I'm back everybody! Anyone glad to see me? *waits patiently as only crickets are heard*

...Anyway! Here is the next chapter of our saga.

I wanted to flesh out Mary some. Many writers portray Mary as a bitchy, mean spirited girl who worships the ground the Marauders walk on and advises Lily away from trusting Snape, but when I read canon that description just doesn't sit right with me.

Mary told Lily that Snape was outside the portrait hole and refusing to leave. She didn't have to do that. She could have easily left him there, not told Lily he was outside and sicced Potter and pals on him if she wanted to. She could have left him sitting out there all night if she wanted, with Lily none the wiser that he was there. But instead she told Lily he wasn't going to leave until she spoke to him. The way I see it, Mary sounds like a girl considerate enough not to actively hurt Severus and while not a fan of him, as Lily references her friends do not like Snape, she has the sense to know it wasn't really her place to be telling Lily what choices to make, instead respecting Lily's ability to decide for herself, enough so that she would inform her of Severus being outside so that Lily can choose for herself whether to mend or break the friendship.

Something other people seem to forget with Mary is that she is a victim of severe bullying herself, in that an unknown dark spell was used on her by Mulciber. She has good reason to dislike Snape because he defends what happened, much like how Snape was infuriated about Lily defending Potter. And still Mary chose not to be spiteful that night outside the portrait hole.

We never learn what the spell was that was used on Mary but presumably it was not worthy of an expulsion as Mulciber was still very much in school after the attack. So it was something cruel, but excusable, probably something treatable that therefore was deemed an unfortunate accident that Mulciber could explain away as having not known the consequences of. But given the vicious streak of many Death Eaters, combined with what usually happens to women of minority groups during hate crimes, I imagine Mary was expecting something far more sinister from Mulciber and that such fears greatly impacted her actual reaction to the attack, thus shaping her own opinion of Slytherins and in part shaping Lily's own anger.

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Six: The Wool is Lifted

The school grounds were flowing with life and activity that late sunny afternoon. Another round of exams and finals done with, the students were sprawled across various warm patches of the grassy knoll, just soaking in the remaining sunlight and trying to forget the arduous undertaking they had just endured locked inside the testing halls.

Here and there, students chased each other or played Exploding Snap, the winners taking home quite impressive hauls of left over Honeydukes candy from the last Hogsmeade visit. Others had hiked up their robes and waded knee deep into the lake, skipping stones and splashing one another. A few more daring of their classmates had shucked off their outer layers and were swimming, carefree and unconcerned that a professor may catch them,

Underneath a willow tree, Lily sat staring vacantly out across the water, her mind a million minds away.

Sitting next to her, Mary fiddled aimlessly with a loose string on her book bag.

"Well today has certainly been eventful," Mary said finally when it seemed Lily wasn't going to break the tension.

Lily did not respond, her eyes looking but not seeing as she gazed upon the ripples fanning out across the placid surface of the lake.

Mary stretched awkwardly, loudly sucking in air between her teeth and humming out a nonsensical tune to fill the silence, "That stuff about Snape, huh? I never would have guessed. Well, I mean I suppose it makes some sense, you know? Should have really expected it after how skinny and pale he looks when he comes back to school each year."

Still Lily did not reply.

Mary looked around them, decidedly uncomfortable, "Remember the year he had that huge lump on his nose? It looked broken. I figure he had just walked into a wall while reading or something since he always has his head in a book. But now...a-and he's always wearing long sleeves, even at the beginning of the year when it's still so warm," She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head, "I guess maybe the signs should have been obvious, huh?"

"Mary...am I a bad friend?" Lily asked quietly.

Mary blinked, "What?"

"With Snape," Lily clarified, "Have I been a bad friend?"

Mary stared at Lily, unsure what to say.

"I've known Severus for years," Lily went on, "We grew up together. I knew his home life wasn't the best. His parents were always arguing; about money, about magic. He didn't like to talk about it much, but I knew he wasn't fond of his father. But...I never thought it would be this bad. It never crossed my mind that there was more than he was letting on."

