Father's Law
They marched down the corridor that led to Professor McGonagall's office. She stopped once they got to the office door and scanned each of their young faces: Severus, Celeste and Evan.
"You two will stand at either side of my door; you will not move or talk to each other!" McGonagall ordered Celeste and Evan. She pointed to the wall on either side of her office door.
Celeste moved first and pressed her back against the wall.
Severus noticed she was biting her bottom lip, which indicated to him she was nervous and upset. Evan appeared to be in too much pain at this point to care. He moved over to lean back against the wall on the opposite side from Celeste and did not look at anyone.
"You, inside," McGonagall barked at Severus as she opened the door. He moved inside and made his way over to the empty chair in front of her desk. McGonagall closed the door behind her and made her way over to sit behind her desk.
"The Headmaster is away today and I find it surprising that you boys picked this opportunity to pester the American girl," McGonagall stated, glaring at him from across her desk.
Severus gave her a huge humph. Why would he be pestering Celeste? That was the last thing that could possibly happen.
"I did not … pester her, Professor McGonagall. She was passing by and … "
Severus stopped, not wanting to get his Slytherin classmate in trouble; he had enough problems with Evan right now and did not need to make them worse. However it did not seem a good idea to get Celeste into trouble either.
"Go on," McGonagall pressed; her eyes were boring into his and he got the distinct impression she was trying to find out the truth for herself.
"I believe she was going to speak to me. I'm helping her with … schoolwork. The Headmaster is aware of it," Severus explained and continued to meet her eye without blinking.
Minerva studied Severus for a few more moments and considered this answer. She was aware of the situation and the girl not being allowed to fly by her father. She had in fact complained when she found out Albus was permitting it against the girl's parents' wishes.
To top it off, she had learned the girl was being allowed to be taught by a student. This appeared to be another problem she felt would reflect badly on the school if the girl's parents got wind of it.
"I am aware of the situation and that you are being allowed to teach the girl flying," Minerva said in a harsh tone. She got the feeling this boy felt a little superior, thinking he knew something she did not. She watched as Severus' mouth twisted to the side, as if he were annoyed with her.
"I understand that the girl is new to all of you boys and she seems interesting -"
Severus interrupted her by uttering a sound of frustration, dismissing her statement. Then he realized what he had done. McGonagall did not like to be interrupted and she glared at him, quite annoyed that he would cut into her comment.
Severus quickly pushed away his annoyance with her statements and decided it was better to submit to her authority than put himself in danger of detention.
"Who started the fight?" she asked after Severus became more agreeable. He gave her another frown and gripped his hands hard into the arms of the chair.
"Just tell me, I'll not say you told me," she informed a little more gently.
"I would say that Evan Rosier is infatuated with her," Severus began. "I do not believe she returns his admiration in the same manner," he finished. He did not really think that was actually saying who started the fight and he hoped Professor McGonagall would be satisfied with it as an answer.
"Who took out their wand first?" she inquired.
"I cannot answer that."
"You must have seen what happened."
Severus did not reply and remained mute to her question.
McGonagall appeared unsure how to question him if he would not even tell her what happened.
"So you are not going to be honest with me and tell me what you saw?" she asked in a firmer voice
"I cannot say what happened."
Severus could tell she was frustrated with him, but there was no way he was going to get either Evan or Celeste into trouble. Doing so would result in ten times more problems for him. Detention was better than disloyalty in his opinion.
McGonagall abruptly stood and walked over to the fireplace, picked up a handful of Floo powder and gently tossed it in.
"Mr. John Fairstone?" she asked in a hushed tone. A moment or two passed and then a fuzzy image appeared in the depths of the fire.
"Yes, who is this?" a male voice came from the fireplace.
Severus craned his neck to try and see the man, but McGonagall was blocking his view. She began to speak so quietly that he could not hear what was being said between the two.
Severus had never been in a situation bad enough to have his own parents contacted and it seemed unusual for this to be happening, he thought.
Why would McGonagall contact Celeste's father so quickly? Was there something else going on that he did not know about? Was it just because she was an American? It was a rather violent attack; he had never expected Celeste to blow up like that, he just figured she was fed up with being harassed.
