100quills ficlets.
Title: A Slap in the Face
Rating: G
Prompt Set: 100.1
Prompt: 088 Stupidity
Word Count: 874
Summary: An encounter with James causes Lily to reflect on her decisions.
Warnings: This does have to do with Severus, though he is not a main character in this particular short.
Disclaimer: This is JK’s world, I merely play in it.
“Whose book is this, Lily?” James perched on the arm of the scarlet sofa, an eyebrow raised over the frame of his glasses. In his hands was an old, tattered book entitled Advanced Potions Making.
Lily, who had been studying intently before his interruption, stared open-mouthed at the book in question. It was Severus’s. When James had asked to borrow a book in order to check over his notes, she’d agreed, not giving any forethought as to which book he might be needing. She had completely forgotten that she and Severus had accidentally switched books during their last Potions lesson.
“Oh, that?” she replied dismissively. “I accidentally switched my book with one of Professor Slughorn’s spares.” She briefly wondered if she should be worried that lying came so easily to her.
“Is that right?” James wondered. “Hm. Well, you can barely read the bloody thing. It’s covered in spells.” He paused, giving her a significant look. “Dark spells.”
Awkwardly resigning to the conversation, Lily put down her quill and turned towards James. She nearly blushed at his implication, but managed to shrug a shoulder in an attempt to appear casual. “I haven’t really looked at it, except to notice that it wasn’t mine,” she said. “Besides, how do you know that the spells are dark?” Of course the spells were dark, she realized. This was Severus’s book they were talking about.
“The Latin roots,” James replied bluntly. “I didn’t do any heavy reading, mind you. Could barely make out the handwriting.” He held the book out to her, and she grabbed it tentatively, mentally cursing James for choosing that particular book of all the books in her bag.
“Lily.” James didn’t release the book from his grasp, and for a moment she was tugging at it futilely.
“What is it, James?”
“You should be careful with a book like this.”
She blinked at him. “I told you, it isn’t mine.”
“Yes,” James said gruffly, “well, I doubt the owner of this book is a caring and understanding wizard.”
“Or witch,” retorted Lily, a little too quickly.
“Wizard,” James repeated. He removed himself from his position on the arm of the sofa and stretched out, giving her a look. “I’m not stupid, Lily, and neither are you.”
“James…” She let her voice drift off, unsure of what she could possibly say to rectify the current situation.
“You shouldn’t be talking to him,” he said. “I wish you wouldn’t talk to him.”
A spark of indignity caused the blood to burn in her cheeks. “Don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped. “I can take care of myself.”
“And there are other sorts of people who’d be willing to take care of you, too,” James said. It was obvious he didn’t mean ‘take care of’ in a matronly or loving way, either.
“He’s not like that,” she protested.
“And do you really think you know what he’s like?” James laughed bitterly. “He’s a product of his environment. If you think your presence is going to change him, you’re stupid.”
James words stung Lily like a slap in the face. She frowned, dropping her gaze from his so that she could gather her things. As much as she loathed admitting it, James was right. She didn’t exactly think that she could change Severus, but she did sometimes hope it was possible. He seemed so much different when it was just the two of them-softer, more relaxed. But James was right, when other Slytherins-and people in general, really--were present, his countenance resumed its brooding normalcy.
She cleared her throat, feeling that she should make her intentions clear. “He’s not some sort of project, you know. He’s-“ she hesitated, not wanting to verbalize the words ‘a friend’.
“He can’t keep you safe,” she heard James say. His voice was further away; he obviously was not keen on standing around and discussing the finer points of Severus Snape.
She heard the sound of the Fat Lady’s portrait swinging open and then slamming shut, and stared at the book in her hands, feeling embarrassed and harassed and strangely useless. It was the first time that James had ever really approached her in an adult way, and although she detested the fact that it was to scold her, a grim realization at the validity in what he’d said was slowly settling in.
Perhaps she was being stupid, she thought. She was stupid for allowing James to go in her bag, stupid for thinking her relationship with Severus was a secret, and stupid for assuming that their extraordinary lives would someday be ordinary and boring. Perhaps Severus was also acting stupidly. She supposed he was stupid for allowing himself to become recklessly close to a Muggle-born Gryffindor, at the very least. And James, well, he was always stupid, of course, but the fact that he got her thinking about everything was strange.
