The Awakened Sleeper

Author's Notes: I must thank all the folks who have read and reviewed my story so far. I'm glad that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Also, I have to thank my beta PirateQueen for all the guidance she's given me. Thanks for being so cool!

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
- Buddha

Chapter 4

Playing With Fire and Not Getting Burned

The nightmares had now become a nightly occurrence. They would wake Severus up two, sometimes three times a night. Each time Severus woke up, it took him at least half an hour to fall asleep again. As a result, Severus was now trying his best not to fall face-first into his plate of shepherd's pie.

"Severus! I'm talking to you!" hissed a very irritated Evan Rosier. "I had no idea I was so boring. I'll be sure to make my daily exploits more interesting for your benefit."

Severus rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sorry, Evan. I haven't been getting much sleep lately." He cocked his eyebrow and in a deadpan voice said, "Even though I had my eyes closed, I assure you I heard every word. I was completely riveted. Honestly."

Hadrian Wilkes reached for a platter of roast chicken. "Well, I wasn't," he said as he piled a few chicken legs on his plate. "I'm more interested in learning why Severus can't sleep. Visions of red-headed Mudbloods dancing in your head, perhaps?"

Severus glared at Hadrian. "Don't project your depraved fantasies onto me, Wilkes." He looked down at his plate as he readied another bite of food. "And don't mention that detestable girl to me; thoughts of her while eating might give me indigestion."

Forgetting that he was supposed to be irritated, Evan asked, "So, how's that little situation working out for you?"

"I'm handling it, Evan," Severus replied. "She does her work, I do mine. It's as simple as that."

Evan shook his head in disgust. "I'm so glad I dropped Potions. I think I'd have blasted old Slughorn to pieces if I'd had to spend the entire year joined up with a Gryffindor - especially a Mudblood."

"I've worked too hard all these years to let something like that stop me. If our roles were reversed, you'd react no differently than I have." Severus looked Evan in the eye and sneered. "Or are you really so pathetic that you'd allow a Mudblood to get in your way?"

Evan's deceptively angelic features shifted, showing Severus a glimpse of the darkness within. "You watch yourself, Severus. I'd hate for your mouth to get you into something your wand can't get you out of," Evan muttered coldly.

"Hey, Evan," Hadrian nervously interceded, "Severus is just winding you up. Right, Severus?"

Severus held Evan's gaze one moment longer than necessary. "Of course, Hadrian," Severus replied. "You know me; I'm just full of laughs."

Evan ran his tongue over his teeth, as he continued to glare at Severus. "Oh, yes. Slytherin's very own Uric the Oddball, you are." With a simple smile, Evan's face changed from dangerously wicked to deceivingly virtuous. "You're absolutely right, though. There's no way I'd let anybody run me off." Evan looked over Severus's shoulder. "Besides," he continued with a lecherous smirk, "every cloud has a silver lining."

Severus turned to follow Evan's gaze, and his eyes immediately locked onto Lily, sitting at the Gryffindor table. He swiftly turned around and said, "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Evan chuckled haughtily. "Come on, Severus. You know there's only one thing a Mudblood girl is good for - and it isn't studying Potions."

Hadrian leaned in closely, as if he were about to share some top secret information. "Evan's right, you know," Hadrian whispered. "There's this place down Knockturn Alley where my father goes. Once, I overheard him say that the women there will do anything; most of them are Muggle-born." Hadrian wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm going there as soon as I'm of age."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Lily Evans, garden-variety tart? I hardly think so."

Evan looked at the Gryffindor table again. "Well, she is friends with Cressida Corwin - the Whore of Gryffindor." He looked at Severus and said, "You know, girls like that run in packs. Did I tell you two how Corwin practically threw herself at me last term?"

"No," Severus drawled, "but I have no doubt that you'll regale us with all the sordid details."

"What can I say; living vicariously through my experiences is the closest you two are ever going to get to a female." Evan popped a piece of bread into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "The way I see it, I'm doing you both a favor."

Exhausted and visibly irritated, Severus exhaled loudly. "Forget about the preamble and just get on with it, why don't you? Some of us have places to be this evening."

Evan narrowed his eyes. "Fine, then. As I said earlier, it happened last term, right after Arithmancy. I was on my way to the library, and Corwin was following me. So I stopped to find out what she wanted."

Hadrian chuckled. "I take it you found out! I've heard things about her. Last year, a Ravenclaw told me that she -"

"Do you mind if I finish my story, Wilkes?" Evan spat out, clearly exasperated.

Hadrian's eyes widened. "Sorry, Evan. Didn't mean to interrupt."

Evan rolled his eyes and continued. "Anyway, she walked up to me and she told me that she had been watching me for ages. She said that we would make a great couple, and that I should dump Bronwen for her. The whole time she was talking, she kept getting closer and closer until she had backed me into a wall. Then she kissed me right then and there!" Evan stopped talking, apparently waiting for some kind of response. Severus, who couldn't care less, simply stared at Evan. Hadrian, however, was eager to please.