Mary listened quietly, a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Playing with a blade of grass, Lily continued, "You know, sometimes he would come by the park with bruises. He always told me he got into a fight with some local kids; and I always believed him too. I also thought it was strange that he wore jackets during the summer no matter how hot it got, but he told me he was fine. I used to try to invite him to the beach with me and my family too. He'd refuse, tell me he didn't have any trunks. But if I offered to let him borrow some of my dad's he's get so mad, told me he wasn't a charity case. I know he hated being pitied and given handouts, but I never saw him get as upset as those times...he didn't want me to see what was under his clothes; that's why he got so defensive. I know that now."

Lily turned to Mary, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "Mary, how could I have never noticed? The signs were all there and I ignored them because it was unpleasant and I didn't want to think about it. I'm a terrible person!"

"No you're not," Mary said, "You were a kid; you could barely understand what was going on. It shouldn't be on you or Snape to fix this. The police or his neighbors, even his mother, any of them should have stepped in long ago and stopped this."

"Why didn't he tell me, though?" Lily asked brokenly, "I could have done something. I could have told my parents."

"And they would have gone to the authorities who would have been told by Snape's dad that everything was just peachy and they'd leave it at that," Mary replied, "And then he probably would have gone after Snape for telling someone."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked.

"Because I've seen it happen," Mary admitted, "Back home, abusive spouses or parents weren't unheard of. People just didn't bring it up in polite conversation; people kept it to themselves. They'd turn a blind eye to what was happening next door, tell themselves there was more to the story than the side they were seeing. And victims never asked for help."

"But why wouldn't they?" Lily inquired, frustrated.

"Because they didn't think they would be believed. Worse they thought they deserved it. Look, I had this neighbor named Mrs. Rigby. She was a friend of my mum's...her husband used to beat on her pretty bad. She would cover it up with makeup or wear long sleeves and high collars and sunglasses. She'd tell my mum she had brought it on herself; she burnt the roast or bothered him during the big game. She honestly believed she deserved it and I bet that bastard told her that she did all the time. She was also worried about their kids; she thought if he hurt her, he'd leave the kids alone."

"That's awful," Lily said.

Mary nodded, "Tell me about it. Her and mum used to talk about it all the time when they thought I was out of earshot, but they never went to the police. It wouldn't have done them any good. She tried once and they didn't believe her after questioning her husband. He was a charmer. Most of the neighborhood saw an upstanding citizen, the perfect gentleman."

"What happened to her?" Lily asked.

Mary shrugged, "She and her family moved away the year before I entered Hogwarts. I remember my mum crying when they left; we never heard from Mrs. Rigby again. She said she would write to us, but she never did," Mary sighed sadly, "Wherever she is, I hope she's wearing short sleeves."

Lily sniffled, "So...Severus thinks he deserves it?"

Mary shook her head, "I doubt it; Snape strikes me as the kind who gets really bitter about the lot he's dealt and how he doesn't deserve it. Just look at him with Potter; even when Snape does actually instigate something, he never thinks he deserves what James does in retaliation. No, I think Snape hates what he goes through but thinks he has no choice. We can't use magic outside of school unless it's for self-defense, and what kid wants others to know he had defend himself from his own father? Maybe he even is used to this; if it's gone on since he was little, he could just have grown accustom to telling himself it wasn't a big deal and believing his own denial. Maybe Simone is right and he just started telling himself that this was how muggles are. Chances are he never would have told you."

"But why is that?" Lily persisted, "He should know he can trust me."

"You said it yourself; he hates pity," Mary said, "I bet Snape thinks that asking for help would be like admitting some sort of shameful weakness."

"But he's not weak," Lily protested, "There's nothing shameful about being mistreated. If anything, the one who should be ashamed is his father!"

"I know that, and you know that, but who knows what could be going on inside Snape's head," Mary offered.

Lily pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them, "I used to know what went on in his head," she lamented, "Or I thought I did. We've drifted apart so much over the years. There was a time I really thought I understood him, but everything keeps changing. I never thought he would ever call me a mudblood...I never thought I would ever call him that awful name Potter came up with...we both let each other down..." she sighed, "I just wish he would have told me about this. At the very least I would have been there for him."

"I know you would have," Mary soothed, "You care about him."

Lily huffed, "I have a funny way of showing it. I have spent the last year yelling at him or ignoring him for not agreeing with me. I never asked why he was hanging around those jerks in his House; I just berated him for it. I thought that he hung around them because he shared their beliefs, that he had lied to me when he said blood didn't matter, but I never realized that he might have seen siding with them because it meant some manner of safety, that they were preying on his fears and anger and using him."

