A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long…NaNoWriMo!!

Chapter 9

The morning before we were all to leave for Christmas break, I noticed not just one person looking at me from across the room in the Great Hall, but two. Joining Severus' pair of eyes was those of Lily Evans. I waved at Severus first, and then at her. She looked towards the Slytherin table, and then back to me. She smiled weakly, and waved, but didn't make any other effort to get my attention. She just stared at me.

"Lily's staring at you," Ben said, coming up behind me and grabbing one of my biscuits. I let out a "hey", but he didn't care – he just stuffed it in his mouth. "She wanted me to tell you she wants to talk to you after breakfast," he spit a piece of biscuit in my hair, but then picked it out and put it on my napkin. "Sorry."

"Gross, Ben!" I said, brushing out my hair with my hand. "Why do you always lurk behind me?"

"Because I'm the mysterious one," he climbed in next to me. "Good morning, Stacie."

"Morning, Ben." Stacie took a sip of her coffee. "What do you think Lily wants?"

He shook his head. "No idea, but she seemed pretty serious about it." He poked my arm. "It's probably about Severus."

I turned back around and caught Severus' eye. I smiled at him, waving. He waved back. I then saw Lily walk around the Slytherin table and beeline it straight to the Ravenclaw table.

"Hi, Lily," Ben said as soon as she stood behind me. I turned around slightly. She had her hands on her hips. "How's the weather over there?"

"Quite boring, since you left," She put a hand on my shoulder gently. "Annemarie…can I talk to you for a moment?"

I sighed. I knew what she was going to talk to me about. It was pretty obvious. "Sure, Lily. Let me grab a biscuit." I grabbed the one that Ben had just grabbed out of the basket out of his fingers and we walked off towards the exit. I threw a glance back at Severus, who looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. I felt bad for him, but kind of figured that this would be coming at some point.

"Okay, so," she said, pulling me around to face her. "I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time with Severus Snape. Is that right?"

I nodded, trying to stay as positive as I could. I felt like punching her in the face for the way she said his name. "Yeah, I have been. What of it?" I crossed my arms.

"Well, you know, I'm sure, that we used to be friends…and then he did what he did to me last year." She paused, sighing. "He called me a…you know…"

I put my hand up. "I know what he called you. We've discussed it. He knows my position on the issue, and he shares it as well." I tilted my head in sympathy. "He hates himself for what he did."

"As he should." She growled slightly (at least, that's what the noise she made sounded like), putting both hands in her hair. "God, it's been almost two years, and it still makes me furious."

"It makes me mad, too."

"Then why are you around him all of the time?"

"Because he needs a positive influence. Besides," I shrugged, "he's not that bad once you get passed his shell. He's actually a really genuine person."

"He's not a good person, Annemarie. You should know that by now."

The urge to punch her grew. "He is a good person, Lily. You just can't see it anymore."

"I'm just warning you, Annemarie. Please don't get angry."

"This conversation is over." I said, turning around and walking off. I didn't want to deal with her anymore. I felt bad for just leaving her like that, but I didn't feel like she would want my temper to make contact with her face.

~*~

Hey you.

I slid the note across the table as nonchalantly as I could. We were pretty far back in the classroom, but Slughorn's eyes were like a hawk's eyes. He could see anything.

Yes?

Lily tried to talk to me again today.

What is she saying?

She's telling me not to talk to you. At all. She says that you're not a good person. She's saying that I shouldn't trust you.

You shouldn't trust me.

I looked at him in shock.

We went over this. I do trust you. You're a good person.

To you, anyways.

Stop it.

He sighed, grabbing his quill and scribbling furiously. Several things were crossed out by the time he finished his simple sentence. He had scratched them out so furiously that I had no way of reading what he had wanted to write.

Please, Annemarie, believe me when I say I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me. You and our friendship are too precious to me to ever consider causing you any sort of pain.

Severus…

You can listen to Lily if you want, but just know that I won't let anything happen to you. As long as we're friends, you are safe with me.

I believe you.

I looked over at Severus and smiled as he read my simple answer. He looked over at me, his dark eyes glittering. He too smiled. It was in that moment that I knew I could completely trust him.

~*~

"So…" Stacie said as the three of us sat in our normal compartment. I had invited Severus to come and sit with us, but he declined, saying he needed to 'take care of a few things' before he left with us. I took that to mean he had to deal with Death Eater stuff, so I left it as it was. "How about them Bears?"

I threw one of the mini pillows at her. "You would, Stace."

"This is going to be an interesting break," Ben said, leaning back. "I can't believe I'm going to be spending nearly a month with you all…and Severus Snape." He shuddered at the thought. I retrieved my pillow and hit him with it.

"Come on, guys. He's not bad once you get to know him."

"You'll never learn, PM." Ben shook his head. "You'll never learn."

"I got him to hug me."

Their eyes got wide. "No way!" They said simultaneously.

I nodded. "Yeah. He hugged me. He's a great hugger, oddly enough." I sighed. "I felt completely safe."

Stacie made a gagging noise, and Ben joined in. I smacked both of them with the pillow. "I'll wrestle one of you guys if need be!"

"Truce! Truce!" Stacie said, blocking her face with her hands. "Please don't wrestle me! I'm on my flow!"

"Gross," Ben and I both said at the same time. "Stuff we did NOT need to hear."

