Ely awoke the next morning with two pairs of eyes staring at her. She looked at them with a raised eyebrow and they smiled at her before looking around for Matt.

"Morning Ely, we were waiting for you to go have breakfast. Matt had to go do prefect stuff, but he said he'll meet up with us later." Lily explained as Ely sat up.

"After that McGonagall said you have to go talk to the headmaster." Bella added. They waited as she got ready in ten minutes, and made their way out of Gryffindor tower.

Everyone stared as the girls made their way towards the Great Hall. Bella and Lily were on the defensive as they walked. Ely kept eyes casted downward as she walked, and she noticed when all the students just stopped talking when they entered. Lily went towards Gryffindor table and Bella and Ely went to sit at the end of the Slytherin table.

There was a seven person gap between Ely and everyone else in Slytherin. Some looked at her with fear; others looked at her with pure hatred. She noticed that half of those that had tried to duel her in the common room were not seated at the table, while the others were sporting some minor bruises and injuries. Bella chuckled as she realized that none of them would meet her gaze.

"What a bunch of cowards. No one of them even have the courage to say anything." Bella spat viciously.

"Bella, they're not worth it. The important thing is that I didn't get hurt." Ely soothed, to which Bella nodded.

They were eating in silence when Andromeda walked in and sat next to them. Both of them looked at her curiously and she shrugged.

"What? I can't sit next to you two because you single handedly defeated about twenty five Slytherins?" Andromeda asked and Ely shrugged.

"In case you haven't noticed, Bella and I are the exiles of Slytherin…"

"Well maybe I would like to be an exile as well? You two are much easier to get along with than most of those in my year anyways."

The discussion was dropped and they continued eating as before. Soon enough everyone started slowly filing out to go to class.

"I'll see you in a bit, okay?" Ely reassured Bella as they hugged.

"Don't get into any more trouble." Andromeda commented as her and Ely said their farewells, and with that Ely headed towards the Headmaster's office.

Matt was just getting out of the Headmaster's office when Ely walked in. He gave her a polite smile and kissed her cheek before heading off to his class. Dumbledore asked her to sit.

"Miss Taylor, almost every Slytherin that was found in the common room has said that you were the reason they were looking for their wands and for their injuries..." Dumbledore trailed off as she opened her mouth to interject.

"Headmaster, they came to attack me. They had surrounded me and if I hadn't done that I would probably be in St. Mungos right now fighting for my life. I was very well aware dark spells were going to be thrown at me, so I did nothing but deflect them back at them."

"That is what I had concluded, but why?"

"I am friends with Lily and Remus, both which are not purebloods and in Gryffindor. Mr. Malfoy had also asked me to go to the winter dance with him, but Matthew had asked me first, so that could also be another reason why my house dislikes me so much."

Dumbledore nodded before chuckling. "Ah the problems of being a teenager, the bittersweet years. Of course, we both know that you are past dealing with these issues like a normal witch of your year would."

"Headmaster, I am a second year in body, but of mind I am someone that has seen the harsh consequences of war. Whatever happens in these walls are not of my concern except for a handful. This kind of drama is beneath me."

While all this was going on, Severus was still not having the best of luck.

Severus had to sleep with one eye open the whole time they were in the Great Hall. He bit his tongue when they harshly talked about Ely, and almost blew a fuse from what they said about Lily. He knew he messed up when he completely ignored her, but at the time he thought it was better to side with the house than with Ely.

Boy was he wrong.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned very much applied to him in his dilemma. Lily was refusing to speak with him again, and he was once again alone. He felt miserable, and stupid to be perfect honest. He had a hunch of what the Slytherins had planned, but said nothing to warn Ely, even though he knew that she was being attacked on a regular basis. He hadn't known she had such capabilities. If he had known that, he probably would have stayed on her side. It is always best to side with the most powerful, and quite frankly Ely was it. Even some of the boys were afraid what she did to them.

He walked into class by himself, taking his seat as usual, and leaving a seat for Lily. Bella walked in and sat in her usual seat, although he was curious as to why Ely wasn't with her. His jaw dropped however when Lily walked in, completely ignoring him, and went to sit next to Bella. Class started and he was worrying where Ely was. His nerves heightened with every passing minute, quickly glancing towards Bella and Lily before looking at the board again. His notes were completely forgotten as he wondered where in the world Ely was.

His worried ceased when Ely walked in. She smiled at the Professor while handing him a note, before looking at the class for an empty seat. She sighed before resigning to sit next to him. He tried to get her attention but instead she ignored him.

It went like this through the rest of the class. Even the Professor had to warn Severus to stop, which just made him even more upset. Once class was over, Lily, Bella, and Ely all pointedly ignored him as they walked out together talking about the lesson. He failed to see what it was that he had done to deserve this kind of treatment.

He cornered Lily while she on her way back to Gryffindor tower. She tried to walk past him but it was useless.

"Why don't you go off with your pure blood, Malfoy loving friends?" She spat as she tried again to get past him. It temporarily stunned him but he quickly recovered.

"What are you talking about Lily? My friends are you and Elanora…" Lily froze when he said this and he continued, "Sometimes I count Isabella. The Slytherins are my housemates. I'm only around them when I need to be."

"Well you obviously chose your housemates over us when you refused to help Ely. I can't believe you Severus! After what she's done for you, you've thrown it back in her face and mine."

"What do you mean everything she's done for me? She hasn't done anything for me!"

"Oh, you don't think so?" Lily tapped her foot as she crossed her arms, "Do you even remember the last time Potter bothered you?"

"Yes he did, it was yesterday actually."

"But he didn't do much did he?"

"Not as bad as he normally does but what is…."

"My point is that Remus talked to Potter about leaving you alone. Remus knows how much it upsets Ely when you are getting picked on, so she asked Remus to talk to them for her, and he did. Remus stops him before he can actually do any real harm anymore."

Severus thought about this for a while. He was so absorbed in processing what it was that he didn't even notice when Lily turned on her heel and left. Yes, Potter and Black were still being a nuisance to him with their little jinxes, but Lily was right in that they haven't been that severe as they used to be. He had figured that maybe it was because they had gotten tired of bullying him. Of course, he had once again underestimated Ely's ability to be manipulative and resourceful. He smirked at how Slytherin she really was.

"Why does this always happen to me?" He mumbled as he made he turned around. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he figured it out eventually.