Revelare Viam, pt. 2

Before James left on the Friday before Christmas, Sirius begged him, “Send an owl, please.” Sirius looked back on Harry and Severus and sighed dramatically. 

James clapped him on the back. “Of course. See ya, Remus, Peter.” 

“Bye.” The only first years staying behind were Sirius, Severus, and Harry. Raven was invited to stay at Lily’s for Christmas. Lily had gotten into an argument with her parents about letting Harry and Severus stay, but her parents said no, with the promise that she could stay at Hogwarts one year and another her other friends could come for the holidays. 

Everyone said their farewells, then attended the first holiday dinner. Christmas trees were at every corner of the Hall, bearing an assorted collection of huge ornaments. Dumbledore wore deep green robes and a brilliant smile. The other teachers appeared less stressed and were also getting into a more festive mood. 

Sirius was already considerably nicer to Harry, but he ignored Severus, save for the occasional snide remark.

There were a couple fourth years and one sixth year from Gryffindor, with only four additional people from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, so Sirius was stuck with Severus and Harry as company.

“Why didn’t you go to your family’s place?” Harry asked Sirius, though he knew the answer.

“Because they’re a load of evil gits, that’s why.” After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “And what about you?” 

“My parents are Muggles, and they’re scared of me.” Even his invented life was depressing. 

Sirius smiled, then snorted, and soon they were both laughing at their misfortune. It took a moment for Sirius to catch himself and realize they weren’t friends, that they didn’t like each other, and he went back to poking at his food. 

“Have you heard from your parents, Severus?” Harry asked, after losing himself in thought over his and Sirius’ exchange. He looked to his right, where Severus slouched in his seat. 

“No,” he gave Harry a strange look. Of course he wouldn’t have.

“Well, we’ll make the best of it. The feasts are excellent. Er, so I’ve heard.” 

There was nearly a week of awkward, forced conversations, and increased tension between Sirius and Severus. Comments like “Ugh, how long has it been since you’ve touched a bar of soap, Snivellus!” and “You were gone a while. Not that I’m complaining. Did you make any potions to make you less of a dirty little— 

“Oh, shut up, Sirius,” was Harry’s endless refrain. 

On Christmas morning, Severus got up first, accidentally waking up Sirius and Harry by tripping over the presents at the foot of his bed. In hindsight, it was understandable because Severus hadn’t expected gifts, but at the time Harry was not happy at being woken up at six in the morning.

“Ugh, you dumbass,” Sirius groaned when he sat up and rubbed his eyes. With the prospect of presents, they couldn’t fall back asleep, so the three laid out the gifts on their beds and began to unwrap them. 

Harry noticed Severus delicately set aside Lily’s sky blue box, saving it for last. Sirius groaned for the second time after opening the box from his parents. Inside, there was a silver-and-green Slytherin scarf, a new pair of long, white socks, and a few expensive white anti-cheating quills. 

A moment later, Sirius said, nonplussed, to no one in particular, “Kreacher gave me something.”

Harry almost laughed, but he had to redirect his grin toward the broom-polishing kit Lily gave him. She’d get him the same thing Hermione had got him for his birthday. 

It turned out Kreacher had given Sirius a neatly folded tissue. “At least he folded—GAH!” A spider fell out of the tissue and onto his lap. When it landed on him, it started to swell. Sirius jumped up and grabbed his wand from his nightstand and half-yelled, “Wingardium Leviosa!”

With a lurch, the spider rose into the air. Unable to resist scaring Severus, he guided the spider toward him.

“Suffosi!” Severus had been ready. The spider dropped onto the ground, started to scuttle away, but it slowed as if moving through tar. Soon, all movement stopped and it crumpled on the ground. 

There was a very nasty silence, in which Harry tried to ignore the mad, satisfied glint in Severus’ eye.

Sirius finally spoke. “Well…I can always count on Kreacher to make my parents seem like saints.” 

