Chapter 16: 15. Rekindling their friendship.
# Hogwarts #
'Ah, shit' I muttered, seeing Lily run towards me.
I dashed towards her in split second, closing the distance between us.
I push her against nearby the wall and place a finger on her lips.
"Shhh!!"
I can see the confusion and worry in her.
Removing my finger, I moved beside her to take support against the wall.
She moved from the wall and stood in front of me.
"What happened to you? You look paler than usual, and your clothes are torn on many spots with blood dripping from them. You have some dried blood on your cheeks and torn parts of your clothes. Who did this to you? Let's go to the Hospital Wing,"
She continues to ask frantically as she moved her hands through my cheeks where blood was dried off.
I caught her hand that was caressing my cheek and lied
"I was trying to create a new spell and it backfired. I will make my way to my room, good night."
I still didn't know how to make up with her and was a bit angry with her.
I start to move away from her.
"SEV, Wait, please."
I didn't listen.
I started moving further but I stumbled a bit as I took a few steps. It must be due to exhaustion and blood loss.
I heard her footsteps behind me as I stumble further.
She caught my arm and places it around her shoulder.
"Don't be stubborn, Severus. I know we are not on speaking terms right now but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. Even though you don't want me near you, please let me help you to the Hospital Wing."
She whispered as she moved along with me.
I just nodded to her words due to exhaustion.
I didn't have any more blood replenishing potions in my realm so I had to visit the Hospital wing anyway.
I can't help but think about the times when we sneaked around in the hallway at the night.
I was only angry at her for the half-smile she had when I was hanging upside down.
I was not angry at her for breaking our friendship as she had a valid point for that.
I was on my way to being a death eater, she spent a whole year trying to make me change/stop the decisions I was making.
She always brought up about the deeds done by death eaters and how bad they were but I was stubborn and ignored her warnings.
I was not interested in deeds done by them.
I was more interested in dark arts and the freedom I would have to do my research.
"You still haven't stopped making spells. This isn't the first time I have had to take you to the hospital wing due to your experiments."
She teased, breaking the silence that hung between us.
I gave a slight smile.
She was the one who took me to the hospital wing after I got injured due to my constant experiments, be it potions or spell creation, creating something new comes with its set of problems.
"If I did stop, then I won't be Severus, would I?"
I should confront her about their fights since I got the chance but I was exhausted and feeling sleepy.
"Yes, the Severus I know is Stubborn as hell. He wouldn't listen until he is successful in creating what he wants."
She adds, with a slight chuckle.
we reached the Hospital wing, I can see Madam Pomfrey looking after some students.
She turns around and looks at us.
She walks towards us in a rushed manner.
"What happened, dear? You have bloodstains all over your body. Darling lay him on this bed." Madam Pomfrey gestures to Lily to lay me down on the bed near us.
Madam Pomfrey checks my injuries, "wounds have been closed but an ample amount of blood has been lost. Tell me, how did you get these injuries this time, young man?" she asked sternly.
"I was trying to create a spell," I said.
I already had the reputation for spell creation, one of my spells is popular among the students.
"You know the spell creation is dangerous, don't you? This isn't your first time here due to that reason, you should listen to this old woman's warning, here drink this" She gave me two potions.
I drank the potions and felt sleepy.
I slowly closed my eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
I felt a pair of lips on my forehead in my sleep.
I woke up due to the sunlight, I found Lily resting her head on the bead.
She must have stayed here, by my side.
This is why I can't truly ever hate her.
She still stayed by my side the whole night in a chair even after what happened between us.
I slid up and sat on the bed.
Due to my movement, Lily woke up.
She yawns and looks at me with a slight smile.
"You look better than last night, Sev."
I saw her shift uncomfortably in her chair, she wanted to ask me something.
"Ask me, what's bothering you?"
