A/N: Thanks again to all you guys reviewing! Not long to go now till the
end of this particular "instalment". I think I have narrowed the sequels
down to three, though two will be taking place simultaneously...I promise
it'll make more sense later!
Just a note, I apologise to any Jimi Hendrix fans out there who fainted at my saying that Ritchie Smabora was a better guitarist. I love Jimi, his style was fab and I must say, Ritchie can't play with his teeth (As far as I know)!
They both rock, big style.
A Visitor
I was sat, on the eve of our graduation, in the common room, waiting for Severus to return from the Potions lab to finish a game of chess. I was sat by the fire, pieces all laid out, when I finally heard someone outside the portrait hole.
"About ruddy time! You've been gone ages, you know we'll not finish until next year's graduation if..."
As I looked up, no one had come through the portrait hole, though I had definitely heard Salazar being muttered at the portrait. Back then passwords weren't changed, they were all the house-founder's first names: Salazar, Rowena, Helga and Godric. It was just a lip-service thing, but there really was no need for them. No one came in, but something did. I stood up and went to back away, but a voice came from the nothingness, and then an invisibility cloak was pulled away from a frightened, puppy-dog face.
"Ren, where is he? I need to talk to you both."
"Your common room is on the next floor down, Lily. You don't belong here any more." I snapped "And its *Rene*, not Ren. Informal tones disappear with friendship, I'm afraid."
At that moment, I heard steps approaching the common room again. I knew who it was but pretended I didn't.
"I'll be over in the corner! Get rid of who ever it is!" She hissed, as she swung the cloak over her shoulders. I sat down and began to put away the chess pieces, seeing that the game would not be finished that night.
"What are you doing?" Severus asked, looking confused. I heard a faint gasp from the corner at his appearance.
"We'll not have time to finish the game tonight." I said, not taking my livid eyes off the board. "There is someone here to see us."
He looked around, still evidently a little puzzled as to my bitter face and cryptic speech.
"What are you waiting for? That cloak does not suit you dear." I mused in a condescending tone. Severus knew the moment I said cloak that it was one of two people, two people neither of us could tolerate. The only child in school who had an invisibility cloak was James Potter, though he did not use it well; if he had we wouldn't have known about it. He was too fond of boasting for his own good, and I believe that it was this love of himself and his fortunes that brought him to his end. It's what he deserved, but he couldn't resist dragging Lily down with him, could he?
She took off the cloak, and her pale, timid face slowly met his steely gaze.
"What are you doing here? Your common room is down..."
"I have already told her that, Severus, but it seems that she means to be here, not out of absent mindedness, but out of necessity. She *needs* to talk to us."
I drew up to his side, arms folded, glaring into her eyes, as he was. Cornered, and in very ill favour, I am suprised she found it in her to say what she had to.
"I...I came to see if, well, if we could talk?" her voice rose in a quizzical tone, and before I had time to think up an answer to make her squirm even more, Severus found the best and most unexpected reaction I have ever seen him give.
"Go on then, talk." He more or less ordered, and he slumped into a chair adjacent to the fire, which danced imposing shadows around his face and hands.
She looked at me pleadingly, but my expression showed no compassion. For a moment, I knew we shouldn't be so hard on her, she had had a hard time of it, but then again, so had we. It had been made a thousand times worse by her playing us off against one another, and then leaving the mess that had been our friendship behind. The HMS Lily leaves quite a wake.
"Well, I...well, this is difficult." She turned from us and gazed out of the window. "I...I think that this has gone long enough. We're leaving tomorrow, and... and I don't want us to leave on bad terms. I was stupid...very stupid to have said what I did, and I didn't really mean it..."
"You're nothing if not consistent, Lily." Severus cooed, in a particularly downward tone. "Lies have become your strong point. You meant every word when you said the things you did to us, and regardless of whether you want to take them back or not, they were said." At the time I agreed whole- heartedly.
"Ren...please! Make him see sense, I never meant it, you know it."
My glance to her was stone cold. She deserved no better.
"Lily, he is right. You meant every venomous word. You should never have transferred to Gryffindor, dear girl, you are the most cunning, most assuming and slyest Slytherin I have ever met. You have said your piece now, and I would like to point out that it was very ill received, rehearsed and delivered. You would do best to leave now, before I "throw my weight" about again!"
Severus rose from his chair, and went to stand by the door. His face was still as cold and impenetrable as it ever became, but his eyes were lost. Lost in thought, in sadness, in hatred, in longing. I swear with all my heart he loved her, but I swear with all my mind that she did mean every word she had said to us. Said in a thoughtless rage, they would have been as water off a ducks back, but said in the way they were, they cut like the sharpest rapier.
"Here is the door, I suggest you make use of it." He snapped, gazing straight ahead of him.
