Chapter Seven: Apologies
Almost two months had passed since the beginning of school. It was the day before Halloween, and on that Saturday, almost everyone from third year and above was going to go to Hogsmeade. It was the first outing of the year, and everyone was particularly excited, especially about visiting Honeydukes for the candy. Zonko's was also a major spot for the younger students and the ones still young at heart, which meant that the Marauders would likely stop there first.
Lily stuck with her group of friends as they went into Honeydukes. She had been spending more time than usual with them lately, though every time she turned around, she saw Severus. He looked like he wanted to speak with her, but she had nothing to say to him any more. Then there was James. The boy would not leave her alone! She was very close to hexing him to see if that worked. She had noticed that the Marauders hadn't been bothering Severus as much since he had cursed James. She didn't mind talking to Remus. They would have long conversations about their lives. He had even trusted her with his secret, and she was not going to tell a soul.
Idly, she looked at the various flavors of sugar quills. She smiled softly when she noticed that they had a new lemon-flavored one. She thought of Headmaster Dumbledore. He was known to be fond of lemon. She got a cherry and grape one and went to pay for it as her friends were looking at the fudge.
"That'll be four knuts, dear," the woman said as she put the two quills in a bag.
As Lily was getting out her money, Remus came over. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Lily handed the knuts to the woman and took the bag. "Okay," she agreed.
Remus gave her a smile. "James wants to talk to you. He sent me to ask you if you would meet him at Madam Puddifoot's. What is your answer?"
She sighed. She was surprised that James would be willing to meet her there, but she knew that a lot of girls went there with their boyfriends. He was probably hoping that this would make her change her mind about him. "Remus, I don't think I can meet him. He should know by now that my answer is still no."
He gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know that, Lily, but I think he's hoping that if he asks you enough times that you will finally say yes." Even he was getting tired of James asking her; it was annoying. "I'll tell him that you said no again."
"Why didn't he come here and ask me himself?" She knew that James was not shy about these things.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. He knows that we are friends, so he might have thought that might help."
She nodded. "Well, my friends are ready to leave. I have to go."
"Bye, Lily."
"Bye, Remus." She gave him a smile and a slight wave as she went over to where her friends were. The group of four left Honeydukes to walk around Hogsmeade. It was a rather pleasant autumn day. She was wearing bell-bottom jeans, tennis shoes, and a green peasant shirt that brought out the green in her eyes.
"Why didn't you say yes, Lily?" Mary inquired. She had overheard what Remus was saying. "I would go out with James in a heartbeat. He's so groovy!"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, you can go and meet him then. I don't want to be with that arrogant git."
Mary and the other girls shook their heads. Sometimes they did not understand their friend, especially since one of the cutest and most popular boys in Hogwarts was asking her out. "I don't know what is up with you, Lily. You always turn him down. He's very popular, and his friend Sirius is really hot."
Lily laughed. "If you want to go and find James and his friends, then you are more than welcome to."
Mary looked at Julie and Selene. "We'll catch you later, Lils!" The three girls then ran off to go and find the Marauders.
Lily laughed and shook her head. "Bye," she called out after them. She knew that they were going to start thinking that she didn't like boys, but that wasn't the case. She just didn't like arrogant, stuck-up gits.
Glancing from side to side, she decided to just take a walk through Hogsmeade. She remembered the first time she was here. She had never seen a more fascinating place. She had to go into every shop almost and tried to do everything she could while there. Some of the thrill had worn off in three years, but it was still fascinating and so unlike being back at home. She knew that her parents would like to see it. Her sister would hate it, though. She was so uptight about everything, especially since she was dating that Vernon Dursley.
She stopped as she was deciding which way to go. She could go to the left, but that would take her by Madam Puddifoot's, and she did not want to go there. Instead, she went to the right, which led to the Hog's Head. She had never been in there before as she knew that it was a rather shady place, but she figured that no one would bother her. As she walked up to the entrance, she heard a familiar voice.
"Are you sure that you want to go in there, Lily," Severus asked as he stood behind her.
She turned around and looked at him. "Oh. It's you." She tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear. "Students are allowed to go in there," she spat out.
He had not come for a fight, but he felt insulted. "I know that," he hissed. "You can go in there for all I care."
"Fine," Lily said. She opened the door and stepped inside. The place was dark and dirty. She slightly gasped as she saw a cockroach scurry across the floor away from the light that filtered in from where she was holding the door open.
"Are you going to just stand there, Missy, or come in?" questioned the barman.
She noticed that the barman looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place him. "Y-yes, Sir. I am." She entered and went over and took a seat in the corner.
