Quidditch League Challenge, Season 5, Round 2
Position: Seeker
Team: Ballycastle Bats
Word count: 1,561
Location: Hogsmeade Station
The Final Ride
It was early June, 1978.
Thick summer air had settled on the Hogwarts grounds just as students started streaming into Hogsmeade Station to catch the train home. All along the platform, young witches and wizards were lugging around their trunks and chatting with one another about their summer plans. Among them, it was easy to spot the graduating seventh year students-some by their nervous energy and others by their post-grad swagger.
Sirius Black was one of the latter group.
He strode down the worn wooden planks of the platform, a black leather trunk plastered with stickers of motorcycles, playboy models and muggle rock bands trailing behind him. With a quick flick of the wrist and well-timed flip of his wavy black hair, Sirius set down his trunk and leaned against it, legs lazily crossed over each other. For a few minutes he stayed there, rather still, staring at the train tracks while a group of first and second year girls eyed him dreamily.
"Of course, the only thing you would be on time for in seven years is the exit," said Remus Lupin from behind him, breaking the silence around Sirius with a chuckle.
Remus propped his trunk up next to Sirius and pushed himself up to sit on it.
"Moony, you know I'm always looking to improve myself," said Sirius, straightening. "I'm ready to take on professional wizardry with unwavering punctuality."
They looked at each other for a split second before both cracked wry smiles.
"So strange that this is the last time," said Remus, turning towards where the Hogwarts Express would eventually come from. "Can't seem to wrap my head around it."
"Well, you could always teach," said Sirius sarcastically. "Then you can come back all you want."
"Eh," Lupin winced.
Sirius laughed and clapped him on the back. "Just kidding mate. The Order needs us both on the front lines more than ever now with those," he lowered his voice into a whisper, "D.E. recruits increasing."
Lupin nodded gravely, his brow furrowing.
"Is it true about Severus?" he asked, craning his neck around to see if Snape was nearby.
"Good ol' Snivelly, a death eater?" Sirius smirked. "Yeah, I've heard that rumor. I'm not sure if it's true, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit. Even if Evans defends him to her dying breath."
"Merlin." Lupin shook his head.
"Speaking of Evans...where are our honorable Head Boy and Girl this afternoon?"
"Hm," Remus paused to think for a moment. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen either of them since breakfast. Maybe-"
He was cut off when a sweaty, out of breath Peter Pettigrew wheezed up to the pair.
"Hey, lads," he said, plopping a large, battered-looking brown trunk in front of them.
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While the three boys got to talking, two other old friends were whispering to each other under the protection of an Disillusionment charm at the other end of the platform.
"Want do you want?"
"Please, Lily. After all the years we've known each other, you can surely forgive me for one mistake. I just need to know," Severus took a deep breath and stared at the ground. "I need to know that you don't hate me."
That year, he had started wearing severe black robes buttoned into a high collar and tight sleeves. Even so, he looked surprisingly unaffected by the humid weather.
"I don't hate you, Severus." He flinched at hearing Lily use the full version of his name. If she would only call him 'Sev' one last time, he would know everything was fine between them. "I hate the choices you've made."
Apparently, things were not fine.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear from Potter and his lackeys," said Snape defensively. He wiped a strand of hair from his face and raised his eyes. When they met Lily's, he felt a deep pain in his chest. It seemed for a second that he would expel every emotion he constantly tried to repress all at once.
Her eyes were the same as always: shining, emerald, and kind. However, Lily had changed a lot since the last time she spoke to Severus. He could see it in her face. Somehow it was different, calmer and even more beautiful. Grown-up.
"Does that mean that you haven't been running about being a lackey for Voldemort? That you haven't created any spells for the Death Eaters?" she asked, acid in her voice.
Though Severus wanted nothing more than to look at Lily's face every day until he died, at that moment he couldn't bear it. She could always tell when he was lying. He stretched his hands and stared at them, trying to figure out what to say.
"Right," she put an authoritative hand on her hip. "Is that all? The train will be here soon."
"It's more complicated than that-" Snape attempted a feeble comeback but was quickly shot down by Lily.
"What's complicated? You're helping a madman kill people. Innocent people. For being like me, for heaven's sake," finally, Lily's cold attitude had cracked. Her voice sounded on the edge of tears. "I don't know how you live with yourself."
Severus didn't know what to say. He had no idea how to get her back, to get her to understand him. In the tumult of images swirling around his brain, James Potter kept coming back to the forefront, spiking a surge of venom in Severus' veins.
"Is it true that you're going to marry him?"
Lily looked taken aback.
"That's what you have to say? Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I'm going to marry James."
"You hated him," Severus mumbled angrily. "I don't understand."
"We both know James was an idiot when we were younger." She stopped for a moment, steadying herself. "But, he didn't kill my best friend. You did."
At that, she stormed off in a swirl of red hair. Severus could faintly see the edges of his Disillusionment and Muffliato charms crumble as she broke through their barrier. He was helplessly watching Lily head toward Potter's friends when, out of nowhere, Severus felt a telltale gust of wind.
"Damn it," he thought to himself, clenching his fists.
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As Severus had guessed, the gust was caused by none other than James Potter, making one last tour of the school grounds in his invisibility cloak.
Upon searching for Lily on the Marauder's Map earlier that day, James saw that Snape had managed to wrangle her into one last meeting. Though he had not been able to eavesdrop on their conversation, James could tell from his fiancée's expression that things had not gone well. He rushed to follow her, and tried to come up with a reason for why he had been sneaking around, invisible, on the platform.
When he came upon her and the other Marauders talking, he kept a few paces back to observe them.
"What's the matter Evans?" asked Sirius as she walked up in a huff. "Did Prongs already ruin the marriage?"
"No, he did not. There are other things in my life besides James, you know," she said, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "Don't want to talk about it." Lily sighed deeply and tried to right her cross expression. "Where is he anyway?"
"We were gonna ask you that," squeaked Pettigrew. "Thought you two were together."
"Huh," she looked around the platform, trying to spot an unruly head of black hair amidst the growing crowd.
"I'm sure he'll turn up soon," said Lupin, taking off his sweater and carefully storing it in his book-bag.
Sirius let out a large yawn and stretched his arms, "Moony's right," he said. "Old git is probably planning one last prank."
Before his yawn was finished, Sirius dissolved into a fit of giggles and clutched at his chin.
"You wanker," he shouted at the air around his head.
"Looks like you were right, Padfoot," laughed Remus as the group watched Sirius' thin, muscular frame twist away from new waves of tickles. Pettigrew joined in with nervous laughter, and Lily even managed to crack a smile for the first time that day.
"That's enough," she said eventually, a sparkling laugh escaping from her throat. "Sirius may explode, and you're terrifying the first years."
James crouched down behind Sirius' trunk, stealthily maneuvered out of his invisibility cloak, and popped up behind the group.
"Don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about, darling," he said, pulling Lily in for a kiss.
"Oi, Potter," said Sirius. "I just caught my breath. Quit it with the romance or I'm heading back in."
Just then, the station platform rumbled under their feet, and the Hogwarts Express came rattling into the station. Students began drifting closer to the tracks as the train squealed to a stop.
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A few feet away from where Lily and the Marauders were hoisting their luggage onto the train, a silky voice came from behind Albus Severus Potter, and a hand clasped his shoulder.
"I don't agree with Sirius often, but I do think this is a good place for us to end today."
Albus longed to see more. However, he felt a familiar tug at his midsection and his vision swirled, Hogsmeade station dissolving before his eyes as a much older, grayer Severus Snape pulled him from the pensieve.