Jane hurried down the corridor, her footsteps echoing sharply against the ancient stone. The anticipation of seeing Lily and finally getting her hands on those extra Transfiguration notes she had taken had had her on the edge of her seat all day. Her OWL's were only weeks away and Jane had not had the chance to get nearly as much revision in as she had wanted. And with Gryffindor having Transfiguration with Slytherin, Jane was hoping there was information in Lily's notes that McGonagall didn't mention in her own classes.
As she drew closer to the Gryffindor common room, she realised with a sinking feeling that she didn't know the password. The thought of waiting for someone to let her in was an unwelcome prospect. The imposing portrait of the Fat Lady loomed ahead, her painted eyes seemingly closed in slumber. Jane hesitated, debating whether to risk a guess or simply wait patiently. Though she worried that if she waited long enough, the Fat Lady would awake and insist on performing for Jane.
"Wonderful," she muttered under her breath, leaning against the wall. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a futile attempt to ward off her anxiety. The minutes seemed to stretch into an eternity as she stood alone in the silent corridor. Occasional bursts of laughter or chatter from distant parts of the castle offered brief reprieves from the quiet.
With curfew looming closer, Jane was on the verge of giving up, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed around the corner. Her head snapped up, and she watched as Lily sprinted down the hall, her fiery red hair streaming behind her. Tears streamed down Lily's face, and she clutched her books to her chest as if they were a lifeline.
"Lily?" Jane called out as she rushed towards her friend.
Not responding, Lily's focus was solely on reaching the safety of the Gryffindor common room. With ragged breaths, she blurted out the password, "Pumpkin Pasties," to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open, revealing the cosy common room. Without hesitation, Lily grabbed Jane's arm and pulled her inside, closing the portrait behind them.
Trying to keep up with her friend's pace, Jane asked, "Lily, what happened?"
Once again there was no reply, only more broken sobs. Lily pulled Jane through the crowded common room, ignoring the curious stares of other students. The warmth of the room, with its crackling fire and scent of broom polish, seemed to offer no solace to Lily's obvious distress. They ran up the winding spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory, the walls lined with portraits that watched their ascent with an air of concerned curiosity. Jane had to catch herself multiple times as her feet tried to keep up with Lily's long legs. She had become dangerously close to tripping and taking Lily down with her.
Once inside, Lily finally let go of Jane and collapsed onto her bed, the canopy curtains quivering from the sudden impact. Her body shook with loud snotty sobs as she buried her face in her pillow. Jane stood at the foot of the bed, unsure of what to do. She wanted to comfort her friend, but words seemed inadequate.
"Lily, please, talk to me," Jane implored, sitting down on the edge of the bed. The plush mattress sinking her further into the bed with each second. "What's wrong?"
Instead of speaking, Lily reached out and pulled Jane into a tight hug, burying her tear soaked face into Jane mane of curls. Lily was mumbling something to Jane but between the crying and the worry that Lily was getting snot in her hair, Jane didn't hear a thing. She held Lily close, rubbing her back soothingly, trying to sooth her in any way possible.
The minutes stretched on, the room slowly filled only with the soft sounds of Lily's crying and Jane's whispered reassurances. Eventually, Lily pulled back slightly, her eyes red and puffy. Even looking like a blubbering mess, Jane couldn't help notice Lily still looked beautiful.
She sniffed and wiped at her face with the back of her hand, taking a shaky breath. "I'm sorry," Lily managed to croak out.
Jane nodded as she secured her hair back with the hair tie she kept around her wrist, trying to get the snotty hair away from her face.
"It's okay, Lily. You don't have to explain if you're not ready."
The red head just looked down at her duvet, pulling the hair stuck to her cheeks back. She took in a deep breath and slowly released it. With trembling hands, Lily leaned over the edge of the bed and reached into her bag, pulling out a stack of parchment.
"Here are the Transfiguration notes."
"Thank you, Lily. I'll look them over and return them tomorrow," Jane promised, gently sliding them into her school bag.