Whatever the conversation involved, it was brief. Professor McGonagall made her way to the door, opened it and ushered in Evan and Celeste. She waved her wand and two extra chairs slid over beside Severus. Evan and Celeste sat down as McGonagall also took her place behind her desk again.
"Since Mr. Snape is unable or unwilling to explain to me what happened, I would like to know which one of you is going to tell me exactly what this fight was about," McGonagall demanded.
Celeste and Evan both looked at Severus for a couple of seconds curiously. He did not meet either of their eyes though and kept them firmly on Professor McGonagall.
"He put his hands on me, grabbed me and started calling me ugly names," Celeste began without hesitation, turning her attention back to McGonagall. "He -"
"See butts in on people's business and -"
"That's not true!" Celeste cried angrily.
"I doe all about you, Fairstone … I doe what I've seed and heard," Evan muttered under his breath.
"You don't know anything about me!" Celeste countered sharply.
"Enough!" McGonagall announced harshly.
Severus thought McGonagall was ready to take out her wand and start using it, she looked so angry. Severus almost wanted to laugh because Evan's voice still sounded very funny. Professor McGonagall seemed thoroughly frustrated and Severus was trying hard not to smile.
"I have never seen such a disrespectful display, out in the corridor and here in my office," accused McGonagall. "This is a school, not a Muggle boxing arena. I cannot sit by and allow students to manhandle each other and whip out their wands any time they feel like they need to solve a problem between -"
Severus interrupted her by making another disgruntled sound; once again he could not stop himself and did so involuntarily. It was a groan of disbelief, because in his experience James Potter and Sirius Black topped the list of people whipping out wands to solve problems; and they were her students, Gryffindors.
"Perhaps you have something to add, Snape?" she asked, turning her intense gaze towards him.
Severus shook his head and remained mute.
Professor McGonagall then launched into a long lecture about school standards and how female and male students were supposed to treat each other. When her speech finally seemed to be near its end, she took points away from Slytherin and Ravenclaw and gave both Celeste and Evan detention.
Severus glanced over at Celeste, who appeared rather glum at this point. He had the notion she did not think detention was fair or warranted in her case. A few moments of uncomfortable silence dragged out until McGonagall's office door was all of a sudden thrown open and someone entered.
"Celeste Lenore Fairstone! What have you done?" a man's voice demanded furiously as he strode into the office.
Celeste quickly turned in her chair as the man came to a stop beside her. The man loomed over Celeste; her gaze turned down to her hands and she bit hard into her bottom lip.
Severus studied this man and there was no doubt in his mind who he was: it was Celeste's father, John Fairstone.
Evan Rosier was staring at Mr. Fairstone with wide eyes. There was real fear in Evan's face, at least in those parts of his face that could be seen. He still held the towel over his nose to halt the bleeding.
Severus could tell Mr. Fairstone was not someone to be trifled with. If any man could ever have appeared to be a bear, this man was the one. He was not fat; instead he was muscular and tall with broad shoulders. Severus got the impression of a warrior, a knight who could just as easily break you in half as take up a sword and chop off your head.
His hair was fair, and was similar in color to Celeste's, though Severus noticed it was not quite as curly as Celeste's. Severus figured it was because the man's hair was cut short; he had the notion if it was long it would look exactly like hers. The man had a short and close cut beard; his robes were very well made and looked expensive. John Fairstone appeared both elegant and fierce at the same time, an unusual combination to say the least.
Mr. Fairstone glanced at Severus and Evan. He then turned his attention to Professor McGonagall. There was no doubt in Severus' mind that here was a powerful man who was used to authority and expected people to listen to him.
"What has happened, where is the Headmaster?" Mr. Fairstone asked Professor McGonagall curtly.
"Mr. Fairstone, the Headmaster is not here today. Your daughter and this boy got into a fight," she began, indicating Evan, "That is why I contacted you. I thought it best ask you to come here due to the violent nature of what happened between them," she informed. "That is what you asked us to do if something happened to your daughter," McGonagall insisted.