"So, what'd you do? Don't keep us in suspense!" Hadrian was practically bouncing in his seat.

Evan grinned slyly. "What do you think I did? I let her do it! When she finally came up for air she said, 'That was just a preview. When you're ready to stop playing with little girls, let me know.' Then she walked off."

Severus looked Evan in the eye. For some reason, he knew that Evan was lying. "So...that's it? She kissed you. Pardon me if I don't go running to the Daily Prophet right away."

Evan ignored Severus and continued. "Well, naturally I never took her up on her offer. What would it look like if I started hanging around Gryffindors voluntarily?" Evan once again looked across the Great Hall at Cressida. "She's probably still pining away for me. Maybe we can work something out this year; keep it hush-hush. What Bronwen doesn't know won't hurt her."

Severus turned around to look. "It doesn't look like she's pining for you from here, Evan. Actually, it looks like she's giving you a one-finger salute." Evan turned his gaze back to the Gryffindor table, as Hadrian looked up from his plate. Sure enough, Cressida Corwin was sitting on the other side of the Great Hall, grinning from ear to ear at Evan, her middle finger in the air.

With fury igniting the gold flecks in his brown eyes, Evan slowly rose from his seat. "I've lost my appetite. I'm leaving." He stalked his way down to the end of the Slytherin table where Bronwen Pierce was sitting. "We're leaving!" Evan growled as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the Great Hall.

Severus shook his head and smiled. That was entertaining, he thought to himself. That's what he gets for being a prat. He looked up to see Hadrian frowning and looking a bit confused.

"Why would she give him the finger? Maybe she just doesn't want the other Gryffindors to know she likes him."

"Or maybe - just maybe - Evan was lying through his perfect teeth. In fact, I'd lay odds that if that little encounter did actually happen, he was pursuing her; she probably turned him down flat." Severus looked at his pocket watch. "It's nearly six o'clock. I'm supposed to be meeting Lily Evans to study. I'll be late if I don't get going."

Hadrian shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares? She can wait. It's not like she's anyone special."

Severus rose from his seat. "No, but the sooner I get there, the sooner it'll be over. I'll see you later, Wilkes." As he made his way across the Great Hall, Severus stole a quick glance at the Gryffindor table. Here I am trying to be punctual, and she's still sitting at the table yapping, he thought with a scowl. Detestable girl!

*~*~*~*

Lily sat at the Gryffindor table trying to listen to her friends' conversation, but failing miserably. All she could think about was the impending study session with Severus Snape immediately after dinner. For the past two weeks they had gotten along fairly well together during Potions class. The two of them were civil towards each other and had reluctantly built an uneasy rapport. Nevertheless, Lily couldn't help worrying about it. This study session would be the first instance that they would be alone together for an extended amount of time. He'll probably be especially nasty to me, just because he can. There'll be no witnesses, and he can say or do whatever he wants with no consequences. She looked across the room, her eyes scanning the Slytherin table. There he is, Lily thought as her eyes landed on the back of a head full of oily black hair. Is he falling asleep? As soon as the thought entered her mind, Lily could see Severus jerk his head upright, as if he had been startled awake. He was a bit drowsy in class today, as well. I wonder what's wrong. It didn't affect his work, but maybe I should ask him later -

"Wake up, Lily!" Cressida exclaimed, irritation clearly evident in the tone of her voice. "We've been talking to you for the last five minutes, and the only response we've had in return is, 'Mmm-hmm.'" Cressida looked down at Lily's plate of shepherd's pie. "By the way, your scale model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is coming along quite nicely."

Lily looked down at the pillar of meat and mashed potatoes that she had absentmindedly sculpted while she was lost in thought. Lily frowned at the sculpture on her plate. "I did this? I'm sorry. I've got a lot on my mind. I'm listening now, though. What were you talking about?"

A small girl with pale skin and short platinum blonde hair answered. "It wasn't anything important, Lily. I was just telling Cressida about what happened at Quidditch practice," the girl said as she lowered her gray eyes. "It wasn't important," she repeated.

"That's absolute rubbish, Tegan!" Cressida exclaimed. "It's extremely important, especially for Lily!" Cressida kicked Lily under the table. "Lily's just a little out of it this evening. She didn't mean to be rude and self-absorbed. Did you, Lily?"

Lily just sat there a moment, her lips seemingly glued together. When the pain subsided and she was sure a scream wouldn't escape her lips, Lily looked at Tegan. "No, I didn't. I truly am sorry, Tegan. Go on; I'm listening," Lily said, rubbing her sore shin under the table.

Tegan hesitated for a moment, as if she were trying to make a decision. Finally, she said, "Well, since the term started, Carter has had me practicing moves to avoid Bludgers," Gryffindor's star Seeker said, referring to Alton Carter, the team captain. "I've been practicing the Sloth Grip Roll, but I haven't quite been able to get it right." Tegan looked at the confused look on Lily's face and continued. "A Sloth Grip Roll is when you hang upside down on the broomstick, hanging on with your hands and feet. You know, like a tree sloth?"

