Title: Truth or Sev
Pair: Severus Snape and Lily Evans
Summary: A small game of Truth-or-Dare turns out to be bigger than once thought.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.. unfortunately...
Lily Evans.
He hadn't spoken to her for almost a year.
Severus cringed as he recalled the 'Mudblood' incident. Oh, how he wished he could take it all away, but Potter crossed the line. Only if Lily understood what he was feeling: humiliated in front of the whole school as his graying underpants were on display. His whole body shook with rage as he remembered the scene, and without noticing, accidentally dropped a few slices of mandrake root into the potion.
It was by "pure luck" that Slughorn had partnered them up again for Potions (no surprise). If they had to choose partners, Lily Evans would have never sat next to him.
But here she was. She was swiftly slicing up the ginger root, unaware that her partner was contemplating about her. Lily sighed as another one of her curly red locks fell from her ponytail.
"Stupid hair…" she muttered under her breath. But Severus heard her and narrowed his eyes. He liked – loved – her hair. He wished he could run his long, pale fingers through her silky, crimson curls, but it was over for them. He knew.
"Sirius, you idiot! I can't believe you blew up the potion!" yelled James.
"How is it my fault? You're the one staring at Lily and not paying attention!" Sirius snapped back.
Severus eyed the fighting duo from his spot in the back and smirked triumphantly. Highlight of my day, he mused. He then watched his red-haired partner from the corner of his dark eyes and back at the cauldron. At least it looks decent…even if we haven't communicated at all.
It's Potter's fault.
Just then, the cauldron started to bubble furiously, and its ruby contents exploded all over Severus. His partner looked at him, and he could see the sides of her mouth twitching – threatening to smile. However, she restrained herself and handed him a towel.
"Here," Lily said.
It was the first word she had said to him in a year.
He nodded slowly as he took the towel and wiped his face. Unfortunately, one piece wasn't enough and Lily gave him another piece. He saw her gaze travel from his eyes to his lips and back on the floor. Severus felt a chill run through his spine and he wished that their relationship wasn't so torn. Severus could feel James' glare from the back and resisted to turn around.
The bell rang before the class could finish, and the students rushed out to get to their next class. James Potter strolled over to Lily and gave her his best smile.
"Hey, Evans! Want to hang out at the boys' dorm for a little while tonight?"
"Mmm…" Lily murmured.
"What?"
Severus smirked as he packed his bag. He hoped James wouldn't pay any attention to him, but it was too late.
"I doubt she'll hang out with you tonight, Snivellus."
Severus froze and felt his face flush. But he restrained himself and simply rushed out of the classroom. Lily stared after his fleeing form and glared at James. James held his hands up in surrender.
"Hey, at least I didn't call you a Mudblood!"
She ignored him and walked out of the classroom without another glance at James.
"Jeez…women…" he groaned.
Sirius came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's go, mate! And don't worry about it – We'll get Remus to persuade her."
"Yeah…"
"Lily Evans! What are the three D's in performing Apparition?"
She was startled as she was suddenly brought back to reality. "Can you repeat the question, please?"
Wilkie Twycross, the Apparition Instructor from the Ministry, coughed – obviously annoyed. "What are the three D's in performing Apparition?"
"Oh! Um…Destination, determination, and deliberation."
"Very good, Evans. But what would happen if one performed it incorrectly?"
Lily gulped. "The caster could leave a body part behind."
"And which of the three D's would that be associated with?"
"Lack of determination."
"Ten points to Gryffindor," he exclaimed.
Lily sighed with relief and stared back at her notebook. Mary MacDonald looked at her worriedly and passed her a note.
What's wrong?
Lily ignored it because no one could answer the question.
"Everything is wrong…" she muttered. But no one heard.
"Lily!"
Why couldn't he simply leave her alone? "What do you want, Ja – " she started angrily.
Remus looked at her confused.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Remus – I'm just not in the mood right now - " she admitted.
"I see…Would you like to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Well, I was hoping you would come over today by our dormitory so we could play a game."
Lily looked up in interest. "What kind of game?"
Remus grinned. "You should know it – It's a muggle game!"
"I'll come. Definitely."
"That's great! See you at dinner." Remus ran off to join the rest of the Marauders.
She waved at the retreating form of Remus and walked to the Great Hall. As she passed the portrait of the Fat Lady, she saw a familiar person stride through the corridor and confront another. They both wore the infamous Slytherin robes. Lily tried to hide behind a statue and listened into their conversation.
