Welcome back everyone and Happy Halloween.
I would like to apologize about the fact that Halloween will be covered in this story later on in the year (probably by next month if I stick to my chapter a week quota). It would have made no sense to rush through a month and a half of the sixth year just to have a special chapter out by Halloween.
Can you believe I didn't know what to name this chapter? Seriously, it slipped my mind to name it when I started this one. I left it blank at the top like, "I'll get back to that" and I didn't! It's only now that I am ready to post it that I realize it wasn't named. In the end, the title isn't that good, but I guess it fits, since not much action goes on in this chapter.
If Someone Cared Enough
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Daily Monotony
It was another day of monotony for Severus. After fighting off sleep in History of Magic—how he wished that class was optional only—he sailed through his Arithmacy lesson with the usual ease and was now attempting to feign interest in Transfiguration.
Most classes were relatively easy for Severus these days, mostly due to his habit of reading weeks ahead and practicing coursework that had not yet been assigned. He could not say he excelled in Charms—the carefree, whimsical nature of those spells directly clashing with his need for rigidity and structure—but he was a whiz in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And potions, he was so lacking in challenge there nowadays that he had been improving and altering existing potions since third year!
Transfiguration, however, was not a walk in the park. Despite acing all essays, term papers, and questions on theory, he rarely achieve the same marks for the practical applications of the transformative art.
Perhaps the root of the problem lied in what Transfiguration was; an easy way out. Severus enjoyed, even prided himself on hard work, on the hours of dedication and skill it took to do complicated feats with his own two hands. He always felt that rush of satisfaction in Potions, measuring, plotting, and combining the exact ingredients necessary to make nothing into something. In Ancient Runes, seemingly meaningless symbols combined to form complexities that would boggle the mind, achieved only by the studious and diligent.
In Transfiguration however, one would forgo achieving or creating the actual thing the desired and simply take what they had and turned it into an imitation of what they wanted.
To Severus, this went against everything he held dear for hardwork and the sweat off his own brow. It was lazy in his opinion: one simply gave up and working to earn something and just flicked their wand, problem solved.
That Cauldron you were trying to save up for? Whoosh, you just made a sink from the junkyard look like it.
That velvet cloak you spent ages working to afford? Swish! Now your worn out cotton jumper looks like it.
What was the point of working hard if one could simply 'fake it'? Why there had even been cases of people transfiguring degrees to hang on their wall in order to pass themselves off as Healers and Potioneers! They were usually caught eventually as the frauds they were, but they still benefit for a time from their laziness while truly gifted people slaved away for years to achieve the same dream.
Perhaps Severus was overthinking things. If Lily could hear his thoughts, she would most likely telling him so. What Severus called lazy, she would call ingenuity, the ability to make do with what you have.
Given Severus's dreary home life, it seemed odd he held no love for Transfiguration. It was a course that could grant him the ability to alter that which he loathed most about himself and his predicament. With a flick of his wand, he could have better clothes, he could make his books look brand new. But Severus resisted for years that temptation; he would not change himself just so that others would like him. If their reasoning for looking down on his was based on something as vain as appearance, that was their problem, not his.
He already had been forced to play the role of Pureblood just to be given enough support by some staff and Slytherin classmates to succeed; he would not don a façade just to win the approval of people like Potter. While he was happy to cast off ties to his father's side at school, there was always a sickening feeling that lingered with the knowledge that he had succumb to desperation and pretended he was something he was not.
"Human Transfiguration," McGonagall began, drawing Severus attention back to the present, "Also known as being an Animagus, is a precise and difficult art—calm down, Mr. Black, I'm not actually going to be teaching it to you!"
Sirius, who had been grinning ear to ear and bouncing in his seat, slumped down with a huff, a frown upon his face.
'I don't need teaching anyway," he muttered under his breath, but Severus heard him.
'Interesting…' thought Severus.
"Now act of taking an animal form is different than any other form of Transfiguration." McGonagall lectured, "In regular Transfiguration, an item can become anything at any time that you choose. You do not have more than one animagus form. It is the form meant for you, it will act as a part of you to your very core, inherently who you are at heart." That is the only animal you will ever transform into at will for as long as you live.
