Chapter 23. Star-Crossed.

[Headmaster's Office]

(3rd POV)

"How could you allow the use of Vertiaserum, Albus?" Fleamont Potter shouted, his voice filled with anger and frustration.

"And how can the Ministry permit such a potion? You shouldn't have let a teacher interrogate my son, especially not in front of the students," Euphemia Potter added sternly. The humiliation her son endured in front of his peers was not something she was willing to let slide.

"Why have you called us here, Dumbledore? That boy has already made his choice about who he wants to live with. What he does now is no longer our concern," Orion Black, Sirius Black's father, spoke, his tone still laced with anger after his son had run away to the Potters.

"He has brought shame upon our family. I'm glad I burned his name off the tapestry," Walburga Black said coldly, her disdain evident in her voice.

"Albus, you know my son would never engage in such behavior," Lyall Lupin asserted. He was a good man, a loving father who trusted his child and couldn't believe the report Dumbledore had just shared.

"Please tell me it's all a lie, Headmaster. My son, Peter, couldn't have done something like that," Stephen Pettigrew pleaded desperately.

Dumbledore observed the parents standing before him, having arrived an hour earlier. Their reactions were as he had anticipated. They denied their children's actions, as any parent would. After all, they had never raised their children to behave in such a manner.

He felt a heavy weight within him, knowing that he could have prevented it from coming to this. But there had to be consequences for their actions.

Sighing, Dumbledore thought to himself, 'I had hoped they would turn out better. They possessed the spirit, but they are too immature, and one of them is far too perverse to be allowed back in school.'

He always wished for the best for his students, but sometimes his hopes hindered him from seeing their actions clearly and taking appropriate measures.

"The accusations couldn't be easily dismissed, Fleamont. They were accused of spying on girls while they bathed, and it turned out to be true. Why did you allow your son to bring an invisibility cloak to Hogwarts, Fleamont? What were you thinking? As for why I allowed them to be tested, it was because I believed in my students. I believe they wouldn't have done what they were accused of, but I was proven wrong," Dumbledore explained calmly, though his patience with the parents' constant insults towards his administration was wearing thin.

He permitted the Vertiaserum because he had to, otherwise all of them would have suffered for the heinous crime one of them committed. He didn't want to believe that some of his students were capable of such behavior, yet he had been proven wrong.

"The accusations were true?" Fleamont questioned, his voice filled with shock.

"Yes, but only one of them was spying on the girls. However, there were other accusations leveled against them. They bullied fellow students under the guise of pranks, and two of them harbored deep animosity towards a particular house. They are responsible for their transgressions," Albus explained, revealing the extent of their misdeeds.

"What do we do now? I don't want to take James away from the school," Fleamont asked, his shock evident. If this matter became public, it would tarnish their son's reputation forever, and he didn't want to transfer his son from Hogwarts. He would for sure discipline his son, but he didn't want his son forever to be branded as an outcast.

After a lengthy discussion, Stephen decided to withdraw Peter from Hogwarts, given his son's involvement in the misconduct, and transfer him to Durmstrang. He believed it was the appropriate punishment for his actions.

Eventually, all the parents convinced Albus not to punish their children too severely. Deep down, Albus himself didn't wish to inflict severe punishments. He chose to suspend James, Sirius, and Remus for six weeks and diffuse the situation.

He understood the power of his words and authority. He would use them to quell the students' anger before bringing the three troublemakers back. He didn't want their future tainted or their potential wasted.

With the decisions made, the parents left, resolved to discipline their children.

Unknownst to Dumbledore, a small rat had overheard the entire conversation, slipping back into the shadows.

[Gryffindor Tower]

"Stop following me! I'll curse you if you come near me," Lily shouted at James, her disgust evident in her voice. She couldn't stand being in his presence.

"Believe me, Evans, I didn't use my map and cloak to spy on you. I just wanted to keep an eye on Snivellus, I didn't want him to hurt you," James tried to explain, attempting to shift the blame onto Severus and make it seem like he was protecting her.

"Don't call him that, you toerag! I may have ended my friendship with him, but if you ever call him that again, trust me, you won't like the consequences. I'm not who you think I am. I can use my wand quite effectively, and I can make you look like the swine that you are. And for your information, Sev hurting me or not, is my problem. We've had our fair share of arguments before," Lily shouted back, her anger burning fiercely.

