"It begins."
Lily didn’t speak up.
Not that night.
She just sat by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, hands folded too tightly in her lap, listening to James joke with Sirius about dueling dummies and jelly-legs jinxes, pretending not to see the flicker of tension in James’s shoulders.
She pretended not to notice when James laughed a little too loud.
Not to notice when he flinched as Sirius clapped him on the back.
Not to notice that Lucius Malfoy’s name made him go quiet.
-James-
James hadn’t told anyone about the hallway.
About the way Lucius had spoken to him in that too-smooth voice.
“You’ve got skill, Potter. But you’re wasting it trying to impress friends. You could do more.”
James had laughed it off. Said something stupid. Something brave.
But the compliment stuck like honey on a knife. Sweet, and dangerous.
He didn't want to admit how good it felt.
How seen.
-Severus-
Severus saw James differently now.
Before, it had been jealousy. A Gryffindor who didn’t have to try. Who had friends, who could smile and laugh and stumble into magic with ease.
Now it was… something else.
A mirror. A rival.
Someone Lucius spoke to, like he mattered.
And that—that—dug under Severus’s skin in a way he didn’t know how to name yet.
He didn’t hate James.
Not really.
He just didn’t know if there was room for both of them in Lucius’s world.
-Lucius-
Lucius watched them from a distance.
Two boys. One sharp and angry, the other bright and eager. Both with something he could use.
Severus would follow. Out of fear. Out of need.
James would take longer.
But Lucius was patient.
He always was.
-Lily-
Later that week, Lily caught James alone by the staircase that led to the Astronomy Tower.
“You okay?” she asked.
James blinked at her. “What? Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You’ve been… weird.”
He shrugged, grinning, but it was thinner this time.
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Nothing important.”
But she saw the shadow behind his eyes. The kind that didn’t come from lack of sleep.
The kind that came from feeling watched.
-Dorcas & Narcissa-
In the corridor, Dorcas leaned against a wall and threw an apple core at the trash can. Missed.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” she asked.
Narcissa didn’t look at her. “Feel what?”
“The shift. The quiet.”
Narcissa finally turned. Her eyes were glassy and cold.
“I feel everything,” she said softly. “Especially when no one else does.”
Then she walked away.
-Somewhere below-
In the dungeons, Severus met Lucius again.
No words at first.
Just parchment passed between them.
A list of spells. Hidden, advanced, ones not taught in class. The kind that buzzed with power when Severus ran his hand over the ink.
Lucius said, “You’re meant for more than this.”
And Severus believed him.
Even if the spells made his wand tremble when he tried them.
Even if it meant hiding from Lily.
Even if it meant letting go of the version of himself who once wanted to be good.