Severus Snape and the Siren: A Snily Tale

Chapter 7 - Growing

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Severus and Lily held hands once more as they rode the Hogwarts Express back to the castle for their fourth year of magical education.

Things were different that term.

The majority of Severus's friends had graduated, which had indeed left him alone against the Marauders whenever Lily was not by his side.

As the school year went on, it pained him to notice that she became too preoccupied to notice much about any happenings in the castle, even with herself.

The Gryffindor girls who claimed to be her friends gossiped about her behind her back in hateful whispers.

Severus saw Lily walk right past them once with her eyes wide and her expression sullen as if she were in a trance.

Although the girls clearly said her name in their wicked snickers, Lily didn't so much as cast them a sideways glare.

Severus's only solace came from the pleasant conversations he shared with Lily and from the deep, meaningful kisses that she lavished upon him whenever they found a private corner of the castle away from teachers and prefects' prying eyes.

"Lily....." Severus whispered breathlessly against her lips one evening before dinner while they clung to each other in a section of the abandoned storage room, high at the top of the castle.

"Yeah, Sev?" Lily asked as she stared at him with her green eyes burning like two flaming emeralds.

"......When are you going to tell me what's going on?" He asked with a frown.

Lily's hands were on his chest.

Her fingers clutched his robes.

She tightened her grip as she laughed and looked down.

He felt her twist her hips as he loosened his hold on her waist.

"Nothing's going on, Sev!" Lily said with a giggle as she gave him a bright smile and stared into his eyes.

Severus frowned in response.

"You wound me with your lies, Lily." He murmured to her in a voice barely above a whisper.

She had no intentions of ending their snogging session, but Severus threw her an injured frown before he pulled away from her entirely and left their cozy hideaway.

Lily frowned after him as she watched him go, but she stayed there, perfectly still, until she could no longer hear his receding footsteps.

When she knew she was alone, she raised her hands to her face and covered her mouth to muffle the strangled sob that escaped her lips.

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Besides Lily, Severus's other interests were in education and learning.

He had a great aptitude for potions, but the study of the Dark Arts, which he easily disguised as an intrigue in defence against them, was what really sparked his curiosity.

Severus had already learned a large number of curses from his mother and family friends before he had ever set foot at Hogwarts.

By the time he had aged to nearly fifteen, his knowledge had grown and the Marauders' vicious attacks inspired him to formulate his own weapon.

Through careful study of Latin roots, calculated trajectory of curse impact, and a huge amount of educated guessing based on similar enchantments, Severus armed himself with a new, secret safeguard against James Potter and his band of miscreants.