"So Severus, I see you still have issues," Mulciber sneered as he approached a certain slender, pale boy.
"Issues with what?" Severus drawled – he was uninterested in Mulciber's opinion at the moment. He was headed for the Great Hall to eat dinner. Surely Mulciber could talk about this "situation" with him after, right? Severus rolled his eyes as he passed a smirking Mulciber.
"That Mud - "
Instantly, Severus whipped back to glare at Mulciber. "Don't you dare call her that!" His voice cracked a little with emotion, but he quickly regained his posture.
Mulciber snorted. "And why not? Is she that precious to you?"
Severus' body shook with rage and he was tempted to punch the other boy's face until his face would shatter into a million pieces. Mulciber simply laughed, and Lily decided that it was a good time to leave without being noticed. But Mulciber recognized her flaming hair and nodded toward her direction. She squeaked and hurriedly walked away from the two Slytherins.
"It seems as if your precious Lily Evans overheard our conversation."
Severus turned around and saw a flaming trail of red hair flow around the corner. Mulciber laughed again and proceeded to walk to the Great Hall, passing a stunned Severus. Severus felt his hands fist themselves and his nails dug into the skin. His black eyes glittered dangerously as they glared at Mulciber's back. Mulciber, too, disappeared around a corner, and Severus decided that it was time to move.
"So, Lily…I see you decided to join us tonight," James said. His eyebrows moved up suggestively.
Lily ignored him and smiled at Remus. "Thanks for inviting me, but what did you plan for tonight?"
"Truth-or-Dare!" Sirius yelled excitedly. "Even though I have no idea what it is…" he pondered slightly.
Remus looked flustered. "But I already told you, James and Peter what the rules were a half hour ago!"
Sirius shrugged. "I forgot."
Lily laughed at the duo. "Well, there aren't really any rules – the title of the game should give it away to you!"
"She's right!" exclaimed Peter.
James ran a hand through his messy, raven black hair. He looked bored already. "Let's play."
"You can go first, James… Since you want to go so badly," Remus teased.
James stuck his tongue out. "Sirius, truth-or-dare?"
"Or," he replied.
"What?"
"I choose Or!"
Remus slapped his forehead. " 'Or' isn't a choice!"
"Fine. Dare me!"
"Hmm…I dare you to kiss Aragog!" James laughed.
Sirius made a disgusted face. "That huge spider?!"
As the two boys were arguing, Lily glanced over at Remus. Remus had an amused yet slightly annoyed smile on his face. She could see his left eye twitching a little bit, and he suddenly clapped his hands for attention. Sirius and James looked up.
"What are you applauding at?" Sirius questioned.
"You're hopeless," Remus concluded. "In that case, it will be my turn!" He grinned mischievously. And to Lily's amazement, she was a bit intimidated by his look when he settled on her. "Lily Evans!"
She felt a sigh come out of her mouth. "Yes, Remus Lupin?"
"Truth-or-Dare?!" he asked enthusiastically. He flailed his arms wildly above his head, waiting for Lily to make her choice. She gave him a strange look – he must really love Muggle games, but this was ridiculous!
"Dare," she said confidently.
"Oooohh…The Great Lily Evans wants to cross me, eh?" Remus smirked as he placed a hand under his chin. He contemplated about giving her something really disgusting to do, but his thoughts traveled to Severus. He knew it was wrong; but at the same time, he wanted Lily's and Severus' friendship to be rebuilt. Remus felt terrible for James', Peter's, and Sirius' actions; but mostly, he felt the most guilt for not stopping them. At once, he knew what his dare would be. However, it wouldn't exactly be a dare – it would be a revelation for Lily to realize the truth. No matter which choice she would make, truth or dare, both will become the truth eventually. It would be a semi-cruel dare, but not as cruel as the outward truth in front of James, Sirius and Peter. He already knew the truth about her feelings anyway so it wouldn't affect him much. Lily would thank him for this.
The room became silent as Remus opened his mouth to speak. Lily's breathing became hitched.
"I dare you to kiss Severus Snape."
Remus huffed triumphantly and glanced at Lily. Her face was tomato red, and she seemed on the verge of tears. James' and Sirius' mouths were hanging down to the floor; Peter fainted. But slowly, Lily came to her senses.
"I…I accept your dare, Mr. Lupin."
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