Lily enjoyed watching Quidditch, but had no knowledge of the game beyond the basic rules. "Oh, I see! That sounds a bit tricky, though."

Cressida rolled her eyes. "Tricky? Try dangerous! There are some pros who can't get it right. Honestly, Lily, two of your best friends are Quidditch fanatics," she said. Cressida looked across the table, winked at Tegan, and murmured, "You'd think she would have learned more than the basics by now."

Lily glared at Cressida as Tegan giggled softly and continued. "Anyway, Carter had James hit Bludgers in my direction, while he worked with the rest of the team on some maneuvers he wants to use against Slytherin." Tegan looked around and leaned toward her friends, indicating that they should do the same. "Whenever we weren't dodging the Bludger all he wanted to talk about was you, Lily," she whispered. "He asked me all these questions about you."

Lily looked bewildered. "And what would James Potter possibly want to know about me?"

Tegan counted off the questions on her fingers. "He wanted to know how you were doing, if Snape had said or done anything nasty to you lately, what your schedule is like, if you've said anything about him -"

"Why would he want to talk about me?" Lily interjected.

Cressida turned to Lily and grabbed her hand. "Lily," Cressida cooed, stroking Lily's hand, "maybe he likes you." She spoke to Lily in the same way that a mother would speak to her five-year-old child.

"Well, I don't like him," Lily said as she jerked her hand away from Cressida's. "He's such a bully. I could never be with anyone who is cruel to people just because he can be." Lily looked down the table to where James was sitting. "He's pretentious, as well; always trying to mess up his hair on purpose. It's ridiculous."

Tegan started gathering her things. "I haven't seen James bully anyone since the day he asked for the Snitch I kept after my first game. He wanted to play with it." Tegan looked as if she were contemplating something. "That was...last June I think." She smiled and looked at Lily. "When he was asking about you today, he was trying to sound nonchalant, but I could tell he really wanted to know more about you. It was sweet." Tegan stood up and sighed. "I wish a boy was that interested in me. See you two later."

Cressida watched as the diminutive girl walked away. "That girl is a mystery to me. She is so passionate about Quidditch. When she's flying, Tegan is just bursting with confidence, but when she's around anyone but us, she's so shy. I just wish she'd rely on some of that confidence when she's not at the Quidditch pitch." She turned to Lily and said, "She has a point, you know. I haven't seen James doing anything stupid lately, either."

Lily snorted derisively. "Humph! Give him time. He'll want to show off, particularly right before the first Quidditch match against Slytherin. Then the Potter and Black Show will begin."

Cressida smiled into her plate. "You know, for someone who hates the poor bloke, you know an awful lot about his hexing habits."

Now it was Lily's turn to roll her eyes at Cressida. "Cressa, you know I don't hate him. And it's not like I keep up with his every move, but as a prefect it's my job to notice those types of things."

"Mmm-hmm. Sure it is," Cressida replied with a sly grin on her face.

"Shut up!"

Cressida threw her head back and laughed, drawing the attention of several people who were sitting close by. "How scandalous! Just a minute ago you were discussing your duties as a prefect, and now you're telling me to 'Shut up.'" She shook her head. "Shame on you." She stopped smiling when she saw the serious look on Lily's face. "What is it?"

Lily was staring at the Slytherin table. "Evan Rosier was leering at us."

Cressida looked straight ahead to see Evan turning back to his friends. "Oh, well let me give him a proper greeting." With that, Cressida put on her best smile and threw her middle finger in the air.

"Oh, that's charming, Cressa," Lily muttered. At that moment, Lily noticed that Severus was looking in their direction as well. Is that amusement on his face? Who knew Severus Snape had a sense of humor? She watched as he turned around, his back facing the Gryffindor table once again. Oh, that's why he's in such a good mood; it looks as though he just told Evan about Cressa's greeting. The corner of Lily's mouth quivered as she tried not to laugh. She was a prefect after all.

"Oh...I don't think he liked my greeting very much. He's leaving." Cressida pouted, feigning disappointment. "I do so aim to please."

Lily turned to Cressida, frowning. "Why greet him at all? Usually you just ignore people you don't like."

Cressida took a moment to chew the piece of bread she had just popped into her mouth. "I have a particularly strong dislike for Evan Rosier; bordering on sheer hatred, actually. I get my jollies watching that smug bastard squirm."

Lily stared at Cressida in wide-eyed shock. Cressida was no saint, but Lily couldn't recall her ever being so openly vicious before. She studied Cressida closely, feeling ill at ease about what she saw in her friend's face. Cressida looked as if someone had pulled a mask of malevolence over her face. Lily could see malice in her best friend's eyes - and it was terrifying.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lily finally found her voice and whispered, "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing," Cressida replied. "Nothing I couldn't handle, anyway." She looked Lily in the eye and added, "And nothing I want to get into right now, so drop it." Cressida turned her attention back to her plate and began stabbing at the remnants of her dinner with the tines of her fork.