Lily buried her face in her hands, "I didn't even bother trying to understand what he had against muggles. Hell, my own sister spent years making fun of him for his magic, for how he looked and how poor he was. Is it really any wonder he doesn't have much good to see in muggles? I know he's stubborn. He's easily set in his ways and he's one to hold a grudge. It's why we got along and why we didn't; we're so much alike. But I expected him to see my side of things without ever stopping to see his."

Mary watched her friend sadly, "Don't beat yourself up too badly. I know you want to sort things out with Snape, but keep in mind, he did say something pretty awful to you. I get he was going through a lot right then and emotions were high, but you can't outright forgive him for that. Make he understand how it hurt you. He needs to understand that he can't just refrain from saying it around you; he shouldn't say it at all, about anyone. Hang ups with muggles aside, he can't treat others like they are lesser when he himself hates it when people do it to him. He's got to work on this."

Lily nodded, eyes set in determination, "You're right. I need him to listen to me on at least that. I don't want to be a special circumstance with him; if he is going to promise never to say it to me again, he needs to be willing to not say it about anyone else. I just hope he is willing to listen to me. I'm not sure how well he will respond to me when I've been so hypocritical."

Mary tilted her head, "How do you mean?"

"I defended Potter," Lily responded, her eyes red rimmed and watery, "I hated what Potter did, but I still defended it as being better than what Avery or Mulciber would do. I told him it was different when Potter did it, that what magic he used mattered when in truth all that should have mattered was that he wanted to hurt someone just the same as Avery and his friends did. I should have stood by Severus' side. But I always listened to everyone else' side of the story. Even Lupin has said that Snape gives as good as he gets, but how much of that is true and how much of it is just a friend covering for a friend? It seems so out of character for Severus to attack when he is outnumbered; especially when he knows Sirius fights dirty. I have no doubt he has gone after James or Sirius when they are on their own, but the other times...I'm not so sure now. But when he needed me to believe him I sided with everyone else because there version sounded more convincing. And that's where everything went wrong. Every time I pulled away he just fell a little farther back into Avery's clutches. They pretended they cared and he turned to them when he had no one else. I'm so stupid."

Mary patted Lily's back, "You're not stupid. You aren't the only one who has made mistakes like that."

Lily dabbed at her eyes, "Oh yeah? Who else has done something like this?"

"Most of the school actually. Remember what Mulciber did to me? Everyone was up in arms about the spell and not the crime itself," Mary said softly.

That made Lily pause, "Mary?" she turned to look at her friend.

Mary's expression was blank, closed off, the fringe of her bangs creating a shadow that hid her eyes from Lily under the shade of the tree. Looking out to the horizon, Mary shifted uncomfortably, "Mulciber's curse was one meant to work like a really bad allergic reaction. From what I've heard it was in style years ago for the purpose of killing off rivals and making it look like an accident. Everyone would just assume the person got stung by a bee or something. Madam Pomfrey said the swelling to my tongue was so severe that instead of choking to death, my tongue could have very well burst and I would have bled to death if she hadn't treated me in time. If a prefect hadn't come along and found me in the hallway..."

She shuddered, shaking the thought away, "Afterwards all anyone could talk about was that it was dark magic he had used on me. That's what everyone was upset about. Not that he attacked me, not that he hurt me, but that he did it with the dark arts. It just became another piece of Hogwarts 'Slytherins are evil' campaign. 'This proves it, this makes them evil!' Lily, I was left scared and crying—suffocating—in that hallway and everyone was more worked up over the spell than that I was targeted at all."

Mary took a deep breath, rubbing at her eyes furiously before continuing, "It shouldn't matter what they did to me, Lily. They could have done anything to me and it would have been wrong regardless. Do you know what they could have done to me? What I thought they were going to do? I was a girl alone in a hall with three boys. Worst things could have happened to me! Things I would probably never be able to get over. And they wouldn't have even needed magic to do it. It still would have been wrong, dark magic or not. It shouldn't matter whether they hexed me or held me down and shaved my hair off or worse. They attacked me; that should be the focus."