Curling into a tight ball on her bed, Lily pulled what blankets she could up to her chin like a protective cocoon. Jane hesitated, torn between wanting to offer more comfort and respecting Lily's need for solitude. Finally, she stood up, giving Lily's shoulder a gentle squeeze. The soft fabric of Lily's robes yielded to her touch, and she could feel the tension emanating from her friend's body.
"I'll leave you to rest, okay? If you need anything, I'm here for you," Jane said softly as she made to exit the room.
Looking back, she saw Lily blankly staring at her dorm mates bed, deep in thought. As if she was repeating a moment over and over in her head. Jane's chest tightened as she quietly left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
As she stepped out of the Gryffindor common room and back into the dimly lit corridor, Jane took a deep breath, trying to shake off the lingering melancholy from her encounter with Lily. This was not the state of mind she needed to be in while she looked over these notes. She needed to be focused and while empathizing with Lily was important, now was not the time.
Just as she began to make her way back to the Hufflepuff common room, a figure burst into view, running swiftly up the corridor. Snape, his black robes billowing behind him, was an unexpected sight. His usually pale complexion seemed even more pallid in the dim light, and his typically composed demeanour was replaced by an aura of frantic urgency. The only color on him was the slight blue hue that lingered under his skin which Jane guessed was due to lack of oxygen.
"Lily!" he shouted as he reached the Fat Lady's portrait. He placed his hands on either side of the frame, frustration evident on his face as he realised he didn't know the password. He began to pound on the portrait's frame, not noticing the glare from both the painting and Jane.
"Lily! Please!"
The portraits painted lips scrunched with annoyance as she watched the Slytherin. "Oh, for goodness' sake, will you please be quiet!"
He didn't hear her.
"Lily! I am sorry!"
"One more knock and I'll have you reported to the Headmaster!"
Snape continued to pound on the frame, begging.
The woman let out a frustrated huff before leaving her frame and mumbling something about telling Violet. If Jane remembered correctly, Violet was a rather flirty and noisy portrait by the Great Hall.
After watching Snape wail a bit more and enjoying how pathetic he looked, Jane let out an indignant snort.
"Snape. She's not seeing anyone." Her tone left no room for argument.
At her words, his body froze mid knock. With a turn of his heel, he faced her, his eyes narrowing as he assessed Jane's determined posture. And then for the second time that night, the unbearable git surprised her.
"Please," his voice dropped, fill ed with urgency, "Lewis. I have to talk to her."
"No. I've already told you, Lily doesn't wish to speak with anyone. You must respect her wishes." Her arms folded as her brow furrowed.
His features momentarily hardened, as if ready to argue, but he quickly relaxed his scowl. As if knowing that wouldn't help him with her. Any Slytherin worth his salt knew honey, rather than vinegar, was what caught a Hufflepuff. Especially if that Hufflepuff regularly wished you would catch Spattergroit.
"Please. Allow me to explain. This wasn't how things were meant to be."
His broad shoulders, normally squared in defiance, slumped, and his gaze dropped to the stone floor, evading Jane's penetrating stare. To Jane's ears he sounded almost repentant. But Jane didn't trust the snake further than she could throw him and her upper body strength was nonexistent.
"Lewis," Snape pleaded once more with a desperate plea. "She must understand that I am truly sorry."
Irritation sparked in Jane's eyes as she tilted her head, studying him with disbelief. She stepped closer, fists clenched at her sides. Her head was tilted up at an awkward angle so she could glare into those spider black eyes. "What did you mean by 'meant to be''? What happened?"
Adam's apple bobbing, Snape took a visible gulp as his eyes darted nervously, scanning the hallway for a nonexistent exit. Defeated, he confessed, "I insulted her with a vile slur."
Her lips pursed so tightly that they rivaled those of McGonagall. Jane just stood there waiting as her anger simmered beneath the surface.
"It was an accident. I didn't mean to call her a Mudblood." He desperately tried to clarify.
Jane's world tilted on its axis as Snape's confession pierced her heart. A physical jolt of pain shot through her, and she clutched at his robes for balance. A tempest of emotions erupted within her - rage, disbelief, and desire to crush his family jewels. The confines of the corridor seemed to close in, the flickering torchlight mirroring her thoughts.
