Amaryllis
Amaryllis squealed loudly upon seeing Charlie's letter. He had finally asked the Muggle girl he was interested in on a date; her name was Sarah. Sirius and Isabella looked at her alarmed, but she shook her head, letting them know not to worry.
"What are you guys up this weekend?" asked Isabella. She took a sip from her goblet, but spat out the contents immediately. "What the Hell?" she screeched. "I thought this was orange juice!". Quickly grabbing a serviette, she scraped her tongue with it dramatically. "This bloody school and its obsession with pumpkin juice…it's ruined my breakfast!". She then whipped out her wand and tapped the goblet with it. "That's better" she said, after taking a sip. She turned back to Amaryllis and Sirius again. "Sorry, back to my question."
"Nothing really" said Amaryllis, trying not to laugh. "Might go see Charlie later on if he's free." The words slipped out of her mouth before she remembered Severus was sitting next to her. "He's got some news to tell me" she added quickly.
"That's nice" commented Isabella. "What about you?" she asked Sirius.
"Going to James and Lily's house, Moony and Tonks will be there too" he said happily. "You?"
"Probably nothing" she replied. "Anna is at work all day and Ginny has Quidditch practice."
"You should come with me."
"Oh no, that's fine –" Isabella began to say, but Sirius cut across her.
"They'll be happy to see you."
"I don't want to intrude..." She looked at Amaryllis for support.
But it seemed as if Sirius had already made up his mind. "Not at all. Trust me, I'm sure Lily and Tonks would appreciate another female in the house."
"If you're sure…"
"Of course." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand "Alright, I have a couple of things to do – meet at Dumbledore's office at 10?" She nodded her confirmation.
"That should be fun" said Amaryllis encouragingly when Sirius left the table. "Tonks is really nice, you'd get along with her easily."
"I hope so" said Isabella. "I've heard Lily Potter is really nice too."
At the sound of Lily's name, Amaryllis felt her stomach drop. Lily. The reason why she and Severus wrre not together. Lily. The reason why she and Severus could never be together. She could admit to herself now that she had her doubts with him even when they were together during the break; back then she had pushed those probing thoughts to the back of her mind, the thoughts that screamed to her that Severus was only with her because Lily was married, that he had settled for her. It was piercing, and it was too painful for her to think about for too long.
Amaryllis quickly stood up, she heard herself say few words to Severus and Isabella before walking back to her quarters at a steady pace. Once in the confinement of her bedroom, she let only some tears escape her eyes, before taking out her quill and parchment and scribbling a note to Charlie; she hoped he was free to catch up later in the day.
….
"Sarah seems really nice" said Amaryllis happily. Her mood had instantly lifted with Charlie's presence; they sat together in their usual spot at the Three Broomsticks. "So where are you planning on taking her?"
"Well, she likes live music, so maybe to a club or something?" replied Charlie. "I wrote down some of the bands she's interested in."
"Do you think that maybe it'd be too loud to have your first date at a club? They're pretty loud, I don't know if you'd really get the chance to know her better."
He sighed. "See Milly, this is why I come to you first."
She laughed. "I don't even know why you trust me to be honest, it's not like I know anything about dating.
"You're female and you're reasonable" said Charlie seriously. "So you're probably the best person for it."
"If you say so." Amaryllis shook her head in amusement. "Have you told anyone from your family about her yet?"
Charlie ran his hand through his red hair. "Not yet. If things go well then I'll bring her up later. Don't want to get Mum and Dad too excited. Especially Dad, he would get way too overjoyed at the idea of having an actual Muggle in the family."
"That makes sense."
"I really hope things go well thoug. I know it sounds cliché, but I've liked her from the moment I saw her."
Amaryllis suddenly felt an intense wave of jealousy crash over her. Not because she was jealous of Charlie and Sarah, but because of how easy it was for him to express his feelings about her. It was leaps and bounds away from Severus.
Charlie must have sensed her change of mood. "Sorry, I'm sure this is the last thing you want to hear about" he said apologetically.
"Of course not!" she said quickly, her jealousy now overtaken by guilt. "Seriously, I am happy for you Charlie. You deserve nothing but the best, and I mean that."
"Thanks Milly." He cleared his throat. "So, how's stuff with Snape at school now?"
"Fine" answered Amaryllis automatically. He looked at her doubtfully. "Terrible," she groaned. "I don't even know how to act around him now. Every time I see him, I can't help but think of all our time together over the break. I miss kissing him."
Charlie made a face of disgust. "Sorry" he said quickly. "Old habits. Just hard to forget sometimes that he used to be my Professor – But I do understand what you're saying. Have you spoken to Sirius about it much?"
"Not really" said Amaryllis grimly. "Sirius is an incredible friend, but he hates Severus. I think it spoils his mood when I bring it up." She sighed frustratingly. "I just want Severus to want me back, is that too much to ask?"
"We can make him jealous?" suggested Charlie. "It's not like anyone besides you knows about Sarah."
She laughed. "That's very sweet of you to offer, but Charlie, that never works – also, what if your Mum sees and starts planning our wedding?"
Charlie blanched. "Oh God, she probably would, huh?".
"Exactly."
"So, what's the plan?"
"I just need to get over it" said Amaryllis. "See friends, get to know new people, enjoy my days…as Sirius once so eloquently put it."
Isabella
Isabella and Sirius apparated to her home and quickly she checked that her room was still intact.
"Looks all good to me" said Sirius, from the doorway.
