• • somehow, i can't f o r g e t you. {severus!}, tag; lily 'n sev.

[Lily Evans]

The library was close to empty, as usual, save for group of seventh years who looked to be studying for NEWTs, even though they were ages away. It was unbelieveably nice out, too, clouds floating lazily across the bright sky, the sun being borderline hot but being lessened by a little breeze. The perfect Sunday weather. Still, Lily'd much rather be here than outside. One, she really had to get a start on Slughorn's essay soon, and two, she was meeting Severus in the library. Though, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty when he said he'd already started, because he made it sound like he was almost done, and was only coming because she'd asked. Which, didn't make much sense, but she felt a little guilty, all the same. She hadn't seen him in ages, though, what with the start-of-the-year schoolwork the teachers had been dumping on the students to get them back in school mode, not to mention prefect patrols and such.

The redhead made her way over to her favorite table by the window between the Charms and Potions reference section. Sev would know where to find her; they'd met here dozens of times under the excuse of homework, though normally it was more talking than anything. She could multi-task fairly well, though, so she'd hopefully walk out later with a completed essay. She set her thick Potions textbook down on the table, sitting in one of the two chairs pulled up, and flipping it open to the proper spot, 'The Many Properties of Bezoars'. Slipping out a quill, she started to read, copying down a sentence or two on occasion. Might as well get started until Sev came. The only sounds in their little nook was the scratching of her quill, and a flip of a page every few minutes. God, the library was unbelieveably quiet, and it was a nice change from the always-chatty Gryffindor common room, or the Great Hall, or even out on the grounds. No doubt all three would be plenty full of students enjoying the last of their weekend. Normally, she was able to block out the noise and concentrate, but sometimes, it got to be too much.

A flicker of a frown passed over her expression, checking the time on a nearby mounted clock. Oh. No wonder he wasn't here, yet. She'd come ten minutes early without even realizing it. She paused, seeming to think something over, before her head bent back over her parchment and the quill resumed it's quiet scribble.

[Severus Snape]

For once, Severus was actually trying to look nice for someone. It wasn’t his mother, if that’s what you’re wondering. It was the only girl he had ever felt something like love for. No, it was love. He was obsessively in love with her. Nervously, he drug a comb through his greasy hair, there was little he could do about that, he’d taken two showers already this morning, a few more wouldn’t improve it at all. He’d tried everything. His hair was just naturally greasy. Frustrated, he combed through the glob a few more times, making it almost into something that resembled a neatened hairstyle. After another quick glance in the mirror he snagged his potions book off his bed, in all honest he’d just about finished his essay for Slughorn, he didn’t really need to do anything but edit it. But hey, he’d use any excuse to hang out with Lily, even writing the essay that he’d already written. Hell, he’d write it all over again if he had to just to get to spend time with her. Maybe she’d be grateful that he’d helped her…

Of course, that was just wishful thinking; it was easy to see that James would be the more persistent one. And he had “better friends”. He was the one more than likely to turn out to be a Death Eater, he had all of the qualities of one and he was interested in the dark arts… James was probably the better choice. With a hurried pace, Severus bounded out of the Slytherin Common Room and up the multiple flights of stairs it took to get to the fourth floor. By the time he managed to get even there he was out of breath, panting and resting his hands on his knees. He was late only by a minute or so but it may as well have been an eternity in his mind. He was definitely psyched about hanging out with Lily. It wasn’t often he got the chance to, when he wasn’t with his “Death Eater wannabe” friends he was following after the Marauders. Not only that but Lily had a life of her own and friends of her own. They hung out more in the summer, where he had her all to himself. No James around to steal his spotlight. Just like right now. He had Lily all to himself.

With a smile on his pale face, Severus strolled into the library as if he had walked here leisurely rather than sprinted. Lily was at their little corner of the library. “Hey Lily, sorry I’m late. I didn’t realize what time it was.” He said, setting his old, tatted Potions book on the desk. His was filled with text and handwriting, the graffiti being his. “So, how far have you gotten so far?” He asked, more curious than anything else, his eyes on her beautiful, emerald pair.

