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"Back off Snivellus." James bit.
"She's my friend!"
"Well she's in my house!"
"That doesn't mean she belongs to you!"
"Well she doesn't belong to you either!"
"She doesn't belong to anyone!" Severus hissed loudly, toe to toe with the aggravated Gryffindor. He glared up at the Hogwart's Quidditch star defiantly as their class stared on.
A particularly nasty case of magical measles had left half the school in the infirmary, as well as many of the staff members. As a result, classes had to be joined together, such as the sixth year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. Once only made up of Gryffindor's and Hufflepuff's, it now included the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students too.
Their stand in teacher was yet to arrive, and an argument had already arisen between two members of the rivalling red and green houses. Lilly Evan's, who had sat beside Severus as all her other friends were ill, stared at the two opposing males, finding herself yelled over whenever she went to speak.
"Find. Another. Seat. Snivellus." James growled.
"Make me." The slightly smaller teen challenged defiantly.
Remus placed his hand on the seething Chaser's shoulder, holding James back. The pureblood let himself be kept in place, finding it surprisingly difficult to start a fight with the skinny little Slytherin when there was no Sirius or Peter to egg him on. The two were currently sick as a dog and a rat could be down in the infirmary. Without them, every time he gripped his wand the greasy git managed to look so adorably stubborn he couldn't think up a curse. It was the way his bloody bottom lip poked out just a little, beady black eyes like a small animal's boring up at him relentlessly. James was having none of it. The slimy Slytherin wasn't going anywhere near a Gryffindor girl, especially not one as pure and beautiful as Lilly! Screw curses, he was going to pummel his fist into the bastard's bent nose!
"Mr Potter and Mr Snape." James's clenched fist froze, everyone's eyes turning towards the teacher's desk at the front of the class. Dumbledore had appeared out of nowhere, his gleaming eyes gazing fixedly at the two boys. "I suggest you take your seats." They glared back at each other but complied, eyes on one another as if the second they turned their back the other would attack.
James quickly plonked himself down where Snape had been sitting before the Slytherin could, smiling innocently at Lilly.
"Bog off Potter. That's my seat." The smaller male hissed through clenched teeth.
"Make me." He replied casually, leaning back and smiling smugly at the other boy. Lilly looked at the attractive teen lounging beside her disapprovingly.
"If you wou-"
"Maybe I will." Severus seethed, cutting her off once again, clenching the wand in his pocket.
"Wow wow wow, you just interrupted Miss Evan's," The Gryffindor pointed out,
"Thank you Ja-"
"-have a little more respect for the lady." The Chaser critiqued, watching Snape turn an endearing shade of red.
He hardly noticed Lilly's glare before she began violently packing up her set out DADA books.
"Lilly?" Severus inquired, attention distracted from the infuriating Potter to the peeved redhead. She didn't reply, standing suddenly and walking off.
"Miss Evans?" James called as she marched three desks back, to where Remus had sat alone. She then put on the kindest smile she could and proceeded to make a mock of them.
"May I sit here, Mr Lupin?" She asked in an exaggeratedly sickly-sweet tone.
"Why of course, Miss Evan's." He replied politely, both completely ignoring Severus and James betrayal laden stares. The two watched as Lilly sat and unpacked her books again, paying them no heed.
"Please take your seat, Mr Snape." Dumbledore instructed, the Slytherin suddenly brought back from his distraction.
He looked around desperately, horrified to find there was only one seat available. He stared down at the empty chair, unsure. Potter glared up at him, a 'don't you dare' clear in his gaze.
"Mr Snape." The headmaster's tone warned. Everyone stared at the teen, waiting for him to sit. He bit his tongue and forced himself on his backside beside the Gryffindor, sliding his chair as far to the left corner of the desk as he could. James huffed, crossing his arms and spreading his legs, taking up as much space as he could. Severus only shifted over more, silently unpacking his books and ignoring the Quidditch 'prodigy'.
Dumbledore smiled, looking amused as he finally started the lesson.
"Now then, I will be taking your class today. I understand you are all currently learning how to conjure a Patronus, correct?" A few members of the class nodded. "Wonderful, has anyone here already succeeded in creating their Patronus?" Four students raised their hands, James and Severus among them.
Potter scoffed.
"As if Snivellus." He mumbled, whilst Dumbledore spoke to the fourth student with her hand raised.
"Excuse me?" The Slytherin hissed back under his breath.
"I bet you can't even make a puff of smoke." James whispered. Severus's knuckles where white with the strength he held his concealed wand.
"Listen pig-"
"Mr Snape and Mr Potter." The two turned their attention to Dumbledore quickly. "Would either of you like to tell me what Miss Lovegood's Patronus form is?" The two looked at him blankly, a pregnant silence permeating the room.
"Uummm-" James drawled, a set of titters following.
"I see. Well, if you had been listening you would have learned it is a mare. Beautiful, calm creatures horses." Dumbledore added.
