Broken Friendship

Task for Beater 1 (me): write a story based on the Disney classic 'The Fox and the Hound'

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 9 for Puddlemere United.

Word Count without A/N's: 1,019

Prompts:

(word) effervescent

(word) clandestine

(quote) "If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it." –Andy Rooney

This is also written for the Quidditch Pitch and the Drabble Club on Hogwarts Houses Challenges.

Quidditch Pitch Prompt: (dialogue) "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Drabble Club Prompt: (spell) "Stupefy!"

"Tell me about Hogwarts, Severus…"

"She's ordinary, and you're special…"

It was Lily Evans' turn to do the nightly Prefect rounds, and the girl was patrolling the corridors dutifully, looking out for any possible curfew-breakers.

"Oi! Evans!" Lily turned around and to her horror found Simon Nott leading his group of Slytherins.

"You shouldn't be out this late," she managed to say haughtily. "I can take points off."

Nott sneered, taking a few steps toward Lily and drawing his wand. Lily scrambled back, her hand fiddling with her own wand pocket.

"What are you doing?" asked Lily, trying to keep her voice intimidating.

"We've been planning this for ages," began Nott. "Even scaled when the teachers weren't going to be in the hallways. It's time someone put you in your place, Mudblood," he sneered at her. The other boys howled with laughter.

Lily immediately whipped out her wand, "I can tell," she snarled.

"What can you do?" began Nott silkily, "The nearest teacher office is two floors away. You're six against one."

"Someone'll find out about me," said Lily, her voice clipped. "You could get expelled."

"Not if they don't know who did it," said Nott quietly, "Stupefy!" (1.)

Lily jumped and dodged, and suddenly the Slytherins were coming at her from all angles. Lily did her best to put her Defense work into practicality, but she was mostly shooting shield spells.

"Evans!" another voice called. Lily turned quickly, and at the sound of that voice, the Slytherins ran the other direction.

'Cowards,' Lily thought angrily. As they left, Lily turned to see who the Slytherin guard was. Her face fell.

Severus.

The one who was supposed to be her friend.

It had all started at a family party, many years ago. There was a tray of sweets galore, and their parents had told the girls firmly that they had to wait until later to have them. Her mum even put them on a high shelf to prove her point.

"Ugh," muttered Petunia, "Why won't she let us have them?"

Lily was silently fuming next to her sister. She glared at the box of cookies. She wanted one. The girls watched in fascination as Lily kept her eyes trained on the box, and the box slowly started moving down toward them.

"Lily?" demanded Petunia. "Lily, what on earth are you doing?"

"I don't know," said Lily in awe. She slowly caught the box. "Tuney, do you want one?"

"That's not normal," Petunia said. She took a look at Lily and backed away, running off.

Ever since then, Petunia had called Lily a freak. Ever since then, Petunia and Lily were no longer close.

Little Lily was starting to get lonely.

Then she met her first real friend. She and her sister were taking a trip to the playground when she first saw him, and Petunia immediately disliked the boy.

"She's ordinary," he said to her, "And you're special."

Those were the first words he said to her.

He said his name was Severus.

She introduced herself as Lily.

That's when it all started.

He told her that he was a wizard. He said she was a witch. She believed him. He told her stories about the magic wizard school.

He was there when her sister wasn't.

But then again—neither was he.

"Evans!" the voice called again. Lily spun around to find James Potter, running straight for her.

"Potter, what on earth are you doing out this late?" sneered Lily.

"Never mind that," said Potter quickly. "I heard…curses, you alright?"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm fine, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor for being out late."

"You know," began Potter, ignoring her remark, "Snivellus—he isn't worth your time—"

"I would appreciate it," said Lily coldly, "If you didn't call him Snivellus. Though I have already told you this countless of times, and I doubt that will change," she muttered under her breath, storming away.

He didn't want to do this.

The tensions between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins were higher than ever before, and if Severus Snape were to keep a friendship with Lily Evans—either they would have to go clandestine—or it simply couldn't happen. (2).

So when the words slipped the day of their final O.W.L exam, he knew he had done it.

He knew he had ended it.

"I don't need help from a filthy mudblood like her!"

He saw the hurt expression on Lily's face when he said those words, and the way she ran off. That night she broke it off.

They'd never be Lily and Severus anymore. She'd still always be to him the effervescent girl he'd met all those years ago. (3).

Severus spend his last two years in Hogwarts watching Lily slowly fall in love with his nemesis, his worst enemy, James Potter. It was truly torturous, but Severus found he couldn't stop, couldn't look away.

Why James Potter of all people? The very boy that had spent years taunting him on every occasion he could find.

Lily had always been on his side, but now?

He'd watched his longtime best friend—maybe even something more—fall for his worst enemy.

Yeah…that was the recipe of bitterness. Perhaps it was that reason he accepted the invitation to become a Death Eater. Those Slytherins, after all, didn't do him any favors.

His one and only true friend now spent her days having snogging sessions with his worst enemy.

What on earth had Severus Snape done?

He'd ruined their entire friendship.

Years later, he walked into the Potters' hiding place in Godric's Hollow. He stepped over the body of James Potter and slowly went up the steps.

Lily's blank face stared up at him. She was now dead and lifeless. His only friend. Severus rarely showed his smile to many people, but she was the main viewer. He smiled bitterly when he looked at her.

"If you smile when no one is around," he muttered, "You really mean it." (4). Lily had always used to say that.

He cried over Lily's body, picking her up and holding her in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." (5).

A/N: And done! I'd like to thank Lin (Marvelgeek42) and Web (WritingBlock) for looking over my story! :)

Footnotes: five, one for each prompt used.

Meaning of Life readers: I feel much better now in health terms, but my inspiration and strength are both still gone. Everything I write seems forced. I'm at a huge block and I don't know when the next update shall be, but I'm trying. School starts for me in less than two weeks so, you know.

Please R&R :)

-Ana