god, I don't want you going back to Slytherin! What if one of those idiots tries again? What if they try to get revenge for Lestrange? We'll camp out in the library, or something." She offered.

"I didn't tell you, because I'm fine. I didn't want you to worry." He explained, and thought to himself that he was very used to pain by this point in his life, although the Cruciatus had been worse than anything else, he had probably been more conditioned to handling physical pain than others generally were. That was a dark thing to think, though true, and an even darker thing to say so he didn't mention it.

"LeStrange has been expelled, I highly doubt any of his mates would have the fortitude to do it." He left Macnair out the equation purposefully, as he hoped Lily wouldn't think about that particular beast. "And as much as I would enjoy your company in the library, I have to decline. I need to stay in my dorm as I have before, Lily. I won't hide from them. They musn't think me a coward."

The two of them entered the kitchen, where a couple of House Elves scurried up to them immediately.

"Okay, okay." She said and sighed. "I would have rather have found out from you, and not from Arthur though. Next time something like that happens, you should tell me. Not because I'm nosy, I care about you Sev. I want to know, even if you think it'll worry me."

Lily frowned at the reply Severus gave her. He was right. He had to go back. "Damn, you're right. You're not a coward, Sev. And I don't want them thinking you are."

She smiled at the house elves, asking for a few things to eat. Once they had given the two of them enough food, she carried it over to a small table in the kitchen to eat off of. Her belly full, she looked over to Severus with a big grin. "Now... now that was delicious. ...I suppose... we should get back to our houses. It's getting late. It's been wonderful, Severus."

-

Once the sun had set, Lucius knew he had to go back inside. Dinner was over, he had missed every class despite telling James how much he hated missing everything. He stared up at the castle, not wanting to go back inside. It took every bit of will power in him to head back inside. He trembled slightly went he went into the Slytherin dorm room, nearly terrified to walk back up to the dorm room.

He gathered his bag up, carefully bringing it back to his ruined bed. He spun around quickly, but didn't see anything. He pushed back his ruined curtains, sitting on the bed- testing it out before laying down on it. He brought his knees to his chest, listening to absolutely every noise in the room.

Severus nodded, agreeing with Lily. He felt better having some food in him, and sharing the day with Lily, even though most of it had been sleeping, had been really nice.

"It has." He said, giving her a small smile. "I'll walk you back to Gryffindor." Severus took her hand, folding it in his own. He knew Lily was capable of taking care of herself, but he was not about to let her walk back alone.

Severus walked Lily to the portrait. He glanced at the Fat Lady, who seemed to be watching them a bit too closely.

"Do you mind?" He bit out to her, and she turned her back to them in her portrait. Severus gave Lily a quick kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, then. I'll see you in Slughorn's tomorrow."

Severus walked back to Slytherin, on high alert.

"Snape, hey Snape!"

Severus whirled around quickly, his wand out. He scowled when he saw James heading towards him.

"Bugger off, Potter!" Snape snarled.

"Listen--I'm glad I ran into you. You don't need to do anything nasty, I only wanted to get these to Lucius. He wasn't at dinner. Have you seen him?" Potter stopped a short distance away from Severus, and held out what appeared to be a couple of sandwiches wrapped up in napkins.

"I haven't." Severus said, looking down his nose at the offering. He took it, and flipped back one corner of the napkin to make sure it was harmless.

"Just sandwiches." James said.

"Right. Well. I haven't seen Lucius since this morning. I'll give these to him. Now, I suggest you leave me and get back to your precious Lions Den."

James still stood there, seeming to take time to think something out before he made to leave.

"D'you want me to walk back with you?" James offered, trying to find ways to treat Severus better than he had in the past. The offended look on Snape's face told James that the Slytherin had taken it the wrong way, though.

"I hardly need you to escort me back to my dorm, Potter." Snape nearly spat the name. "You looking out for me?" Severus snorted. "That will be the day hell freezes. I do not trust you, and I certainly do not need your protection--the very thought is absurd. Lucius may think you a hero, but I am not so blinded by a ridiculous crush. I do not need a hero and you certainly are not one no matter how much you may have convinced yourself of it in that bloated head of yours." Severus looked completely disgusted with James, and he was.