[Lily Evans]

Lily didn’t even hear him approach. She was completely in work mode, head bent industriously over her parchment, hair falling like a glistening red curtain over her face. She was only aware that he’d arrived when he spoke, setting his Potions book on the table. She looked up, gaze meeting his before she chuckled a bit at his apology. ”God, don’t be silly, Sev. You’re not late. I was just early.” At the use of the little nickname she’d called him since childhood, she couldn’t help but smile. It was really good to see him. He was the one person she felt comfortable telling anything to, who she knew would completely understand. Sure, people talked, thought it was odd that Lily Evans would even acknowledge lowlife Severus Snape. It made her want to hook someone in the jaw just thinking about it. God, it was so annoying. Why did it matter who she was friends with? House rivalry was a petty reason to avoid someone, and it was impossible to forget six years of friendship just for that. Even her friends didn’t understand it, but they knew it was a touchy subject that would get her easily riled, so they knew enough to not bring it up often.

She gestured vaguely to the empty chair next to her, indicating that he should take a seat while her vivid gaze gave him a brief once-over. He looked well, though a little bit out of breathe, maybe. Though, Lily’d be liable to blame that on the moving staircases; once they decided to move, you had to find a completely different route to get to wherever it was you were going, and more times than none it involved a lot more distance to cover. She would know from experience. ”Erm, I’ve gotten maybe a quarter of it done.” A sheepish sort of half-smile played across her features. ”To be honest, I completely forgot about it until yesterday.” Which, was actually quite unlike Lily to do, though Sev would know that better than anyone. Schoolwork was normally something she took very seriously. How in the world she’d managed to forget about it, she didn’t know. And it wasn’t due for a few more days, but she wanted to get it out of the way now. ”If you’re finished, though, and you have other things to do...don’t feel obligated to stay.” Again, she felt another small pang of guilt, like she was keeping him from other more important things. ”Anyway, how’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

[Severus Snape]

The first thing that Severus noticed when he approached her was that she wasn’t noticing his presence, which was completely all right with him. He wouldn’t have minded if she had continued to not realize his existence through the entire ordeal, if she didn’t know he was there he could watch her work with that cute little wrinkle between her brows and her entire mind giving her studies complete attention. It fueled the fantasies in his mind, putting himself in place of the studies. If only life were that easy. “Early?” He chuckled lightly, “That doesn’t sound at all like you, Lils.” He was joking, of course, it was exactly like Lily to be early. Of course she had been early, she was early for everything. He was one of the few people who truly knew the actual Lily rather than the front that she put up for the world, he knew what made her mad and what made her happy, who annoyed her and who made her smile. He was pleased to be on the list of those who made her smile, though he had as of yet to completely understand as to why she liked him. Weren’t Gryffindors supposed to hate Slytherins like him? He would ask but he knew that it irked her.

Severus needed little more than her vague gesture to take the chair, his hands absent-mindedly opening his battered version of the Potions book, pulling out his essay from the pages. It looked completely and utterly competed, though he’d go through it and search for nonexistent mistakes if he had to. “I started mine as soon as he assigned it, I didn’t really have anything else planned so I did it after class.” He explained, flipping through his essay, pretending to glance it over with disapproving eyes. “I’m not satisfied with it, though. I did it in a hurry.” That was a lie, though he had done it in a rush. “And I’m not finished, this is just the rough draft. Besides, Lily, I came to help you out.” He said, setting his essay aside. It was all about Lily, his perfect little angel, his gentle little hummingbird. “I’ve been…” The last few days had been uneventful, the same as always, “Good. Just about the same as usual. Nothing has really happened since we talked last. What about you, Lils? You live a much more eventful life than mine.” He brushed his fingers through his hair nervously, making sure that it still looked somewhat presentable. Nervous habit.