"You can come in, you know" said Isabella. From the corner of her eye she saw a pair of her underwear hanging on her bed frame, she quickly grabbed it when Sirius wasn't looking and shoved it her dresser drawer. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
"Hiding love letters?" he asked.
"Love letters?" repeated Isabella in amusement.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Cut me some slack, Bella. The last time I was in a teenage girl's bedroom was about 20 years ago."
"Excuse me, I'm not a teenager" she said, mock-offended. "I'm an adult now."
"Oh, of course." He rolled his eyes.
….
"Your Mum was kind of my hero growing up" said Isabella, as Sirius filled her goblet to the brim with Firewhiskey.
"You're kidding?" exclaimed Tonks.
"I'm serious!" replied Isabella. "Mum hated her guts for marrying a Muggleborn so of course I had to feel the opposite. I still remember her shrill voice growing up – 'That wicked Andromeda Black, she brought shame on her family!'"
Tonks roared with laughter. "I'm definitely going to have to tell her that the next time I see her" she said, after sobering up.
"So, how is teaching at Hogwarts?" asked James suddenly. .
"I think he means, how is teaching with Severus?" interjected Lily before Isabella could answer. She rolled her eyes at her husband who in return gave her a sheepish grin.
"He's alright" said Isabella truthfully. "I personally never really had a problem with him to begin with. He's quiet, which is good. I never feel like I have to make conversation with him." Her eyes widened. "Did you know he and Amaryllis Swan have broken up?"
"What?" yelped Tonks. "They only just got together!"
"Do you know why?" asked Lily; she looked disheartened.
Isabella's mind instantly recalled Amaryllis's demeanour after she had mentioned Lily at breakfast. "Not at all" she lied. "I'm not really that close with her and obviously Severus hasn't told me anything."
"I think it's great" said Sirius happily. "She can do way better than that slimy –"
"Sirius" warned Lily, but he ignored her.
"– git, that we all know he is" he finished. "So let's stop pretending that –"
"He saved us all?" she replied sharply. "That he sacrificed years of his life to keep Harry alive –"
"He didn't do it for Harry" said Sirius, just as sharply. "He did it because he knew he screwed up –"
"Oh, stop it Siri -"
"I think we can agree to disagree with each other" said Remus loudly, so that his voice silenced them both. "Because of him, Voldemort is defeated, so we should be grateful for his involvement in the war. But in saying that" he continued, when Sirius opened his mouth again. "I also know he was cruel to so many, including myself, which was extremely immature and unbecoming of him. It's a grey area so perhaps it's best that we don't ruin our friendships and relationships over it."
The room fell in to an awkward silence.
"Speaking of relationships" said Tonks. "Sirius, I keep hearing you're this mass womanizer and yet, I haven't seen you with a single woman."
"I'm still in disbelief that you and Amaryllis are just friends" remarked Remus. "Back when were in school, Sirius would have jumped at the prospect of seeing her" he explained to Isabella.
"A girl and a boy can be just friends, you know" said Sirius; he put his nose in the air haughtily.
"Boy?" repeated Isabella, narrowing her eyes. "Only this morning you were saying how you haven't seen a teenage girl's bedroom in 20 years."
James, Lily, Remus and Tonks burst out laughing.
"Do you remember when Griselda Munfront asked you out and you told her you were saving yourself?" howled James, through fits of laughter.
"She always had a runny nose!" exclaimed Sirius. He looked at Isabella. "The Marauders would never have let me live it down, actually, maybe Peter – " He suddenly became quiet and all laughter ceased. Isabella caught Tonks's eye and they exchanged a worried look. Then: "Prongs and Moony would never have let me live it down" he said finally, grinning, though half-heartedly Isabella thought.
"Have you – " she began, but then she closed her mouth, unsure whether to continue. "I don't want you to get mad at me" she said. "...But have you all ever thought about seeing Peter again?"
"Why would we want to do that?" said Sirius at once. His tone was even, though the hostility laced within it was obvious.
"Well, he betrayed you" said Isabella simply. "Not that I have to remind you. Don't you want answers?"
"I got all my answers years ago in the Shrieking Shack" sId Sirius.
She looked at Remus. "Even you?".
"I have nothing more to say to him."
Isabella turned to James and Lily.
"I wouldn't even know what to say to him" said James.
Lily sighed. "He was a good friend, our best friend. But he was the reason James and I didn't get to be a part of Harry's life growing up. I can't forgive him for that."
"I'm not saying anyone has to forgive" clarified Isabella. "But have you thought about getting closure? I mean, it sounds like you all haven't even talked about Peter amongst yourselves. In fact, now thinking back on it, I can't even remember Peter being mentioned in any of your stories."
The room remained silent.
"Look, I get it" she said evenly. "It's the same reason I never confronted my mother about Sam. It's hard to dig up the past, especially when the person who's hurt you so much is someone who's supposed to love you."
Sirius rounded on her at once. "So why haven't you seen your mother then?"
"I don't think she'd be able to give me a proper answer" she replied, ater some thought "I think losing Sam did something to her – like in the head. I have a feeling even if I do ask her, she'd tell me it was because he was a Squib, and to be honest, I'm sure that's what she believes because that's what she's been telling herself for so many years to get through it."
He looked at her grimly and no one else spoke.
Suddenly, Isabella raised her goblet of Firewhiskey. "To terrible friends and family" she toasted. The room instantly exploded in laughter, as the others raised their goblets as well, not allowing their day to be wasted on sadness.