Harry chuckled, remembering the maggots Kreacher had given him as a gift one Christmas. Sirius smiled slightly at the reaction but said nothing.

Harry looked over at Severus, who had moved on to the gift he’d given him. Severus took what was inside—a silver pocket-watch—from its box, where it had sat on soft, purple lining. Although it was intricate and would be useful, he seemed a bit disappointed after examining it. 

“Thank you,” Severus said, knowing it had costed more than all his school supplies combined. 

“You’re welcome. I suppose it’s an early birthday present, because of your owl, Luna…Oh—and I almost forgot, this came with the watch…” Harry opened one of his drawers and pulled out a small piece of paper. After Harry handed it to him, Severus read the small print softly to himself: “Revelare Viam.” 

Harry looked down at what Severus had given him, which he’d absentmindedly opened. It was a small chocolate broomstick. Severus looked over, a bit anxiously, and said, “I added a Draught of Peace, to help with stress and things…and if you’re feeling nervous before matches.” 

“Thanks, Severus.” He wasn’t expecting a gift from him. Severus’ shoulders dropped with relief that Harry liked the gift. 

“Sweet!” Sirius exclaimed, holding the newest Nimbus—the same Harry had. “I need to send James an owl!” His face shone with excitement at the prospect of riding the second best broom in the world, beat only by the Firebolt Harry had stowed away in his dresser. 

Harry spent the last of his money of gifts, he’d have to go back to his time for more money tomorrow night. For Remus, he’d sent him a letter detailing the list of supplies they’d needed for becoming Animagi and a check by the items he’d got…which was almost everything, but they might need more supplies after they spent a few months researching further. 

Severus was eying another gift, brow furrowed as he examined the large, black device. Suddenly, he blurted, “Oh!” and stowed it back into its box. At this, Harry gave him an inquiring look, which Severus ignored.

Lily and Raven had sent Harry a thick volume titled An Advanced Player’s Guide to Quidditch: How to Make the Journey to Professional Teams. On the inside cover she had scribbled a note to him, saying how she hoped he found it useful and Happy Christmas! Raven had enclosed a sketch of Harry, which gave him a small smile that looked…sad. Is that what I look like to her? Or am I over-thinking it? 

As grateful as Harry was to spend Christmas at Hogwarts, he wanted Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to be with him. It wasn’t as bad as being on the run, as he’d been last year, definitely better than the Dursley’s, but there was still something missing. 

Sirius’ pile of gifts included ones from his admirers, which he tossed aside. He was, amazingly, annoyed by the girls who fancied him.

“‘I hope this is useful,’” Severus read quietly to himself. “‘Yours, Lily.’” In his palm sat a small, coin-sized object. 

“Can I see it?” Harry held his hand out to Severus. For a moment, Severus looked as though he’d say no, gripping it possessively, but after a moment he managed to pass it over. 

Harry took the object delicately. It was heavy for its size, translucent, with runes carved on its surface. It was slightly warm, but the heat was coming from within.

“It’s a protective charm,” Severus said when Harry dropped it back into his outstretched hand. He spent a while after gazing outside the window, the charm clenched in his fist.

Harry put the card he’d read from Remus aside and noted Sirius’ astounding pile of gifts from friends and admirers. Sirius didn’t seem self-conscious or sympathetic next to Harry and Severus’ small collection; he acted as if he were the only one in the room.

The Christmas feast was spectacular, as always. The handful of people staying behind sat with the Hogwarts staff at one table. Dumbledore, dressed in lavender robes, welcomed them warmly. Harry thought Dumbledore’s eyes lingered a bit longer on his, but he knew he had just imagined it. 

There were Wizard Crackers placed along the table, which was new to Severus. He opened one, flinching when a sound like a gunshot went off. 

Sirius snickered when Severus got a bar of soap. Severus smirked when Sirius opened a Cracker, yelping as two live mice ran from the Cracker into his lap. 

