Ch 20 growing desperation

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Dear Perseus,

First of all, I want you to know that you are not at fault for your mother's death. You were NOT the reason she died, I'm sure of it. You said yourself that she had been dealing with his disgusting habits for your entire life, right? Well, maybe she got tired of having to spend year after year dealing with them and...dealt with the problem.

I know it's hard, and sad, and painful, but you can't spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for something that is not your fault. Whether or not you're dwelling on the might-have-beens (and you SHOULDN'T!), you shouldn't be thinking that you are at fault in any way, shape or form!

As for the other stuff you mentioned, I can understand a desire for the power to protect yourself...but I don't think it should be your primary, or even a major goal. It's just...no matter how much you try to stop bad things from happening to you sometimes they just are going to happen, like with your mother. So why not try to...I...I just don't don't know, but it doesn't seem like it's going to make anyone happier, least of all you.

I think that you're the one who is making a mistake. I'm sure there are people out there who would be friends with you, really.

As for your new spell, I don't really know how you could improve it without seeing it in action. It seems very good at doing exactly what it is designed to do, you know? It's not flashy, it's potentially battle-winning, and you don't even need to hit your opponent with a spell as long as you can Leglimence them. Still, I must say that I'm growing to rather like it, even if I haven't seen how it works. It could end a dangerous situation without having to blow up half the place or however boys like to handle their problems.

In fact, one might even say that it's rather mature of you. Good idea.

I hope that you are doing well...and that you are not too troubled by those thoughts you shouldn't be thinking.

Your friend,

Medusa

Only a couple of days later, the first practical examinations for creating Patroni in DADA had arrived. No-one had actually been able to create one of yet, but most had managed to create a whitish mist that Professor Skeith claimed was 'merely the first step, so stop whining!'. Lily had managed to achieve such a thing with little difficulty of course, focusing on happy memories of spending time with her father when he was alive. Although still not the full Patronus, it was certainly far thicker than it had been the last time she attempted it. James had whistled in cheerful acknowledgement when she performed it, while Severus had merely stared into space, not saying anything.

In fact, he hadn't said much the entire time they were in class, not that Lily spent all her time gabbing or anything. Still, it was very odd indeed... Maybe he had been shaken up more than she thought by what happened in Hogsmeade. The fact that he seemed to be making an effort to avoid looking in Evelyn's direction certainly seemed to support this theory...

"You know, Severus, I've got a little theory..."

Lily's low growl caused James to glance at her questioningly, perhaps wondering if she were angry at him. Shaking her head both to let him know he wasn't in trouble and to clear her thoughts of...her, Lily took a deep breath and smiled brightly at the boy sitting beside her. "So...feeling confident about your Patronus charm, Severus?"

Several seconds passed with Severus watching the nearby bookshelves, before he said quietly, "Not particularly."

Lily blinked in surprise. "Oh, why's that? You practiced...last week, right?"

He said nothing this time, merely nodding with jaw taut.

"He must have been hurt more than I thought," muttered Lily to herself, even as she returned her attention to the front of the class, where Skeith had apparently reached the 'P's' section.

"Mr. Potter, it's your turn to show your patronus."

"Alright, professor, and might I say that's a lovely bowler hat," replied James in an overly smarmy tone of voice, winking at Lily as he walked to the front, making her blush. He might have more than a bit of arrogance, but he certainly knew how to sell himself when he wasn't taking himself too seriously. Taking a deep breath, the boy bellowed out, "Expecto Patronum!" Almost immediately, a thick white mist spilled from his wand, coalescing into a cloud in front of him as James grinned cockily.

Professor Skeith looked it up and down, smiling faintly as he replied, "Well done, and I suppose it is nice to see someone who appreciates fine head-ware..."

"Thank you-"

"...but next time, please let your skills speak for themselves, Mr. Potter," finished the older man with a chuckle as most of the classroom roared with laughter. "They certainly seem to suffice on their own, thankfully."

Laughing along with the rest of the class, Lily turned to grin at Severus, only to find that he hadn't seemed to notice. Frowning, she poked him on the shoulder.

