Don't hate me for this, please
Now. I'm about to make a confession after which perhaps some of you will no longer respect me. What is more, I will also deliver tons of proof that the confession is worth mentioning in the first place, but one thing at a time.
First things first - the confession: I hereby confess, that I indulged, sound of mind and in full possession of my capacities, in roleplaying Snape/Lily. I furthermore confess that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and still do. This results mainly from the fact that winter_noir is a player not unlike myself, who enjoys well-written RPG threads and does not, as most other players tend to do, leave it all to me.
Having said that, in the following you may or may not (if your aversion against het or that pairing in particular forbids you) read what we came up with. Consider it a given that I've never been allowed to play a thread like this, and that usually I get one-line (or insignificantly more elaborate) answers from my co-players, no matter how hard I try.
Severus is played by me, Lily and Sirius are played by winter_noir and Remus is played by... actually, I don't know. I'll fix it if I find out.
--------------------------------------
The Offset:
The lesson was dull as always, Slughorn droning on about the Confundus charm and Befuddlement Draughts while the Gryffindors were sporting expressions to various degrees of boredom (which Severus could understand) and the Slytherins were engaging in a wide range of under-the-desk activities (which Severus was currently doing as well).
He pulled out his wand from where it was tucked into his sleeve and tapped the scrap of parchment on his lap, shrinking and then banishing it into Evans' potions textbook where he knew she'd be looking due to the syllabus of the lesson.
--- Evans,
working on a new project. Improve D. S.. Nightmares can be a bitch, I'm told. Interested?
S. ---
Slughorn had now proceeded to explaining ingredients into far more detail than he could reasonably hope for the vast majority to actually memorise. Vast majority meaning everyone except him and maybe Evans.
Finally, at long last they were told to gather their ingredients and prepare their worktables, and Severus begrudgingly shut Advanced Potion-making with a low thud. As per usual, there was a little commotion as everyone tried to get the best ingredients for advantage, which was ridiculous (also as per usual) since most of them didn't even know what to look for.
"Watch it," Severus hissed as he glared and spun around when someone bumped into him from behind.
***
"Maybe if you weren't such an insignificant little grease spot, I'd notice you when I walked," Sirius sneered and looked down his nose at Snivelly.
***
Severus bristled, his hand flying towards his wand instantly. "Black," he spat at the offending idiot, baring his teeth. He noticed Slughorn's eyes on him, but snarled anyway, "you... you'll get that back!"
***
"Sure I will, Snivelly," Sirius said with a self-satisfied smirk. "What're you going to do, go crying to your housemates? Most of them are too terrified of Bella to touch me." He laughed at the mere thought of half of Slytherin trying something only for Bel to retaliate before he did.
***
Severus narrowed his eyes at the name. One day, he thought, one day even Bellatrix would notice what a hopeless moron her cousin was. One day she'd give up on her insane self-assigned mission to sway him.
Blood traitor.
Severus didn't say that out loud however.
"Need your cousin to protect you, do you?" he sneered back at Black. "Pathetic."
***
Sirius was grinning and he knew it would would annoy dear ole Snivvy. "Hardly. It's mere coincidence."
***
"Coincidence my arse," Severus hissed, incensed at Black's annoying self-assured grin. "You can't even go anywhere without your cronies!"
***
"Do you see them swarming me now?" Sirius' smirk seemed to be a permenant fixture on his face. "Really Snivy, haven't you learned by now? I don't need my cousin or my mates around. If I wanted to deal with you I would," his voice sounded mostly amused, but there was that lingering threat in it. "Lily seems to like you, and it's the only reason I haven't put you in hospital yet."
***
"So now you don't have them around you're putting her in front?" If Severus tried to narrow his eyes any further he'd have to close them. As it was, they were positively sparkling with contempt.
***
"She is scarier than you," he said lightly. Then his joking demeanor disappeared at once and he got very close to Severus. "Though if you'd like I could deal with you right now," his voice was low, almost a growl
***
"You. Wouldn't. Dare." Severus' voice had dropped to the same level as he suppressed a flinch with partial success. He did feel uneasy though, and hated himself for it, but not by far as much as he hated Black.
***
Sirius sneered disdainfully. "Gryffindor, I have plenty of daring." Sirius actually did growl this time, Padfoot wanted to rip Severus' leg off. "But I'm still a Black and if you want to start something I will be more than happy to finish it. Bella and I get along for a reason, you know," there was a very dangerous glint in Sirius' eyes. Was Bella more dangerous because she was a little insane, or was Sirius more dangerous because he would be fully aware of what he was doing?
