Chapter Thirteen

Closer Than Before

Severus actually looked mildly relieved. Then, suddenly, he glanced past me and a dark shadow crossed his face. Concerned, I spun my head around and understood. Harry Potter had just walked in. So far, every time I had seen Severus and Harry in the same room, Severus had sulked afterwards. I turned back and was not really surprised to notice that Severus had turned his face away.

"Let's go for a walk," I said quickly.

"I'm fine," he replied shortly.

"Severus..." I began nervously.

"I said I'm fine!" he hissed. I frowned at him.

"No, Severus, you're not. I'm not blind, you know," I told him.

"Just drop it, Alysia!" Severus snapped irritably. I sighed.

"Very well, Severus. If you say you're fine, then I guess you're fine, but we're going for a walk anyway!" I replied, getting to my feet. When Severus did not stand, I pulled out my wand, frowning.

"If I have to force you, Severus, I will," I said quietly. Scowling, my brother got violently to his feet.

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" I asked cheerfully as I dragged him outside. Severus rolled his eyes.

"Remind me to hex you later," he muttered, massaging his temple. I grinned cheekily.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Severus. Now, here's the deal," I said, grinning even wider. "This afternoon, you and I are going to relax and enjoy ourselves; something neither of us can truly say we've done for years. And we're going to start by getting something to eat," I added. "After that, I am going to drag you into every shop just like I did when we were at school. If we have time, we might even finish off this glorious day with a drink and a few laughs."

"I can't believe I'd forgotten that!" I exclaimed, laughing hysterically. "The look on Lucius' face was absolutely priceless!"

Severus smiled slightly. "Not to mention his reaction when you tried to pass yourself off as Nicole Anderson, and started fawning all over him. I really thought he might end up looking permanently horrified," he mentioned. I giggled.

"Well, when you're half muggle anyway, it isn't really very difficult to impersonate a muggle-born," I replied cheekily, taking a sip of Butterbeer. "Besides, she did have a blatantly obvious crush on Lucius; you remember how heart-broken she was when he called her a, well, you know," I finished awkwardly.

"Yeah, poor girl. I remember Lily telling me she wouldn't come out of the bathroom for hours," Severus said quietly.

"All the more reason to give Lucius a taste of his own medicine," I responded bitterly. "He had no right to treat her like that; she was trying to tell him something incredibly personal and he dismissed it, just because she was muggle-born."

"Speaking of crushes," Severus began. I looked up expectantly at him. "What about you and Rabastan Lestrange?" he asked.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" I whispered. "Yes, I had a crush on Rabastan! You know it! I know it! Damn, half the bloody world knows it! I was thirteen, naive and remarkably stupid!" I replied crossly.

"You were pretty upset when you found out he was seeing Maria Parkinson," he stated. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course I was upset, Severus. But what nobody seems to have caught onto yet is the fact that many witches have crushes during their adolescent years. I got over it. I started seeing Sirius, and managed to move on with my life," I explained. Severus looked sceptically at me.

"You know, Alysia, I don't think you're being entirely honest with yourself. Are you absolutely sure you have no feelings for Rabastan whatsoever?" he asked.

"Positive," I declared confidently. "I've told people enough times, Severus. Rabastan and me are good friends, nothing more."

Severus raised an eyebrow. It was perfectly plain that he didn't believe me. To tell the truth, I wasn't so sure myself. I had been confused about it for a long time. I thought Sirius had loved me, but then why had he attacked me like that? That wasn't love; it couldn't be. I couldn't deny that Rabastan and I had gradually gotten closer, but to say that we had feelings for each other? It just seemed so far-fetched, especially after so many years.

"Alysia?" Severus asked. I blinked and looked at him. He looked a bit worried.

"About time. I've only been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes," he said anxiously. "Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah. I'm just a bit tired, I guess," I said quietly, glancing at my watch. "It's getting late. I wouldn't be surprised if Narcissa had already set up a search party to look for me," I added, getting to my feet. Severus nodded.

"Look after yourself, Aly," he said quietly. With an awkward smile, I turned and left.

I couldn't sleep that night. My body was so tired that it ached, but my stupid brain wouldn't stop whirring. My head was an absolute mess of confusing thoughts.

'You have to forgive him. You can't hold a grudge like this forever,' a little voice whispered in the back of my mind.

"I can't," I reminded myself crossly. "This is the same man who forced me into becoming a Death Eater; the same bastard who let me spend thirteen years in Azkaban for it without a second thought! I can never forgive him for that! Never!"

'Listen to yourself. Think about the time you spent with him this afternoon. You've already started to,'

"Stop it!"

'He's your brother; you have to forgive him eventually,'

"I said stop it!"

'He loves you,'

"SHUT UP!" I finally yelled, losing my patience completely. I heard the guestroom door open and a moment later, Narcissa was standing in my bedroom doorway, looking very worried.

"Alysia? What's wrong?" she asked anxiously. I bit my lip.

"Just a crazy dream, Narcissa. Nothing to worry about," I lied. "Sorry I woke you up," I added. Narcissa gave me a tired smile before retreating back to the guestroom. I fell back on my pillow and stared up at my bedroom ceiling. Eventually I closed my eyes and silently told my brain to stop annoying me so much. Only then did I, finally, fall asleep.

"Stay away from me, Alysia!" Sirius yelled spitefully. I stopped in my tracks, completely stunned.

"What is it? What's wrong, Sirius?" I asked. He looked me up and down with so much contempt in his face that, for a moment, I thought he was about to spit on me.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage?" he shouted angrily, before pushing roughly past me. I stared after him in shock as he stormed away. Once he was out of sight, I allowed tears to stream down my cheeks as I turned and ran the other way. I felt like someone had just ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it in front of me.

I had no idea where I was going. Eventually, in a dark corner, I sank to the ground. I clutched my knees to my chest as the tears kept flowing. They wouldn't stop. I was so upset that I didn't even look up when I heard footsteps approaching. Even when I was half covered in shadow, I couldn't bring myself to lift my pathetic, tear-stained face.

"Alysia Snape?" a man asked. I jerked my head up and saw a man in front of me. After a moment or two, I managed to recognise him. It was Frank Longbottom. He glared at me with pure loathing in his eyes as I nodded slowly.

"Get up!" he ordered. When I did not immediately obey, he pointed his wand at my face.

"I said get up, Snape!" he repeated harshly. Somewhat alarmed, I did so, slowly. The moment I had gotten to my feet, Frank grabbed my arm tightly and pulled me out of the corner into the street.

"You're under arrest for supporting a known Dark Wizard," he told me. I tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight.

"What? No! There must be some mistake!" I protested, horrified. Frank pulled me along roughly.

"We have a witness who says otherwise," he said coldly.

"What witness? Who?" I asked desperately. "What are they saying?"

"You'll find out soon enough," he replied. "Now shut up and come with me!"

I jerked awake, covered in cold sweat and panting heavily. Fumbling in the dark, I finally found my bedside lamp and flicked it on. It took me a long time to start to calm down.

Thanks for reading guys. Please review now :P

Next Chapter: Alysia recieves two visitors. One is welcome. The other is most certainly not.