Silvanna Snape {Marauders}

Chapter Seventy-Nine

BRO WHAT? 10k reads already??? I swear we were at six yesterday. Thank you folks!!! :)

By the October full moon, Silvanna hadn't found out what the prank on Remus was, but James and Peter happily assured her they were playing the long game one evening when Sirius was with Louisa and Remus was patrolling.

However, on the Monday of the full moon, Silvanna was faced with a problem. A very awkward one too. She was just going over her Herbology revision in the common room, Louisa sharing her table, when Lily came up to them, looking quite put out and scowling. That was never good. You didn't make Lily Evans grumpy.

"Have you seen Remus?"

OH SHIT.

"Yeah, he's ill," said Silvanna coolly.

"You mean he's gone to the hospital wing? We've got to patrol," said Lily, looking even grumpier.

Silvanna sighed. Lily wasn't thick. Why was Lily acting so thick? "You know where he's gone," she said quietly, raising her eyebrows. Lily pretended to ignore her, so Silvanna turned back to One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. She still hadn't moved. Why was she still stood there. And then Silvanna understood. "I'll come with you," she said, packing her things away.

"Are you sure?" asked Lily, biting her lip nervously.

"Yeah," said Silvanna, although she very much wasn't. "Just let me chuck my things in the dorm."

"You are leaving me?" asked Louisa, sounding startled. "Have you at least seen Sirius?"

"No," said Silvanna and Lily together. Then, feeling a bit bad, because Mary and Marlene were nowhere to be seen, Silvanna added, "Sorry."

Ten minutes later, and Silvanna and Lily were walking awkwardly along the seventh floor. "So, how's Severus?" asked Silvanna, but she didn't really care.

Lily frowned further. "Do we have to talk about him?"

Silvanna was surprised. Lily Evans, the little ginger obsession, not wanting to defend Severus? Normally she jumped at the chance. "No," said Silvanna, trying and failing to sound casual. "Is everything OK with you two? Normally you seem so...solid."

Lily shrugged. "I'm worried about him," she admitted. "He won't stop talking about trying to help me - like I'm some sort of damsel in distress. And-and it's been a while since we just had a normal conversation. He always brings up the war, or you, or Potter, or Mulciber and Avery - and Marlene and Mary are always telling me about all the horrible stuff he does, but he just denies it to the death."

"Oh," said Silvanna. She'd thought Lily didn't want to talk about him, but now she'd spoken quite a lot. "It's a bit shitty, isn't it?"

Lily laughed faintly. "Yeah, a bit," she said in agreement. "What do you think?"

Did Silvanna have to think anything? "Dunno really," she said, and Lily looked disheartened. A sudden feeling of exasperation welled up inside of her, and she pulled a very odd face before calmly carrying on. "I lost my brother a long time ago, I think," she said quietly, and Lily looked up at her, green eyes sparkling with interest and curiosity. "Before Hogwarts."

"It was me, wasn't it?" Lily asked quietly as they descended the stairs to the sixth floor.

"No," Silvanna said firmly, "No, it was him. But it started when he first met you. I just - he has this side of him - I don't know what it is. He's very protective of you, and he used to just talk about you constantly, or he'd be spending time with you, and I just got a bit sick of it, so I'd take the mickey out of him."

"You really hate me, don't you?" said Lily, laughing to take the edge off a bit.

"No!" said Silvanna, quickly. "No, I already said it was him and not you. You're - you're Lily Evans. You're lovely, and kind, and smart. No wonder James has a big fat crush on you."

Lily laughed again. "Do not mention that arrogant toerag to me," she scolded, but she seemed like she was joking. "He just thinks he's so damn stellar."

"They're not so bad," said Silvanna, and Lily snorted. "Oh, come on. You must at least like Remus? You both always come back alive, so he can't be that bad."

"No, I suppose Remus is OK," said Lily hesitantly. "He's clever, isn't he? Likes his subjects and stuff."

"Oh, yeah, he's a whizz at Charms. And Runes."

Lily cleared her throat. "And is he really - you know...?"

"I don't actually," said Silvanna, staring through the large arched window ahead of them at the lake, where the moon was glistening in its surface. "But if you have something you want to ask him, you probably should."

"Right," said Lily, jaw clenched. After a short pause, "It's good if you, covering for him like this."

"We all know if it wasn't for you, I'd be the prefect instead," said Silvanna, jokingly elbowing her.

"And you've got that table in the library, don't you?" said Lily. "Louisa mentioned it to me. Do you think - I mean, would you mind if - I don't know - could I come and sit with you sometimes? Only, I don't like studying by myself-"

"Absolutely not," said Silvanna, scowling at her. "That's my table."

"Actually, it's the school's," said Lily, also frowning and folding her hands behind her back.

Silvanna burst out laughing. "Oh my God, you massive cheese-eater!" she said, making Lily turn pink. "Of course you can, I was only kidding ."

"Oh," said Lily, sounding relieved. "Oh, you big fat goof! You really faked me out!"

The rest of the evening passed relatively well, all things considered. Silvanna had never really got on the best with Lily, mostly because of her brother, but she was actually a very sweet, funny person. Silvanna had always assumed she was a bit up her own arse because of her association with Severus, but as the hours wore on, Silvanna saw their relationship for what it really was - strained, at best.