[Lily Evans]

“Oh, well, you know me. Always full of surprises, hm?” Lily quirked a ginger eyebrow, looking at him in a comically mock-sardonic manner. That was a lie, though, too. She was entirely predictable, without even trying. Severus would probably know that better than anyone, seeing as they knew each other inside and out. She knew he favored raspberries, that he didn’t get along with most of his family, that one of his most favorite things to do was to curl up under the oak tree in front of the school and bury his nose in a Potions book. The list of the little quirks she’d noticed over the years could go on and on and on, and no doubt he’d be able to name certain silly things about her as well. Lily couldn’t say it enough, how grateful she was to have him, no matter what her friends thought, because their biased opinions didn’t matter when it came to Sev. When they were together, she was simply Lily, and he was Sev, and that was all that mattered; there were no house rivalries, no blood competition, and no petty judgments that could ever get in the way of that.

His pale, slender fingers began leafing through his tattered Potions book, the pages crammed with little scribbles. He’d shown it to her, once, and she had to admit that some of the little notes were quite clever and impressive; just silly little things, like adding an extra clockwise stir, or using slightly different tools to get better results. Both of them were talented when it came to Potions, both a favorite of Slughorn’s, but she had to admit he had far more remarkable potential in the field than she. His essay slipped out from the pages, and she felt the guilt return when she noticed how far he’d gotten. Merlin, the paper looked already finished. His little reassurances, though, brought a little smile to her face. Sometimes, he was utterly selfless, and he didn’t even have to try. If only other people realized how great of a person he really was, instead of basing their opinions on a ridiculous reputation. The redhead looked at him skeptically. “Hm. If you’re sure.” Still feeling the tiniest nudge of guilt, she picked up her forgotten quill once more. “I don’t know how I managed to forget about it,” the girl admitted, biting her lip in mild distress even though she had a few days to complete it, and it wouldn’t take her very long to do. The fact that something so important had slipped her mind was bugging her a little; what if she’d showed up for class on Wednesday, and hadn’t had it done? “Oh, well. Good thing I did, so that we’d have an excuse to get together.” Of course, she was just joking; if it hadn’t been the assignment, she would’ve found some other way to hang out with him this weekend. Both had such busy schedules that it was almost impossible to find a time where they could just sit and talk. His next words brought a smile to her face, as he only could do. “Well, I’m glad I have the pleasure of working with you, then. Thanks.” Completely at ease, her eyes glanced down at her book for a moment, and she seemed to think something over before writing something else down on her parchment in her neat, loopy script, still listening to him as he spoke. Multi-tasking was a talent of hers.

“Me? Not much. I’ve been pretty busy, though.” Two wrinkles appeared between her eyes. “I’ve had lots of prefect stuff to do, and plenty of homework on top of that.” Her quill paused its journey across her paper as she mulled something over. “I was planning on going to Hogsmeade yesterday, but it sort of slipped my mind. I had an Astronomy chart to finish.” God, her life sounded completely pathetic, she couldn’t help but realize with slight amusement. So much for being more eventful. “Maybe next weekend, though. Were you planning on going?” The last question was mere curiosity; perhaps if he was, she could meet him there.

[Severus Snape]

UNFINISHED

Severus couldn’t hold back a chuckle, his brows raising up on his forehead, “Oh, you’re full of surprises.” He said, his voice sarcastic but light, winking at her to ensure that she knew he was joking. “You’re about as full of surprises as I am made of pink, fluffy bunnies.” He told her, chuckling lightly at that little comparison. Severus Tobias Snape was most certainly not made of pink fluffy bunnies, if he had been than someone would have noticed by now. At least, he would have died by now what with the pink cuteness sucking all of the hate out of him. But of course, she’d understand what he’d meant, she was predictable, though not to a point of where she would be hilarious about it or be ridiculous with it. She was just Lily. Or rather, Lils, as he attempted to call her (despite the fact he knew that she hated it with all of her heart and would probably kill him if he called her that in front of James). “Besides, Lils, we both know that you can surprise people, you have it in you. You just don’t know how to let it out.”