"It's true, though," she said, straightening out her skirt. "It totally sucks today, too."

"Okay, no more period talk," I said, sitting down and stretching out on my side of the compartment. "Let's talk about something else."

"I'm telling you…them Bears…"

"Shut up!" Ben said, tackling Stacie and tickling her. She came back at him with a fury, tickling him twice as hard. They fell on the floor in a tickling match.

Suddenly, the door swung open…and there was Severus, standing there, watching the two of them tickle fight. He covered his eyes with a smile and turned around, giving them privacy. I could see his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Jesus, guys! Stop it! You look like you're totally ravishing each other," I said, laughing, as I pulled them apart. They stood up, arms still raised in defensive positions. Ben was the first one to notice Severus.

"Hi, Severus," he said, eyes wide. Severus turned back around and smiled.

"Hello, Ben," he then pointed to me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," I said, smoothing my skirt and walking out. Ben shot me a look of 'he-wants-to-do-you'. I shook my head with a smile, and met Severus in the corridor.

"Are you sure you want me to come along?" He asked, a worried tone to his voice. He looked as though he hadn't been sleeping.

"Are you all right, Sev?" I went to touch his face, but he swatted my hand away.

"Just some long nights. Are you sure you want me to come along?"

I looked at him in shock. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

He stared at me for a while, and then looked down at his shoes. "Your mother doesn't like me, and I don't think your friends like me…"

"Sev," I reached for his face again, this time succeeding in grabbing his chin and forcing him to look up at me. "It's my house. I can invite whom I want over. Besides," I smiled, "my cousin really wants to meet you."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmmm. Desperately." I shot him a begging look. "Come sit with us."

He shook his head. "Come on," I grabbed his arm. "It'll be fun."

Severus looked at me with such an intense sadness that I almost fell backwards. "I can't. Not today. I have…things to take care of."

I nodded sadly. "I understand. On the way back?"

"Maybe."

I smiled. "Good enough for me."

He turned to walk off, but then turned back to me. "You're sure?"

"YES."

He put his hands up. "Okay, okay. I got it. You're sure."

I poked him on the shoulder. "Go do your stuff. I'll see you when we get off the train."

"All right."

~*~

The train ride seemed to take longer than normal. Stacie and Ben eventually fell asleep on each other's shoulders, leaving me to look out the window and think.

And think I did. I thought about what my mother's reaction was going to be. I thought about how everyone would get along. I thought about Severus and…well…just basically Severus. I thought about how ridiculous it was that I was completely in love with a guy who was working with the Dark Side.

I laughed to myself as I thought of being in love with Darth Vader. He had to have been in love with someone, didn't he? How else would Luke and Leia have been born?

Not that I wanted to have Severus' kids. That was way too soon to think about. He didn't even like me in that way, as far as I knew. I didn't know if he liked anyone in that way. I wondered if he were gay for about two seconds, and then pushed the thought out of my brain. Nope. Not gay.

"You didn't tell me you were bringing all these people home," my mother said when she saw the four of us. She smiled at Ben and Stacie, and then gave Severus a less than pleased look.

"Mother, please," I said, grabbing her arm and leading the way back to the car. "It's not that big of a deal. You know we have plenty of room for everyone."

"Maybe if they were the only ones coming over," she said, shooting a glance over her shoulder at the three of them trailing us. "But Sarah and Grace are coming too, remember?"

"I know, mom."

"And they're family."

"I know, mom."

"And…what did I tell you about that guy?"

"What, Severus?"

"I thought I told you I didn't like him."

"He's harmless. Plus, Grace wants to meet him." She stopped walking and looked at me with that motherly look. "He needs a happy Christmas. Let him have that."

"Fine. Whatever. Just don't let him too close to me."

"Okay."

"Mrs. Carter, where's your car?" Stacie asked. "My heels are starting to give me blisters." I heard the boys snicker behind me. "Hey, you guys stop it! You all don't understand!"

"We're almost there, I promise." I said, hoping it was true. I unhooked my arm from my mother's and fell in stride with Severus. I grabbed his arm. He looked at me with a hint of surprise. I heard Ben and Stacie whisper to each other. I shot them a glare, and then turned back to Severus.

"You ready for this?" I asked him.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

~*~

"GRACIE!" I yelled as I bolted up the steps. She was standing in the doorway, arms outstretched, just waiting for me to jump into them.

"ANNIE!" She yelled as I jumped into her arms. She spun me around, and then put me down. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"When did you guys get here?" I asked, grabbing her hand and leading her down towards the rest of the group.

"A couple of days ago," she said, concentrating on the steps so she wouldn't trip. She then looked up. "I had forgotten you were bringing people from school!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." I pointed to each of them. "This is Stacie, Ben, and Sev-"

"Hi," Grace said, extending her hand to Ben. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open in amazement. I looked at both Stacie and Severus, who were looking at Ben. He had the same expression. "I'm Grace."

"I'm Ben," he said, grabbing her hand and shaking it slowly.

"Here, let me help you take your bags," she said, grabbing one of his suitcases.

"No, I've got it," he took it from her hand. They both giggled as their hands touched. They walked in the door together, leaving the three of us outside.

"Well," Severus said, shooting me a sideways glance, "it looks like they hit it off."

A/N: Yay! Working on the next chapter as we speak… ^_^