It was getting late. Hazel had been working in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for the boys to get back from Quidditch practice. Marlene and Em had just gone to bed, Hazel checking the horizon to see if she could still make out the four dark shapes flying well past sunset. Remus and Peter would help James and Sirius practice when they had time. But now it was so dark that she couldn't see anything. With everyone finally gone, she sat back in her chair, starting to cry without warning.

She'd spent the last few days trying to get Sev to eat and sleep. After James and Sirius had attacked him between Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exams, and after he'd lashed out at Lily in anger, Hazel was the only person he had left outside of Slytherin. She'd been doing everything she could to comfort him, to give him some sense of stability, some sense that things would be okay. But he'd lost his best friend. Not to mention how awful James and Sirius were getting, flipping him upside down and threatening to strip him completely. All of it weighed on her terribly. She wanted to stop them, to see them punished, but Sev had begged her not to get the teachers involved. Deep down both of them knew that James and Sirius would always get away with how they treated Sev, at least escaping punishment from the teachers.

"Hazel?" Remus pulled up a chair beside her. She hadn't heard him walk in. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Desperately trying to dry her tears, she wanted to play it off, but she couldn't. Not any longer, not after pushing everything down for days. "Rem, you've gotta stop them. They're actually hurting him, and... they tried to kill him. They tried to kill him and they left him alone for a while afterwards but now -" Remus pulled her into a hug, but Hazel protested. "I heard about what they did, and it's awful. I care about you a lot but your friends... They're hurting him so much and I can't... I can't watch them get away with it."

He knew. He knew James and Sirius were cruel to Snape, but he didn't stand up to them. He wanted to, especially when he saw how much the two of them hurting Snape hurt her, but he was afraid of losing them. So he leaned in to kiss her, to tell her it would all be smoothed over once summer arrived and they let things fizzle down, but Hazel pulled back. "Stop it, this isn't something you can just kiss away," she protested.

"If you heard what we did, you must've heard what he called Evans," James said, holding the portrait open for Peter and Sirius.

White-hot rage boiled up in her chest as she let go of Remus. "He was raised by an awful Muggle, someone who treated him terribly, and then he was picked up by those Slytherins - I don't think it's right, but when his supposed-best friend keeps ditching him for you and... regardless, James, that's assault. Literal assault and you… You get away with it every time. I'd give you detention for the rest of the year, but I know that wouldn't do anything." She was so angry that she was crying. She hated it, hated how it made her look, but she couldn't help it.

Sirius rolled his eyes, headed for the stairs. "C'mon, James. It's not worth it. You're not changing her mind about that freak."

Dutifully following him into their dorm, James and Peter left her and Remus alone again. "They're awful," she sighed, letting Remus pull her into his arms again. "They're awful, and McGonagall and Dumbledore won't do anything to stop them!"

"I'm sorry," Remus offered. "I can try to talk to them later on. They're still angry about it, so…"

"I'm glad you're not like that, Rem," she spoke into his shoulder. "Then again, I wouldn't be with you if you were."

"Do you want to stay here for a little while?" Remus asked, reaching up to help dry her tears. "I can keep them from bothering us tonight, don't worry. We can stay down here and fall asleep on the sofa if you want."

"No, I... if I'm in the same room as them I'm going to be tempted to hex their ears off or something. I'm going to find Sev. He needs a friend. A real friend." She stood, heading for the door. "I'll see you in the morning. Don't forget Flitwick's essay."

Remus gave her one last kiss, saying goodnight and dropping back onto the sofa as she left. He wouldn't go upstairs for a long time, and when he did, he went right to bed, thinking about how cruel his friends could be.

Meanwhile Hazel went up to Astronomy Tower, where she and Sev would work when they didn't want to be found. "Hey," she tried to smile, sitting down beside where he was reading through his Potions textbook. "I figured you could use some company."

Sev set his book down and gave her a venomous look. "If this is pity -"

"It's not. I just thought you'd like a friend."

Picking up his book again, he deftly avoided making any more eye contact. "I'd rather be alone than be pitied."

"Well, good thing for you is that you don't have to be either," she said, taking out her Transfiguration book. "I can go if you want -"

He caught her hand as she moved to get up. "Stay. Please."

The two of them settled into a comfortable silence, only punctuated by the turning of pages and the scratch of a quill. It was nice being up there with each other, being able to look at the stars and avoid the cruelties of the Marauders. Even though he wouldn't say it, Sev was glad he wasn't alone. He was thankful that someone in the world still liked him, someone outside of Slytherin. Even if Hazel was dating that werewolf, he was a lot better than James or Sirius. He was at least bearable. And she always made sure to make time for him, never forgetting about their plans to study or hang out. In a world that was rapidly collapsing around him, Sev was incredibly grateful that she was still there.

