Hellooooo! Hope everyone's week is going well and all that.
I'm not VERY hyped about this chapter, but it was kind of important for me. You'll see why! And I really am glad you guys are enjoying the breather, because the pace is going to be a bit slower in the story right now. I know I resolved the main tension, but a lot of side plot lines and stories have to be resolved.
ALSO everyone's reaction to Sarah is my FAVOURITE. She's an icon and she deserves it.
LASTLY THANK U TO JUNIEYES WHO I HAVEN'T THANKED FOR A FEW CHAPTERS BUT IS AMAZING WE STAN.
Advanced Rune Translation by Yuri Blishen
March brought spring with it, and a proximity to the upcoming exams. It was still too distant a reality – particularly with Easter still on its way. Sirius and June's time together was somewhat limited, what with class and coming exams – but they persevered. Sirius seemed to think actively slacking off was the best and most sensible way to go, but June was far more diligent.
And even if June could say nothing else, she could say that apart from a few glares from Sirius' fanclub, they had given up on trying to sabotage anything. She suspected they'd stopped because Sirius had put the other boys to the task, because some of the girls had been sporting things like antlers in the middle of corridors.
Apart from that, June was alright. She was fine, to her surprise as well as everyone else's. She wasn't anyone's problem right now – that was Mary.
June had become aware that whatever was between the Gryffindor sixth years (plus Sarah) wasn't a bad combination of camaraderie and romantic tension. But Mary did put a bit of a spanner in the works.
Sarah wasn't the one who was awkward, however. Sarah and June spent a lot of time together outside of the Gryffindors, even when June had Sirius to think about and find time for. They were fine, and Sarah's interactions with Mary really weren't affected by their previous association. Marlene, on the other hand, seemed to have been avoiding Mary like the plague.
"I really don't know what I did wrong," Mary fretted. June was listening, and so was Lily, but they didn't know what to say anymore. They'd heard some version of this conversation from Mary over and over again over the last week and a half. "Why would she take such an offense to me snogging Sarah Williams?"
June looked at Lily, who instantly tried not to meet her eye. People really were oblivious, weren't they?
"Mary," said Lily slowly, shutting her Rune Dictionary. "You can't think of any reason why she would have been a little blindsided by the fact?"
"A little," said Mary. "But you know – I never took Marlene as someone who might be blindsided by her friend being a lesbian. Do you think she's homophobic?"
Lily snorted, and violently turned it into a cough.
"No," said June. "Of all things, I think you can safely rule out homophobia."
"Then what is it?"
"I really think you ought to speak with her about it," said Lily, her voice firm. "Don't come to us by proxy."
Mary pretended to consider it, and then bent her head again to her essay. June looked outside the window of the library – March was inching forward, even if she didn't always want it to. She wanted more time with Sirius. She was not looking forward to the Easter holiday where she had to go home, even though some part of her was relieved her mother hadn't forgotten about her enough to not invite her to Cousin Margaret's engagement.
Mary sighed a few minutes into their study session. She slammed her books shut. "I can't concentrate," she murmured. "Lily, you coming?"
"I think I'll stay," said Lily. "Take your time. Sort yourself out."
Mary looked forlorn, but she didn't contradict Lily. She wandered off, and Lily turned to June. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just need some time off from them."
"I get it," said June, despite being nervous about being alone with Lily. "But I was about to head out – I have to go meet Hagrid. I haven't in a while, and I promised him I will."
Lily twirled a lock of her hair nervously. "Can I come? I just… I can't be around Marlene and Mary right now."
June hesitated, but Lily looked so earnest. "Alright," she found herself saying. She closed her Advanced Rune Translation.
They both packed up their things, and took to the Hogwarts grounds. June knew a few short cuts, and Lily giggled when she offered her a chivalrous hand to help her up on a set of stairs. They reached the Great Hall, picked their robes and went onwards. They were silent for a while as June contemplated the shape of clouds, and then Lily said:
"June… can I ask you something?"
June, who had been thinking of some hours she had spent with Sirius near the lake was brought firmly to the world with a thump. She looked at Lily inquiringly.
Lily took a breath. "When you… started liking Sirius. How did you know you did?"
"What do you mean?" asked June.
"Did you… have qualms? Because he was so cruel to you in your first few years? Or because he's an arrogant toerag?"
June suppressed a smile. "What's up, Lily?"
She glared at June. "You know what's up," she said. "I think everyone does but him."
"Ah, you can't blame him for that," said June generously. "He has had five years of you saying no. He's just being careful."
Lily cursed under her breath. "But how, June? How did you know?"
June's eyes fluttered upwards as she thought about it. "Well…" she said. "I don't know what to tell you. He apologised for what he did. He did… better. I felt like my heart was trying to jump out of its throat whenever I was around him, which is a helpful indicator of that sort of thing. I also… I don't know, Lily. I feel like he pays attention to me. As much as I pay attention to others and the world."
Lily was quiet, more quiet than she had been expecting her to be.
"And what if he isn't getting the hint?" she asked.
June laughed. "I really wouldn't know what to do there, considering I would have hidden out in North Tower if it wasn't for Sirius jumping me."
Lily laughed. "Do I have it in me to jump James Potter?"
"Of course you do," said June. "Let me tell you in no uncertain terms that he won't do it."
"He won't?" she asked, surprised.
"He will not," said June. "It isn't a matter of pride, Lily, he's just not sure where he stands with you – no matter how close you get. He's going to be too much of a gentleman even as you take your top off."
