A/N: Hope everyone is continuing to stay well and safe during these uncertain times. Thanks to everyone for their support as I update my works here.

Chapter 13: To Tell The Truth

Lily averted her eyes from the glaring ones at them in the classroom. Severus put his hand on her back. She turned to him. He smiled at her. She smiled back. She felt her muscles lose a bit of tension. She sat down beside Elizabeth. Severus ignored the stares and went to sit beside Rosier.

"What'd they say? You gonna be in trouble?" Rosier asked him.

Severus sighed to himself. "Nothing. They just asked questions."

"So you didn't get in trouble?"

"Not at this time, no."

Lily got out her book, pretending that no one was looking in her direction or whispering about her and pointing.

"So?" Elizabeth asked.

"What?" Lily turned to her.

"Everything okay? You aren't in trouble, are you?"

"No."

"Is he in trouble?"

"You mean Severus?"

"Duh."

"No."

"He's not?" Elizabeth looked surprised.

Lily looked taken aback. "No, course not. He didn't do anything wrong. Why would he be in trouble?"

"Uh, he went into our dorm with you and slept with you and got you pregnant. How's that not doing anything wrong?"

"I took him to our dorm, slept with him and let him get me pregnant, even if that wasn't our intention-to have a baby, that is. It's no more his fault than mine."

"He's a Slytherin. They've always got ulterior motives. The death eater wannabe sleeping with your kind."

Lily glared at her. "My kind, Beth?"

"You know what people like him think of people like you. He called you that word."

"I'm not stupid." She snapped. "I know what he said. Things changed."

"Are you sure about that? He's talking to Rosier, isn't he?"

"I didn't know he wasn't allowed to talk to his own roommates. Seems like a difficult thing to do, isn't it?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak.

"Morning, everyone. Get out your wand and let's get started." The professor spoke up.

Lily did her work and managed to go through the motions of the afternoon. Few people spoke to her, except to offer a pat on the shoulder and offer sympathy. As she walked back to her dorms that evening after dinner, she was stopped by fellow Gryffindor, Veronica.

"So, finally went to class today, huh?"

'"I figured I would get in trouble if I didn't."

"Why? McGonagall snap at you for being in bed?"

"No, but she wanted us to go back to class so I did."

Veronica smirked. "Oh, really? They wanted you to go so you did, huh?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. What's your point?" She started up the stairs to the tower.

"It wasn't your boyfriend who talked you into going, huh?"

Lily stopped abruptly. "What?"

"You came in with your boyfriend, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Veronica turned to Lily from the top of the stairs. "You. You came into class with that boyfriend of yours. Don't deny it. You said you were dating now."

"I won't then."

"So he convinced you to go to class?"

"No, but so what if he did? Why is it any concern to you?"

Veronica huffed. "You are ruining things."

"Ruining what?"

"He's a Slytherin, Lily. A Slytherin! You know how they end up."

"Isn't that a self-fulfilling prophecy that they are all worthless and will end up you-know-who's followers?"

"No, it's the fact of it. They end up that way. They're the ones who go bad."

"That's not true! People in other houses aren't always better people."

She scoffed at Lily as Lily arrived at the portrait next to her. "Um, yeah, Lily, they are."

"No, they aren't. Look at our house."

"Who do you think is bad?"

"Peter for one."

Veronica rolled her eyes as she went through the portrait hole. Lily followed. "You aren't still blaming him for you cheating on James, are you?"

Lily glared daggers at Veronica. "It's not cheating when you aren't able to control your actions."

"Love potion, right? Still going for that story?"

"Yes." She said quickly. "I've already told you. It was a lust potion. Maybe I keep saying it because it's true. Ever think of that?"

"Fine. Whatever. I think you're making a big mistake though. You really ought to go back to James. He's not a bad person, you know."

"If you want him, you can have him."

Lily left Veronica in the common room to go up to the dorms. She flopped on her bed and looked at the ceiling. She grabbed her pillow and huffed heavily into it.

Later that evening, she twisted her wand in her fingers, moving it back and forth on her bed. Her mind was clouded by a hollow emptiness and her throat clenched in her grief. She heard Elizabeth laughing with Mary as she played with Mary's hair.

She lost her grip on her wand and it rolled to the side. She attempted to grab it, but missed. It rolled off her bed. Lily sighed as she pulled herself to her knees and crawled to bed's edge. She could not see the wand. Huffing, she got to her feet and kneeled down by the bed. She lifted the bed's skirt and looked under the bed. She saw her wand and grabbed for it. With a glance, she noticed something missing. In a panic, she moved around the few items under the bed and gasped at the reality of what was missing. She quickly removed herself under the bed and looked under everyone else's. She dove under each of the other four beds and shoved things around at a frantic pace.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Mary asked.