"Now, that isn't to say someone else cannot turn you into an animal with regular transfiguration," McGonagall pointed out, "Transfiguring other humans is difficult, but not impossible. I could turn Mr. Pettigrew here into a ferret if I so chose."
Pettigrew squeaked and sunk lower in his chair, while James and Sirius looked at each other like it was the most hilarious and brilliant suggestion they had heard in days.
"However, the forceful transfiguration of another person is considered a grave violation of said person's rights and is considerably rude," McGonagall added, eying James and Sirius carefully, "You can receive a hefty fine should a victim of such an act choose to press charges."
"The difference between transforming into an animagus form and being transfigured into an animal is that for an animagus, the animal you become is as natural a state as your wizard form," McGonagall explained, levitating a piece of chalk to draw an elaborate sketch on the board of a person and a cat. There were arrows pointing to one another and an equal sign in the middle of them, "It is who you are, you feel quite at ease in it, while maintaining your mind. Now why would transfiguring a person into an animal differ from that?"
Several hands shot into the air.
McGonagall pointed out into the group, "Yes, Miss Evans?"
"A transfigured person is being forced into a form unnatural to them," Lily answered with ease.
McGonagall nodded, "Correct. Five points to Gryffindor."
Several Gryffindors turned to smile at Lily approvingly, while a few Slytherins sneered.
"Good answer," Severus whispered. Lily, seated besides him much to the frustration of Potter, smiled.
"Now who can tell me what would happen to someone in this unnatural state?" McGonagall asked.
Severus's hand shot up immediately.
"Yes, Mr. Snape?"
"They feel wrong, out of sorts. The mind is erratic, disorganized as the body struggles with the shape it has been turned into and the enchantment used to make them act the role," Severus said confidently.
Again, McGonagall nodded, "Precisely. Five points to Slytherin—that's enough hissing, Mr. Black!"
Sirius sat back with an unrepentant smirk, only to wince and turn to Remus accusingly, the sandy haired boy giving no indication he had just reached over and kicked Sirius.
"Another thing of note about an animagus is that the animal you become cannot be transfigured like regular animals can," McGonagall revealed, "Not successfully, anyway. If one were to try to change my cat form into a wicker basket, they would find a very hairy, meowing basket in my place. And I assure you, it would be very uncomfortable for me."
Severus watched Potter and Black out of the corner of his eye. The two were whispering discreetly as they could while McGonagall's back was turned. Peter glanced between the two, wringing his hands nervously while Remus seemed to not even be paying them any attention.
"Did you know that?" Black asked.
James shook his head, "No, there wasn't any mention of it in the book from the library?"
The boys huddled closer, the rest of their conversation dissolving into soft, nonsensical noise from were Severus was seated.
'Very interesting,' Severus watched the two warily for the rest of class.
{page break}
"Tell me the day is over," Nesme begged as she slumped forward on the bench in the Great Hall, head bowed and forehead practically touching the table.
"Sit up straight," Simone chided, barely even looking up from her meal, "It's unbecoming to slouch."
"Well, I couldn't care less what other's thought of me," Nesme said stubbornly, but heaved herself up into a sitting position anyway.
Simone resisted rolling her eyes, "Just eat your lunch," she said, pushing Nesme's plate in front of the girl.
Nesme stuck her tongue out at Simone, taking a bite out of her Reuben sandwich, "You're too proper."
"Pureblood," Simone sing songed, taking a dainty bite of her salad.
Severus watched the exchange in bemusement.
"So you're just this bossy with everyone," he mused.
Simone swallowed her mouthful, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, "But of course; you didn't think you were a special case, did you?"
"I was beginning to fear that was the case," Severus replied wryly.
The trio had placed themselves at the Hufflepuff table, Simone being quite adamant in her declaration that House rivalry and isolation was utter bullshit. Very few Hufflepuffs seemed bothered by their presence, having grown used to Simone ever since she first befriended Nesme. The only real reaction any of them showed was the occasional glance at Severus, this being the first time the Slytherin had ever sat at a different table.