Mr. Fairstone did not reply and McGonagall went directly into explaining what she herself had witnessed between Celeste and Evan and then the conversation she had just had with Celeste and Evan.
As she spoke, Mr. Fairstone's gaze drifted over to Evan Rosier and he raised one eyebrow at the boy. He studied the bloody rag the boy held against his face.
Severus noticed a slight twitch at the edge of the man's mouth, as if he might want to grin. Once McGonagall had finished speaking, a moment or two of silence filled the office.
"Do I have your permission to question my daughter?" Mr. Fairstone asked McGonagall.
She hesitated but then gave a curt nod, giving him leave to question Celeste.
Mr. Fairstone placed his hand on the back of Celeste's chair.
"You hit him?" he asked without looking down at his daughter; his eyes had drifted back over to Evan Rosier.
"Yes, sir, I did hit him … and threw a chair at him with magic … and pushed him and his friend away from me with magic," Celeste answered, her voice trembling.
She did not truly seem as scared as Severus thought she should be. Severus was sure he would not be so comfortable with this bear of a man standing so stiffly beside his chair.
"Why?" was Mr. Fairstone's next question to his daughter. He still never took his eyes off Rosier, who seemed to squirm very uncomfortably under the man's intense gaze.
"He threatened me and calls me names and makes up stories about me," Celeste answered, and then she looked over at Severus. Her expression was quite sad, and for some reason Severus felt she might want him to say something.
There was no way Severus was going to put himself into a situation of talking to this man if he did not have to. It did not take a genius to see her father was not a person to fool around with, that was certain.
Severus watched as Celeste's father grabbed her arm, pulled her up out of the chair, and forced her to stand in front of Evan Rosier.
Evan's eyes grew wide and he leaned away from them. Professor McGonagall stood up hastily, unsure what exactly Mr. Fairstone was going to do.
"You will apologize to him and then I will repair the damage you have caused," Mr. Fairstone ordered. Evan almost leaped up out of his chair to get away from them.
"NO … I don't want hib touching be!!" Evan cried desperately.
Mr. Fairstone grabbed the boy by the shoulder in a firm grip, forcing him to remain seated. He glared at the boy until Evan whimpered meekly under the man's oppressive glare and vise-like hold on him.
"Mr. Fairstone, I don't think -"
"You will sit," Mr. Fairstone ordered Evan, cutting over Professor McGonagall.
"Mr. Fairstone! We do not manhandle our students here at Hogwarts," she insisted, stepping up beside Mr. Fairstone and Celeste.
"You gave me leave to question on this situation," Mr. Fairstone insisted. "If my daughter did this to his face then it is my place to discipline her. Have you given her detention?" he asked coolly.
"Yes, of course … both of them, but -"
"And you called me here for what reason?" Mr. Fairstone cut over her again.
Severus watched as Professor McGonagall's cheeks colored; he knew she hated being interrupted. Severus had no idea why he was starting to enjoy this little meeting, but it was a rare situation when Professor McGonagall seemed both speechless and embarrassed.
"Mr. Fairstone," started McGonagall in a strict voice. "You specifically asked us to contact you if something serious happened to her. I thought this fell under those conditions," McGonagall said heatedly. "I did not expect you to take over questioning my other students as well. This is my office and I am Deputy Headmistress here," she added.
"I meant no disrespect to you," Mr. Fairstone said cautiously. "My daughter can sometimes be headstrong and -"
"Daddy …" Celeste said softly, sounding horribly embarrassed as her cheeks had colored bright red.
"What about by DOSE!" Evan fussed, glaring at everyone with dislike and feeling ignored.
"Alright, Mr. Fairstone," McGonagall responded. "If you insist, then be my guest on correcting this problem," she allowed, sounding as if she did not really believe he would do any better than she could.
Mr. Fairstone turned back to Evan Rosier without hesitation.
"After you leave this room, you will not speak to my daughter again. If you do, you will have me to deal with," John ordered in a calm voice. His voice promised no hint of malice or cruelty; instead it held an authority and was a statement of fact that even Evan Rosier had to submit to.
