☞ 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 28𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, 1996

A loud bang interrupted my blissful slumber. After an exhausting yet thrilling evening in the common room bonding with many new faces, I returned to my room and crashed onto my bed. I had forgotten all about my roommate, who was now making such a ruckus at the crack of dawn. Why must this girl be so loud at six in the morning?

Groaning with annoyance, I kicked off my duvet, searching the room for the one responsible for my awakening. There, crashing out of the bathroom door, Astoria Greengrass. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun, with her makeup fully done and covering every part of her face in a thick layer. Once again her uniform was creased, untucked and loose.

"Oops! Sorry... did I wake you?" Astoria spoke, her voice sounding painfully sarcastic. The fake sympathy with the passive-aggressive attitude cut deep into my heart. I couldn't find the courage to speak up, argue even, like I would've done if it had been any other person. So there I sat, staring at someone, someone I used to know.

Deciding to get up, knowing Astoria won't let me rest, I got dressed in simple jeans, Doc Martens and a T-shirt proudly displaying my favourite muggle band, and went out the door. I had also grabbed my house scarf, a cute bag and my purse as Luna and I had agreed to spend the day in Hogsmeade.

Entering the common room, I noticed something very unfortunate for me. The common room was vacant, apart from one group of Slytherins. How unlucky I am to be in here alone with the four boys I'd rather avoid. Mattheo was the first to notice me, his dark eyes looking at me up and down. The rest of his group soon noticed me too, not one of them greeting me with their usually cheerful smiles.

Ignore them. Leaving the chilling atmosphere behind, I fled up the stairs. The misfortune seemed to follow as I heard their footsteps not far behind. Taking corner after corner with such haste, I barely had a moment to glance out of the window. Taking notice how, finally, all the leaves had turned beautiful hues of orange, yellow, red and brown. If I wasn't being followed, I might've taken a moment to truly appreciate the beauty of autumn.

"Snape!" Mattheo yelled as they began to lose sight of me. His voice boomed through the falls, bouncing off the walls. It was a powerful yet desperate cry for me. My speed increased with each passing minute. I jumped at the sound, my face draining of all colour, just like many students passing by. For a moment, I found myself wanting to stop, to hug them, to tell them that if I had done something to upset them then I was deeply and truly sorry.

Then I remember who the fuck I am.

I soon reached the Great Hall, I slowed down to gather my composure. Snagging a glance over my shoulder, I watched the boys sprint around the corner, each one of them heaving for air. "Y/n!" The girl from yesterday greeted me, I had learned her name was Rowan Bancroft. "I was just leaving, I would've waited for yous if I knew you were coming to breakfast." She smiled brightly, however, her face fell when her eyes landed on the group that had been tailing me.

"No worries, Rowan." I smiled, trying my best to ignore the looming presence beside me. "I'll see you later this evening, I have plans all day." I informed the girl. She nodded in response, her sight dangerously eyeing up the boys.

"Miles and Adrien are still inside, they not long arrived before yous. Hurry along and catch up with them." Rowan smiled before leaning in, her voice dropping into a deep whisper. "They will protect yous from them." Rowan stepped back, gesturing me into the hall.

Thanking her, I quickly walked away, taking note of how Rowan stood in the boy's way, preventing them from following me for a moment. Her attempt at protecting me, as sweet as it was, didn't last long as Mattheo harshly pushed her aside before running after me.

They were too late. "Miles! Adrien!" I called out as I approached the Slytherin table. My two teammates turned towards me, their faces lighting up when they saw me. "Good morning." I grinned back, taking a seat beside Adrien. I subtly looked back to the boys, who watched our interaction with saddened faces. Mattheo however seemed livid. Strange.

"Good- wait... were they following you?" Miles began in a cheerful tone, until he noticed who I was gazing harshly at. Miles' hands balled into fists around his cutlery. Adrien too began to tense beside me.

Turning back to face the two boys, I began to explain what had just happened. "Well-" I began, however, I was interrupted by a group of Slytherins from the seventh year who had come to sit beside us.

"Well if it isn't the Queen of Slytherin!" One of them joked, his name is Aaron Dalton. "Mind if we join you." He asked, gesturing to his three other friends, Laurence Ayers, Ivy Penrose and Katelyn Brown. I happily nodded and greeted the group.

The seven of us fell into comfortable conversation, asking each other small questions to learn more about each other. As I took one more glance back at the boys, I watched as they walked out of the hall with their heads hung low.

Despite the stressful beginning, the rest of my morning went swimmingly! Now I am waiting patiently for Luna in the courtyard. As I sat twiddling my fingers on the cold stone bench I could feel a looming presence beside me. Glancing around, there was never anyone there, yet I could sense something so close...

"Here you are!" Luna spoke softly as she approached me, dressed in a powder blue duffle coat with matching shoes, and a white long-sleeve, pink skirt over her lavender tights. Her hat and scarf were both proudly displaying the Ravenclaw emblem with their respective colours.

With a smile, I stood to greet the girl. "Luna! Finally, you arrived. Are you ready to leave?" I asked her, pulling my coat closer to my shivering body. Luna cheerfully smiled, wrapping her arm around mine as we walked side by side.