"Oh Mary," Lily pulled her friend into a hug, one that was eagerly accepted, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I didn't mean to act like the spell mattered more than you."

Mary hiccuped, "I know you didn't. I get that you were on the outs with Snape over his friends pranks already and it probably struck a cord with you that they did something to prove you right, but it hurts, you know? I felt alone and it would have been nice to have some more focus on me than on the culprits. In a way, it felt like giving them all that attention was just giving them more power. They want to be dark wizards, I imagine everyone freaking out about how evil they are probably did great for their egos."

"I'm really sorry," Lily repeated, "You're right; you should have come first. It was you who mattered most there, not your attackers. You still matter more than them and what happened to you is still terrible and undeserved. I swear I would have been angry about it even if they had just hexed your hair green," she added impassioned.

Mary managed a weak smile, "I know you would. I'm still mad at everyone else though."

"That's understandable," Lily agreed. She dug around in her bag and offered Mary a handkerchief.

Mary took it with a quiet 'thank you' and wiped her eyes, "I began to wonder if they had used light magic instead...would anyone had been outraged then? Or would it had been brushed off as 'just a laugh' the way everyone does when Potter hexes someone?"

"Of course not," Lily protested, but she was cut off by Mary.

"That night Snape threatened to sleep outside the portrait hole all night unless you talked to him...I could have just gone to bed without telling you. I could have just let him stay out there all night. And I was tempted to; he would have deserved it after what he called you and to be honest I was mad that he was even associated with Mulciber. It would have served him right. But..."

"But?" Lily prompted.

"But I kept thinking to back by the lake...how everyone was pointing and laughing at him...like it was entertaining somehow to see him like that. I don't know, maybe before I was attacked I would have laughed too, but now I just think about how I felt with those Slytherins laughing at me as I choked. I was crying, terrified and they found it hilarious. Under all that fear I was mad. How could they think treating a person like that was funny? Before he left, Mulciber said that if I died, it would be what I deserved because I was a mudblood. Because I existed...James said something similar about Snape when he had him strung up by the lake. He said Snape deserved it because he existed."

'And that was after the time his rotten friend Sirius nearly killed Severus,' Lily thought bitterly.

Mary's voice recaptured her attention, "When Snape showed up at the portrait whole, I wondered how he must have felt to have so many eyes on him, laughing at him as if he were worthless. I still hear Mulciber laughing in my nightmares sometimes; I wonder if Snape hears James' or Sirius' laughter when he goes to sleep."

Lily's eyes filled with tears yet again, caught between sympathy for Mary and her pain, and grief at realizing all the torment Severus must have been through emotionally all these years. "Oh, Mary," she whimpered, holding Mary tightly, as much for her friend's comfort as for her own.

"So you're not a bad person, Lily" Marry assured the redhead, "We're all guilty of turning a blind eye to what goes on around this school. We've all let our own prejudices color our opinions and it has sort of gotten in the way of seeing the full story. Petty things like house rivalry clouds everyone's judgment at one point or another and in truth it prevents us from doing the right thing. But what do you expect? We're teenagers, we make mistakes. You'll find that hormones and emotions make us do spectacularly stupid things," she joked.

Lily choked out a laugh, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I still feel awful," she leaned against Mary, her head on the brunette girl's shoulder, "When Severus called me a mudblood, I was shocked, but more than that I was hurt. He intentionally used the very thing he knew would cause me the most pain. He knows how much it hurts me to know there are others who believe I don't belong. He knows why it bothers me; because I already am lost to the world I was born in. I'll never truly fit in with muggles and people like my sister have ensured I'll never forget it. So the wizarding world is supposed to be where I can truly belong. And then a bunch of purebloods come along and tell me I shouldn't be here either, that I don't deserve to wield a wand."

Lily looked at Mary, "I knew Severus didn't mean what he said, but somehow that makes it more hurtful; that he would be willing to use the one thing that would hurt me, not because he meant it, but simply because he could. It would be like…if…" she sighed, "It would be like me calling him Snivellous and making fun of his underpants when I know very well he can't afford new ones,' She groaned, burying her face in her hands, "this is all so screwed up,"

"Sounds like you both let your tempers get the best of you," Mary observed keenly.