This was background noise to Harry. He sat right across from Albus, and they talked through the whole two hours as if they’d known each other for years. He thought of this on the way back Gryffindor Tower, and as he lay in bed that night, unable to stop smiling, or fall asleep. It was as if the Headmaster was alive again, and Harry felt content.

Toward the end of Christmas break, students began to trickle back to Hogwarts. Lily lit up the moment she saw Severus. He expected her from the wrong direction, so she snuck up and flung her arms around him from behind. Severus stumbled forward a bit, his pale face quickly reddening. For a split second, he didn’t know who it was, but then recognized the small, gentle hands that rested on his chest. 

“Lily.” Severus truly relaxed for the first time since she’d left.

“I missed you.” Lily let go and he turned to face her, meeting her eyes, sincere, but in a different way than she looked at him. 

“Evans!” James spotted her as soon as he climbed through the portrait hole. “Did you get what I sent you?”

Lily pretended to think. “Oh…right, that. I thought it would be perfect for my sister. I don’t suppose you mind?” Severus’ mouth twitched into a smile. 

James faltered. “Er, no, but I—” 

“Anyway, Severus, I really liked what you sent me.” Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out a gray, quite ordinary rock. Or what seemed to be—there was writing on it, cursive and small: “Lily.” 

“Oh—you did like it?” Relief flooded his features. “Er, I think I put it in the note, but every Christmas…a new word is added.” 

Lily’s green eyes met his dark ones. “I love it.”

James looked livid. The tension was, thankfully, broken by Sirius, who greeted James, beaming. 

“Thank you for the book,” Harry said to Raven and Lily, who smiled in return. Harry meant it, though he could only have been sincere since after the end of the Second Wizarding War; now he valued sitting down and quietly reading much more. 

Harry nodded when they thanked him, but his attention wandered to the Marauders, who were deep in discussion.

“Jacob?” Lily repeated. 

“Huh? Er, right…” He tried to remember what she just said. “Ah! Yeah, I’d love to.” She’d asked if he wanted to stay at her house next year over the holidays.

“And, you as well, of course,” Lily added to Severus. “Raven managed to convince my parents.” 

“Brilliant, thanks,” Harry grinned at Raven, who looked down and said something about it being no big deal. 

“Hey, Sirius!” A girl in their year, Aluria Vane, waved to Sirius from the table she was sharing with her two friends. Romilda, from Harry’s time, had inherited qualities from her mother in both appearance and personality: same dramatic voice, same confidence, and the same black, curly hair. 

Sirius didn’t verbally respond, but his curt wave was enough to send the group into a fit of giggles. 

“They’re really getting on my nerves,” Sirius muttered to James. “Oh, no, here they come—”

“Happy New Year’s,” Aluria said, deliberately sounding out of breath. Cheresse Podmore and Florence Tyler came up on either side of her. 

“Hello,” Sirius said, not looking up. Aluria was surprised by his lack of enthusiasm, but it did not curb her determination.

“I was wondering if you’d all…” she frowned slightly at Peter, who she was less happy about including, and continued, “…like to join us on a walk after breakfast?”

“No, thank you.”

“What he means is, we have a ton of homework that we put off,” James said hastily. 

“Oh, good, so do we!” Both groups were lying. The Marauders had no choice but to follow them to their table with varying attitudes; Harry smirked at the miserable slouch of James and Sirius. 

“When did Remus say he was coming back?” Lily asked Harry, pulling him back to their conversation. 

“Late tonight. His family wanted him home for New Year’s.” 

The Marauders and the other four stayed up to wait. By one in the morning, Lily, Raven, and Severus had gone to bed, so it was just Sirius, James, Peter, and Harry. Just when Harry was going to leave Remus’ welcoming committee, so he could sleep and spare himself the awkwardness, Remus came in through the portrait hole. 