That word echoed in her mind, each syllable like a hammer blow to her understanding of him and Lily's friendship.
Mudblood.
Without thinking she looked to her left arm before her voice cracked as she echoed his words. "Mudblood?" The phrase felt like poison in her mouth. "You called her a Mudblood?"
Her eyes locked onto Snape's, desperately seeking a flicker of regret or true penance, but finding only a toxic blend of guilt and defiance.
A fierce protectiveness roared within Jane, a white-hot fury fueled by Snape's cruelty and a profound loyalty to Lily. Her body became a taut bowstring, every muscle straining against the leash of her control as the storm within her gathered strength.
The spineless git began to stammer out an explanation, but Jane couldn't hear it. Her anger boiled over, her voice rising to a shout as she lashed out at him, "You called her a Mudblood? How dare you, Snape!" Her words reverberated off the stone walls as she realized she was still holding his robes. She slammed her fist against his chest as she tried to release this fury that was consuming her.
Snape's hands shot up in a futile attempt at self-preservation, his robes whispering against the stone. "It was a mistake, Lewis. I didn't mean—"
Jane silenced Snape's feeble protest with a scathing retort. "A mistake? That vile slur, hurled at your so-called best friend? You're nothing but a prejudiced purist! No different from the rest of them! You don't deserve Lily's compassion, let alone her friendship!"
He took a step back, out of reach from her hands that had left at least one bruise on his chest. "Words aren't spells, Snape," she spat. "They leave scars. You can't undo the damage with a flick of your wand."
His eyes flashed with guilt. "You don't understand—"
"No, you don't understand!" Jane shouted not caring if another student or even a professor heard her. "Lily is one of the kindest, most loyal people I know! And you threw her friendship away because of your disgusting obsession with blood purity! Do you have any idea how much you've hurt her?"
Snape flinched, his fists tightening as he struggled to maintain his composure. "I'm trying to make it right—"
"You can't make this right! Not with an apology, not with anything. You choose your path, Snape, and now you have to live with the consequences." Her voice was starting to break as the tears threatened to stream down her face.
For a moment, Snape looked like he might argue, but then something in his expression changed. The anger and desperation softened into something almost like vulnerability. "Please, Jane," he begged. "Just let me explain to her. I didn't mean for things to go this way."
"Explain?" Jane scoffed bitterly, shaking her head. "Explain how you could call her that?"
Snape recoiled, his anger mirroring Jane's intensity. "Potter and his cronies," he spat. "They've poisoned her mind, convinced her she's superior. She thinks she's too good for her own kind."
"That's not an excuse, Snape! Your prejudice is your own, not a byproduct of someone else's influence!"
Clenching his jaw, Snape took a shaky breath as he grit his crooked teeth. "You don't understand," he muttered. "You never will."
She took a step closer to him, not bothered about his personal space. "No, I understand perfectly, You think your pureblood pride gives you the right to insult and degrade others. Well, let me tell you something—you don't deserve Lily. I don't know if you ever did."
A mix of pain and defiance flickering across Snape's face as he tried to hide himself behind his lanky black hair. "I love her," he insisted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I never wanted to hurt her. It was a stupid mistake."
"Love? If you truly loved her, you wouldn't have said such a vile thing." She couldn't believe he was pathetic enough to stoop that low and try to manipulate her with such a lie.
"I know. I know," he admitted quietly, his shoulders slumping in remorse. "I messed up."
Jane's jaw tightened. "Your apologies are hollow, Snape. I don't know if Lily will ever forgive you."
Before he could respond, she turned away and left him to wallow in self pity. With a sense of satisfaction that her friend finally dropped the tosser, Jane began the long walk back to her common room. All the while secretly hoping that the loss of friendship ruined Snape enough that she would finally beat him out for top marks that year.
A/N: Writing this scene was my I'm not like other time travel fanfic's moment. Also if anyone wants to make my American Thanksgiving weekend any better, comments and kudo's always help!