Hello my friends! After having been on a long hiatus from writing some Harry Potter fics, I have returned. My last Potter fics were written on a different account, and I published during my tweens and early teens *cringe* so I've decided to start fresh. Today, I am a college student with crippling debt, who enjoys distracting herself by writing AU Marauders-Era fics. Enjoy!
Obviously if I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be writing this. Characters belong to JK Rowling.
TW: Implied sexual assault
September 1st, 1975
Lily had her forehead leaning against the window, watching the Scottish countryside roll by on the Hogwarts Express.
Sixth year was bound to be different from any year past. She was no longer friends with a boy she'd known for eight years, He Who Must Not Be Named was gaining more ground in the war, and for the first time since she was eleven, James Potter hadn't sent her an owl during the holidays.
She sighed, pulling her knees close to her chest.
XXXXX
On the other side of the train, Severus Snape was in a compartment with fellow Slytherins Regulus Black, Emily Vanity, Malcolm Wilkes, and Evan Rosier.
Emily had been writing to Severus all summer, sensing the opportunity to become romantically involved with him now that Lily was no longer in his life. While Severus was a half-blood, he was brilliant and interesting, which interested her much more than the dunderheaded pure-bloods trying to catch her fancy. However, much to her dismay, nothing hinting of romance had come of the situation yet.
"Going back to Hogwarts is so anticlimactic after third year," Evan sneered.
"Hogwarts," Regulus snorted, "what a pathetic excuse for a school."
"I think I'd rather pitch myself off the astronomy tower than continue for another two years," Severus muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily asked.
"I just don't think you'll find me wasting my time in Charms class next year," Severus said.
"I've been corresponding with Malfoy recently, he says that if things continue to go well, I should hope to join the Dark Lord sometime next summer," Evan smirked, "What about you Wilkes?"
"I'd rather be carrying out the Dark Lord's work than writing this stupid Potions essay. Who does Slughorn think he is, assigning us essays over the summer?" Malcolm replied, his quill scratching over the parchment.
"I don't understand why you're even bothering with that," Emily said, "even if you don't hand it in, you'll still be in the Slug Club."
September 4th, 1975
Severus had completely fucked himself over.
The previous night, whilst completing an essay for Transfiguration in the Slytherin common room, Severus overheard Rosier and Wilkes enthusiastically discussing their plans to join the Dark Lord with younger students. Frustrated by the level of noise the common room was approaching as the younger ones ogled over a pamphlet the two boys passed around, Severus lashed out.
"I frankly am tired of hearing about the Dark Lord. If you want to kill more of your brain cells by reading his propaganda, be my guest, just please shut up," he snapped.
"Oh yeah? And what would a filthy half-blood like you know?" Barty Crouch Jr. snarled back, having been enthralled in the idea of joining the Dark Lord.
Severus had been used to experiencing the foul words of blood-purists in his house for years, but that didn't stop him from shoving by Crouch and stalking up to his dormitory, dozens of eyes staring daggers into his back.
He'd warded his bed as a precaution that night. The Slytherins he slept near had a nasty habit of hexing people who talked negatively about the Dark Lord.
He was right to be on edge. As he walked down the right side of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, someone was able to hit his leg with a stinging jinx. At first, he had suspected Potter, but then he saw Avery snicker, and give Rosier a high five.
This was going to be a long year.
XXXXX
October 5th, 1975
Severus had grown closer with Emily and Regulus. Their relationship was nothing compared to what he and Lily's used to be, but he guessed he could consider them his friends. They were the only members of his house who had continued associating with him following the incident in the Common Room, which he knew had alienated them amongst their housemates as well.
Regulus had been trying to convince Severus for days to ask Emily to go to Hogsmeade, but Severus kept brushing it off. He barely had enough money to buy extra quills and parchment this weekend, let alone take someone on a date.
The mid-Autumn snow had caught many students off guard, so many who had decided to venture to Hogsmeade confined themselves inside the shops. Severus had accompanied Regulus into the village that day, where they were currently comparing what they could find in the back room of Flourish and Blotts.
"Hey Snape, check this out," Regulus said, showing him the cover of Phoenix Tears to Sphinx Tongues: Rare Ingredients and the Potions They Create.
Severus lifted his head up from the book it had been burried in.
"Professor Slughorn has that in his private laboratory," he responded nonchelantly, "he only lets N.E.W.T students borrow it."
"Of course you've read it," Regulus said, "what's that you've got there?"
"Spell Creation: Jinxes, Curses, and Latin," Severus mused.
"Don't see why you need that, you already know how to create spells."
"Yes, and I've also had my creations constantly used against me. I want to create spells that are…more advanced. More powerful."
"More like something mere dunderheads wouldn't be able to cast in their dizziest daydreams," Regulus laughed.
Severus snorted. Though he would never admit it, having James Potter use his own spell against him in front of all those people fifth year had been humiliating. Even more humiliating than having his manly honor on display for half the school. His plan was to develop a new line of self-defense spells, and he had been excessively researching the creation of defensive spells since that close call with Lupin last year.
"Well, I'll leave you to it then. I need to stop by Honeydukes."
Severus nodded.
"I'll meet you outside Scribbulus' around four?" Regulus asked.
Severus nodded again, silently thankful that his friend had suggested the cheaper of the two quill stores in Diagon Alley. When he was still friends with Lily, she would affectionately refer to him Scribbulus while they did their homework in the library. However, after the incident last year, she, like most of the other Hogwarts students, preferred his nastier nickname.
XXXXX
Lily felt her heartrate increase when she saw a male figure with long, black hair browsing a shelf full of Fizzing Whizzbees.
