31

It was the first time they had been to Hogsmeade, but no one was in the mood to go much, not even to drink the famous butterbeer, and went back to school early. Lily only cried for a moment, then quickly wiped away her tears, but she was no longer in the mood to laugh or talk. She was silent the whole way, as if she had suffered a terrible blow, and she was listless the whole way back.

Fortunately, by the time they saw Severus Snape, they had already gone to the Duke of Honey and the House of letters, or else this first experience at Hogsmeade would have been a great pity. Eli had sent Penny some of every candy he had bought at the Duke of Honey, and in the letter that came with the candy he could not help but mention it to her; Anyone who can trust him with anything that needs to be kept secret, Penny has a tendency to say more when confronted with him.

Although he didn't really know what he wanted to know, and perhaps there was no answer to the question, he simply wanted to share it with Penny.

After returning from Hogsmeade, the next day was Sunday and there was still no school. Eli got up early as usual, went to the owl's hut, sent candy and letters to Penny, and carried the book to the library, where Severus Snape was already, and set up a third of his table, the other open space was apparently reserved for him and Lily -- Mary hadn't been around much since third grade, after being publicly mocked by Severus Snape's friend, Muir Saber, she, and Severus Snape, didn't like it, dropped out of the group that did homework together in the library, and moved in with her other roommates.

Lily was a little upset. She had tried to talk Mary out of sitting down because other people were prejudiced against Severus Snape, now it's a little uncertain: when you have a friend who is difficult to accept, you do face some questions that you don't have, right or wrong, but it's inevitable, people should know this when they choose their friends.

As he sat down next to Snape, Severus Snape looked up, then back at him. I can see he's a little disappointed he hasn't seen Lily.

"Why?" He asked.

"Lily won't be coming today, will she?" Eli said, glancing at him, thinking, and affirming. "She can't have calmed down."

Severus Snape paused, looking surprised and dazed.

"Are you angry?" He asked at once, "Are you mad at me? But -- why? Is this because of the joke that Muir Saib made on her the other day? But I stopped him -- I pulled him away! The party wasn't that urgent after that! It was my excuse --"

"I think it's more than that," said Eli calmly, turning the parchment over for his homework, "Maybe it's more because I heard what you said to your friend yesterday, and I have to say, that really hurt."

Snape jerked to a halt. He stared blankly at the book in front of him, then at Eli. He looked surprised and angry.

"How could she hear? ! What did she hear? ! She --" Severus Snape jumped up, his breathing quickened. "There was no one around! She wasn't supposed to hear it! Did someone tell her? ! Was it that awful potter-"

Eli was taken aback, and he looked at him with a look of amazement. Severus Snape's voice dropped and his face turned white.

"I'm sorry we were there when you and your friends agreed on how filthy half-caste and muggle-born Wizards are, and heard it all coming out of the literati house," he said coldly, he frowned deeply.

"I don't understand, Severus," he said, looking at Severus Snape incredulously, "Are you angry that Lily heard you, rather than that you actually agreed with and said it, that you're not afraid to say it, that you're just afraid that Lily might hear you, is that what I'm saying?"

Severus Snape's lips moved silently. He looked nervous, but he and Eli kept looking at each other.

"Slytherin thinks so, Eli," he said.

"That's because they don't have any friends in Gryffindor, Severus," Eli said coolly, puncturing his veneer of peace, "What do you think? If that's how you feel in your heart, that Muggles and hybrids are inferior, then you can say it to our faces without being overheard-i promise you, as long as you make it clear, no one will bother you with a blind eye."

"I don't think so!" Severus Snape said at once. Mrs. Pines looked over at him from the other end of several bookshelves and gave him a stern stare. He sat down slowly, still staring intently at Eli.

"But that's what you said," Eli said calmly, looking back at him.

"You see, Severus, I'm not Lily, and I won't give you so many reasons," he said.

Severus Snape stared at him, and Eli could almost see the thoughts rushing through his mind. But no matter what Severus Snape thought of him, he was as calm as ever, and even the initial shock of it had faded away, leaving him with a sense of unease and panic that everything was spiraling out of control.

"That's just a -- a stopgap measure," he said finally in a low voice, staring at Eli with barely moving lips, "You have a lot of friends, Lily has a lot of friends, and I think you understand that I also... need other friends than you, and you have more than me, don't you?"

"I don't go along with my friends when they attack you," Eli said coolly, shaking his head. "I'm sure Lily doesn't either."

Severus Snape's breathing quickened and he let out a dry laugh.

"But you're still friends, aren't you?" He said in a low voice, his tone unwittingly fierce, "Potter-black-they are very good to you, too! They've been after me for years, and you're still friends with them! What difference does it make? And I'm not helping Avery and Muir Saber come after you!"

"I thought that was why we couldn't be best friends, and I'm sure you felt the same about me," Eli said without pause, unwavering in his anger, his logic clear, look Severus Snape in the eye with determination, "If that's how you see me, what about Lily? Lily never thought of Baud and Blake as friends. She was on your side. She thought of you as her best friend -- and I don't see you giving her any special treatment."

Severus Snape looked as if he had been hit hard. He opened his mouth and said nothing more. He sat there silently, watching him silently.

"If you think of her as your best friend, you should stand up for her more firmly -- whether she can hear you or not," Eli said quietly, spreading out the parchment that had been rolled up again and unheeded, picking up the quill, "If you think this is going to conflict with your ability to make new friends, you need to let it go."

