"I'm beginning to hate everyone at the moment," Aurelia grumbled. "Where is James? Where is Sirius? Where is Remus? Where is Peter? Where is Lily? Where is Marlene? And where," Aurelia started in a much more grim tone, "is Snape." She spat the name as if it hurt her just saying it; like it had just tainted her soul and she would never be the same again.
"Did someone just say 'Snape'?" Mulciber was cackling like a mad man, one of his arms slung around Rosier. "Oh, he's in big trouble. I kid you not, his mother just sent a howler."
"Oh, really?" Aurelia asked. "Because I was actually planning on doing something nice for him."
Rosier rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Sure."
Aurelia gasped in mock hurt. "It's true! I was planning on getting him a gift, actually." From her very large pocket she revealed a big container of shampoo. "I thought he might appreciate this for his, erm— hair."
The two boys nodded in agreement, trying to hide their amusement. "We'll be back in a second."
"Okay..." Aurelia stared at the empty space that they were previously in. In no time at all they returned with a sour looking Severus Snape.
"She said she wanted to give you a gift," Mulciber was saying in an overly-sweet voice. "Said it might help with... certain appearances regarding your hair."
Snape stared at Aurelia with a look that could bury her six feet under. Aurelia chose to ignore that and mustered a large smile on her face, doing a grand display to present the gift. "I present to thee, a present that will fix 98 of your 101 problems!" She bowed deeply as Mulciber and Rosier clapped.
"And what are my other three problems?" Snape said, his dark eyes scrutinizing her with such intensity that could only compare to a mother reprimanding her disobedient son.
"You're mommy issues," Aurelia ticked off one of her three fingers, "you're daddy issues, and," now she only had one finger up, which was her middle finger and conveniently pointed at Snape like she was flipping him off, "the fact that Lily Evans will never like you because she thinks you're an annoying little git with prejudice views and a heart as black as your greasy hair and the last name of your sworn enemy." Aurelia paused, before smiling again. "Yep, that's about it!"
Snape didn't seem as happy as any of the other three people that they were with, but then the voice of his mother's howler seemed to be playing off in his head, so instead of cursing her he set his mouth in a tight line. He was just about to leave when he said one last thing. "At least I'm not the one without a mom."
He said it so quietly that only Aurelia had heard. He was a few feet away now but sensing he had forgotten something he returned, snatching the shampoo out of her hand before leaving. "I might need this later," he was mumbling to himself.
His words from before made her mood noticeably drop, but she didn't dare act like she was upset. She remained smiling, because she was okay, it was only fair that he brought it up because she had done the same, but her heart started aching and her smile felt more strained.
"Do you know where Regulus is?" They weren't on speaking terms, so she didn't even know why she asked, but for some reason the comfort of having him by her side was something she needed. She felt more lonely since the visit in the summer; she tried to suppress it though, tried to act indifferent around him but it hurt. It really did.
Mulciber and Rosier seemed to have remembered something, because their eyes suddenly widened and their previous grins turned into startled frowns. "We aren't suppose to talk to you," Rosier said, shaking his head and staring at her like she was one of those dragons at Gringotts. "We— you're Dad's a Mug— a Mudbood. We aren't suppose to be here."
And just like that they left, leaving a confused and hurt Aurelia.