Hallways of the 6th floor of Hogwarts, September 20, 1973.

It was the beginning of the night of a good and well-deserved weekend. Due to the schedule, the students were already in their dorms, except for a small group. Wearing a semi-social outfit with a vest, Severus waits at the beginning of the hallway near the stairs.

From a distance, he sees a redhead in a beige dress coming down the steps. Their smiles widen as they know each other's presence.

"Merlin! Lily, you look amazing!" He praised before jokingly adding, "I think slug club meetings will be my new favorite pastime."

A contained blush appeared on Lily's cheeks, her green eyes sparkled with happiness and her smile widened. Today she is more elegant than usual, while getting dressed Redhead convinced herself that she had no hidden motives, even though she knew it to be a lie. Lily wanted to make Severus notice her and repeated in her head:

What's wrong with wanting her best friend's compliments? normal friends also praise each other, right? There was nothing unusual about it...

The mixed-feeling redhead responds, "Thanks Sev! You look great in these clothes.

Acknowledging the compliment, Severus extends his left arm to Lily and guides him towards Slughorn's office.

"Any expectations for tonight?" Severus asks cheerfully.

"Well, Professor Slughorn always brings up good subjects. We talk about Politics, Careers, Studies, and many other topics. That said, I hope to learn and enjoy myself as much as possible." Lily explained before continuing: "Of course, I'm not very into politics, but it helps me understand the wizarding world better as I'm Muggleborn."

"I also hate politics." said Severus before smiling and assuring: "In terms of fun you can count on me, I know some very bad jokes. Did I ever tell you the one about the Goblin who orders a beer in a muggle bar?"

"Merlin, don't remind me of this one! This joke is horrible." Answers Lily, amused by the ridicule.

Arriving in front of the office door, they open it and hear a voice calling them.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Snape, I'm glad you came," Slughorn says and then points to a man on the left, "Let me introduce you, this is my 61st class student, Ambrosius Flume."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Flume!" said Severus and Lily.

Glad for the courtesy, Ambrosius says, "It's a pleasure to meet two such distinguished young people."

Boasting of his students, Slughorn says: "Miss Evans is an exceptional student and has a natural mastery of spells." He said before looking at Severus: "And Mr. Snape is a rare genius, I must say. He has a natural talent for potions and a duelist incomparable according to new events."

"Oh? As expected of your slugs!" comments Ambrosius, impressed.

Pleased with the compliment, Slughorn says changing the subject: "By the way, the candied pineapples you sent me were delicious. Thank you so much!"

"No way! It's the least I could do after you've helped me so much." Explains Ambrosius sincerely.

Slughorn gladly explains to the pair: "Ambrosius has been a co-owner of Honeydukes for two years now, and he always sends me some candy."

"Amazing, third year will be visiting Hogsmeade soon and I can't wait to taste Honeydukes Candy!" Says Lily.

Breaking a smile Ambrosius says, "You must be someone very lucky, as tonight's desserts are my courtesy."

A glimmer of anticipation rose in Lily, she really loves candy and she would take the opportunity.

a flash of fear rose in Ambrosius' mind:

'Did I bring enough?'

Interrupting Ambrosius' fears, a voice says.

"Okay, almost everyone has arrived so let's start our meeting!" Slughorn said.

An unexpected camera flash goes off! Lily and Severus covered their eyes from the light.

A boy with glasses and pimples approaches saying, "Sorry, I accidentally took the picture! I'm Adrian by the way," he understands, hands towards Severus.

Accepting the boy's apology, Severus and Lily sat side by side at the table and took part in the feast. The conversations were varied, everyday things, politics, and even the story of how Slughorn helped Ambrosius get his first job.

Now, the very interesting news was the member who arrived late. Regulus Black, Slytherin's new Seeker. The boy hadn't spoken to Severus since that day and during dinner, he didn't seem to want to look at Severus.

"It's satisfying to see someone of your abilities, Mr. Black." He praised Slughorn and said later, "The Slytherin is lucky to have you as a Seeker, have you thought about making a career out of it?"

The sullen boy said in short words, "Not yet."

Heedless of Regulus's few words, Slughorn says, "I see, you have plenty of time to choose and you're still a second year." Looking between Severus and Regulus, Slughorn praises: "It's wonderful for Slytherin to have two talented young men like Mr. Snape and Mr. Black. I expect great things from both of you."

Regulus gives a discreet nod to the professor, and Severus thanks the compliments in a 'sincere' tone.

Severus doesn't care much for Slughorn's compliments but remains 'nice' to feed the shrewd professor's ego.

Make no mistake, Severus is very fond of the slug club idea that his past self could not appreciate.

The club always had a main reason.

Making connections, Severus could say that he admires the teacher's astuteness and that he would take advantage of every opportunity presented in this place.

Coming back from his thoughts, Severus continued to participate in the meeting, sometimes he would whisper something in Lily's ear and she would laugh at his flirtations.

Until the time came to...

