Chapter Text
Arriving at Platform Nine and Three Quarters was an awkward experience. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had to ask Mum how to get on to the platform, which seemed to annoy her. But that wasn't just the start of awkward and annoying encounters. Once we were all on the platform, things went downhill because of Petunia. Yes, Lily's older sister had to take things personally. And, as usual, Lily cried and Petunia's face almost got busted. Lily was pleading with Petunia because Petunia is the most annoying, loathsome older sister imaginable. She'd been bullying Lily for months, just because Lily had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After that, Lily, me and my older brother (by five minutes) Severus boarded the Hogwarts Express, which was the train that would take us to Hogwarts. Lily sat opposite of me, crying on the windowsill. It pained me to see my best friend crying, not just because it was Petunia's fault. It hurt because Severus and I were a huge part of why Petunia bullied her in the first place.
Severus and I are tall and skinny, and more or less goth since we wear all black. He has (and I have to be honest) oily black hair, whereas mine is a real pain to maintain due to how tangled it is in the morning. So, we look like weirdos in our neighborhood, and we have made a bad impression on Petunia. A few years ago, before Severus and I were friends with Lily, we had seen her show some signs of magic. It was in the park, and we were all about eight or nine at the time. Lily became our friend a few weeks later, and Petunia was very displeased. For one, she thought we were her favorite swear word, "freaks", and because we praised Lily for having magic, for being their ones she could relate to. Also, Severus might have accidentally caused a tree a branch to fall on Petunia. But all of that aside, it doesn't excuse her attitude towards her younger sister.
"Lily, don't let her get to you," I said. "And besides, we need to change into our school robes." We went to the back of the train where the bathrooms were ad changed. We came back to our compartment, and Lily went back to her corner next to the window. I sat next to her and gave her a comforting hug.
"You're not a freak, Lily," I said. "I have a feeling you might be one of the best witches of our age."
Just then a group of boys entered the compartment. They were all laughing at some joke before one of them asked, "May we sit here?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Only if you're able to lower your voices," I said.
Two boys sat next to me and Lily, and the other two sat opposite of them. The one sitting closest to me seemed to have a permanent smirk plastered on his face. He had long black hair and striking grey eyes. He was also fairly tall, about my height, which wasn't usual for boys our age and wreaked of rebelliousness. The one sitting next to him was about the same height and seemed to be shyer. He had brown hair and green eyes.
One of the boys opposite of them noticed Lily. "What's wrong with her?" he asked. He had messy black hair, hazel eyes, and glasses. He was just a bit shorter than the other two boys but radiated with confidence. The one next to him was rather large, with mousy brown hair and blue eyes. He was also the shortest of their group and looked like a humanoid rat.
"I don't think she wants to talk about it," I said.
"Oh. Will you tell us?" he asked again.
"It's not my place to tell you, nor is it your business," I snapped. "And besides, I don't who you are, let alone your name."
"I'm James, James Potter," he said proudly. "And the boy next to you is Sirius, and next to him is Remus. And the one next to me is Peter."
Lily remained silent, only glaring out of the window. She had stopped crying, which made me a bit happier. The boy went on telling jokes with his friends.
Severus entered the compartment. He had changed into his robes and seemed annoyed by the group of boys. He slid the compartment door closed and sat down opposite Lily. She glanced at him and then looked back out of the window.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said in a constricted voice.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.”
“So what? Who cares what she thinks?" I asked
She threw both of us a look of deep dislike. “So she’s my sister!”
“She’s only a—” He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him. “But we’re going!” he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. “This is it! We’re off to Hogwarts!”
She nodded, mopping her eyes, but despite herself, she half-smiled.
“You’d better be in Slytherin,” said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little.
“Slytherin?” asked James. “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” he asked Sirius.
“My whole family has been in Slytherin,” said Sirius.
“Blimey,” said James, “and I thought you seemed all right!”
Sirius grinned. “Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?”
James lifted an invisible sword. “'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad.”
Severus made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. “Got a problem with that?”
“No,” said Severus, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy—”
“Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” interjected Sirius. James roared with laughter.
I sat up. "Let's go," I said. Severus glared at the boys. "Severus," I said looking at him, "let's not get in trouble before we even make it to school. C'mon, let's find another compartment."