Orange and yellow leaves slowly swept through the air from the branches above as we arrived at the small village of Hogsmeade. That strange feeling I felt in Hogwarts never leaving. Nevertheless, I did my best to ignore it and focus on what Luna and I came here for, our costumes!

Stepping into the well-known Mr Chimeries' Costume Shop, we were greeted with the familiar smell of sandalwood and lavender. Many students, young and old, filled the place completely, it was borderline impossible to navigate the isles. The thing with this shop is that there is only one of each costume available, so our options are limited. Extremely limited. Luna and I immediately spread out across the shop, deciding to divide and conquer our way through the crowd.

After a moment or two of looking around, I managed to snag a beautiful white flowing dress and angel wings enchanted to look and behave as though they were real. They will move according to your body movements and even your emotions! However, they do not fly. The bell sleeves had opaque silk slightly poking out from its hem, adding to the whimsical effect. The dress seemed to have a twinkling light that mimicked the stars in the night sky while small specs of light slowly cascaded from the hem. Breathtaking. "LUNA!" I called, rushing to find her while clutching this masterpiece of a costume close to my chest.

"Oh, Y/n. There you are." Luna's dreamy voice spoke softly to my left. Turning, I find the blonde holding an amazing black dress which seems to end at the thighs, along with some cute devil horns. Differently, this dress had realistic-looking flames burning from the bottom of the dress, leaving the hem of the silk fabric charred with an amber glow. "Is that for me!" Luna smiled as her eyes twinkled as they carefully examined the dress.

I nodded happily, passing her the costume that she accepted with soft hands. My eyes locked onto her pale blue eyes, and a moment of silent agreement sparked between us. Immediately, we bolted towards the till, desperate to purchase the outfits before someone else could come to take them.

"Good morning, girls." The sweet old lady behind the counter smiled, her cheeks slightly raised as her eyes creased into thin wrinkly lines. "What beautiful costumes you've managed to snag!" She smiled, taking the clothing from, our arms and bagging the items. We thanked her, and patiently waited for the lady to flip through her large wooden book to find the prices corresponding to our costumes.

Luna and the witch fell into cheerful small talk, something Luna has always been a natural at, unlike myself. I tuned them out, staring blankly at the wall behind the counter until a soft laugh filled my ears. My head flipped in fear as I watched Astoria and Pansy walk into the shop, their arms interlinked, giggling with their hands covering their smirks. Their faces had hits of rosey red dusted across their cheeks and connecting at their nose. It was hard to tell whether the look was a result of the nippy weather or the gallions worth of blush they dusted onto their cheeks this morning.

For a moment, Astoria's eyes locked with mine. Once bright and cheerful while looking at Parkinson suddenly turned cold with a deep loathing the moment she clocked me. Why? What had I done? Why must I lose my childhood best friend? With a sigh, I decided to turn away before Parkinson also took notice to me, and turned back to Luna and the lady. "That would be fifteen gallions, Miss..." The lady address me, sliding a brown paper bag across the glossy wooden countertop.

"Snape. Y/n Snape." With a smile I dug into my pockets, my fingertips grazing over each coin I had stuffed into a small bag. As soon as I handed the lady the money, Luna and I left the shop, heading towards the Three Broomsticks for a warm butterbeer. My mind kept returning to that moment in the shop, when Astoria and Parkinson entered. That used to be us, Astoria and I.

"You seem tense," Luna commented with a small smile on her face as she skipped along beside me. I shook my head, not knowing what to say. "I know you saw Astoria and Pansy. I saw that you looked at her longingly." Luna continued as we approached the pub. "It's okay to miss her, it's okay to feel sad, and it's okay to show it." Luna smiled brightly, pulling me into the pub.

As always on a Saturday, the Three Broomsticks was bursting at the seams with students. We pushed our way through the crowd and found there was only one table left. Said table was right beside the worst people I could be around. First the common room, and now this? "Let's just leave." I tried to escape the building, however Luna pulled me back and towards the table. They locked eyes with me.

"You mustn't begin to run from confrontation or fear, or you'll spend your life running," Luna whispered, her smile never fading as she looked past the boys, ignoring their presence as she sat opposite me. "That's what my mother used to say." She added. The table had two chairs on either side, and she chose the seat closest to their table. Soon two butter beers floated towards us. I looked towards the bar and saw Madam Rosmerta smiling at me. Silently thanking her, I down the beverage.

Turning back towards Luna, whose starry eyes were looking around the pub, I began to feel uneasy. I could feel their gazes on me. Burning into my skin, making me sink into my seat. We sat in silence, Luna and I looking everywhere but to my right, while the boys only looked at the two of us. In the corner of my eye, I could see Blaise sitting up in his seat, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. He was about to say something to me! My palms became sweaty and I quickly rubbed them against my jeans.

