"Lils? Lily? Please!" Came an all too familiar voice behind me.
"Snape, or should it be pureblood now?"
Rage, revulsion and devastation roared inside of me as I spun around and stared into his coal black eyes.
"Lils, I didn't mean it, I swear!" He begged me, pleading with his eyes to understand. The injustice of it all welled up and I was speaking without having conscious control of the words which flew from my mouth.
"Shut up! How dare you call me a mudblood. This friendship thing, it's OVER!" I watched him flinch with satisfaction, before continuing, "Alice, oh how right she was! They told me, Alice and Hestia, they both told me you were junk, crap, not worthy of my friendship. I told them to shut up, I'm going to go and apologise."
Horror filled his eyes, he reached out to grab my shoulder, but I jerked away in disgust.
"No, Lils!"
"Lils? Shouldn't it be mudblood?" I pointed out coldly.
"Lils?" Came an entirely different voice behind me. I whipped around to see my two best friends approaching rapidly. "What's going on?"
The pair's eyes fixed on Snape for a second, before flickering back to me in eerie synchronization.
"Hestia! Alice! I need to give you an apology." I spoke with a sweet smile, attempting futilely to cover the hurt I knew was plastered across my face.
"For what?" Hestia's stunned reply cut above Snape's begging.
"For telling you to shut up about him being a bad friend." I hissed, glaring at him.
"What's he done?" Alice's voice was muted, but deadly.
"He called me a-a…a…" My voice broke as my true feelings, or hurt and betrayal, overrode the anger.
"A what?" Both girls hissed, hardly daring to believe the truth.
"Severus, I cannot deny it. I'm impressed with you." Slick blonde hair rippling out behind him, Lucius Malfoy stepped into the stony passageway and a chilling smirk rose on his pale, twisted face.
"What?" Snape whispered.
"Evans – a mudblood, you finally saw sense, then?" His cold laugh echoed through the corridor, sending a small shudder down my spine.
I let out a strangled sob, Snape reached towards me instinctively. Alice and Hestia pointed their wands at him in one movement, and then followed me as I turned and made my escape.
As my greatest friends ranted on our journey to Gryffindor common room, I walked beside them in silence, thinking through my situation, trying to cling onto some kind of hope that Snape wasn't…bad. I felt foolish, for having clung onto the possibility for so long.
When I reached the room filled with Gryffindor's, everything went silent.
"Um…Evans?" Potter's voice had changed from arrogant to gentle, and it's matureness surprised me slightly. Nevertheless, I turned to face him.
"Potter"
"I'm really sorry, what we were doi-"he began. I cut over him;
"Don't be sorry, you've finally made me realise what Snape actually was, Thank you James." I gave a small smile as the common room began glancing at each other in shock.
Potter and Evans? Getting along?
"That's alright." He said softly, returning my smile with one of his own.
After conversation resumed its previous volume. I wormed through the people, and fled to my dormitory.
It didn't take long until Alice and Hestia flew in, followed closely by my third best friend, Mary.
"Sorry I couldn't be there for you when Snape…" She trailed off, before picking up with "I was with Reg."
"Oh, Don't worry Mary." I smiled weakly. I was a Gryffindor. Where was my courage?
I pulled shut the curtains to my bed, burying my head in my pillow, and remembered when I should have realised what was happening.
Severus watched as I placed the hat on my head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" Yelled the sorting hat.
I gave him a sorry smile as I skipped over to my table, all of whom cheered, Mary hugging me, grinning as I watched Severus stride towards the Slytherins, taking his place between Malfoy and Avery, he glanced at me once, then turned to the boys as they looked proudly at the green emblem on their robes.
My eyes snapped open, I pulled wide the curtains, stared at the sunshine outside with small grin, and pulled on my robes. As Mary, Hestia and Alice followed me from the common room, I sensed eyes watching, but nobody commented, and we left undisturbed.
Hurrying to be free of the cool stone passageways, we headed to the lake, eyes half closed as they adjusted to the bright sunlight.
Settling down on the grass, we sat dipping our toes in the cool water, and talking animatedly about anything possible. Reg approached tentatively.
"Um… Hey girls, can I borrow Mary, please?"
One glance at my friend gave me my answer.
"Of course you can," I murmured quietly, watching her jump up, stretching her hand out towards his.
After a few moments discussion, I noticed Alice's eyes lock upon something across the water.
"Oh, Lily, Hestia! Franks outside, I need to go see him, sorry." She disappeared into the shadows, and soon we saw her skip over the other side of the lake and kiss him.
"Ugh…demonstrative much." Groaned Hestia.
"And you and Benjy aren't like that at all?"
"Well…" She blushed. "It'll be you next, all of us have our guys, how long will it be before you get with yours?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and it was my turn to flush.
"Hey, girls, um…I'm really sorry, Lily, but…" Benjy Fenwick's cheery voice came from behind us. I jumped, startled, before placing a fake smile on my face and responding.
"Sure, Bye Hestia!" I smiled, as they left, I sighed.
So much for a sunny day with my friends by the lake
I sensed eyes on my back and whipped around.
"Come in here!" came a mad hiss.
I chuckled, and ran to the hidden pools behind the rocks. It was the spot of the marauders, where they went when they planned. Where I normally caught them and shouted at James and Sirius for their idiocy.
Laughing at Remus, I settled beside him. Remus had always been my favourite of the four, and we'd always gotten along well.
"Well, aren't you being tolerant today, missy!" Black grinned.
"Leave Evans alone." Muttered P-James.
"Please, call me Lily."
"W-what?"
"Well, seeing as we're older, I think perhaps we could be mature enough to be on first name terms, James?"
"Of course, Lily." He ran a hand through his messy hair, and pushed his glasses further up his nose.
"A bit embarrassed?" simpered Black, sending Remus onto the ground with laughter.
Pettigrew laughed nervously, watching happily as he fitted in for a change. Glaring at Black, James Potter turned crimson, and I sighed.
"Anyway, guys, time to get Lily's permission." Remus muttered.
"For what?"
"Our next…prank."
"Ah. Who is it on?"
"Snape." Remus, Black and James spat.
"Oh, it's fine by me." I beamed, turned and walked away, waving over my shoulder as I did so, and enjoying the silence that followed, before shouts of laughter.
I stepped out, right into the path of Snape and his friends.
"Ah…Evans." Malfoy spoke in a chilling voice.
"Help? Please?" I murmured, knowing who hid just behind the rocks. I couldn't take on Malfoy, Snape and Avery on my own.
"No-one's got your back here, mudblood."
"We have." Remus' voice startled me, and he stepped from their meeting place, wand in hand, raised. James followed, as Black and Pettigrew joined their friends, I pulled my wand out and pointed it directly at Severus Snape's face.