/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟏.𝟞.𝟣

"No, she doesn't. And just because you lot don't care about your futures, doesn't mean I shouldn't."

"I can't tell if that sentence made sense," Sirius said, winking at James. "Was that- grammatically correct- Evans?"

"Oh, shut up." Lily gave him a venemous scowl and turned to stalk out of the common room, going to find the one person who always understood her when she got frustrated.

She found Severus in the Great Hall, deep in discussion with a group of scary-looking older Slytherins. "Sev?" Lily said softly, feeling suddenly unsure of herself. She got a weird feeling from the crowd Severus had started hanging around much.

Severus looked up at her, then back to the group around him. "I'll be right back," he muttered before disconnecting himself and following Lily towards the door of the Great Hall. "You shouldn't do that," he said, catching up to her in the corridor outside.

"Do what?"

"Interrupt conversations like that. We were discussing tactics for the quidditch season. Who knows who could be a spy." He raised his eyebrows at Lily in a superior manner.

"You know I'm not a spy, Sev. And you can't play this season anyways. We're first years."

Severus's expression darkened at Lily's logical take on the matter. She didn't understand why he got so annoyed when she made perfectly reasonable points. "All the same," Severus muttered, but he walked alongside Lily through the halls. "So, what's up?" Severus's on-edge demeanor changed the further they walked from the Great Hall.

Lily shrugged heavily. "It's odd," she said slowly. "For the first time in my life, I almost wish Christmas wasn't happening." She realized how true the words were as they tumbled from her mouth.

"Why's that?" Severus asked.

"I just-" Lily stumbled, "I just feel like we've all gotten into a rhythm, you know? And I like being here and I like studying and I like my schedule and working in my classes and honestly I'm a bit nervous to go back home."

Severus scoffed and Lily looked up in surprise. "Why should you be nervous about going back? Your parents love you-"

"I know that," Lily said quickly. "I know my parents love me, it's Petunia I'm worried about. She got all funny before I left, and I don't want her to be like that over the holiday."

"What does it matter?" said Severus. "They're all just mug-" he broke off at one sharp look from Lily. "They're just your family. You won't see much of them until summer, and even then it's only for two months. Hogwarts is where you live now."

Lily narrowed her eyes skeptically. "No- what were you going to say? That they're just muggles?"

"Lily, no..."

But Lily's temper had risen yet again and she was in no mood to calm it, even for Severus. Nothing was going right for her that day. First Artemis ganging up on her with the boys, and now this... "Whatever, Sev," she huffed, quickening her step. "I'll see you over holiday."

Severus jogged to keep up with her, panic filling his eyes. "No- Lily-"

"Just leave me alone, okay?" she said, rounding on him. "I'm not in the mood." She turned to walk away again, and this time Severus let her. She didn't feel like arguing at the moment. Lily had to be in just the right mood to get into a real argument. Artemis was the one who usually got in all the arguments, anyways. She could pick fights with anybody over anything. Lily found herself longing for the girls dormitory with its cozy blankets and the girls Lily could talk to about anything. She took a deep breath, getting over the frustrations of the morning, and started towards Gryffindor tower.