The Year of the Revolution II. The Discovery of Friendship

3. Disguises

Sev spent part of Saturday thinking. 'Let's see how I can now separate myself from these ones. It's not just about making good friends anymore, the main reason is that by disassociating myself from them, they'll stop caring about me and threatening Lily, and maybe one day we can stop keeping it secret.

'I will have to do it gradually, if I leave them overnight they will smell something strange. Not that I spend much time with them anymore. In the Great Hall, the classes and the Common Room, almost all my free time I am alone.

'For the moment I will avoid them in the Common Room, so the people at home will notice. It would be very useful to know what my housemates think about it. The idea has already crossed my mind on the few occasions I've dealt with Dumbledore, not to mention during the dispute with Lily, though I wouldn't conceive of using it on her without her permission. I will learn Legilimency. The trouble is that the books on the subject are in the Restricted Section. I must take a risk.'

That same night, at the last minute, he went to the Library to choose which one he would take. 'This is the one that seems more complete and modern.' In the middle of the night, when everyone went to sleep, he returned. He knew the counterspell so that the books wouldn't raise the alarm when he took them off the shelves since first year, when he spied on Pince.

In fact, he had obtained that way all the Dark Arts books he kept in the Haven. He took out his chosen book and studied the table of contents in the light of the Lumos. 'It starts with the basics and then moves on to more complex topics, non-verbally, wandless looking into the eyes and no need to. Immediate thoughts, their motivations, recent, deep and recognition of Occlumency. Perfect.'

From there he made his way to the Haven and spent much of the night studying. He slept there, waking up in the middle of the morning. He spent the afternoon in the Common Room sitting at a table with his back to the window that overlooked the bottom of the Lake with various objects in front of him, pretending to be practicing Transfiguration. But most of the time he was surreptitiously pointing his wand at those in the Room, muttering 'Legilimens' each time.

And so he spent nights after dinner on school days and entire afternoons on weekends, stealing much of the time he should have spent studying. We'll tell how he did.

Lily, for her part, disappeared again on Tuesday afternoon. She locked herself in an empty classroom on the third floor and studied until dinnertime, stopping by the house first to drop off her backpack.

That night, in the Hall, from the distance between them and loud enough for all to hear, especially Potter, Bethany asked, "Where do you go when you disappear, Evans? Don't you have a secret boyfriend?"

She, who was expecting something like this at any moment and already had her answer ready, replied indifferently, without looking up from her plate, "I go to study in an empty classroom, I'm more comfortable than in the Library."

But Potter chimed in, condescending, "You shouldn't be alone in the castle, Evans. You could get caught by the snakes."

To which she responded with the same indifference, already so hardened by the harassment and recommendations of the glasses, "That's my problem. I'm more worried about you catching me."

"What a cut, Prongs!" Black exclaimed.

To which Potter, almost to himself, still replied to Lily, "You'll see what you do."

As they were leaving the Hall as a group, Remus came up behind her and whispered, "We need to talk, Lily. When is it good for you?"

If Sev hadn't given her permission to mingle with the little wolf, she would have refused. But his tone was urgent, and it had to be related to what had happened at dinner. She would listen to what he wanted to tell her without revealing anything to him.