"Yes?" replied Severus quietly, looking quite...terrified?

Quite unsettled, Lily spoke, "Severus, is there something the-"

However, she was interrupted by the professor calling out harshly, "Mr. Snape, you're up."

Pale as Lucius Malfoy, Severus walked to the front of the class, his eyes flickering across the classroom, lingering momentarily on a certain unnamed traitor-harpy. His jaw rigid, he then said in a near-whisper, "Expecto Patronum."

In contrast to James, not the slightest thing happened, not even the smallest speck of white issuing from his wand. It was as if nothing had happened at all, as if he had been merely mouthing the words rather than actually trying to cast a spell. Most of the class seemed rather dumb-struck at this, and speaking of the one who had just gone, the Gryffindor boy looked as if he were barely fighting the urge to laugh.

Professor Skeith looked rather perturbed. "Mr. Snape, this isn't a time to be joking around. This is a serious exercise, so please try again, and give it a real try."

Lily bit her lip, willing Severus to do it right. She hadn't seen him practicing, but she couldn't even imagine that Severus Snape, master of everything that remotely related to the Dark Arts, could fail when she had succeeded. Even said unnamed traitor-harpy seemed worried, although Lily spared only enough attention to wish her a swift and untimely demise before refocusing her attention on Severus.

"Y-yes, professor," replied Severus, screwing his eyes shut and bellowing out, "Expecto Patronum!"

Again, nothing happened, save for Professor Skeith looking very puzzled as the other students started snickering, enjoying the sight of the best student in the class failing so abysmally. "Mr. Snape...you may return to your seat now. No, wait..." He pulled out a pocket-watch and glanced at it. "...on second thought, class is over for today. We'll finish this next time, and I certainly hope that the rest of you manage to do a better job than Mr. Snape here."

Severus opened his eyes, biting his lip, before almost running out the classroom door, Lily following him. Waiting until they had escaped the flood of students, she grabbed him by the shoulder and asked with no small hint of angry worry, especially given the odd look in his eyes, "Severus, what happened in there?"

He shook his head as if to clear it, then spoke in an anxious tone of voice, "I...I haven't been having much luck with my Patronus spell, but that shouldn't have happened. That...that was 15% of our final marks..."

"Severus, it's DADA, the class you've mastered before you came to Hogwarts. Why are you having problems with it?"

"I...I..." Severus' cheeks burned scarlet. "It's just a difficult spell for me, alright?"

Lily frowned, before remembering the events of the past few months. He'd lost his mother, his best friend had lost her father, and another friend had really stabbed him in the back. Happy thoughts couldn't be easy to find right about now, unless... "I've got an idea, Severus. Use thoughts of us!"

"Urk!" Severus stared at her as if she had suddenly grown a tail, his mouth wide open and twitching. "But...you...but how...you're alright with..." Swallowing, he shook his head several times, before replying in a still rather hysteric, but far calmer voice, "No. No, I cannot do that, no. It would be completely disrespectful and wrong of me to think of you in such a manner, no. We'll have to find some other way, because I'm not going to degrade you in such a manner, and I'd rather not think about you...like that. It's wrong, disrespectful and..." Seeming to realize he was repeating himself, he finished with a simple, "...no."

Lily blinked, trying to understand exactly what was going through his head at that moment, when she realized exactly just how her words could have been construed and blushed a bright scarlet. Following all too easily his train of thought now that she was on it, she quite clearly imagined Severus and herself somewhat...less clothed, his arms wrapped tightly around her as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear, using the same nigh-seductive voice he favored for describing particularly grand works of magic. His thin, spindling fingers would feel so nice in her hair as he pulled her lips to his...

"Lily, did I err...misunderstand something?" The blush on his face could have lit up a coal mine with ease.

Coughing in an effort to buy herself some time, Lily rubbed her forehead, frowning as she found it rather slick with sweat. When had it grown so humid in here? "Well...um...I didn't exactly mean those sorts of thoughts, just thoughts of us hanging out and doing things together, like that party we went to back in...March, I think it was..." Rubbing her eyes, she tried to focus on diagnosing Severus' Patronus problem, in spite of her distraction. "Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that sort of thing. You're a growing young man, and if it could help, I wouldn't be-"

"No!"