Simone flipped her hair over her shoulder with a graceful wave of her hand, "Please, you wish you had my undivided attention. You were just in need of some much more extra care last year, that's all."
Severus snorted, "So anyway, where's your shadow?"
"Clucking over her chicks," Simone said in lieu of explanation, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the Slytherin table.
Thea was seated surrounded by Slytherin first years, the excitable group talking over one another and constantly pushing each other out of the way on the bench to be close to the older Slytherin girl, all vying for her attention. Most were asking questions about the castle or teachers, some curious about the creatures in the Forbidden Forest. Several girls had styled their hair in a messy braid the same asThea's and a few children had piled their lunch plates with the exact same food selection as her.
They were making a decent bit of ruckus as a few of the older Slytherins were eyeing Thea's side of the table in disdain, disgusted with the undignified display.
For her part, Thea seemed to take all the chatter and childish fighting in stride, beaming down at the first years in motherly fondness.
"They're like baby ducks," Nesme commented in amusement, plucking a loose strand of sauerkraut from her plate and popping it in her mouth.
Simone observed the group at Slytherin with a smile, "It's like this every year, for the first week or so at least. They'll find their own friends and hobbies and begin to do their own thing. For now they're just looking for some guidance and reassurance and Thea's all too happy to give it to them."
"You said she likes little kids because she was an only child," Severus pointed out, "She wanted siblings. I'm surprised you aren't the same way."
Simone grinned cheekily at him, "Nah, I happened to greatly enjoy my singularity. My parents spoiled me relentlessly. Unlike many pureblood families, I wasn't raised primarily by house elves; my parents always found time for me. I supposed most of Slytherin would have had better personalities if their parents hadn't been off being aristocrats in their childhoods; sad." Simone shrugged, "Anyway, I doubt I'd have the patience for a little sibling."
"Plus with your short temper, you'd probably be up in arms constantly defending them from…" Severus trailed off, "Well…you know…"
"Racist bigots," Simone said with a wry grin, "You can just come out and say it, Severus. I'm well aware that my appearance gets me flak with my classmates."
"Take Parkinson, for example," Simone pointed to a sour-faced young man at Slytherin who was ignoring an underclassman talking besides him, "He refused to sit next to me from day one in Potions, thinks my brain isn't as developed as his to comprehend the instructions."
She pointed to another Sytherin, a square jawed girl peeling the skin off her grapes, looking rather offended that they hadn't been peeled for her before she arrived, "Bulstrode won't even take food off a platter I have touched. Her brother too; I heard him once say that he felt I should have separate goblets, because he didn't want to risk ever getting one my lips had been on. I'm not going to even bother mentioning what Rosier and his lot like to say when they think I'm not around."
"Slytherin purebloods tend to look for any reason to call someone an inferior," Severus mused.
"It's not just Slytherin and it isn't just purebloods," Simone informed Severus, pointing her fork at him.
She gestured to the Ravenclaw table, "Greengrass said it was baffling anyone could find 'my kind' attractive," her hand moved over to the Gryffindor table, "Cornwallace is a halfblood, and he actually commented that it was surprising there wasn't a separate school for people like me."
"Didn't that girl you scared into transferring also say something about your skin?" Severus asked, remembering the rumors.
Simone waved the comment away like it was a bothersome fly, "Yes, she said her ancestors probably owned my ancestors, but I'm used to that," her eyes narrowed dangerously, "her real mistake was messing with Thea; she's off limits."
Simone set her fork down, massaging her temples, "It's not even all bad comments that are the problem. A muggleborn who barely knew any people of my ethnicity once apologized for slavery when she met me. Another girl once told me that my hair was so 'pretty and unique' and asked if she could touch it. I'm sure they meant well, but they couldn't seem to understand that calling attention to my skin color at all was still singling me out as different."
"People these days rarely know how to act around those who aren't of the status quo," Nesme sighed. She looked down at her stomach, "I know it isn't the same thing, but I get sick and tired of people telling me I have a pretty face 'for a fat girl' or that I have a 'great personality' as though I should see it as some consolation prize for not being hit with a pretty stick." She put her sandwich down, unfinished.
