Homonculous |Marauders Era

Chapter Forty-Six

[Chapter Forty-Six]

Frozen in place for a few moments, Elspeth didn't know how to respond to what Lily called after her when she was trying to leave. It was obviously a moment of desperation on Lily's behalf, trying to make it so that Elspeth didn't walk away from her at the time. And for a minute or so, Elspeth debated her next actions because she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. All summer, she had waited for a response from Lily, she wanted to hear from the girl and at least, working to make amends after what had taken place at the end of the last term. However, even if Elspeth found herself desperate for friendship again, she didn't find herself just willing to go along with what Lily had said.

Mainly because any time that the girls had spoken with each other in recent times, it was normally through arguing. Elspeth wanted friends, there was no doubt about that, but she wanted them in the right way. She wanted them to be there for her, support her, and she wanted to be able to support them and lately, she was finding it difficult to support the people that she wanted to be friends with. James and Sirius, along with Remus and Peter had practically ruined everything because they simply couldn't let their childish bullying go. And as for Lily, she simply couldn't stop defending a bully in a lot of ways. Even if she wasn't friends with Severus, she was still coming up with excuses for him and that made Elspeth extremely uncomfortable.

"Yeah, well, I heard that being bilingual increases your chances of getting the job you want, so good on you, Lily," Elspeth told her finally as she turned and went to head back to her previous compartment.

"Elspeth, please!" Lily called after her, and Elspeth could only be thankful that her back was turned to the girl at the moment or she probably would have caved in right then and there. But Lily seemed just as determined at the time to try and smooth things over.

The red-head started making her way over slowly and only stopped a couple of feet from where Elspeth had stopped again.

"I know...I know that you're right and I'm wrong," Lily sighed, " I know I've been wrong for a long time. I know I shouldn't keep coming up with excuses for Severus, especially after what he did and what he said. But at the same time, I just can't believe that he said it...you know?"

Gritting her teeth, Elspeth had to fight herself from turning around, especially as she heard Lily's voice crack at the end. It didn't help that she was a sympathetic crier. If Lily started up with the waterworks, she was basically doomed to cry herself.  

"He was the first friend I made back when I was younger," Lily confessed to her, " you wouldn't know it now, but back then...back then he wasn't like this. He was nicer and he helped me understand that there was nothing wrong with me. When my sister called me a freak, he was right there to tell me that I wasn't. I...I don't know who he is now, but he wasn't like that when we first met. He's changed and maybe...maybe I just didn't want to see that. So yes, that makes me a hypocrite, I get that now."