Friendship

Disclaimer: All characters recognizable from JKR's work don't belong to me. Shocking isn't it? =)

Dedication: To nice weather, which has been rather elusive this week.

A/N If you haven't read Severus' Brother, you may want to before reading this. It may not be completely necessary, but it will be helpful.

Lily was sitting on a swing patiently waiting for Sev and Clement to arrive. She glanced at the watch she had received from her dad for Christmas. It was nearly 11. Not only that but it looked like it might rain. Usually Clement and Sev had arrived half an hour ago.

Bored, Lily began to pump her legs, pushing herself higher. At the top of her trajectory she caught a glimpse of the two she was waiting for. They were slowly walking towards the park and Severus had his arm around Clement. Returning to the peak, Lily threw herself off. Red hair trailed behind her as she landed gracefully. She wandered towards where the two would emerge, curious as to why they were late. Despite not owning a watch, Severus could be very obsessive about being on time. That was the reason that he and Clement were almost always here at 10:30. If they were late, Lily was usually forewarned. It was odd that the excuse always seemed to be chores of some sort. She never had trouble finishing hers in time for their meetings but there was no real reason to dwell on it. Her parents always said that chores taught responsibility. Perhaps Clement and Severus' parents adhered more strictly to those rules. Before they came into view, she heard Clement who sounded very upset. Whatever had him in this state was probably the reason why they were late reflected Lily.

'I shouldn't have!' cried Clement. 'It's all my fault.'

Lily frowned, what had Clement done? She didn't hear Severus' response; he spoke too quietly for his voice to carry very far.

The two emerged from the trees. Clement was wiping away tears but was no longer crying. At least Lily assumed he had been crying, not only were there the residual tears but his eyes were red. Severus had pulled Clement close. Sev looked up and was seemingly startled by her presence. He immediately relaxed and nudged Clement. Both smiled.

'Where have you two been?' she asked jokingly. Her mind whirred, what had upset Clement so much? What was his fault? She was almost afraid to know. Her parents sometimes held conversations about the two when they thought she wasn't listening. They always seemed to centre on suspicions that the elder Snapes were doing an immensely poor job of raising their sons. Lily had begun to tune out these conversations. They made her feel uncomfortable and she preferred to think that things couldn't be that bad for her friends. So she didn't ask about what she had overheard.

'Home,' replied Severus shortly. 'Dad –' he paused, frowning slightly. 'He kept us in late.'

Lily didn't miss the spark of anger that flashed in Sev's eyes at the mention of his father. It was a topic rarely broached. In fact, it was rare to ever talk about Clement and Severus' life outside their friendship. She pushed aside her thoughts and smiled.

'Well what should we do?' she asked, as they wandered towards the swing set.

Clement shrugged, apparently he had no ideas. Severus was frowning pondering the question. They always took so much time to decide on something. Before anything could be decided, rain began to fall.

'Why don't we go to my house,' offered Lily. 'We could play monopoly or something. Mum and Dad won't mind.'

She wasn't eager to get wet and Clement and Severus weren't wearing jackets. The wind had picked up. Her parents didn't like it when she played out in the rain, probably because she could get sick. At least, that's what they said, though why they were experts on the matter, she had no idea. They weren't doctors.

'Sounds good,' replied Clement, glancing at Severus who nodded in agreement.

Lily began to run in the direction of her house, splashing through the puddles that had begun to form. She could hear her friends feet pounding behind her. She could also hear Severus gasping slightly. Odd, he never had trouble running this speed to get to house. Was he ill or injured? Lily launched herself over a puddle, pushing her questions from her mind. Severus was just slightly tired, that had to be it. She turned her head, watching as Clement tried to replicate her feat, only to come up short. She giggled as she watched Severus run through it.

When they arrived at her house, all three friends were soaking wet and shivering slightly, but grinning. There was nothing like running in the rain to cheer someone up. Lily opened the door, calling for her parents. Neither were working today.

'Lily, you're soaked. Hello Severus, Clement.' Added Lily's mum as she walked towards the three. 'I'll go get you three some towels. Don't move.'

Lily nodded and froze, grinning. Severus and Clement followed suit, going still aside from their expanding chests.

Her mum laughed when she returned. Rolling her eyes she handed them some towels. 'You can move now,' she smiled. 'Are you and Clement planning on staying for dinner?' The question was directed at Severus who looked up nervously.

Lily stepped in before Severus could decline. 'You should Sev.' Though she had pushed away her foreboding thoughts, she couldn't ignore that something wasn't right. The two needed a break in order to cheer up. 'Maybe you could even stay for the night. I mean,' she added glancing at her mum, 'if it's alright with you and dad.'

Her mum nodded and turned her gaze onto Severus and Clement. 'You two are always welcome.'

'Er- alright.' Agreed Severus hesitantly, just as he usually did. Lily had asked him about it a couple weeks ago and he had explained that he didn't want to unnecessarily burden her family. She had shaken her head in response. Severus worried far too much.

'We'll lend you some dry pyjamas,' she offered before calling down the hall. 'Robert!'

Lily's dad emerged from the living room. 'Lily, you've brought those two vagabonds back again?' he asked. His smile allowed everyone to easily tell that he was joking.

Lily glanced at her two friends, recalling the first time her dad had called them that. They had been offended until she explained that it was a joke. Though slightly confused, they accepted it. She wasn't sure what she would have done if they hadn't gotten it. Sarcasm was her father's main way of communicating with the world. Well perhaps not the only way, but he did do it a lot. Fortunately the Snapes were quick learners. They now knew to laugh at her dad's comments rather than take offense.

'I'll get them each a shirt,' he said happily as he walked down the hall.

