Lily Evans and the Marauder's Secrets

Chapter 16: Re-focus

It's absolutely dark outside and our dormitory is full of the sounds of even breathing and light snoring when Alice crawls onto my bed. My hangings are drawn tight shut to keep the warm glow of my wand from disturbing the other seventh year girls while I finished up some reading for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"You should be asleep," Alice whispers.

"Can't. Want this read before Monday," I yawn.

"You know we only needed to read through page 79, right?"

"Yeah," I say, turning the page. "But it referenced the effectiveness of jinxes versus hexes, I had to cross-reference some of them to do my own comparison and then I got sidetracked by Impervious Jinxes and, well. You know me." I shrug.

Alice laughs a little and sighs. "You never do take the easy way out, do you?"

"And what would I do with all the spare time that would leave me?"

We lapse back into silence, Alice's head resting on my shoulder while I read. I'm just thinking she might have fallen asleep when she speaks again.

"So where were you really during the match today?"

"Huh?" I glance down at her. She sits up, frowning.

"Look, Emmeline may want to pretend there's nothing going on, but I know you didn't stand in line for thirty minutes just to use the toilets. No one even uses the toilets at a Quidditch match. So where were you?"

I close my book slowly with a light snap. "I'm not sure you really want to know, either," I say.

Alice's frown deepens. "Was it something to do with Snape?"

"Kind of?"

She sighs again. "I was worried as much."

"But it wasn't just him," I admit. "I was following that whole Slytherin gang again, like Emmeline and I tried to do the other day last week."

"Wait, so why didn't you tell me about this sooner? You know I would love to bust some Slytherins with you!"

"It's not just about busting them," I say. "I want to know what they're up to so I can talk Severus out of the whole mess."

"Lily!" Alice says, exasperated. I shush her, and she lowers her voice marginally. "They are all up to no good. Snape's not getting towed along like some hapless first year. He's in it with these guys."

"I know, I know!" I say. "But I can't believe it's going to be some evil plot they're mixed up in if Sev is with them. And if it is, I... I can't believe Sev knows the full extent of what they're planning."

Alice raises her eyebrows. "So you want to, what, rescue him? You're not even talking to him right now."

I fiddle with the hem of my blanket, not looking at her.

"You're not talking to him right now, right?" she repeats.

"No, but... but I was planning on talking to him Monday morning. In Potions."

"Lily why?" she says in exasperation.

"Because... because we've been friends since we were seven. And he's tried to apologize. More than once, and I've just ignored him. And... and I'm worried about him, Alice. I don't know what he's got himself mixed up with, but if I can stop it --"

"Lily, that's not your job. You can't make people change."

"It wouldn't be a change," I say. "I'm just... going to tell him to be careful. And talk him out of going along with anything Dark. And maybe... maybe if we're on speaking turns, he can even be, I don't know, like a spy for us!"