He stood there staring coldly at James, waiting for James to retreat first. Severus would not make the mistake of turning his back on James to leave.

"Oy. Bloody hell, Snape. I didn't mean--"

Severus pressed the tip of his wand to James' chest, onto one of the red stripes on his Gryffindor tie. James sighed.

"Fine. I'll go, then." He glared a bit at Snape, biting his tongue not to mutter insults beneath his breath. He had matured, and he knew he had treated Snape wrong in the past, but some habits were hard to break especially when the greasy git was being so difficult. But then again, Snape had always seemed the difficult type and the way James and his friends had treated him had not helped matters. James would have to keep trying. He wanted to prove himself to Lucius, and he wanted Snape to know that their war was over with as far as he was concerned.

James turned away, and headed back to Gryffindor, wondering if there could ever really be a truce from both sides.

Severus watched James until he was out of sight, and then continued to the Slytherin dorms. He entered the boys dorms and saw Lucius curled up on his bed...his bed which was slashed with a horrible hand made sign over it. He glanced to his own four poster, seeing it was the same.

"I see we've had redecorating." Severus deadpanned, and moved towards Lucius bed. Lucius really did not look well, and Severus' thin lips pressed into a line as he sat down upon the edge of Lucius bed and studied him. "I've brought some sandwiches for you. They're from...Potter. He said you weren't in the Great Hall for supper." Severus laid the napkin wrapped sandwiches down. "You look ill."

Lucius sighed and slowly sat up. His hair was a mess from being outside, in the wind, and not bothering to fix it. "W-we have. It's called shabby chic." He said and smiled just a bit. "Maybe nouveau hobo. Street smart post modernism, bringing the outside in- so forth... so on." There were bruises on his neck from Macnair's hands, but he was unaware- other than the terrible pain in his throat from the attack, he hadn't looked in a mirror.

"I wasn't in class. Or at dinner. Or in the Slug club. I was at the lake. I didn't feel like going to class today. Didn-didn't feel too well. Might be allergic to feathers." He said and picked up a hand full from the remains of his comforter. He picked up the sandwiches, nibbling on one, but found he wasn't too hungry. He looked to the other teen, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Sev, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my relationship. It just started and I never would have liked for you to have found out about it like... that." He scowled. "By Lockhart and our homicidal classmates. It just... it sort of happened." He looked guilty and sheepish. "You're my best friend, I didn't mean to hurt you like I know that I must have. I'll keep him away from you and Evans, I swear."

Severus didn't say anything in response to Lucius, he simply looked at his neck for moments, and then quietly moved from the bed and went to his bed, rummaging around in the small night stand at its side. He returned to Lucius' bed and sat down again, handing him a bottle.

"For the bruising." He explained. "On your neck." Severus uncapped the bottle. "You had a run in with our dear friends?"

Lucius clammed up instantly putting the bottle on the bed. He got off the bed, going over to the mirror to see for himself. "Oh no." He murmured. He shook a little at the thought of telling Severus what happened. What if Macnair found out that he told someone what happened? But what if he didn't, and Macnair went for Severus as well, or even worse- Lily.

He looked over to Severus, looking utterly lost at what to do. He paced for a bit, rubbing his arms, until he walked back over to the bed- sitting beside Severus. "We... we should stick together always."He murmured avoiding the question. "W-we have enemies here, more so than allies. I can't... I can't tell you who did this. I'm terrified he'll finish me off, but I'm sure you know already. Who else would enjoy choking a person for fun? I know you know. He was very upset that I told Slughorn what happened with Lestrange and got him expelled. He called me a rat."

He took the bottle, starting in on his neck. It felt good, cool, and soothing. "I think if I didn't get him off me, he would have done me in." He finished with it, handing it back to Severus. "They're maniacs, Sev- and I'm not brave. This is horrible." He still looked pale, his hands trembling as he picked up his sandwich again. "I've never had someone try to strangle me before."

