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A Brilliant Mind
The first time James Potter was surprised by the brilliancy of Severus Snape's mind was in their first year at Hogwarts, 1971.
Gryffindors and Slytherins were taking their first class of “Potions” together. Potions Master Slughorn was this year’s Potions teacher and taught them in the dark dungeons of Hogwarts.
Slughorn had ordered them to find a partner and brew the “Hair-Raising Potion” - a potion that literally raises your hair.
Quite interesting, don’t you think?
Naturally, Severus Snape and his long friend Lily found each other, while James decided to team up with Sirius Black - the first Black in Gryffindor in many centuries.
The two would become friends in the near future.
James himself was not fond of Severus. Mostly because Severus was a Slytherin but also - and please do not tell and gossip - because he was friends with Lily. James liked Lily quite a bit, even if their acquaintance only reached back a few days.
The girl was beautiful with her long hair that was coloured with chestnut. She had the greenest eyes and the kindest soul.
Therefore, you may imagine, James was a bit jealous. He disliked the other young boy and now had the incredibly funny idea to disturb the Slytherin.
Professor Slughorn had said before they had started brewing, “Do not throw in too many spider legs, otherwise your potion will explode in a couple of minutes.”
So James determined that he could give a few of his spider legs away.
Dear Severus was just preparing to add his spider legs (of course the perfect amount) and James walked over. While he was pretending to tie his shoelaces he slipped three additional spider legs into the bubbling cauldron.
It would take a moment and then the brew would explode. James was very satisfied with his prank and excitedly waited for the disaster to happen. Severus would be angry and everyone would have a good laugh. It would surely make every teacher think he was a stupid Slytherin and Lily would come to realise that Severus was not that great at all.
(Typical eleven-year-olds.)
James was waiting and therefore completely forgot to continue brewing his potion - he hadn’t even started to add the ingredients. Sirius Black, too, was otherwise occupied.
Meanwhile Severus had noticed that the potions texture was not correct. It was crumbly instead of slimy.
He had read a book on potions’ consistency and realised that there must have been too many spider legs put into (extra billy wig stings would have changed the potion into a watery soup).
His eyes darted across the room, analysing whose spider legs were missing - someone else must have put them into his potions because Lily and Severus would have never made such a simple mistake. Then, Snape saw James’ table and the 21 spider legs that were still laying there.
Three too less.
He suppressed his anger and decided that he needed to improvise right now before they would blow up.
Such a stupid Gryffindor! Never thinking about the consequences.
Severus told Lily to get them a few mistletoe berries and a bezoar to save the potion. During her quick mission, Severus shot James a death glare and began to stir three times to the left. He knew how to stop the explosion:
Bezoar was commonly used in antidotes so it had an inhibitory effect. It was also part of an animal which helped to connect the bezoar with the spider legs. The mistletoe berries were sweet and a sign of love - something people did not feel for spiders. The stirring would help to irritate the potion’s forming effect because “three” was the number of dimensions the potion would explode in (ignoring time as always) and stirring left was historically considered as improper.
James had lost his interest in the meantime. Apparently it took quite a while for the potion to explode. He continued brewing and noticed that he hadn’t gotten new spider legs. As he went to grab new ones, he stumbled over Lily.
The girl groaned, “Pay attention where you’re going, Potter.”
“Sorry,” James apologised half-heartedly. Then, his gaze dropped to her hands,
“Huh? What do you need berries for?”
Lily sighed, “Something’s wrong with our potion and we have got to fix it.”
James stared.
How did they find out? No one had seen him and the potion had not changed in James’ eyes. And how was Snape going to stop the explosion? Really just with berries?
“Will you let me pass?” Lily asked impatiently.
James blinked and quickly stepped to the side, “Yeah, sure. Sorry.”
Lily rolled her eyes and rushed past him.
When the class finally came to an end - James and Sirius had successfully ruined their potion -, Slughorn raised his voice,
“Please, wait a moment. Mister … what was - ah - Mister Snape has told me that there had been extra spider legs added to his and Miss Evans’ potion. He luckily thought of a way to stop the coming explosion that I told you about. Severus, boy, tell the others about your thoughts.”
What followed were a row of complicated instructions and explanations which eleven-year-old James had ever heard of.
The incident let James’ dislike for Severus grow but it had also made a long lasting impression.
The second time James Potter was surprised by the brilliancy of Severus’ mind was in their third year at Hogwarts.