Jarred from her train of thought, Lily came to, only to see Severus clenching his fists with anger. "Severus?"

Severus shook his head again, almost snarling out, "Can we just drop the subject and pretend we never said anything, please!"

"Severus, I think that you'r-"

"Please!"

"Uh...alright then." An awkward silence threatened to break out, before she quickly changed the subject, "So, how do you feel about Slytherin's chances in the next Quidditch match?"

Severus let out a slow, relieved breath. "I suppose that they aren't that good, to tell you the truth..."

"Well, James is one of the best Chasers around, even if it's in spite of the size of his head..." And so the two of them proceeded to work out Slytherin's odds down to a fair degree of detail, Severus betting on them when Lily offered 3-to-1 odds on the bet, chiding him for choosing the side they both knew was probably going to lose. Even as she did so though, chuckling as he suggested that perhaps Potter might get expelled before the game, she couldn't help but linger on what Severus had admitted...and felt a bit unsettled at how he had responded to it.

She didn't realize it quite then, but the pieces to a puzzle long-overlooked were finally beginning to fit together in her mind...and the picture they painted was ominous indeed.

When Lily had started tutoring sessions with James, she honestly hadn't been expecting much out of him to be honest. His reputation as a slacker was both well-known and well-earned, even if he was equally well-known for his Transfiguration skills. As such, it came as quite a surprise to her to find out that he actually seemed to know what he was doing...

"Now then, try it again; remember, you're an excellent witch, it's just going to take some practice," coaxed the male Gryffindor, a hand on her shoulder as she began to cast the spell, muttering it under her breath.

...Unfortunately, while he seemed to know what he was doing, Lily seemed to be doing no better than she had done in class.

"Watch out, Lily! You're not supposed to use a flick with-" James' alarmed voice was interrupted by an cracking noise and another bright flash of red light.

The result had one of them blinking in befuddlement, the other closing her eyes to shield herself from her failure. For whatever reason, she just couldn't seem to get the subject, not anymore. She hadn't ever been the best in the class of course, but now she could barely keep up it, and it was certainly showing now. She had hit a road-block, and it seemed that there wasn't anything she could do about it.

James was the first to speak, "Uh...I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before. Considering you were trying to turn it into a glass bowl, how exactly did you manage to turn a spider into a half a turkey leg?"

"No clue," replied Lily in a tight-lipped tone of voice, opening her eyes to see that, yes, she had indeed ended up with lunch as her result. "Listen, I'll try harder next time, really."

"Hmm..." James bit his lip, giving her a weighing sort of look. "We could try this again next week if you prefer. When you're not...distracted or whatever."

"No, I can handle it, let's keep going," replied Lily with forced bravado, shaking her head as if something had attached itself to her skull. "I'm just...having some issues, alright?"

"Alright, then, just try it again. Don't worry, you can do it!" However, James' bravado did absolutely nothing to hide his doubt, which Lily agreed wholeheartedly with by now. "Turn the next one into...a rock, alright? Remember, no flicking!"

Focusing, Lily pointed her wand at the next target: a particularly dusty eraser. Muttering a quick spell, she waited for the inevitable failure to appear.

Her expectations did not disappoint. Just like how her performance had been in class of late, almost spectacularly shoddy, she had only managed to make it look like some weird eraser-rock crossbreed. Well, at least it hadn't been the absurd error her last attempt had been

However, much to her surprise, James grinned at her, chuckling as he undid the transfiguration. Exuberantly, he said, "Excellently done, Lily! Biggest improvement I've ever seen, bar none!"

Lily could only stare at him, wondering if someone had hit him with a spell while they weren't looking. "Um...James, are you alright? That would have got me an 'A' at best, and no way would it have come close to what you usually pull off."

