IT'S CHANGED (SNILY)
CHAPTER 21 Attack on whom?!
No one expects the disaster, right before it's about to happen. No one had suspected it now, either.
Charm had relieved herself and was ready to walk out of the lavatory, when she heard someone whispering.
"It was an attack?" a genial but dismal voice asked.
"Yes" another disappointed male voice.
"I don't understand his strategy" It was Slughorn.
"This time I am unable to count on my assumptions as well, Horace" Dumbledore!
"How many households?"
"Many" Dumbledore sighed, sadly.
"Do you believe that he is in alliance with You-Know-Who?" Slughorn's voice held suspicions.
"We have to be careful about everyone, Horace" Dumbledore mumbled tiredly.
"The attacks are brutal like always" Slughorn's voice wavered.
"Students will be sent to see their families" Dumbledore assured. "The danger, as per I suspect, has averted now"
"They have left the mark in the sky, haven't they?"
"People have died, Horace"
Charm sucked in breath. There had been an attack? She grabbed her hair in frustration, her breath coming in shallow pants. Most probably the Muggleborns and the Half-blood houses must have been destroyed. The Dark Lord had been laying so low that none had suspected it now. Why? She broke into to run to get to her friends.
*Page Break*
"No, I believe Dumbledore is perhaps, a gay"
"What makes you say that, Severus?"
Severus shrugged. "Don't you see, whenever his name is mentioned, there is another man"
Lily gasped mockingly. "True!" she laughed, earning a playful swat on her jaw by Severus.
"But what he is saying is right, Lily" Austin noted. "First, Grindelwald, then Nicholas Flamel and now, You-Know-How"
"See?" Severus leaned to Lily, his breath brushing on her neck, sending pleasurable chills to her spine. He looked thoughtful then. "Except for one"
"Who?" Selene asked.
"Agatha Malvolia. You wouldn't have heard her name, though" he told them.
"I haven't, at least" Shane stretched his back. "But when you have a total book with yourself, why bother reading"
Selene swatted him on his thigh. "So, what about her?"
Severus smirked. "Go to the library"
"Come on, Severus" Lily was using the voice with him.
He sat up straight. She could do it so easily. He shook his head. "Agatha Malvolia was born under a curse, she wasn't like any normal witch, she was different. And if I tell you long story short -I on the other hand read an entire two-hundred-page book for it- she had an encounter with a dementor. Dementor kissed her but she survived"
Other's eyes were about to budge out. "Survived? How?" Austin whispered.
He smirked again. "Library, people"
Lily kept a hand on his arm. "Severus, your story telling skills is so much better than that of a stupid book. Please, tell what happened next" she urged.
Severus shrugged. "I won't"
She swatted his arm. "Stop acting so pricey, Severus"
"Stop calling me Severus, Lils"
She blushed. "Fine, Sev. Please" He was just so unknowingly bewitching.
Severus smirked. "Because she was born under the implications of a curse, the dementors kiss didn't suck her soul, instead lend her one more. She conceived a child through that"
"A dementors child?" Selene shrieked.
Severus flinched. "Not like Petunia, Selene"
Lily laughed. "She has stopped shrieking like that since Shane got her on the right path"
"Isn't Selene already" Austin winked while Selene cleared her throat to escape the embarrassment.
"To your question, Selene, yes, half a dementor was in her uterus" Severus supplied.
"Then?" Shane asked.
"Then, she comes near death, nobody could have saved her. But Dumbledore comes to the picture, uses his vast knowledge of spells and saves her" he completed.
"Wait" Lily held her hands out and shook her head. "So, the child was born"
Severus nodded. "The child was born. But I don't know if the child died because their mother certainly dies after just giving birth"
"From where did you get to know that from?" Shane pried.
He gave an open-mouthed grin and winked, sending flutters to Lily's heart. "It was done as a secret, but what would you not get in the Restricted Section of our library"
They looked impressed.
"Well, hats off to you, Severus" a familiar voice spoke from their backs.
They turned around just to find Remus' grinning face, though he looked tired as hell. His face was flushed and sweat pouring down his face as if he had just run down a marathon.
"What the hell, Lupin?" Severus asked irritably.