“Oooooo. . . ”
James and Sirius imitated me. James tried to trip Severus as we passed.
“See ya, Snivellus!” a voice called, as the compartment door slammed shut.
"Those ignorant pieces of--"
"You should learn to ignore people like that, Sev," I said, cutting him off whilst opening the door to an empty compartment. "Don't let the bastards get you down."
"Language, Lou!" said Lily.
I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I doubt that'll be our last encounter with them."
Later we officially arrived at Hogwarts. We went by boat to the school, which, I heard happened only for the first years. Once we entered the school, Lily, Severus and I smiled.
We were lead into the dining hall by a Professor McGonagall, where we would be sorted into our houses. She looked to be in her mid-30s or early 40s, had a stern face and her hair was tied back into a tight bun. A few students have sorted into Ravenclaw, others in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and very few in Slytherin. Then Professor McGonagall said, “Evans, Lily!”
I watched her walk forward on trembling legs and sit down upon the rickety stool. Professor McGonagall dropped the Sorting Hat onto her head, and barely a second after it had touched the dark red hair, the hat cried, “Gryffindor!”
I heard Severus let out a tiny groan. Lily took off the hat, handed it back to Professor McGonagall, then hurried toward the cheering Gryffindors, but as she went she glanced back at us, and there was a sad little smile on her face. I saw Sirius move up the bench to make room for her. She took one look at him, seemed to recognize him from the train, folded her arms, and firmly turned her back on him. The roll call continued.
I watched Remus, Peter, and James join Lily and Sirius at the Gryffindor table. At last, when only a dozen students remained to be sorted, Professor McGonagall called me. I walked to the stool and watched Professor McGonagall place the hat upon my head. “Gryffindor!” cried the Sorting Hat. I let out a breath of relief and made my way towards the Gryffindor table.
Next was Severus. Once he sat on the stool and had the hat placed on his head, the Sorting Hat cried, "Slytherin!" He looked at Lily and me with much longing as he made his way towards the Slytherin table.
"Ha! Snivellus got his wish!" said Sirius.
I ignored his remarks about my brother by talking to Remus Lupin. He was the boy who sat next to Sirius on the Hogwarts Express.
"I don't don't think we've properly introduced ourselves," I said. "I'm Lucretia, Lucretia Snape, but you can call me Lou." I outstretched my hand.
"Remus...Lupin," he said shaking my hand. He seemed very shy, which only made me curious. The color in his face seemed to be drained as if he hadn't slept in days. "Sorry about how James, Peter, and Sirius treated your brother," he said.
"It's not your place to be sorry, Remus," I said. "You seem to be the most sensible of the four of you."
"Thanks," he said awkwardly.
"You don't have to be so timid, you know," I said. "I promise I don't bite."
"I'm sure you don't," he replied. "But most people avoid people like me."
"And why is that?" I inquired.
"I wish I could tell you," he said sadly.
"You don't have too if you don't want too," I said.
After the feast, the Prefects of each House lead the first years to their commons rooms. I got my last glimpse of Sev that night as he followed his Prefect to the Slytherin dungeons. Me, Lily, Remus and the rest of the first-year Gryffindors were lead the Gryffindor tower.
Once Lily and I made it to our dorm room, we smiled. We were followed in by two girls named Alice and Marlene, who introduced themselves and seemed to get along with Lily and me I. Our luggage was already there next to our beds and changed to into our pajamas.
We fell asleep, and I dreamed of how my happy first year at Hogwarts would be. After all, I was able to choose Gryffindor even though the Sorting Hat nearly placed me in Ravenclaw. How bad could it be?
* * *
The first few weeks passed by in a blur. I enjoyed almost every second I spent at Hogwarts. I was doing well in all of my classes, and even though Sev and I were bullied by Remus' friends, James, Sirius, and Peter, I remained friends with him and Lily. It wasn't until Christmas break that they finally got to me. Severus and Lily had left for home.
Before he left he asked if he was sure I wanted to stay at Hogwarts.
"I don't want those gits bullying you while I'm not around," he said.
"I'll be fine, Severus," I assured him. "And besides, I would rather avoid Spinner's End while I have the choice."
"Promise me you won't get hurt, Lou," he said.
"I'll try," I said.
And then this happened.