James looked mildly contemplative, even as he continued his nearly-stupid grin. "Well...in two spells, you went from a failure that I can only call impressively-pathetic, to only a boring old bad job. I'd say that's one hell of an improvement! If you keep up that rate, you'll have me licked in a week or two!"

Lily let out a weak laugh, cheered up all the same. "Thanks, James, but I'm still doing really badly, and don't you dare claim otherwise. We can keep at it, but..."

James shook his head. "No, not today; let's finish our session on a high note! Besides...it really is a lovely day outside, don't you think?"

Lily blinked at the complete change of topic. "Uh...sure."

"Want to go for a walk with me, the great victor over Slytherin?" teased James. "Your presence would certainly inspire me...and we're kinda done already. I didn't exactly plan ahead past this point anyway."

Lily rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Well, it couldn't hurt, she supposed. "Alright, why not? Besides, I do owe you for your help and all."

"Well, thanks I suppose." James seemed disappointed somehow, but he nodded nonetheless. "Shall we get going?"

Shrugging, Lily opened the door...only to come face to face with Evelyn Matthews. Whatever good mood she had been feeling instantly froze, then shattered at the sight of the blonde girl's face. Clenching one hand into a fist, she had the sudden impulse to see what it would feel like to smash it into the other female's face, an impulse she barely managed to stay. Gritting her teeth behind a sneer, she spoke in coldly polite tones, "Hello, Matthews, are you on your way to your next victim...sorry, 'client'?"

To Lily's distinct displeasure, the Ravenclaw girl merely seemed amused as she replied, "If I were, do you think I would honestly tell you? Regardless, I just came up to study; got to keep up my Potions grades, you know. Didn't know that you were here alo..." She paused, a small smirk creeping onto her face. "I stand corrected, I hope you and Mr. Potter had a good time together."

Lily glowered at Evelyn. "We were just leaving, and, not that it's any of your business, but there's nothing going on of the sort your foul, diseased mind would conjure up."

Evelyn merely shrugged. "Hmm...well then, have fun I suppose."

With that, Lily grabbed James by the wrist and dragged him out, her fellow Gryffindor wisely keeping his mouth shut. They had almost turned the corner when Lily heard the Ravenclaw girl mutter, perhaps to herself, "I'm sure Severus wouldn't see it that way..."

Lily stopped, a red-hot anger creeping over her. Turning around, she snarled at the other girl, "Whatever Severus might think is none, and I mean none of your bloody business, Matthews..."

There was a pause, then Evelyn replied in a soft voice, "I suppose you're right, Evans."

Without another word, the blonde entered the room they had been using and closed the door behind her, leaving Lily and James alone in the suddenly-silent corridor.

"Um...shall we get going?" asked James tentatively.

Lily shook her head, her jaw clenched tightly even as her mind burned with hatred toward that wretch of a girl. "Sorry, I'm not feeling quite up to it."

It was perhaps the understatement of the school-year.

Dear Perseus,

It's been almost a week since my last letter, and I'm sort of wondering if my owl got the letter to you properly. Assuming it has though...

I really want you to realize that your mother's death was not your fault and probably had nothing to do with you. Even if she was feeling sad or something, why didn't she just tell you? I'm sure that you would have done something to help had you had the slightest clue that it was that bad for her.

It's painful, yes, but you really should try and move on. Don't do anything stupid, alright? And please try to respond to my latest message.

Your friend,

Medusa

The Gryffindor table was typically a cheerful place to be around lunchtime, exceptions excepted. James and his friends...and those who wanted to be their friends tended to be particularly rowdy, but even the others tended to be a lively, talkative bunch. Wild rumors would fly about, growing more and more insane with each person who contributed to them; Lily still remembered how people had claimed that the time she hexed James she had turned him into a tap-dancing squirrel. Still, this time Lily barely noticed, as she was engaged in something other than food or conversation, she was watching.

It seemed almost fitting how loud the Gryffindor table usually was when one compared it to the table of their rival house of Slytherin, the house where everyone was always so coolly, mockingly polite...until they decided that you didn't merit the barest shreds of politeness. Although it wasn't true of all of them, Lily could tell that for most of them it was, merely by looking at their faces and seeing the polite smiles and shifty, restless eyes, that seemed to follow everyone in the room.