Remus continued to grin, and even walked up to sit beside Shane and Selene. "You can call me Remus" he said in his usual cheery voice. "I never knew the story either, by the way. Because as per my records I have read almost everything about half-breeds" he looked happy and open talking about him being a werewolf, now that so many people had accepted it.
Selene and Shane instinctively made space beside them to let Remus sit.
Severus narrowed his eyes. "So, you were eavesdropping, Remus"
"Oh, Merlin. That sounds so odd coming from you, Severus" another familiar voice.
They turned around, and were not surprised to see Sirius Black's crazy self.
"That sounds odd too, coming from you, Padfoot" Severus tried to sneer.
Sirius made his way beside Remus. "Padfoot? Only an animagus can call me that. Would you like to be one?" he winked.
Severus stuck his tongue out. "No, but perhaps, McGonagall would be interested"
Lily laughed all of a sudden.
He turned to her. "What?"
"Your tongue, Severus. You used to do that at Petunia, when we were young to irritate her"
He flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't do that"
"Oh, but you did, Sev" Selene teased.
"I saw that too" another familiar voice.
They turned once more to see James' smug smile. He held up a hand and Lily clapped on it.
"You, see? You still do all kinds of stupidity, Severus" Lily raised a mocking eyebrow.
Severus crossed his arms on his chest and sat back in his chair. "Gang up on me" he leaned to Lily and almost yelled. "Fine!"
She laughed and kissed his cheek. "I love you like that" she winked.
He cleared his throat to calm the bubbles of joy rising in his heart. He contained a huge smile that was about to make its way on his face. He shook his head. He was insane for her.
James frowned at the entire scene playing up in front of him. He so very desperately needed to know, if he actually liked Lily in the way he thought. She was so relaxed with Severus. Could she be like that with him too? She kissed him and said 'love' in the same sentence as 'you' for Severus. She had never done that for him. If they see it from the dating prospect as well, then she and Severus weren't dating either. But she had reserved all kinds of affections for him.
He was about to sit beside Sirius but Selene stopped him and conjured another chair beside Lily for him. He gratefully took it, still staring at the other two, trying to figure out things.
Well… they were having an idiotic argument over who knew more. The others rolled their eyes.
"You didn't know how to open the monster book. HAA" Severus said smugly, leaning back on his chair.
Lily grabbed the side-handle of his chair and leaned on making her chair standing on only two legs. "You didn't know how to open a lock"
He sputtered. "I knew, obviously, I was just giving you the chance to do that"
"Yeah, yeah… you spilled ink on your parchment the first time you opened a new ink pot"
He gasped. "You cannot know about that. Fine. I also know that you stole your mum's bras to try them"
She turned red. "How do you know that?"
He looked smug. "We need to be a good hider, Lils" he touched her chin.
"So, why didn't you know how to hide that you can't use chopsticks" she made a mock-sorry face.
"You… you… you couldn't spell my name when we were young" he remembered.
"But now I can, SEVERUS" she practically yelled.
"But I like it when YOU call me SEV" he yelled back.
"And I thought that you thought it was IMMATURE" she leaned in further to the point that her chair lost balance and both of them fell behind with their chairs.
"AHH… LILY"
"YOUR FAULT, SEV"
Sirius and Remus laughed out loud, clutching their stomachs.
"Hell… lot of entertainment" Sirius exclaimed.
Lily and Severus turned red. They tried to get up but both of them were half-stuck in the chairs to stand without crashing.
"Wasn't falling in the chambers enough for you, Lily" he groaned.
"You could have caught me, but you chose to fall back yourself" she huffed.
His eyes turned to hers and they connected. They were so close but none of them doing anything. They were fools. Both knew that but none understood the true feelings of the other. Only if the other said. Waiting was so painful but none courageous enough to end it.
"How am I supposed to get up, now?" he broke the connection.
She looked away and turned a bit to the right, making her legs fall on Severus'.
"AHHH… Lily, do you want to break a bone of mine"
She looked sheepish. "Sorry"
They felt a sudden jerk on their backs and the next moment they were again sitting straight in their chairs properly. The others gasped.
Lily and Severus turned back and were astonished to see Peter Pettigrew holding his wand and looking shocked to himself.
"Peter…" Remus breathed.
"Yaa, Wormtail…" Sirius was excited for Peter.