 

 Slughorn gets up from the table and announces: "It's getting a little late and I don't want to disturb you guys to sleep," then he looks at Ambrosius and says: "Once again, thank you so much for coming here tonight my friend... I wish you all a good night and they are excused."

...

Walking slowly with Lily in the corridors, Severus wanders in thought.

Lily's presence tonight was very pleasant and he didn't want it to end there. The problem was finding a place to be alone.

Severus couldn't show Lily the Room of Requirement. Not that he didn't trust her, but she didn't have skills like him that she would keep someone from watching her. Telling her about the location could derail his goals.

But he knew from another place...

Recovering from her daydreams, he looked at Lily who was staring at him too, and said, "That was a really fun night, but how about we make it even more interesting?"

A slight shade of pink came over Lily, it wasn't appropriate for a girl to be alone late at night with a boy. But she was a Gryffindor and she wouldn't flinch.

Lily bit her Lips then said shyly, "Er... That's fine with me. Do you have a place in mind? We can't get caught."

"Oh? I thought I would have to tell the goblin joke for you to come." he teases before continuing: "As for the place, I know some secret passages, and no one will find us."

Lily puffs out her cheeks at the teasing, but then laughs and follows along holding Severus' arms.

Passing through the passages, they arrive at the astronomy tower and get a view worthy of that night.

The two of them laughed and talked about random things. After a moment, Severus took off his vest and place it over Lily's shoulders, who seemed to be shivering with cold.

"Thanks, Sev," Lily seemed to purr at that moment.

The eyes of both cross for a brief moment and then return to admire the panoramic landscape.

Inquisitive and provocative Lily asked, "Sev, would you dare go into the forbidden forest at night?"

Looking at the forest that could be seen from afar, Severus says with a laugh: "Courage yes! But no will!"

"Ehhh? Are you sure? I hear there are all kinds of beings there, even werewolves." Questions Lily teasing him.

Little did Lily know how close she walked to a werewolf that day, after all, her friend is a Lycanthrope.

"Still not afraid!" She asserts Severus and then teases her: "Of course, I'm not like the Gryffindors who take pleasure in putting themselves in danger."

"Hey, we're not like that. We're just bold, it's different! But I must confess..." Lily said before timidly explaining, "Even though you are a Slytherin...Er...you're pretty brave...and I kinda I like it." Ends Lily in a low, almost nonexistent voice.

Looking at Lily, who was still looking straight ahead and not daring to face him. Severus wraps his arms around her shoulders, pulling her to himself. She shudders at the sudden advance but doesn't dare say anything.

Lily was still cold even after the vest draped over her shoulders. They knew a warm-up spell, but they both expected some kind of physical contact and the reward was magnificent. Lily's radiating heat was simply a temptation and Severus was afraid of being lost in it.

Lily could smell the sweet scent of mint coming from Severus. In his arms, she seems to find his new favorite place in the world. Her heart warmed and all her anxieties and worries disappeared.

There was no more 'Mudblood', wars, deaths, or petunia in her mind. Just that warm, comforting feeling of him holding her like he was taking possession of her.

Enjoying the blissful silence of each other's presence. Severus and Lily seem at peace! Until they decide to turn their faces towards each other.

Not to mention a word, green eyes stare at orbs that look like two Onix.

She wondered, did he want to kiss her? They are friends? Or something else?

When that question seemed close to being answered...

A warning sounded in Severus' mind and soon someone stepped in, disrupting the mood.

"Evans? Are you okay? Is Snivillus doing something bad to you?" an enraged James asked, as he approached at a fast pace.

James, who had decided to invite Lily to watch the Quidditch team practice tomorrow, found out she was at the Slug club date. He kept waiting for her to arrive in the common room, but when Lily started taking too long, James was suspicious.

Having revised that the meeting was already over, with the help of the other Marauders they began to search every possible place she might be. Sirius as a womanizer knew the astronomy tower for possible suspicious places and James went to check it out.

"Don't talk nonsense, Potter. Severus would never hurt me," said Lily with venom.

"You don't know that Evans...He's a disgusting and disloyal Slytherin. You've seen him cheating in his fight against me yourself, people like him can't be trusted!" James lies blatantly.

"Untrustworthy? Tell me, Potter, what's stopping me from ending you here and now? I'm pretty confident it won't be a difficult task," says Severus really angry at being interrupted,  he wanted the night to be memorable for Lily and took things at her pace. He just didn't count on the ridiculous and despicable James.

James was furious at Severus' comment and made to point his wand, but Lily intervened and said to Severus: "Come on Severus! It's not worth wasting our time here."

Lily pulled Severus by the arms, but she soon heard a voice.

"Wait, Evans! I wanted to invite you to watch Quidditch practice tomorrow. You could have fun while watching me play." Says James desperate for her departure.

Lily didn't even look back and say, "No way tomorrow! I'm busy and even if I didn't... that's not a possibility!"

James, in disbelief at Lily's answer, stood there as he watched the two of them leave. He clenched his fists in anger and told himself.

"That coward Snivillus keeps talking bad about me to Evans! Soon I'll unmask your disgusting face and she won't listen to your lies," said James trying to convince himself.