Lily still remembered how Severus had tried to explain it to her back in first year, with people's seating dependent upon a combination of several factors including birth, personal connections and personal prowess. She had laughed at him then, thinking that they were all being so silly, then giving him a comforting hug when he gave her this really hurt look. It had just seemed so...odd, that where one sat at could depend so much upon such a complicated process, that they could take something as that so seriously.

She wasn't laughing now; her eyes were fixed upon where Severus sat, alone at the very end of the long Slytherin table, trying to figure out something she couldn't really describe, only knowing that it gave her an incredible sense of unease. It wasn't the fact that the Slytherins took themselves so seriously that bothered her, it was just another piece of the puzzle that seemed to surround Severus of late, What bothered her was how when she watched Severus, she saw that his eyes were just like the others, paranoid and ever-watching of his neighbors, seeking the barest hint of weakness or threat in the smallest of moves.

Why was it, she wondered, that the most comfortable he ever seemed was when he was hanging out with her? Really, these were the people he had spent years of his life eating lunch, going to classes with, the people the Sorting Hat had had declared he most belonged with, so why did he look so...hunted? He shouldn't be looking that way; he should look as if he were happy and comfortable, around his own kind. Sure, Lily didn't care much for most of them, but-

"Lily, are you alright?"

Lily blinked, breaking off her train of thought as Mary tapped her on the shoulder. Turning so fast she threatened to give herself whiplash, she replied nervously, "Uh, what is it?"

Mary looked at her strangely, then turned and glanced over at the Slytherin table, muttering something under her breath.

"Err, what was that?"

Mary rolled her eyes at Lily. "Nevermind, I was just wondering, have you seen Sabrina today?"

Lily paused, thinking. "Now that I've come to think of it...no. Why?"

"Probably snogging with her 'not-boyfriend'...again." The brunette glared at her sandwich as if it were the girl in question, before taking a large bite out of it and swallowing, chasing it down with a quick chug of pumpkin juice. "I wouldn't mind, but we've got to work together for this stupid DADA thing Skeith's making us do. I mean, he's mad; he's making half of our final marks depend on this bloody Patronus thing. Positively mental!"

Lily sighed, nodding glumly. "I know, Severus is having a really hard time with it himself..."

Mary muttered something under her breath, then said in more sympathetic tones, "Well, I'd have a pretty hard time thinking cheery thoughts myself if my mother killed herself, especially with that whole Evelyn thing topping it off. Can't be easy for him."

"That's for sure..." muttered Lily, glaring in Ravenclaw table's direction. "But he seems fine with it, and she was a complete toerag anyway... It's just..."

"Well, I suppose that would be a good thing, I guess," replied Mary, seeming a bit perturbed.

"I don't know..." It was odd, she had been hoping for Severus to give that Ravenclaw tart the old heave-ho for the past few months now...as she was just the sort of person to screw with him like this, but it had been well over a week now and...shouldn't he look...happier? "I guess she must have hurt him more than I thought, with how she ripped into him."

Mary nodded in agreement. "Yeah... She really did a number on him... If I had her ability, Mulciber would be dead right about now. It looked like she practically killed him with what she said, and she didn't fire off a single spell."

"Well, she's never going to get the chance again, that's for sure!" swore the young redhead vehemently. "If she tries that again, I'll start hexing from the beginning this time...and you really should try to cool it down a bit with Mulciber; the two of you are really getting a little out of control, don't you think?"

Somewhat thrown by Lily's change of subject, Mary seemed almost unsure as she answered. "I mean...it's no worse than what he's doing...not yet anyway."

"If it gets any worse, you could get really hurt. Mulciber's no laughing matter, remember."

"Right...well..." Mary floundered, before snapping her fingers. "I've got an idea! Alexandra's throwing a party next week, why not invite Severus to it? That'll surely be a good way to make him some good friends, and maybe cheer him up some, right?"