"Did you just perform a non-verbal spell?" Austin asked, his mouth agape.
Peter pocketed his wand and smiled proudly. "I did"
James patted his back, looking pleased with his friend's achievement.
Selene absentmindedly conjured another chair that Peter took. She was smiling, happy for him.
"He can obviously, do that, after all he was the one who pulled the sword out of the hat" Lily winked in Peter's direction.
He looked flustered by the attention, now. "Thank you" he said shyly.
"Oh, Peter, you have always been underestimating yourself. I always had confidence in you" Sirius threw his hands in the air.
"It was really impressive" Shane commented.
"It was" Severus breathed.
"You can do that too, Severus" Peter pointed out.
"Yes, but… wait, you called me Severus"
Peter shrugged and then smirked. "Remus said that it irritates you so, we must do that"
Severus narrowed his eyes on Remus while he kept smiling, unabashedly. "By the way, Lily do you have more such stories of Severus"
Severus crossed his arms, challenging Lily, who accepted it. "Yes, he has a red coffee mug in our home"
"A Gryffindor one!" Sirius laughed.
"So, what? Lily has a green one too" Severus countered.
"Is there a problem with that? I like Slytherins…" she paused, thinking again in her mind if she had said something wrong. "At least I don't have red sheets too on my bed"
Severus gasped. "Hell… Lily, you are such a liar, you were the one who insisted on spreading them, so, I did"
"Uh huh" she mocked.
"You both visit each other's house to change the bed covers" James' brows were furrowed and he looked genuinely confused.
Lily looked at Severus asking for permission to say anything further, who in turn only smiled. She shook her head. "No. We live together"
"You, What?!" James' eyes were ready to budge out.
They laughed. "With Lily's parents" Shane cleared, shaking his head.
"But, why? Why does he live with you?" James breathed, disbelieving the situation is even real.
"Because, living conditions for him at his house are not appropriate" she didn't give anything more than that, for which Severus was grateful.
James seemed to understand a bit. He nodded, distractedly, losing himself in another set of thoughts.
"We need to stop talking about these stories or else I'll have to give out that Shane sat on the broomstick in the opposite direction when he tried it for the first time" Selene said, soberly, while she was far from it.
"Selene" Shane hissed, turning red. "You can't just give that one out?"
The others laughed.
Sirius frowned and ran a finger on Remus' forehead. "Now, Remus, you can't be sweating so much just because a person as hot as me is sitting here"
Remus flushed red and moved the finger off his head. "I came running here"
"Yeah, Remus, I forgot to ask you, did you ask a professor about how are we supervising?" Lily asked.
Remus nodded. "I saw Professor Raquel in the corridor. I asked him but he dismissed me saying that he was in a hurry"
Severus and Sirius' eyes widened. They both looked at each other and instantly knew what the other was thinking.
"Did you feel like something was grabbing you out of yourself, Remus?" Severus asked pointedly.
Remus shrugged. "The full moon's arriving. Its normal to feel different"
Sirius shook his head. "No, Moony, not that one. What he is asking is that did you feel as if you are getting separated from yourself when you were there?"
"Perhaps. Mildly, probably" Remus didn't see any big deal in it.
Sirius face shadowed with concern. He cupped Remus' face with a single hand. "Never. And I mean it. Never, go to that professor alone"
Remus blushed and freed himself from his hold. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but he does something that will make you feel drained" Severus said, seriously.
"I don't know, why are you both being so…" Remus searched for the appropriate word.
"Remus" Lily took his hands in hers. "They are correct. Never go to that professor alone. They have felt something odd around him"
"Odd?" James was back to the world of living. "You never mentioned, Siri"
"Because I thought, it was me being tired. But I assume, now that you felt the same, it was something else" Sirius pointed a finger on Severus.
He nodded. "I did. That is why I'm saying, that professor is odd, don't be with him alone"
Shane looked insulted. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Shane, I didn't because there were already so many things in our heads" Severus tried to make him realize.
"But, Severus-"
"I didn't find it necessary and then Lily had noticed, so, one person knew"
"Lily, I-"
"Shane, it's fine" Selene rolled her eyes. "Must have slipped him. We had many things up next"
Shane huffed and sat back while Selene smiled and kissed him. He didn't refuse to that.