Again, Gryffindors and Slytherin shared a class together. This time it was Defense Against The Dark Arts. The professor was bad and did not teach them anything. Still, he had high expectations. Luckily, James had done quite well until today when they were supposed to produce a Patronus.
Whilst everyone was trying, Snape sat in the corner of the classroom, reading a book.
James could only shake his head over the behaviour of his classmate. He was surely not able to cast the Patronus-charm and yet, he did not even try.
James was already making progress, white smoke came out of his wand and he felt really proud of himself.
A bit later, the teacher approached Severus and James excitedly focused on the two because Snape was surely going to get scolded.
His dislike for the Slytherin boy had grown over the years because of jealousy. Severus was an excellent student and James wanted to prove his intelligence as well.
Their rivalry had luckily not escalated. They had a few confrontations every month but it never became serious.
After some words were exchanged, the teacher raised his voice and presented Severus to the whole class because he would have to show his Patronus form - because he was seemingly capable. Severus did not hesitate and spoke the spell,
“Expecto Patronum”.
White dust bursted out of the tip of the wand and James already wanted to laugh and make fun of Snape’s incompetency when the smoke began to form.
It became a black panther - tall and strong.
Jealousy and awe filled James at the same time.
The teacher was surprised as well, giving sparse ten points to Slytherin and tasked Severus to help everyone. James rolled his eyes - no one would want to be interacting with that git.
Snape turned to the person closest to him - Gryffindor Marlene McKinnon who normally excelled in every subject but was struggling today.
James observed the way Severus spoke to her: His posture small and submissive so he would not anger her but his eyes warm and commanding so she would listen.
At the end of the class, Marlene was the second person to produce a patronus.
James’ view on Severus swayed that day.
Severus had helped a Gryffindor and his teaching methods had worked.
And Severus had been nice to Marlene.
For the next few weeks, James observed Severus closely. The Slytherin was completely different from how James would have expected. The Potter assumed Severus would be cold and dismissive, keeping a certain distance to other people than Lily but now he could see that Severus was… - for the lack of a better word - friendly. He voluntarily helped younger students to find the classrooms or do their homework in the library. He regularly met with Lily and they did all kinds of activities together.
Lily was so happy with him.
Maybe, James could have liked her. Romantically.
But he had realised she was not the person he wanted.
Not the right… gender?
Young James was still very much undecided.
The third time James was surprised by the brilliancy of Severus’ mind was in their fifth year at Hogwarts.
Sirius Black - James' current best friend next to Remus Lupin - had decided to hex a few first-year Slytherins and Severus had appeared,
“Leave them alone, Black.”
“Why would I, Snape? Snakes need to be controlled, Death Eater.”
“Black, these are children. They do not have to make any choice yet and they are not to be controlled.”
Black pointed his wand at him and Severus - who had not taken his wand to lunch - was magically pinned to the next wall. Now, Black began a curse towards the children.
That moment, James came around the corner. He stopped abruptly in his tracks but did not interfere wanting to know what would happen and if Sirius was really such an idiot to hurt innocent children.
Severus was fighting against the invisible restraints and then closed his eyes. The next second, a giant shield flared up in front of the children and reflected the curse Sirius had casted.
Wandless and wordless magic.
These two disciplines were difficult on their own but combined?
Severus’ magical strength must have been exceeding.
The problem was that now Severus was not protected and he was exhausted because of the strong spell and Black - full of anger - threw another hex at Severus who ducked away.
James concluded that he had to interfere now.
He ran forward and yelled, “Sirius!”
The Black turned around while casting a spell and James froze.
Time slowed down and he heard Sirius’ surprised gasp as the curse headed towards him. James could not dodge but luckily he did not have to because a protective spell established itself in front of him.
The curse deflected and hit the wall.
It had been Severus who had used his remaining power to shield James. He laid now on the ground, eyes closed.
“Fuck!” James cursed, “What the fuck, Black? What were you doing? Those are children!”
Sirius flinched. He seemed to have realised that his doings had escalated a bit. He had nearly hurt James.
“Come,” James ordered, “We’ll bring them to the Hospital Wing.”
Sirius simply complied.
This day, James started to see Sirius differently and he saw Snape as a selfless boy for the first time.
When James visited Severus in the hospital wing the next day, they bonded over Sirius’ stupidness and Lily’s intelligence.
“Hey, Severus.”
“We’re on a first-name basis now? After I saved you ?” Severus asked incredulously.
“Yes.” James grinned
“Okay,” Severus sighed in defeat. He did not have the strength to argue.
“Okay, who?” James repeated.
Snape rolled his eyes, “Okay, James.”
