I was extremely subdued for the rest of the ride. Of course, I had always been a bit subdued, but either way. I sat in the corner of the compartment, trying to keep myself from crying, for the entire time. Or at least I tried to. After the first half hour or so, I felt someone come near and attempt to comfort me. Unused to this, I looked up, startled, and this momentary lapse of self-control cost me dearly. The tears I had so been trying to hold back flowed freely down my cheeks.

Upon looking up, I saw three of the four Marauders standing over me, all looking confused and slightly uncomfortable. I pulled away slightly and tried to stop the tears once more, but I didn't wipe them away. My parents had always told me that I should be strong. I was not allowed to cry in their presence, show fear or hurt. And I could, most definitely, not show pain. If I did cry, they would find a way to keep me from wiping the tears away. They were left on my face as a sign of my weakness and also to embarrass me. Well, I thought, guess what mom and dad? You were right. I am embarrassed. I am weak. And there's not a damn thing you can to about it.

"Ummm…" One of them started. "Are you alright?" I kept my head down and heard a faint smack followed by an 'ow' and an exasperated 'idiot'.

The silence was almost deafening to me. Just then, the compartment burst open and Peter, the one who had stayed back, squeaked.

"MARAUDERS!!" the girl cried. Her name was Alexia Bernadett, and she was one of the extremely few girls who was beautiful, popular, ditzy (or at least that's what I thought), and could hang out with the Marauders without being a girlfriend to one of them.

"Aye," Peter squealed. They would normally have all said it at the same time, but the other three were too busy worrying about me. Pitying me. I don't need their pity, I thought, if someone gives you pity, they're likely to become some sort of a friend, and I don't need friends. (My god I was most certainly a naïve idiot, wasn't I?)

"What's up guys?" Alexia asked, seemingly concerned. She caught site of me and a strange sort of recognition passed over her. "Hey," she said to me. "Aren't you that girl that Snape kept taunting last year? My god, I can't imagine what that must have felt like."

"Yes, well," James said. "It seems he's been doing more than taunting her."

"Oh no," she gasped. "He didn't really do it, did he? I mean, I heard him talking about it, and threatening you that he was going to, but-"

"He uses Imperius," I whispered. "So that I won't fight him. I can sometimes break free, but it's very hard. When I'm under the spell, I have to do anything he wants. Anything to make him happy. So yeah, I guess you could say he followed through with it." Alexia's eyes traveled over my bare arms and legs (I was wearing a tank-top and shorts) and took in the bruises that Snape had left after just that brief encounter. The guys, of course, had never seen me before and had never heard of me, so they had no idea what was going on.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Sirius asked.

"He," Alexia began, but she stopped and looked questioningly at me. I understood and nodded my consent. "He raped her." If possible, and I'm sure it was, the boys grew even more serious, gave me even more pity, and, of course, their hatred for Snape reached an entirely new level. For some reason, though, Peter couldn't seem to get it through his head what was going on. He seemed to be in a trance.

"What?" he asked, seemingly being pulled away from an important discussion with a chocolate frog card. He didn't seem to notice the glares he was being given. "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention. Who's she?" He pointed to me. "And what did Sev, I mean, Snape do?"

Sev. He was going to say Severus, and I knew. This, of course, (A/N: I say of course a lot, don't I? Now if only I could spell it right the FIRST time I type it)made me hate him instantly. First of all, this would mean that he had been lying to his friends and I loathed deceitful people (which happens to be the big reason I wasn't placed in Slytherin), and secondly, if he was on first name terms with Snape, it automatically meant trouble for me. I hate people, I thought, no matter that I'm one of them.

At this point, I was wondering how messed up I really had become. I, Lily Evans, bookworm extraordinare, was hating the silence. Silence was my refuge, my love, and I was hating it. What had come over me?

¿Quién sabe?

Huh?

No uniforme sé, y soy usted.

I'm talking to myself in Spanish, I thought, how wonderful.

Cierre para arriba.

I made a mental note to myself to learn Spanish after that, but was pulled from my inner wanderings by the others.

"So, will you promise us?" I hadn't heard a thing they had said, and I was most certainly not stupid enough to agree to something I didn't even know about.

"To what?" They stared at me in disbelief. Apparently, I looked as if I was paying attention… Quizás que es cómo usted consigue lejos con él en clase. Whatever.

"To go to Dumbledore when we get to Hogwarts and tell him about Snape." Of course this had occurred to me often, but I was such a coward (though, of course, I could not show it) that I always backed out. I wanted peace and I would not get it if I told on Snape. Now that these guys knew, though, it didn't seem like I could just let matters be any more. Yet, it was always worth a try.

"No." I would most certainly not.

"No?"

"Is there an echo in here?" I gasped slightly and my hands covered my mouth in shock. Again, I had spoken out, and I most certainly did not do that often. The Marauders, however, were wondering why I looked as if saying that surprised. Alexia knew why though. My opinion of her had definitely change. She was not a ditz.

"Lily," she said. "You know we're going to go to him with or without you. Why don't you just make things a little easier and follow along?" She got me. I was backed into a corner with no place to run. I could cooperate or not, but the outcome would be the same.

"All right," I said. "I'll go with you."

"Wonderful!" Everyone sat down, now that everything was settled, and did their own thing. I went back to my book, but none of it got read. I stared at the same page for the entire ride, thinking of ways out. Suddenly, the train stopped. I was pulled into a carriage with the rest, dreading what they were making me do. I hoped I'd find courage somewhere. Otherwise, I'd freeze, and Snape would never pay for what he did. Ooooh did I want him to pay.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, we would have to sit through the sorting feast. My normally perfectly sorted out mind was a complete mess. Thoughts were rushing by and quite a few of them made no sense what so ever. How was I ever going to survive the year?

***

Disclaimer: I own the plot (which is non-existant), Alexia, and anything else that you don't recognize. Unless, of course, you haven't read the Harry Potter books (If you haven't I would like to ask why you're reading this fic) then you can believe that I own it all. Either way is fine by me. The Spanish comes from www.dictionary.com.

A/N: Alrighty, this is the shortest amount of time it has ever taken me to write a chapter and I think that it turned out really bad, but I'll let you decide that. Thank you to those that have reviewed so far.

ladybugg2886: I don't know what was so interesting, but thanks

Milkyweed: Thanks, and here's the next chapter for you

Bon: Well, as you can see, you were right. Personally, though, I don't think it was that hard to predict.

G.D. Jade: Don't know what force caused you to think this is interesting, though I think I criticize myself a little too much, but thanks either way

To think, within the first day, I've already gotten four reviews. Compared to my other pen name (which I refuse to give out, cuz u don't need to know it) that's a lot. Thanks to you all. Toodles!