McGonagall got ready to speak, but, as if the man knew she would, he turned his head to stare at her.
"Celeste, why must I heal this boy's wound you caused? Explain to them the laws we live by," said Mr. Fairstone, now finally meeting his daughter's eye.
"We must always repair the damage we make, and if we hurt someone we must always make things right between us. That is how we learn humility and live in peace with others … but Daddy -"
"Celeste," he interrupted impatiently, staring down at her with a stern face. Their eyes locked and for a few moments they stared at each other. Celeste was the first to look away from her father's intense gaze.
Celeste leaned forward to Evan and took the towel from his face. John Fairstone took out his wand and Evan flinched away from it.
"I will not harm you. As her father, it is my duty to heal you," Mr. Fairstone explained to Evan and put his hand on the boy's shoulder to keep him from pulling away.
"Mr. Fairstone, are you capable of healing him properly?" McGonagall asked warily.
"I build houses and civic buildings, Professor McGonagall … I've known how to heal wounds since I was seventeen," Mr. Fairstone informed, a slight grin curling one side of his mouth as he lifted his eyes to meet hers.
Severus noticed it again: Professor McGonagall appeared considerably flustered, but it was different than before; she did not seem angry this time to him. At first he was not sure what it was, but, as Mr. Fairstone turned back to Evan and began to heal the boy's nose, McGonagall got an odd expression on her face; it was a bit like awe.
It could not be possible, Severus assured himself, but he got the notion McGonagall was quite impressed with Mr. Fairstone; there was something about the way her eyes traveled over the man's face and down across the man's back and shoulders. Severus blinked a couple of times because he could not believe it. McGonagall's cheeks colored again and she fidgeted nervously as Mr. Fairstone healed Evan's nose.
Evan appeared a little surprised at first and then his attention turned to Celeste. A slight grin hinted at the edge of his lips as Mr. Fairstone murmured softly his spell of healing. Severus was not sure if Evan was gloating that Celeste's father was having to heal him or that it was just the fact Celeste was having to stand in front of him in such close contact.
After another minute or two, Evan's nose was healed and Mr. Fairstone put his wand away. Evan ran his finger over his nose; the pain was gone and he leered at Celeste with a smug grin of satisfaction.
"Now, you will shake his hand and apologize for causing him physical harm," Mr. Fairstone ordered.
Celeste held out her hand to Evan and waited. Evan slowly took her hand in his and studied it.
"I'm sorry I hit you and hurt you. If you would not lie about me or call me names, I would not have done it. The things you said hurt me and I was very mad when I should have simply spoken to you calmly about it, instead of fighting," spoke Celeste meekly.
Evan glanced up at Mr. Fairstone.
"Apology accepted, Fairstone," Evan replied in a mocking voice when he looked back at her. He squeezed her hand, not hurting her, but as if to demonstrate a dominance everyone else could not see. Severus noticed it and stared at Evan a moment, a little uncomfortable with his friend's arrogant attitude in the presence of Celeste's father.
"Now, you will apologize to her," Mr. Fairstone spoke calmly.
Evan's eyes widened as if the man had just hit him. The boy remained silent and glared up at Mr. Fairstone with dislike.
"Do not look at me, look at my daughter. What reason do you have to harm her? She has attempted to make peace with you and now you will apologize and do the same," Mr. Fairstone ordered and stepped closer to the chair, imposing his presence on the boy even more.
Evan stared back at Celeste and then down at her hand in his. "I am sorry I said the things I did. If you would mind your own business … there would be no reason for us to speak at all, since I have no interest in you whatsoever," Evan mumbled, almost sounding like he was being strangled. Evan hastily let her hand go and looked away from her to stare at the far wall.
"And what did she do to him?" John asked, now turning his gaze to Severus.
Severus quickly lowered his eyes away from the man. Severus refused to meet his eye, feeling that Mr. Fairstone had powers beyond his mere imposing presence.