Cressida's contempt was palpable; Lily could almost feel the intense anger radiating from her in waves. Lily couldn't understand what would make Cressida feel that way so suddenly. She bit her lip in anxious frustration. Lily wanted to probe Cressida further, yet she didn't want to risk angering her best friend even more.

"Cressa, please don't bite my head off, but you can't just say something like that and then expect me not to respond to it. Look at you; you look like you're ready to use an Unforgivable Curse on him!" Lily hissed worriedly. "You were happy a few minutes ago, and now you look like you're ready to join Slytherin!" Lily took Cressida's hand in hers. "I understand if you don't want to get into the whole story here in the Great Hall, but you've got to give me something." Lily gently squeezed Cressida's hand and whispered, "You're scaring me, Cressa."

With those words, the hard look on Cressida's face immediately melted away. "I'm sorry, Lily," she said, squeezing Lily's hand in return. "You're right. I don't want to get into the whole story here, but I shouldn't expect you to just forget about it, either." Cressida took a deep breath and reluctantly began to tell her best friend the abridged version of her last encounter with Evan Rosier.

"It happened last term. We take Arithmancy together, you know. Well, one day I stayed after class for a few minutes to ask the professor about one of our assignments. I suppose Evan had been waiting for me, because he approached me in an empty corridor as I was walking back to Gryffindor Tower. He started talking about how he had had his eye on me for awhile and that he thought we'd make a great couple."

Cressida stopped for a moment, scowling as she remembered how Evan had behaved. "He had this smug look on his face; he's so full of himself. I guess I was supposed to fall on my knees and kiss his feet, or something. Anyway, I told him to shove off - well, I didn't use those words, exactly, but I don't think your tender ears are ready to hear what I actually said."

"Oh, very funny," Lily deadpanned. "Please continue."

"I told Evan to leave me alone. He asked why, and I gave him three reasons. First of all, he has a girlfriend. I would never cross that line, no matter how much I detest the heifer. Second, he's a slimy grotbag. Evan Rosier may have two-thirds of the female population of Hogwarts fooled with his perfect smile and perfect hair, but not me." Cressida gave Lily a lopsided grin. "I told him as much, and he didn't appreciate it."

Lily giggled and began to relax. The fun-loving Cressida that Lily knew seemed to be coming back to her. Clearly, this was something that had been bothering Cressida, and Lily was glad that she'd decided to tell her about it. "You said you gave him three reasons; what was the third?"

"I gave him 'Cressida Corwin's Golden Rule of Dating.' You remember the rule, don't you Miss Evans?"

Lily feigned ignorance. "Why, which rule would that be, Miss Corwin?"

Cressida gave Lily a toothy grin and said, "Lips of mine shall never touch Slytherin swine!" Not wanting to attract unwanted attention, both girls attempted to stifle their laughter.

Once they regained their composure, Cressida proceeded with the story. "That really pissed him off. To make a long story short, Evan pushed me against the wall, said some nasty things to me, and got a little grabby." Cressida frowned and said, "No; he got a lot grabby. He put his hands on several places they didn't belong."

Lily gasped in disbelief. "Oh, Cressa! He didn't!"

"Oh, yes he did. It didn't last too long, though." Cressida slowly grinned as she remembered what happened next. "Turnabout is fair play, so I put my knee where it didn't belong - right between Evan's legs."

"Well, it serves him right, groping you in the corridor like that!" Lily was almost afraid to ask what happened next. "Is that everything? He didn't do anything else, did he?"

Cressida shook her head. "No, that's as far as it went. I left him writhing on the floor in pain."

It seemed to Lily that her friend was still keeping something from her. What Evan did was reprehensible, but Lily wondered if there wasn't something else behind the intense hatred that Cressida had exhibited just moments ago. She decided not to press the issue any further. Cressida would tell her when the time was right. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like Evan Rosier."

"Trust me, there are many reasons not to like him," Cressida replied. "Look, I didn't want to say anything before because he doesn't seem to be the type that would do what Evan did, but be careful around Snape, OK? I don't know if I'd call them best mates, mainly because I don't think Severus Snape has a friendly bone in his body. But they spend an awful lot of time together." Cressida gave Lily's hand another squeeze. "Promise me you'll be careful around him."

Lily furrowed her brow as she nodded. "All right, I promise. You do the same with Evan."

Cressida rolled her eyes. "I can handle that git. I'm sorry if I scared you before. I was a bit extreme, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were. I don't want to see you looking like that ever again. It's bad enough I have to spend so much time with Surly Severus Snape - oh, what time is it?" Lily frantically inquired.

"Ten minutes until six o'clock," Cressida answered. "Why? What's your hurry?"

"I'm supposed to meet Severus at six o'clock! I've got to go!" Lily exclaimed as she stood up to leave.

"Wait!" Cressida desperately shrieked. "You can't go yet. I still need to ask you about something."

Lily was already hurriedly making her way toward the exit. "Can't it wait until later? I'm going to be late, and if I'm late I just know I'll hear about it from the time I get there until the time I leave."