"I just wanted to know if your views on becoming a death eater changed? I know I have no right to ask you after I broke off our friendship. Please listen to what I have to say, I don't want you to become a death eater because it would ruin the genius boy who loved magic. You were always interested in magic, be it light or dark. I was afraid when you started learning Dark arts because of what it did to people who practiced it. I know I was a terrible person sometimes but I genuinely care for you. I don't want you to become a death eater, even after I surround myself with friends, I feel alone, Sev. *Sniff* I miss the boy who I met in the playground."
I can see tears forming in her eyes.
I leaned in closer to her, wiping away the tears forming in her eyes.
"Listen to me, I won't become a death eater"
I saw her brighten up with hope.
"Really?"
"Really"
She jumps and hugs me.
I just sat there, not knowing how to react as we both have hurt each other.
She moves away and appears a bit embarrassed.
"I am sorry. I was just excited. I know I have screwed up, I have no right to ask you of this, will you at least forgive me and reconsider our friendship? I just couldn't continue to be by your side after you decided to follow that path, I tried, I tried to make you see that you were walking on the bad path but you were stubborn, and it hurt me"
She had more tears.
I realized our fight hurts us both.
Closing my eyes, I took in a long breath, calmly my emotions.
I open my eyes and looked at her teary face
"I am sorry, Lily"
She sat there, startled at my apology.
I have never apologized to her before.
We never had a scenario where I had to apologize to her.
"I have been a bad friend as well. I shouldn't have called your friends, Mudbloods. I have ignored many people due to my obsession with Dark arts and my research, believe me, I still have that obsession with magic but I understand what I lost due to it. If we are going to be friends, we need to clear things that happened, to be on the same page"
"Ask me," she asked, wiping her tears away.
"Why did you smile?"
I asked one question that was bugging me.
She smiled sadly,
"I didn't smile at your situation. When I saw your pale legs shaking, I remembered the time when we went swimming. Before I could realize the situation, the crowd around me started laughing. my lips twitched at that memory of our swimming class, not at you. I was furious at them. I never had the intention to smile at you or anyone in your situation. I'm sorry, Sev. I truly am. I knew you saw me at that time but I couldn't explain it back then as you never questioned about it. Though I was angry at you for your behavior against my friends, I was still hoping you would change, that is why I waited for you, but when you called me Mudblood, I gave up. *Sniff* I am not perfect, Sev. Even when you called my friends' Mud-bloods, I was there for you because I was selfish. I wanted my best friend, but you called me Mudblood, *sniff* I broke our friendship because it hurt too much." she confessed with tears running down her face.
I think about it I only saw her lips twitch, she was truly furious at them back then.
Now that I think about it, she tried to help me after that, she never truly laughed and I lashed out at her when she tried to help me.
Wiping her tears, I apologized properly.
"I am sorry for calling you that. I never meant to lash out at you. I shouldn't have blamed you for the faults of your housemates."
I knew how much it hurt her when I called her a Mudblood.
"Thank you, Sev, for giving our friendship another chance. I know it will be not the same but I hope we can get it back to how it was"
"I hope too"
I smiled, at least a few things in my life are going well.
I heard the door of the Wing open and footsteps coming towards my bed.
I turned to see who was it, turns out it was Cissy.
She looked at me and then towards Lily.
I saw her expressions change in a split second, her expressions changed from worry to her usual cold façade.
"How did you land yourself in the hospital wing? What is this red-haired bit__ I mean Witch doing here?" Cissy asked, narrowing her eyes at Lily.
Why do I feel like I am in trouble?
"You…"
Lily was about to explode due to Cissy's provocation.
I cleared my throat gaining their attention.
"I think we should be civil in the hospital wing or Madam Pomfrey would throw you both out. Cissy, meet Lily. Lily, meet Narcissa. Cissy, Lily was the one who brought me to the hospital wing after a failed spell creation attempt, why don't you introduce yourselves to each other?"
I didn't want them to argue right now, not when I can't break their duel.
"Hello, Cissy."