"Nothing! I didn't hurt him, Daddy. H-he just saw what happened," Celeste explained quickly and moved to stand in front of her father, trying to get him to pay attention to her and not notice Severus.
"I'm sorry, Daddy, I didn't mean to make you come here. I-I know you are mad at me and disappointed," Celeste voiced, grabbing his hand, almost as if she were begging for his attention.
"Yes, I am disappointed to find you in trouble. I was under the impression that you were doing well in your classes," Mr. Fairstone stated, looking back at Minerva.
McGonagall stared awkwardly at the father and daughter; it took her a moment to realize he was implying a question.
"Your daughter is doing very well in all her classes, Mr. Fairstone. The only class she seemed to fall behind in was Potions, but as of late she has been performing better, I am told," McGonagall said in a business-like tone. "I think perhaps her social skills and dealing with others might need work, but overall I can find no fault with her."
"Perhaps it is your own students, particularly the male students, who should keep their minds on why they are attending school," Mr. Fairstone complained and looked directly over at Severus and then at Evan.
"Your daughter is not the only student here at Hogwarts, Mr. Fairstone," Minerva began. "If she is having difficulties or problems, she should approach a teacher and not take matters into her own hands," she finished and stared at Celeste.
Celeste lowered her eyes, not wanting to meet McGonagall's stern glare.
"I agree," Mr. Fairstone responded and turned to his daughter. "Celeste, I explained to you what I expected to see from you while you are at this school. If I find myself here again because of a situation like this, I will send you home. Do I make myself clear?" he demanded.
Celeste nodded and bit into her bottom lip again. Mr. Fairstone placed one of his massive hands more firmly around his daughter's small hand and pulled her aside, away from Evan's chair and everyone in the office. Mr. Fairstone leaned forward and whispered in his daughter's ear.
Celeste nodded once he had finished and stood meekly by her father as he continued to hold on to her hand.
"With your permission, I would like you to excuse my daughter for a few days," Mr. Fairstone began. "She will accompany her mother and I so we may speak to her and spend some long overdue time with her. I will take her now to meet her professors and collect any work she might miss. I will bring her back in a few days when I feel she is ready to return to this school," John stated in a firm but pleasant tone. "If it is acceptable, she can serve her detention when she returns," he added.
McGonagall remained silent for a few minutes. It was the middle of the week, but due to the situation she thought it might be best if the girl did leave to allow things to quiet down.
"Very well. Your daughter is aware of her studies, and can better inform you of what is expected of her for her classes," McGonagall offered.
With nothing more to say, Mr. Fairstone led his daughter by the hand to the door of the office.
Severus watched the two leave; as they exited, Celeste glanced back at him. It was a quick look, nothing more, and then they were gone.
"Now, I do not want to see any more disruptions between you and the American girl, Rosier. If I detect even a hint of trouble between you and her, you will be serving detention for the remainder of the school year," McGonagall threatened and then glanced at Severus. "And that goes for the rest of you boys, so mind your manners. I do not want the name of our school dragged all the way back to America and put in a bad light … do you two understand me?" she asked, her tone stern and harsh.
Severus nodded stiffly; Rosier nodded but also rolled his eyes at the same time.
"Alright, you will proceed to whichever class you have at this hour," she said, sitting down at her desk and writing out a note for each of them. Once she had finished she handed each of them their note and the two boys got up and moved to the door, leaving her office. They were silent for a long while as they headed down the corridor, but Rosier stopped Severus once they had reached the end.
"So you didn't tell McGonagall what happened?" Evan questioned.
"McGonagall did ask me, but I did not tell her anything. I did not think it was right for me to get in the middle of it, considering to get you in trouble would simply lose Slytherin too many points," Severus replied coolly. "Though apparently it did not matter what I said, since she took points away anyway," he added bitterly. "Also it was my understanding that we are friends," he added.
"I don't know if I believe you, Snape. You like the girl, admit it," Rosier muttered.
"Believe what you want - you're the one who's put Gryffindor ahead," Severus announced, "Go look at the hourglass if you do not believe me. With a fifty point deduction that puts us thirty-five points behind," he added. Severus had always kept up with the daily totals since he had first become a student at Hogwarts.
