Discovery

Severus looked quite comfortable, curled up in the large green armchair. His feet hung over one arm, his head on the other. His eyes were half-closed, giving him away to thought. A small smile tugged on his lips. Yes, Severus was indeed relaxed.

Lucius pounced, the startled yelp pleasing him.

"Why'd you do that for?" Severus glared at him.

"Because you looked quite delicious, my dear friend." Lucius was promptly shoved onto the floor. "And it's time to eat. You do remember what food is right?"

Severus raised one perfectly dark eyebrow at him. "It wasn't necessary to jump on me."

"Oh dear Sev. I love jumping you," the blond boy tossed his head, before getting up and leaving.

Severus sighed, but was determined to not let Lucius get at him. He walked out of the Slytherin common room to find Lucius waiting for him. "Let's go," he said impatiently. "We're already late."

"You're in a swell mood," Severus muttered.

"Always am."

They left together down the hall, and up the stairs, and into the Great Hall. Lucius quickly sat down beside Narcissa, while Severus took his time, finally picking a spot near the back. Unfortunatly, he ended up being surrounded by first years. Lucius waved at him, snickering. Severus chose to ignore him. He propped his elbows on the table. He let his eyes wonder as he comfortably nestled his chin on his knuckles. Everybody was seated, of course, and were already watching Dumbledore, and waiting for the food to arrive.

Severus continued to look over the room, letting his thoughts wander. It took him a full minute to realize that James Potter was staring at him. Bright blue eyes stood out from the dark Quidditch sun tan, while the black hair poked up from the cowlick at the back. His lips parted, and a pink tongue poked out, licking full red lips.

Severus quickly looked down. He found he had missed the arrival of the food. He picked it over, finally choosing ham with cheese, stuffed potatoes, and a round bun. He methodically broke a piece of bun and shoved it into his mouth. He slowly raised his gaze. Potter wasn't looking at him, but had turned his attention to his friends. Severus ate the rest of his meal with his eyes on his plate.

Suddenly, a sharp jab brought Severus around. Lucius and Narcissa were standing behind him.

"Sev. Practice. Coming?" Lucius smirked down at him.

Slytherin had won every Quidditch match, minus the last - played against Gryffindor. Lucius, being the captain, decided that practice needed to be upped to every third night. They only needed thirty-five points in order to gain lead in House points. Next match was with Hufflepuff, on Saturday. It would be a cinch.

Severus pulled himself up, and followed Lucius and Narcissa into the foyer. Severus didn't feel like practicing tonight. As it was, he had a lot of homework to do. "Lucius. I'm skipping out tonight."

Lucius stopped cold, and Narcissa raised a hand to her mouth. Everybody knew not to disagree with Lucius Malfoy.

Lucius looked Severus over, cold eyes boring into him. "Why not?" The voice was soft, and terrible.

"It must've been something I ate. Maybe Black hexed the food or something." Severus was not afraid of his friend. Severus wasn't afraid of anything. Even so, he shifted uneasily from the lie.

"We need to practice."

"We've got two more practices till Saturday. I'll come then." Severus held his own, steady and purposefull. A brief flicker of light crossed Lucius' face, and Severus knew that he had won this round.

"Get some rest, Sev," Lucius said, not un-kindly, and stalked off with Narcissa trailing behind him.

Severus wasted no time in getting to his room and pulling out his Potions book.

***

The next morning found the long-standing rival Houses in Charms class. And like always, James Potter was surrounded by his friends. They were all having fun, what with all the pillows zooming from one end of the class to the other. Severus wasn't exactly paying attention to where his was flying, which is how it ended up flying into Potter's face.

Lucius burst into laughter, smacking Severus on the back on a job well done, and complimenting his levitation skills. The rest of his friends all snickered appreciatively. Severus smiled along with everybody else, and only when did their attention divert to something else, did he look to James. Clouded eyes blinked at him, mouth turned into a slight frown. Severus didn't dare say a word, but bowed his head slightly. The "apology" was acknwledged with eyes seeing him as in a new light. A small smile flickered his way, and Severus flushed, before turning back to his work.

The rest of the class passed without another incident. Severus was filing out of the room, along with everybody else, when Lucius stepped in front of him. A wicked smile broke out onto his face. "The look on Potter's face! Sev, that was some aim. Even I wouldn't have been able to get it in his mouth." Lucius doubled over with laughter again.

Severus looked at him. "Yea. Some aim," he said softly. He sighed inwardly, and looked around. Too late, the taller boy had already disappeared. Sighing again, he turned around and started moving to his next class.

***

Severus was lying on his bed. Everybody was at Hogsmeade, but him. Lucius had asked, begged, him to come but Severus refused. He had said that he was feeling himself. He wasn't exactly lying. Just not telling the *whole* truth. He had stayed behind, because he wasn't in the social mood. Lucius scowled, and said that Severus had been spending way to much time alone, that he needed to get out, have fun. Severus tactfully declined.

So now, Severus was on his back, staring at the dark green walls. He was bored. Bored, bored, *bored*. Finally, fed up, and giving himself a headache from the emptiness of the room, he got up to roam the school halls. He walked up the stairs leading away from the dungeons, and upon hearing Peeves gleefully throwing buckets around, he detoured and headed towards the general area of the library. He thought that maybe he could sit and read, without being disturbed. All thoughts of charms and potions fled, upon turning the corner.

James Potter was right in front of him and he had the gall to stand there and grin.

Severus folded his arms across his chest, and glared. Potter continued to beam.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, do get out of my way."

The other boy stepped to the side. "I am wondering ... why aren't you at Hogsmeade?"

Severus, who was walking past him, stopped and turned to look at him. "I can ask you the same question. But, I am not interested in knowing such things."

"I was just wondering how you were," James said, carefully.

Severus snarled. "Right. I'm bloody brilliant. Now, I have other important things to worry about," he said, leaving.

This time, James let him go, his smile oddly forced.

***

Next morning, at breakfast, Severus found himself watching the Potter boy intently. Of course, Potter was watching him right back. Severus slowly ate his food. After arriving at the library, he had stared at his work. Nothing had sunk in. He was more intent on pursuing thoughts of the older boy, wondering why he suddenly took to following him. It was weird. And what was even more weird, was that every time Severus thought of James Potter, his stomach grew warm. His stomach grew warm, his heart sped up, and his body tingled. "Fancy that," Severus thought. "It's because I'm stuck here, eyeing Potter." He scowled. It was the first time he admitted it consciously, let alone to himself.

Breaking eye contact at this sudden discovery, Severus suddenly found his lumps of blueberry porridge utterly fascinating. After a few minutes of unsuccessful eating, he gently pushed his bowl away, stood up, and calmly walked out.

"Snape."

Severus paused, control automatically taking over. "What are you hounding me about now, Potter?" He turned around to look at James.

Bright eyes looked back at him, non-blinking. Severus could clearly see that James was failing at hiding his emotions. His heart gave a small tug.

"Snape," James said again. He felt tense, and didn't know why. He felt it best to leave it to the dark-haired boy and let him take the lead. He knew that no matter what, the outcome would change everything. It was terrifying, letting someone else be in control. It scared him. It thrilled him. And still, he waited. The minutes seem to drag on, and Severus stood there, face impassive, eyes cold, unreadable.

Then, "My name is Severus."