“Hello,” Remus said, looking as though he would drop from exhaustion at any second. “You didn’t have to stay up for me.” He yawned widely, and the others followed suit.

Harry was the first to notice new scratches that crept up on Remus’ neck and arms, but James was the first to say something. “What happened to your arm? Did you do that?”

Remus pulled down his sleeve. “Yeah…Madam Pomfrey had to mend everything before I could come up here, that’s why I’m so late.” 

“We need to hurry and figure out this Animagus project,” James said, looking meaningfully at everyone but Harry.

“Did Jacob tell you what he got me for Christmas?” Remus dug through his pockets and pulled out the piece of parchment. He showed them the piece of parchment with the list of gifts, all needed ingredients for becoming Animagi.

“We should all read the book on becoming an Ani…you-know-what. I’m guessing it’d take at least until…mid third year,” Harry told them, a bit disheartened by Sirius and James’ obvious effort to be cold to him.

“Whatever, it’s too late to worry about it, let’s go to bed…” James yawned. None of them noticed the figure listening in from the top of the staircase of the girl’s dormitories.

After Christmas, time started to snowball, rushing more quickly to the end of the year. Severus and Lily’s birthdays passed, and soon enough, it was February 14—Valentine’s Day. 

“…a load of rubbish, really,” Severus was saying to Lily, frowning at the pink decorations that had been put up overnight in the common room. He looked at a stuffed, heart-shaped toy that was sitting on the table nearby as if it were a dead animal lying by the road. 

“Mm,” Lily agreed absentmindedly, pretending to listen. She was observing a couple sitting close to each other at a table, working on homework, who paused to kiss. Suddenly, her attention was caught by something—someone—beyond Severus. 

“Oh no, not James, c’mon, let’s go to breakfast.” The two of them snuck out of the room.

James spotted Harry as he crossed the room after Severus and Lily, who had just slipped through the portrait hole. “Jacob! Have you seen Lily?” He held a piece of parchment in one hand, and his hair was even messier than usual. Peter and Remus were at his side, still yawning.

“No, I haven’t, sorry. Is that for her?” Harry’s eyes flicked to the parchment. 

“Yeah. But it’s none of your business!” James seemed to find snapping at people helped with his nerves. He went off to ask someone else, growing impatient. 

Harry made it to the Great Hall without seeing anyone he knew. One thing that was familiar, however, was the extravagantly decorated Hall with pink and red ribbons and a steady sprinkle of little hearts from above.

As Harry neared the Gryffindor table, he saw that some of the professors wore heart pins, the others more along the lines of Severus’ thinking, who studied the room with slight disapproval. 

There were two diapered, singing dwarves already, on opposite sides of the room. Their voices grew steadily louder as they competed with each other, until everyone close to them pressed their hands over their ears, some yelling at them to give it a rest. 

Over the din, Lily shouted, “Jacob! Good morning!” Lily slid one of the rose pins on the table into her dark red hair, the other hand clamped over her ear. Her face suddenly tightened in annoyance—Harry thought for a moment it was because of him, but when he turned around he realized the reason. 

James strode up to were Lily sat, still holding on to the piece of parchment. He waited for the noise to die down before he spoke. 

“Good Morning, Lily, and Happy Valentine’s Day.” Lily sighed and looked up at him as he continued, “I wrote a poem for you.” 

“Get on with it then,” Lily rested her head on her hand and sighed. 

James cleared his throat and read,

“Lily Evans,

You have put me under a spell

With your hair like embers 

Picked up by the summer’s wind,

And your eyes like a grassy meadow

Where you dance beneath the clouds.

Your laugh is like the rush of a river, 

The bubbling of a brook.

You are brighter than the sun

That lights up my day

With one look.

I cannot imagine life without

My dearest Lily.” 

Lily lifted her head. “Are you serious? That was the worst poem I’ve ever heard.”

Remus blushed and sunk in his seat as James shot a scathing look at him. 

