[On Hiatus] It Was Meant to Be (A James and Lily Story)

Chapter 28

Severus Snape pulled at a hangnail as he listened to the bickering pair in front of him.

"What do you suggest we do? Go off killing all the mudbloods?" Wilkes was asking.

"Of course not! We couldn't do that under Dumbledore's mudblood-loving nose," Avery replied, his eyes narrowing.

"I say we just lie low until the mudbloods get lured into a false sense of security and then we attack."

"The Dark Lord is getting restless. He wants results!" Avery retorted.

"Well, we can't all go flaunting the Dark Mark like you!" Wilkes said angrily, his voice carrying.

"That's enough!" Bellatrix hissed, her eyes darting around the Slytherin Common Room to see if anyone had overheard. Avery rubbed his left forearm, which was still raw from its recent adventure.

Severus smirked as he noticed how uncomfortable Avery was. It had just been a little over a week since Avery had shown them that he had been branded as one of the Dark Lord's loyal minions. Since then, Avery acted like he was some revered deity that they should all bow down to.

Severus refused to engage, especially since he had no interest in proving his loyalty. Sure, he would eventually join Voldemort's ranks, but he wanted to finish Hogwarts before he got caught up in all of that. Deep down inside, however, Severus knew the real reason he was delaying the inevitable was for Lily.

All he wanted was her to talk to him again like the old days. He wanted her to smile at him and laugh with him. He still had hope that she would realize the errors of her ways and come back to him. Before, Severus was unsure since she seemed to be getting pretty cozy with Potter, but recently, all of Hogwarts was abuzz with rumors that they were no longer on speaking terms. This was the moment that Severus was waiting for and he wouldn't waste it.

"We'll go after the blood traitors," he said, his voice laced with anger.

"What?" asked Bellatrix, her eyebrow rising at his suggestion.

Severus leaned forward. "It's simple. We'll go after the blood traitors. Dumbledore won't realize what we're doing because there's honestly no pattern. Nothing serious, of course. Just something to shake them up a bit."

Bellatrix was silent for a moment as she contemplated his plan. "Who do you suggest we target first?"

"Potter and Black," Severus answered without skipping a beat.

Bellatrix smiled cruelly. "Hmm, it's actually pretty brilliant. Potter is Head Boy and if we get to him, we can show Hogwarts that Dumbledore isn't as powerful as he likes to think. Black left his family and we could show the rest of the blood traitors what happens to those who turn their back on the Dark Lord. In fact, we could get Regulus to do it. That would show them."

Severus shifted uncomfortably. "Regulus is too young and inexperienced. I think it's better if we do it ourselves."

Bellatrix looked at him curiously but didn't protest. "When do we stage the attack? It won't be easy to go against both of them at the same time."

"Exactly, which is why we target them separately. We'll get Potter first. I have the prefect schedule with me. He's doing rounds next week with some fifth-year Ravenclaw. We can easily take the Ravenclaw out and then it's just Potter."

Bellatrix looked at Avery and shared a silent nod. "It's a plan."

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The next day, Severus walked into the library, intending to get some work done, but he found his gaze drawn to a figure in the back.

Her hair shone like a halo around her, highlighted by the sun's rays, making her seem almost angelic. Her emerald eyes were focused on the textbook in front of her, oblivious to Severus' stare. At that particular moment, another figure arrived, stealing Lily's halo, while Severus inwardly cursed his luck.

James Potter took a seat at the same table she was at, breaking her concentration. Severus saw her look up at him and whisper something angrily. But, Potter refused to listen. Severus narrowed his eyes and hid behind a nearby bookshelf to hear what they were talking about.

"... apologized for it. Can you please just let it go?" Potter was asking her.

"No! I can't just forget about it! You lied to me and accused me of using you!" Lily flashed her green eyes at him.

"Lily, please..."

"Bugger off, Potter!"

"I messed up! You can't seriously be holding a grudge for a kiss that didn't actually happen."

Lily glared daggers at him and snapped her textbook shut. "I'm not talking about this with you!"

She gathered her things and rose from the table, not even sparing a second glance at Potter.

"Lily..." Potter slumped over in his chair, defeated.

Severus dug his nails into his palms as he realized what he had actually overheard. James Potter had tried to kiss her. Thank Merlin Lily still had some sense left in her to cut him out of her life. When his fellow Housemates put their plan into action, Severus would actually have something to fight for.

However, what he didn't know what Lily Evans was feeling. As she stole a glance back at James Potter, she wished she could go back to when they were actually on speaking terms. She missed James' company. He was so good at cracking a joke to relieve her stress or even answering questions whenever she was feeling particularly frustrated. She missed his crooked grin and his steadfast support. But, Lily had chosen to give up on them, and so she hurried out of the library, inevitably distancing herself from him.

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They moved silently, as one, through the shadows of the castle. It was late and the torches on the wall gave the halls an eerie feeling. As they rounded the corner, they spotted their target. He was alone, of course, his nose stuck in a book as he walked out of the library.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and waited until the boy was just a few steps away from their hiding place. As he neared, Bellatrix jumped in his path and shot a curse at him. The boy barely had time to react. His mouth formed a small "o" as the brunt of spell hit him. He flew across the corridor towards the opposing wall and hit it with a satisfying crunch. The boy dropped to the floor limply, blood pooling around his head.

As they walked up to the boy, Bellatrix smiled evilly. Severus looked at the bloodied face of the fifth year Ravenclaw Prefect and felt a twinge of remorse for harming the innocent boy. However, Severus realized that small casualties like this would always occur in order to change the Wizarding World for the better. With his eyes still roaming over the boy, he sneered:

"Potter's next."