“You’re surprisingly compliant,” the Potter frowned.
“I can’t really think right now, James .”
“So how did you learn wandless and wordless magic?”
“Training,” Severus answered curtly, avoiding eye contact.
“... Alright,” James changed the topic, “Well, I’m sorry for Sirius. That was all over the place.”
Snape said, “It’s not your fault, you know.”
James hesitated, “It feels like it, though. I don’t think I still want to be friends with him.”
“That’s alright,” Severus comforted him, “He’s just an asshole.”
James laughed, “True… So, what's up with you and Lily?”
“Hey! She’s my best friend.”
“Really?” James asked sceptically.
“Yeah. What about you? You like her?” Severus looked actually interested.
“She’s nice but I don’t like girls,” James shrugged. Severus lifted his eyebrows,
“Oh?”
“Yep. I’m gay.”
It was a weird conversation but it started a new friendship between the rivals.
The fourth time James was surprised by the brilliancy of Severus’ mind was in their final year at Hogwarts.
They had to take the exams for the N.E.W.T.s and Charms was next up.
It was not like James despised Charms but he was not good at it either. Contrary to the common belief, Potions was not his worst subject.
He remembered the conversation between himself and Severus a month ago.
“Do you feel ready for the exams? Do you need help?”
“Ready, Sev? Never.”
“Don’t call me that, Jim.”
“Hey! You call me Jim, I call you Sev. Besides, Lily also calls you "Sev".”
“So, do you need help for the exams?”
“Now, you are changing the topic! Again!”
“You provoked the first topic change by calling me an unwanted nickname. Therefore, I had to change it back.”
“... Why are you talking like that? But yes, I might need help studying.”
“Studying for potions, right Jim?”
“Actually, I-”
“Do you remember that one potion we had to make last year? What was it called?”
“Oh! The Swelling Solution.”
“Yes, exactly. You put in two of the bat spleens.”
“Sev! They were so gross and I tried to grab one but they stuck together, so I had two.”
“And then you drank it!”
“I had to try it…”
“Had to, Jim?”
“I wanted to use it for my pranks.”
“Sure.”
“Hey! Really… I mean… Don’t look at me like that, Sev!”
“Look at you like what?”
“Like you don’t believe me.”
“I do not believe you, indeed.”
“Okay, okay. I confess. Sirius dared me to drink it.”
“And you complied? Jim, you disobey every teacher, even your parents but you obey Black?”
“...”
“Your arse swole. It was as big as the Giant Squid.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Exaggerating makes vivid.”
“...”
“Do you miss him?”
“Sometimes. But he tried to kill you last year. I do not want to be friends with someone like that.”
“Even though you could have just considered it as a prank?”
“It was not, Severus.”
“I’m sorry… So, do you need help?”
“Help with what?”
“Jim! Help with studying for Potions obviously.”
“No, no. I rather need your help with Charms.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No way! You’re bad at Charms? Lily is so good at Charms!”
“What the heck has that to do with each other?”
“You’re both stupid Gryffindors!”
“Oh, Sev.”
“Don’t call me that!”
Severus and he had learned for the Charms exam in the library. They had sat together at one of the tables, next to each other. Their knees had touched the whole time and it had made it difficult for James to focus on the exercises.
Severus had become quite attractive over the years. He had straightened his teeth, they were white now. He had begun to wash his hair and shampoo it. He had started to wear more revealing and more fitting clothes.
James showed interest in Severus.
Now, they were sitting in the Great Hall writing the theoretical Charms examination. James was already lost by the fifth question and decided to relax for a few moments to gather his thoughts. He let his gaze wander around the room and stopped at Severus’ table. The young man was writing slowly but steadily, completely focused on his papers.
James took a second to admire him. He sat straight, the uniform covering most of his body. His hair had fallen partly out of his bun and curled around his ears. It looked cute. Severus’ eyes were slightly closed - a sign of concentration - and his nose scrunched up adorably. He softly bit his lower lip and James had to suppress a feeling of … arousement.
Because James was staring so intensely, Severus finally lifted his gaze and made eye contact with James. His lips formed the words,
“Need help?”
James nodded minimally.
Severus grinned, glanced at the exam overviewer who was twiddling his thumbs and then ripped off a bit of his paper. He scribbled something onto it which took a while and then crumpled it to throw it at James. James caught it - thank Merlin he played Quidditch - and smoothed it out.
Tips for the answers were written there. No answers themselves because Severus would never make it so easy for James. The words on the paper changed regularly to help with different questions. At the end of the row there was a note from Severus,
Hi Jim!
