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Lily sprinted towards him - and at first, Severus grinned, pleased that she was as excited to see him as he was her - but as she grew closer and closer and the fierce scowl on her face became clearer and clearer, he shuffled on the spot, his own expression anxious.
"…Lil? Are you all right?"
"Am I all right?" she shrieked. "Give that to me now, Severus! Now! Don’t hide it behind your back!"
He swallowed awkwardly. "What, I’m-"
"-the book," she demanded, holding her hand out.
"What book?" He cringed as his voice came out higher than usual; he thought that had stopped happening in the previous year, but he’d evidently celebrated too soon.
She reached forwards and snatched the library book from his hand.
"Lil, c'mon, I-"
"-this is dark, Sev! Dark with a capital D!"
"It’s not dark!"
"Merlin help me, it is!" she argued, her green eyes seeming to pierce his soul.
"No, the magic, it’s barely anythi-"
"-not the magic, you idiot!" she snapped. She flicked the pages until she found a suitable passage and then she thrust it before his eyes. "What does that say?"
He read it silently, and then lowered his gaze. "…it’s just old, Lil, that’s all-"
"-and out of step?" She gave him a hard stare. "Is that what you tell the others, is it? Mulciber? Avery? Lucius Malfoy? That their views are out of step? Old? Outdated?"
He flushed, and tried to take the book back. "I just wanted the potion about-"
"-or do you agree with them, is that it?"
"No!"
"Well then," she said, firmly, "you can only have this back-"
"-what do you mean, only? I need to take it back to the library-"
"-only when you walk into Slytherin and tell the rest of your house that blood purity is nonsense."
He looked aghast. "Lil, I can’t, I can’t-"
"-it’s what you told me."
He knows what she’s talking about. He can remember the conversation - can remember the whole wonderful day - as if it took place yesterday.
"Or didn’t you believe a word of that?"
"I do," he said, earnestly. "I do believe it."
She looked at him sceptically. "Then why won’t you stand up to them? I thought we were best friends."
"We are," he insisted, "but they’ll kill me. In my sleep, probably. You don’t know what they’re like."
"Oh," she gave a harsh laugh, "I am sure I can imagine. They believe this stuff, Sev! They’ll do it, when they’re older-"
"-what, like…" He trailed off, looking sickened. "Trials and that? I thought that was just historical-"
"-and that’s what they’re always bleating about! Haven’t you heard them in History of Magic? Pureblood this, Pureblood that."
"They’re just idiots. They don’t really mean it."
"And this?" she said, shaking the book. "What’s this?"
"Nonsense too," he said, emphatically.
"They hate Muggleborns."
"They shouldn’t-"
"-but they do," she argued. "And Muggles."
He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, well, Muggles are different-"
"-they’re not, Sev!"
He stilled, looking surprised at her outrage. "They’ve not got magic, they don’t understand-"
"-my mum and dad don’t understand?"
"They’re different-"
"-you can’t have exceptions," Lily argued.
"But my dad-"
"-you can’t write off all Muggles because you don’t like your dad."
"…don’t like Petunia either," he muttered, sulkily.
Lily laughed. "Neither do I. Not much, anyway." She grinned at him. "And you like Mrs Grahams in the shop, don’t you? She gives us penny chews."
"Yeah, s'pose."
"And Billy, he-"
"-yeah, I know who Billy is," Severus interrupted. "You don’t need to list all of Cokeworth to make your point."
Lily looked triumphant. "Well then."
"Well then what?"
She gave him a grin. "Are you going to say that I’m right, or what?"
"…fine," he said, with a sigh. "You’re right. Again."
She stared at him for the longest moment, green eyes connecting with black, and then nodded, evidently satisfied that he was serious. "…Sev?"
"What?"
"What were you looking for? In the book, I mean. It’s full of awful things-"
"-I’ll show you," he said, reaching for the book. He flicked back through it.
"A Revelation Potion?" She gave him a surprised look. "I thought your mum said that you were all Prince on her side-"
"-not me," he said, sharply. He gave her a sheepish look. "They’re giving me grief, Mulciber and Rosier. Thought I’d slip it in their breakfast cereal." He smiled nastily. "Then we’ll see!"
"Sev! You’d really let the whole table see if they’re really Purebloods? Can you imagine the reaction if they were really Halves? Or less?" She gives a horrified laugh. "Merlin, Sev, you’re a menace."
"…so can I have the book back?"
"Only for the potion?"
"Only for the potion," he agreed.
She stared at him, and he blushed under her gaze, such was its intensity.
"You swear you won’t read anything like this again? Because I’m telling you, it’s this or me."
"I swear," he breathed. "I swear on my life."
He stood at the base of Gryffindor Tower, shrouded in darkness. He stiffened when he heard footsteps, barely daring to peer out from his hiding place - and then, to his surprise, Professor McGonagall was stood before him.
"Snape, out of the shadows," she said, not unkindly.
"But…" He gave her a terrified look, and then glanced towards the stone steps. "…if they, if they find me-"
"-the Gryffindor boys are already in the Great Hall waiting for the ball to start," she said, in her usually clipped tone. She peered at him, and with a pinched smile, she gripped his shoulder. "The girls will be coming down in a moment or two. What sort of impression do you think you’ll give to your date, standing here in the dark?"
He grinned and nodded, and stepped into the light - and a few short moments later, he was rewarded by the sight of his date descending the stairs.
"Bloody hell, Lil."
"Bloody hell yourself, Sev," she said, looking down at him. "You scrub up well."
"Yeah," he said, scratching the back of his neck and trying not to blush. "I thought I’d better make an effort, now that you’re Head Girl and all."
She beamed, and descended the last few steps, walking into his open arms and kissing him. "I like it," she said, softly. "And don’t go thinking that once we graduate you can go back to not washing your hair, just because I won’t be Head Girl any longer."
He laughed. "Is that what it’ll take for you to stay with me?"
"That and no talking in the morning before my first cup of coffee."
"Deal," he said, with a huge smile - and then he took her hand and walked her towards the Great Hall, where the Yule Ball was already underway.