After everyone had left the feast to settle into their dorms before curfew, James sat with the other Marauders at the otherwise empty Gryffindor table, eating the last of his apple pie. He leaned back on the seat. "Mmm…" he exhaled heavily.
Sirius looked up, his mouth full of chocolate cake. "Bugh ahbedy?"
James laughed, his stomach groaning from the amount of food he had just eaten. "Come again?"
Sirius swallowed abruptly. "Done already?"
James nodded, staring at Peter, who had forgone the use of forks, knives and spoons to shovel dessert into his mouth, instead deciding to revert back to caveman style; using his hands.
Remus leaned against the wall next to the table. He snorted. "I think the real question is: done yet?"
James sniggered, standing up. "Come on, Moony. Let's go." He turned to face Sirius and Peter.
Sirius stood quickly, shaking his dark hair out of his eyes. "That's alright. We were leaving anyway." He wiped his hands on Peter's white shirt- leaving marks trailing down his back- and grinned. "All done."
The Marauders made their way out of the hall- Peter still trying to reach over his shoulder to the stains on the back of his shirt- to find three hooded figures standing around a third-year boy in the shadow under the main staircase.
He was sniveling on the stone floor, and James stepped nearer to find out what was going on.
"Little mudblood," one of them said coldly. "Thought you'd get smart on us, didn't you?" the shrill voice sneered.
One of the hooded figures stepped forward. "Levicorpus." A familiar voice entered James' ears.
"Snape." He muttered to himself. Sirius started to rush forward, but James held him back as he noticed the boy levitating in the air; he didn't want Snape to drop him when Sirius barreled into him.
The boy was levitated higher in the air now, shivering with fear as he drifted farther away, higher and higher, until Snape lowered his wand and the boy fell with a crack onto a staircase high above them. He shrieked with fright, and then scurried away up the stairs.
Sirius rushed forward and ripped off all three cloaks, revealing Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Black.
Sirius stared at her. "Bella. I should've known." he said through gritted teeth.
She sneered at him. "Not that it's any of your business," she said, pushing past him with her shoulder.
James stepped forward to face Snape. "A third year?" He asked tauntingly. "My, my, my. Your standards are dropping lower."
Snape gripped his wand tightly, his knuckles turning white. He whipped out his wand, and then stopped abruptly in the motion, looking up intently at the stone staircase above and across from them. James didn't turn around, refusing to fall for this trick. Snape straightened, relaxing his wand hand to his side.
James stared at him coldly. "Did you want to defend yourself?" he mocked, pulling out his own wand.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily walking past them. Slowly, he closed his eyes, feeling like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Next time." He muttered through gritted teeth, glaring at Snape.
Lily opened one of the huge oak doors silently and stepped into the Great Hall, her black robes gliding behind her. The hall was deserted and the only light came from the Great Hall bewitched ceiling that depicted the night sky's pale moon, but the fresh scent of pumpkin, cinnamon and pine filled her as she inhaled deeply. Her mind was immediately brought back to the time when she and Venois first stepped into this hall, along with what had seemed like hundreds of other students.
Flashback
An 11-year-old Venois stood next to Lily, her glossy black ringlets bobbing up and down as she fidgeted in nervousness. She was scanning the crowded hall in what looked like anticipation, until she turned to Lily, her eyes toward the ceiling.
Lily followed her gaze to see a beautiful dark sky with bright stars scattered across. "Amazing," she breathed, pulling her auburn hair out of her eyes.
Venois smiled slightly, her eyes shining happily. She spun slowly, her black robes swirling around her. She stopped gradually, and faced Lily completely. "And the smell…" She inhaled slowly. "… it's like Christmas and parties and family," She sighed, her violet eyes sparkling. "It's like… home."
End Flashback
Lily scanned the dark hall until the sound of a chair scraping against the floor startled her.
"You came." A voice belonging to the dark figure on the chair said. The dark figure stood and began walking slowly toward her.
"I came." Lily replied succinctly.
The dark figure stopped abruptly, the moonlight shining across his facial features. It was Severus Snape. "Are you mad at me, Lily?" He asked quietly.
Lily stepped toward him, closing the distance between them. "Mad at you, Severus?" She asked slowly. "Why would I be mad at you?" Her voice was rising in volume, almost frantic. "You promise me you'll change, and then right when we come back…this." She lost her momentum suddenly, and turned around, breathing heavily.
"Nothing's changed." She said bitterly as she turned around to face him again, more calmly this time. "You're nothing but a bully, like the rest of them."
She began to walk, but Severus caught her arm. "Lily, I'm sorry, I-"
"Sorry was last time, Severus." Lily interrupted heatedly, turning to look at him directly. Her eyes softened as she looked into his eyes. "How can I trust you?" She whispered, her emerald eyes filled with hurt.
Severus let go of her arm and she turned, walking soundlessly out of the Great Hall, a dark figure fading into the night.