"My box-my box is missing. It was under my bed. It's missing."

"What box?"

"My blue one. About a foot tall and three feet wide. It's gone. It was under my bed, but it's not there."

"Unless it was charmed to move, it didn't get up and walk away." Melody said.

"It wasn't charmed to move, but it had lock charms on it. It had important things, private things in it."

"I'm sure it's there." Melody said.

"No. I looked. It's gone." As she removed herself from under Mary's bed, she banged her head at the edge of the bedpost. "Ouch." She rubbed her head and grumbled softly to herself. "It's not under any of yours either."

"Well, we don't want your box, Lily." Elizabeth stated, combing Mary's hair again.

"Well, it's gone. I didn't move it. I haven't touched it."

"Maybe your boyfriend has it."

Lily looked daggers at Karen. "No. He's not been up here. He's not even aware of it."

Karen rolled her eyes. "Seems like a likely thief to me."

Lily scoffed. "And Leopold wouldn't be, right?"

"No. He's a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin."

"So? Look at Peter. Scum at its finest."

"Peter?" Mary asked.

"Pettigrew."

"That's not nice." Beth snapped. "He's a little odd, but not scum."

"Oh, yeah. You'll find out in a couple days how nice he is." Lily looked through her trunk. "Dammit." She slammed the trunk's lid down. "If someone took that box-I swear."

"Why would someone want your silly box?"

"Because it has-" Lily gasped.

"What?" Mary asked. "Has what?"

"No, that's not possible. They couldn't have been up here."

"Who?"

"Peter? Sirius? Even James or Remus, or, or, anyone."

"No one let them up here." Karen said.

Melody looked away. Lily saw.

"Are you sure no one let anyone up here?"

"Well," Melody started. "Even if we did, they wouldn't touch your stuff."

Lily glared at Melody. "You let one of them up here? Didn't you?"

"Just Sirius."

Lily huffed in frustration, turned on her heel for the door. She yanked the door open and slammed it shut, practically running down the stairs. She searched the common room for any sign of a Marauder, but they were not there. She went up to the boys' dorm and began to pound on their door. James answered.

"Lily-um, what?"

"Where's Sirius?"

"In here, but"

Lily stormed into the room, pulling her wand out.

"Hey, hey, easy, Lily" James started, coming after her.

Lily rounded on Sirius. He jumped in surprise when he saw her.

"Give it!" She held out her hand.

"What?"

"You know what? Give it back!"

Sirius attempted to not smirk. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't play dumb."

"No claiming to be dumber than me? Isn't that what you are supposed to say? That I am better at it than you."

"Why would I say that? The only idiot here besides Pettigrew is you, so give it back-NOW!"

Peter snickered from his bed. Lily turned on him, pointing her wand. He cowered. She stopped herself short of a hex.

"If I didn't think I could get in more trouble, I would curse you right here, right now, you stupid, sick son-of-a-bitch! Nothing would give me more pleasure!"

Remus's eyes grew wide at that statement, shock still plastered on his face from her display.

"More pleasure than when you let Snivellus's little dick inside of you I'm sure." Sirius sneered.

Lily rounded her wand back at Sirius, who gulped. "You should know what his dick looks like considering how frequently you enjoyed taking his pants off. Bet it's bigger than yours." She pushed her wand into his cheek and he winced. "And no, I don't want to find out."

Remus blinked rapidly and looked between the group. James just stood at the open door holding his wand down with wide eyes.

Lily ignored them and glared into Sirius's dark eyes. "Now, give me that box back now!"

"Why would I have it?"

"Melody told me she brought you up to the room and you are the only one who would take it so give it back to me! It's called stealing if you take something personal of mine without my permission, Black! And I don't give you permission to take my blue treasure box so you best hand it over and I won't get you in more trouble for stealing!"

"Finders Keepers." He whispered.

"Not when it's in myroom under my bed with my name on it! Give it!"

Sirius leaned into her ear. "Don't have it. Already given away."

"Then you best get it back!" She snapped in a loud whisper.

"Gave it to Dumbledore. You hid evidence in there and he needed to look at it."

Lily raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Why would you do that? Those are my personal items! They have nothing to do with this. I swear, if you are ever in our dorm again and you so much as even think about laying a hand on any of my items, you will regret the day you were born."

"I can't help it if girls like getting laid with me."