To her relief, and slight disappointment, it was only Regulus Black. Soon, he was approached by Emily Vanity.
"Have you seen Severus?" the blonde asked him.
Lily raised an eyebrow, shifting herself closer to the conversation.
"I left him not too long ago in Flourish and Blotts," Regulus said, "He was rather occupied though. Why?"
"I was going to see if he fancied a butterbeer."
Lily snorted to herself. Severus hated butterbeer.
"Snape doesn't like butterbeer," Regulus said, voicing Lily's thought, "Look, Emily, if you want to get in with Snape, you need to stop trying so hard."
"It's just so difficult to get through to him, Regulus. You've known Severus for years…"
"So have you."
"You know what I mean. He's only just started to regard me as a friend. You've been his friend for five years."
"Emily, I tried to get him to ask you to be his escort to Hogsmeade this weekend, I don't know what else I could possibly do to…" Regulus said, pushing by her towards the register.
XXXXX
After taking countless pages of notes, Severus cast a time-telling charm on his wrist. Five minutes 'til four. He shoved his ink-covered parchment into his pocket, and returned the book to its shelf. It cost twenty three galleons, which was about twenty more than he had to his name.
He thanked the shopkeeper on his way out, and decided to take an alleyway nuzzled between Olivanders and Flourish and Blotts as a shortcut.
As soon as he entered the alley, he was on edge. This alley wasn't travelled by many people, but there was a trail of many pairs of footprints imprinted in the snow, and the snow had only fallen last night.
Soon, he heard whimpering. He drew his wand, creeping cautiously down the alley. Suddenly, he stumbled. Severus righted himself, and found the source of his stumble and the whimpering.
Sticking out of a mangle of crates, he saw a leg clad in a dragonhide boot. He felt himself start to panic. Lily had those boots.
He immediately levitated the boxes off of the leg's owner, feeling himself flood with relief. The owner of the leg had blonde, curly hair, not red. She was laying on her side in an almost fetal-position. Her back was towards him.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
The girl didn't move, but continued to whimper. He walked around so he could see her face. It was bloodied and bruised.
She didn't move her eyes to look at him, instead they stayed locked in front of her, staring at her shaking hands, which were also bloodied. He noticed she was in Hufflepuff robes.
"Here, let me help you. I can get you back to Hogwarts," he said, putting a cautious hand on her shoulder.
The girl jerked away from his palm, and shook her head vigorously, "I-I c-can't go back there," she whispered, still staring at her hands.
"Can I at least help you sit up? Your left side must be freezing," he said.
She hesitated, then nodded. She shifted herself slightly, turning her head towards him.
"S-Snape?" she choked out.
"Amelia Fitzpatrick," he said, recognizing the Huffpuff in his year.
He offered her his hand, and as she grabbed it and pushed herself off the ground, his eyes widened in horror. She had been lying in a pool of her own blood. Her robes were disheveled, her dress shirt slashed opened, revealing even more cuts down her breasts and abdomen. The crotch of her slacks had been slashed at as well, revealing even more blood on her underwear and thighs. She clung to him shakily, allowing him to lead her to one of the discarded crates. She sat down, still not looking him in the eye.
"Who did this to you?" he hissed out, taking off his cloak and draping it over her knees.
She merely shook her head, "I can't go back to Hogwarts."
"I understand," he said, running over possible solutions in his mind, "I'm going to go get more help. Stay here."
And with that, he took off down the alleyway.
Regulus was waiting outside of Scribbulus', clearly annoyed.
Nearly ten minutes late, he thought, foul git.
Suddenly, Severus appeared, bursting from an alleyway on his left, "Regulus," he panted, "I need your help."
"What did you get yourself into now?"
"Not me…a girl…" his breathing slowed, "There's a girl in the alleyway. A Hufflepuff. Someone attacked her. I think she…I think she might have been raped."
Regulus' eyes widened, and he followed his friend back into the alley, need for parchment and ink forgotten.
Amelia was in the same position Severus had left her in, except she had covered her legs with his cloak.
"This is—" Severus started.
"—Regulus Black," she finished, "I'm still not going back to Hogwarts."
"Why not?" Regulus asked.
"Dumbledore would never believe what happened to me," she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest, "Nor would he care. I'm not a one of his darling Golden Gryffindors."
"We can't just leave you here," Severus said.
"Yeah, and even if you did run away, they'd drag you right back to Hogwarts after they found you," Regulus explained.
"What if I didn't want to be found?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Regulus asked.
"You want to fake your death?" Severus questioned.
"I can't go back to Hogwarts, and I don't want them to come looking for me. What else would you propose?"
The two boys responded with silence.
"Exactly," she mumbled.
"I'd do it if I had the chance," Severus said, "fake my death. Start over somewhere new…as someone new…anything to get out of this hellhole."
The others nodded in agreement, and soon they concoted a plan. Regulus would transfigure one of the crates into Amelia's body, placing it back in the position Severus had found her, laying in the puddle of blood. Then, Severus would place the remaining crates back over her body, making the scene look untouched.
After this was completed, Regulus called Kreacher. He instructed his house elf to take Amelia to the abandoned Black property in the Irish mountains, and to get the other house elf there to tend to her needs. He commanded Kreacher to not tell anyone that Amelia was there.
Regulus and Severus promised Amelia that they'd join her at the Black cabin as soon as they could, and with that, the house elf apparated away with the girl, and the two boys strode back towards Hogwarts.
Up Next: Hogwarts falls into chaos as students and staff realize someone never made it back from Hogsmeade.