Why do I feel that Lily called Narcissa Cissy just to irritate her?
"Hello Evans, only Severus is allowed to call me Cissy. We are quite close you know. Actually, Severus asked me out on a date."
I feel the room just got colder.
"Really, it seems you both are closer than I thought, Black. I hope it goes well"
Lily said with a smile, but it wasn't a pleasant one.
"Thank you"
Cissy had a smirk on her face.
I don't know why but I can see the sparks between them.
The situation was getting awkward, fortunately, Madam Pomfrey came to check on me,
"You look better than last night but I insist you take a rest here today. And you, young ladies, it is time for your breakfast. You should get ready for your classes so please leave the wing."
Madam Pomfrey made Lily and Narcissa leave.
After they left, I thought about the books and scrolls I got from the Vault of Ice.
I should check them out tonight and Dobby is going to arrive tonight with his side of development among the House-elves.
I should make some potions and store them in my realm to avoid what happened yesterday.
-----
-Outside the Wing-
*3rd POV*
"He was lying when he said he was testing a new spell. I have seen him creating new spells before, and those injuries were different. I may be wrong about it but Severus was behaving differently than usual. Something must have happened for him to change, do you know anything?"
Lily asked Narcissa.
In any other situation, she wouldn't have spoken to Narcissa but she wanted to know what caused Severus to change.
"I know, but why should I tell you? Didn't you break your friendship with him? I don't think you cared about him," Narcissa shrugged.
"I know you don't like me, but please tell me what happened. I care for him, much more than you think. Severus is good at hiding things and never lets people help him when he is vulnerable. You are the closest person to him right now, please."
While Lily was happy that Severus changed but she knew something must have caused him to change.
She tried for one whole year to make him see his errors but that didn't work.
Narcissa sighs, 'It seems that this long-lost Weasley cares for Severus'
"He didn't tell me but what you said is true. Something did happen. He looked sad when he arrived at Hogwarts. He promised to tell me after I increase my proficiency in Occlumency"
"Will you help me in learning occlumency, please?"
Lily wouldn't have ever requested anything from Narcissa but she didn't know Occlumency and she wanted to know what happened to Sev and why he was sad when he arrived at Hogwarts.
"Why should I?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow at Lily.
Just because she talked with Lily doesn't mean she was going to help her out.
"You like Severus, don't you? I can tell you more about him, and what he loves. It would help you on your date. I promise not to be annoying, just help me learn occlumency so that Sev can share what happened with me too,"
Lily said, though it pained her that Narcissa was going on a date with Severus, she wanted to help Severus as well.
She knew what occlumency meant but she didn't know how to practice it.
If she knew occlumency, Severus would share his burden with her as well, she thought.
"Why should I believe you? from the face you're making, it is obvious that you like him. How would I know you are not trying to sabotage my date?" Narcissa said frostily.
Severus never shared much about his home life and his interests with her, so she was interested in knowing but she didn't if she should believe Lily or not.
"Yes, I do like him but he likes you. I just got my best friend back. I don't want Severus to get hurt and I don't want to be the cause of his misery. I will even swear an oath that I would help you. I just want to see my best friend happy, if it means you becoming his girlfriend, then so be it,"
said Lily seriously.
She was just happy that she got her friend back and she wanted to help him, her feelings for him came second right now.
Narcissa looks at Lily in silence for a few seconds and says
"Ok, deal. I would confirm the information with Severus later. since he forgave you, I'm sure he will tell you later anyways. I will help you but don't complain about the process. Be less annoying"
'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer' Cissy followed this saying, with Occlumency practice she can know if Lily is planning to come in between her and Severus or not.
(A/n: People will say why did Narcissa accept to help Lily, but if you think carefully, the person, who knows Severus the best is Lily, his best friend for a long time, so she knew more about him.)
"Thank you" Lily replied, she was determined in helping Severus.
Both of them loved Sev and wanted to help him.
[Sixteen-year-old Lily image]
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