Marauding and Mischief at Midnight

Summary: James Potter enjoys nothing more than making Severus Snape's life miserable. Or does he? A series of late-night encounters, cerca the Invisibility Cloak, featuring the proud ships of JPSS and RLSB. Rated K+ for slash.

Author's Note: Of course I don't own Harry Potter! Do you really think I would have let Dumbledore and Sirius die?

Chapter One: A Brief History

"He's here!" The jubilant voice belonged to a Messr. Sirius Black, certified pure-blood, upon seeing James Potter. One fifth-year student embraced the other, nearly tackling him to the ground. "Been too long, mate!"

"Oof, gerrome, it's only been a bloody weekend! I saw both of you Friday night!" Remus's hug was a little less violent, and Peter's handshake was quivering and admiring as always. "So good to be back on the Express… I'd begun to miss dear ol' Hoggy Warts." He broke out a huge grin as they shoved their trunks into the overhead compartments of a train car. But what they didn't notice was that one other person currently occupied the car. With his face buried so deeply in a newspaper, it was as if the young wizard with greasy black hair was trying to snuff out his own visibility.

"Blimey! Oi, it's Snivellus!" Sirius exclaimed triumphantly, pulling the paper out from his hands. "What's he reading, then? Not PlayWitch, or the Prophet, even…"

"Give it here, then!" James took it despite the boy's protests. "Oh, surely not Potions Premium! That's for old warlocks and hags, not respectable Hogwartians!" He puffed up his chest, and added snidely, "But then again, Snivellus here isn't a respectable Hogwartian. No, he's a Slytherin. Pity you didn't make prefect, Snapey." He chuckled, and Peter laughed aloud. At last the boy seemed to find his tongue.

"You haven't either, Potter. But Lily Evans did. Bet that threw you for a spin." And although he said it very quietly, Sirius had to hold James back to keep him from attacking the smaller boy.

"Leave him go, James. The ol' bat's not worth it." Sirius finally released a panting James, and Remus glanced out the window.

"C'mon, there's the lady with the trolley! Let's go get some chocolate." And Remus, ever the kind heart, asked softly, "Would you like anything, Severus?" Snape looked up at him gratefully, but all he said was, "No thank you." And he picked up the discarded newspaper and immersed himself in it once more.

The ride to Hogwarts was uneventful, except for the fact that Snape sat right beside James without sustaining injury. Miraculous, but true. Perhaps they had declared a truce of sorts, but it was more likely that both of their minds were fixated on the same point of revolution: Lily Evans. There she was, walking with two girl friends--Mary and Alice--up the wide stairs to the Great Hall. James broke rank with his friends, and almost at the same moment, Snape all but dashed forward to meet her. Alice and Mary regarded the boys with a sneer, as if to say, "What? You're not nearly good enough for our friend!" But they had eyes only for the redhead. To James's dismay, she completely ignored him except for a slight, "Hello James," and then proceeded to take up conversation with Snape, saying, "Severus! How've you been?"

"Lily, it's only been three days! But you're looking beautiful nonetheless." She blushed and said something equally charming, and James stormed back to his friends, who were now seated at the Gryffindor table.

It was always difficult for Lily and Severus. Many times Lily would sneak over to the Slytherin table, doing her best to hide the stripe of scarlet on her robes. Severus had once tried to sit with her, upon much urging, at the Gryffindor table. But upon seeing his green stripe, the boys (especially Vance, Marcus, Sirius, and James) kicked him out, literally. Lily still hadn't forgiven any of the four. But none of the Slytherins had been so cruel to her, the Mudblood, although she heard the snickers and saw them turn their backs. Now, Lily sat down beside Severus and reached for a plate of fresh fruit. It was a little awkward with Lily at Snape's left, because he was left-handed, and she used her right hand, so he began to eat with his right. He nearly spilled a glass of pumpkin juice in the process, which resulted in their laughter resonating across the table.

When at last they parted for the night, Severus took Lily's hand, then thought better of it and hugged her tight, saying, "Good night, Lily."

"Sweet dreams, Sevvie." Her secret pet name for him still made him smile after all these years. She was the only thing safe and secure in his unstable world.

As he walked down the stairs to the dungeons, he felt as if he was walking on air. All of a sudden, he heard a sound, like the rushing of a strange wind, off to his left. He stepped back just in time to avoid being punched by Messr. James Potter.

"Sevvie? Ha! Who is Evans, your mum?" The odd thing was that James was alone for once, and not surrounded by his thugs.

"Go away, Potter." Even the Gryffindor fool couldn't ruin his elation.

"Face it, you loooooove Lily Evans!" James's voice was sickeningly taunting.

"We're not in first year anymore. Go to bed, Potter." He was getting annoyed now.

"You can't tell me what to do, Snivellus. Or should I say Sevvie?" He ignored the teasing, but he could not ignore the curse. "Petrificus Totalus!" He wanted to scream at James, to yell, "This is mad! You aren't allowed! I'll beat the living hell out of you when I can feel again!" No doubt James would use this opportunity to cause him great pain, but he fixated his memory on Lily's embrace. And as he thought of Lily, somehow, inexplicably, their two thoughts intertwined, and each ended up in the other's mind.

Author's Note: Reviews are lemon sherbet! Tell me how you really feel! Second chapter coming tomorrow.