This was another thing the two had gotten used to. Often their sleepovers where organized on impulse, so her father lent them overlarge shirts to sleep in. It made for some entertaining jokes on her part as the shirts could be seen as dresses. They took her jokes and the shirts with a smile. It made Lily happy to see her friends relaxed around her family. Well most of her family, she amended as Petunia wandered down the hall.

'What are they doing here?' she questioned scowling.

'Petunia,' snapped Lily's mum, 'They're our guests. There is no need to speak about them like that.'

Petunia scowl deepened. Huffing, she turned and walked back to her room without another word.

As Lily finished rubbing her hair dry she thought about Petunia. Normally she wasn't so snappish, just annoying as only elder sisters could be. Ever since Lily had found out about magic and became best friends with Sev and Clement, Petunia had gotten meaner. Before they could have a nice conversation or Petunia would agree to help with homework. Not anymore. To be completely honest, Lily missed their relationship. She didn't want to lose Sev and Clement as friends though. It would do no good to dwell on the problem, not when there were games to be played.

'I'm going to change,' she announced. 'Meet me in my room in a couple minutes.'

She scurried down the hall, stepping lightly to minimize the amount of water she left on the ground. Quickly she opened her down and grabbed her warmest pair of pyjamas.

The bed against the wall had a colourful polka dot pattern comforter thrown across it. Her light blue walls were covered by Disney and Star Wars posters. A framed picture of her family hung above her bed beside a picture of her, Clement, and Severus. A large bookshelf stood next to her window. It was half full and her parents often told her they'd have it filled up by the time she left home. She believed them completely, it would be a long time before she left. Long enough to fill the shelves. Especially if all the Hogwarts texts were as thick as the ones Sev had shown her.

She heard a knock at the door and hurried to get it. Clement and Severus were smiling at her; her dad was standing behind them holding two sleeping bags. The three walked in, her dad setting the sleeping bags on the floor.

'There you are Lily-flower. Dinner should be ready in 45 minutes. We'll call you down.'

'Thanks dad,' she replied. 'Don't you have a football game to watch? Get a move on!'

He grinned, 'As a matter of fact I do. Have fun, don't make too much noise. You know the drill.'

He left, closing the door behind him. Lily turned her gaze onto her two best friends. Beaming she asked, 'What shall we do?'

'Why don't we play a board game?' offered Clement as he sat down. Her dad's shirt covered Clement's small frame like tent. Severus followed suit, sitting down slowly.

Lily turned to her closet, where she kept her games. 'Scrabble?' She asked.

'Only if you don't cheat,' replied Severus rolling his eyes slightly. Though the three were young, they were all intelligent. Her parents encouraged her to play Scrabble and solve puzzles. Thankfully she enjoyed such things. If she didn't, Lily would have long ago lost it.

'Hey, it's not cheating really. All those so called made up words have to be real in some language.' She defended. They had this argument every time they played. It was part of what she loved about it, well that and all the made up words.

Severus huffed, but didn't argue further. Clement was smiling slightly as he usually did when Lily and Severus argued about something trivial.

A couple hours later...

'Lily, no more movies,' ordered her mum. 'Go to bed.'

Lily sighed, but turned off the telly. It was getting kind of late and loathe as she was to admit it, she was slightly tired. Sev and Clement looked tired too, Sev more so than Clement. There were slight dark bags under his eyes.

'Alright mum.' Lily turned her best friends, 'Let's get those sleeping bags set up.'

They nodded and got up.

'Thanks for having us stay,' said Severus gratefully as they made to leave the room. 'Goodnight Mrs. Evans.' He added formally.

Lily's mum rolled her eyes at that. 'Amanda, please. You know calling me Mrs. makes me feel old,' she scolded lightly. Severus merely smiled in response. Lily knew come tomorrow, he'd call her the exact same thing. Something about respecting a wonderful woman, at least that was his explanation.

'Thanks,' echoed Clement.

Around midnight...

Lily woke up slightly dazed. Waiting for her eyes she sat up. She was thirsty but had no desire to manoeuvre her way to the door. As she was settling back down, preparing to fall asleep, she heard a slight moan. She shot back up, peering at her two guests. She did pride herself on her night vision. Clement was sleeping soundly, one hand grasping Sev's. Severus, however was curled up and frowning. The moan had come from him. Despite having him over fairly often, Lily had never heard him talk in his sleep.

'No,' mumbled Severus, almost too quietly for her to hear. 'Leave him alone – not his fault. Please...' He trailed off, but began to whimper.

Lily contemplated waking him but realized he would be far too embarrassed. What if it was nothing? Still she couldn't help but wonder who he had been pleading with. Was it based in reality or just a conjured nightmare? Severus had stopped making noises but she could tell that his grip on Clement's hand had tightened. It was to thoughts such as these that she eventually drifted off too.

When she woke the next morning, she only had a vague memory of waking up. No questions were asked. The signs from yesterday didn't worry Lily. They were best friends, Sev and Clement would tell her if something was happening. Wouldn't they?

A/N First of all any mistakes are mine. To be honest, I just didn't feel like getting this betaed (right word? If you know please inform me!) and then going through and editing it. Seriously, it's probably my least favorite part, though I do like how it turns out better. Anyway, if something seems out of place please let me know. Secondly, for those of you reading Severus' Brother, I know I should probably work on that but my sister took my book and I need it for a couple scenes. Also I feel slightly uninspired this week. So I wrote this instead. Character wise I hope Lily seems like an intelligent 9 or 10 year old. That was the goal anyway, let me know if it was achieved. The shirts for pyjamas comes from my own experience. My grandpa always lent my sister and me his shirts to sleep in. Thanks for reading =)