***
Severus sniffed, wrinkling his nose in disgust, trying not to appear intimidated. His fingers were resting nervously against his wand handle concealed by the school robe.
"You..." he broke off, dismayed. "Gryffindors. All barks, no bites."
***
Sirius smiled sadistically. "Oh, I bite Severus. And I tend to draw blood when I do. You should ask Bel, she knows all about my bite." There was something rather suggestive in his tone, despite the all that promise of pain in it. "Would you like to find out for youself?"
***
Yeah, that he could imagine. Sure as hell. The little, brazen prat, how like him to brag about his perverted delusional fantasies.
"You know what," Severus hissed, his teeth bared in a rather impressive snarl, "Bite me!"
He realised what he'd said the moment it was out. Too late. Bugger.
***
A very disturbingly sadistic laugh fell from Sirius' lips. His eyes matched the sound and a moment later he did just as Severus said. He bit the other boy hard enough on his neck that he did, indeed, make him bleed, and in very little time as well.
Sirius straighted licking some trickling blood from his lip. He looked quite a bit like Bellatrix as he smirked, only he was clearly sane. Sirius leaned very close to Severus with that cat that caught the canary smile on his face and whispered harshly, "Some of us know how to abide requests. Maybe next time you should ask for foreplay."
***
Severus yelped as blunt teeth dug into his neck and his skin broke nearly at once.
Bloody perishing *hell*! Severus stood rooted to the spot, staring into Black's glittering eyes, unable to speak or even move, mouth dropped open gracelessly.
What in Salazar's name was Black thinking??! Yeah, right, he wasn't. Sorry, my mistake.
"You're sick!" There was no hiding his agitation anymore as his fingers curled tightly around his wand handle so as to not fly to his bleeding neck. "You're a sick twisted bastard, Black, and you'll pay for this!"
***
Sirius smirked as his thumb wiped across his lower lip to make sure there was no more blood there. "Told you Bel and I got along for a reason." Once again that disturbing laugh dropped from his mouth. "I'd watch what threats you make there, wouldn't you?"
***
Severus backed away and then spun, nearly knocking a glass vial over in the process. There was a wet patch at his shirt collar that slowly grew.
Fuck. Biting his lip, Severus started gathering his ingredients, but his fingers were trembling with rage and so he slipped twice before he could grab a handful of scurvy-grass.
Abide requests, Severus thought, his hatred of Black blazing to new heights. He could make him abide his each and every request without second thought, goddammit! There was a *word* for that kind of thing, a simple, beautiful word.
Severus, at that moment, was sure he could pull it off. What was a human target in comparison to mice and flies? A question of graduality, not principle, and Severus knew all about the principle.
He stopped short in his tracks and fetched his knife from the shelf. It glittered.
***
Lily laid a light hand on Severus' back as she approached him. Sirius looked far too much like his family when she had passed him. Her friend was on his way back to his table and so she went to see if Severus was the reason for his smugness. "Sev, you're bleeding," she said quietly.
***
Severus tensed as he felt a touch to the small of his back. Oh, great. Now James Potter, neck-to-neck competitor with Sirius Black for the title of Gryffindor's most appallingly stupid idiot had decided to add -- what was the saying -- insult to injury. With some relief, however, Severus realised that the hand belonged to Evans, not Potter.
Which wasn't really all that much comfort, since he'd very much have liked to be left well alone. But then he *did* have an open wound on his neck at the moment and was bleeding profusely into his shirt which the black robe completely failed to cover, judging by Evans' worried tone.
At least it was *worried*, not pitiful. Severus thought, if anyone was going to offer him *pity* (his mental rendition of it made it sound vile), he might have to throw up. Speaking of which, he actually did feel slightly nauseous and an unhealthy shade of green graced his habitually pale face as he turned towards Evans with a vaguely disgruntled expression.
He made to cover the marks on his neck that undoubtedly bore a more than passing resemblance of human teeth and mumbled something under his breath, unsure whether she hadn't already seen it.
***
"What happened, Severus?" she said just above a whisper. She hadn't really seen the bite because it was bleeding enough that she didn't bother to inspect the wound. "Want to go to the hospital wing and I'll make your excuses to Slughorn for your disappearance?" Why on earth was he bleeding that much?