Only a few people stayed over for the holidays, only me, Remus, Sirius, James and two other fifth years. I had just sent out an owl with Severus and Lily's presents since it was Christmas Eve. It had been been a few days since Lily and Sev had left, leaving me with only Remus as a friend. It's not like that was a bad thing, it just meant that I had only one person to talk to. I was talking to him next to the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room when Potter and Black came down.
"Where's your brother, Snape? Off gutting a rat?" asked James.
I ignored him, trying to get Remus to stop looking at the both of us.
"Hopefully he gets some shampoo while he's out. The poor git needs it," taunted Black.
"C'mon Remus, let's go to the library. We could also play some chess," I said, continuing to ignore the idiots. We got up, grabbed a chessboard, and headed for the library. But one thing I should have paid attention to was James and Sirius talking in whispers while we left. Over our three total games (me winning once, Remus twice), we both learned some things about each other that wouldn't have come up otherwise. We were both Half-bloods, which, to be honest, we both kind of knew. We also talked about our likes and dislikes of people, mine being fairly obvious.
Once we made it back to the Common Room all hell went loose. I took one step into the room and the bloody gits had set up a trap. A whole bucket of Permanent Paint had fallen on me. I couldn't even scream or anything for a minute, because of how shocked I was. I wasn't mad at the two fifth years laughing, I mean, I would probably laugh too if I wasn't the one getting paint poured on me for a one-time thing. The only person who didn't seem to laugh was Remus, who looked horrified. After a moment I turned to them, anger flaring in my eyes. I pulled out my wand, pointed it at them and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Both Sirius and James became like statues, still and lifeless. Everyone in the Common Room stopped laughing and were just as still like them, even without the jinx. Before I did anything that could get me expelled, I stormed out of the Common Room and made my way to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and I was sure he could fix my situation. Remus followed me, telling me that he was sorry.
"Lou, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I should have known!"
"It's not your fault, Remus," I said, trying my best not to yell.
I reached the statue that leads to Dumbledore's office, but he was already there as if he knew I was coming.
"Good evening, Ms. Snape," he said, looking at me over his half-moon spectacles with his ice-blue eyes. "It seems you have a problem."
"I'm sorry I came so late, Professor," I said. "But, as you stated, I do have a problem."
"Mr. Lupin, I think Ms. Snape would like to talk in private," said Dumbledore.
Remus nodded and left. I followed Dumbledore into his office, which was filled with almost enough wonder to take my mind off of the fact I had been pranked. Almost. I sat in the seat in front of him, though hesitant at first.
"Oh, let me fix that, " he said pointing at the paint that covered my head and shoulders. With a flick of his wand, it was gone. "Now, I'm sure you're going to tell me about how this all happened."
I did as he expected, trying my very best not to exaggerate. After I finished telling him, he sighed.
"Mr. Black is facing some family problems, which may be the reason he's acting a bit...mischievous."
"That doesn't excuse the fact that he's an insolent git! And it's not just him. It's James Potter as well!" I said.
Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure out Potter's intentions soon," he said. "I believe it's time for bed."
I decided not to argue, and I was very tired. I went back to the Common Room, ignoring all of the eyes that followed me up the girl's staircase. My dorm room was empty, which was a relief for once. I changed into my pajamas and fell asleep in the silent dorm.
The next morning, I was the first person to make it to the Common Room. It was about four in the morning on Christmas Day, and the only noise was the fire crackling in the fireplace. I sat next to the window, watching the snowfall on the completely white ground. I was still in my pajamas and I didn't bother to change out of them until I got bored.
I made my way back to my room and changed into an ugly sweater, some leggings, and my black Doc Martens. I then took notice of the Christmas tree in my room. Under it were three presents: one from Severus, one from Lily and one that had no name or address. It only read: To Lucretia Snape.
Severus gave me 10 galleons, and Lily got me a sketchbook and pens. I was a bit hesitant to open the one with no address, think it was probably some stupid prank. But in the end, I opened it. Inside of the package was a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and a necklace. The charm looked like a triangle eye.
There was also a not that read:
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
"What an odd thing to say," I mumbled to myself.
I made my way down to the Common Room again. It was about seven in the morning now, and the few students that had stayed over were talking to one another. Over in the corner, I could see Remus talking to them. He saw me from across the room and made his way towards me.