Lily knew she looked repulsed. She huffed in disgust and left the room, glaring back at Peter. "You best watch your back, Pettigrew. Severus and I-we are a lot smarter and faster than you are." She slammed their door and went back to her dorm.

"I can't believe you-letting him in!" She shouted at Melody.

"He's cute and we've been going out."

"And you slept with the two-timing shithead!"

"Hey!"

"He told me. I'm not an idiot! You let him in here to fuck him and he stole my box in the process so thanks, thanks a lot! I don't know what he did with it or if he messed up anything! It had some of my old potions in there! They may think I did this! You may have just ruined my life for good!"

"You did that yourself by sleeping with Severus, Lily. You got pregnant by him so how dare you criticize Melody!"

"I was under a potion at the time. We both were!" Lily put up her hands. "You know what? I don't want to hear it-I don't-I'm done." She went into the bathroom, conjured up a pillow and screamed into it. She slid down the door until she was seated on the floor. Tears blurred her vision and she sniffed.

She closed her eyes and thought of somewhere safe. She saw her mother baking bread in the oven and could smell her famous coffee cakes. The round oak table with her mother's hand sewn white lace tablecloth on it was vivid in her mind with a steaming hot roast and potatoes in the middle waiting to be eaten. She saw her mother's long brown hair pinned back with her lacy apron on. She looked a lot like Petunia without the horse shaped face. Lily had taken her father's red hair. Her green eyes came from her grandmother. She could smell the pipe tobacco under her nose as she remembered her father.

Lily saw the old park up the road with the creaking swings and the rush of the water flowing in the river nearby. She thought of her prior summers and her mind came to Severus. She sighed to herself. Being a witch was far more complicated than she ever thought it would be. Ever since she had stepped off the train that first day at age eleven, nothing had been what it seemed. Some things were so wonderful about this world and other things were a nightmare. Right now she felt like she was living in her own personal hellhole. The reality of leaving for good in just four months made her tough it out. She was Gryffindor. She was brave. She could get through this.

An idea suddenly hit her. Why didn't she think of it before? She knew how to get the truth, even if only for their own sake. She banished the pillow and tore out of the dorms and raced down the Slytherin dorms.

"Get lost, Gryffindor?" A voice sneered as she reached the entrance. She turned and scoffed.

"Is Severus in there?"

"Oh, that's right? You're the mudblood he knocked up."

She curled her lip up and rolled her eyes. "Get me Severus, fifth year." She taunted.

He sneered again before going into the dorm.

Severus was in the back doing some homework. "Yo, Severus."

He glanced up.

"Your mudblood girlfriend is outside lookin' for ya!"

Others in the room had turned to stare at him. "We don't use that word." Severus snapped at him as he shut his book and shoved into his bag.

"That's what she is, Snape."

"I SAID, we don't use that word!" Severus glared daggers into the fifth-year student. He bumped into the boy with his shoulder as he passed him. He exited the dorms to find Lily standing there. "What're you doing down here?"

"I have a plan, even if just for us to get to the truth."

"Oh?"

"It'll take a month if we tried ourselves, but we can steal some from Slughorn. It only takes three drops after all. Then we can put it back. Slughorn won't know."

Severus's mouth gaped a little. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Sirius stole my box with a mix of old potions I've made. He turned it into Dumbledore or so he claims. He could get me in trouble as well for experimenting. I need the truth and if the ministry won't do it, then I will. You in?"

Severus grinned, "Of course. You know I want revenge for all this."

A week later

Lily headed down to the common room behind Anna, another Gryffindor her age who was in a separate dorm. Lily had been thankful for Anna since the incident started. She was one of the only people not judging her for what happened. In fact, Anna had shocked her by saying that if he had not been pulled into the Death Eaters by his housemates, she had figured that Lily would have ended up in a relationship with Severus eventually. While it had shocked her to hear that, she had been happy to hear it as well. Since then, she had spent more time around Anna.

As she exited through the portrait, she saw McGonagall ascending the steps.

"Ms. Evans?"

Lily looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"At four this evening we will discuss our decisions on the matter at hand."

Lily gulped. "Four?"

"Yes, this evening. You must be there at four on the dot by the Headmaster's office entrance, understand?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Today at four by the stone entrance."

McGonagall turned at the stairs of the tower and headed down a short hallway. Lily swallowed hard, making her throat hurt a little.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Anna reassured her.

Lily sighed and headed down the stairs to class.

As Severus entered the common room that morning, he saw Slughorn standing there.

"Mr. Snape, just the person I was looking for."

Severus quietly cleared his throat and clicked his tongue. "Looking for me?"

"Yes. We have made our decisions. At four this evening. Be by the entrance to the Headmaster's office then."