Severus stayed silent, listening to Lucius until he was finished, watching him apply the bruise salve. He did know exactly who Lucius meant: MacNair. MacNair was known for his fondness of violence. Lucius wasn't used to being handled so roughly. He had never been choked, of course not. Severus had. It was unpleasant but as long as one was able to get away and regain oxygen, then all was well. They were only bruises, after all. Marks to the skin would fade, the pain would subside, life would trudge on. Severus' brows crinkled up again at something specific Lucius had said. He watched Lucius nibble his sandwich with dark, contemplative eyes.

"It has nothing to do with bravery, Lucius. One does not continue on because of bravery. It is much more basic: we continue on because we must."

Severus accio'd his worn bookbag, and replaced the bottle of bruise salve back where he had gotten it from. He pulled out one of his dilapidated books, and laid it out on Lucius' bed, flopping onto his side and flipping some pages until he came to the correct chapter.

"Also, you're correct. We should stay together as much as possible, or at least keep from being alone. I...I hardly approve of you snogging the Toerag, but if you wish to lower yourself to such standards--or lack thereof--the I can hardly stop you. I wouldn't think you could possibly be so desperate. But I won't bring it up again, at least not tonight. I can see you've had a rather unpleasant day."

Severus scanned a few lines of text in his advanced charms book, and then glanced back to Lucius through his oily hair.

"I think we should also set aside at least one evening to devote to extra dueling practice. Both of us are skilled, but it can't hurt to better ourselves and be prepared. Lily should come too, she's at as much risk--perhaps more so--than we are."

"I will argue you against that, Severus." Lucius said and sat his sandwich down. "I believe one has a choice. Either you press on, or you fall victim to what you're being subjected to. Dragged down into nothingness and despair because a lack of, or will, to fight. It takes inner strength to not be pulled down."

Lucius chuckled softly. "Well, given now that I see my choices for a mate in Slytherin would have been out of the five gentlemen who attacked us yesterday, or a Mundungus twin which... I suppose it wouldn't be so horrible, I guess insanity would step in before anything else. I'll take my chances with a toerag. If you weren't so over the moon for Evans, I would have went after you." He grinned at him. "But you would never be in to me as much as you're in to her. You're made for each other." He picked at the rest of sandwich until he had eaten it all.

"I know a place- a clearing in the forbidden forest we can use. It's of decent size, and enclosed almost completely by trees. We can practice dueling there, as I used it as a second year to hone my aim. Bring it up to Evans when you see her. I was supposed to go to the Slug Club tonight, but I just... didn't feel like it."

-

Lily arrived back from the Slug Club, dumping her bag on the common room couch. Inside was a book she nicked from a section she never thought she'd be asking Slughorn for- but given what happened to Severus, she figured it couldn't hurt to learn some higher level defensive skills against dark magic. She pulled it out of her bag, running her hand over the cover.

Darkness Falls: A Guide to Hexes, Curses, and Counter Curses from Dangerous Minds. It was written by an author who hated muggles and muggleborns, which made her feel equally awful about having it. She looked at it one more time before shoving it back into her bag, wondering if she'd ever have it within herself to look it up.

Malfoy wasn't at the club tonight, which was something he never missed. She wondered what had happened, but figured it must have been out of residual malaise from being attacked the previous night. If they went after Malfoy and Snape, what was keeping them from attacking her in retaliation? She glanced back at the book again. Maybe she would try again later, in the privacy of her own bed rather than read it out in the public of the common room.

Severus nodded.

"That sounds like the perfect place...as long as no Centaurs are involved, of course." He added. "I hardly doubt Slughorn will hold it against you for not attending tonight, with the way things have been."

Severus pulled his quill out of his bag, a rather pathetic and scraggly looking one that was bent at the top and missing many of the barbs. He popped the stopper out of his ink bottle, and dipped the end of the quill into the ink. He scribbled some notes in tight, tiny, script in the discolored margins of his textbook page.