***
Oh... what the hell was he supposed to answer to that? "I..." Damn. "I sort of... slipped. With the knife."
Certainly. Congratulations, Severus, he thought, now you've made yourself the first Slytherin in history unable to tell a believable lie. The blood was now trickling slowly down his back and Severus subconsciously leaned onto Evans for some support. His nerves were going haywire, he still couldn't believe this had actually happened.
Suddenly all he wanted was to get the hell out of here. Just anywhere where he wouldn't have to sit and concentrate and be watched by Potter all the while... but he didn't want to go to the hospital wing. If anything, the fuss Pomfrey would make would make him only feel worse. Weak.
***
Lily wrapped her arm around Severus when he leaned on you. "Come on, Severus, you're not staying here." She pulled him out the door into the corridor. "Will you let me take you to Pomfrey? Or at least let me fix it for you?"
***
"Could you...?" he asked, hoping that she would get the point. No force of nature was going to get him into the hospital wing, and much less some insignificant prat like Black. No, sir.
He was aware of many eyes resting on them, but he couldn't make himself shrug Evans' arm off.
***
"Of course, Sev." She brought him over to a bench in the hall and sat him down. Her eyes were only filled with concern and she was sure when she found out what it is Sirius did she was going to kill him.
"You have to take your hand away, Sev," she said gently. Lily shrugged off her robes and ripped off the sleeve of her shirt so she could soak up some of the blood when he moved his hand.
***
Severus only shrugged and let his hand fall to the bench like a dead weight somehow attached to the rest of his body. Not that she'd have believed him in the first place. Slipped with the knife? The bloody *knife*?? Even a Quidditch injury was more likely than that, and yes, he was perfectly aware that he wasn't even playing.
"Do you..." he trailed off awkwardly. "Do you, um, need me to remove the shirt there?"
***
Lily gently pressed her torn off sleeve to the wound as she visually inspected him before nodding. "It would help, if you don't mind. If you mind I can just try to work around it."
He was so obviously uncomfortable and Lily didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable. She hadn't even looked closely at the wound yet, but she knew there'd be no knife wound under her hand. She didn't plan on commenting on the wound, no matter what it is.
***
"Try that, then," Severus answered curtly, not at all inclined to get himself into any state of undress. Seeing that she was currently the only one between him and the hospital wing, he added, "er, please."
Severus winced when she pressed the cloth... why on earth had she ruined her school uniform, btw?... onto the wound. It was no good, though. The shirt clung to his shoulder and back like a barnacle and finally Severus opened the topmost buttons of it, his fingers moving jerkily once again, and pulled it off his shoulder.
Taking anything off was, after all, not necessary.
***
"Thank you," she said as she nodded to his now exposed shoulder. After the cloth was nearly soaked through she removed it from his neck to see a...bite mark? An actual, human bite mark? Sirius Black bit him?! She kept her fury off her face.
Lily reached into her pocket for her wand and muttered a charm to slow the bleeding to a stop. "Tell me if I hurt you," she said, looking into his eyes before her eyes went back to his neck. Her fingertips ghosted over the wound, trying to determine just how deep it was. The touch was feather-light as she explored and examined the bite. His blood was on her fingers, but it didn't bother her.
***
Severus gritted his teeth saying nothing, since any attempt at down-playing would come out pathetically... pathetic, for lack of a more fitting desciption.
He was grateful that she didn't comment on the mark, being not as delusional as to believe she hadn't recognised it for what it was the moment she'd layed eyes on it. He did feel her tense up for a brief moment before she charmed it to stop bleeding, the magic tingling slightly and making him a bit queasy once more.
Looking at his hands he muttered, "I think it's going to be okay now...," knowing full well that it was probably infected and would therefore be anything but.
***
"Oh, shhh, Severus. I don't intend on leaving you with an open wound! That would be wretched of me to do." Her fingertips continued to ghost over the wound. "I'm not going to tell anyone, you know that, right?"
She muttered a disinfecting charm for good measure, unsure if anything had gotten into the wound yet. She peered closely at the bite mark, her fingers applying just a little bit of pressure to pull the edges apart so she could see how deep it went.
***
Severus nodded and hissed when she pulled at the spot. Damn, that *hurt*!
"What was that for, Evans?" he asked, frowning and trying to look intimidating.