Severus swallowed hard. "Yes, sir. I will. Be there at four, that is."

"Good. Off to class then."

Severus nodded and exited the room. He took a deep breath, his inner muscles twitching slightly. He saw Lily sitting with Anna in the back of the room when he entered the classroom. He saw James Potter sitting with another Gryffindor. Severus huffed and took his seat beside Avery.

2:30 PM-Potions Class

"The directions to start are on the board and the rest are in your book."

Lily started to crush her seeds. Severus worked on slicing the petals for the potion. He scratched out some things in his textbook.

"Three stirs counterclockwise." He spoke quietly to himself. He stirred and then added the crushed seeds.

As he looked at his former scratches in his book, he made a note on the seeds above his own marks. He peered over at Lily and was suddenly sprayed with something glutinous and slimy that smelled like formaldehyde. He heard some gasps and wiped whatever it was from his eyes. He was handed a towel.

"Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous." Slughorn spoke.

Severus grumbled as he wiped off his face. He realized it was newt guts and they were all over his robes and hair as well.

"Your potion is almost complete as it is. I'll give you full credit since it appears to have been done correctly up to this point."

Lily heard a splat as she finished her potion and heard some gasps. She looked up thinking someone's potion exploded and saw Severus covered in something green and yellow. To her disgust, she realized it was the newt guts all over him. She knew he was not careless and her stomach lurched. She did not have a good feeling about this. Slughorn hurried over with a towel. She turned back to her potion, her eyes wondering from her potion to the others in the room. She saw some people snickering here and there, aggravating her.
She bottled her potion and looked back over at Severus.

"Why don't you go wash up?" Slughorn suggested.

Severus nodded and bottled his potion as Lily put her potion on Slughorn's desk. She cleaned up her area as Severus cleaned up his.
Lily went to Slughorn's desk. "Is it alright if I go ahead and leave?"

Slughorn smiled at her. "Sure. Great job on your potion. It looks perfect."

"Thanks." She left the room as Severus gathered his belongings.

Severus found Lily out in the hallway. "What're you doing?"

"Seeing if you are okay."

"I'm fine. I just need to shower and change clothes."

"Plus, I wanted to leave. I think someone did that on purpose."

"Stating the obvious, huh?"

Lily rolled her eyes as she walked with him. "Don't be a jerk. I'm just tired of all this."

"I'm not being a jerk. It's just obvious. People are mad at me over this."

"They aren't exactly cutting me much slack either."

"The professors are."

"My dorm mates aren't. My housemates aren't either. I'm the one who supposedly cheated on James Potter. You know him, right? Other girls all over him? Quidditch chaser and star? Head of Gryffindor? That guy? Some of the girls want me in a meat grinder right now for this."

"Unfortunately I do." Severus spoke the password to the Slytherin dorms. Lily entered with him.

"Well, all that matters is what the professors, headmaster and the Minister think about you and they all seem to have a liking to you that they don't have for me." He threw his things down by his bed with a huff. He got in his drawer and pulled out clean clothes. "I'm going to take a shower and see if I can get the guts out of my hair."

Lily sat on Severus's bed, looking through her Charms textbook to get her mind off what was to come. She practiced a few of the charms while Severus showered.
Severus came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later with his hair still damp from the shower. Lily shut her textbook.

"I don't know who exploded the newt guts on you. I'd hex them for you if I knew."

"Don't worry about it. I expected this sort of backlash over this. People will never be content with this, as the Minister called it, scandal. It will last until we graduate. Four months to go."

She heaved a heavy sigh through her nose. "Guess we should head up soon?" Lily's voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

"I'm sure everything will be fine."

Lily nodded, but she could tell by his quivering voice that he was not sure of that statement himself. The only noise came from a clock ticking on the wall.

"You want to practice some defences? I can't just sit here." Lily finally spoke after a minute.

"Sure."

Lily tossed her Charms book on his bed and leapt to her feet, pulling out her wand. Severus pulled out his own wand. Lily threw a hex his direction. He blocked it and threw one back. She blocked it. He smiled at her.

"What?"

"Nothing. You are good."

Lily scoffed. "Are you saying I shouldn't be after seven years in this school?"

"No. You just always amaze me with your talent."

"Are you suggesting you are better?" She half smirked.

"That would be a stupid thing to suggest. It's certainly not true on many levels."

Lily sighed and threw a jinx his way. He was caught off-guard and missed the chance to block. His legs turned stiff and he lost his balance. He fell to the floor. Lily gasped and ran over to him.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were ready." She kneeled to him to undo the jinx.