"On top of all of this mess, we still have our N.E.W.T. exams to study for. What do you plan to do after Hogwarts, Lucius?"

--

James stayed up with his mates, being badly beaten in Wizard's Chess by Remus. Sirius was draped over one of the squashy leather chairs, while James and Remus were seated on the floor near the fireplace. Peter sat near James, quietly watching the game and seeming to cast admiring glances at James, even though he was losing the game.

Arthur sat in a corner, engrossed in one of the books he had lugged in earlier. He had cracked it open hours ago and had yet to put it down despite his eyes becoming tired and grainy feeling in the low light of the common room.

"At least I chose the pretty one!" James went on, shoving his glasses up his nose. "Er...Bishop to--no no, that won't do." James appeared momentarily studios over the chess board. "Knight to E5."

The Knight moved forward, into the path of one of Remus's pieces. James seemed unconcerned, his mind obviously elsewhere.

"He's still a Slytherin." Sirius retorted, studying his nails and rearranging his position in the chair to one that looked even more uncomfortable than the last.

"He's a wizard. Once we're gone from this school, will it really matter quite so much which House we've come from? I'm a proud Gryffindor, of course, but I'm merely trying to make a point. It's only the name of a house, Sirius."

Sirius didn't seem to like this answer.

"Of course it matters, Merlin. What's bloody wrong with you?"

Arthur peered over the top of his book, the direction of the conversation having caught his attention. It wasn't his place to meddle, but he couldn't help if he overheard a discussion, could he? He went back to his reading, half-attempting not to listen in.

"You'll understand when you find someone you care for, Sirius."

Sirius shrugged.

"Well, at least it wasn't Sniv, I suppose. It could be worse."

"Right." James agreed.

The game continued on, though the discussion had quieted down. Remus won easily, and James was no longer interested in playing. Peter gushed over Remus's win, telling him how wonderful it was, how clever he was. Sometimes Peter could be a bit sickening with his admiration, James thought, but not for long. His thoughts were still too consumed with Lucius. He wondered if he was alright. It bothered him that he had not seen Lucius later in the day, and neither had Severus. He knew the two of them were close, so it was odd. He hoped that nothing nasty had happened, and should he found out it had? Well. James would not stand for it.

Arthur closed his book with a snap that made the others startle slightly. He tucked it into his bag, and moved over to the group, sitting down in the spot James had just vacated at the chess board.

"Fancy a game, Remus?" Arthur asked, pulling his own set of chess pieces out of a pocket in his book bag.

"After Hogwarts..." Lucius laid back in bed, looking up at the remains of his canopy. He took his wand, casting a few repair spells to fix it up. "I'm not sure, Severus. I believe I will go looking for a job at the ministry- like my father. But not in his department." He made a face. "Far too often he arrives home beaten, bloody, and sore. It takes him all over the world, he's never home." He frowned deeper. "I can't imagine having a family and having that for a job. I imagine I'd like to be married, Sev. Have a child- and raise him or her as a family- my own family."

He shut his eyes for a moment. "I'll throw balls too- wonderful parties that last into the night, the kind we Malfoys were once known to have. My father hates parties- never threw a single one. I'll make up for it though. And you'll be there, mind you. With Evans, I would think. As I would want you both there. You're my best friend, and she's the red headed menace. What about you, Sev?"

-

Lily looked up from her thoughts, looking over at James and his friends. "There's nothing the matter with Severus. If you had given him a chance all those years ago instead of picking on him, you'd know. He's wicked funny and bloody brilliant." She said defensively.

Her eyes set on James, wondering if he had seen Lucius. Maybe that's why he was absent from the Slug Club tonight. But if he was in a game of chess with Remus, he would have had to have started awhile ago, and the meeting just ended.