No one can see what’s written on this paper besides you.
Still try to hide it. It’s weird, such a piece of paper without words.
Maybe rip off part of your papers and put them into your pockets, so you can replace them with this piece.
Good luck,
Severus
James did exactly that. The questions were now easier to answer and at the end of the exam, he was quite confident that he would get at least an E.
Later on, Severus would tell James that this was a Muggle technique for cheating called cheat sheet and James found it to be very effective because no one would expect a pureblood to know a Muggle thing.
It had surprised James how swiftly Severus had implemented his idea and how abstract he could think.
It took a few weeks into the summer holidays until the N.E.W.T.s results came.
Lily and Severus had been invited to James’ the day afterwards where they would open the letters with the results at the same time. Remus visited as well because he kept being James’ close friend after the fall-out with Sirius.
Severus did not like it because of his fear of werewolves.
Sirius had lured him to Remus - who was a werewolf - at full moon and Remud would have killed him if James would not have been there. James had saved Severus which had strengthened their bond but it had broken the friendship between Sirius Black and James. Because Remus himself was not at fault James' and Remus' friendship continued.
Right now, for James' happiness, he was willing to sacrifice a bit of his comfort by accepting Remus' presence.
Now they were sitting together in the living room, opening the letters.
There was a moment of silence as they were reading before James jumped off the couch, grabbing Severus and twirling him around.
“I got an O! I got an O! Oh Merlin, I got an O!” James yelled.
Lily and Remus burst out laughing at James’ behaviour and Severus’ disgusted face.
When James finally had let go of Severus, the latter asked confused,
“Why are you so happy about an O? Aren’t you one of the best students at Hogwarts? You should be getting Os, Jim.”
James shook his head, “Sev! I got an O in Charms !”
He squealed in delight, “Thank you so much, Severus!”
Severus smiled understandingly, “Of course. And congrats!”
Later, the two of them were sitting outside on the terrasse, Lily and Remus were inside looking through the library’s books.
James bit his lip and carefully took Severus’ hand,
“I meant it, really. Thank you for your help.”
Severus just looked at James and the corner of his mouth twitched. He tried to suppress the smile but his eyes glimmered treacherously.
James leaned forwards, pressing their foreheads together. He stared into the onyx eyes and Severus stared back. Then, the Snape's eyes flitted down to James’ lips and his cheeks blushed softly as he caught James’ gaze again. James smiled amused and leaned forward, pecking Severus’ lips. Severus gasped and James took advantage of his surprise, kissing him again.
The one time James saw the brilliancy of Severus’ mind coming was after school in 1980.
James, Severus, Lily and Remus had decided to live together for now:
James and Severus had been together the last three years and it had been amazing. Lily was still Severus’ best friend and Remus’ friendship with James had strengthened over the years.
Severus had slowly come to terms with his fright of werewolves - or at least he was not afraid of Remus anymore. It had taken a while but with Lily’s endless optimism and encouragement he had overcome this fear.
As expected, Lily and James had both become aurors and together with Remus they were part of the Order of the Phoenix. The Order was a secret organisation that fought against the Death Eaters trying to stop the coming war.
The Death Eaters. Led by the Dark Lord "Lord Voldemort" they wreaked havoc in the United Kingdom, killing Muggleborns and opposing pureblood families. They wanted to take over the world so purebloods only would lead. They used forbidden, evil spells which were called "Dark Magic" by the people.
Severus had not become one, even though his friends had been afraid because he was interested in "Dark Magic". He wanted to protect Lily and Death Eaters did not condone Muggleborns. He also would never dare to disappoint James.
So no Death Eater time for Severus.
Severus and James were not married yet but they were actually expecting a child.
Yes, my dear Muggleborn readers, this is possible in the magical world.
A true miracle.
But then there surfaced a prophecy said by Sybill Trelawny in early June of 1980.
“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…[1]”.
These words did not particularly worry James because their child was going to be a late June-child. Severus instead had realised that the Longbottoms were expecting their child for the end of July.
When he worriedly told James, his boyfriend sighed,
“That’s not good. They have put their house under Fidelius so no one who does not know the address will find them. Only the Secret Keeper will have the information”
“But who is trustworthy enough to be the Secret Keeper?”
“Us!”
“No one is to trust in a war, Jim. They will not trust us.”
“But they are part of the Order.”
“They might be but they will not trust anyone with such a personal spell.”
“Maybe Dumbledore?”
“No, Jim, no. The old man has been quite irritating lately.”