Simone pushed Nesme's plate back towards her, "Don't you dare buy into that bullshit. You're a bombshell, sweetheart. You've got hips that would make a fertility goddess green with envy and breasts the size of my head. Add in those gorgeous blue eyes of yours and those dimples and you're a babe. Purebloods just pretend they can't see your beauty because they're jealous since half of them were told not to eat growing up in order to stay thin."
"Case and point," Severus quipped, pointing at Simone's salad.
Simone glared at Severus without any real heat.
"This is a starter salad," Simone defended, pushing her finished salad away and reaching for a Monte Cristo, "I have a list of things I'd rather do than give up good food and the first on that list is die." She bit into the sandwich with relish, closing her eyes in bliss before remembering she was in public and taking slower, smaller bites.
Severus snorted, "Anyway, Nesme, you're beautiful," Simone assured her friend, "I actually wish I had your thighs; with my big hips my legs look like toothpicks by comparison."
Nesme blushed, a small smile on her face.
Simone pointed to Nesme's half-eaten sandwich, "Now you enjoy your lunch and let those sourpusses be grouchy because they're always hungry."
Nesme carefully picked up her sandwich again and took a hesitant bite, to Simone's immense approval.
Simone clapped her hands, "Now, enough with my monologuing—seriously you all let me do that too often—Severus, pass me some of those grapes and cheeses, would you?"
"Hello all," Mary greeted, setting her book bag down and taking a seat next to Severus, "Mind if I join you?"
Simone tilted her head forward in greeting, "MacDonald, by all means. Where's Evans, I figured she would be with you."
"She's over at our table," Mary explained, pouring herself some pumpkin juice, "Jessica was dying to tell her about a date she went on over the summer. She insisted that it had to be now. I said she could join us over here, but Jess said she didn't think there would be room," she looked around the table, confused, "Funny, there seems to be plenty of seating available by the looks of it."
Simone looked over to the Gyffindor table, an unreadable look in her eyes.
Mary nudged Severus with her shoulder, "What are you having?"
Severus looked down at his plate, "Oh…a Killie pie."
"Sounds delish," Mary said, serving herself some, "So what are we all talking about."
"Just the growing list of things stuck up people may not like us for," Simone remarked dryly, a crooked grin on her face, "You know, our race, our weight, the fact that we can all say our parents only shared the same last name after they were married."
Nesme giggled, while Severus choked on his coffee.
"That's right, you did mention last year that discrimination was a problem for you," Mary recalled, thumping Severus lightly on the back, "But surely that doesn't happen here; I thought you were respected by your House."
"They respect the reputation I created for myself," Simone explained, "That doesn't mean any of them think highly of my 'pedigree'. Personally, I think my friendship with Thea is the only real reason they tolerate me. I am a useful ally to them or a worthy foe to avoid, that's about it. Outside of that, I'm no higher in breeding than a halfblood."
"So you're on the same standing as me," Severus said, "Welcome to the club."
"And me," Nesme chimed in, "Between my weight and being in Hufflepuff, I'm the perfect combination of reject."
"Me too, I suppose," Mary said, eating her pie, " A Gryffindor and a muggleborn; a must be ghastly to them."
"Half this school if not more is made up of prejudices," Simone said wisely, "The other Houses would just have you believe it was all Slytherin so that their Houses remain in good standing."
"You're absolutely right," Mary agreed, "You know, I developed earlier than the other girls in my dorm. Like…really early. They considered it unusual for my age. And I grew up with all brothers so I tended to hang out with boys like James and Sirius the first two years. Anyway, for months after, half the older students in my dorm were whispering behind my back, calling me a harlot; saying I had had half the boys in school."
"Good old fashioned sexism," Simone declared, raising her glass, "You'll find it's even worse among purebloods. Customarily, pureblood girls are kept away from boys outside their family unless accompanied by a chaperone of an older male cousin or uncle."
