Monday: Black

Andromeda had always felt, deep down, that she could always do more to help her cousin. The bullying was relentless, he hated school even more than he hated his home and that was saying something- being the offspring of the Prince family was no mean feat.
Anytime she had bothered herself to get involved, it had always resulted in tears- and not hers- Severus'.
There was no shortage of bullies at school, which was one of the reasons that Andromeda had only one close friend, but there was one singular group of Gryffindors who seemed to single out her cousin. Younger than her by only a year, Severus seemed to attract them like magnets, and they made no secret of their dislike towards him.

Tripping him in the corridors, sending him howlers at breakfast time, all of that she could manage to let slide, but seeing him pin him against a tree that late Monday evening- something inside of the girl snapped and she found herself marching towards the group of younger boys like a bat out of hell.
There was an amount of respect- her housemates had told her- that came with being a seventh year, and she hoped that any influence she had over stopping the gathering group which surrounded her cousin would be made clear. She wasn't one for confrontation, in fact she rarely put herself in situations which would cause it, but the group of younger boys didn't know that.

"-and what are you going to do Snivellus? Cry?" a tall dark haired boy jeered. He wasn't the one holding her cousin by the throat against the oak tree, but he was the first one Andromeda laid her hands on. It seemed to be the right thing to do, because the other boys- a doe eyed brunette boy that looked like he needed some sleep and a smaller, blonde retreated.
They were all taller than her, but with one hand around the scruff of the boy's neck and the other holding her wand to his temple, it didn't seem to matter.

"Four against one?" Andromeda snapped, causing the attention of the ring-leader to snap to her. Ignoring the horror and embarrassment already slapped across Severus' face, Andromeda gave the other boy a shake for good measure, "seems a little cowardly, doesn't it?"
"As cowardly as needing a girl to stick up for you?" the spectacled boy retorted, turning his back on Severus and taking a step towards her. The boldness of him angered her, causing a small ripple of red light to shine from the end of her wand, which made him falter a little.
That's right four-eyes, watch your attitude.
"What are you his girlfriend?" the boy in her grasp blurted out, "why don't you let me go and we can talk about how you can do much better?"
"She's not my girlfriend, Black!" her cousin stammered.
Andromeda's dark eyes narrowed at the name. There were many Black's around the school, all of them in her house- what was this rogue one doing bullying her cousin? And with a red tie around his neck at that, her grip on it tightened and he cleared his throat, trying not to hide his obvious discomfort.
"Why don't you all apologise to my cousin and I'll consider letting you walk away without any further issues?" she replied curtly.
"You must not know who I am," the boy in front of her grinned, "I'm James Potter and I don't walk away from a fight."
Andromeda let a small laugh burst from her lips before she could help herself. She glanced to her left to let her eyes settle on the other two, who had since drawn out their wands and while the darker haired boy had his just as a precaution, she could swear that the blonde had his angled slightly towards her.
Just try it blondie.
"Then you must be either unbelievably arrogant, or unbelievably stupid…" she drawled back.

Thankfully, Andromeda didn't have to listen to another word that fell out of James Potter's mouth because another voice- a girls- answered instead.
"I know on good authority that he is in fact both."
To everyone's surprise a ridiculously pretty, red-headed girl appeared as though out of nowhere and though Andromeda noticed the red tie around her neck too, she couldn't help but be taken aback by the way her hair glittered in the setting sun.
"Lily, don't get involved," her cousin muttered, his eyes wide at the sight of her, "please."

"Yes please, please Evans," James Potter mimicked, pleading with her, seeming to grow even more in confidence at her arrival, "don't make them think I need two girls to defend my useless arse!"
Thankful for Lily Evan's presence, Andromeda also grew in confidence. She felt better already and pushed Sirius towards his friend suddenly, pointing her wand in the direction of the pair of them and shooting the blonde boy at the side a look which dared him to throw a spell at her.
"I don't need help from either of you!" Severus exploded suddenly, his anger making both Andromeda and Lily take a short step backwards. Andy raised her eyebrows, what was this- some fire from him at last, however misdirected.
"I've told you to leave me alone!" Severus snapped at her, and with a roll of her eyes she stuffed her wand into her robes.
"And you, just go away you filthy Mudblood!"
Andromeda recoiled at the word, but not as much as Lily- who stared at him for what seemed like a full ten seconds before she bolted towards the castle.
Severus immediately ran after her, and Andy couldn't help but just stare at him as the four boys banded together and James called, "You'll pay for calling her that I swear it Snape!"
Andromeda couldn't move for a moment, before she cast a scathing scowl over her shoulder and began to stomp up towards the castle herself- with a soundtrack of her own abuse.

Part of her hoped she hadn't made herself a target, that was all she needed with preparation for final exams, but as she made her way back up towards Ravenclaw tower her worries were directed more towards her cousin and the language he had used against a girl he obviously cared about.
Snape was odd, he was a loner, he was a tough nut to crack, but she had never once known him to be… cruel.