Second chance a new choice

Life defenders

Is Pauperitt mad? Or a genius? Perhaps both. Severus stood in the front corner of the old classroom turned meeting hall. They all came back.

Slytherins chatted and laughed in twos and threes, and a few larger circles hung nearer the room's middle.

Penelope greeted Lily and a friend from Ravenclaw she'd brought along. The new girl's reluctance melted into an easy smile as she talked with Penelope.

Instead of introducing themselves this time, Penelope directed the set-up of a more advanced version of Exploding Snap. Three rounds passed, composed of tapping and two teams which cheered wildly for each other.

Just like the last meeting, many hung back at first, reluctant, but before one round ended, the room filled with laughter. Even Severus participated.

I must look a fool, bumbling about like an idiot and, Merlin forbid, laughing. This might be... the first time I've ever felt like a child. He dashed to tag a teammate and tripped. On instinct, he grabbed for the nearest surface and caught Lily's arm. The pair tumbled over each other, to the amusement of the whole group.

How did it come to this? The joy—the genuine welcome in the eyes of near-strangers—it's overwhelming. Here, the outsiders have found their haven, and a teenage girl discovered it.

As curfew neared, the group's levity tanked. Though they accepted each other for a few hours on Thursday evenings, that acceptance didn't yet reach beyond the old classroom walls. The outcast Slytherins still dared not seek out each other or speak their scathing views on blood purity or "good" ancestry openly. Fear of the ruthless few still silenced them.

As Severus, Lily and Lily's friend left for their common rooms, a few Slytherins sneaked into corners with new friends to tuck in one last conversation for the night.

They've been doing that all week, ducking around together when they think no one's watching. Why, Pauperitt and Regulus Black spent a whole evening together a few days ago. Jugson greets me before Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts now—and tells me "Good morning" when she happens upon me in the common room before breakfast. Not to mention her secret winks at Lily in the halls since they teamed up in Herbology. Perhaps Pauperitt's notion will do more good than I first thought.

Severus bid Lily and her friend goodnight and headed for the dungeons.

A few days later, Severus and Lily enjoyed one of the last warm evenings of the summer by taking a stroll by the lake.

"I've never seen you this happy," Lily said with a chuckle.

"I've never been this happy," he said. For the first time, I'm at ease—with myself and my situation. I've truly made a difference—and they respect me for it, not just Lily, but Remus too, and other Slytherins. The world is lighter now that I feel... worth something.

"It suits you," said Lily.

Severus snorted. "As if anything could ever make this sad picture more appealing." He swept a hand down his skinny frame.

"Well..." Lily stopped and tapped her cheek. "Happy people are attractive people, you know." She appraised him. "Tall and slim—that's a big plus... but still too thin. Though there is a sort of foreign, mysterious sense to you." She brushed the hair out of his eyes before circling him.

Severus almost turned the circle with her.

"Girls like foreign and mysterious." Lily stopped in front of him. "Why, Sev, I believe you're an eight."