***
Lily kissed his cheek to make amends. "Sorry, Sev, needed to see how deep it was." She laid a soft kiss on the wound to soothe it a little. She continued her exploration, but it was soley visual, resting her hand on his shoulder instead.
"Okay, this might hurt a little," her eyes back on his. "You can squeeze my hand if you want." It wasn't that she didn't think he was manly enough to take the pain, just that pain still hurt.
***
"Huh?" was all Severus brought out. What on earth? His shoulder burned where she had kissed it, but he decided that was because of the bite. The fact that his cheek burned as well, and without there being a bite, was conveniently ignored.
As was the realisation that his capacity of coherent speech had apparently just gone down the drain.
***
"Pain. It hurts. Take my hand if you want." She held her hand out to him in case he did want to take it. She waved her wand and muttered a healing spell. She watched the skin knit itself together again.
There was a faint scar, but it was the best she knew how to do.
***
'Yikes!' Severus thought as suddenly pain shot through his shoulder and neck and in a moment of acting on mere instinct he grabbed something to squeeze tightly. His flesh seemed to worm its way back together in agonising slow motion, and Severus ground his teeth together.
A moment later, it stopped altogether, and he noticed he was clinging to Evans' hand which she had offered him before. Severus suppressed an indignant squeak, barely, and let go of her hand at once, utterly mortified, and... blushing.
***
"Sorry," she whispered. Though her hand throbbed from how hard he had grabbed it. "I don't know how to do it without the pain yet." Her fingertips traced his scar.
"Does it still hurt? There's a scar, but I think there's a potion that will get rid of it. You'd be able to find it easily, I'm sure, and brew it," there was a trace of respect in her voice when she said that. She liked smart people, and Severus was very intelligent. She admired that he could beat her out in Potions so easily.
***
Severus shook his head, no. It didn't hurt any longer, and he wasn't worrying about scarring in the least.
What he was worrying about was how Evans kept stroking the scar with cool fingertips, and the circumstance that he felt rather unsettled by the kind gesture.
"The Cicatr-ex Elixir, yes," he said quietly, before turning towards her and adding "Thanks, Evans," in a voice barely more than a whisper.
***
Lily smiled sweetly at him. Of course he'd already know the potion. "You're welcome." She pulled his shirt back up, over his shoulder.
"Are you going back to class? I can still make something up for you. And bring your stuff to you after. If you want, I mean." She blushed slightly for assuming he might want anything of the sort.
***
Severus glowered at her, which, considering he felt a tad flustered came across tame. He noticed the distinct blush on her face though and relaxed his facial expression into a half-smile. She had... remarkable eyes.
Then he took both her still bloody hands in one of his own and drew his wand, muttering, "Episkey." The blood vanished quickly.
"I'm going back to class, Evans. See you at nine?"
***
Lily nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there." Why did her hands kind of tingle where he held them? She glanced down, he was still holding them. She swallowed and looked back up at Severus.
He was actually kind of...no Lily, don't have those thoughts. He's just smart and you appreciate intelligence. A lot, she told herself.
***
Severus looked back at Evans. He was frozen in place and somehow his brain seemed to have lost its connection with his body.
Some part of him knew that he should get up and make a beeline back to the classroom, and that there was some potion he should be making that very moment. Apparently however, the part of his brain responsible for motor activity had just shut down.
Severus was completely unaware that he was still holding her hands, or that his other hand was very loosely wrapped around his wand as he gazed levelly into her eyes, his mind reeling.
***
He wasn't letting go, and that tingle from where he was holding her hands seemed to spread through the rest of her.
Lily pulled one of her hands from his and brushed some of Severus' hair away and off his face, but her eyes couldn't look anywhere but his. She couldn't explain why, or why the hand remaining in his turned and completely slid into his, why she laced their fingers together.
And Lily certainly couldn't explain why the hand that had brushed his hair out of the way was behind his neck. Or why it pulled his face to hers. Or why she then leaned in and kissed Severus very softly.
***
Severus outwardly remained completely still, though his eyes flew open wide as her lips brushed across his own, softer than anything he had imagined. Inwardly he felt as if a lot of small somethings had apparated into his stomach and started fluttering about.
"...umngh" he said. To say he was surprised was the understatement of the century. Severus couldn't believe this was actually happening, but apparently it was.
