The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Just a Spat

Just a Spat

Severus Snape was waiting outside of the Gryffindor common room, arguing with the portrait of the Fat Lady, when Lily and Remus got to the tower. "I'm bloody telling you, I'm her best friend! She would want to see me, if you'd just open up enough I could call her name - she'd come out to talk to me, it's not like I need to go in their ruddy common room, I don't want to go in, I want Lily Evans to come out!" Severus was saying.

"I'm sorry, that's quite impossible!" trilled the Fat Lady, waving a fan at her face as though she were hot, despite the icy air that filled the corridor.

Severus balled his fists, "It's not impossible!" he snarled, "You're just too much of a barmy old pig to --"

"Severus," Lily said, angrily.

Severus turned about to see Lily and Remus coming down the hall. His anger only deepened when he saw that she was holding his hand, their fingers laced together intimately.

"See?" the Fat Lady grouched from behind him, "It is impossible for her to come out to speak with you, seeing as she was never in to come out from!" She settled herself into her chair, quite full of herself and pleased with her victory.

Severus steamed. "Where've you been?" he demanded, "I looked everywhere for you."

"Obviously not everywhere," Lily answered coolly.

Severus grit his teeth. "Lily, we need to talk."

"I haven't got anything to say to you."

"You do, you're just being impossible about it."

The Fat Lady cleared her throat.

Severus turned to her, "Stop your gloating! You didn't know she wasn't in there until she walked up!"

"Stop yelling at her," Lily said.

"Thank you, lovie," said the Fat Lady endearingly to Lily. She stuck out her tongue at Severus.

"If you're still angry at me over the summer, then you need to let it go already," Severus said, "I told you, it isn't my fault that I wasn't home to lay about the pond with you and talk gibberish. I had things to do - important things."

Lily was stung by the insinuation that spending time with her was no longer considered important, but she didn't allow herself to point it out to Severus. Instead, she replied, honestly, "I'm not angry about the summer. I'm angry that you were spying on me and Remus earlier. You won't be around me, yet you hate letting anybody else be. You can't have it both ways."

Severus glowered, "I don't hate letting anybody else be around you. It's just them," he added, waving at Remus, "Him and the rest of those awful Gryffindor boys he hangs about with! Sirius Black and that... Potter," he said the names with an incredible amount of hatred, "I didn't mind you hanging about with Alice Bell, did I?"

"No, well she's dead, isn't she? Because the Dark Lord killed her," Lily said hotly.

"The Dark Lord didn't kill her," Severus said.

"Yes he did - she's dead, isn't she?!"

"The Dark Lord has better things to do than go about killing teenagers!"

Lily felt tears burning her eyes, "What are you, head of his fan club now?"

"No," Severus replied, "I'm not. But I know a great deal more about what he would and would not do than you do, obviously! You're being rather stupid about it. And I wasn't spying on you, I was trying to make sure you were alright - you went running by and I was worried about you! I was just checking in on you - making sure you didn't need my help. I was being a good friend."