Lily bit her lip. "I don't know..."

"Does it appeal to you I wonder, Severus' friends only being the ones you want?"

Narrowing her eyes at the memory, Lily quickly continued, "Actually, that sounds like a capital idea, if Severus could be invited of course."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to take care of the invites." Mary, seeming quite relieved at the change of subject, grinned. "...although maybe you should stick close to him, just in case."

"Yeah, that'll probably be a good idea..." Now all she had to do was make sure he could make some friends, some good friends. Evelyn was wrong, she was going to help him through this problem, and the first step would be making him forget the stupid slut that caused it!

Dear Perseus,

Hey, how have you been doing of late? Has your owl died or something? Because I'm starting to wonder why you haven't responded for so long. It's nearly the end of May! Just in case, I told my owl to wait until you gave it your say-so to leave, so you can send it back using my own.

Have you been thinking any more about that spell? It sounded pretty cool. I'd certainly like to have a discussion about it, if you're interested...

Say, I've started reading the Dark Arts book you sent me, and it's pretty good, honestly. That Charlus Potter guy sure knows how to write a good story, and the way he managed to take out that murderer with a controlled fiendfyre was really cool. The guy wasn't even able to see him before Potter had burnt him out!

If you want to discuss it some, I'd really like to talk about chapter two, The Emotional Aspects of Utilizing Dark Magicks in Modern Combat. It's really quite fascinating.

Again...I hope that you aren't beating yourself about your mom's suicide. It really wasn't your fault, but if you need to talk about it, I'm all ears! Really, you didn't do anything wrong, honest!

Please write back, and soon.

Your friend,

Medusa

The inside of the Hog's Head was dank and grungy, as if the owner himself barely even cared about it. It catered mostly to the down on their luck and those Hogsmeade residents who preferred to avoid the crowds of students on 'Hogsmeade weekends', even at the price of vastly inferior and possibly dangerous service. As Lily followed Evelyn in, the tart catching the stares of most of the males in the establishment with her skin-tight, light green top and short, yellow mini-skirt, she found herself barely caring as she watched the powder-keg that Evelyn seemed to have become. She had seemed quite angry before, but now her face was a tight mask of worry and anger. She stormed toward where Severus and the Hufflepuff boy...Darwinnus were standing, right by the bar, Severus smirking slightly as he spoke to the other boy, who bore a quite nervous demeanor.

Before she got there though, the stocky boy turned stiffly and started to walk away, only for his eyes to burst open as Evelyn came into his line of sight. An audible gulp seemed to echo through the suddenly-silent room, although most of those at the bar were still conversing. "Uh...hello, Matthews."

Immediately, Evelyn's face broke into a bright, overly-cheerful grin. "Darwinnus, there you are! I'm sooo happy to have finally found you! I've been looking everywhere for you. Think we can go on our date now...please?"

"Well, err...actually, there might be a bit of a problem." The Hufflepuff boy shifted awkwardly, and Lily could immediately tell that Evelyn was about to get a possibly-polite, but still painful brush-off. "You see...it's like this..."

Not particularly interested in seeing such a thing, Lily immediately walked over to Severus, a sense of dread threatening to overcome her. Grabbing him by the shoulder, she spoke in a whisper, "Severus, I think it might be a good idea if we were to get going, say right now."

Severus seemed torn, looking worriedly over at Evelyn, who had tears beginning to show in her eyes now as she spoke. Oddly, it was somehow inaudible even though she was right beside them. "I...I don't know. She seems really shook up."

"You have to stop this, don't let this happen, not again!" spoke a pleading, frightened voice, seemingly from Lily's side. When she turned to look at it though, there was no-one there.

Shaking her head, Lily urged Severus, "Trust me, she won't want anyone here. Let's go, now."

Nodding slowly, he was about to follow her when suddenly a piercing wail burst through the prior silence.

"What do you mean, Severus threatened you to get you to dump me?"

