The Marauders//COMPLETED

26

It had been almost a week since the prank that nearly killed Severus, and the castle was buzzing as students and teachers alike got ready for the summer break.

As students cleaned up their dorms, they discussed the the results of their finals and how the exams went. Fortunately for James and his friends', the news of the prank seemed to have gone almost unnoticed. Of course the students noticed that Snape was no longer skulking around in his usual bat-like manner, but with the stress of the finals and the bustle to get home for the summer had distracted them. Only a handful of students knew how severe it was with Snape and how he had been lying in the Hospital Wing at the brink of death for several days.

He was better now, he just wasn't allowed to run, lift his arms above his head and various annoying things. But hey, he was out of bed. That was all the mattered to him.

He hadn't told Lily that Madam Pomphrey had lifted his bedrest order, and he waited in the crowded Great Hall among hundreds of other students, wanting to surprise her. He stood up on tiptoe but she couldn't be seen anywhere, and he was about to give up and join the Slytherin table when he caught sight of a red head among the dreary colors around them, and he moved toward her. It was difficult since no one knew about his injuries and he had to elbow his way through the crowd like everyone else, which he knew Madam Pomphrey would be horrified.

The chatting crowd parted, as if they knew what he wanted. The sight before him made him stop dead.

Lily Evans and James Potter were talking in the corner of the room. There was no sign of the usual hostility in Lily's small form, in fact, she was listening to James with rapt attention.

Snape pushed a nearby student in front of him so he could get closer without being spotted.

"...I don't know why I went to save him, I just couldn't stand by and let him get hurt, I guess," James was saying.

Lily nodded, looking at the floor as she waited for the right words to come. "Do you think you will be friends?"

James snorted, "Probably not. Snape doesn't like me very much and I don't think saving his life will change that. Especially when it was kind of my fault he needed his life saved in the first place."

Snape narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer to hear Lily as she spoke.

"Well...I'm glad you saved him," Lily smiled lightly and James couldn't help but smile back. "I guess I'll see you later, James."

"Right. Sure." James rubbed the back of his neck, his face flushing just slightly as Lily walked away. It was then that she caught sight of Severus standing in a cluster of loud students, and she didn't seem to notice that he had heard the entire conversation.

"Hey! Severus!" Lily started to make her way toward him. Snape looked at the floor, pretending he hadn't seen her. He ducked behind the students (who were giving him strange looks) and exited the Great Hall. He wasn't quite sure why he was avoiding Lily, or what that heavy feeling in his chest was. Jealousy? Of what? The way that Lily looked at James when he spoke, like he was a mystery she wanted to solve?

Snape shook his head, wishing the pain in his heart would go away. Maybe he was having a heart attack. Maybe he should see Madam Pomphrey.

He was so consumed in his own thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going until he slammed head-on into someone coming the other way. "Oh, I'm sorry-"

It was Peter Pettigrew.

"Oh, hi Severus?" Peter said in his high pitched, nervous voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Snape replied.

Peter chuckled, "not feeling in a very festive mood?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after what my idiot friends did, it makes sense that you don't want to go into the Great Hall and act like everything is fine," Peter shrugged.

Snape relaxed. Good, his conflicted feelings over Lily weren't noticeable. "Why don't you want to hang out with them, though?"

Peter shrugged, "I don't know. I have some other friends I like to hang out with."

"Ah, yeah. Lucius and his gang." Snape nodded. "I share a common room with most of them. I've heard them talk about those meetings of yours. They sound fun."

Peter lightened, "they are! Hey, we're having a last minute party before summer, you should come."

Snape didn't know what to say, "um...where and when is it?"

"Tonight at eight o'clock in the dungeons where the Potions classes usually are. Slughorn will be partying and definitely won't be there. Plus, he likes us so he won't care."

"I'll think about it."

~~~

The dungeons were alive with loud music and flashing lights. Food snatched from the kitchen were proudly displayed on the desks, which had been cleared of broken pencils and various forgotten items.

There was a knock on the dungeon door. One knock...pause...two...three slow knocks. It was the 'secret code' so the group would know it was a friendly visitor and not an angry teacher or lost student.

"LUCIUS! Bet it's that pretty girl you were making eyes at yesterday!" Bellatrix shrieked with laughter, almost falling off the desk with her goblet of something Peter was sure was illegal, but he didn't care.

Lucius laughed loudly and strode to the door, setting his goblet down on the way. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see a certain hook nosed, greasy haired boy standing awkwardly before him. "Severus?"

"Can I come in? Peter invited me." Snape said, face neutral despite his roaring heart. He knew that Lily would not approve of him hanging out with these people. But he didn't approve of her hanging out with James, which she had done anyway. The pain in his heart only intensified with the knowledge that he was doing something she would be hurt about, but he ignored it. She deserved this for hanging out with James. It was revenge.

If only he had a glass ball and could see how far his revenge would go in later years.

"Come in, Sev!" Peter called to him, readying a goblet with fizzy yellow drink for him and handing it to him as he came in.

"Glad you came!" Peter flung an arm around Severus. Whatever he was drinking was clearly very strong, and Severus set his goblet on the table and decided not to drink it.

"I'm glad to be here too."

A\N Ok so this is the end of this book! Thank you all so much for 400 reads! I know that it's not much compared to other books that are like half the length of this one with 15m reads and all that, but I am honestly surprised that my little book got this many reads. There were some rough patches, I know, but I am so thankful to all of you for sticking with this book even though there were some long and boring parts! You have no idea how much it means to me!

I am working on a sequel, and I'm hoping to publish it soon! I am aware that my books haven't gotten as much attention as other books on this app have, but that's not going to stop me from writing! It's important for me to remember that I am doing this because I love writing, not because I want votes, followers and readers. Anyways, I can't thank you guys enough for reading this book!

I'll post news about the sequel on my message board as well as at the end of this book. Well, when I have news about the sequel haha.

Stay healthy and safe! ❤

~Billie Potter