'...has to be too good to be true' his mind provided, but he didn't care as his lips became soft and parted of their own volition beneath Ev... Lily's.
***
TBC....
First things first - the confession: I hereby confess, that I indulged, sound of mind and in full possession of my capacities, in roleplaying Snape/Lily. I furthermore confess that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and still do. This results mainly from the fact that winter_noir is a player not unlike myself, who enjoys well-written RPG threads and does not, as most other players tend to do, leave it all to me.
Having said that, in the following you may or may not (if your aversion against het or that pairing in particular forbids you) read what we came up with. Consider it a given that I've never been allowed to play a thread like this, and that usually I get one-line (or insignificantly more elaborate) answers from my co-players, no matter how hard I try.
Severus is played by me, Lily and Sirius are played by winter_noir and Remus is played by... actually, I don't know. I'll fix it if I find out.
--------------------------------------
The Offset:
The lesson was dull as always, Slughorn droning on about the Confundus charm and Befuddlement Draughts while the Gryffindors were sporting expressions to various degrees of boredom (which Severus could understand) and the Slytherins were engaging in a wide range of under-the-desk activities (which Severus was currently doing as well).
He pulled out his wand from where it was tucked into his sleeve and tapped the scrap of parchment on his lap, shrinking and then banishing it into Evans' potions textbook where he knew she'd be looking due to the syllabus of the lesson.
--- Evans,
working on a new project. Improve D. S.. Nightmares can be a bitch, I'm told. Interested?
S. ---
Slughorn had now proceeded to explaining ingredients into far more detail than he could reasonably hope for the vast majority to actually memorise. Vast majority meaning everyone except him and maybe Evans.
Finally, at long last they were told to gather their ingredients and prepare their worktables, and Severus begrudgingly shut Advanced Potion-making with a low thud. As per usual, there was a little commotion as everyone tried to get the best ingredients for advantage, which was ridiculous (also as per usual) since most of them didn't even know what to look for.
"Watch it," Severus hissed as he glared and spun around when someone bumped into him from behind.
***
"Maybe if you weren't such an insignificant little grease spot, I'd notice you when I walked," Sirius sneered and looked down his nose at Snivelly.
***
Severus bristled, his hand flying towards his wand instantly. "Black," he spat at the offending idiot, baring his teeth. He noticed Slughorn's eyes on him, but snarled anyway, "you... you'll get that back!"
***
"Sure I will, Snivelly," Sirius said with a self-satisfied smirk. "What're you going to do, go crying to your housemates? Most of them are too terrified of Bella to touch me." He laughed at the mere thought of half of Slytherin trying something only for Bel to retaliate before he did.
***
Severus narrowed his eyes at the name. One day, he thought, one day even Bellatrix would notice what a hopeless moron her cousin was. One day she'd give up on her insane self-assigned mission to sway him.
Blood traitor.
Severus didn't say that out loud however.
"Need your cousin to protect you, do you?" he sneered back at Black. "Pathetic."
***
Sirius was grinning and he knew it would would annoy dear ole Snivvy. "Hardly. It's mere coincidence."
***
"Coincidence my arse," Severus hissed, incensed at Black's annoying self-assured grin. "You can't even go anywhere without your cronies!"
***
"Do you see them swarming me now?" Sirius' smirk seemed to be a permenant fixture on his face. "Really Snivy, haven't you learned by now? I don't need my cousin or my mates around. If I wanted to deal with you I would," his voice sounded mostly amused, but there was that lingering threat in it. "Lily seems to like you, and it's the only reason I haven't put you in hospital yet."
***
"So now you don't have them around you're putting her in front?" If Severus tried to narrow his eyes any further he'd have to close them. As it was, they were positively sparkling with contempt.
***
"She is scarier than you," he said lightly. Then his joking demeanor disappeared at once and he got very close to Severus. "Though if you'd like I could deal with you right now," his voice was low, almost a growl
***
"You. Wouldn't. Dare." Severus' voice had dropped to the same level as he suppressed a flinch with partial success. He did feel uneasy though, and hated himself for it, but not by far as much as he hated Black.
***
Sirius sneered disdainfully. "Gryffindor, I have plenty of daring." Sirius actually did growl this time, Padfoot wanted to rip Severus' leg off. "But I'm still a Black and if you want to start something I will be more than happy to finish it. Bella and I get along for a reason, you know," there was a very dangerous glint in Sirius' eyes. Was Bella more dangerous because she was a little insane, or was Sirius more dangerous because he would be fully aware of what he was doing?