“Lily?”
“No.”
“...”
“...”
“Sev?”
“Yes, Jim?”
“You already have a plan, don’t you?”
“... maybe?”
The plan Severus had was risky to say the least. James could better a few points but there was still one catch.
One had to tell the Dark Lord about the prophecy.
“No! Not you, Severus.”
“I am the most logical person.”
“No! Why can’t we tell a Death Eater?”
“Telling a Death Eater would make the source third-handed. The Dark Lord would not believe it. If I go, I can show him a memory and it would not be suspicious because I am known to be “siding with You-Know-Who”. It is ideal, Jim.”
“No!”
“I will not die from telling him.”
“But you could get hurt.”
“We could stop him once and for all.”
“... I’m just scared, Sev.”
“I know. I am, too. It’s going to be alright. Do not worry.”
One year later, Hallow’s Eve in 1981
Severus had made his way to the Death Eaters' residence. He entered the room in which Voldemort resided in and greeted,
“My Lord.”
“I am not your lord. Yet.”
“You are my lord but I cannot bear your mark because I officially side with Dumbledore. I wish to take your mark as soon as the Light Side is weak enough.”
“What is your name, youngling?”
“Snape. Severus Snape.”
“Ah. I remember dear Lucius talking about you. A talented Potions Master.”
“I am the youngest Potions Master in a few centuries and the Head of Slytherin House, my Lord.”
“Impressive.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
“How can I be sure of your loyalty?”
“I want to avenge my father, my Lord. He is a Muggle .”
Disgust.
“He killed his wife who was a pureblood Prince and refused my magical education, my Lord.”
Hatred.
“He hurt me, my Lord.”
Vulnerability.
“Oh, well. I understand but why are you here, Severus?”
“I have witnessed a prophecy being spoken that might be relevant to my Lord.”
“And how do you expect me to believe you, poisoner?”
The Dark Lord’s voice became deeper and his “S”-sounds longer.
Severus took a short breath,
“My Lord. I heard, you are a skilled Legilimens. I will show you my memories if you cast the spell.”
“An excellent idea. Memories can’t be untrue. Come here, Severus.”
“Yes, my Lord. Thank you, my Lord.”
Severus took a step closer to the Dark Lord and fell to his knees.
“Legilimens.”
Lily and James Potter startled when the door made an ugly screeching sound. James grabbed the little boy that had sat on the floor in front of them and pushed him into Lily’s hand.
“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him Go! Run! I’ll hold him off-”[2]
The door busted open and a cackle echoed in the quiet house.
A figure appeared in the room,
“Look who I’ve found. Oh, dear Severus, come on in. You have to receive your reward.”
A silhouette creeped out of the shadows and revealed Snape.
Lily’s face crumpled,
“Sev?”, she sobbed, “What? No!”
Her cries were heart-breaking and James embraced her while directing her towards the stairs.
“You traitor! You're such a coward, Snape,” he yelled and whispered to Lily,
“Run, Lily, run.”
She complied and hurried up the stairs with Harry bundled in her arms.
Severus raised his voice,
“My Lord, may I take revenge on Potter? Will you let me have this reward?”
“Of course, of course. I will take care of the kid.”
The Dark Lord rushed upstairs, laughing still.
Lily had run to the nursing room, trying to open the window to escape and then she heard James’ deafening scream. She froze.
The Dark Lord entered the room and cackled,
“Oh, silly girl. You cannot escape... Such a foolish girl. Choosing a Death Eater as Secret Keeper.”
“Severus is not a Death Eater.”
“Oh, he is, my dear.”
The Dark Lord lifted his wand and murmured,
“Avada Ke-”
Before he could even finish the spell, he was hit from behind by a broom. The broom broke and Voldemort fell to the ground.
Oops.
James let the broom's pieces fall down.
“Corpus statum,” Severus said quickly, putting the Dark Lord into a stasis. He would not wake up for a few decades. And until then, they would be able to fully end the Death Eater's reign.
…
Silence.
James, Severus and Lily stared at the body as the rest of the Order of the Phoenix revealed themselves.
The moment was broken when Harry started screaming and the Order members scrambled to secure Voldemort.
“Fuck!” James cursed, his face bearing pure relief.
“We did it!” Lily breathed out and her face split into a wide grin.
“We did it,” repeated Severus.
He stepped forward and lifted James from the ground, spinning him around and kissing him,
“Fucking finally.”
The Order members stared.
“Well,” Albus Dumbledore blinked, “That was a surprise.”