sister of the wolf | s. snape

ten | alone

The next few days were lonely for Elise. James and Sirius wouldn't speak to her. Well, neither would Peter, but quite frankly she didn't care as much about that one as they weren't very close in the first place. Remus would only speak to her for a short period of time, when the boys weren't around, and the way he looked at her as if she had gone mad was starting to annoy her. Willow and Evelyn talked to her, of course, but they were wary, not knowing when she was going to break under the stress of the situation.

Lily had slowly become less quiet, beginning to get past the mourning of her friendship with Snape. James seemed to work tirelessly to attempt to make her laugh, or at least smile.

And as for Snape, Elise kept a close eye on him. At meals and in class he looked so broken and miserable. He ignored his friends and isolated himself entirely. Elise felt wary about comforting him, but she knew how he felt. The loneliness was suffocating, and she wanted him to know she was there.

It felt awful; unending. Not knowing when or if the boys she considered her family - or any of the other Gryffindors she'd grown close to - would ever speak to her again. She loved them all so deeply and had been so unbreakingly loyal, that she'd never expected them to abandon her so easily. And all because she showed kindness to someone that none, aside from Lily, had even attempted to get to know.

One evening, about a week after the whole ordeal, Elise sat in a big black armchair in the corner of the Hufflepuff common room. She nibbled on a pumpkin pasty - comfort food - while reading a novel in her lap. Her legs were curled up in the chair with her, her oversized sweater she wore almost swallowing her tiny body whole.

The door that led into the corridor creaked open, and she spared a glance towards it, seeing Remus and Lily emerge. They gazed around until their eyes landed on Elise and they made their way to her, both sitting on the floor in front of her.

Elise sighed, shutting her book and gazing at them through tired, heavy-lidded eyes. Her eyeliner was even more smudged than usual and her thick hair was entangled, unbrushed for a couple of days.

"Hey, El," Lily said softly, placing a hand on the sad girl's knee.

"Hey," Elise's voice cracked.

"I've been speaking with James and Sirius," Remus began gently. "They miss you so much. They just don't feel like they can trust you, while you're friends with Snape..."

The brunette shook her head, scoffing. "What has he ever done to them? I understand why Lily is angry with him. But, he's even helped you, Remus. For years. And you haven't even tried once to convince them to tolerate him."

"Severus is on a bad path," Lily said, pain in her eyes. "I've tried to steer him from it so many times. But he has such darkness in him..."

"Nobody is just plain evil," Elise interrupted firmly. "He isn't flat-out born a Death Eater. There is good in him. I know there is." Her voice dropped to a whisper on the last few words.

"Elise, you really don't know him," Remus said, taking her hand in both of his. "Lily does. Better than anyone. I think you should listen to her."

Lily nodded, giving the girl a small smile. "You have such a big heart," she said. "And I admire that so much. But I - we - don't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of myself," Elise reassured, though there was an edge in her voice. "I miss you all... so much. But if I don't try to help Snape," she inhaled shakily. "And he turns out to be exactly what you all expect him to... I'll never forgive myself. I have to try."

Remus and Lily looked at each other for a second, as if having a mental conversation. Eventually, Remus nodded and sighed frustratedly. The two stood.