Chapter Nine

"I still don't see why you are so excited," Lily said as she walked down the hall with her best friend.

"Really? You don't understand why I am so excited that I might actually have a chance with the guy I've been in love with for the last three years?"

"But's it's Severus. He hangs around Mulciber and the like. He calls people like me, mudbloods."

"Except that he doesn't Lily. I know that he did, but you don't understand the amount of stress he's under being in Slytherin. He's a poor half-blood with no power. The only reason he did any of that was to keep himself on their good side. Now, he's just spending as much of that time with me as possible."

"Evie, don't be so naïve. Please."

"I'm not being naïve. He's not a bad person. He's surrounded by them, and he's fighting that every day."

"Evie, no. He's not. He's mean, a bit gross, and he's never going to love you. Think about it. You're a pureblood, from one of the sacred 28. He's probably Slytherin royalty for dating you."

"Lily, I get that you are hurt because Remus rejected you, but can you not spit on this."

"I'm not. I get it. The three of us were friends. But we all have to grow up. We need to learn who the nice guys are and who the bad guys are. Severus is not a nice guy. And you're only going to end up hurt in the end."

"No. You choose to see him for an obvious front he's putting up. There's more to him than that. He's only pretending to be a cold-hearted person."

"No, it's not a front. He doesn't care about anyone but himself."

Evelyn for once found herself raging at a friend. How come no one else could see past the shield that she so obviously saw? Why did no one else even try to care about Severus the way she did?

"He does care, Lily. He cares about you. He respects you enough that because you asked him to leave you alone, he will. He won't break that promise."

"Oh please! He'll probably use you as an excuse to be near me."

"No. He won't."

"Watch him do it."

"Why can't you just be happy for me?" Evelyn walked away, her faced hot and red with anger. "I would have been happy for you."

One of the freedoms of having a cat form, was that Evelyn could wander anywhere she wanted and nobody would know or care. For her, that meant she usually wandered into the forbidden forest. It was quiet and peaceful and free of any people who might try to give input on her happiness.

Once she was deep in the forest, she changed back to herself. She sat next to a small pond, leaning against the willow that over looked it. She was confident enough in her skills as a witch, that she didn't worry much about whatever creatures lurked there. Still, she had never seen any that tried to attack her. Once she saw a centaur, and shifted into her cat form, just in case. But he made no motion of having noticed her.

Today the pond was clear of anything, and so she just sat, closing her eyes.

"He's using you, you know that, right?"

She opened her eyes, glaring at Sirius Black. Had he followed her? How else would he have known where to find her?

"No he's not. Now leave me alone," she spat.

"Look, I know that I don't have the best track record with you. But I am not lying to you. I wouldn't."

"Oh please, Sirius. You hate him. And if I'm close to him, and you're serious about being friends, then you have to be nice to him. I'm pretty sure you would do anything to avoid that."

"I wouldn't lie to you, Evelyn. I wouldn't do something like that. I want to earn your trust. And I swear, he's using you."

"And how could you know? You don't talk to him. You talk at him, in order to insult him. You assault him. How could you possibly know his intentions."

"I was there when you kissed him."

"What?"

"I saw you kiss him. I had come looking for you. I had just found you when I saw you kiss him. And he met my gaze. He knew I was there before he kissed you back. He didn't mean it."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. I swear. I'll tell you the truth under an unbreakable vow."

"No. You're wrong. You just don't want him to be happy. You don't want to see him succeed where you have failed."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "I hadn't thought-"

"I hadn't, at first. Honestly, I hadn't until just now. But it's obvious now that I think about it. But I understand. You don't understand why I would choose him over you, and that's just it. No one wants to look past the harsh exterior. One he has, in part, because of the way you have treated him, along with everything else he deals with. You know nothing about him. You understand nothing about empathy and compassion. Yeah, he insulted you for wanting to be in Gryffindor, but he also acknowledged my existence, where you and my brother didn't. Do you really not understand why I can't stand you or James? Because, after all of these years, you were more concerned with trying to isolate me from one of my two friends in the whole school. You sexually assaulted and publically humiliated my best friend. You ruined the friendship that he Lily and I had together as a group. I now have to split my time between my friends. Though even Lily doesn't accept it, so I currently only have him. I don't make friends the way you do, Sirius. I never have. I have a few people who tolerate my existence. And I have exactly two friends. Maybe three, because Remus has always at least been kind to me."

"I-I-"

"And thank you, for ruining my one quiet place that I could escape to."

She was gone, sprinting through the brush, blending in with shadows.

"What does meditation have to do with learning to become an animagus?" Severus complained as they sat on the blanket she had brought in an abandoned class room.

"Your animagus form is a reflection of who you truly are. So before you can try to transform, you must find yourself before you can even consider the transformation. You need to know who you truly are at all times, so you don't forget when you're in your animal form."

"That sounds ridiculous," Severus groaned.

"Maybe, but it's important. It's not just about knowing who you are, but accepting who you are. If you don't you can't turn back into yourself, and that's important."

He glared at her. "Just sit down, cross your legs and close your eyes. Breathe deeply."

He rolled his eyes, but he did it.

Evelyn grinned as he did. She remembered watching her brother and his friends fail miserably. This was day one of his training. And she was looking forward to teaching him everything she had learned.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. I know it's short, but I wanted to show the reactions of those around her. And show her promise to teach Severus.

As always, read and review because your thoughts are appreciated and valued.

Love you all :)