"And you have detention, not to mention Fairstone has detention too," Severus allowed. "If you like the girl, you have a very stupid way of going about -"
"Watch your mouth, Snape!" Evan cut in sharply.
"Very well, but if you're really trying to get the girl's attention, do you think manhandling her is the way to go about it?" Severus wondered aloud.
"As I said, you like her and you're acting stupid about it just so you can get what you want," Evan allowed in a dark tone. "And you took something out of my trunk," he added sharply.
"What is it exactly I'm supposed to have taken from you?" Severus questioned smugly.
"You know what it is, you -"
"Unless you are willing to tell me what I've taken of yours, then we have nothing further to discuss on the matter," Severus decided. Severus would usually not speak so boldly to Evan, but he figured the boy was not in the mood to get into more trouble by attacking him right now.
"Never mind, the girl probably will not be back anyway," Evan commented dismissively. "Good riddance to the Americans," he added, walking away from Severus.
"Why do I not believe you?" Severus muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" Evan asked, turning back to look up at Severus.
Severus simply shrugged his shoulders and gave Evan an innocent expression as if he had not said anything. Evan just returned Severus' pretense at indifference with a nasty glare before continuing on his way.
Severus on the other hand found himself disappointed with the prospect that Celeste might not return. He had not yet seen the book and he was sure that without Celeste around, Lily would no longer feel the need to associate with him as much as she had. This was an unsettling event and he hoped that Mr. Fairstone was only removing her for a little while.
---------------------------[8-----------------------
"Only one," Severus whispered to Lily during Potions class.
"I know," she whispered back sharply, dropping her ingredients into her cauldron.
Severus glanced over at her and realized she was still upset with him. It was because he had not defended Celeste to Professor McGonagall that Lily was cross with him. Two days had passed since Celeste's father had taken her from Hogwarts.
Lily had made it clear to him that she was ashamed of him, that he would let a friend get into trouble without even standing up for her.
"Your potions should be changing color at this point," Professor Slughorn called out to the class. "Don't forget to make notations on your parchment of the color change. Once it has fully changed color, take the cauldron off the fire," he went on as he began to waddle around the class.
Professor Slughorn stopped and smiled at Lily's potion. "Excellent," he praised. "Not so bad, Mary," he added as he moved on to Severus' cauldron.
At the beginning of the year Lily had chosen to pair with Mary instead of him and, because the class was an odd number, this left Severus without a partner. She had said it was because Mary needed help and since Mary was one of Lily's Gryffindor friends it was apparently important to help her. Still, Severus got a sinking feeling it was more than just Mary who needed help.
Severus had chosen the work area beside Lily and Mary. On the other side of them stood Sirius Black and James Potter.
"As always, Severus, you and Lily show exceptional skill in Potions," Slughorn announced. "I'm sure both of you will achieve splendid results in your OWL examinations at the end of the year," he went on.
James Potter turned his attention to Severus and pulled an ugly face at him. When Lily looked, James changed his nasty expression to a pleasant one; she simply rolled her eyes and wrote on her parchment. Severus went back to his potion, ignoring Potter. Too bad his face could not freeze that way, Severus hoped maliciously.
Severus scribbled on his own parchment and then realized that this particular parchment was given to him by Celeste. He had run out about a week ago and did not ask for it, but she gave him some when she had seen he was out. He glanced over at Lily's parchment and realized it was the same; Celeste had given her some too.
It was as they left Potions class that he stopped Lily to talk to her.
"Are you going to stay angry with me forever?" he asked softly. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't think it would be right to -"
"Defend a friend?" Lily stated sharply.
"That's easy for you to say, Lily … you don't share the same dormitory with Evan Rosier," he muttered resentfully. "Besides, you didn't see her father … he's scary," he decided. "I've never seen anyone do that to Professor McGonagall," he added.
"What do you mean? What did he do?" Lily asked curiously.
"Mr. Fairstone just took over when he walked into her office and she let him. It was weird," Severus explained. "She actually let him dictate the situation."