“But it’s bad in a good way?” James asked hopefully. 

“No. Bad in a bad way.” She looked at him in amazement. 

Somehow, James appeared to relish this defiance. Perhaps he appreciated Lily’s spirit. He grinned widely at her, produced a bouquet of roses from his wand tip, and before she could refuse, he handed them to her. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” James called as he strode away, Sirius beside him. They each grabbed a slice of toast from the table on their way out, laughing. 

Lily exhaled in exasperation, holding the flowers away from her as if they were poisoned. “Here, he’s your friend, so…” She gave the flowers to Remus, who looked down to hide his reddening face.

“It wasn’t a truly horrible poem, just mushy, but I couldn’t say it to his face. I bet he paid one of his older friends to write it.” 

Remus breathed in the bouquet’s scent. “Actually, Lily,” he began, before freezing in place. His pupils dilated and his face relaxed. He stood up abruptly, fixed on something in the distance.

“Are you okay, Remus?” Harry asked, looking up at him. 

“Mm, I’m wonderful,” he replied dreamily, and walked away in a daze.

“What’s up with him?” Lily blinked, eyebrows turned up in worry.

“A Love Potion.” Severus soured at her concern. “They added it to the flowers so if you smelled them…” He shrugged his slight shoulders and looked meaningfully at Remus, who slipped into the corridor outside the Great Hall. 

“Ugh! James is such an—an…idiot!”

“…arse?” Severus suggested at the same time. 

Lily’s frustration broke a bit and she smiled. “Yeah, that. I can’t believe he’d try to use a Love Potion on me!” 

“I can,” Raven and Severus said darkly at the same time. 

Harry stood up. “We should help Remus, before he does something embarrassing. Someone should get Slughorn.” 

“I will,” Lily said, and hurried off toward the staff table. Severus’ lips briefly tightened in annoyance, but the expression disappeared as they left. 

Remus must’ve ran—not walked—to the common room, because by the time they got there, there was already a small group of people gathered around the scene unfolding between him and James.

“But you must believe me!” Remus took James’ shoulders, holding him so it was difficult to avoid his watery, sincere eyes.

“Remus, I gave you a Love Potion, that’s why you’re acting this way! It was meant for Li—someone else!” James tried to wriggle out of his grip, but Remus held on firmly. 

“No, I’ve always had feelings for you!” Remus declared loudly, very far from his normal self. He took James’ hand at held it up so everyone can see. “If anyone has a problem with this, with us, then they don’t know what true love is!” 

James looked positively mortified. 

The roars of laughter were now attracting more people to the scene, and the crowd grew to about twenty. Harry felt bad for Remus, though he knew after this was all over James would never give Lily a Love Potion again…if she was lucky. 

“Hey, James, when do the effects wear off?” A third year asked, trying to hold back his laughter long enough to speak.

“In eleven hours…” James groaned, looking queasy as Remus whispered (sweet nothings, no doubt) into his ear. 

“Remus,” Raven broke through the lopsided ring that had formed around the two lovebirds and put a hand on his shoulder. 

Remus turned around, surprised. “Excuse me, I—” 

Raven Body-Bound him and he fell forward into her arms. Her tiny frame struggled with the weight, but she managed to place him carefully on the ground, blushing slightly. 

There was a moment of silence, then the crowd dispersed, murmuring in disappointment. 

“Someone had to be the bad guy,” Raven said to Harry after a second year muttered loudly to her friend as they passed about her being a spoilsport.  

“Thanks…er, Ravenclaw.” James rolled his shoulders and there was a few loud cracks. “Never knew he was that strong. Animal-like strength, it seems.” He grinned at his own joke. “Oh, Professor Slughorn!” Horace Slughorn, dressed in a familiar green-striped waistcoat and sporting his usual walrus mustache. James cleared his throat. “I know this seems bad—” 

“Detention, James, and ten—no, five points from Gryffindor.” Slughorn seemed reluctant even with that amount, as he was fond of James. “Where’s the boy?” 