"Please, see sense, both of you! I came here to apologise, and you are throwing it back in my face!" She sobbed in frustration, tears cascading down her scarletine cheeks. "You both did far more than me, and yet I'm the one who gets punished? What's wrong with you?" She slunk down into the corner and began to cry into her hands. At this point Severus lost it. He looked like a volcano about to erupt, his ivory face suddenly as dark and sallow wood ash.
"How *DARE* you, you little harlot? How DARE you? The moment you have the minutest excuse you run off with that pretty-boy Potter, and you ask what's wrong with *US*?" His eyes were no longer lost, but focussed on exactly where he was going. He was advancing on her with a raised arm, ready to take it to her, but I thought that this should be where I intervene. I stepped forward and put and arm out in front of him and the other on his shoulder.
"Severus please," I reasoned, though not over-enthusiastically. The little turncoat deserved to have been smacked into next week, but it was not the best send off we could hope for. "She is not worth your time or effort. Lily, get up. If you had any chance of either one of us coming close to forgiving you, you just relieved yourself of it. I strongly recommend you go running back to Potter, it has worked for you before."
She stood up slowly, her red and puffy eyes avoiding mine. She walked to the door, but as she was about to leave, she turned and looked at Severus.
"Is that really all you have to say?" She asked, with more authority that was owed her.
"No, it isn't. I just wanted to say, as I have never been able to tell you before, that I am glad that child died." I flinched at this, and Lily's eyed grew wide. Insulting a mother's child is never wise. "It would have had a pitiable existence, and I would want no child of mine to grow up with a back-stabbing mother like yourself." And with that he turned to the fire, his one hand resting on the mantelpiece, and his head bowed.
She looked in horror at him, and then began a fresh torrent of sobs.
"You can't say that and mean it, Severus! How can you be so cruel to a child?"
"Not cruel, my dear, but merciful." he muttered, and then glanced up at her for a fleeting moment. "And I assure you, I meant every damn word, just like you did."
She bit her lip, and fled back out of the room. I merely glared at her back, and when she had left, the door. We stayed, motionless, until her violent sobs could no longer be heard.
"I am off to bed." I finally ventured, and began to climb the stairs. "I suggest you keep your guard up tomorrow, Severus. I fully expect that bastard Potter will be out for a fight."
He chuckled sadistically, and looked up at me with a tight-lipped smile and
look of amusement on his face.
"Don't worry, Rene, don't worry. If our pretty-boy Potter wants a fight, then I will give him one." And with that, he stalked up the opposing staircase.
Just a note, I apologise to any Jimi Hendrix fans out there who fainted at my saying that Ritchie Smabora was a better guitarist. I love Jimi, his style was fab and I must say, Ritchie can't play with his teeth (As far as I know)!
They both rock, big style.
A Visitor
I was sat, on the eve of our graduation, in the common room, waiting for Severus to return from the Potions lab to finish a game of chess. I was sat by the fire, pieces all laid out, when I finally heard someone outside the portrait hole.
"About ruddy time! You've been gone ages, you know we'll not finish until next year's graduation if..."
As I looked up, no one had come through the portrait hole, though I had definitely heard Salazar being muttered at the portrait. Back then passwords weren't changed, they were all the house-founder's first names: Salazar, Rowena, Helga and Godric. It was just a lip-service thing, but there really was no need for them. No one came in, but something did. I stood up and went to back away, but a voice came from the nothingness, and then an invisibility cloak was pulled away from a frightened, puppy-dog face.
"Ren, where is he? I need to talk to you both."
"Your common room is on the next floor down, Lily. You don't belong here any more." I snapped "And its *Rene*, not Ren. Informal tones disappear with friendship, I'm afraid."
At that moment, I heard steps approaching the common room again. I knew who it was but pretended I didn't.
"I'll be over in the corner! Get rid of who ever it is!" She hissed, as she swung the cloak over her shoulders. I sat down and began to put away the chess pieces, seeing that the game would not be finished that night.
"What are you doing?" Severus asked, looking confused. I heard a faint gasp from the corner at his appearance.
"We'll not have time to finish the game tonight." I said, not taking my livid eyes off the board. "There is someone here to see us."
He looked around, still evidently a little puzzled as to my bitter face and cryptic speech.
"What are you waiting for? That cloak does not suit you dear." I mused in a condescending tone. Severus knew the moment I said cloak that it was one of two people, two people neither of us could tolerate. The only child in school who had an invisibility cloak was James Potter, though he did not use it well; if he had we wouldn't have known about it. He was too fond of boasting for his own good, and I believe that it was this love of himself and his fortunes that brought him to his end. It's what he deserved, but he couldn't resist dragging Lily down with him, could he?
She took off the cloak, and her pale, timid face slowly met his steely gaze.
"What are you doing here? Your common room is down..."