"Happy Christmas," he said.
"Likewise," I replied. "I'm hungry, wanna go down for breakfast?" I asked.
Before he could respond, James and Sirius made their way towards us, Pettigrew following them.
"Look who it is, the little Snitch," said Black. "Do you always make a big deal out of jokes?"
"There's a fine line between jokes and being a complete arse, Black," I retorted.
"Just leave her alone," said Remus. "Let's go, Lou."
"Why are you friends with her, Remus?" asked James. "Is it because you feel bad for her?"
"Can't you at least find something else to do instead of being insufferable brats?" I asked. "It's Christmas, for Merlin's sake!"
The year rest of the year wasn't as bad. Sure, the boys still bullied Sev and me, but I didn't lash out (that much). Remus and Lily were still my friends, and defended me at times, even when I told them not to. Severus seemed to get more depressed, and the more I tried to talk to him, the more secretive he became.
The year ended so quickly, I didn't feel ready to leave. Lily, Remus and I had the highest scores for years in Gryffindor, which made the three of us extremely happy. The hardest part of it all was on the train. Remus sat with James, Sirius, and Pettigrew, which was a bit upsetting for me. Severus hated all four of them, and I believe he had a grudge against me for befriending Remus.
Once we made it to King's Cross, I was able to spot our mother at the back of the crowd. Next to her was Mr, and Mrs. Evans and Petunia, who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. I hugged Lily before she went to her parents. Before Sev and I could leave, I hugged Remus, too.
"See you next year," he said, smiling.
"You too," I said, walking away, prepared for another summer at Spinner's End.
* * *
Three dull months had finally passed and Severus and I were back at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. I was able to spot Lily boarding the train through the sea of students. Sev and I boarded the train ourselves, trying to find Lily's compartment. Then I bumped into somebody.
"Remus!" I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I missed you too, Lou," he said, hugging me back.
Sev, who had been in front of me had vanished.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts!" I said, smiling.
"See ya," he said.
I was able to find Lily and Sev only thirty seconds later. Lily was talking to Sev, who seemed to enjoy every moment of attention before I opened the compartment door. I sat down next to Lily.
"You are you friends with him?" asked Severus.
"Remus?" I asked. He nodded. "Why shouldn't I be?"
"He's friends with Potter and Black, Lou!" he spat. "Those good for nothing bastards."
"That doesn't mean he's a bastard, Severus!" I said. "And besides Lily, he's my only friend!"
Silence filled the compartment. After a moment, Severus spoke again.
"There's something funny about him," he said slowly.
"Well, that's rich, coming from you!" I said.
At that moment Potter passed our compartment. He saw Lily and winked. Lily and I cringed and Severus looked livid. He smirked and walked off. Severus, whose face was almost a red as Lily's hair, took out his wand.
"I'm going to jinx him," he said through gritted teeth.
"Don't let him get to you," I said. "He's only trying to get you into trouble."
"I'll strangle him if I have to," he said.
"And then, you'd be expelled from Hogwarts," I said flatly. "And I wouldn't defend you, because I'm warning you!"
Severus glared at me.
"You wouldn't take my side if I defended myself against them?"
"Not when you could easily report it to Dumbledore!" I said.
I looked outside of the window. We passed by the beautiful landscape, about thirty minutes into the train ride, I pulled out Hogwarts: A History and began to read. About twenty minutes later, the trolley lady came by. The three of us got Cauldron Cakes and chocolate frogs and began to dig in.
We made it Hogwarts, and unlike last year, we took the carriages to the castle instead of going there by crossing the Great Lake. I'd read about them whilst on the Hogwarts Express. It wasn't a long way up to the castle, maybe about a ten minutes ride. Honestly, I found it fascinating that the carriages were pulling themselves, and I felt there was more to it than that. After the Sorting, we had the back-to-school feast, in which all of the food was delicious. Then began my second year at Hogwarts.
The first few weeks were great, aside from James and Sirius' constant teasing. As far a classes go, Potions, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts were my favorites. But one Potions class, in particular, bit me right in the arse.