***
Severus sniffed, wrinkling his nose in disgust, trying not to appear intimidated. His fingers were resting nervously against his wand handle concealed by the school robe.
"You..." he broke off, dismayed. "Gryffindors. All barks, no bites."
***
Sirius smiled sadistically. "Oh, I bite Severus. And I tend to draw blood when I do. You should ask Bel, she knows all about my bite." There was something rather suggestive in his tone, despite the all that promise of pain in it. "Would you like to find out for youself?"
***
Yeah, that he could imagine. Sure as hell. The little, brazen prat, how like him to brag about his perverted delusional fantasies.
"You know what," Severus hissed, his teeth bared in a rather impressive snarl, "Bite me!"
He realised what he'd said the moment it was out. Too late. Bugger.
***
A very disturbingly sadistic laugh fell from Sirius' lips. His eyes matched the sound and a moment later he did just as Severus said. He bit the other boy hard enough on his neck that he did, indeed, make him bleed, and in very little time as well.
Sirius straighted licking some trickling blood from his lip. He looked quite a bit like Bellatrix as he smirked, only he was clearly sane. Sirius leaned very close to Severus with that cat that caught the canary smile on his face and whispered harshly, "Some of us know how to abide requests. Maybe next time you should ask for foreplay."
***
Severus yelped as blunt teeth dug into his neck and his skin broke nearly at once.
Bloody perishing *hell*! Severus stood rooted to the spot, staring into Black's glittering eyes, unable to speak or even move, mouth dropped open gracelessly.
What in Salazar's name was Black thinking??! Yeah, right, he wasn't. Sorry, my mistake.
"You're sick!" There was no hiding his agitation anymore as his fingers curled tightly around his wand handle so as to not fly to his bleeding neck. "You're a sick twisted bastard, Black, and you'll pay for this!"
***
Sirius smirked as his thumb wiped across his lower lip to make sure there was no more blood there. "Told you Bel and I got along for a reason." Once again that disturbing laugh dropped from his mouth. "I'd watch what threats you make there, wouldn't you?"
***
Severus backed away and then spun, nearly knocking a glass vial over in the process. There was a wet patch at his shirt collar that slowly grew.
Fuck. Biting his lip, Severus started gathering his ingredients, but his fingers were trembling with rage and so he slipped twice before he could grab a handful of scurvy-grass.
Abide requests, Severus thought, his hatred of Black blazing to new heights. He could make him abide his each and every request without second thought, goddammit! There was a *word* for that kind of thing, a simple, beautiful word.
Severus, at that moment, was sure he could pull it off. What was a human target in comparison to mice and flies? A question of graduality, not principle, and Severus knew all about the principle.
He stopped short in his tracks and fetched his knife from the shelf. It glittered.
***
Lily laid a light hand on Severus' back as she approached him. Sirius looked far too much like his family when she had passed him. Her friend was on his way back to his table and so she went to see if Severus was the reason for his smugness. "Sev, you're bleeding," she said quietly.
***
Severus tensed as he felt a touch to the small of his back. Oh, great. Now James Potter, neck-to-neck competitor with Sirius Black for the title of Gryffindor's most appallingly stupid idiot had decided to add -- what was the saying -- insult to injury. With some relief, however, Severus realised that the hand belonged to Evans, not Potter.
Which wasn't really all that much comfort, since he'd very much have liked to be left well alone. But then he *did* have an open wound on his neck at the moment and was bleeding profusely into his shirt which the black robe completely failed to cover, judging by Evans' worried tone.
At least it was *worried*, not pitiful. Severus thought, if anyone was going to offer him *pity* (his mental rendition of it made it sound vile), he might have to throw up. Speaking of which, he actually did feel slightly nauseous and an unhealthy shade of green graced his habitually pale face as he turned towards Evans with a vaguely disgruntled expression.
He made to cover the marks on his neck that undoubtedly bore a more than passing resemblance of human teeth and mumbled something under his breath, unsure whether she hadn't already seen it.
***
"What happened, Severus?" she said just above a whisper. She hadn't really seen the bite because it was bleeding enough that she didn't bother to inspect the wound. "Want to go to the hospital wing and I'll make your excuses to Slughorn for your disappearance?" Why on earth was he bleeding that much?