“Over here.” Slughorn strode over to where Remus lay on the ground, though, for him, it was more of a waddle. He produced a corked vial of a clear liquid before lifting the Body-Binging Curse from Remus. 

James ducked behind the others before Remus saw him. “Where’s James? I still have to give him a Valentine’s Day gift. Can someone check my breath?” He smoothed his light hair out of his eyes as he looked around. 

“He’s getting ready. Here, take this, it’ll make your breath irresistible.” Slughorn uncorked the bottle and handed it to Remus, who downed it in one gulp. “Ah, I feel weird. And it didn’t taste very good…oh.” His eyes widened in shock as the memory of everything that had just happened hit him and he covered his face with his hands. 

“Sorry, my boy. It was all in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I suppose.” The Professor patted Remus on the back and just barely squeezed out through the portrait hole. 

James popped back up. “You’re quite the romantic, Remus,” he teased, smirking.

“You idiot, why would you try to give Lily a Love Potion?” Remus rubbed his temple. 

James shrugged. “It was an experiment. And the results are promising.” He grinned at Lily, whose eyes flared. 

“C’mon guys.” With that, Lily stalked off, nose in the air.

The rest of the day was filled with tearful love confessions, happy couples, and more pink. The first years, being the youngest, were least involved in the romantic adventures of the older students. That wasn’t to say Sirius didn’t get a cauldron-full of Valentines over the course of the day. Harry expected James to be jealous, but he just laughed about it and cruelly rated each girl who had plucked up the courage to give him a gift. 

They spent most of the day outside to get away from everything, but gathered in the common room with everyone else after dinner.

“‘You have put me under a spell…’” Lily said to herself, her eyes drifting beyond her book. It was nearly eight, and there was only a bit more homework to get done. Raven was sitting across from Lily; Severus and Harry sat beside her, and Remus sat at a chair they pulled up at the side of a table. 

Remus looked took a breath and said quietly, “James asked me to write it for him. The poem, I mean.” 

Lily snapped out of her daze and looked at him in surprise. “What?” She thought she’d been quiet when she recited the line. 

“Well, he told me what he liked about you, and I, er…” he rubbed his neck and avoided her gaze. “…just put it together for him.” 

For a moment, Lily processed this, then she realized what she’d said and earlier. “Oh, no, Remus, I said it was awful, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, I thought the poem was really sweet, but I couldn’t say that to James.”

“It’s okay,” Remus said quickly, and his cheeks turned scarlet.

“I swear, if his fat head gets any bigger, he might explode.” 

Severus, who had been sulking moments before, clearly jealous over Lily’s reaction to the poem, smirked. “In that case, you should’ve told him how sweet he was.” 

One morning in March, an deep bellow rang in the first year boys’ dorm. 

“Happy Birthday!”

Harry thought he felt his skull vibrate. He realized, after checking his watch, that it only seemed that loud because it was three in the morning. And, his watch informed him, about 215 days since he first traveled to this time. 

“Not now…sleep.” James’ words were muffled in the pillow.

“This is the exact time you came out of your mother, when you moved through—” 

James cut him off. “Give me my first birthday present: Let me sleep.”

“Okay, ickle baby James. Sleep tight.” Sirius tried to move his face to give him a goodnight kiss on the forehead, but James buried his face in his pillow.

A brief three hours later, Harry dragged himself out of bed to get ready for the day. He had the faint curiosity of what Sirius, Remus, and Peter would give James for his birthday. 

He got part of an answer that morning at breakfast. It was all in whispers, but he managed to get the gist of one of the gifts. Remus had made him some sort of potion, per his request, so James could save it for later use. It seemed that Sirius and Peter didn’t get him a wrapped gift…Harry could only guess that what they planned to give had to do with Lily. 