Whipping their heads around, Lily saw out of the corner of her eye that some of the students had stopped in their tracks, turning and into the dusty windows of the bar, perhaps curious as to what anguished creature had cried out. Severus then seemed to realize that Darwinnus had mentioned him by name, as he turned and looked back with a strange expression. "Wait...that's not right..."

"What the hell did you tell that boy, Severus?" asked Lily, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Severus barely glanced at her, shaking his head once before turning and running over to Darwinnus, shouting angrily, "You little rat, you said you wouldn't tell!"

"Tell me what, Severus!" Evelyn's voice boomed, even as it seemed to crack under the weight of emotion, crying even as she shouted. "What did you tell my boyfriend! Did you threaten him with some of those Dark spells of yours, did you?"

Severus looked insulted, glowering at Darwinnus, who was inching away from Evelyn and closer to the door outside. "Of course I didn't, Evelyn! Now, if you'll let me explain-"

Evelyn laughed hysterically, screeching out, "Explain, ha! Please tell me what sort of explanation leads to your little conversation with Darwinnus being innocent when right after it's over, he's halfway out the door and scared to look at me! You wanted to break us up, didn't you!"

"Stop it now, don't let it go on!" The terrified, young voice spoke again, still invisible and seemingly inaudible to everyone but Lily herself. "Don't let her do this, don't let this happen!"

Meanwhile, seemingly unnoticed to the two teenagers, the students outside had turned into a small crowd as more and more clustered around the dilapidated edifice, eager to see what all the commotion was about. Already, the whispering had reached the volume of a buzzing beehive, growing only louder with every second. Realizing she had to act, Lily cleared her throat and said, "Alright, the two of you, cool it down! You're making a scene!" Lowering her voice, she spoke so that only Severus could hear, "Sev, there's a lot of students hanging around outside, and I don't think you want this to be part of the gossip-"

"Of course I did!" Completely ignoring her, Severus shouted right back at Evelyn. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've been saying for the past two weeks? The guy's a piece of slime, only interested in a cheap lay...whether the girl wants it or not! He didn't want to be your boyfriend, he just heard that there was a free banging for the offering and went sniffing around like some disgusting pig!"

"I...I...y-you...I loved..." Evelyn was hiccupping now, barely understandable in her heartbroken fury, "I l-loved him, Severus, y-you g-great prat. And he loved me too! I know he did! This time, it was going to be different... This time, I would-"

"This time was just like the last five 'this times'!" roared Severus, seeming rather hysterical himself now. "It wasn't the slightest bit different, just another bushel of lies! He wanted sex, not love and all that garbage, just plain sex! He was going to bang you a few times, then 'oops, I need a real girlfriend now', just like the prick who dumped you at Slughorn's party!" Clearly, this seemed to be an argument oft-had among the two friends.

However, unbeknownst to them, the crowd had swollen until Lily would have sworn fifty students were standing outside already, with more joining every minute. Not wanting Severus to make a spectacle of himself, she turned to the crowd and shouted, "Alright, people, move along now, this is a private discussion. That means leave! Now go, before I'm forced to give you detenti-"

"Forget about them! Just stop Evelyn! Hex her if you have to, just don't let her do this to him!" The voice was even clearer now, more distinct, and more recognizable. It almost sounded like...Lily herself.

The crowd of students ignored her completely, either not knowing or not caring that she was a Prefect...albeit technically one outside of the school and unable to punish, not that most of them would have known that anyway. Meanwhile, Evelyn shouted, having apparently gotten through the hiccupping state with sheer anger, "That gives you no excuse, now tell me what you told him, you great, sadistic, controlling prat! What did you threaten him with?"

"Do you really want to know what I said to Darwinnus Martin?" Severus spoke the name in contempt, seeming as if to spit it out rather than say it. "The little coward as good as told me what he was in it for! I didn't have to threaten him with Dark Magic, Light Magic, or any kind of magic to get him running! All I had to say was that I'd let people know that he was your boyfriend and he took off like a bat out of hell! He didn't want a relationship with you; he just wanted a bit of chuff to tide him over until his next 'real' girlfriend. He didn't love you! He was so ashamed at the mere thought of being in a relationship with you that even the smallest mention of it got him running, lest anyone find out!"