Lily nodded, "While I'm still mad at him, I think I get why he lashed out at me. It's the same reason I lashed out at him; because the opinion of those you care for matters the most. Severus must have hated everyone taunting him, but imagine how he felt when he saw me trying not to smile. I'm supposed to be his best friend and there I was acting like I was condoning Potter's behavior, like I agreed with him that Severus deserved it. It's why it hurt when he called me that name; I can take the purebloods mocking me and calling my blood dirty, but my best friend is supposed to tell me they're wrong and that my blood makes no difference. We both went too far that day; I guess I was too upset to see that."

"Sounds like Simone was right; we Gryffindors see too much in black and white," Mary teased.

"More like reds and greens," Lily shot back with a small smile, "But I hate that's she's right. I can see now she isn't so bad once you get to know her but…ugh! She still just rubs me the wrong way. So rude and sarcastic."

"She sounds a lot like Snape, if you ask me," Mary mused.

Lily shook her head, "No, they're completely different. Severus is sarcastic as a defense; it's how he protects himself. It's his snark that comes natural. But Simone is sarcastic because she knows it gets under people's skin and that they know she knows there's nothing they can do about it. She's smug."

"And nothing ticks you off like smugness," Mary stated, "That's why Potter gets you so mad."

Lily huffed, "I can't stand arrogance. Being wealthy or popular doesn't give you the right to trample all over peoples' feelings, nor does it mean life should be handed to you just because you're you. I swear if he wasn't so self-absorbed and smug he'd be tolerable."

Mary hummed, "If only Potter realized that ditching his most annoying traits would mean he had a chance with you."

"Mary!" Lily cried, slapping her friend's shoulder.

"So are you saying you don't like him?" Mary asked.

Lily turned away, blush high on her cheeks, "I don't know…I guess it is nice how much he cares about his friends. And he is quick to defend any Gryffindor from the other houses. And he's not unattractive…But…he can be downright awful sometimes and he doesn't seem willing to acknowledge it. He has a million excuses for why it's okay for him to bully people, he doesn't even want to admit it's bullying. He claims he is putting bad people in their place, but what right does he have to judge someone from the moment they are sorted?"

"If he stopped, would you date him?" Mary inquired.

"Why do you want to know all of a sudden?" Lily asked, embarrassed.

Mary shrugged, "The girls in our dorm won't stop bugging me for answers. Some of them are in a little Lily/James fanclub and I think others just want to know if they can try and win James away from you."

"Well they can have him!" Lily harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest and putting her nose in the air, "He'll never grow up. Do you know what he said to me recently?"

Mary tilted her head, intrigued, "What?"

"It was after the falling out with Severus by the lake," Lily began, "He came up to me a day or two later and apologized to me; said he was very sorry I was called that. He told me he was going to try harder, to be better and leave people alone."

"Well that sounds nice of him," Mary said.

"It's an angle," was Lily's clipped reply.

"Beg pardon?"

"He's working an angle," Lily explained, "This is all just another plot to win me over. I don't know, maybe Simone has me being cynical now. I mean, I was sort of flattered when he said it, but now, looking back on it, it's clear this has a hidden agenda."

Mary leaned forward, "What do you mean?"

Lily looked around to ensure they weren't overheard, "Think about it: he harasses me and Severus for years without any hint of remorse, and now that the very person he had problems with me hanging around with is out of the way, that's when he decides to straighten up and fly right? It doesn't add up. I mean, does this mean if Severus and I hadn't had a falling out, his behavior would have just continued? It's only now that he thinks he's gotten what he wants—an end to my friendship with Snape—that he's going to stop being a bully. I don't think so; he's just trying to trick me into thinking he's changed."

"And even if he did actually stop, it would still say a lot about how little he cares about your actual feelings," Mary pointed out, "he never stopped to consider how much it hurt you to see Snape get hurt, so he cared less about your feelings and opinions and more about his own opinion on the matter. He only decided to do as you asked and 'stop' because he finally got what he wanted. What, did he think you would just fall at his feet, declaring he was right all along about Snape and then you'd beg him to date you?"

Lily snorted, "Fat chance. He has no right to ignore my feelings all these years when it came to my friends, then turn around, and pretend he cares now. He's glad Severus lashed out at me, because now he thinks he has a chance at me. Maybe that's why he hated Severus so much; because he worried Severus would see through his acts."