"No, it can't wait. I'll just walk - make that run - with you, and talk at the same time."

Lily stopped abruptly. "OK, what is so important that it can't wait until I make it back to the common room later on?" Lily grabbed Cressida's arm and looked at her wrist watch. "And make it quick."

"Sirius-wanted-me-to-ask-you-if-you-would-mind-tutoring-James-in-Potions," Cressida blurted out in one breath.

"Is that all? I thought you said it couldn't wait," Lily said. "You are so exasperating sometimes, Cressida." Lily folded her arms across her chest and began tugging at her locket as she quickly contemplated the request. James did approach me about it during our first Potions class. He must really want to improve if he's enlisting Sirius and Cressida's help. Why didn't he just ask me about this himself?

"Oh, fine!" Lily shouted. "I'll help him, on two conditions. First, he's got to be committed to improving. No silliness, no time-wasting. Second, we'll start after the first Quidditch match. He'll be busy with extra practices up until then, and I don't want him to be preoccupied with Quidditch while I'm working with him."

Cressida grabbed Lily and hugged her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll let Sirius and James know." Cressida released Lily and beamed. "You big softy," Cressida gushed. "You can go now." With that, she turned around and headed back to the Great Hall.

Lily shook her head as she watched Cressida scurry away. She really wants to impress Sirius, doesn't she? With time growing shorter every second she stood there, Lily finally turned around and ran up the staircase.

*~*~*~*

While Lily was rushing to meet Severus, Cressida was rushing back to the Great Hall to update Sirius on how their plan was unfolding. As she approached Sirius, she noticed that he and his friends were huddled together, engaged in a very intense conversation.

"...so I'll be finished with my portion of the Map in a few days, I think," whispered a very excited Peter. "Can you believe it? It's almost ready!"

Sirius grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Do you know what we'll be able to do around here? Anything we want; we'll be legends!"

"You can be a legend if you want, but keep my name out of the history books, please," said Remus. "Don't get me wrong, the Map is going to be great, but people like me can't afford to be infamous."

"'The Infamous Sirius Black...'" Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. "That has a nice ring to it, mate."

At that moment, Cressida tapped Sirius on the shoulder and said, "Might I have a word with 'The Not-So-Famous Sirius Black,' please?"

All three boys sat bolt upright in their seats, looking like they had just been caught nicking handfuls of sweets from Honeydukes.

"H-Hello, Cressida," stammered Peter.

"Hi," said Cressida, a devilish smirk spreading across her face. "How are you gentlemen doing this fine evening?"

Sirius slowly turned around to face Cressida. "We're just dandy. How long have you been listening to us?" he asked.

"Long enough to know that you're all up to something. Don't worry," she said, looking at Sirius's panic stricken face, "it was also long enough to be utterly confused." Cressida took a quick glance up the length of the Gryffindor table. "Where's James?"

"He said Quidditch practice left him a bit knackered, so he's already gone to bed," said Remus.

Cressida nodded. "Tegan said he had to spend the entire practice knocking Bludgers in her direction. I guess it would be a bit tiring for a Chaser to do a Beater's job for a while."

"While I enjoy meaningless small talk as much as the next person," Sirius began, "we were in the middle of something when you interrupted us. So if you need to speak to me, start speaking."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Cressida replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I just thought you'd want an update on the little matter we discussed last week." She turned around and began to walk away. "I suppose I was wrong," she called over her shoulder.

"Bloody hell," Sirius mumbled. He turned around to face Remus and Peter. "I've got to follow her. We're working on something together. We'll finish our discussion in the common room later, OK?"

"Sure, Sirius," said Peter. "You may want to hurry; she was walking pretty quickly."

"Thanks. See you later!" Sirius ran after Cressida, his robes billowing behind him. He skidded to a halt when he found her sitting at the foot of the stairs waiting for him.

"It took you long enough," said Cressida. "I was about to leave."

Sirius stared at Cressida in disbelief. "Why didn't you just tell me what you wanted to talk about when you first came over? And why make me run after you like that?"

Cressida examined her nails as she said, "I had just interrupted your little conversation. I didn't want to be completely rude and not speak to Remus and Peter." She looked up at Sirius, her brown eyes full of mirth. "As for making you run after me - you were being nasty to me. I needed to teach you a lesson."

Sirius sat down next to Cressida, resting his forearms on his knees. "Ah, yes! You're supposed to be educating me. So, what lesson am I supposed to be learning this evening?"

"Don't piss off Cressida Corwin, especially when you want something from her."

Sirius nodded earnestly. "That's a very important lesson." Grinning, he held out his right hand and asked, "Will you accept my apology, Miss Corwin?"

"Apology accepted, Mr. Black," Cressida said as she shook his outstretched hand. She looked down at the hand she held in her own, and stared at it as if she were trying to memorize what it looked like. "You've got nice hands. Strong and exceptionally clean for a sixteen-year-old."