It was apparently then that the two of them finally noticed the crowd of students watching them, as said students had started laughing, so uproariously and mockingly that Lily was sure most of Hogsmeade could hear as well. One particular comment seemed to send them into a near frenzy: "See? Even Snape thinks she's disgusting! Coming from him, that's really saying something!"

At that point, Lily knew that there was nothing more she could do; neither Severus nor Evelyn seemed to care about her presence, and the other students were acting just the same. All she was able to do was pray that something, anything would happen to stop this train-wreck, an earthquake perhaps...

Meanwhile, Evelyn almost seemed to have gone into a trance, as she merely stared at the crowd while they humiliated her again and again with every breath, every word spoken. Finally, she turned to Severus and smiled, a cold smile without even the slightest trace of warmth. A mirthless giggle escaping from her lips, she spoke in mocking tones, "Thanks, Severus Snape, you really are a true friend, really... Haven't you bothered me enough already? Haven't you already spent enough time wasting mine, without this?"

"Listen, I didn't mean to-"

"Do you know why I put up with you, Severus, do you?" Evelyn continued, ignoring Severus' apology as she grinned savagely. "It's because, for all the times you bothered me before, at least you were good at one thing: being my own personal Potions-slave. Because I pretended to be friends with you, I got to be third in the class, behind you and Evans! All I needed to do was fake a smile or two, you were sooo easily satisfied."

She walked toward Severus, almost caressing his cheek as he stood stock-still with horror, much like Lily did herself. "You know, I may be a slut, but at least I'm honest about it. You, you'll put out for anyone willing to pay a few quick compliments, tell you you're really such a good person deep inside, that it's all the fault of those others that your life is just so terrible. The only difference between you and me is that I give them my body, you give them access to all the little discoveries you made during those long years when no-one would talk to you but some little Muggleborn girl who made everyone else laugh at you even more. Let's face it, Severus, no-one likes you, not me, not Mulciber, not Avery, not even Lily. You're either the whore we pay to get her chuff or the little reject the Muggleborn slut can point to to say 'at least there's one person in this world who makes me look good'!"

"No, please stop, no more, no more!" Lily heard her voice shouting, no longer sure which her was shouting, but it was soon drowned out by Evelyn's calmly-spoken verbal massacre.

"You know, Severus, I've got a little theory-"

Lily bolted upright, heart pounding in her chest as she woke up from her nightmare, her screaming finally penetrating the dark dream. Shuddering, she whipped her head around, before taking a deep, calming breath. Good, it hadn't been real...well, not that time anyway. Her heart still racing, she got up out of bed and walked over to the window, wondering it 'Perseus' might choose tonight to send her a message. Merlin, she hoped so.

Severus' behavior had grown increasingly distressing for the young Gryffindor over the past few weeks. On the surface it seemed fine; he still went to classes, hung out with her as usual, and even seemed somewhat cheerful when the two of them were alone together in the Potions classroom...but he hadn't spoken to her about Evelyn, his mother, or anything going on in Slytherin since the incident. In fact, he rarely spoke of himself at all. He wasn't happy, she knew this, especially when the two of them were apart. He was presently the only person in DADA to be unable to produce so much as the slightest puff of white smoke when attempting to cast the Patronus, something that was sure to cost him the course if he didn't manage by exam time. Then of course, there was how he hadn't responded to Medusa at all.

"It's all her fault..." whispered Lily to herself, staring sightlessly out into the cloudy night. "She did this to him..."

Well, at least she had a plan for helping him now; Severus had agreed to go to Alexandra's party tomorrow, albeit without much in the way of enthusiasm. Lily would make sure that he made at least one new friend, maybe Mary herself. That really ought to cheer him up...and maybe wipe that lonely, scared look off his face for good.

Her course determined and feeling rather calmer now, Lily returned to her bed and shut her eyes, hoping that she wouldn't have another nightmare, or worse, continue the last one.

It had been very fortunate that she had woken up before the Evelyn had really gotten going... It had only gotten worse then.