"Well, Celeste is his daughter," Lily allowed.
"McGonagall tried to interfere, but he just put her in her place," Severus said smugly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily demanded heatedly.
"If people around here were forced to apologize and correct the wrongs they did then maybe things would be different," he asserted.
"You could force people to do a lot of things, Severus, but that doesn't mean they will agree with what you are making them do," Lily argued.
"If they have to, who cares if they agree? Everyone can't be right. Someone has to be in charge and … and make the rules and make people follow them," he charged. "That's why we have rules, isn't it?" he added.
"So if someone forced you and said you couldn't be friends with me ever again, then you'd just do it, I suppose?" Lily inquired.
Severus opened his mouth, but the question stalled him and he did not know quite how to answer her at first. He gave a great sigh and glanced down at his hands, fidgeting nervously.
"I would never do that to you, ever. I wouldn't care what anyone said about you, Lily. I … if I -"
He paused again, his cheeks coloring. "I'd never abandon you, Lily," he finished, his voice little more than a whisper.
"Severus," Lily said his name in a sad way that bothered him. He liked to hear her say his name, but this tone she used made him feel horribly guilty. "Celeste is our friend … why would you abandon her? I care about what happens to her, why don't you?" she pressed.
"I … it's just -"
He could not answer her. He felt completely stupid because the words just would not come, he could not even force himself to say them.
Lily frowned sadly and appeared thoroughly disappointed with him. She even moved as if she were going to walk away.
"S-she said you and I are her best friends," he admitted. It was the only thing he was able to say and his voice was strained with the effort to say it.
"Have you heard what they're saying about her now?" Lily questioned. He shook his head in reply, so she continued.
"Everyone is talking about what happened between her and Rosier," Lily informed. "I heard a group of Ravenclaw girls talking on the way to lunch, I was following behind them. They were talking about how glad they were Celeste punched Evan Rosier in the face."
"They said they were proud of her," she went on, her voice glowing with her own tone of pride as she straightened up. "These are the same girls who wouldn't even talk to her a week ago; the same ones who believed all those nasty lies," she added.
"Considering she spends all her free time with either you or me, I could hardly see how anyone would believe all that … nonsense," he responded dully.
"I thought you were not sure about her. I thought you said they might be true," Lily reminded.
"I didn't know her then," he countered but then regretted saying it.
"So you know her now and know her to be a good person and a respectable girl?" Lily prompted smugly.
Severus groaned and wondered why girls were so aggravating. Why was Lily so determined to make him agree Celeste was a friend?
"Fine! She's my annoying Yankee American friend … who I have to teach and … w-who I argue with all the time," he muttered grumpily.
Lily's mouth quirked to the side and her eyebrows drew together. Her expression seemed to suggest she did not know whether she should be angry or laugh.
"Severus, really … Celeste is your friend and you can be friends with her, it's alright," Lily asserted.
A moment or two passed and an eruption of determination entered Severus' chest. He stood up straight and decided to say the only thing that in his mind was the most excellent idea he had ever had.
"I'd trade her for Petunia, if you want to know the truth of it," he suggested. "There, I said it. I like her better than your sister. How about we send Petunia back to America and you can keep Celeste?" he decided.
Again Lily appeared to want to be angry but could not help but half grin at the comment.
"Can't we just go back to how it used to be?" Severus asked somberly. "Celeste isn't here … she might not even come back. I … if we could just be back like we were before …"
He trailed off, as if he were searching for the right words.
"You mean last year when we argued every other day about You-Know-Who and what he was doing and those stupid pamphlets and books you got about Muggles from Mulciber?" she accused.
"They were given to me. Some of it made sense to me and -"
He paused as her eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't know why it was such a big deal, they were just books, Lily!" he insisted plaintively. "I thought we agreed not to argue about that anymore! I thought you said you understood -"
"Alright … yes, you're right, I shouldn't have brought it up," Lily cut in, sounding frustrated and upset. "Well, we better go or we'll be late for class," she added, changing the subject.
Severus nodded. As Lily walked ahead, he followed glumly.