Chapter 40

A slight displeasure flashed in Severus's eyes, and with a forced smile, he turned to the red-haired girl standing between her friends. "Morning, Lily, good to see you."

"Yes…? It sounds like it's quite the opposite," the witch, standing next to Evans, took the floor, looking at him with displeasure.

"Is this what you wanted?" 

"I wanted to… congratulate you on the title of 'Master', that's all," Lily said with a half-smile, biting her lip, and then, picking up her surprised friends, she quickly walked past him.

Following her gaze, Snape shrugged and finally entered the Great Hall. But, as soon as he sat down at the table and was about to start breakfast, he immediately felt someone's eyes on him and looked towards the source of this unpleasant feeling, which made his eyes tremble nervously. It was Lily, and as soon as their eyes met, she immediately lowered her face into a plate, while she herself did not understand what she was afraid of. 

"She is beginning to annoy me…" shaking his head, the young man already wanted to start eating again, but again he felt her gaze. "You're kidding me!" and, as if sensing his displeasure, the girl stopped looking in his direction.

'Of course, I could use Legilimency, but to get into the head of a teenager, and that also a girl …' Pushing these delusional thoughts out of his head, he started breakfast ...

---

In school life, Severus was pleased with only one thing - and that was calmness.

He did not have to worry about his life, and he could completely devote himself to research, and the search for "treasures" caused only joy in the Archmage. But today was an exception because as soon as he entered the library and already wanted to continue studying issues related to the heritage of the founders, Lily also looked in there, or rather, followed him and sat down at the table behind.

'She definitely wants to piss me off…' the Archmage thought with irritation, but still tried to calm down. 'Okay, don't be paranoid, Severus. Maybe she just dropped in to read or do her homework.' But after ten minutes, the young man realised "Yes, she definitely decided to piss me off!" 

Within two minutes, she again began to stare at him, looking out ten times from behind the textbook. After the ritual, all his senses became much sharper, and such "curiosity" from her was comparable to a fly constantly flying in front of his nose.

And finally, tired of this, he got up from the table, looked at his watch, put the books back and left the library.

[A/N: Watch is an artifact.]

Noticing Severus's actions, Lily also didn't linger for long and followed him rather quickly, but as soon as she left the room, she was immediately pressed against the wall.

"What do you want?" the Archmage asked the girl, who had fallen into a stupor, with irritation, who only after his question came to her senses and, noticing in what position they were, and how close his face was, perhaps for the first time she experienced embarrassment alone with Severus because she had always considered him only a friend. 

"I ... I ... if they see us, they will misunderstand, move away …"

"Hmm ... you're right," He said while he did not move even a millimetre.

"I'm listening carefully, now tell me why are you following me? If you want to talk about something, then let's talk, because of you, I can't concentrate properly on my studies."

"I'm not chasing you, I'm here to study …" Lily replied weakly.

"Is that so? Then why is it so that every time I look away I find you staring at me, even during breakfast!" 

"H-how?!" Lily was shocked by this.

"It's magic, Lily, now speak up, or maybe the stupid thought has reappeared in your head that "I'm not me"?" Taking a deep breath, she shook her head with a sad smile.

"Your habits, love of Potions, and oath of magic are sufficient evidence that no one has changed you… but you have changed too much, it's like a different person in front of me, and I just don't know how to behave with you. Tell me, we're still friends…?"

"You yourself broke off all relations between us on that very day, so what are you even asking this for? Of course, we are no longer friends, just old acquaintances and that's it," Severus said with slight annoyance, ignoring the sad look of the girl. 

"So leave me alone already." Turning his back to her, he walked back into the library.

"Just acquaintances…" Lily whispered dryly, pressing the back of her head against the wall and closing her eyes because although she expected such an answer, she was not ready for it.

Lily had really thought about that conversation at Severus's house for a long time, and as much as she hated to deny it, he was right.

Perhaps in some moments she really was selfish.

After all, she never studied at the Slytherin house, and she didn't know its internal structure, so she simply didn't understand that her nit-picking and attempts to "open his eyes" only made things worse.

Lily did consider Snape to be her best friend, but the house stereotype that dark magic is evil and those who learn it are real villains ruined their long friendship.

After all, nothing prevented her from simply supporting his hobby, believing in him and quietly directing him to good deeds, but no, she was just scared, Lily was afraid that she would be called an accomplice of the dark Wizard , the girl did not want to become a white crow in her house, so then she chose such a stupid reason to end the friendship so that nothing else connected them.

That conversation really opened her eyes to many things, and she very well understood that she could no longer return that friendship.

"What a fool I was after all…" remembering the smiling face of the dark-haired young man, who always helped and supported her, who opened for her, a simple Muggle-born girl, the magical world, she could not restrain herself, and a single tear rolled down her cheek …

******** 

Severus himself, to be honest, was not much worried about Lily's "self-abasement", and the fact that she destroyed all the friendship between them, for the Archmage himself it was only for the better because for almost seven years she knew Severus very well, and if they spent time together, the girl would quickly get to the core of him, and he simply would not have an excuse for such drastic changes in his behaviour and character.

Yes, and this also saved him from unnecessary problems with the presence of the girl herself.

You can even say that he was grateful for such a decision on the part of Lily, and only for this reason he nevertheless listened to her, and did not immediately send her. 

---

The rest of the day until the very evening, he was in the library, where he collected many more rumours and legends about the castle.

While the majority was most likely fiction, there must be a handful of truth even in this. And finally, closing the notebook with the notes of his research, he got up from the table, stretched a little, and then, returning all the books to their place, under the approving nod of Madame Pince, who was watching him, left the library, heading towards the dungeon, where Professor Slughorn was waiting...

***

The next week went by as usual. From Monday to Friday, he had classes, and from Saturday to Sunday, he stayed in Diagon Alley in order to inspect the work done, as well as to hand over the bags of potions to Karner, ten percent of which Severus made himself, and the rest were "confiscated" from those same gangs, and this should have been enough for almost five months, because he was not going to sell all his potions at once, but only in small batches in order to see the reaction of the market.

After all, the less such an "exclusive" product is, the more the Archmage will be able to raise the price and thereby get more profit.

As for the lessons: Severus was able to almost completely free another day for himself, and this Thursday, he finally got a chance to speak with the new teacher on DADA, who for a symbolic ten galleons a week, turned a blind eye to the absence of the Archmage in the classroom.

It was much easier with a teacher from the Ministry, because the guy himself did not burn with a strong desire to teach children, therefore, remaining after the lesson, Snape simply demonstrated the ability to Apparate and told what could and could not be categorically done at the same time, and also referring to the fact that he wants to continue studying Potions. 

There were no problems with divination either because the elderly charlatan was still within the walls of St Mungo, and therefore the lesson was cancelled for the reason that there was no one to replace her.

But about the runes, Severus himself did not refuse, after all, this topic was very interesting to him, and there were not so many books on this subject, and there was no time to look for them and read them.

And listening to a master in this matter is much more useful than reading dozens of books.

Since that day, he didn't talk to Lily anymore, and there was nothing to talk about because Severus put the very "point".

Although he caught her eyes on him, but very rarely, and even then only for a second, from which he could not help but rejoice, because he got rid of another problem.

Of course, the wizard could have approached the matter more radically, but he didn't want to harm the one Severus loved.

It was simply disrespectful to the person who "gave" him a second life.

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