Severus looked at the desks top, cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment. James only rolled his eyes, masking his.
"Perhaps you would both like to stand up and demonstrate how to cast a Patronus for the class?" Albus suggested.
Severus mumbled quietly in abash.
"No thank yo-"
"Of course, sir." James interrupted and stood with a smile, the smaller boy staring up at him. "Come on Snape, unless you can't." He baited quietly. Immediately Severus's demeanour shifted, eyes thinning up at the chaser as he stood.
The two slowly travelled to the front of the class, glaring at each other the entire time.
"Wonderful!" Dumbledore encouraged as the two whipped out their wands, standing some distance apart as they faced one another, as if they were about to battle. They both took a deep breath, stirring their fondest memories as the class watched curiously.
For a moment neither moved, Severus's focus on his childhood memories in the countryside with Lilly as James recalled the time he and Sirius had spent Christmas at the Potter mansion together.
"Expecto Patronum!" The two yelled, great slithers of silvery light pouring from their wands like mist, massing together in pale azure luminescent swirls till they formed into four-legged fauna.
A proud stag stood before James, great shimmering antlers making it as tall as he. It shook its head and puffed out it’s chest as Snape's weaved itself together.
Potter gaped.
A doe, beautiful and small, glowing like the moon, stood before Snape. She stood completely still besides the gentle movement of her chest, twin with her makers.
Potter's stag’s ear twitched.
Snivellus's Patronus... Was a girl? He didn’t even know Patronus’s had genders.
The two boys stared at each other, eyes wide.
"My my, what a coincidence!" Dumbledore commented, the only one not shocked to the edge of his seat.
The shimmering stag approached the smaller deer slowly, for a moment looking as though he was about to butt her. Instead he stopped and puffed out his chest even more, standing tall and showing off his impressive form. It took the doe a moment to take any real notice of him, pretending to graze on nothing as the stag shook his antlers to draw her gaze.
She twitched her nose up at him and he lowered his head to hers. The doe sniffed his nose carefully before she gently bumped them together.
Severus blushed beet red as James mouth fell open.
What the hell was that!?
The doe's tail twitched as the stag circled her.
"Well, I believe that's enough." Dumbledore announced, a smile behind his luxurious beard. "Perhaps you could both- Oh my."
The classes eyes bulged as the huge stag suddenly mounted the doe from behind. Severus squeaked and covered his mouth, looking away as James made something akin to a moan.
They had both felt that.
The room broke into anarchy, students yelling and looking away, giggling and gaping as the deer went at it.
In the mayhem Severus's legs began to shake as he bit his hand to stop another sound. Across the room James leaned against a nearby wall, his mind heady and his cock throbbing.
"I'd stop him if I were you Mr Potter. Some deer life-mate you know." Dumbledore pointed out over the noise.
"Huh?" Was James only eloquent reply before his Patronus thrust again and nothing made sense.
Severus had fallen to his knees, his wand slipping from his fingers to clatter against the ground.
"Dear dear." Albus mumbled, readying his own wand. To his surprise, Lilly stood and uttered the spell before he could, her own doe trotting over to the rutting pair. It attempted to draw James stag's attention, but surprisingly her larger form was of no interest to him. So, mildly offended, she instead tried to butt him off Severus's doe.
"Students please, calm yourselves." Dumbledore instructed the raucous group as Lilly's doe managed to dislodge the stag.
Severus's gasped from where he had ended up on the floor, his wits quickly about him. The teen managed to grab his wand and silently called his Patronus back, the doe fading into a swirl of light. The suddenly alone stag looked around in distress, looking almost as though it was glaring at Lilly's doe. Severus ignored it's pleading gaze as he got back up on his shaky legs, attempting to muster any dignity he had left.
Face burning he walked back over to his seat and sat in complete silence, looking pointedly at the floor.
James looked around in a confused fashion, realizing his problem and quickly making sure it was covered over by his robes. His stag huffed at him silently in annoyance as Lilly giggled, calling her own Patronus back. Remus was gaping from his seat beside her, much like the rest of the suddenly stone silent class.
Potter coughed, avoiding the werewolf's gaze as he casually flicked his wand to make the stag disappear, red as his houses flag as he walked back over to his seat.
Severus's face was hidden by his long, curtain like black hair. His head rose slightly as James approached and their eyes met for just a second, both quickly looking away as their hearts thumped violently.
"Well, that was quite the show was it not?" Dumbledore chuckled as James sat, the two boys half hanging out opposite edges of their shared desk. "I dare say you all understand how a Patronus is cast then?"
A distant toads croak was his only reply, the entire class shocked mute.
"No? Well, the key ingredient, as you should all know, is a happy memory-" Dumbledore began again, turning to the board.
"Sirius can never know of this." James whispered under his breath to the still petrified Slytherin beside him.
"Agreed.”