"People aren't always going to strike when you are ready."

"No, but we are only practicing. My intention isn't to harm you." She looked at him and caught his eyes. Her stomach swarming with butterflies as his obsidian coloured eyes looked back at her.

She watched him reach out and run his fingers through her hair. Her heart began to pound so hard she thought it might burst through her chest. She could feel him gently pulling her closer to him and she did not object.

Severus looked at her eyes and then at her soft, pink lips. He sat up and unintentionally moved her closer. He let go. She leaned into him, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. Their lips touched and he found himself lying down again.

Lily removed her lips from his, smiling. "We need to go."

"Let's not."

"I don't want to find out either."

"We have to go though."

"We do, but I don't want to go."

"We still have to go."

Lily sighed and jumped as the doorknob turned. She scrambled to her feet with Severus. Severus shook his head to shake off the effects of the jinx. The door opened and Rosier and Travers entered.

"Oh, look, the mudblood is here. I don't think you have time to fuck her again, do you?" Travers laughed.

Lily scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. Severus narrowed his eyes and huffed.

"Come on, Sev. We need to go."

She made it to the door with Severus behind her when Mulciber entered the room.

"Don't bother coming in, Avery. The whore's here with Snape."

Lily's blood boiled but turned on her heel and started to leave. Severus, however, was not leaving.

"What'd you call her?" He demanded, his eyes almost slits.

Mulciber looked over at Snape with a sneer.

Rosier snickered. "Ooh. Snape's getting defensive."

"What would you call a girl who has a boyfriend, but fucks someone else instead?" Mulciber asked.

Before Severus could speak, Avery approached the room. He looked at Lily. "Considering how happy you seemed after that night with her, I'd guess she knew her stuff." He walked past Lily. "Too bad she's a mudblood."

Mulciber looked over Lily. "Look at those breasts. Bet she has her pick of the boys here who could use a good fuck." He reached for her breasts and she grabbed his wrist.

"Don't!" She looked Mulciber straight in the eye. "Even think about it."

Severus glared daggers at Mulciber. Lily let go and Mulciber sneered.

"The perfect Gryffindor head of house. They suck at picking them all the time. `Course they'd pick the pretty little slut to be their charge. Makes their image look good."
Without thinking, he advanced on Mulciber, he yanked out his wand, rammed his balled fist and hexed him, knocking him to the ground.

Lily turned back as Severus hexed Mulciber. She watched Mulciber stumble backward and hit the ground. Her eyes got wide and her jaw dropped.

Avery pulled out his wand and Severus yanked out his own. Lily gasped, touching the pocket with her own wand.

"Sev, let's go. We're going to be late. Forget them, they can all go to hell."

Severus glared daggers at Avery and Mulciber before grabbing the door handle and closing the door shut. He walked up the stairs with Lily.

"I can't believe you actually hexed him."

"He deserved it."

"You didn't have to defend me."

"Like I would let someone stand there and insult you that way."

"Well...thanks. He was just being a jackass though."

"He was trying to degrade you."

"I know. Believe me, I know. I'm not worthy to him so he doesn't care. It's you who has to go to bed with them at night."

"You are worth me getting pulverized. It's wrong of them to call you that."

Lily smiled at him. She put her hand on his back as they walked to the gargoyle to enter Dumbledore's office. They made it with two minutes to spare. James, Sirius and Peter were already there.

Lily and Severus ignored them. Five minutes passed before McGonagall and Slughorn arrived and took them up to the office.

The adults spoke to James first. James left the office. Sirius was next. When he came out, he glared at Severus before descending the stairs.

"Pettigrew may join when he's ready." They left the door cracked.

Lily and Severus jumped at the chance. He grabbed Pettigrew and pushed his arms behind his back. With James and Sirius both gone, he did not have a chance. Lily took out a bottle and held his jaw open and squirted three drops of the potion into his mouth. Severus let go and they smirked at him. Visibly shaken, he stumbled to the door.

"Good luck, Peter." Lily chuckled.

Severus and Lily sat outside of the office for about thirty minutes. When Peter emerged, two Ministry officials were leading him down the stairs. They smiled at each other.

"Looks like you won. The plan worked" He said to her. "He is getting his retribution for doing what he did to you. Wonder if Potter was right about him saying the curse?"

Lily nodded. "Feels like raw justice though."

"Best we can do now. Can't fix what's been done."

Dumbledore opened the door. "Ms. Evans? When you are ready."

Lily gulped and got to her feet. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. The door slammed behind her. Even though she expected the door to slam, she jumped. She looked around the room and swallowed hard. She did not like this one bit.