27 October, 1973

"Well, Lil," Marlene McKinnon began brightly, her voice a notch higher than usual, "why don't you just wait here for him? Em and I wanted to go to Honeydukes anyway-" Her hands already splayed out on the slightly sticky table, she began to rise from her chair.

"Sit," Lily snapped, irritation flaring in her gut. She gestured to the mug sitting innocently in front of Marlene; it was still halfway full of butterbeer. "You haven't even finished your drink," she pointed out flatly. Marlene sank back down into her seat, rolling her eyes.

"Worth a shot," she muttered, snatching her mug up and taking an enormous gulp. Returning the heavy tankard to the table with a loud clunk, she leaned forward, smirking expectantly. "Well? When is His Snakeliness going to grace us with his presence?" It was Lily's turn to roll her eyes.

"Oh, honestly," she huffed. "I know some of the Slytherins are really rotten, but Sev's all right!" After all, it wasn't his fault that Lucius Malfoy had been known to practice Stinging Hexes on first-years who got lost in the dungeons, or that Violetta Bulstrode was given to Leg-Locking anyone who dared block her view of the mirror in the girls' toilet. Marlene cocked a ginger eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Lily heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to her left.

"Sev deserves a chance," she insisted, glaring pointedly at Emmeline Vance. The other witch avoided her eyes, opting instead to busy herself with a loose thread at the end of her Ravenclaw scarf. Emmeline was never one to be violently opposed to anything, but she had an unnerving habit of ignoring unpleasant situations in the hopes that they'd simply dissolve around her.

"You've never even spoken to him, have you?" Lily pressed, sensing weakness. The tops of Emmeline's round cheeks went pink, and though her gaze was still stubbornly devoted to her scarf, her head gave the tiniest lateral jerk. Lily smiled in satisfaction.

"Exactly my point!" She brandished her butterbeer in triumph, slopping a bit of foam onto the grimy tabletop. "You two just need to talk to him. He's a bit quiet, but he's sweet. And he's brilliant in Potions, Marlie, maybe you could use a tutor for-" Marlene quelled her with a glare, skepticism fairly radiating off of her like an aggressive perfume. Lily sniffed and took a sip of her half-spilt butterbeer.

"Be that way, then. I just want all my best mates to know each other, and I don't think that's asking too much," she said defensively. Marlene groaned.

"Lil, it's just-" She froze, and her face wrinkled. "He's here," she hissed through clenched teeth. Lily turned to look just in time to see the door of the Three Broomsticks swing heavily shut at Severus' back.

Seeing him in his baggy Muggle clothes for the first time since the train ride to school, it was apparent that two months of Hogwarts food had done him considerable good; he no longer looked quite so underfed, though his grey sweater still gaped noticeably around his thin neck. She felt a rush of affection as she took in his expression: the tiniest, thoughtful crease appeared between his eyebrows as he squinted, frowning, looking for her through the murky light of the pub. She raised a hand to wave, about to call out, when his black eyes found her. His face lit up, his small, serious mouth blooming instantly into a grin of such unabashed happiness that her insides gave a sudden warm squirm that had nothing to do with butterbeer.

"Hi, Sev!" Lily greeted him as he approached the table. His eyes darted nervously to Emmeline and Marlene's faces in turn, and his grin flickered. Lily beamed at him as she stuck a well-placed kick to Marlene's shin beneath the table. Less well-placed was her elbow to Emmeline's ribs; her aim was slightly off, and the other girl let loose an indignant squeal as she jabbed her somewhere near her liver.

"Wotcher," Marlene ground out, her mouth hovering just between a smile and a grimace. Lily shot her a look, and the other girl dutifully scrambled sideways on the bench, giving the spot she'd just vacated an awkward pat. "We, er, saved you a seat."

"Thanks," Severus murmured, sliding onto the bench and shaking his long, dark hair out of his face. From the look of him, it had started raining since they'd arrived. His eyes were somber again as he glanced from one unfamiliar girl to the other. "I'm Severus," he added, the hopeful note in his voice wrenching something in Lily's chest. Marlene's face still carried a steely hardness behind the unconvincing smile, and Lily was emphatically reminded that bravery was not the only trademark trait of Gryffindor. So bloody stubborn.

"I'm Emmeline," came a soft voice from Lily's left. She turned to look at her friend, and with a tingling rush of relief saw that her smile, though small, appeared genuine."I sat behind you in Charms last year." Her cheeks were still faintly pink. "You're one of Flitwick's favorites," she added, clearly admiring. Severus colored slightly, but looked pleased. Lily glanced expectantly at Marlene. The other girl sighed.

"Marlene," she introduced herself flatly, having taken to examining the tips of her long hair. "I don't remember you from class, but Lily says you're brilliant." The sarcasm in her tone was unmistakable. Lily kicked her again, while Severus went utterly scarlet. He made a spluttering noise, as though trying to gather together the syllables necessary to disagree.

"Shut it, Sev, you know you are," Lily said bracingly, her heart giving another painful throb as she took in the bewilderment on his face. "But go on, get yourself a drink. Try the butterbeer, it's good!" He nodded, still flushed, and shot off towards the bar. As soon as he was out of earshot, Lily pounced.

"What in blazes do you think you're doing?" she snarled at Marlene, who had moved on to cleaning out bits of fuzz from between the links of her silver bracelet. Her fake smile had long since faded, and she met Lily's hard gaze with a look of cold indifference. She tilted her head, then snorted, smirking mirthlessly.

"Come off it, Lil," Marlene said, her words thick with scorn. "Slytherins don't make good pets, you know."

It was like someone had replaced her blood with petrol and jabbed her veins with a lit match. She was suddenly on fire, all at once angry and wretchedly sad. Marlene was rather well-known for her sarcastic streak, even amongst the older students; she was pretty enough to get away with her cheek most of the time, but on occasion she hopped the line into cruelty. Lily had been so hoping for Severus to win her approval, hoping for him to be spared that barbed tongue, but Marlene's prejudice against Slytherin House went fathoms deep.

Seething and biting back a few choice words, Lily tore her gaze from Marlene's detached smirk and looked towards the bar. Severus was still trying to get the attention of Madam Rosmerta, who was being thoroughly distracted by a couple of fifth-year Ravenclaw boy. The barmaid was ten years out of Hogwarts if she was one, but judging by the color splashing her high cheekbones, she wasn't above a bit of adolescent flattery.

"My mother was in Slytherin," Emmeline said suddenly. Lily's head swiveled back to stare at her in shock. Her tone was light, but she was giving Marlene a hard, unsmiling look, as though daring her to say something nasty. Marlene, to her credit, had the good grace to stop smirking immediately. There was an unpleasant pause.

"Right, well, doesn't mean she's not lovely," Marlene said hastily, before burying her face in a very long pull of butterbeer. This was generally as good of an apology as one was likely to get from Marlene. Lily caught Emmeline's eye and smiled in gratitude. Though she otherwise avoided confrontation, Emmeline was one of very few people who could effectively reign Marlene in when she came over too callous. This was a useful balancing act, as Lily's temper usually got the better of her in such situations.

"The service is a bit slow here, isn't it?" Severus said breathlessly as he reappeared a moment later, clutching his own mug of butterbeer. He glanced nervously at Marlene, who looked as though she'd just been force-fed outdated milk. There wasn't the faintest attempt at a smile, but she did jerk her head curtly towards his vacated seat. Lily let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. It was a start.