Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry was a battlefield in a way, several different groups.. there were pure bloods, half bloods, muggle born.. and that was just blood, there were influential families, poor families, families involved in the Ministry of Magic.. and how could anyone forget, popular and unpopular, perhaps the most important part.. If you were popular, everyone liked you, friends stuck close, inside jokes and so on.. but if you were unpopular, school was hell, bullies and tormentors could be cruel, especially with magic on their side..

.. Severus wasn't very popular, but he was intelligent, so despite his lack of popularity, he was incredibly gifted in potions making.. but what really caught everyone's eye, and kept most bullies off his back, was his extensive knowledge on curses and hexes, he knew more curses than anyone.. even a few of the teachers.. only one group really messed with Severus, and that was the Marauders, a group of Griffyndor students that hardly acted like Griffyndors, more like pure blood, entitled assholes..

In potions class, while he usually always excelled, the Professor had them partner up in groups of twos.. as much as he'd like to have partnered up with Lily, use this as an opportunity to rekindle their friendship.. James Potter got to her first, Remus and Sirius predictably paired up as well, damn Marauders..

.. he had few options after that, but surprisingly enough paired up with {{user}}, a proficient potions maker, so he knew he didn't have to worry about failing..

Severus was crushing some roots with his partner, but he found his eyes occasionally trailing over to the Lily at the sound of snickering, seeing her giggle and laugh with the Marauders as if they weren't the worst bullies in the school.. he couldn't lie, it stung, he didn't know what she saw in those jerks..