***
Oh... what the hell was he supposed to answer to that? "I..." Damn. "I sort of... slipped. With the knife."
Certainly. Congratulations, Severus, he thought, now you've made yourself the first Slytherin in history unable to tell a believable lie. The blood was now trickling slowly down his back and Severus subconsciously leaned onto Evans for some support. His nerves were going haywire, he still couldn't believe this had actually happened.
Suddenly all he wanted was to get the hell out of here. Just anywhere where he wouldn't have to sit and concentrate and be watched by Potter all the while... but he didn't want to go to the hospital wing. If anything, the fuss Pomfrey would make would make him only feel worse. Weak.
***
Lily wrapped her arm around Severus when he leaned on you. "Come on, Severus, you're not staying here." She pulled him out the door into the corridor. "Will you let me take you to Pomfrey? Or at least let me fix it for you?"
***
"Could you...?" he asked, hoping that she would get the point. No force of nature was going to get him into the hospital wing, and much less some insignificant prat like Black. No, sir.
He was aware of many eyes resting on them, but he couldn't make himself shrug Evans' arm off.
***
"Of course, Sev." She brought him over to a bench in the hall and sat him down. Her eyes were only filled with concern and she was sure when she found out what it is Sirius did she was going to kill him.
"You have to take your hand away, Sev," she said gently. Lily shrugged off her robes and ripped off the sleeve of her shirt so she could soak up some of the blood when he moved his hand.
***
Severus only shrugged and let his hand fall to the bench like a dead weight somehow attached to the rest of his body. Not that she'd have believed him in the first place. Slipped with the knife? The bloody *knife*?? Even a Quidditch injury was more likely than that, and yes, he was perfectly aware that he wasn't even playing.
"Do you..." he trailed off awkwardly. "Do you, um, need me to remove the shirt there?"
***
Lily gently pressed her torn off sleeve to the wound as she visually inspected him before nodding. "It would help, if you don't mind. If you mind I can just try to work around it."
He was so obviously uncomfortable and Lily didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable. She hadn't even looked closely at the wound yet, but she knew there'd be no knife wound under her hand. She didn't plan on commenting on the wound, no matter what it is.
***
"Try that, then," Severus answered curtly, not at all inclined to get himself into any state of undress. Seeing that she was currently the only one between him and the hospital wing, he added, "er, please."
Severus winced when she pressed the cloth... why on earth had she ruined her school uniform, btw?... onto the wound. It was no good, though. The shirt clung to his shoulder and back like a barnacle and finally Severus opened the topmost buttons of it, his fingers moving jerkily once again, and pulled it off his shoulder.
Taking anything off was, after all, not necessary.
***
"Thank you," she said as she nodded to his now exposed shoulder. After the cloth was nearly soaked through she removed it from his neck to see a...bite mark? An actual, human bite mark? Sirius Black bit him?! She kept her fury off her face.
Lily reached into her pocket for her wand and muttered a charm to slow the bleeding to a stop. "Tell me if I hurt you," she said, looking into his eyes before her eyes went back to his neck. Her fingertips ghosted over the wound, trying to determine just how deep it was. The touch was feather-light as she explored and examined the bite. His blood was on her fingers, but it didn't bother her.
***
Severus gritted his teeth saying nothing, since any attempt at down-playing would come out pathetically... pathetic, for lack of a more fitting desciption.
He was grateful that she didn't comment on the mark, being not as delusional as to believe she hadn't recognised it for what it was the moment she'd layed eyes on it. He did feel her tense up for a brief moment before she charmed it to stop bleeding, the magic tingling slightly and making him a bit queasy once more.
Looking at his hands he muttered, "I think it's going to be okay now...," knowing full well that it was probably infected and would therefore be anything but.
***
"Oh, shhh, Severus. I don't intend on leaving you with an open wound! That would be wretched of me to do." Her fingertips continued to ghost over the wound. "I'm not going to tell anyone, you know that, right?"
She muttered a disinfecting charm for good measure, unsure if anything had gotten into the wound yet. She peered closely at the bite mark, her fingers applying just a little bit of pressure to pull the edges apart so she could see how deep it went.
***
Severus nodded and hissed when she pulled at the spot. Damn, that *hurt*!
"What was that for, Evans?" he asked, frowning and trying to look intimidating.