Severus nodded, "I overheard Narcissa talking about it once before she graduated. It starts once you hit puberty; after that, you're capable of bearing heirs so boys are taboo aside from betrothal meetings. That goes on until you marry, then no one cares who you dally with as long as any child you have can be passed off as your husband's. So really, playing with boys your own age is considered a sign of deviancy. That's why her sister Andromeda was already considered an outcast before she married a muggleborn; because she had been hanging around with him unsupervised long before they eloped."
Mary scowled, "What utter rubbish! Glad I'm not a pureblood."
"It's not all bad," Simone joked, "We have lots of money to compensate for it. You want a mansion; I can buy you a mansion."
Mary laughed, "Gee, who could turn down and offer like that?"
"I don't remember you ever offering me that sort of generosity," Severus said with a smirk.
Simone pointed a finger at him, "You I'd sooner buy a dungeon for. You'd feel more at home there anyway, you brooding little bastard."
Nesme and Mary burst out laughing at that.
Severus glowered at Simone, the pair caught in a staring contest neither was willing to lose.
Across the room, Lily looked forlornly over at the Hufflepuff table. She had been hoping to spend lunch with Severus and Mary having fun, but Jessica and the other girls had been adamant she sit with them at their own House's table. Despite Lily pointing out that it wasn't against the rules to sit at other tables, the girls opted against it for some odd reason.
It was a damn shame too; Severus and the others looked like they were having a grand time.
"And get this, you guys," Jessica was blathering, "Davey's father owns a vineyard!"
The other girls oohed and awed, so Lily did her best to look impressed. It wasn't easy though. When did her friends become so boy-obsessed and shallow? Had they always been this way? Lily would like to say that Jessica fawning over boys and how good looking they were or how much money they had was a new thing, but honestly it was hard to recall what Jessica was like in her first or second year.
Lily had spent most of her first two years at Hogwarts with Severus every chance she got, only striking up any real comradery with the girls in her dorm as she and Sev began to drift apart and she became more displeased with his choice of company. Since Severus had been quick to try and find fault in those she hung out with in turn, she had turned a blind eye to any flaw the girls had in favor of focusing on their good points: they weren't interested in Dark magic. Now that she was willing to see the other side of things though, she was finding her friends less and less interesting and more bland and vain than she could ever imagine.
There actually wasn't much difference between Jessica or Meldonna and the Slytherin girls. They were obsessed with hair and make-up, noses buried in copies of Witches Weekly looking for new fashion advice or the latest gossip. They didn't seem to have the hatred for muggles that Slytherin girls had, but the two Gryffindors were often times fixated more on the contents of a wizard or muggles wallet than anything else. They had to be good looking too; that was a must. Falling for someone who didn't meet their high standards of beauty or handsomeness was scandalous in their eyes.
That is why they had always tried to push her towards James. In their eyes, Lily's beauty and James's good looks meant the pair were ideal for one another. It didn't matter that Lily had about as much in common with Potter as a Mermaid did with a Cornish Pixie, all Lily's friends cared about were what a lovely pair they would make.
Jessica and Meldonna had always turned their noses up at Lily's association with Severus right from the first day of school in first year. They thought it wasn't lady-like for Lily to play with a boy; it wasn't proper. They cared more for ribbons and lace than wiggling their toes in the refreshing cool mud at the shore of the Black Lake or romping around in the tall grass by the Quidditch pitch, looking for potion ingredients. Lily's interest with boyish activities was appalling to them and had kept them from seeking Lily out for the first two years.
It was only after Lily began to blossom into a young woman that they felt the need to befriend her. They appreciated her newfound enjoyment of skirts instead of pants, high heels instead of sneakers, and braids instead of ball caps. A dislike of Severus's 'friends' meant Lily was all too willing to participate in gossip about the Slytherin's too. Suddenly she had things in common with the other girls that they could appreciate. Lily was just glad to have other people to talk to when she and Severus were fighting.
They never warmed to Severus though. For years, they pestered her about her one remaining friendship from childhood. They picked apart any argument she had in his favor, pecked at her insecurities over his growing interest in Dark magic, and pointed out ever flaw he had, exaggerating his faults to astronomical proportions. They would jumped on any opportunity to do so, often times right after Sev and she had a disagreement.