"Potter- have you seen Malfoy? He wasn't at the Slug Club tonight. He never misses." She frowned at the thought. Malfoy was colleague, her partner in the club, and her friend. "Given what happened yesterday..." She trailed off and then looked toward the exit out of their house. "Though I suppose if he wasn't alright, Sev would have been by. Or maybe one of the twins by now to tell us."

"Mm...perhaps I will pursue a career in entertainment--exotic dancer." Severus smirked over at Lucius. "But I should tell you in advance that I won't dance for the snobs at your lavish parties. I would only dance for you in private, as you've shown interest." Severus was amused, and he hadn't forgotten Lucius earlier comment that Lucius would have went after him, had he not been enchanted by Lily.

"And I suppose I could forgive you a bit for choosing the toerag, since your first choice was in such fine taste. I'm sorry for you that I've made myself unobtainable." Severus teased. He supposed if he did not love Lily, he would have enjoyed being pursued by Malfoy. Severus paused here, thinking to himself, how he would really answer the question about his future.

"I think I would enjoy research--possibly the Department of Mysteries. From how you've spoken over the years of your fathers job, I think that line of work would also suit me. However, I would like to share my future with Lily, should she wish to, and if she remains in my life then I would not want to be tied to such a demanding job as your Father's. We will attend your balls, because Lily would insist that I extract myself from the basement of our home where I spend far too many hours reading, researching, and brewing. Of course, I would also come along just in case a rogue group of centaurs were to crash the ball...and I might also come to visit my best mate Lucius. However, I will be sure to appear as though such parties are intolerable, lest I ruin my reputation for being anti-social."


--

James looked worriedly into the fire. The dancing flames seemed to make his face glow warmly, and reflections of the fire were made miniature on the lenses of his rounded glasses.

"He was in Divination, but I didn't see him at lunch or dinner, not for the rest of the day. I bumped into Sn--sorry, just habit--Severus earlier. He was on the way back to the Slythering dorms, as was I. I wanted to bring Lucius some sandwiches since he'd missed dinner. I just gave them to Severus to pass on. I should have just taken them myself but I didn't want to cause more problems for Lucius. He doesn't seem the type to handle physical confrontation very well." James glared a bit, down at the fire. "I should put those rotten Slytherin arseholes in their places. I wouldn't have turned away from those brutes before."

So why had he done so tonight? Why hadn't he continued on to the Slytherin dorms, followed Severus inside, and checked on Lucius for himself? He had actually taken the time to weight the consequences of his actions, something that he was not apt to do very often.

He knew what the answer was; it was because he really cared for Lucius.

"Exotic dancing! Well. I suppose I'll have to start carrying around more change then." He said amused. "Oh, Severus- like I'd pay to have my best friend entertain my parties- perish the thought. I like my exotic dancing on a private basis, you know." He grinned and looked more relaxed than he had been all day. It almost seemed like business as usual, save for their torn up beds.

"Oh, well- you know Severus Snape... you shouldn't ever feel poorly about yourself. Think about it- you've attracted the attention of Evans and myself- when others have flat out failed to do so." He smirked listening to Severus speak about his future- his face fell.

"If you wind up with Evans, don't you dare take on that position Severus- don't do that to her. You'll never be home and it's incredibly dangerous. Unless you plan on taking her with you, it's not fair. Trust me, as a person who has lived with the reality that each time he leaves, he may not return again and I may or may not find out what happened to him." The smile came back to his face after their discussion about the balls. "Hah... well, I will let everyone know that you hate parties and are only there because Evans made you come." He swung his legs over the bed and stood up.

His thoughts instantly went to James, and he frowned. He told the other teen that he never missed any classes, no matter what. Yet this time he did just that, missed every class, and meal times. James got him sandwiches, he must have worried about him. How would he tell him? Should he tell him what happened? The bruises were all but gone from his neck, so there was nothing visual he'd have to hide. "I want... to go to Gryffindor quickly, if you don't mind. I think we should also take a stop by the library and see if we can find any good books on advanced dueling. I don't want to go alone, should our 'friends' decide they wish to come up here and duel you again when I'm not here."