***
Lily kissed his cheek to make amends. "Sorry, Sev, needed to see how deep it was." She laid a soft kiss on the wound to soothe it a little. She continued her exploration, but it was soley visual, resting her hand on his shoulder instead.
"Okay, this might hurt a little," her eyes back on his. "You can squeeze my hand if you want." It wasn't that she didn't think he was manly enough to take the pain, just that pain still hurt.
***
"Huh?" was all Severus brought out. What on earth? His shoulder burned where she had kissed it, but he decided that was because of the bite. The fact that his cheek burned as well, and without there being a bite, was conveniently ignored.
As was the realisation that his capacity of coherent speech had apparently just gone down the drain.
***
"Pain. It hurts. Take my hand if you want." She held her hand out to him in case he did want to take it. She waved her wand and muttered a healing spell. She watched the skin knit itself together again.
There was a faint scar, but it was the best she knew how to do.
***
'Yikes!' Severus thought as suddenly pain shot through his shoulder and neck and in a moment of acting on mere instinct he grabbed something to squeeze tightly. His flesh seemed to worm its way back together in agonising slow motion, and Severus ground his teeth together.
A moment later, it stopped altogether, and he noticed he was clinging to Evans' hand which she had offered him before. Severus suppressed an indignant squeak, barely, and let go of her hand at once, utterly mortified, and... blushing.
***
"Sorry," she whispered. Though her hand throbbed from how hard he had grabbed it. "I don't know how to do it without the pain yet." Her fingertips traced his scar.
"Does it still hurt? There's a scar, but I think there's a potion that will get rid of it. You'd be able to find it easily, I'm sure, and brew it," there was a trace of respect in her voice when she said that. She liked smart people, and Severus was very intelligent. She admired that he could beat her out in Potions so easily.
***
Severus shook his head, no. It didn't hurt any longer, and he wasn't worrying about scarring in the least.
What he was worrying about was how Evans kept stroking the scar with cool fingertips, and the circumstance that he felt rather unsettled by the kind gesture.
"The Cicatr-ex Elixir, yes," he said quietly, before turning towards her and adding "Thanks, Evans," in a voice barely more than a whisper.
***
Lily smiled sweetly at him. Of course he'd already know the potion. "You're welcome." She pulled his shirt back up, over his shoulder.
"Are you going back to class? I can still make something up for you. And bring your stuff to you after. If you want, I mean." She blushed slightly for assuming he might want anything of the sort.
***
Severus glowered at her, which, considering he felt a tad flustered came across tame. He noticed the distinct blush on her face though and relaxed his facial expression into a half-smile. She had... remarkable eyes.
Then he took both her still bloody hands in one of his own and drew his wand, muttering, "Episkey." The blood vanished quickly.
"I'm going back to class, Evans. See you at nine?"
***
Lily nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there." Why did her hands kind of tingle where he held them? She glanced down, he was still holding them. She swallowed and looked back up at Severus.
He was actually kind of...no Lily, don't have those thoughts. He's just smart and you appreciate intelligence. A lot, she told herself.
***
Severus looked back at Evans. He was frozen in place and somehow his brain seemed to have lost its connection with his body.
Some part of him knew that he should get up and make a beeline back to the classroom, and that there was some potion he should be making that very moment. Apparently however, the part of his brain responsible for motor activity had just shut down.
Severus was completely unaware that he was still holding her hands, or that his other hand was very loosely wrapped around his wand as he gazed levelly into her eyes, his mind reeling.
***
He wasn't letting go, and that tingle from where he was holding her hands seemed to spread through the rest of her.
Lily pulled one of her hands from his and brushed some of Severus' hair away and off his face, but her eyes couldn't look anywhere but his. She couldn't explain why, or why the hand remaining in his turned and completely slid into his, why she laced their fingers together.
And Lily certainly couldn't explain why the hand that had brushed his hair out of the way was behind his neck. Or why it pulled his face to hers. Or why she then leaned in and kissed Severus very softly.
***
Severus outwardly remained completely still, though his eyes flew open wide as her lips brushed across his own, softer than anything he had imagined. Inwardly he felt as if a lot of small somethings had apparated into his stomach and started fluttering about.
"...umngh" he said. To say he was surprised was the understatement of the century. Severus couldn't believe this was actually happening, but apparently it was.
'...has to be too good to be true' his mind provided, but he didn't care as his lips became soft and parted of their own volition beneath Ev... Lily's.
***
TBC....