Pulling Severus’s Potions book to her chest, she grabbed her bag and rose to her feet, planning to follow James out the door. There wasn’t anything more she had to say to James, but the Common Room suddenly felt very stifling. She would give Severus back his book, too, if she happened to encounter him.
She wasn’t sure that she wanted to.
Title: Sweet Dreams
Rating: R
Prompt Set: 100.1
Prompt: 046 Passing
Word Count: 272
Summary: Severus spends his nights alone and lets his mind run wild...ish.
Warnings: Rated for sexual content...more than I've ever written--and it's only 272 words. *dies*
Disclaimer: This is JK’s world, I merely play in it.
It was the looks that she gave him in passing that made him yearn for her at night, especially on days when they didn’t have an opportunity to meet.
They were merely brief images, moments in time that fuelled his desire and caused him to moan her name into the feathery recesses of his pillow. He’d stroke himself and picture the subtle curl at the corner of her lips, her downcast eyes, the knowing glances they exchanged that were private and meaningful. He’d remember the torchlight reflecting golden in her hair and pictured it, fanned out and falling in curled tendrils over the edge of his pillow. His deft fingers worked steadily as he imagined it was her skin, and not the cotton of his pillowcase, that was cool to the touch and slowly warming from his contact. He’d be overwhelmed by a heat so intense that it caused him to take the pillowcase into his teeth and gently push his tongue against it to stifle his cry, all the while imagining that it was her, and picturing the pink welts that he would leave on her fair skin.
And when he was finished, senses acutely alert and skin prickling with satisfaction, he would imagine her smile, or the dimple in her cheek when she laughed. Her vibrant voice echoed in his mind and lulled him to sleep, encouraging him to rest against his pillow that was simply a pillow again. But on those nights of unrequited lust--lust that stemmed from days that he passed her with merely an acknowledgement--it would once again be receptacle for dozens of muffled Lily’s.
Rating: G
Prompt Set: 100.1
Prompt: 088 Stupidity
Word Count: 874
Summary: An encounter with James causes Lily to reflect on her decisions.
Warnings: This does have to do with Severus, though he is not a main character in this particular short.
Disclaimer: This is JK’s world, I merely play in it.
“Whose book is this, Lily?” James perched on the arm of the scarlet sofa, an eyebrow raised over the frame of his glasses. In his hands was an old, tattered book entitled Advanced Potions Making.
Lily, who had been studying intently before his interruption, stared open-mouthed at the book in question. It was Severus’s. When James had asked to borrow a book in order to check over his notes, she’d agreed, not giving any forethought as to which book he might be needing. She had completely forgotten that she and Severus had accidentally switched books during their last Potions lesson.
“Oh, that?” she replied dismissively. “I accidentally switched my book with one of Professor Slughorn’s spares.” She briefly wondered if she should be worried that lying came so easily to her.
“Is that right?” James wondered. “Hm. Well, you can barely read the bloody thing. It’s covered in spells.” He paused, giving her a significant look. “Dark spells.”
Awkwardly resigning to the conversation, Lily put down her quill and turned towards James. She nearly blushed at his implication, but managed to shrug a shoulder in an attempt to appear casual. “I haven’t really looked at it, except to notice that it wasn’t mine,” she said. “Besides, how do you know that the spells are dark?” Of course the spells were dark, she realized. This was Severus’s book they were talking about.
“The Latin roots,” James replied bluntly. “I didn’t do any heavy reading, mind you. Could barely make out the handwriting.” He held the book out to her, and she grabbed it tentatively, mentally cursing James for choosing that particular book of all the books in her bag.
“Lily.” James didn’t release the book from his grasp, and for a moment she was tugging at it futilely.
“What is it, James?”
“You should be careful with a book like this.”
She blinked at him. “I told you, it isn’t mine.”
“Yes,” James said gruffly, “well, I doubt the owner of this book is a caring and understanding wizard.”