She might be angry at her former best friend, but she wouldn't tolerate James Potter speaking ill of him.

"What about the time he called you Mudblood?" James tried to turn the situation against Severus, but he was deluded if he thought that would earn him Lily's attention.

"What happened between Sev and me is our business. It's not for you to think about. I wasn't a good friend to him either. Never come near me again, or I'd rather see myself in Azkaban after putting you in the Hospital Wing. Do you understand? And I'll ensure that your family line ends with you, you disgusting swine," Lily hissed, her voice laced with venom.

Lily had long realized her own mistakes, but she couldn't get past the fact that Severus had expressed an interest in becoming a Death Eater.

She didn't want him to become like those she read about in the Daily Prophet. Confronting him about their falling out at the end of the fifth year seemed daunting.

She had sent him a birthday present at the end of the holidays, but there was no response. It hurt more than she expected. But She still had gone to his house, only to find it abandoned.

She wanted to talk to him, but her guilt and the company he kept pushed her away.

"Evans..." James started to say, but before he could finish, Lily cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx on him and swiftly left the scene.

Lily retreated to her room, clutching a photo of her and Severus. A few tears escaped her eyes as she reflected on what had transpired between them.

Lily never intended to push Severus away like that. She was deeply hurt by his behavior, especially when he called her friends "Mudbloods."

While some might have seen her as naive and innocent, she was, in fact, a very selfish person.

She let most of his hurtful comments towards her friend slide or argued with him, but when he directed that at her, it shattered her world.

Feeling deeply wounded, she wanted to hurt him back, to make him feel the pain he had caused her. Hurt him in the way he had hurt her, make him feel the ache she felt. Very childish, she knew but she was hurt at that moment. That word from his mouth left a scar deeper than any wound.

In both worlds, she feared for her safety. In the Muggle world, despite having her loving parents by her side, she felt that she didn't truly belong. The wizarding world, which she thought would offer her a new home, also rejected her.

She faced scorn and judgment there, though she did manage to find some friends. Despite the positive aspects, she couldn't shake the feeling of not being welcomed in either world. Both worlds held their own share of horrors, making her feel unsettled and uncertain.

In response to this nightmarish reality, she decided to wear a mask, a facade of brightness and perfection, to face the world with a smile while her heart ached in fear. She found solace and support in her best friend, Severus.

She trusted him completely, for he wasn't afraid of either world. However, the wizarding world proved to be more terrifying than she anticipated, filled with horrors she despised, especially the death eaters and their beliefs.

Severus's growing obsession with dark arts and his association with death eaters drove a wedge between them.

Their conversations turned into blame games, with Severus deflecting arguments about Potter's gang whenever she confronted him about his treatment of Muggle-borns.

When Severus's friend attacked Mary in a perverse manner, she hoped he would understand the true nature of his friends. Instead, he dismissed it as a prank, further distancing himself from her.

When Severus apologized after an argument, she hoped he would deny his desire to become a death eater. But when he didn't, it broke her heart. She couldn't bear to see someone she loved turn into a man who would harm people like her.

Thus, she made the painful decision to distance herself from him.

Today, as she saw Severus by the lakeside where they used to spend time together, his pained expression tugged at her heart. However, when Narcissa Black appeared, the sight of them together in a place that held precious memories hurt her deeply. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy and obsession she had tried to hide.

Thinking about all they had lost, she cried herself to sleep that night, holding a photo of the two of them.

—------

(A/n: Death eaters kill/ torture people who are muggles and muggle-borns, now just think how would have Lily felt when Severus wanted to be a death eater.

And some readers, it ok if you don't like them but you shouldn't judge a character from a single arc in the novel. Characters are 3-dimensional, even the Marauders have their reasons for the things they have done. That is why I never wrote them away from how they were described at this stage except for Peter Pettigrew, who might or might not have used the cloak for that pervert thing, who knows. And Severus wasn't a saint either.

JK Rowling messed up when writing this section of the story because she described Lily as someone who despised bullies but she married her off to a bully just because he changed or she used the "she can change him" trope but I hate it. Might be she is a bad person I don't know. Little is known about her.

At this point in the Harry Potter novel, Lily despised James Potter and wasn't interested in him. The very reason she cut Severus off was because he desired to be a death eater. Just give it time.)

Let's try to get at least 250 STONES today, if possible.

Give me MY STONES.