"Selene!" a loud voice accompanied the loud footsteps. They didn't have to turn around to know that it was Charm.
Selene already had a chair conjured, on which Charm sat hastily. She hid her face in her hands and took deep breaths.
"What, now, Charm?" Selene asked.
But Charm's face turned to Severus. "I just heard Slughorn and Dumbledore talking"
"What did you eavesdrop this time?" Shane rolled his eyes.
Her voice remained devoid of any emotion. "An attack. Deaths also took place"
Severus' eyes widened and his breathing sped up instantly. His hand grabbed one of Lily's.
"Lily, I am sorry, if this is because of me. I didn't know, they would really… Lucius, Narcissa… they truly betrayed… I am sorry, Lily… Shane, Selene, Austin, Charm… it's my fault… all mine… I mustn't have denied the offer… so sorry…" he kept blabbering.
Lily rubbed his arm, comfortingly. "Shh… Sev, calm down. Listen, Severus… please, this isn't your fault. We don't even know what has happened, properly. Don't blame yourself"
"But Lily… I am sorry… I know this is because of me…" he started blabbering again before Lily shut him down by hugging him tightly.
"Shh, Sev. Nothing's your fault. It's all fine. None of us blame you" she consoled.
He fastened his arms around her, praying to every deity he knew, that everyone's alright.
"Why would that be your fault?" Peter asked.
Shane shook his head. "You better not know"
"What else did you hear, Charm?" Austin asked, worriedly. He didn't blame Severus for anything but he needed to know that his parents were alright.
"That the Headmaster will soon be sending the students home, whose parents have been harmed in any way" she told.
Severus instinctively turned to Charm and took her hands into his. "Please, Charm… I am sorry-"
"I don't blame you, Severus" she said coldly and pulled her hands out of his grasp, looking away. Severus knew that it was only a façade to hide her worries, but it still hurt him to hear that tone against him.
"I am sorry" he whispered for the last time before hiding his face in his hands to hide the tears of frustration.
Lily rubbed his back gently and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. None of it is. And you know I won't lie" she whispered so only he can hear.
He sniffled and then nodded distractedly. He never knew that Charm's opinion had started mattering so much to him. She was a great friend. He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to lose any of them.
The awaited voice was heard. All of their faces turned in the direction of the head table.
"Good afternoon, students" Dumbledore sighed, trying to figure out how to break the news. "There's no better way to say it than directly. Some of your parents have been attacked by the followers of Voldemort or also known as Death Eaters" he paused. "It will be unfair to keep from you that there have been some deaths. My deepest condolences for the loses of them…"
A great bustle and agitation rose in the Great Hall. People were panicking. The Half-bloods and the Muggleborns were the ones who mostly looked anxious. Their Pureblood friends were trying to comfort them.
Tears were streaming down openly on Severus' face. He had clutched one of Lily's hands so tightly that it would have left a bruise, but she didn't mind at all. He took a deep breath. These emotions weren't letting him think straight. They must be blocked. He closed his eyes and began raising the mind shields.
He jerked back by a swat on his cheek. Lily was staring at him, her eyes bloodshot, but her face held compassion.
"You won't enforce occlumency, Sev. That's for the weak, in the way you are trying to use it" her voice was wavering immensely. "Don't" she warned and he compiled.
He wiped his tears off and concentrated on Dumbledore's voice again.
"The families of Muggleborns and the Half-bloods are safe…" Dumbledore said loudly and the Great Hall fell into pin-drop silence.
If not the Muggleborns and the Half-bloods, then who? What the fuck was he talking about?
"The attack was on the Purebloods, also known as the Blood-traitors by Voldemort" He completed.
Almost the entire Hall sucked in sharp breaths.
Shane's hand wrapped around Selene. She looked up to his eyes. "They will be fine" he mouthed the only assurance he could give to her panicked state.
She couldn't form words. This wasn't expected by her at all. She simply laid her head on his shoulder and sat in silence.
Severus twisted his head to look at Charm who refused to even give him a glance. His hand flew to his mouth to strangle a sob. "Charm, please, look at me… Charm…" he cried.
She didn't even acknowledge him, her eyes kept fixed on her lap.
"Charm!" he tried to get her attention again. "Please, Charm, don't do this to me… Charm"
She still didn't reply or face him.
