The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Severus in the Middle

"Lily, wait!" Severus ignored the snickering of his classmates, shoving his broom into the hands of the Slytherin girl nearest him, and ran after Lily, his robes swishing around his ankles, making him trip on his way up the hill. He caught up to her and grabbed hold of her elbow, stopping her. Behind them, the students were shuffling over to the broom shed and putting up the brooms. "You alright?" he asked when she faced him.

Over Severus's shoulder, she could see James, standing exactly where she had left him, holding the two brooms in his fists, staring after her. Sirius was talking to him and James was nodding. "I hate them, Sev," she said hotly. "Those boys are just so awful and full of themselves. The way they treat you is just --" Lily shook her head. "I hate them."

Severus sighed.

"I wish I'd gone to Slytherin with you," Lily said. "I miss you so much already."

Despite himself, Severus smiled at her. Knowing she missed him made him feel better. He'd been having himself some wild imaginings of her laughing uproariously before a fire in the Gryffindor common room as Sirius Black told cruel 'Snivellus Snape' jokes. "I miss you, too," he told her. He glanced back and saw the class had gotten the brooms put up and were on their way up the hill, James and Sirius included, and he said, "C'mon, let's get inside before they come up here." He pulled her by her hand into the school and they charged past the Great Hall and down a flight of stone steps that led into a dark corridor. They continued on to the end of the corridor until they'd found another flight of steps and Severus led her about halfway up them before sitting down and patting the spot beside her. "Here, we won't be bothered here," he told her.

She looked around, "What is this place?"

"It's the dungeons," he explained, "They hold potions lessons down here, in a room just around the corner. These stairs go up to the Potions Master's storeroom." He pointed to a great wooden door behind him.

Lily looked, then turned back to Severus, "Well what if the Potions Master comes?"

"He won't," Severus said. "There's no afternoon potions lessons."

Lily nodded. It was dark and cold and kind of wet feeling even though there was no water around in the dungeons, but whatever it took to see Severus, she supposed. She looked up at him. "Do you like Slytherin?" she asked.

"I imagine it's loads better than Gryffindor with those stupid gits," Severus growled.

"I have my own dormitory room," she told him, "All to myself." She made it sound more exciting than she really felt about it. "And I've made friends with a girl from second year called Alice Bell."

Severus frowned, "She's a mudblood," he said.

"A what?" Lily looked confused at him.

Severus hesitated. "It... it means she's half-blood."

"Well so aren't you," Lily laughed.

Severus scowled. "I may be half-blood, but I'm half-blood Prince," he explained, "And that's an important distinction. Besides, I disowned my father ages ago."

"Well you are still a half-blood, you can't change what you are just by coming up with fancy titles and wishing your father away," Lily said sternly. "Besides, what does it matter what sort of blood you are?"

Severus didn't want to get into the whole pure-blood/half-blood/muggle-born discussion with Lily, mainly because he didn't want to explain to her that his family, who only barely tolerated him now, would completely disown him if they knew the things that he felt about her - a muggle-born. Blood traitor, they would call him. He looked into Lily's eyes and knew that one day he would have to tell her about it all, if he planned to be with her for the rest of his life as he did, but that day did not have to be today.