Suddenly, a tipsy chuckle erupted from beside me. Standing between Malloy and myself, as Draco was the closest to me on their table, was Professor Slughorn. "Ahh, Miss Snape!" He beamed, his voice booming in my ears, making me jump slightly. "Wonderful to see you here indeed." He patted my back as I awkwardly thanked him. "Say, back in the day, I used to put together a group, if you will, of the top students in sixth and seventh year. We would have such fun, many parties, grand meals, you get the picture. Anyways, Miss Snape, you seemed to possess more power and potential than most witches and wizards these days, which is why I'd like you to be the first member of the new Slug Club." As he spoke, he waved his arm around, spilling drops of butter beer over Draco and Theo.

"I would consider it an honour, Sir. Thank you." I smiled at the man. Soon, Slughorn stumbled off, mumbling about needing another beer and to await his owl. Turning back to the blonde opposite me, her eyes following Slughorn as he disappeared. "Strange." I laughed with Luna as we thought back on the previous interaction. I could still hear Theo and Draco complain about how sticky the butter beer had been.

"Hey, Y/n!" A group of Slytherin girls from the year above smiled and waved at me as they walked by. Allison Periwinkle and the twins, Maya and Evangeline Hart. I beamed and greeted them back. We became friends when Pansy had jinxed me last week, the three of them came immediately to my rescue. Allison was very gifted in Herbology while Arabella had the knack for Charms, and lastly, Evangeline was the best in Astronomy. Despite being rather talented myself, they never fail to offer help when catching me studying in the common room or library. An offer I never could refuse.

Luna beamed and asked me who they were. "Allison is the ginger, while the two blonde twins are Maya and Evangeline. They are seventh-year Slytherins, very kind people." I explained to the Ravenclaw, who smiled widely at me.

"That's marvellous, Y/n. I'm glad you are making new friends, especially in your own house. Not that I'm trying to get rid of you anytime soon." Luna chuckled at her own words. I agreed with her, it was a wonderful change of pace compared to my earlier years at Hogwarts. Perhaps seventh year won't be so bad. I then heard Riddle scoff at us. My eyes immediately flicked towards him, only to find him already looking at me. Our eyes locked, mine glaring while his stared blankly at me.

"So, Snape. How are things." Blaise smirked, looking directly at me. I simply glared at the grinning boy, who only smirked more at my unamused expression. "Oh, c'mon! No need to be like that." He laughed, despite Theo's subtle hints to leave me alone. I glare at them, finding it ridiculous that he's trying to act like my friend after everything. Why are they so hot and cold? One second they are ignoring me, making snide remarks, pretending we were never friends, now Zabini over here is acting all buddy-buddy! It is utterly unbelievable.

"I have nothing to say to you, any of you." I spat, crossing my arms and facing away from, the group. Blaise only laughed at my comment, which only further infuriated me.

"Let me buy you a drink. Make up for our... misunderstanding." Blaise smirked, resting his head on the palm of his hand. Misunderstanding? Is that what they think it is? Is that how little they value me or our friendship to consider what they did to me a simple misunderstanding?

Luna gasped at his words, glaring at the boy. Luna then stood up sharply, her hands bawled into fists. Anger radiated from a girl who never felt such a powerful emotion. Her usual porcelain skin was now raw red with rage.

"The nerve you have, Zabini! You have no right to throw Y/n aside as though she is worth nothing, and the moment you realise that she never needed you and that you needed her the most, you come crawling back and act like you did no wrong!" Luna yelled at Blaise, who sunk into his seat with each word thrown his way. His face was red with embarrassment as he tried to hide away. The Three Broomsticks fell silent. All eyes were on Luna, me, and the boys.

"Lovegood, listen..." Riddle stood up, now standing in between Luna and Zabini. His face was calm, his hands were raised in front of his shoulder to show no harm, however his eyes showed the most foreign of emotions to Riddle, heartache and guilt. You'd be a fool not to see it.

"No, Riddle! You are the most to blame for this! Y/n cared for you the most! She genuinely cared for all of you! She was giving you all an opportunity no one else would ever have given you, not now, not ever. She gave you the chance to change, to be better people. When everyone else thought you were lost causes, forever heartless, forever doomed to be just like your fathers, Y/n came along and changed that. It wasn't intentional. Yet despite the years of torment you've put the girl through since her first year, she still was willing to give you a chance. What did you do with that chance, Riddle? You toyed with her, used her, then threw her away!" Luna finished screaming, her chest was heaving heavily. No one made a sound, all completely stunned at the small blonde words.

My eyes began to swell with tears. A mix of sadness, heartache and pride for Luna. She's never stood up for herself, or anyone. Conflict was never an option for her, yet here she was, putting Riddle and his friends in their place. "Little Moon..." I chuckle for a second, tears still streaming from my eyes. "Looks like you're not too little anymore, Moon." Luna turned to me, a proud look on her face, mixed with some embarrassment as she slowly became more aware of her surroundings. Before I could thank her, the door swung open.

Madame Pomfrey came running in, her hair a mess as she looked around frantically. Then, her eyes landed on me. With a shaky breath and tears glistening from her cheeks, she approached me. "Miss Snape." She choked out. I stare at her both confused and scared. "I-It's you, Father."