Hazel and Remus spent much of the rest of the term finishing up their O.W.L.s, studying in all of their spare time. They would still sit out on the grounds and work together, but they no longer went into Hogsmeade, even when their friends insisted that they needed a break from their books. The Quidditch season had ended, and James and Sirius very rarely persuaded Remus to join them to practice. Most of the time it would be the two of them and Peter, sometimes joined by Marlene and Emmeline or a couple of the other Quidditch players, marching out to the pitch for a study break.

On the last night before the summer holiday, Hazel found herself in Gryffindor Tower, curled up with Remus on the sofa. They'd been talking with the others for ages, watching as James tossed a stolen Snitch into the air and deftly caught it before it flew out of reach. He'd nearly missed and landed in the fire after Peter told a particularly good joke, but he prided himself on never having missed yet.

It was hard not to doze off. They'd spent the evening packing, getting everything ready for the journey back to King's Cross in the morning. And they'd just made it through the last of their O.W.L.s. Sitting in front of a warm fire, curled into Remus' side, a week out from the full moon, everything seemed right in the world. Hazel yawned once more, sitting up and deciding that she'd better get going before she actually fell asleep.

Remus walked her over to the portrait hole, asking if she wanted him to walk her all the way back to Ravenclaw Tower. But Peter cut her off, reminding Remus that he must've forgotten something. "Wait, he's right!" He dashed upstairs, returning quickly. "I got you something. A going-away present of sorts," Remus blushed as he jogged over and handed her a paper bag. "C'mon, you can open it while we walk."

"Rem, you must've bought out half of Honedukes," she laughed, peering into the bag as the portrait closed behind them.

"There's more," he said with a smile as they came to a stop near a staircase. "Look in the bottom of the bag."

Pushing aside a mountain of chocolate frogs, Hazel found a small stuffed wolf buried beneath all of the candy. "Aww, what's this?"

"A little wolf," he bit his lip, turning a deep Gryffindor scarlet. Good thing I didn't give this to her back there. The guys wouldn't have ever let it go. "So you don't get too lonely when your big wolf isn't around."

"Remus Lupin!" Hazel beamed, pulling him into a hug. "You're absolutely cheesy. You're such a dork. You're perfect."

He was glad she couldn't see how red his face still was. He held her tightly, kissing the top of her head before coming up with an idea. "Maybe you can come and stay for a bit, later on in the summer. Mum and Dad would love to meet you, I'm sure."

"I'd be happy to."

Little did she know, that would be the end of her happiness for a while.

The Hogwarts Express rolled into Platform 9 ¾ right on time. Hazel scanned the crowd for her mum, but her eyes landed on an odd-looking couple near the entrance to the platform. Her Aunt Violet stood next to a man decked out in fishing gear. Uncle Sherlock was taking the opportunity to wear a disguise, something he didn't get the chance to do very often in retirement. Few people would recognize him nowadays, but he still enjoyed the chance to get dressed up.

She didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to anyone, Aunt Violet weaving through the crowd to give her a bone-crushing hug. "Where's Mum?" Hazel asked, looking back at the man covered in fishing gear. Her mum was always there, even if her favorite great-great-aunt and uncle came with.

"Dear, I'm so sorry…"

Hazel had seen the headlines in the Prophet that morning, detailing another Death Eater attack near her home. But no one had said anything. Were they just waiting to deliver the news in person? "The Death Eaters - I saw - this morning - Mum…?"

"Yes."

Remus and Sev both saw her sink into her aunt's arms at the same time. Paying no mind to their respective parents, they abandoned their things, rushing across the platform. Neither of them said a word to each other as they both pulled Hazel into a hug. James and Sirius would give him trouble about "hugging Snivellus" later on, but Remus didn't care. Something was horribly wrong.

Eileen Snape reached them first, putting a hand on her son's shoulder. Hope and Lyall Lupin disentangled themselves from the Potters and joined them seconds later. Aunt Violet started to explain everything, but Hazel couldn't hear her. As the adults all gathered around Aunt Violet, Sev and Remus held onto Hazel, letting her sob as they listened in, putting together the facts of the Death Eater raid. Being a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw meant nothing when her mum had been trying to hide their Muggleborn neighbors from the Death Eaters tearing the town apart to find them.