As the figure walked closer from afar, Jenna leaped off the swing, dug into her pocket, and took out her wand, pointing it at his direction.
Lily stood up as well, but quickly grabbed onto Jenna's wand arm, trying to lower it.
"What do you think you're doing!?" she hissed, her eyes fixed on the hooded man. "We can get expelled for this!"
"Oh, yeah?" Jenna muttered back angrily. "We can end up dead if not for this!"
The snow had thickened and fell quicker, blocking their clear view of the cloaked man. But when he saw Jenna, the next moment, he had his wand raised as well, now standing a few feet away from them.
"Who are you!?" Jenna shouted as Lily clung to her in horror. "Show your face!"
But before the man could even move, Lily pushed down Jenna's hand ever harder.
"Stop it, Jenna!" Lily scolded hurriedly. "That's Severus, Jenna! It's Severus!"
By those words, Jenna loosened her grip over her wand yet did not lower it as she narrowed her eyes at the figure, trying to make out his face.
Just then, he took off his hood and just as Lily had said, there stood Severus Snape, as grim looking as ever.
"What the heck do you think you're doing, Snape!?" Jenna retorted angrily at him.
"Me!?" Snape snarled. "You took out your wand first!"
"Yes, cause you were sneaking up on us!"
"I wasn't sneaking! I was walking right in front of you!"
"Then why were you wearing that damn hood on!?"
"Because it's freezing!"
"Stop it! Both of you!" Lily bellowed, silencing the two. "Let's just be glad that neither one of you attacked the other, or you'd been expelled!"
Jenna wanted to correct her and say that they would only give warnings the first time you do magic, but knew that this wasn't the time, and hold herself back.
"What are you doing here, Severus?" Lily turned to Snape and asked, softly this time.
"I was just walking by and thought I heard you talking, so I thought I'd come to say hi," he shrugged, but then leered at Jenna. "Didn't think Potter would be here, though."
"You can leave if my presence disturbs your royal ass that much!" Jenna snarled and Snape raised his wand again.
"How dare you—"
"—Enough!" Lily exclaimed. "I've had enough of you two bickering! It's bad already to have James and his stupid gang on this silliness! I won't need that between you two as well!"
Jenna and Snape relaxed a bit by those words, but still kept glaring at each other.
"And now I want you to shake hands," said Lily, causing their heads to turn on her by those words.
"What!?"
"No way!"
They said at the same time, but Lily wasn't having it. "Come on! These are bad times... I don't want my friends to turn against each other, now that the rest of the world is."
She said sadly, finally managing to calm Jenna and Snape down. Forcefully, for the sake of Lily's kind heart, the two walked towards each other and shook hands, dropping it almost immediately.
"Good," Lily finally smiled, beaming at both of them. "Thanks, guys. Now, Severus, why don't you come and join us? We were just going back home."
Both Jenna and Snape gave Lily a look like she had clearly gone mad, but neither of them said anything on the matter and walked back home in silence alongside each other.
Snape departed ways with them with a wave when he had reached his house and finally left the two girls alone.
"What are you doing with your wand in your pocket, Jenna?" Lily asked as they walked the path back home. "You know we're not allowed to use magic outside school."
"Well, school hardly matters anymore," said Jenna grimly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily raised a brow and Jenna sighed, biting her lip.
"Look," she started. "My parents are both Aurors and they've been talking about the things that's been going on."
"You — you mean with you-know-who?"
"Yeah," Jenna nodded. "They say that he's growing stronger and stronger. He's getting more powerful than what the Ministry allows us to know."
"But why would the Ministry want to hide this?"
"They don't want us to panic, apparently," said Jenna with an eye roll.
"But what help is that gonna do?" Lily frowned. "We'll have to face the truth at some point, won't we?"
"Yes, but the Ministry is trying to postpone that," Jenna explained. "Mum and Dad say that there are so many disappearances and murders that they're trying to hush up. Death Eaters aren't laying low, and their main target is—"
Jenna stopped herself in time, but Lily already knew what she meant.
"Muggles and Muggleborns?" Lily asked yet Jenna said nothing more on that.
"My parents never tell me and James these things — I mean, my dad thinks we ought to know, but Mum disagrees," said Jenna. "James and I usually eavesdrop. And from what we figured... it seems like we need to carry our wands around. At this point, graduating Hogwarts isn't really that important anymore."
Jenna's gaze fell down before her feet as they walked, a pained expression on her face. "I'm scared, Lily. I really am."
This was the first time Lily had heard her friend say those words. In fact, it was the first time Jenna had ever audibly admitted it.
"With your parents around, no one can hurt you, Jen," Lily said comfortingly, but Jenna shook her head.
"It's not me who I'm scared for," she said. "It's the people around me... my parents, James, you, Alice, Marlene, Remus, Peter, Sirius..."
"Listen to me, Jenna," said Lily firmly, walking in front of Jenna and blocking her way, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders. "We will survive this. Everything's going to be alright and it's all going to be over soon. Nothing's going to come between us. Never."
Jenna smiled sadly, looking up into her illuminating green eyes. "Promise?"
Lily smiled, nodding lightly. "Promise."