Snape's Summer Thoughts

Severus Snape lay on his bed staring at the dreary dark ceiling. It was eleven at night but Severus didn't feel like sleeping. In a few days he would be returning to his sixth year at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. There he would be pressured by his fellow Slytherin's, forced to study for exams by his teachers and the constant target of humiliation of the four arrogant Gryffindor's that went by the name `The Marauders`.

But that wasn't what he was brooding about. Oh no. It was his last year that stuck in Severus's head. It had started out like all his other years had, meeting up with Lily, listening to all her warnings about his `friends` and how they're evil and all that.

For the rest of the year they studied together and had occasional rants about that pigheaded Potter and his posse, ugh! Potter made Severus sick! He strutted around the school acting as if he owned it and made everyone else's life a misery. Severus didn't know why all the girls liked him, even some of the Slytherin girls thought he was handsome. Thankfully Lily didn't fancy him and agreed with Severus about pretty boy Potters pigheadedness and even defended him when Potter and Black played their pathetic pranks.

He remembered one cold November evening when Potter and Black had just pelted him with water balloons Lily had yelled at them, "Just leave Sev alone! He hasn't done anything to you."

Severus sighed as he rolled over, why oh why had he let her go? She was his fiery sun, the light in his life. But his light was gone now, his sun replaced by the dark night.

The worst part was he couldn't even blame Potter for it because it was all Severus's fault. He couldn't forget that afternoon after the exams, the laughing, the jeering and the one word that ended their friendship forever. It was while he was taunted that he yelled that forbidden word at her. The one word he swore that he would never use against her…..

Mud blood.

The horror he felt after realising he had just said that was terrible but as half the school was watching he couldn't take it back. Severus tried to talk to her afterwards but she didn't listen. He had tried to explain to her that it was a mistake that he hadn't meant it, but she didn't believe him.

"You've changed Sev. You're evil! That's what you are, just like all your death eater friends. From now on just leave me alone!"

That's what she said when he tried to talk to her and she meant it. For the following weeks before the summer she wouldn't look at Severus let alone go in five feet of him.

He had consulted his fellow Slytherin's but their advice was useless. Malfoy told him to forget about her, she was a Mudblood after all.

Barty told him to join the Death Eaters with him.

Regulus said to get a hobby and to move on from her.

He even asked Narcissa who said that she heard from Andromeda who heard from Bella who bullied it out of Mary McDonald who heard from Alice Prewett that Lily might give Potter a chance so to try finding someone else.

They didn't get it though. They didn't know that Lily and Severus were friends for years before Hogwarts. They all thought that she was just some girl he liked. He knew they loved it that the two of them weren't friends anymore, even if they didn't say it to his face. They may be Slytherin's but they weren't that cruel. They were his friends after all.

Life to Severus was unfair and it kept getting worse and worse each year. Not six summers ago he was lying on the grass beside Lily chatting about Hogwarts and what house they wanted to be in. Lily didn't mind what house she was in she was just glad to be going, but Severus was adamant that they would both be in Slytherin.

When they got there and were sorted in to different houses, neither of them realised just how strong the hatred between Slytherin and Gryffindor really was.

They got a good bit of unwanted attention because of their friendship but no one bothered them because they were just first years. The only people who really annoyed them were the Marauders. Lily knew that trying to get those five to like each other was pointless especially as she didn't like them either but she had hoped that other Gryffindor's would get along with Severus. Sadly she couldn't have been more wrong.

Now a few years later things were worse than ever. The two house didn't just hate each other they loathed each other. The hatred had even split up families. Severus knew it was stupid that school houses could do that but what could he do, he was only sixteen and one teenager couldn't have that much power.

It wasn't the duels and fights that were the worst part though, it was the pranks. They happened again and again, each more humiliating than the last. Severus also noticed that they were happening more to him than anyone else, some happened to other Slytherin's and people who annoyed the Marauders but that was about it. He had tried to tell the headmaster Dumbledore but Dumbledore was very busy. Either way he called them silly jokes and told Severus that they were nothing to get upset about. Severus had long given up on that old man.

That aside, Severus's thoughts drifted to the day before when he had tried to talk to Lily. Unfortunately she wouldn't answer the door to him and if she saw him on the streets she turned around and walked the other way. It was hopeless.

Altogether Severus had three things to do this year.

1. Make the marauders pay. (Severus didn't exactly know how to do it but they'd better watch out).

2. Get Lily back. (He needed her, they had been friends forever and Severus was determined that one word wasn't going to change that).

3. Get Malfoy and Narcissa together. (It was going to happen some day why not now).

With these thoughts drifting round his head he turned over again and finally got some sleep.