Secret Life (as Severus Snape's Daughter) - English

Chapter 9: Duality and Love

March starts, snow melts, and leaves a mess of wet and dreary streets before spring can start and bring life back to nature. Lily-Anne, still wearing her winter cloak, walks through Hogsmeade, like many of her fellow Hogwarts students. She had to clear her head, the past few months had been filled with letters from Fred, who was a very persistent man, that was already clear to Lily-Anne, but now she was completely convinced. Over four months he had been sending letters almost weekly, which were now mostly creased pieces on the bottom of Lily-Anne's trunk, she never burned them or threw them away, something made her keep them. The necklace was around her neck every day, but not for the reason that Fred wanted her to wear it. She had been writing more letters to Fred, but she never send them, not sure why. Coming to Hogsmeade was with some kind of a risk, since it was both not allowed due to various attempts at the lives of students, the most rumoured about Katie Bell, who was still in St. Mungo's since she was cursed during the first trip to Hogsmeade, and she knew that Fred could be here. That wouldn't stop her from going though, and since she was aware of multiple of the secret passages, including one behind a statue leading directly into Honeydukes, she was going eitherway. She wasn't afraid of the Weasley, and maybe, just maybe, she actually wanted to meet him, just so she could look him in his eyes again. She slowly walks through the main street of Hogsmeade, looking at all the shops and restaurants like she was there for the first time ever, when she hears a voice behind her.

'Lily!'

Lily-Anne turns her head and immediately turns back, but then she turns around completely, facing Fred, who has caught up with her and is now standing in front of her, dressed in his brown striped suit with an orange tie, with a long brown coat over it. He looks straight at her and takes in her long black dress, black cloak and black hair, which is hanging down over her back and partially over her shoulders, he smiles brightly.

'Finally I see you again.'

He wants to take her hand, but Lily-Anne notices his intention and pulls back, she looks at his hand and somehow feels the touch of it, those soft, strong hands, the ones that had prevented her from falling down the stairs in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She wanted to hold that hand again, but she restrains herself. She looks up at Fred again, whose smile had fallen. No, please smile again, please smile, no, why do I care if he smiles or not. She stares at him, waiting if he is going to open his mouth again. Fred looks up and sees the unimpressed looks of Lily-Anne, clearly not interested in his appearance, and still angry.

'What did I do? You didn't write back. I thought you might...'

Lily-Anne scoffs.

'Oh I got all your letters Weasley, and I burned them all.'

A lie, but she had to, to protect herself from him, or maybe to make him hate her, so she wouldn't have to choose anymore. Fred's eyes widen.

'You what?'

'I burned them Weasley. What do you think, you can just insult my best friend and then expect me to instantly forgive you if you send me a bunch of letters like some kind of stalker and a necklace to match your obsessive feelings?'

Fred has to keep himself from laughing, her word choice, it hit him like the slap across the face she had given him four months ago, but it could also make him smile. Then he sees the necklace around her neck and his smile widens again.

'You are wearing it so...'

His smile turns into a grin and he steps in closer, but Lily-Anne steps back.

'Go away Weasley, I don't need you in my life. I wear it to remind myself to hate every Gryffindor I ever meet and never start writing them letters. And certainly not call him a genius, because it might get his hopes up.'