"I have already told her that, Severus, but it seems that she means to be here, not out of absent mindedness, but out of necessity. She *needs* to talk to us."
I drew up to his side, arms folded, glaring into her eyes, as he was. Cornered, and in very ill favour, I am suprised she found it in her to say what she had to.
"I...I came to see if, well, if we could talk?" her voice rose in a quizzical tone, and before I had time to think up an answer to make her squirm even more, Severus found the best and most unexpected reaction I have ever seen him give.
"Go on then, talk." He more or less ordered, and he slumped into a chair adjacent to the fire, which danced imposing shadows around his face and hands.
She looked at me pleadingly, but my expression showed no compassion. For a moment, I knew we shouldn't be so hard on her, she had had a hard time of it, but then again, so had we. It had been made a thousand times worse by her playing us off against one another, and then leaving the mess that had been our friendship behind. The HMS Lily leaves quite a wake.
"Well, I...well, this is difficult." She turned from us and gazed out of the window. "I...I think that this has gone long enough. We're leaving tomorrow, and... and I don't want us to leave on bad terms. I was stupid...very stupid to have said what I did, and I didn't really mean it..."
"You're nothing if not consistent, Lily." Severus cooed, in a particularly downward tone. "Lies have become your strong point. You meant every word when you said the things you did to us, and regardless of whether you want to take them back or not, they were said." At the time I agreed whole- heartedly.
"Ren...please! Make him see sense, I never meant it, you know it."
My glance to her was stone cold. She deserved no better.
"Lily, he is right. You meant every venomous word. You should never have transferred to Gryffindor, dear girl, you are the most cunning, most assuming and slyest Slytherin I have ever met. You have said your piece now, and I would like to point out that it was very ill received, rehearsed and delivered. You would do best to leave now, before I "throw my weight" about again!"
Severus rose from his chair, and went to stand by the door. His face was still as cold and impenetrable as it ever became, but his eyes were lost. Lost in thought, in sadness, in hatred, in longing. I swear with all my heart he loved her, but I swear with all my mind that she did mean every word she had said to us. Said in a thoughtless rage, they would have been as water off a ducks back, but said in the way they were, they cut like the sharpest rapier.
"Here is the door, I suggest you make use of it." He snapped, gazing straight ahead of him.
"Please, see sense, both of you! I came here to apologise, and you are throwing it back in my face!" She sobbed in frustration, tears cascading down her scarletine cheeks. "You both did far more than me, and yet I'm the one who gets punished? What's wrong with you?" She slunk down into the corner and began to cry into her hands. At this point Severus lost it. He looked like a volcano about to erupt, his ivory face suddenly as dark and sallow wood ash.
"How *DARE* you, you little harlot? How DARE you? The moment you have the minutest excuse you run off with that pretty-boy Potter, and you ask what's wrong with *US*?" His eyes were no longer lost, but focussed on exactly where he was going. He was advancing on her with a raised arm, ready to take it to her, but I thought that this should be where I intervene. I stepped forward and put and arm out in front of him and the other on his shoulder.
"Severus please," I reasoned, though not over-enthusiastically. The little turncoat deserved to have been smacked into next week, but it was not the best send off we could hope for. "She is not worth your time or effort. Lily, get up. If you had any chance of either one of us coming close to forgiving you, you just relieved yourself of it. I strongly recommend you go running back to Potter, it has worked for you before."
She stood up slowly, her red and puffy eyes avoiding mine. She walked to the door, but as she was about to leave, she turned and looked at Severus.
"Is that really all you have to say?" She asked, with more authority that was owed her.
"No, it isn't. I just wanted to say, as I have never been able to tell you before, that I am glad that child died." I flinched at this, and Lily's eyed grew wide. Insulting a mother's child is never wise. "It would have had a pitiable existence, and I would want no child of mine to grow up with a back-stabbing mother like yourself." And with that he turned to the fire, his one hand resting on the mantelpiece, and his head bowed.
She looked in horror at him, and then began a fresh torrent of sobs.
"You can't say that and mean it, Severus! How can you be so cruel to a child?"
"Not cruel, my dear, but merciful." he muttered, and then glanced up at her for a fleeting moment. "And I assure you, I meant every damn word, just like you did."
She bit her lip, and fled back out of the room. I merely glared at her back, and when she had left, the door. We stayed, motionless, until her violent sobs could no longer be heard.
"I am off to bed." I finally ventured, and began to climb the stairs. "I suggest you keep your guard up tomorrow, Severus. I fully expect that bastard Potter will be out for a fight."
He chuckled sadistically, and looked up at me with a tight-lipped smile and
look of amusement on his face.
"Don't worry, Rene, don't worry. If our pretty-boy Potter wants a fight, then I will give him one." And with that, he stalked up the opposing staircase.