Mary cocked an eyebrow, "So just so we're clear, that's a no on dating him?"

Lily's shoulders slumped, a sigh leaving her lips, "It's a no. Even if he did change his ways—and he hasn't; I overheard him in the great Hall recently and he's still bullying Severus—it wouldn't be fair to Severus. He'd never forgive me and honestly, I can't say I'd blame him. I know more about what he's gone through at Potter's hands than anybody, things that aren't mine to share, but I know they aren't something Severus could get over even if James suddenly decided to be a decent person. I know I would hate it if Severus suddenly up and dated one of the Slytherin girls who call me names and ridicule me from being muggleborn. "

"It must have been maddening for you with all those rumors flying around of Simone dating Severus, huh?" Mary pried.

"Well to be fair, Simone doesn't pick on me for my blood and she hasn't really said much to me at all until today. As it is, what she did pick at when it came to me were…pretty valid accusations about my hypocrisy. So it isn't like Severus dating her would be some big betrayal to my feelings. Why?" she looked up at Mary, "You don't really think they're dating, do you?"

Mary chuckled, "Nah, I don't think Severus can stand her much in large doses. But why would it bother you if he did?"

"It doesn't," Lily insisted, "Well I mean…huh…why does it bother me?"

Mary smiled knowingly, but didn't answer. Standing up she brushed dirt off her robes, then held a hand out to help Lily up, "Perhaps that is a question for another day. It's time for dinner and I want to get some of the Yorkshire Pudding before it is all gone. I swear the boys in our dorms can really put it away."

Lily turned to observe the setting sun, "Oh right…I didn't realize it was getting so late. Yeah, let's head in."

"So are you going to talk to Severus tomorrow," Mary asked as they walked across the grounds.

Lily frowned, "I'm not sure. I need some time to organize my thoughts. Simone is right, if I am going to talk some sense into him, I need to do it without flying off the handle or acting like I think he's stupid for what he's done. I need to be willing to hear him out if I expect him to hear me out as well."

"So what will you do?" Mary prodded.

"I think I might wait until we get home," Lily confessed, "It's time we had a very important heart to heart and it wouldn't go over well to try it at school with all this interference. I really would hate for one of my friends to see us together and then try and 'talk some sense into me' about how I should avoid him. By the way," she bumped shoulders with Mary, "Thanks for being so supportive in all this and not telling me what to do."

Mary smiled broadly, "Hey, that's what good girl friend's do."

"And I'm sorry if I acted like what Mulciber did to you matter more than you actually being attacked. I guess I was so caught up in the whole 'dark arts are evil' hype," Lily added.

Mary slung an arm around Lily, "Apology accepted. I know you weren't trying to trivialize what happened. You had a lot on your mind with Snape and his ever growing list of bad decisions. I know you cared about me."

"And I always will," Lily agreed with a smile of her own.

Really, what would she do without Mary?

And that's all folks! For now at least.

On the stories Lily shared here. I imagine that childhood abuse would not be invisible, but easily explained away, especially when the victim is a boy and people can excuse it by making the "boys will be boys" claim to dismiss it as rough housing. Much like an abuser tries to create the illusion that their victim is clumsy, they may also lead others to assume that in the case of a child victim, the child just "plays rough" or gets into fights. It would make bruises easy to avoid calling attention to and in a society where people would rather pretend everything is peachy rather than expose the unpleasant truth, a lie would be easy to swallow. So that's why Lily never put two and two together when she was young; it was a believable excuse and as a girl growing up in a more idyllic childhood, she had no reason to assume a parent would be willfully harming their child.

As for Mary's explanation of domestic violence and abuse, this is me drawing on my own family's experiences again. My mom was raised in an abusive childhood and when she was a girl, it was the common practice for abuse to just not be talked about, even when you know who in your neighborhood was doing it o suffering from it. It was considered a 'private matter'...even when a scared little girl is sitting on her front steps with her hands clasped over her little sister's ears so that she won't hear their father beating the hell out of her step mother and his girlfriend...yeah, the bystander effect was strong in old neighborhoods; everyone expecting someone else was going to step up and do the right thing.

Let me know what you think. You're feedback is very important to me :)

Next up, the train ride home!