Authors note:
Thank you guys for reading!
Enjoy this chapter :)
Chapter 3
A week has gone by and I've been re integrated into hogwarts. A lot of things have changed over the decade. Luckily Harry has catched me up.
He's proven to be a good friend to me. It's weird to think I'd consider James son to be a friend, but he was different.
I was currently sitting in the library with Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione. I liked them a lot as well. They were a good trio of friends. They reminded me a lot me, Lucius and Snape.
I could tell they were all a little hesitant to help me because of me being a Slytherin, but I assured them that I was by no mean like some of my house mates. Hermione seemed relived, but Ron remained skeptical, which I told him is totally fine. However long it would take him to fully trust me, I would be patient.
They were all caught up on my current situation thanks to Harry. They seemed to have been involved with whatever reason Harry had for being down in the chamber of secrets.
Hermione had us reading books upon books, claiming answers can always be found in literature. While I don't disagree, I'm desperate for quick answers. We were reading books that could possibly give us any type of answers but we were coming across nothing.
Nothing was explaining why I lost 14 years of my life. Why I was frozen in time underneath this school.
I slammed my book closed and groaned. I was frustrated.
"We are getting no where. We are nose deep on these text books and we have nothing to show for it. We're missing something. A big piece to this puzzle " I trailed on.
"And it doesn't seem to be connected to the baslisk that's down there either" hermione said as she slowly closed her book.
A baslisk ? Now thoughts of a giant ass snake that could've ate me was weighing on my thoughts.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I've been desperately trying to remember anything that would point to what had happened.
If only there was a way to bring back those memories.
"How about we take a break?" Harry suggested. I nodded in agreement.
I kept missing my old life. Sitting in the library with the three of them was being back the memories of Lucius and Severus.
"I second that Harry. All this reading has made me tired" Ron said, out stretching his arms.
"Thank you guys for helping me. I'm trying to make sense of this situation and getting answers might just get me some closure" I said to them.
"I can't imagine what you're going through. It's a miracle that Harry found you, otherwise, who knows how long you'd be stuck down there" hermione had said. I smiled warmly at her.
"Do you think you could tell us what hogwarts was like all those years ago" Ron had asked rather loudly. Hermione shushed him as we didn't want the whole school to find out about my predicament.
I felt my face flush. It's weird to think that it's been so long.
"It mean...it's all pretty much the same. the school hasn't changed much. Just the people who go here" I said. I wasn't wrong. Hogwarts hadn't changed much. There were a lot of the same teachers and classes. All the ghosts were still here.
"Did you go to school Snape?" He pressed, "I mean you guys had to have crossed passed one way or another, being a Slytherin and all. Was he as miserable as he is now?"
I looked at them no knowing what to say, "I did know him actually but I wouldn't say he was completely miserable-"
"Oi! Maybe you knew me and Harry's parents. You went to school with them didn't ya ?"
"Well-"
"And what about Malfoys dad? I bet he's was still as stuck up as he is now" Ron laughed.
I sighed. I get why they were curious. Both Severus and Lucius seemed to have become these dark figures that people wanted to understand.
But the consistent firing of questions overwhelmed me immensely.
"Ron, you're overwhelming her with all your stupid questions" Hermione said, whacking his arm.
"Emry told me she knew my parents" Harry spoke up.
I fell deep into my thoughts and memories. They kept drifting to Lucius and Severus. As Ron and Hermione are to Harry, they were to me. They felt like a distant memory I was doomed to forget.
I stood up immediately in my chair. It all started to feel too much, my chest started tightening. My heart pounding fast.
This reaction has been happening a lot recently, anytime I think about the people I cared about.
"I uh- I need to go" I stuttered. I could feel the three sets of eyes staring me down.
"Emry wait!" I heard behind me. I turned to see Harry catching up to me. For a moment I caught a glimpse of James.
"Harry" I dragged on.
"I'm sorry about Ron. He can get...overzealous sometimes with his question".
"It's fine. Really. It just gets all too much sometimes. For you guys, this is simply the past. For me, this is my present. Last week, me and your mother were in Hogsmeade drinking butter bears. But she wasn't your mother then. To me she was Lily Evans, and in my head she still is because at the time she wasn't into James" I took a deep breath, knowing I just unloaded a lot on to him.
"I can see how everything has changed" he said softly. I nodded.
"Yeah, and it's been an interesting time adjusting. If you can believe it or not, I used to be engaged. You can imagine my surprise when I found out he married the exact girl i despised" I told him.