We were making Sleeping Draught when Professor Slughorn assigned partners. And with my luck, I ended up with Black. I reluctantly move into the seat next to him. I added four springs of Lavender and two springs of Standard Ingredient to the mortar and crushed it into a creamy paste with the pestle. For the five minutes it took to do the first two steps, Sirius was making jokes and talking.
"Make yourself useful," I hissed at him. "Add two blobs of Flobberworm Mucus and two measures of Standard Ingredient to the cauldron."
To my surprise, he followed my instructions with only a couple of mumbles. I added three measures of the crushed mixture to the cauldron and waved my wand. Two measures of Standard Ingredient, four Valerian Sprigs and seven stirs clockwise later, I waved my wand to complete the potion. Professor Slughorn looked extremely impressed when we gave him our vial of the draught.
Once the class was dismissed, Sirius began boasting about how he had made the potion so well.
"I mean, I had no choice," he said. "If I let her make it, it would've been a disaster!"
"Oh really?" snapped Lily of all people. "The only thing I saw you do was adding the Flobberworm Mucus."
"Just ignore him," I said to her.
"I saw it, though," she said to me. "You did most of the work!"
"All that matters is that I get an Exceeds Expectations or Outstanding on that potion."
Halloween passed, and now everyone was excited about Christmas. People were already talking about what they'd be doing once the holidays started.
"I'm staying for the holidays," Lily said to me a week before break.
"Thank Merlin," I said. "I think Sev is staying, too." I looked across the Great Hall to see Severus at the Slytherin table. Some of his peers were cackling loudly around him as he read his potions book.
"Just look at him," I heard James say from a few seats down. "I bet you anything that he'll be a Death Eater." Sirius turned a bit pink but tried to pass it off by agreeing with James.
I jumped up and pulled out my wand. "Call him a Death Eater again, Potter!" I said. "Say it again and see what happens."
"Lou, you might into trouble!" said Lily, who was trying to pull me back down.
"Well, it's true," said James coolly.
"Just because he's a Slytherin?" I asked, and I could feel my face getting warmer from anger.
"Not just that," he said. "See who he's with? All of their parents are probably serving--"
I cut him off by glaring at him. "My brother is not a Death Eater, and if you say it again--"
"You'll what?" asked Sirius. "You're making an awful lot of threats without stating the consequences, Snape."
"I'll go to Dumbledore," I said. "And I'll let him decide your punishment." I left the Great Hall, Lily following after me.
"Sure," called Sirius. "Let Dumbledore solve your problems."
Remus began to look sicker as the months progressed, and even after Christmas, he didn't get any better. For my presents, I had gotten a chocolate bar from Remus, a Raven feather quill from Lily, and a book on Potions from Sev.
Sirius, James, and Peter picked on me every chance they got, which was becoming more often. I had gotten so used to it that I can almost completely ignore them entirely. Except when I do they pull my hair or try to trip me.
Easter had passed, and I had noticed Remus had scratches on his face. But whenever I asked about it, he would say he had somewhere to be. What made me angry was how it seemed that Sirius, James, and Peter seemed to know exactly why he had the scars.
"So you tell them about your scars, but not me?" I asked one day in late May. We were finishing up an essay in the library, and only hearing the sound of quills scratching against paper began to drive me mad. Also, I had enough of it.
"W-what do you mean?" he asked looking at me.
"Don't even start it, Remus," I said. "You know exactly what I mean."
"They-they have helped me a lot, okay?" he said, going back to his essay.
"So they can help but I can't?" I asked.
"No! That's not what I meant Lucretia!" he said as I put my finished essay, quill and ink bottle in my bag. "It's just that, if-" he tried to find the right words. "I just can't tell you, Lou. I wish I could, but, if you knew you'd never want to be my friend!"
"Then why should I be your friend now?" I asked. I didn't mean it at all, but I was extremely pissed off. And with that I stormed out of the library, trying my best not to cry. Once I made it to my dorm, I let it go. I let the emotions go, and I cried. I cried about being an arse to Remus. I cried about being bullied for two years straight. And I cried because in two weeks I was leaving the only home that kind of accepted me.
Remus and I didn't talk at all for two weeks. I scored the highest in my year on the exams. And the train ride home was mostly Lily, Sev and I thinking about our classes for next year.
Once we reached King's Cross, we said goodbye to Lily and went home for another dreadful summer.