Chapter 2
“I don’t suppose the both of you are coming with me to the Hospital Wing?” Lily snapped at the two Marauders.
“I don’t think he’d appreciate our presence there anyway, Lils. What we did was- I really didn’t know it would be that bad. It was just a prank but I guess we’ve been crossing a line lately. Haven’t we, Pads?” James said dejectedly.
Sirius nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’m genuinely sorry for everything. I really didn’t think it would go that far. I know we can’t make it up to you or Sniv- Snape right now, but we’ll leave him alone.”
Lily just scoffed at them. “You better.”
They went their separate ways, Lily heading to the Hospital Wing and the two Marauders up to Gryffindor tower.
Lily all but stomped to the Hospital Wing. She was worried about her friend, and she still hadn’t apologized. She couldn’t remember a time he had an episode while he was at Hogwarts, since Sev got better at controlling his magic. What brought this on now? Was it really because of what James and Sirius did, or was there something else he needed to defend himself from that his magic had burst again?
Lily knew that most of the Slytherins were looking to join the Dark Lord after graduation, and she couldn’t imagine Sev among their ranks. As most of the pureblood families were sorted into Slytherin, they were expected to side with the Dark Lord’s ideologies. It was then she realized that maybe they didn’t even have a choice, and the way the Slytherins were treated at Hogwarts added enough reason for them to side with the Dark.
Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be found when she reached the Hospital Wing, so she took the liberty of showing herself inside. There was only one closed curtain among the rows of beds, and she trudged toward it quickly. When she was nearing it, she realized that there was someone already sitting by Severus’ bedside.
“… I’m so sorry it had to come to this, love. If I had known it would hurt you this much, I wouldn’t have let Regulus seek out his brother. I-“
“ ‘S fine, ‘s ov’r. No- no m’rk then?” that was Sev’s voice.
“No. I made sure of it. You know how he feels of the ‘unpure’, both in blood and well, you know. The burst of magic just confirmed that the Prince line has not accepted you fully enough, as it was erratic. He’ll just have to find another potioneer because I’m not letting you suffer even more. We can take him, I swear.”
“Thank you, Lucius.” Sev said, clearer this time.
Lucius? Lucius Malfoy? The 7th year blood purist? Lily gasped. What was going on?
Summoning all of the Gryffindor courage she had, she yanked open the curtain to find Lucius Malfoy looking at her with wild eyes, holding Sev’s hand tenderly. Severus was pale, and his eyes were covered, a blanket settled on his waist. He looked to be asleep.
She was too stunned to speak.
Lucius dropped Sev’s hand and immediately closed the curtain. He looked panicked. “How much did you hear?” He demanded.
Lily still had her mouth open, for some reason she couldn’t answer him. Didn’t he hate her guts for being a muggleborn?
“You will tell me what you heard, Evans.” Malfoy snapped.
She sat on the empty chair next to Malfoy, and she felt extremely uncomfortable. “I just- you instigated Sirius and got Sev hurt on purpose? You’re protecting him from the dark lord?”
Malfoy sighed. “I’m only telling you this because Severus trusts you, but you must not tell a soul. You understand me?”
She nodded.
Malfoy lifted his sleeve, and branded on it was the Dark Mark in all of its glory. “Most of the Pureblood spawns have received the mark last summer, and we now serve him. We try to keep the lower years out of it as much as possible, as they have no place in this war. I care too much about my house than to hand them off to a mad man. However, the Dark Lord has taken an interest in Severus, as he has the ancient blood of the House of Prince coursing through his veins and is an exceptional potioneer.”
“So, he wanted you to recruit him?”
“Yes, he said he was willing to make an exception for a Half-blood but I couldn’t-“ Lucius sighed. “Serving the Dark Lord is not the honor our parents make it out to be.” He spat. “It’s too late for me now, but it isn’t too late for anyone else, especially Severus.”
“Are the two of you… together?”
She could have imagined it, but she swore Lucius blushed. “I’m betrothed to Narcissa, so he and I can’t be more than just this.” He took Sev’s hand again and kissed his knuckles.
Lily’s jaw dropped again. All of what she thought of Slytherin was practically a lie. A lie that Slytherin house themselves carefully crafted to make people feel no sympathy for them.
“That hex Sirius and James used, it was more than just ripping his robes off?” she asked.
“It was never just a hex. It was a spell to find out if- if one was pure. The Dark Lord has ‘standards’ when recruiting underage wizards, and it was the only thing I thought of so that Severus wouldn’t have to join us-“ He rushed out.
“You did what you had to do.” She said, putting a hand on his knee as a comforting gesture.
Lucius flinched away from her. “I’m sorry. Old habits die hard, I suppose.”
“If I was raised in a pompous-ass Manor I would be the same.” Lily quipped. “You have what, 50-something house elves?”
“58.”
“Oh, damn, I meant that as a joke.”
Lucius smiled slightly. “I don’t think I’ve thanked you yet for calming him down enough to get his magic under control.”
“I used to do it a lot when we were kids. I just didn’t realize that it was because of ancient magic.”
Lucius nodded. “The House of Prince is an ancient house of purebloods, but ever since Severus’ mother married a muggle, its magic rebelled. The magic from House Prince is torn between protecting and destroying him, so I assume he would be extremely weak after one of these bursts of magic.”
Lily stared at the figure on the bed. “It was awful back then. When I’d see him after one of his episodes and after his father was finished with him, he could barely even lift a finger.”
“I guess I’ll have to brace myself for the worst, then. The Dark Lord wouldn’t be too happy about an ancient magical line being tainted.”
“Is this why you hate muggleborns and half-bloods? You think we’ve tainted magic?”
“I wouldn’t say I hate them, I just- well, traditions are there for a reason. Ever since we’ve strayed away from it, magic became unpredictable and wild. I know now that that isn’t a particularly horrible thing, but I’ve grown up thinking it was all the muggles’ fault. I truly am sorry if I’ve caused you any harm because of my actions and beliefs.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Severus.”
So, this is how love looked like. Lily was forcing to stop the smile on her face just so Malfoy could continue.
“When I was in my 5th year, Slughorn had asked me to supervise him during his late-night brewing sessions. I was intrigued of course, as he was only a 3rd year but he’d caught the eye of our head of house.”
“Sev always did like Chemistry in our muggle school. It’s a lot like Potions.”
“Yes well, I was captivated by him when he was brewing. I’ve never felt like that looking at someone, not even Narcissa. I guess he enjoyed my company after a little while, since he would ask me to help him. I’m rubbish at Potions, mind you, so I didn’t really know if I was helping him or not. Though, he did seem a lot happier after those sessions...”
And so Lily listened to how he had fallen in love with her best friend.