The Black Pawn (R.L.)

38 - Bitter

I shouldn't have been surprised that even things at Hogwarts would change after that day. The tension on the train was heavy, hitting me like a fog the moment I stepped on after my younger brother. Students seemed to huddle together, speaking in hushed voices as opposed to the excited conversation I was used to hearing on that initial ride to school. There was more hostility than I remembered, the occasional sound of arguments picking up in different compartments would draw me away from my conversation with Thomas and Evan.

The residual apprehension from the train eventually faded away as I walked through the courtyard, one of my best friend's arms linked through my own. Seeing Lily's grinning face was all the comfort I had needed over the last few weeks. Sirius could tell me my friends were fine all he wanted, but it is true what they say—seeing is believing. Besides, they seemed to be at least a semblance of normalcy. No matter what had changed around me, they seemed to be the one constant. Lily was less than pleased about that lack of maturity, though.

"He's infuriating." She complained, pulling me along with her to sit on one of the nearby stone benches. Apparently she needed a break from them after a very long train ride. "After the way he handled the...you know, incident. I thought maybe pigs have flown and James Potter has matured."

"Until he offered you that charmed tea cup?" I tried to conceal my snickers, but from the way her green eyes narrowed and her lips pursed together I could tell I had failed. I shot her an apologetic smile. "It didn't actually nip you though, right?"

"Hardly." Lily shook her head. "But if I hadn't been paying attention, I might've had a red nose for the entire welcome feast. Like I need anything else for people to be able to tease me about." She blew a piece of stray hair away from her eyes.

My heart dropped to my stomach at her words. Selfishly, I hadn't even thought of how this might affect my friend at school. Kids could be cruel—which truthfully was an understatement. "Have people been saying anything to you?" I lowered my voice just a touch so that other passing students wouldn't be more inclined to pry into our conversation. "Because I swear I will hex them to oblivion. I will."

"It's not what they've said as much as the looks I've been getting." She shrugged, lightly squeezing my hand as a gesture of her appreciation. "But I'm sure professors will be extra astute about that kind of thing after this summer." Lily worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "It was so terrifying, Opal."

"I was gone before I could even see anything." I admitted, my face instinctively paling at the mention of that night. The guilt of leaving my friends alone in that moment was crushing, even if it wasn't exactly my choice. "I just...heard the screams. Sirius won't even tell me what it was like."

"Maybe that's best." Lily's voice has quieted to nearly a whisper. She glanced up from her hands, a slight smile coming across her face as she gave a little wave.

I followed her line of sight to where Snape was trailing slightly behind his friends, his face mostly impassive as he gave an almost missable wave back. "What did he have to say about it?" My curiosity was genuine, a nosiness to the strange friendship between the two only a secondary reason.

"He didn't really say much." She lifted her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. "Truthfully, I only saw him every other week after that happened. It was weird."

"He's kind of a weird guy." I mimicked her shrug, the teasing smile twitching on my lips was supposed to be comforting.

Lily giggled at that, giving me a slight shove. "Yeah, well so are you. I can't even send you an owl over the summer without worrying." My own laughter died slightly at that, the guilt quickly returning. She of course picked up on it and made an attempt to pull me out of it by physically pulling me up onto my feet. "Come on. Let's go or we'll miss the feast. Marlene said she overheard the Head Boy saying Dumbledore was going to serve trifle for dessert. You'll sit at the Gryffindor table won't you?"