Severus... Reformed / SNILY (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twenty

The crisp cold of winter soon gave way to the refreshing breeze of spring. The Whomping Willow swayed gently and flowers blossomed away from its swinging arms. It was finally the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match, the last of the year. Many bets had already been placed and the teams were well-matched. Nobody could guess the winner. Except Severus, of course.

"Place your bets on Slytherin," Severus advised Remus, who had been arguing with Edgar Boot over whether Gryffindor's Seeker could outpace the Slytherin Seeker on his Cleansweep 5 as opposed to the Slytherin's Nimbus 1001 and was currently declaring that he'd place five Knuts on the winning team.

Remus gave him a look. "Are you sure?" He asked. "I don't have that much."

"Then don't bet," Severus replied, as though it were simple.

Remus sighed. "I'm doing what I can to fit in, Severus. You may have pushed everyone else away with your prickly personality, but I'm still trying to expand my social circle to at least three people."

Severus crossed his arms. "Fine. Just, don't bet on Gryffindor. Lily may believe that there is no way her house can lose but I can assure you that they can."

"Are you a Seer?"

The question took Severus totally by surprise.

"I_ no, I don't think so," he stuttered.

"You always sound so confident about everything," Remus explained, staring hard at him. "It almost sounds as if you know the outcome of the match already."

Well, Severus did. He'd heard about the result in his previous life, having declined Lily's offer to accompany her to the match in favour of revising for their summer tests, and as the players hadn't changed, Severus could happily suppose that neither would the score.

"Well, we'll find out once the match is over."

*

Two hours later, and Remus five Knuts heavier, the disgruntled crowd wove their way back to the castle. Only those clad in green were jubilant and Severus had even worn his only green item of clothing, gloves, in honour of the occasion.

"You should take it, Severus," Remus insisted, trying to push the coins into his hand.

"Why?" Questioned Severus. "It was your bet. I merely forced your subconscious to make a conscious decision. Thank your brain for trusting my impeccable choices, not me."

Remus sighed. "So, you won't take it?"

"Remus," Severus said quietly, "we're both not well-off. Take what you can now, and it'll mean less work in the future."

"Apart from exams," Remus groaned.

"You brought it up, not me," Severus stated.

"If only I'd paid attention in Herbology when I had the chance!"

"If you could go back, you know you'd pay as little attention as you did this time round."

"Severus!"

Lily had pushed her way through the crowd and stood in front of them, red hair wild and eyes wide with excitement.

"Did you expect that outcome in the match? I certainly didn't. I lost ten Sickles to Alice and Anna, and Olivia will find me soon to get another fifteen Knuts off me. I can't believe our Seeker didn't catch the snitch. It was right in front of his nose, as well."

She said this all without taking a breath.

"Lily," Severus spoke gently, taking her hand, "you can improve the Quidditch team when you get onto it next year. By the sounds of it, Potter and Black already have their minds set on making the team. Beat them onto it and increase your chances of winning the cup next year."

"I can't fly!" Lily exclaimed, worried. "How would I get on the team?"

"Practice," Severus replied simply. "I can help. So can Lupin. He's not bad on a broomstick."

"Thanks, Severus," Remus answered dryly. "Lily, don't panic. You don't have to try out for it if you don't want to."

"Thanks, Rem," Lily said, breathing easier. "Didn't the Ravenclaw captain try to make you Seeker this year, Sev?"

"Yes," Severus said modestly, "but I declined. I wanted to have at least one year without any broken bones. Also, Flitwick wasn't sure that it was a good idea. You can get pretty knocked about up there. It hurts."

Remus glanced at him but Lily didn't notice anything strange about the statement. Severus had been reserve Seeker for Slytherin in his previous life until academics had been his sole focus. He had been offered the Seeker role but he'd passed it on to a fifth-year as he only wanted to do it for fun and not for practices to get in the way of his homework and studying. Potter and Black had spent two years seething as they'd not made the team in their first year, or even their second. Soon after Severus was injured playing Quidditch in his first year, the rule was passed to state that no first-years could join the house teams. This rule was bent for Harry Potter, of course.

"Anyway, we should be focused on studying for our exams after the holidays," Severus reminded wisely. "Not on Quidditch."

"Are you staying for Easter, Lily?" Remus asked her.

"Yes," Lily replied, beaming. "I'll see my parents in the summer holidays. And Tuney," she added, her smile falling slightly.

"And you're staying, Severus?"

"What do you expect?" Severus answered, rolling his eyes.

"Well, a nice full house, then. After all, it's not only a time for revision, but also a time for fun."

Severus and Lily gave Remus a similar look of disbelief.

"Or not," Remus added.

*****

A.N. A nice long chapter! Tell me what you think of the slight time skip. Should I have added more detail?

Thank you for reading and PLEASE COMMENT!