Sirius took his hand back and examined it. "My mother hates filth. When I was younger, I wasn't allowed to set foot in the dining room if I had one speck of dirt anywhere. So I had to scrub myself thoroughly before coming down to dinner each night. Old habits die hard, I suppose."

"Your mother wouldn't like my mother very much." Cressida smiled as she thought of her mother. "My mother's philosophy is that kids aren't being kids unless they're getting filthy."

Sirius studied Cressida's face, admiring the joy in it. At the same time, he felt a slight twinge of envy. "You miss her don't you? Your mother?"

"Of course I do!" Cressida exclaimed, puzzled by his incredulous question. "Why? Don't you miss yours?"

"Hell no! I look forward to leaving her behind every year. Don't look at me like that," Sirius said as he noticed the stunned expression on Cressida's face. "She's a horrid woman, and my father isn't any better. As soon as I'm old enough, I'm out of there for good."

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Cressida murmured as she looked away. "I wasn't trying to be judgmental. It's just that I've always heard about the Black family and how old it is. I always assumed that you all were a tight knit bunch. But then again every family has its problems." Cressida sighed as she turned to Sirius and added, "Even the seemingly happy ones. Trust me, I know from experience."

Sirius could see the sadness in Cressida's eyes and was filled with an overwhelming urge to hug her. An urge to reassure her that everything would be all right, even if it wouldn't be. Instead, he did the next best thing: he changed the subject.

"Since you have some new information for me, I'm assuming you've spoken to Lily."

Cressida's face immediately brightened. "She said she'll tutor James after the first Quidditch match! Make sure you tell him that she expects him to take it seriously."

Sirius stood up; he was beginning to lose the feeling in his rear end after sitting on the cold stone step for the past few minutes. "Trust me, he'll definitely take it seriously. That's how he's taking everything these days. He's been a real drag lately." He held out his hand to help Cressida up from the step.

"Thanks," she said as she took his hand. "My arse is completely numb. I've been sitting on that blasted step too long."

Sirius looked at Cressida, totally dumbfounded. When he finally found his voice he said, "You have absolutely no tact, whatsoever."

"Tact isn't in my vocabulary," replied Cressida as she started up the staircase. "I say exactly what's on my mind. Life is too short to beat about the bush, don't you think?"

Sirius followed behind her. "I suppose..."

"Besides," Cressida continued as she reached the landing of the staircase, "you never know. It may be the last time I speak to that person, so I make sure I tell him precisely what I think right then and there." Melancholy had drifted back into Cressida's eyes. "I might not have another chance to say it, you know?"

There's definitely a story there, Sirius thought to himself. I wonder who hurt her so badly.

"I understand what you're saying, Cressida. All I'm saying is that it might not be such a bad idea to put a little thought into what you say before you say it." He walked past her and continued up the next set of stairs. "Anyway, now that the first part of the plan is in place, what do we do now?" He looked over his shoulder at her. "The first Quidditch match is still weeks away."

"You keep James out of trouble. Lily is convinced that he's going to do something stupid right before the Quidditch match, just so he can show off." Cressida hurried up the stairs so she could block Sirius from going any further. "That means you need to stay out of trouble, as well."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "This is fast becoming the worst year of my life. I've never been so bored. However, I'm willing to make the sacrifice if it means happiness for James."

Cressida winked at Sirius. "That's the spirit! Now, while you two are staying out of trouble, I'll make sure Lily notices it. I'll also arrange for all of us to bump into each other in Hogsmeade next month. How does that sound?"

"It sounds brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! In the meantime, we'll keep each other posted on any new developments."

Cressida held out her hand for Sirius to shake. "Sounds like a plan!"

Sirius shook her hand and held on to it a moment longer than necessary. "You've got nice hands, too. They're delicate, but deceptively so. You've got a very firm grip."

Cressida gave his hand a little squeeze as she said, "What can I say? When I see something I like or want, I hold on to it and I don't let it go."

The corner of Sirius's mouth twitched a bit. "Are you saying that you like me?"

Cressida hunched her shoulders and said, "Eh...you're OK."

Sirius laughed. "You're not so bad yourself, Corwin," he replied as he finally released her hand.

"Has anyone ever told you that you bark like a dog when you laugh?" Cressida asked.

Sirius began walking toward Gryffindor Tower again. "Nope, you're the first. It makes sense, though..."

Makes sense? Cressida thought to herself. I thought I was weird...

*~*~*~*

When Lily arrived at the door of the empty classroom where they had agreed to meet, she found Severus sitting at a table, drumming his fingers against the table where he was sitting.

"Would you mind terribly not doing that?" Lily asked, remembering what Severus had said to her during their first Potions class together. "It's maddening and on the brink of becoming extremely infuriating."

Without turning around, Severus replied, "You're late. I had to occupy my time somehow."

Lily smiled. She didn't think he would remember the conversation they had had two weeks ago. I should've known better, she mused.

"I'm not late," she said as she looked at the clock on the wall. "It's exactly six o'clock."

Severus looked over his shoulder. "Early is on-time; on-time is late. I suppose your parents forgot to teach you about punctuality."