The other girls in her dorm followed suit; never the leading type themselves.
It was times like those that Lily was glad she had Mary. Aside from Severus, one of Lily's only real friendships in Hogwarts during first and second year was Mary. Lily had always been well liked and social, the center of attention with her friendly, outgoing personality, but Mary was one of the only people she considered a friend at school and not an acquaintance. Mary never questioned her choice to stick by Severus for so long. Sure, she had her reservations, but Mary tended to let people make their own decisions and pick their own paths and that was what Lily liked about the girl.
Mary was also more boyish like Lily too. Her male dominated family ensured Mary loved rough housing and getting grass stains on the knees of all her clothes. It meant she was more interested in games and adventure than perfume and make-up. It also meant she hadn't looked at Lily's friendship with Severus early on and found it 'gross' because of 'cooties'.
Lily sighed; maybe the other girls would give Severus a chance now that he had shown how much he cared about her. He had gone to hell and back in order to protect her and stayed by her side ever since, surely they couldn't find fault in his presence now that he had shown Slytherins weren't just a walking stereotype of Dark wizards and witches.
Lily looked longingly over to the Hufflepuff table again; they sure were having a more enjoyable time than her.
"Lily, are you even listening to me?" An upset Jessica asked.
"Huh?" Lily snapped out of her thoughts, looking back at Jessica, "What?"
"You weren't listening," Jessica said, offended, "I was telling you about a very important night for me."
"Oh, right," Lily said absentmindedly, "You're date with…what was his name again?"
Jessica huffed, annoyed, "Just forget it," she groaned.
"What has you so distracted today anyway?" Meldonna asked. She looked over her shoulder to where Lily's gaze had been constantly drifting, "The Hufflepuff table?"
"I don't understand why Mary wants to hang out over there," Jessica said despairingly, "The Hufflepuffs can't be that interesting. Otherwise the sorting hat would have placed them in our House."
"That's not true," Lily interjected, "Hufflepuffs have a knack for being keenly observant. They pick up on fine details others would miss. That's why they're said to be such good finders. And they're excellent puzzle solvers too because of this; Ravenclaws may have the riddles down, but Puffs are champs at puzzle."
"Sounds like you've been spending too much time around Professor Sprout," Jessica said, bemused, "Anyway, puzzle solving or not, they still aren't as cool as Gryffindor. So I can't see what Mary could gain from sitting over there."
"It's not just Puffs there today," Meldonna observed, "Serapeum's there acting like the Queen of England."
"She's not that bad once you get to know her," Lily defended, "In fact, she's very passionate about equal rights for muggleborns and magical creatures."
Meldonna shook her head, "Lily, she's a Slytherin; they're always working an angle. I bet all her equality talk is just a ruse to win over the dumb and easily manipulated. With all the nasty things her classmates do that pushes people away, she probably realized she can catch more flies with sugar than vinegar."
Jessica nodded rapidly, "Yeah, and I bet she only says she supports magical creatures because she wants to build an army of them, all loyal to her and her ilk."
"That's ridiculous," Lily scoffed.
"And there's the other one," Meldonna continued, watching Thea make her way over to Simone, "I swear she's the worst of them all. That freaky power of hers to sniff out people's secrets…talk about creepy."
"She's actually really sweet," Lily insisted.
"It's an act, Lily," Jessica declared, "Slytherins only pretend to be nice to get what they want out of you."
"Well Severus isn't acting when he's nice to me," Lily blurted out, her forehead creased in displeasure.
Jessica scoffed, "Snape? What are you on about him for?" she glanced over at the Hufflepuff table, spying a dark haired boy with his back to them, "Is that who you've been looking at all this time? Lily, I thought you finally wised up and wiped your hands clean of him for good!"
"He's different!" Lily stated, becoming increasingly frustrated with her so called friends pitying looks, "He saved my life last year, if you recall."
Jessica rolled her eyes, "Yeah, he conveniently showed up in time to save the day. What a complete coincidence."
Lily felt as if someone had lit a magma hot fire in her belly, her face heating up, "I know exactly what you're implying and it wasn't like that."
