Round Robin: The Post-Grad Prince: Part 2 ***COMPLETE***
"Maybe that was my failure in fifth year!" Lily thundered back at the red-faced Potter, and Severus' eyes flicked in her direction for a second. "Instead of listening to you and your Gryffindor fan club, I should have just listened to my best friend!"
"We were only trying to help you!" Spit flew from Potter's mouth as he shouted the words.
"Help me?" Severus noticed that Lily's voice had suddenly gone quiet. "You thought it would help me if you made me abandon my best friend? Instead of leaving him alone, as I asked you several times, you tortured him and tried to force me to go out with you under the pretext that he would be safe afterwards..."
It was hard to concentrate on Black when he could almost feel Lily's magic in the air.
"If you wanted to help me, you would have tried to understand why Severus and I are best friends. You would have even tried to become his friend!"
Severus noticed that even Black's attention was more on Lily than on him, but the boy remained silent.
"You couldn't see this, could you?" Severus felt Lily's hand slip into his and took hold of it. "You couldn't stand the thought of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin being best friends, of them maybe ending up together... No, that just wasn't acceptable to you, that's why you wanted me, just so Severus wouldn't have me."
He could feel her squeeze his hand at that moment.
"I paid for all the times we out," Potter said to her in reminder. "I was there for when Petunia argued with you, when you lost your parents--"
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Lily screamed. "You're not using my family to get me back!"
Severus watched as Potter blanched, but the anger in his eyes hadn't gone away; it almost seemed like he was outraged by Lily's outrage. He glanced back at Black, who too was eyeing Potter, and then at Pettigrew, who had moved far enough away from the confrontation that he seemed unaffiliated.
"Don't you ever accuse me of being manipulative," Potter said in a disturbingly calm, low voice. "We're leaving together, and we'll continue this conversation--"
"No," Lily said. "We're done. I'm breaking up with--"
"We are not breaking up." Potter's voice was firm. "You are not leaving."
"... your friend knows how to treat his girlfriend, Black," Severus said sarcastically to the taller man. "Did you teach him, or is that all instinct?"
Black had just opened his mouth to reply when the other boy was heard.
"Shut up, Snivellus!" The bespectacled man snapped at him. "At least my instincts got me the girl you always wanted! And it kept me out of the friend zone you were in even before we started Hogwarts!"
"Friend zone?" Severus asked, his eyes darting to Lily for a second before returning to Potter.
"Yes! You've never been more than a friend, Snivellus, because you don't have the balls to be more!" A grin appeared on Black's lips, the boy clearly proud of the retort he had come up with before Potter.
"Yeah... Unlike me, you don't have what it needs to get what you want." Potter took a step towards him, his attention focused on him. "And soon I'm going to get... To take something very special."
"You know what he means, don't you?" Black asked in a cheerful tone.
"I'm not so sure Padfoot..." Potter said with an ugly grin.
Part of Severus was happy that he had been able to draw Potter's attention away from Lily, but another part was simply confused by the other man's words and so he raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lily.
"He doesn't know, does he?" He asked in his deep voice.
"Know about what?!" Potter turned to glare at Severus before looking back at Lily. "What's he talking about?!"
"James--"
"Lily," Potter cut in, "what is he talking about?"
Severus caught a glimpse of Black's face, seeing that whatever gears were inside that twisted head were turning. An uncomfortable silence passed between the four of them, until Potter decided to break it.
"I won't ask you again," Potter said in a low voice.
For a moment Severus considered speaking up, but then Lily seemed to have found her voice again.
"Severus wasn't in the -" She stopped and Severus could feel her eyes on him even before he looked back at her, black eyes looking into green eyes.
"You should tell him." Was all he said quietly, leaving her to make the final decision while his eyes remained fixed on her.
"Tell me what?!" It was Potter again who broke the silence, but apparently seconds had been enough for Severus to make up his mind.
"Severus was never in the friend zone." Lily said as soon as she had looked away and Severus focused on Black again. "And I know for certain he's not a virgin."
A smirk threatened to break out on Severus' lips, but then Lily's next words followed.
"That's why it hurt so much in fifth year."
Severus didn't have time to process the words that left Lily's mouth; Potter's fist to his nose interrupted him. Severus felt himself hit the ground, wand still in hand, as Potter followed, the two of them too close for any wandwork to be done.
"JAMES, STOP!" Lily screamed.
"YOU SLIMY BASTARD!" Potter roared.
Severus drew his wand to his side as the second blow connected with his eye, but before Potter could land a third blow, Severus managed to weave a charm to knock him away. Potter flew back and landed on his own back, rolling before getting back up and drawing his wand.
"PRONGS, STOP!" Black grabbed Potter as the latter was about to raise his wand.
Severus was still on the ground, his eyes closed as the blood rushed through his veins, fuelled by the adrenaline that the blow from his school nemesis had unleashed within him.
"Sev!" He heard Lily's voice and felt someone fall to the ground beside him.
"Sev! Are you all right? Say something!"
It wasn't the desperation in Lily's voice that made him open his eyes and look into hers. It was the wet feeling on his cheek as a tear from her fell on it.
"I'm fine." He whispered and reached up to tuck a strand of her red hair behind one of her ears before letting his thumb run a gentle hand over her cheek. "I just needed a moment to calm down before I did something stupid."
"Let me check if it's broken." Lily reached out and cupped Severus's face in her hands and pressed her thumbs against the bridge of his nose.
"Fuck," Severus hissed. "Stop, it's broken!"
"Sorry!"
Severus looked with his good eye and saw that a number of witches and wizards had formed a small crowd around the four (five, technically), and he sat up slowly. "I think we ought to leave."
"Don't think I'm going to let you get away now, Snivellus!" Potter could be heard shouting from the other side.
"Stop! Prongs! People are here!" Black could be heard arguing with his best mate.
"I don't care, Padfoot! I'm not letting that slimy bastard get away with my girl!"
Severus felt Lily grab his hand before the world began to spin around them and it felt like they were being squeezed through a tube.
(new chapter)
It took a moment for Severus to orient himself once he and Lily arrived at whatever destination the latter had brought them, and, with the blows he'd taken from Potter, his mind was too unprepared to not feel the side-effects common for beginners. His stomach heaved, and he turned over onto all fours and heaved, struggling to fight the nausea.
"Breathe," Lily said, rubbing his back as she held out a tissue.
Severus took the tissue and held it up to his nostrils, letting it absorb the blood, while he regained his composure. Having readjusted, he lifted his head and looked to see where they were.