The hopes fell from his heart and shattered. He sat back in his chair, totally quiet, expect for the fact that silent tears kept coming. He didn't even bother hide them.
"You all are behaving as if someone has already died" Sirius tried to cheer them up. "We are not even confirmed"
James' eyes turned to him, pleading him to keep his mouth shut. If Severus was in such a distressed state, then there must be a bigger problem than they knew about. The way Charm wasn't reacting to anything he said, it was evident that something was worse than they realized.
He was aware that his parents were fine after the measures they take on the protection of their home but still a tinge of worry did prick in his heart. The Potter's were well known Blood-Traitors. It would be a shock if he heard that they weren't attacked.
Sirius though, had nothing to worry about. His parents weren't in ally of You-Know-How but they were full-fledged Purebloods. They practiced Dark-Arts too. And it wasn't like he loved them to mourn over their deaths. He himself prayed every day for their deaths. He sneered.
Lily, Shane and Austin were relived from the panic of their parents being targets. But the tension and worry, did arose in them for the Blood-traitor families of their two Pureblood friends.
Remus had nothing to worry about their parents. They lived in such secluded parts of the city that no one would get till them. And now, it was confirmed that Half-Bloods weren't attacked, so, the little worry left him too. But he was sympathetic to the others families who would have faced loss. Two of his friends now. Yes. He had started of thinking them as friends.
Peter was perturbed initially but he relaxed as soon as Dumbledore pronounced that his mother was safe. Though, his worry shifted from her to the group that was sitting in front of him.
"Students, please pay attention" Dumbledore's voice held immense regret. "The names of the families I am taking have to go to their Head of the House who in turn will be escorting you to your households or showing the way where your house-elves are waiting"
"Misters Black…" he called out first.
Regulus and Sirius looked at each other in confusion from across the Hall. They rolled their eyes because they knew their parents just want them for some nonsense about the Dark Lord there. They got up lazily and left.
"Mr. Afroze…" he said the second name.
Afroze stood up and left the Hall. He looked entirely shaken and as pale as chalk. He knew some tragedy had happened with his parents.
"Miss Lynx…"
Charm's head shot up and soon her accusing eyes turned to Severus. He couldn't say anything. Nothing would make up for his faults. She left the Hall straight after, leaving him in another set of silent tears.
"Miss Solace…"
Selene straightened up and cleared her throat. "It's fine. Everyone's alright. Charm's just overreacting" she mumbled more for her assurances than anyone else's and left.
"Mr. Potter…"
James got up and took a deep breath. He knew his parents were fine, just a glance of them will prove that. He kept the thought in his mind and left.
"Mr. Smith…"
Smith looked scared for the answer to the question he was dreading. He left without a word.
"Mr. Crouch…"
Barty Crouch Jr. got up and left, sneering.
Then came many names… "Misses Selwyn, Greengrass, Rowle and Abbott… Misters Flint and Fawley…"
People got and left looking miserable. Some have only remained neutral, still they were attacked.
"Misters Rosier, Avery, Mulciber, Yaxley and Miss Shafiq your parents would like to meet you"
The three got up and rolled their eyes before leaving. The entire world knew their parents weren't harmed.
*Page Break*
Another day without them. The Purebloods' friends looked downright miserable for them and worried out of wits. It's been almost a week since the attack had happened and there had been no news from them.
The weather was getting a bit chilly and it was raining outdoors. Even the inside of the castle looked dark because of the lack of sunlight. Expertly describing the state of the people living in the castle.
Severus was sitting between Lily and Shane on the Ravenclaw table. No one saying a single word. They had been like this for all these passed days. Austin and Marlene were away, taking rounds of the school, precisely trying to get the worry off their heads. Peter and Remus were talking to Mary about something that would divert their minds to somewhere else from the people who were suffering through losses, on the Gryffindor table.
They had always cursed the Purebloods, but who knew without them the school would become this. They didn't even know that there were so many who were against You-Know-How and stood in their silent protests.
Severus sighed. "Will they ever be back?" he said to himself, hoarsely.
Shane gave a smile. "Obviously, do you believe they will be able to get free from us so easily"
"What if something has happened and Charm never talks to me again?"
