The Pureblood Princess | Sirius Black

|103| Soirée

Lily Evans returned to the bustling, chattering common room Monday evening after spending the worst time with Severus in recent history.

It started out well enough. They were sitting by the lake that afternoon, chit chatting about odd potion ingredients and how people discovered their properties ("someone really looked at a mandrake and thought to themselves—'ah, yes. This screaming plant shall do nicely in my cure for conjunctivitis.'") and things were lovely. Almost like they were at their favorite park back home.

Then Avery and his goons showed up.

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Normal run of the mill teasing (though Mulciber did seemed extra creepy). Yet, it left her asking the question she'd been asking for ages —how could Severus hang round with Avery and his gang when they were so obviously bad news?

It was mild teasing and leering looks that day, yes. But then again, Severus was with her. How would they have treated her if she was alone?

"Sev, I just don't understand," she had told him as Avery stalked back to the castle, no doubt to prank some Hufflepuffs or something equally despicable. "They're just dreadful..."

Severus pursed his lips, watching them as they walked off as well. "Funny you find them so terrible when you'll hang about with Potter and his pathetic gang."

Lily repressed an eye roll. "Potter has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation, Sev."

"You're judging my friends—seems only fair that I judge yours as well."

"Your friends are bigoted toerags, Sev. And—and I'm not friends with-with Potter." She sounded more like a bratty toddler than she was aiming for. "Not like you are with Avery anyways!" she added.

Why had she said that? Why couldn't she just say she wasn't friends with Potter and left it at that?

Severus leapt on her words, scowling. "Potter is a swine—strutting through the castle like he owns it—"

"Oh, like Avery's any better—"

"—You shouldn't be friends with him at all!"

She stared at him for a beat then turned on her heel, stalking toward the castle, fuming.

"Lily—Lils, Wait!"

A hand clasped around her wrist and Lily whipped around to face him. "Don't touch me! And don't tell me what to do!"

He released her wrist immediately. "I—I wasn't—I didn't—"

"Yes you did! You always do this!" she said through her teeth, fists balled up. So many repressed feelings were bubbling up to the surface, burning her throat like acid. "You think you know everything that's best for me, tell me what to do, who I should be friends with—but anytime I try to talk to you about your friends you won't even listen—you turn it all on me and how I'm a horrible person for being friends with James when I hardly even see him! I'm sick of it, Sev! I'm not the bad guy here!"

"And I am?!"

"No, of course not! But Avery is! Reggie says that all he and his friends talk about is Dark Magic! They're all obsessed with it, Sev!" she said shrilly, gesturing at the direction Avery and his gang had stalked off. "Not to mention how they treat anyone who isn't pureblood—The names they call them! How can you be friends and not have it rub off on you!?"