Lily shoved her with her shoulder. "You sound like Marlene."
"The bitch is rubbing off on me," she sighed. "Here we are."
Hagrid's chimney was smoking, despite the spring heat. Then again, it wasn't as if the chill was gone completely. June might have knocked on the door and entered, but Lily froze.
June turned to face her. "What's the matter?" she asked.
Lily swore under her breath. "June, Severus is lurking somewhere over there, do you mind if I deal with him?"
"Um," said June. "Not at all…"
Lily didn't wait for her permission. She strode off purposefully into the thicket of trees near Hagrid's hut. June spotted the swish of a black cloak. She contemplated what to do next – because Lily hadn't made it clear that she needed back up. Then, she heard pleading, and Lily's voice sounded firm about something she couldn't make out. It wasn't as if June needed a lot to connect the dots.
This wasn't a new story. Everyone had known what had happened between them. Everyone had seen it coming a mile away.
June didn't know if she should interfere or not, but eventually she heard Lily pleading in turn. This, June decided, was as good a time as any to interfere.
"… You cannot keep bothering me this way, while I'm with my friends –"
"Your friends –"
"Lily?" said June.
"Your friends, is it?" snapped Severus, his lip curling.
"Don't you dare say anything about June," said Lily. "Calling me mudblood once was bad enough, Snape, you can't do it to others in my life. I won't allow it."
"You're not like one of them, Lily," said Severus.
Lily went white.
The truly awful thing was that he probably believed this was the height of praise.
"That's enough," said June quietly. She lifted her wand and pointed it to Severus. "Lily may have some qualms about hexing you into tomorrow, but I assure you, I have none. And don't reach out for your wand, I will cast before you can."
Severus looked at her with so much contempt, she might have fallen apart there and then. Something about her must have been Gryffindor, however, because she did not fall apart.
He looked at Lily, and June almost thought he wouldn't say anything. Almost. "Good to see you picked him. Him and his friends."
June hoped Lily had picked up on the implied threat, because Lily did not really react to it.
"What I do is none of your business," said Lily, with more confidence than June was feeling. "And June wasn't actually his friend, but you'd only know that if you paid attention to people other than your death eater buddies, or used fewer slurs on your friends."
Snape seemed to be out of excuses and threats, because all he really did was stare at Lily in a way that June really didn't understand. Distantly, they heard the barks of a five month old Fang. He snapped out of his thoughts instantly, and with one last dark look at June, he trounced off to the castle. June lowered her wand slowly.
She finally had the chance to see Lily's face, to check what she might have been thinking or feeling. Lily looked drained of energy, at best, and distraught, at worst.
"Sorry about that," she sniffed.
"S'alright," muttered June, stowing her wand away. "Us muggleborns have to stick together, right?"
Lily rubbed the tip of her nose a little and laughed. "I feel like I'm losing everyone from my childhood. Even my sister refuses to speak to me."
June glanced upwards. "I know what you mean. My father and I haven't spoken since I was eleven, did you know?"
"No," said Lily, horrified. "That's awful."
"Sucks about your sister and your best friend, Lily."
She shrugged her shoulders. "I hate this war. I don't like reading about which of us died in the morning, and I don't like what it does to our friends. He wasn't always like this, you know?"
"It's not your job to bring people like Severus Snape around to seeing people like us as human," June cut in.
"I know – but it's not that simple," said Lily. "You know we can't win them over by battle alone."
"I know," said June. "The important thing isn't that we have to teach them, but that we have to amplify the compassion that they already have. I'm not saying Severus Snape doesn't have a kind bone in his body – he's just learned not to get it in the way of his bitterness."
Lily sniffed again. "I've never heard you speak like this."
"I've had a lifetime of trying to convince my parents I'm human, not a witch," she sighed. "Trying to convince them that people who are not white are humans. You can only work with material that is already there – if they can stand to see others suffer, you ask them why. If they can't, you have to make them uncomfortable. Beyond that, there's little you can do."
Lily gave her a very watery smile.
"Come on," said June gently. "Hagrid would have made rock cakes. Do me a favour, and don't eat any – unless you want dentures or something."
Lily burst into a short laugh. "Okay. Thanks June."
"Muggleborns stick together," said June with a cheesy thumbs up. "Besides, we're the last two sane people left in this group."
"We are?" asked Lily.
"Mary just asked us if we thought Marlene was homophobic," said June with a roll of her eyes. "I dunno what you count as sane, but…"
Lily laughed in earnest this time. "They're really blind, aren't they?"
"Like bats," nodded June. "Then again, I don't have a leg to stand on. Come."
So I'm back with a PLOTPOINT, but also I figured I'd give June some time with Lily. This was a dynamic I didn't have a lot of space for in this story, since the focus was so so so much on June and Sirius, and June was always so nervous about Lily as a person - but it's a dynamic I really enjoyed from the original. I dunno if you guys remember this from My Dear Fellow, but Lily had a really big soft spot for June. I've mostly carried it forward in this one, but because June gets more nervous around Lily I haven't been able to do as many one on one interactions. It just never felt as organic as it did now, since they are both muggleborns and this was, like, a better conversation between muggleborns than with anyone else in the cast.
I have more thoughts on how I have done muggleborns in this story, but I will explain those after... the next chapter. Which is honestly my favourite one. Not to hype you guys or anything.
Anyway I love reviews!