By this time, Lily had reached the table. As she began unloading her books and supplies she said, "Severus, don't insult my intelligence. You being here early has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to be punctual."

"Is that right? Since you obviously think you have me figured out, why don't you tell me why I was here early?"

Lily turned around and leaned back against the table, her arms folded across her chest. "Severus, nothing gives you more pleasure than one-upping someone. You got here early so you would have one more thing to throw in my face. Admit it."

Severus stood up and began rolling up the sleeves of his robes. "I will admit no such thing. I was raised to believe that it is important to be punctual. That is the only reason I was here early." He looked at Lily, his right eyebrow raised and amusement in his dark eyes. "One-upping you was an added bonus."

Lily turned to face the table and began setting up her cauldron. "I remember reading somewhere that people who feel the need to constantly declare their superiority are really trying to cover up how inferior they feel they are deep down inside." She looked at Severus out of the corner of her eye and said, "Sound like anyone you know?"

Severus retrieved his share of the potion that Professor Slughorn had assigned them. He held the vial up to the light, examining the swirling, silvery solution. "Obviously, you're referring to me, and once again you're absolutely wrong. I haven't got an inferiority complex. I don't constantly declare how superior I am." He uncorked the vial and let several drops of the solution dribble into his cauldron. "My work speaks for itself."

"You think that wasn't a declaration of superiority?"

"No, it was a statement of fact. But to answer your original question, yes. That sounds like several Gryffindors I know - two in particular."

Lily had prepared her potion as well, and was now getting her quill and parchment ready for note-taking. "Unfortunately, you may be right about that," she said as she thought about the stunts and pranks that James and Sirius had pulled during their time at Hogwarts. "As much as I'm enjoying our witty banter, I have to insist that we begin analyzing this potion now. It's going to take at least an hour, and I have patrolling duty tonight."

"We could have started ages ago if someone had bothered to check a watch."

"Ugh!" Lily exclaimed in frustration. "Do you want me to say I was late? Fine, Severus, I was late! Can we please move on, now?" I just knew he would behave this way, she thought to herself. I'm going to smack Cressida for keeping me from getting here sooner!

Severus, obviously pleased with himself, replied, "Of course we can. I suggest we each do our own work and compare our results when we've finished."

Lily took a deep breath to calm herself. "Fine with me."

With that, the pair of them lit the burners under their cauldrons and silently began a series of tests to determine some of the ingredients of the potion they were assigned. Every once in a while, Lily would hear Severus mumble inaudibly under his breath as he jotted down something in his notes. After twenty minutes had passed, Severus sat down again and continued to write his notes. Lily thought nothing of it until she heard something fall to the floor.

"Did you drop something, Severus?" Lily asked, still engrossed in her work. "Severus?" When she received no answer, she finally looked up from her notes to see Severus slumped over in the chair, sound asleep. His parchment and quill had fallen on the floor beside him.

Lily crouched down next to him and tried to rouse him out of his slumber. "Severus, wake up! Wake up!" No matter how hard she shook him, no matter how loudly she yelled, Severus wouldn't wake up.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, Lily thought to herself. She stood in front of him, raised her hand up, and brought it down swiftly across his left cheek. The loud crack of the slap reverberated throughout the classroom.

Needless to say, Lily's desperate measure worked.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you!" Severus bellowed as he jumped up from his seat, cradling his stinging cheek.

"You wouldn't wake up! I'd already tried shaking you and yelling at you, but you didn't respond to either. I got scared, so I did the only other thing I could think of."

"You live at a MAGIC SCHOOL, and striking me across the face was the best you could do?"

Lily simply stared at Severus for a moment, too stunned to speak. Then she doubled over in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"Oh - I'm sorry! You're right - I should've just used my wand," Lily managed to say, tears rolling down her face.

"It's not funny!" Severus shouted rather unconvincingly, as the corners of his mouth were beginning to twitch.

"Oh, yes it is! You should've seen the look on your face!" With that statement, Lily dropped to the floor, as a new bout of intense laughter began. Seeing Lily rolling on the floor in laughter, Severus lost the last bit of composure he had and began laughing, too. When she realized that he was laughing, Lily sobered up a little bit.

"You're laughing? I'd never believe it if I weren't seeing it with my own two eyes." She giggled as she said, "Did it hurt? Are you going to be all right?"

"Of course it hurt, but I don't think one slap will scar me for life."

Lily smirked as she said, "I was referring to the laughter, not the slap."

Severus caught his breath and sat down. "I do laugh. I'm a human being, not an automaton."

Lily wiped the tears from her eyes. "I don't know, Severus. You behave like an emotionless machine sometimes."

"Just because I'm not amused by the frivolous things that most people are amused by, doesn't mean that I'm completely devoid of a sense of humor. Besides, there hasn't been much to laugh about in my life." As if someone had flipped a switch, all the mirth vanished from Severus's face. Immediately noticing the change in his demeanor, Lily thought it best to change the subject.

