I would love to say that the night at the astronomy tower made Severus all that much more devoted to our friendship, but it seems as though all Slytherins have a way of somehow getting others to help them achieve what they set out for. Severus still stayed devoted to helping the burgeoning Death Eaters learn more frightening dark arts. Every time I confronted him about this, he said that he had it under control. I really had my doubts about which side he would go on after he graduated. He always told me if I'd rather have it so that the Mauderers would continue besting us, and I always said that I would. I'm sure this frustrated him, but I would never trust any would-be Death Eater.
It was also concerning when Mulciber's crew decided that practicing forbidden magic out in the open was just alright with them. One day, I came upon them practicing the crucio curse on a spider. They were having fun torturing the poor arachnid when an annoying Gryffindor 2nd year I recognized as Mary McDonald approached. Fearlessly, she accosted the Slytherins and announced that she would tell Professor McGonagall that they were practicing forbidden curses.
"Really now?" Mulciber said, forgetting about the spider and now staring down the audacious Gryffindor. "Maybe we should just practice the curse on you instead?" He said, grinning sadistically.
Finally I felt a twinge of fear coming from her when the rest of the Slytherins drew closer and closer.
Crucio! Mulciber yelled as Mary shrieked out in pain.
The pain was so strong that I could barely handle it. I couldn't watch this.
"Mulciber, stop it," I said, coming up next to him. He stopped and let her go. He stared at me. "You would be expelled if a professor found out that you are practicing unforgivable curses on other students," I explained.
"Won't be any skin off my teeth," Mulciber snickered. "I have plans."
"I know you do, "I said. "But do you think that you-know-who would want a 3rd year drop out who still had limited knowledge of dark arts?" I questioned. "It's better you stay in school, Mulciber," I said, convincingly.
"Good point, I guess," Mulciber conceded. He looked at Mary. "You tell anyone about this, and you'll pay with the other curses I've been practicing," he threatened. She was too stunned to reply, so he called off his minions while I stayed with her. I helped her to her feet.
"Don't you know it's somewhat foolish to provoke the nastiest Slytherins in the entire school?" I asked.
She glared at me. "You should know, you're with them."
I looked away. "I pretend I am, anyway."
She sighed. "I guess I should thank you for helping me," she held out her hand. "I'm Mary," she said.
"Regulus," I replied, shaking her hand.
"Oh!" she said, as a light went off in her head. "You're Lily's friend aren't you?" She asked.
"Yes, Lily and I are good friends," I smiled.
She frowned. "She's also friends with that Snape boy. Though I really don't get what she sees in him," she complained.
"Severus is a good person," I said, "He's just… it's hard to explain," I said, not wanting to spill any kind of personal information.
"He's shifty is what he is," she said, "And rumor has it that he's the one teaching all the dark spells to Slytherins,"
I frowned. Severus was really starting to build up a reputation. If it continued, he could very well be the one expelled, which I'm sure was the last thing he wanted. "Severus is also my friend, you just don't know him like I do," I finally said.
"I suppose I don't," she said, raising an eyebrow. Not that I really want to. I could hear her think.
"You know, you're really good in potions," she said, changing the subject.
"Thanks," I said. I knew that she was one of the worst in our class. It was clear why. Potions took patience and following directions, two things that Mary was very poor at.
"I'm rather lousy at it myself," she admitted.
I smiled, "but you're good at herbology," I complimented. I remembered that she always drew praise from Professor Sprout at how well her plants thrived,"
"Yeah, it's my favorite subject," she grinned.
"Not mine," I said.
She laughed. "That's funny, your best subject is my worse and vice versa,"
I smiled. "I suppose that is," I said.
"Maybe… do you want to study together sometime?" She asked. "We could help each other," she explained.
"Oh," I said, in surprise. I never expected someone to want to study with me, especially another Gryffindor. "I think… I'd like that," I replied, shyly.
She grinned. "Okay, I'll send you an owl sometime," she said as she prepared to leave.
"I'll be on the lookout for it," I replied, as I waved goodbye. Still somewhat in shock, I went back to the dorms to tell Severus about what happened.
For the first few times, Mary and I studied alone. Finally herbology was staring to make a little more sense to me.
"Herbology is like care of magical creatures except sometimes the plants take even more attention," Mary explained. "You have to treat the plants as if they were your loving pet," she continued.
"I suppose I don't know how that's like considering I never had a pet," I admitted.
"Really?" she said, astonished. "Hm… maybe that's why you find it hard to care for plants."
"I guess I never really did want to care for a pet, they seemed more like a nuisance than anything. I'd be afraid I'd forget to feed it or something."