They did not continue the discussion on this topic, the atmosphere was a little depressed to spend the morning together. Sure enough, Lily didn't come. As they packed up and headed to the auditorium for lunch, Eli noticed that Severus Snape had looked several times in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower, as if hoping to catch Lily coming down for lunch.

But Lily was nowhere to be seen. He saw Jaime coming in from outside with a broom, after quidditch practice.

Jaime was surprisingly alone this time, and perhaps the training session was too long. He walked toward the auditorium, his hair a mess, looking troubled and frowning slightly.

Now that he was walking with Severus Snape, Eli did not greet him, lest he cause a new round of trouble. Unfortunately, Jaime finds them by accident, and, after a brief pause, is surprised to find that it's not Severus Snape who's picking on them, but Eli, as never before.

"Eli! What are you doing?" He said, surprised and angry, and hurried toward them. "You're walking with snotlout! Are you crazy?"

Eli stopped, raised a startled finger and pointed to himself in the midst of his menacing steps.

"What are you talking about, Jaime?" He asked curiously. "You've Known Me Your First Year?"

"I thought after yesterday you'd know to keep your distance," said Jaime angrily. "Aren't you and Ivans Good Friends?"

Eli's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know?" He asked Jaime in return. Jaime was stunned for a moment and finally remembered that in theory, he was just a passer-by who shouldn't have existed yesterday.

"Well..." he tried to explain, but Severus Snape sneered.

"Even he knows?" He asked Eli, in an undisguised rage, "That's funny, isn't it? That must be the best thing you can talk about in Gryffindor. Gryffindor is like that. I should have known."

He turned and strode forward, leaving Eli in a daze for a moment, then turned to look at Jaime.

Jaime jerked back, a dry laugh: "Uh... ... Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing yesterday But I still don't think you and snotlout should be together. He said that about you and Ivans -- Ivans's your best friend, isn't he?"

"Lily and Severus are also good friends, mind your own business, Jaime," Eli warned him, ignoring him and moving on.

Jaime caught up with him and put his arms around his neck. "Wait, Eli! I want to ask you something."

"... What is it?" Eli asked, pulling his arm off his neck.

Eli was surprised to see Jaime raise his hand and stroke his hair with a rare hint of shyness.

"It's nothing, it just occurred to me... that I see you with Ivans all the time," he said, her eyes drifted for a moment, then she turned back to him and cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I just wanted to ask... are you guys dating? A couple?"

"What?" Eli asked in amazement. The question had never crossed his mind and stopped him. "A date? Me and Lily?"

"I don't think so," said Jaime, looking relieved and grinning. "You two look like a good match, to be honest."

"Come on, she's like a sister to me," Eli said in amazement. "Who thinks that -- actually, I do have a better relationship with her sister, who's my best friend."

"Ivans's sister?" Asked Jaime at once, with great interest. "Is she in school, too? I don't think I've heard of her."

"Not at our school, she's a Muggle... but she's nice, maybe not as lively and cheerful as Lily, but she's smart and brave and a very good friend," Eli said simply, then he looked at Jaime suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," said Jaime, completely relaxed. He grinned at him and waved his hand, "I thought I was going to compete with you, but even then, I'm not afraid -- I'm going to go back to the dorm to put the broom down. See you later, Eli! Tell me about Ivans's sister some other time!"

He gave him a big wave and rushed back to the Gryffindor Tower with his broom. Eli frowned and stared at his back in bewilderment for a moment, then froze, his face suddenly strange.

Since it was all just a guess, Eli was careful not to tell anyone. The next few days, Hogwarts began a new week of classes, he immediately put aside other people's emotional disputes, began to concentrate on learning. So did Lily, who, cushioned by Sunday, seemed to have calmed down completely in class on Monday, revealing no particular emotion as if nothing had happened.

But Severus Snape was not as calm as they had been. After several days of study without seeing each other, he could no longer resist. After the potions class that Slytherin and Gryffindor had taken together, stopped Lily from leaving with Eli.

"Lily," he said nervously as he stood in front of Lily, his nose sweating. "I've been thinking about it for days, and I feel like I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have..."

"Are you being pestered, Ivans?" Someone interrupted. James walked away from Sirius and Lupin, his bag in his hand, and quickly walked over to join in the conversation. He played with his hair, in a self-deprecating tone, he asked Lily, "Do you need any help? I can help you get rid of that nasty nose."

Lily's face darkened a little when Severus Snape stopped her, and she pressed her lips together, and her mood, visible to the naked eye, was as bad as it could be, after Jaime had spoken to her without explanation.

"Go away, baud!" She said sternly, frowning at him. "You have no business here

"Hey, I thought I was helping!" Said Jaime innocently, raising his hands to indicate that he meant no harm, "Well, actually, my main question is, are you free this weekend, Ivans? Would you like to come to Quidditch's daily practice?"

Lily looked at him suspiciously, his brows furrowed.

"What does that have to do with me? Why should I?" She asked unhappily.

Jaime's face reddened a little, and behind him came the snickering of his good friends.

"Don't you hear? Actually, I'm asking you out," he said, and Sirius whistled loudly behind him.

Eli finished packing his bag and was stuck by the group near the cauldron. He sighed and glanced at the expectant Lily, then at Severus Snape.

He looked steadily at the giggling Jaime and the frowning Lily, his face turning pale as if he were watching his treasure being blown away from him by a gust of wind, he looked at it in despair and realized that it was too late and there was nothing he could do to make it right.