"Why have you been falling asleep today?" Lily asked, her voice full of concern. "You fell asleep in class, earlier at dinner, and then just now. What's going on?"

Several Slytherins had inquired about Severus's recent bouts of drowsiness. However, this was the first time Severus felt that the question had been asked out of genuine concern for his well-being. It was unnerving, and he didn't quite know how to respond to it.

"Why do you care so much?" asked Severus. He didn't dare look Lily in the eye, lest she see how confused he was by this sudden turn of events. He busied himself by picking up the items that he had dropped when he had fallen asleep.

"You needn't get shirty with me, Severus. It just isn't normal for people our age to fall asleep so suddenly."

"It's nothing. I just haven't been sleeping very well lately. It will pass." Severus began looking over his notes, as if the matter was settled.

For the second time that evening, Lily felt torn between pressing the issue and keeping her mouth shut. "Maybe you should go to the hospital wing, just in case -"

"It...will...pass," Severus said through clenched teeth.

"Fine," Lily muttered. "Whatever you say, Severus." Lily walked back to her cauldron, picked up her quill and parchment, and went back to analyzing her potion.

After ten minutes of working in silence, Severus turned off his burner. "I think this is as far as we're going to get tonight," he said with a frown. "I think we should compare notes now."

Lily responded by turning off her burner as well. "I'm not sure you're going to want to see my notes. I think I might have done something wrong."

"Why do you say that?"

Lily exhaled in frustration and said, "Because based on the work I did, this potion has the ingredients of two completely different potions, but has the properties of neither one."

"Normally, the assertion that you did something wrong would most likely be accurate. However, I've come to the same conclusion as you have." Severus quickly snatched Lily's notes from her hand and laid them on the table next to his.

"Yes...yes...hmmm," Severus muttered to himself as he studied the notes. Lily looked over his shoulder so she could study their notes as well.

"You noticed that the potion has some of the ingredients of the Draught of Living Death - minute traces of asphodel and wormwood," Lily said.

"Yes. I identified the valerian, as well. I see you noticed that this potion has more valerian than the Draught of Living Death has."

Lily pointed to another notation she had written on her parchment. "There's no sopophorous bean juice in it either, unless I missed it."

Severus shook his head. "No, I didn't find any traces of it either. It seems as though we've got a sleeping potion of some sort, but it isn't as strong as the Draught of Living Death. The sedative properties of the sopophorous bean are much stronger than the sedative properties of valerian. With the increased amount of valerian, the sopophorous bean juice is unnecessary and would be quite redundant."

Lily gave Severus a lopsided grin and said, "Not to mention the fact that the two of them together in such high amounts would probably put someone into a permanent coma."

"Quite right," replied Severus. "Our potion also has some of the same ingredients that are found in the Draught of Peace - hellebore and moonstone."

Lily stood and began cleaning up. "So, I suppose it's safe to say what we've learned is that we have absolutely no clue what this potion is, right?"

"Well, at least we know a bit more than we did before we started," Severus said, handing Lily's notes back to her. "Now we can start researching in the library."

Lily took the parchment, folded it, and placed it inside her Potions textbook. "Why don't we work on it separately? If either of us finds something significant, we'll discuss it in class. If we haven't found anything by two weeks from tomorrow, we'll meet again and spend the day in the library together until we do find something. How does that sound?" As she waited for a response, Lily pointed her wand at the potion inside her cauldron, mumbled, "Evanesco," and the potion disappeared.

"You do realize that the first Hogsmeade weekend is two weeks from tomorrow, don't you?" Severus asked.

"I am aware of that, yes. Do you have plans?" The sound of Lily's voice clearly indicated that she was under the impression that Severus didn't have anything planned for that day.

"No, but obviously you had deduced that fact already. However, I'm sure your social calendar is completely filled," sneered Severus.

"Not really. I was just going to go into Hogsmeade with Cressida, but this is more important. You heard Professor Slughorn. Our potion takes a while to prepare, and we're starting to run out of time."

"I'm glad to see that you've got your priorities in order," Severus said as he turned to put his books into his book sack.

Lily was about to make a snappy retort, when she noticed the bright red mark she'd left on his face. "I'm really sorry about slapping you. You should put something on that when you leave here. It looks ghastly."

Severus touched his face gingerly. "You enjoyed doing this didn't you?"

Lily started to protest. "No, of course not! I was just really worried, and I panicked -" She stopped when she noticed Severus looking at her with his right eyebrow cocked up in disbelief. "Well...maybe just a little bit," she admitted in a small voice.

"Humph!" Severus snorted. "Just what I thought." He turned and walked toward the classroom door. "By the way," he called over his shoulder, "you were right - I did get here early so I could one-up you. Good night, Lily."

Lily stood where she was, completely gobsmacked. I actually enjoyed myself this evening, she thought. I was so worried he would be mean to me, I didn't even consider the possibility that he might actually be nice. Wonders never cease...

Author's Note: The title of this chapter is a line from the song "Prayer for the Dying" by Seal.