HP - Shadow Monarch!

Chapter 69 - The Scapegoat of Hogsmeade.

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV

Hogwarts.

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Despite the shocking gossip, the school remained cloaked in sadness, which was to be expected. As Snape left his room, students had gathered that morning in the common room of their houses, maintaining silence; some still cried, others were frustrated and angry.

"I swear I'll destroy those damn dark wizards!!" James Potter shouted among his group in Gryffindor, extremely frustrated by what had happened to some of his friends and acquaintances, some tortured, others killed in the attack.

His thoughts suddenly returned to the events of the previous day, while he was in town with his group when the attack occurred and he tried to protect the others, but he was too weak to fight an adult.

He had stayed behind to hold off while Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew escaped, losing the fight a moment later.

"We'll torture him." The dark wizard said, as he was about to seize James, but someone emerged, exclaiming, "Not him, he's pure-blood!" The other spoke.

James woke up among many in a stabilized infirmary in the school courtyard while finding his friends; in the end, he felt weak and useless...

Returning to the present time, the Marauders went to the school's common room, finding the rest of the class in the same mood, while Snape saw Lily and approached her, brightening his mood.

"Lily!" He said as the girl looked at him and the others.

"Hello, boys." Lily spoke in a low tone.

"Lily... unfortunately, I was fighting other dark wizards and couldn't be by your side when you were in danger." He said, attempting to flirt.

"..." Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew silently looked on with pity for James, after all, Lily didn't seem to be paying attention to him, as she looked toward the entrance of the hall ignoring James.

Lily was looking at Snape, while James saw where her gaze was and was immediately infuriated with Snape, walking calmly as he seemed to capture Lily's attention somehow.

Lily was staring at Snape with a rather confused look... he had changed a lot, he no longer seemed to like her after what had happened and Lily began to blame herself for having abandoned him, Snape seemed to be surrounded by people who cared about him and he protected them as well, like the incident with the Ravenclaw girl the other day.

He even saw the girl despite looking sad at her table, she broke into a big smile for Snape as she waved to him, with Snape nodding his head in greeting.

Lily felt her heart flutter with a strange feeling. 'Am I jealous?' She couldn't help but murmur as she watched Snape head for an empty spot at the Slytherin table.

But what troubled Lily the most at that moment was something else, after all, memories of yesterday began to return after she had cried a lot for two friends who died in the midst of chaos horribly and many acquaintances having the same fate, aside from those who were suffering the aftermath while recovering from the unforgivable curse.

She remembers how she saw the wizards dying behind the professors mysteriously, she saw the hooded man everyone is talking about, killing some dark wizards while the professors looked into the air, she saw how he moved and it reminded her so much of Snape who had defeated her so easily.

'Why does this remind me of him...? Was it him... How...' Lily wondered. 'Blades... Snape began to show interest in blades right after he changed...' She still remembers the first and last transfiguration class that Snape attended this year. He had conjured two strange blades.