"They won't let you forget," she laughed. "Anyway, just try to be in that mindset next time you are taking care of your plants. They're living beings. They have different needs and some say 'desires' as well. However, it also doesn't hurt to memorize some basic necessities that each plant type requires. It's easier if you knew that many of the necessities follow basic patterns…" she said as she began to draw a diagram in my parchment. "For example, the thorny plants take very little water, but they require rich soil," she continued as I listened carefully.
Soon, with her help, my plants really did seem to get perkier. Even Professor Sprout noticed the difference as she complimented the improvement in my Akarso. I was able to pay Mary back by tutoring her in potions. She did make quite an improvement, especially evident as Professor Slughorn chose her polyjuice potion as one of the best in the class. She grinned at me as it was selected. I was very happy for her and I smiled back.
Soon enough, Lily found out about our study sessions. "You never told me that you've made friends with Mary!" Lily scolded me one night. "Sorry, Lily," I apologized. "I'm not sure if she wanted to be known as someone who hangs out with a Slytherin."
"Well she told me anyway," Lily said, "and she also told me about how you rescued her from Mulciber,"
"It was nothing," I insisted.
She smiled slyly at me. "You know, Reg, I think Mary might just like you."
"What?" I said, then realizing what she meant, I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. "No, of course not," I said. "I'd have been able to feel it."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Maybe not, Reg. I didn't say she was madly in love with you. But with the way she talks about you, I'm willing to bet she really enjoys the time you spend together," she said, relishing my discomfort.
"We just study!" I exclaimed, turning redder.
Lily laughed, "Alright, Reg, alright," she said ruffling my hair.
I scowled at her. "I really don't think you're right."
"Maybe, but maybe I am. I know that you like spending time studying together alone, but maybe you should invite her to study with me and Severus sometime?"
"Of course I won't mind," I said, giving her another annoyed glance. "But she doesn't seem to like Severus very much…" I said. "I'm not sure she'd agree to it."
"I know," Lily sighed. "That was another reason. So many Gryffindors have a problem with Sev and they don't even know him. Maybe if they realized he's a good person, they could spread the word. Mary could help with that. I'll try to convince her," she said.
"Good idea," I nodded.
In a few days, Mary did reluctantly agree to study with the three of us. It went very well, especially as Severus, being the best potions student in the entire school, tutored her himself. I could feel the tension disappear and knew that she began to think differently of him. I guess just little steps were what was needed to help clear Severus's name.
While the air between Lily and Severus was still tense while he taught the Slytherins more dark arts, the rest of the year went down with little problems. I wasn't looking forward to summer vacation much, but true to her word, Lily invited me to stay with her in the summer for a week.
I really looked forward to that and could hardly sleep the night before I left to visit her. Of course, I had to tell mother that Lily was a pureblood witch or else she'd probably have a heart attack. I was just grateful that Sirius wasn't around to tell her the truth, I'm sure he'd have loved an open opportunity to upset her.
I had a great time visiting Lily and Severus that summer. Her muggle family was very friendly, minus her sister, who wanted nothing to do with me, and seemed to enjoy my company as much as I enjoyed theirs. I had never been to a muggle house before, so many of the things there were new to me. Muggle appliances, furnishings, the things they did for entertainment… Lily and Sev also showed me how to play some card games and we spent a lot of time sitting on her bed, playing games.
The best time was when her family took us to the beach. I'd never been to a beach before and the waves made a vast impression on me as I stood at the shore, the waves slowly burying my feet in the sand. It soon became one of my favorite memories because everyone was in such a happy mood, and I could really feed off the blissful emotions.
At some point, the three of us were laying on the sand, next to each other, with our eyes closed, basking in the sun.
"Reg," Lily finally said.
"Hm?" I replied.
"3 years ago, a moment like this was when I told Sev that we were best friends forever and that I loved him,"
I smiled. "That must have been a very happy memory, well, I know it was, I can feel it inside both of you."
"It really was," Severus said.
"You'll be our best friend forever too, Reg," she said.
"I know," I said. "I love you too," I replied, beating her to what she'd have said next.
At that moment, I really thought that nothing could tear the three of us apart. Severus and Lily had differences, but they would always stay friends forever, and they even included me. I had no idea things would turn out so wrong so soon.
Authors Note
Okay, chapter 4 and still NO COMMENTS. I'm sad, guys! Well, there must be *someone* reading this. Maybe you guys just think it's boring or something. I guess this chapter is a little boring. I promise the next one will be a little more exciting, or at least, more interesting. This was kind of the segue chapter. I still am hoping someone has something to say!
