Slughorn's Christmas party wasn't usually your idea of a good time, but if that's what you have to do to maintain good graces with Slughorn, then that's what you were going to do. Besides, there aren't many opportunities at Hogwarts to get dressed up for a day and you thought you could at least take advantage of that. You didn't have a date or anything, not that no one asked, but, yeah, no one asked you. Either way, you knew this night was inevitable, being a Ravenclaw and one of the smartest kids in the school, so it's not like you hadn't been expecting this.

Instead, you and your friend Lily Evans would go together, so she had an excuse to say no to Potter and you didn't show up all alone. It was a win win.

"You know, Lily, you can't keep avoiding Potter for the rest of the year. I know you have feelings for him and he might be a bit thick, but he's going to figure it out too eventually," you said, walking with Lily to the party.

"Shh, can you not be so loud? I just have to get through this year. It is our last year here. All I have to do is get through it without giving in and I'll never have to see Potter again," she said.

"Are you really that naïve to think that he'll give up that easily?" you asked. Lily rolled her eyes, but refused to talk anymore about the topic.

"So, you ready to sit through this tonight?" she laced her arm through yours as you continued to walk. Your heels clicked against the floor and girls giggling could be heard up and down the hallway.

"As ready as you are," you said. "This night is going to be truly dreadful."

"You said it."

You approached the party and looked in, slowly realizing more and more how truly awful this night is going to be. Not only were two of the four marauders here tonight, but so was Snape, so there were already three people you couldn't stand here.

"Y/n? Lily? What are you doing out there? You two should come in." Okay, so maybe there were only two people here that you couldn't stand.

"Oh, don't mind us Remus, we're only plotting our escape," you said as you and Lily made your way towards the lone marauder. "Where's your counterpart?"

He laughed, "I'm not sure. Probably off somewhere setting up a prank for tonight."

"At least then we'll be able to look forward to something interesting happening," you said.

"Indeed we will," He smiled. "I should probably go find him to make sure that's not the case, though. We wouldn't want to actually have fun tonight."

"Absolutely not," you agreed, and gave him one last smile before he walked away.

"What was that?" Lily asked.

"What do you mean?" you said.

"You and Remus. There was definitely something there."

"There is nothing there. We are just friends," you said.

"Well, that's not what I saw and apparently I'm not the only one who saw it that way because someone over there in the corner doesn't look too happy," she said, jerking her head in the direction she was referring to and there you saw Severus glaring over towards Remus and James with a scowl on his face.

"Lily, he's always glaring at the marauders."

"Not usually that intensely," she said.

"You're delusional," You said.

"And you're really oblivious for a Ravenclaw. Or maybe you're just in denial."

You weren't oblivious to the way Severus feels about you, but you just couldn't get over what he had called Lily that day, even if she doesn't seem to care anymore, but Severus knew that you were both muggleborns and what that word meant to you. He never even tried to apologize and that was why you ignored anything he felt for you, or anything you'd ever felt for him. But Remus? There's no possible way he could feel anything for you, right?

After sitting through an agonizing long dinner, (that was especially boring since Remus had dismantled Potter's attempt at a prank that night) Lily then decided to actually ditch you and disappear with Potter to god knows where.

"Hey, where's Lily? I thought the two of you were here together," Remus asked.

"I thought the same about you and James," you said and gestured for him to take the seat next to you. He slowly took the seat, cautious enough not to sit too close to you.

"If there off making a child, if it's a girl, they better name it after me. And if it's a boy it better be one damn important child and cure cancer or save the human race," you said.

"Yea, it's not like Lily to ditch a friend," Remus said.

"It's not. I blame your friend. He is going to corrupt her, you know that," you said.

"I was hoping more along the lines that she'd help fix him," Remus shifted in his seat to face you.

"I think that would take a miracle."

Remus laughed, "He's not that bad."

"I guess if you can stand him then he can't be," you said and a moment of silence passed between you two. It was only a couple seconds, but it felt longer.

"You know James tried to get me to ask you to this tonight. So Lily would go with him," He said.

"Then why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I what?" he asked

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Well, it was just James' stupid idea-"

"Oh, so you think asking me to a stupid party is a stupid idea," you said.

"No! No, no. I-I was just scared," he admitted.

"Why? If it was just so James could go with Lily then why would you be scared to ask?"

"Because it wouldn't just be so James would go with Lily," He said quietly

"Oh," was all you said. You're heart started beating faster as you stared down at your feet that were throbbing in the heels you wore and you were suddenly realizing how small the small couch was.