Severus wished he knew where the Head Students’ chambers were. It would make it so much easier to find Potter alone there. He really didn’t want an audience for what he was about to do. Talking to the Head Boy wasn’t high on his list of things he wanted to do, but then again, he didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for Lily if the three of them were ever in a room together.

So, he was wandering about upper floors of the castle, hoping he’d just happen to bump into the lanky jokster, and that none of the teachers would catch him and tell him to go back to his tower. It wasn’t curfew yet, but it was still pretty late.

He rather liked prowling the school in the evening, when he wasn’t in a hurry. It was a spooky, mysterious place, and the students usually kept to a few areas, so he could explore without interruption most of the time. There was so much to see and so much to learn. Severus sometimes wished he didn’t have to graduate. He’d love nothing better than to stay at the school and seek out its mysteries for the rest of his life—provided Lily was with him.

Suddenly, he heard voices coming from around a corner.

“When do you think I should tell her you three already know where it is?”

“I don’t think you should. Not like we’ll be going there to spy on you two or anything.”

Managed to run into Potter after all, Severus thought. Unfortunately, his friends are with him. He stepped into a dark side corridor and tried to hide in the darkness.

“We found it ages ago, Prongs,” Black was saying. You didn’t tell us. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yeah, but she should have the right to know,” Lupin reasoned. “It’s her place too, after all.”

Pettigrew piped in. “Plus, maybe she’d let us visit sometimes!”

“But maybe she’d feel it necessary to invite certain other people too, Wormtail.” Black snarled. “That slime Snape—“

“He’s not so bad, Padfoot,” Potter interrupted.

Always the follower, Pettigrew cried. “We should keep it a secret! What if she asked how we found it?”

“That’s true,” Lupin said thoughtfully. “What would you tell her?”

“I don’t know,” Potter admitted. “But I still think I should tell her.”

Severus finally stepped out from the shadows. “I agree.” He was not happy they knew where Lily lived when he didn’t. He was also wondering what it was Potter and his friends wanted to keep secret.

Black folded his arms and glared at the Slytherin intruder. “Spying again, eh? Isn’t that what got you in trouble the last time?”

“I was right, wasn’t I?” He looked pointedly at Lupin, and back at the arrogant ringleader. “He’s a menace, and so are you.”

“Why you—“ It was all Potter and Lupin could do to hold the lean Gryffindor back. The look in Black’s eyes were positively murderous. “I’ll teach you for insulting my friend!”

Lupin held tight as he hung his head. “I’m sorry about that, Severus. If I had known—“

“It wasn’t your fault, Moony. It was ours.” Potter pushed Black behind him. “Look, Severus we made a mistake, and we’re sorry.” He looked back at his still-angry friend, then back to the Slytherin. “Get over it. No harm was done.”

Severus didn’t have anything to say to that. He was not about to forgive Black. That hairy git had had it in for him since day one, for no reason then they seemed to rub each other the wrong way. Black always seemed to be laughing at him, or insulting him, and Severus did not have to take it. He merely narrowed his eyes at his fuming classmate.

Pettigrew, obviously wanting to be a part of the conversation somehow, thrust himself into Severus’ face and sneered, “Is there anything else we can help you with?”

“No,” Severus growled. “I wanted to talk to Potter.”

A curious eyebrow raised, Potter glanced at his friends and nodded. “I’ll see you guys later, all right?”

The three nodded. “Fine,” Lupin consented, one hand still on one of Black’s arms. “Let’s go.”

When they were safely out of sight, Potter shook his head and sighed. Then he looked up and asked, “What is it?”

Well, now Severus really didn’t feel in the mood to apologize. He was just a little peeved at the man for telling him to “Get over it.” But he wasn’t so unreasonable to realize that was exactly what he had to do. He just wished that Black would get over it, too.

“I wanted to thank you for saving Lily’s life.”

“Oh.” Potter seemed surprised. Severus could believe it, after the way he had yelled at the Head Boy the day before. “Well, I’m glad I did. She’s a cool girl.”

The smooth-haired boy almost smiled. “Yes, she is. Make sure you don’t have to save her again.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

Potter looked after Severus in bewilderment. “Okay,” he said softly. He didn’t want to find out what would happen if he did.

----------

Except for classes and Quidditch practices, Lily felt like she never got to see anyone. Having a common room for two people was peaceful, true, but really boring. She missed the other Ravenclaws laughter as she tried to concentrate on homework. There was nothing to drive her out and go find someplace. James was never around. He was always out until late at night with his friends, and she didn’t see him in the mornings because he slept in.

She couldn’t wait for Saturday to come. She and Severus were going to spend the whole day together. Sure they were planning to spend most of it doing homework, but it always turned out to be fun. Lily smiled as she remembered the time Severus had re-enacted the Goblin Rebellion. He certainly wasn’t shy around her.

Who is it he has a crush on? It could be anyone, I guess. Lily tried to picture Severus with some of the girls in her class. She giggled as she thought of Severus clocking Frank Longbottom to claim Lizzie as his own. But then, every boy in school seemed to like Lizzie. It was too obvious. Plus, Severus had never been comfortable around the out-going blonde.

She wished she knew the girls in Slytherin better. But they all seemed so cold and unfriendly. She could not imagine her sensitive Severus with someone who had no sense of humor or love of life. Unless he felt comfortable he could not open up. That was something she had learned a long time ago. But when he did open up, he was the sweetest, kindest man she knew. The girl he loves better know how lucky he is, she thought. Or she’ll have to answer to me.

Lily didn’t realize how late it was getting until she heard James yell out their password. “Two a.m.?!” she groaned. Suddenly, she felt very tired. It had been a long week. Only one day to go, she reminded herself, standing up to go to bed.

“Oh, hey Lily. Can I talk to you a second?”

The red head yawned, but said, “Sure. Go.”

James nodded. “I’ll make it quick. It’s just—we never talked about, like having visitors or telling anyone where we live or anything.”

“I was just wondering about that,” Lily agreed.

“Well, the thing is,” James looked a little sheepish. “My friends and I have known about this place for about two years.”

The girl’s eyes popped open. “Really? How?”

“That’s not important.” The wild-haired boy was shuffling his feet uncomfortably. “I just thought you should know they knew.”

“Okay.” Lily flashed a quick smile. “So do you think we should have visitors?”

James tilted his head and scrunched his face for a minute. “Well, I kinda like the privacy and quiet. If you haven’t noticed I like to sleep in—“ Lily smiled again. “But, if you want you could tell some of your friends where it is.”

“Just not invite them over for parties?” The Head Boy shrugged. “That’s probably not a bad idea, considering my friends might not get along with your friends…” She caught James’ expression and said, “What? What does he have against you?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Lily shook her head. “Let’s just say we played a joke on him and he didn’t take it very well.”

She could tell her roommate was keeping something important from her. She was really, really curious, but wasn’t really one to pry. “Must have been some joke,” the petite runner murmured. Louder she said, “If you say so. Is there anything else?” She stifled another yawn.

But James noticed and said, “Nope. Go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, night.” Lily made her way through the bronze and blue bedroom to the connected washroom to wash her face. Why does Sev hate them so much? They’re really fun boys. She shook her head. He seemed to have a lot of secrets from her lately. First the crush and now the Gryffindor Pack. He’ll tell me when he’s ready. He always does.

Dead tired, Lily walked over to the four-poster bed and collapsed on it without even bothering to change her clothes.