It was right before dinner, and Sirius was bent over homework at the table in the far corner of the common room. “Hey, Jacob, Lily, Raven, can I talk to you for a minute?” 

“We’ll meet you down there,” Lily told Severus, who nodded. 

“I needed help on this homework. And well, Snivellus hates me, so…” Sirius showed them the assignment he was working on. 

Harry looked at the parchment, where Sirius had scribbled with obviously no idea what he was doing.

“I think you need to start over.” Lily definitely disliked Sirius, but it seemed she wanted to stall to avoid James.

“Where do I start, exactly?” Sirius asked, scratching the back of neck. 

“Have you even read the chapter?”

There were hushed murmurs as everyone headed to dinner. 

“I may have…skimmed it.” 

“Read it first, then we’ll—” they started to turn around.

“No! Er, I think I remember reading it now. Can you explain how this works?” He flipped through the book and found a part in his potions book that had, in fact, challenged most of the students in their class. 

Lily and Raven looked at Harry expectantly. “Oh, okay, I’ll help.” It took about five minutes because Sirius kept interrupting. He was smart, but he never asked for help, he never studied outside of what he absolutely had to study. At least, that’s what Harry thought. 

Sirius thanked them for the help, but there was something mischievous in his smile.

“I think he may’ve been up to something…” Harry led them quickly down to the Great Hall. On their way, they noticed people whispering and laughing. Harry didn’t bother stopping to ask them what had happened, he just ran the rest of the way to the Great Hall. 

He got there and saw Severus sitting down, to him nothing seemed wrong. 

But to everyone else in the hall who had turned to look, Severus had forgotten something very important.

His clothes. 

Lily and Raven caught up to Harry, breathing heavily. 

“What…what’s wrong?” Lily managed. 

Harry didn’t reply, he was already moving toward Severus. Both of the girls gasped and blushed; Raven giggled in spite of herself.

It wasn’t a lot to be thankful for, but at least Severus was still wearing his underwear. 

They ran up to him, trying to shield him by standing side-by-side. “Severus, put this on,” Harry said, taking off his cloak.

“Why? Is everything okay?” 

“Oh, Sev, just do it, please.” Lily shrank under the increasing number of stares in their direction, the whispers they could now understand. She laid a hand on his pale, thin shoulder, trying not to look below his waist. If she hadn’t been so awkward about seeing him like this, she could’ve counted his ribs. 

“Oh, alright.” But his eye twitched and he shook his head vigorously. Harry looked around and saw James, Sirius, and Peter, located strategically around the Hall, wands out. It seemed as though they’d cast the Confundus Charm, and that this was James’ birthday present from Peter and Sirius. 

“Severus, fight the spell. Er, let’s see, you’re supposed to clear your mind,” Harry said, hands up as Severus confusedly pointed his wand to defend himself from their attempts. He twitched again, closed his eyes, and was free. 

Severus blinked, then looked down. His eyes widened in horror, and he grabbed Harry’s robes, swearing. He ran out of the hall, laughter following him out.

James came up to meet them as they hastened after Severus. He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. 

“What’d you thi—”

“Come one step closer and I’ll hex you before you can say, ‘I’m a prat,’” Raven, not Harry, said.

“Happy Birthday, James,” Lily said, and pushed past him, leaving him staring after them, dumbfounded. 

Sirius knew about the charm Lily had given Severus for Christmas, and had nicked it right before they had pranked him. From then on, Severus always patted his pocket before leaving the dorms to make sure it was there. 

Severus checked out five books on Occlumency from the library after the incident. He had Harry practice on him and was able to master it in three days. Harry had actually improved as well; he could withstand the Confundus Charm and other basic spells of the like. He wouldn’t let Severus perform Legilimency on him, because of the risks involved. However, Severus let Harry try more advanced spells, which he conquered in the end.

After studying Occlumency, Harry could tell a part of Severus had been tucked away, pieces of his expression that could only be brought out by Lily.