"But how do you know?" Meldonna questioned confidently, "Slytherins always work an angle, Lily. How do you know he didn't plan the whole thing?"
"Because that is the last sort of fate he would inflict upon anyone," Lily stated hotly, thinking about Severus's mother, about the brief snippets of information Sev had given her over their many talks this summer. Severus of all people would never put a woman through what Lily had gone through; not what Tobias had put his mother through.
"But how do you know?" Meldonna pushed.
"I can't tell you how I know, but believe me, I know," Lily said firmly, "Who put this idea in your heads anyway? Potter?" Lily cast a rueful glare down their table at where James was seated, trying his best to appear nonchalant.
Meldonna held up her hands, "No one, Lily. Everyone's talking about this; we're not the only ones who are suspicious."
"Lily, we're only saying this because we care," Jessica said pityingly.
Lily had had enough, "Care about what? About me or about appearances? I know how you two view the other houses as beneath us, don't try and deny it. You're just worked up that I dared befriend someone below your standards. Well let me tell you, he's worth more than any of the guys you rant on about; with all their muscle and money and no brains or personality."
Lily stood up, "I had expected this sort of reaction from people at school, but I never expected it from you. You're both supposed to be my friends and trust me, but you're completely ignoring my feelings, my experiences, and the fact that of the three of us, I'm the only one who actually knows Severus. So don't get all condescending on me because you suddenly think you know my friends better than I do." With that, Lily gathered up her things and stormed out.
At the Hufflepuff table, Severus watched Lily go with concern. Turning to Mary, the pair nodded before excuses themselves from their friends and following after the redhead.
Thea watched them all leave before turning to Simone, looking pleadingly and worryingly at her friend.
Simone sighed, "Better go see what that's all about," pocketing an apple, she grabbed Nesme and practically dragged the girl from the hall, Thea close behind.
"Well, I better head to the library," Remus said at his end of the table.
"You're joking?" Sirius said skeptically.
Remus shrugged, "You're welcome to come join me," he offered sincerely, knowing Sirius would never agree.
As predicted, Sirius blanched at the idea of studying, "No way. You're on your own mate."
Remus grinned, grabbing his bag and leaving the hall. Once out of sight of his friends, he took off in the direction Lily and her friends had gone.
Up at the table, the professors watched the bizarre scene with curiosity.
"Quite a lot has changed in such a few short months," McGonagall said.
Pomona nodded, "Yes, to think so many people who used to be enemies or indifferent would suddenly form such a tight knit group. It's nice to see such comradery between the Houses."
Back at the Gryffindor table, Jessica and Meldonna sat in shock.
"Well that was a little rude," Meldonna said superciliously.
"Yeah," Jessica agreed, "We're only looking out for her best interests. Why'd she get so mad?"
"Maybe because the two of you are bitches," suggested a grinning seventh year girl with an athletic build.
"Shut up, Mckinnon!" Jessica growled.
The seventh year only laughed.
And so we finished yet another chapter. Like I said, not much goes on in this one.
I sort of dicked around with Transfiguration laws, since I am not sure how to write classes when the subjects are fictional and mostly limited in the info we are given, but I think I did alright.
We're seeing a little more of Lily's other friends. If anyone is wondering why I have such bland characters in this story, frankly it's canon's fault. We hear almost NOTHING about Lily in canon other than that she was nice. James has friends who knew him who can relay to Harry what his father was like (although they fudged the truth obviously), but no friend of Lily's ever comes out of the woodwork to talk about Lily. We have professors that know her and James friends knew her, but none of her own personal friends.
Either everyone of them is dead, which while not out of the realm of possibilities is unlikely, or maybe Lily did not have many close female friends. From how Remus talks, it sounds like she just turned him and Sirius into her closest friends after she started dating James. I can't help but wonder what reason a kind person like Lily would have for not making many female friends, and my theory would be that someone like Lily might not have truly clicked with all her dormmates because they have personalities that didn't mesh well with hers. Pureblooded girls raised with stuffy ideals in appearance and grace would probably have little appeal unless they were a free spirit like herself.
Read and review like always :)