He raised his eyebrows, "engaged? To who?"
I chuckled, "another story for another time. Go rejoin your friends Harry, I've got stuff I need to. Thank you guys for your help" I have Harry a quick hug and turned back around.
I exited the library, feeling tears well in my eyes. I put a brave face on in front of the others, but I couldn't keep it in.
It wasn't their fault by any means, it was just hard to confront my new reality. I wiped my eyes walking down random corridors, not really knowing where I was going.
I had planned on going back to my dorm but my subconscious seemed to have other plans.
I found a quiet stairwell to sit in, no students in sight. I laid my head against the cold damp stone wall. I felt alone in this situation.
Yes I had made acquaintances with Harry and his friends and even Pansy, as annoying as she could be, was growing on me. But I still missed my friends.
Is it wrong to mourn for people that aren't dead?
My mind began to drift and I had thought about when me and Severus where kids.
We had found each other in the woods when we were eight. It turns out our houses weren't so far away from each other and were connected by a large Forrest. Severus had found me playing with the woodland fae. He was confused and intrigued.
We quickly became friends, Severus and I. We met up everyday in the Forrest, playing, reading, and just talking. When we grew closer, he had opened up about how his dad was abusive to him and his mother. His dad was a muggle while his mom was a witch. An interesting pairing those two made.
I remembered the day we both got our Hogwarts letters. Severus excitedly came banging on my door, he was out of breath. He handed me his letter and took a moment to catch his breath. I excitedly exclaimed that i too had received my letter and that we'd be going together.
Everyday until we had left for the hogwarts express, we had prepared everything that we would have needed. My parents took us both shopping for our supplies and made sure we both had adequate uniforms. My parents had took him on as their own made sure he was always taken care of.
The night before we headed off to Hogwarts, he had slept over at my place. My parents had bought us a bunch of snacks and treats to eat while we stayed up playing wizards chess and telling mediocre scary stories. While we both had chocolate frogs smeared on our faces, we had promised to stay best friends no matter what, that even if we were sorted into different houses or made other friends, we would always have each other.
Severus was more than my best friend. He was my family. He still is regardless of what he thinks of me
I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. That was enough crying for now.
I decided to head back to my dorm instead of sitting on the cold damp steps. It was time to face the music and I was almost certain Pansy would be there. I need her to distract my thoughts with her nonsense.
I had stood up and turned around to head back the way I came, but I was met with a large figure in my way. Just my luck.
"Watch it girl" a deep voice said. I looked up to see Severus. I immediately looked away and wiped my eyes. I didnt want him see me upset.
I didn't want to give him any reason to hate me more than he did.
"Sorry Professor" was I mumbled. I pushed past him but he grabbed my arm.
"Emry, wait, what is wrong?" He asked. His tone of voice almost tricked me into thinking he cared.
I didnt dare look at his face. I stared towards the stone wall, my arm still in his firm grip.
"Nothings wrong professor, i just had myself turned around in the corridors, thats all. I seem to forget where i am sometimes" I replied. I pulled my arm away from his grasp and started walking once more down the corridor. Tears were running down my face once more but I dared not make a sound.
"Your thoughts, Miss Osiris, they're loud". i stopped in my tracks and turned around. I met his eyes. I observed the dark circles under his eyes. The wrinkles that formed on his face. The tiredness that radiated from his aura.
"My thoughts are loud? You know nothing of my thoughts Severus. You have not cared to say one word to me or ask how I was doing this whole time I've been back. In fact, you've been a cold hearted jerk!" I exclaimed back. I was angry.
He strutted towards me, an air of arrogance surrounding him, "During your long vacation in the chamber of secrets, I developed an acute skill of ligilimens. Normally I can tune everyone out and only access peoples thoughts when needed. But you? Your thoughts are loud. Screaming at me".
"So what? Find a way to ignore them, you have no problem doing that anyways!" I screamed back. Severus had gotten closer to me, angry as ever.
But why?
What had happened to my childhood best friend who promised to stay by my side forever?
"Its not like I'm not trying. Your thoughts are like a wailing child at night, they wont shut up" he said coldly.
I felt my eyes water once again, "I'm not putting up with this shit. The Severus I once knew would never treat me this way". I walked away, feeling his eyes burn holes in my back.
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Authors note:
End of chapter 3!!
What are your guys thoughts?
See you in chapter 4!!