“Or witch,” retorted Lily, a little too quickly.
“Wizard,” James repeated. He removed himself from his position on the arm of the sofa and stretched out, giving her a look. “I’m not stupid, Lily, and neither are you.”
“James…” She let her voice drift off, unsure of what she could possibly say to rectify the current situation.
“You shouldn’t be talking to him,” he said. “I wish you wouldn’t talk to him.”
A spark of indignity caused the blood to burn in her cheeks. “Don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped. “I can take care of myself.”
“And there are other sorts of people who’d be willing to take care of you, too,” James said. It was obvious he didn’t mean ‘take care of’ in a matronly or loving way, either.
“He’s not like that,” she protested.
“And do you really think you know what he’s like?” James laughed bitterly. “He’s a product of his environment. If you think your presence is going to change him, you’re stupid.”
James words stung Lily like a slap in the face. She frowned, dropping her gaze from his so that she could gather her things. As much as she loathed admitting it, James was right. She didn’t exactly think that she could change Severus, but she did sometimes hope it was possible. He seemed so much different when it was just the two of them-softer, more relaxed. But James was right, when other Slytherins-and people in general, really--were present, his countenance resumed its brooding normalcy.
She cleared her throat, feeling that she should make her intentions clear. “He’s not some sort of project, you know. He’s-“ she hesitated, not wanting to verbalize the words ‘a friend’.
“He can’t keep you safe,” she heard James say. His voice was further away; he obviously was not keen on standing around and discussing the finer points of Severus Snape.
She heard the sound of the Fat Lady’s portrait swinging open and then slamming shut, and stared at the book in her hands, feeling embarrassed and harassed and strangely useless. It was the first time that James had ever really approached her in an adult way, and although she detested the fact that it was to scold her, a grim realization at the validity in what he’d said was slowly settling in.
Perhaps she was being stupid, she thought. She was stupid for allowing James to go in her bag, stupid for thinking her relationship with Severus was a secret, and stupid for assuming that their extraordinary lives would someday be ordinary and boring. Perhaps Severus was also acting stupidly. She supposed he was stupid for allowing himself to become recklessly close to a Muggle-born Gryffindor, at the very least. And James, well, he was always stupid, of course, but the fact that he got her thinking about everything was strange.
Pulling Severus’s Potions book to her chest, she grabbed her bag and rose to her feet, planning to follow James out the door. There wasn’t anything more she had to say to James, but the Common Room suddenly felt very stifling. She would give Severus back his book, too, if she happened to encounter him.
She wasn’t sure that she wanted to.
Title: Sweet Dreams
Rating: R
Prompt Set: 100.1
Prompt: 046 Passing
Word Count: 272
Summary: Severus spends his nights alone and lets his mind run wild...ish.
Warnings: Rated for sexual content...more than I've ever written--and it's only 272 words. *dies*
Disclaimer: This is JK’s world, I merely play in it.
It was the looks that she gave him in passing that made him yearn for her at night, especially on days when they didn’t have an opportunity to meet.
They were merely brief images, moments in time that fuelled his desire and caused him to moan her name into the feathery recesses of his pillow. He’d stroke himself and picture the subtle curl at the corner of her lips, her downcast eyes, the knowing glances they exchanged that were private and meaningful. He’d remember the torchlight reflecting golden in her hair and pictured it, fanned out and falling in curled tendrils over the edge of his pillow. His deft fingers worked steadily as he imagined it was her skin, and not the cotton of his pillowcase, that was cool to the touch and slowly warming from his contact. He’d be overwhelmed by a heat so intense that it caused him to take the pillowcase into his teeth and gently push his tongue against it to stifle his cry, all the while imagining that it was her, and picturing the pink welts that he would leave on her fair skin.
And when he was finished, senses acutely alert and skin prickling with satisfaction, he would imagine her smile, or the dimple in her cheek when she laughed. Her vibrant voice echoed in his mind and lulled him to sleep, encouraging him to rest against his pillow that was simply a pillow again. But on those nights of unrequited lust--lust that stemmed from days that he passed her with merely an acknowledgement--it would once again be receptacle for dozens of muffled Lily’s.