Shane kept a hand on his back. "She was just worried and frustrated. She'll never stop talking to you"
"Sev, you need to keep some hope permanently in your pocket" Lily tucked his hair behind his ear from his face.
"Everything will be fine" Shane gave the last pat on his back. "Now, eat. If Selene comes here and sees you again like this, she'll have my rear"
Severus laughed mutely and tried to eat something. "I don't deserve her forgiveness" his voice cracked.
"Sev, don't think about it" Lily knew he would blame himself like that.
A scuttle was heard from the outside. Probably, the trees and bushes.
Another commotion. It just got louder.
The heads of the occupants of the Hall turned to its gate. They were back. Their friends were back. The Great Hall started filling up with people.
They all stood up, hugging their friends and asking them if everything was alright. Some had just come from the funerals of their parents or siblings or cousins or any relatives.
Some were relieved to know that their friends' families were safe and fine.
Severus' eyes met that of Charm's for a second before he looked away and took an involuntary step back. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face chapped, lined with the trails of tears. He knew something had gone wrong. He couldn't face her.
His legs took another step backwards, before a huge force almost knocked him off his feet. And before he knew what was happening, he was in Charm's arms.
"Charm…" he choked.
A sob was heard from Charm. She tightened her hold. "I am sorry, Severus… I am sorry…" she blathered.
He didn't understand. "Charm… what?"
"I am sorry for how I blamed you… so sorry… you did so much and I-" she kept on talking making no sense to anyone but herself.
"Charm!" Selene pulled her away from Severus. "Explain properly. Poor Severus isn't understanding a single thing. All the time you've been talking about what all you have to say to him and now you are making no sense"
Charm broke into another sob, but straightened and looked straight into Severus' tear-filled eyes.
"I am sorry for how I blamed you that day, Severus. I was scared till any limits-"
"I understand, Charm. It's fine if you blame me for anything that has happened. I know it's all my fault" tears slipped down his face in pain.
She shook her head though. "No. My parents are alright, because of your protections through the Aurors. They reached on time and everyone's safe"
A happy sob broke through Severus' throat. He pulled Charm into another hug. "I am glad" he sobs muffled in her blonde hair. "So, you won't stop talking to me?"
"Why would I? I love talking to you. Do you forgive me?" she asked, unsure.
"There's nothing to forgive. I understand. You were distressed" he assured.
She pulled apart. "Since when have you been so understanding?" she teased.
He simply cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "You gave me a right scare, Charm"
She brought a hand up and wiped the tears off his face. "Now, stop crying like an idiot"
He laughed and turned to Selene who had been smirking at them.
"Your parents are alright too?" he whispered.
Selene nodded happily. "All because of you, Mr. Beautiful-eyes. The stupid Death-Eaters lost their heads on the gates" she laughed.
Severus grinned and bent down to kissed her cheek. "Excellent"
"Now, now, Severus. Shane is right here" a voice came out of nowhere. They turned to see the cheery, smiling face of Austin, who seemingly have heard everything and known that people were fine.
"Perks of dating Shane. You are allowed all these friendly kisses. He's is not that stupidly possessive, is he?" Selene winked in Shane's direction.
"Though you could be that 'stupid possessive', Selene" Shane winked back.
"I don't deny the fact" she kissed him. "Though, I didn't know that Severus could kiss" she teased.
Severus raised an eyebrow to hide the blush that was creeping up his neck. "Do you think these impressive lips are just for show?"
"No, but then, you would have kissed the person who had always wanted to" she said innocently.
Severus and Lily went red till the tips of their hair. The others laughed while they gave nervous smiles and shook their heads. None noticed the other, though.
"Another set of simps" Charm rolled her eyes. "Is it only Austin who was sure enough?"
Austin was caught off guard. "Uh… well… No, it was Marlene who made the first move"
Charm smacked the back of his head. "Coward!"
"Guys!" a very happy voice came.
"Regulus!" they stared in shock.
"May I request Severus to cast his privacy charm" Regulus winked.
Severus nodded and swished his wand raising the charm.
Before the charm was complete four smiling figures managed to slip in too.
"I have been waiting for this story for so long" Sirius looked excited. "Regulus wouldn't tell me about any at home"
The others rolled their eyes.
"Fine. So, here goes the story…" Regulus began.