-

Lily frowned, watching James's face. She had never seen him look like this before, in all of their several years of schooling. She put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Hey, Potter- it's alright. I know Malfoy doesn't look like much, but he can hold his own in a duel." In a physical fight however, she doubted it highly- especially if someone got the drop on him when he wasn't expecting it.

"But you know what? I bet... he was upset about everything that happened the night before. Seeing your best friend getting tortured is awful. I can't even imagine... Come on, let's play a game of wizard's chess. It'll get your mind off of things. Besides, if there was really something wrong with Malfoy, Sev would have come back to tell us- and it's been awhile now since you've seen him. I'm sure everything's alright."

"Of course." Severus nodded, and put away his book, quill, and ink pot. "But first..." He touched his wand to Lucius bed, muttering the charm to repair it. He then got rid of the sign on Lucius's bed, and moved over to his own to do the same. "Much better."

Severus accompanied Lucius to the library, quiet and on high alert. He looked paranoid an twitchy by the way he was constantly jerking his head to look around through strands of his dark hair, and he had his wand out and ready, pointing it at shadows when he heard the slightest sound.

--

James smiled over at Lily, and hugged her with one arm briefly, then let her go.

"I'm sure you're right." He glanced over to Remus and Arthur, who were well into their game. Arthur seemed to be losing, which did not surprise James at all given his opponent. "You just think you can beat me, Evans." He said, grinning. "I'll have you know I took it easy on ol' Loopy there," At this, Remus snorted, but never took his eyes off of his game. "...but it's down to business now. Be prepared to lose, Evans. You may need a tissue."

James grabbed his pieces.

Once they were in the quiet of the library, in the forbidden section no less, Lucius began to scan the books. He picked out a few on advanced dueling, and one on lesser known charms. He walked the books over to the table, flicking through the charms book. He came across a spell to enchant parchment.

To send a message meant for only one person, take a fresh piece of parchment and address it to the person you wish to write to. Use the charm redgemor then write your message. It will appear on a clean piece of parchment in that person's possession, visible only to them.

"Severus- look at this." Lucius said pointing to the book. "We can send each other messages this way, should we get in trouble-- or wish to communicate with those we care about in Gryffindor. We should test it out- send one to Evans about her smelling nice, or your future career as an exotic dancer. If it works, then we won't have to go to Gryffindor. I'll send James a message like this, and hope that he's doing his homework. ...............Maybe one day, ten years from now, he'll get my message." He joked. He pulled a blank sheet of parchment out of his bag, and a quill. He addressed his to James, wondering seriously if the other teen was around any place to actually receive his message.

James,

Sorry I wasn't around at lunch, dinner, or the rest of class. My classmates did a bit of 'redecorating' to mine and Severus's bunks. I didn't feel safe going back to my house, and I didn't feel right enough going to class without Severus. We are sticking together for safety's sake. I assure you I am fine and safe.

L.

PS: Thank you for the sandwiches, I was starved. That was very sweet of you, you know.

-

"Uh-huh." Lily said amused as she went over to her school bag to collect her chess pieces. She grabbed up some parchment and some of her books as well, wanting to get a head start on homework after their game.

"I'll worry about the tissue when the time comes." She sat across from him, setting her books and parchment down. "I have a potions essay I should be doing soon, so you'd best wipe the floor with me quickly, Potter."

"That could come in very handy." Severus said, glancing over at the page in the book that had the parchment spell on it. He paid close attention as Lucius cast the spell and penned his letter. "How will we know if he receives it, though? Will his message come back through to us?"

--

James began to set his pieces up on the chessboard, but then startled when he saw a script slanting across the parchment Lily had gotten out.

"Evans, look!" James pointed to the writing as it finished appearing. He read it over. "I'm not so sure I like the sound of that redecorating, but I am glad that Lucius and Snape are together. I wonder how we could write back to them? I don't think I know of the spell they've used to do this."

James rubbed his chin in though, wishing he'd been a bit ore studious for once.