"Want something to drink or eat?" the barman asked as he cleaned a dirty glass with a dirty towel.
She made a slight face. "No. Thank you." He noticed his shrug as he went back to work. Honestly, she was tempted to make a run for it, but she was a Gryffindor. It wasn't in her nature to just turn around and bolt like some scaredy-cat. A sigh fell from her lips when Severus sat down across from her. "What do you want?"
His eyes narrowed slightly. He had been trying to get her alone for months so he could ask forgiveness. "You are making it hard for me to apologize," he said in a low tone.
She blinked. "Apologize?"
"Yes! I've been trying to talk to you for a couple of months now. You continued to avoid me. I want to say that I'm sorry for calling you…a Mudblood." He whispered that name as he didn't want anyone around here hearing it. It wasn't very safe here, even in the daytime, for a Muggle-born witch.
She was just so surprised. She had never expected an apology from him. It wasn't that she didn't think that he was capable of it, but she didn't think his pride would let him. "I'm sorry for calling you Snivellus. I was so angry when you said that to me. I never thought that you would do that." Her green eyes stared into his dark ones. She could see that he was being genuine.
He slightly nodded. "I know you didn't. I was angry at Potter, and I took it out on you when you tried to help me, and I do apologize. I should not have done that to you." He hesitantly reached his hand out and briefly brushed his long fingers against her hand before quickly pulling away. "I missed your friendship," he admitted. It was clear that saying such things was extremely difficult for him.
She smiled. "I've missed yours too. I want to be friends with you, Severus." She boldly reached out and took his hand into hers. She felt what anger that she did have for him melt away. She still wasn't overly pleased with what he had done to James, but she could live with that. James had done many horrible things to Severus, not that she condoned vengeance as a rule. "How was your summer?" She had not had a conversation with him since June, and she was curious. "How did you do on the O.W.L.s?"
He didn't exactly want to talk about his summer. "My summer was rather dull and boring. I stayed in my room and read a lot." He was also hiding from his father, not that he was going to say that. "As for my O.W.L.s, I got an O in most of them. I even managed to barely scrap by with an O in Charms. Thanks to your help with that silly wand work."
She smiled. "Congratulations. I managed to get an O on my Potions one because of your help." It was nice talking to him again.
"How was your summer?"
"Dreadful." She laughed. "Well, I guess it wasn't quite that bad. My parents are really nice. It's just my sister. She keeps on calling me a freak. Luckily, she spent a lot of time with her boyfriend when I was there, so I rarely saw her."
He nodded. If everything what Lily said about her sister's behavior was true, then he would hate to meet her. His head then snapped around when he heard the door open. It was some fellow Slytherins. "Get down," he hissed at Lily. He couldn't let them see him with her, especially since he heard that Nott had joined the Dark Lord's side.
"Snape, we've been wondering where you were," Nott said as he sat down at the table. His foot kicked Lily's leg by accident, but he didn't think anything of it. He glanced nervously around. "I've been speaking with You-Know-Who. He's looking for some new people. Interested?"
Severus shook his head. "Not particularly."
Nott's eyes narrowed. "Are you still soft, Snape? Going to let Potter and his gang run your life?"
Severus' eyes flared in silent rage. "I am not soft, and I took care of Potter. He was in the hospital wing for a week from what I did to him."
Jugson laughed. "We heard about that. Nice work."
Severus smirked. He would gladly curse Potter again, if he had the chance. "Thank you. It was a good spell to use," he admitted.
"That is why…" Nott started to say when he felt something hit his leg. "What the bloody hell?"
Severus quickly ducked his head under the table. He saw that Lily was about to scream because of a large rat by her foot. His hand shot out, and he covered her mouth and pulled her back against his legs. "It's just a rat," he said as the rat scurried from under the table and ran off.
Nott and his comrades did not seem too thrilled with the rat. "We're going to go, but we will talk to you later." They turned around and left.
Severus waited for them to be gone before he let Lily's mouth go. "You can get up now."
Lily crawled out from under the table and brushed herself off. "It's filthy under there," she said as she brushed off the dirt that had gotten on her pants.
He gave a slight nod. This place was disgusting. "We should leave before anyone else comes in and sees us." He stood up and looked at her. "We can talk another time, Lily." A slight smile pursed his lips before he turned and left quickly.
She smiled back. "Okay." She stood there for a moment after he left before she went out. She was glad that they were friends again. Maybe he hadn't changed as much as she thought, but she hoped that they could be as close as they were before. She remembered the brief kiss they had shared before the O.W.L.s, and she wondered if they would kiss again. She hoped so. These thoughts continued running through her mind as she went to find her friends again. Everything would work out. She had hope for it.
