Chapter 04

James was surprised to see his school nemesis at the wedding, and he remembered all the pranks he played and how much he hated him for being in love with Lily Evans. James was interested in the redhead as soon as he met her, first, he wanted to be her friend than his interest turned to romance, while her attitude was obnoxious and she rejected his wooing, it didn't matter because he was sure that sooner or later she would accept him. To him, Lily was great, even if she had flaws they were minuscule in the face of her beauty.

It was a difficult task to separate Severus from Lily, but he hurt himself by calling her mud-blood, from then on everything was easier, meticulously and patiently he was making Lily change her image of him.

When Lily finally agreed to be his girlfriend, Severus was furious. The witch insisted that he cease the war between his group and Severus, of course, the damage was done and he would never become his friend, but he aspired to maintain a neutral and cordial behavior for the benefit of his girlfriend, who felt sorry for Snivellus.

Lily invited Severus over intending to encourage him to change, inspiring him to see that the friends he had were not real friends, they were death eaters who did not enjoy love and joy but destroyed the harmony of families. She thought about approaching him for a chat, she believed that if he saw her happy he would accept that he was wrong about James, even if he was an excessive tease, James had matured.

- "Lily sweetheart, you know he doesn't see you as a sister. That boy has been in love with you forever, he could tell how important you were to him. It was cruel of you to invite him, it's obvious that he still loves you."

- "But mum, Severus knows he's like a brother to me, he was my best friend. I miss him, and I wanted to share my joy with him. Petunia has been in contact with Severus, so if those two who got along badly managed to make up, why wouldn't he do it with me and James?"

- "Oh dear," - Replied her mother, looking tenderly at her 'innocent' daughter.

The marauders murmured about Snivellus' presence, then learned that Lily had invited him, and everyone thought it was a bad move. Sirius assured them that he wouldn't let the greasy snake ruin his friend's happy day.

- "Petunia will take care of it," - Said Lily, trusting her sister, she didn't see Severus, but it seemed that he didn't take kindly to her wedding, so, since Severus now considered Petunia his friend instead of her, let her sister take care of comforting him.

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A weight pressed down on her body, Eleanor was dazed, hot, with a headache and a slight feeling of nausea. She opened one eye first and was struck by daylight, closed it again, and covered it with her arm. At that, she noticed that it was someone's pillow or stuffed animal, she tensed up, waking up completely, struggling to recognize her surroundings, then with her slow mental process due to the dryness, she suddenly remembered what had happened.

Her clothes were in disarray, it seemed that because of the heat she had tried to take them off, someone with the wrong idea would interpret it differently when they saw her being hugged possessively by Severus, who had his arms around her back and one leg crossed with hers. She felt the wizard's breathing hitch, tried to see him, and moved, he grunted and clung tighter.

He could presume that because they were both on the couch, they somehow ended up too close together not to fall off the couch. Decisions, decisions. If it were a stranger she would be running to get away, throwing the guy on the floor, and becoming suspicious of him, but, maybe it was the trust she had in the character, someone who became part of her after reading the canon and fandom of the Harry Potter saga. Differentiating between the literary Severus Snape and the real Severus Snape was a work in progress, she still had that sense of unreality when she remembered her situation.

- "Severus," - Eleanor called several times, trying to wake him up.

The wizard stirred, - "Lily" - He murmured, brushing her neck and kissing it.

- "Snape? I'm not Lily, wake up. I have to go to the bathroom," - She said at a slightly louder volume than normal, tugging at Severus's hands and then jerking free when one of her hands went up to his breast. - "Oh no, there's a limit to everything!"

Severus woke up, falling off the couch with her.

They both groaned, but Eleanor crawled to her feet and got straight up in search of the bathroom.

Severus held his head in pain, and stared at Eleanor in shock and confusion, his eyes widening even more when he noticed the state of their clothes, he and Eleanor's clothes were untucked.

Minutes later, Eleanor returned more relaxed, used the bathroom, washed her hands and face, made mouthfuls of Severus's toothpaste, and took out one of his headbands to tie her hair.

The wizard sat there with an indecipherable expression.

- "There's a hangover potion on the table," - He said without looking at her.

- "Oh, thank you," - She replied as soon as she found it, and after a few seconds of hesitation she drank it.

- "I'll take responsibility," - Said the wizard, still not looking at her.

- "Sorry, what did you say?"

- "I'm aware that I didn't behave properly. I will take responsibility for what happened, I will talk to your parents."

Eleanor's mind flashed to memories of scenes from films or novels she had read. She thought she must be confused because the phrase "I'll take responsibility" sounded like forced marriage, that is, when "the man stole a lady's virtue", to paraphrase the concept from centuries past.

They were silent for a few minutes, Eleanor didn't know exactly what to say, she was upset, she wasn't going to deny it and perhaps uncomfortable, she preferred to leave and forget the whole thing, to pretend that nothing happened.

She didn't remember much of what happened, Severus got depressed and ended up drunk, she listened to him resigned to the repetitiveness of the speech, she offered advice to try to appease him, she cut herself when she absurdly wanted to pick up the remains of a broken glass instead of using magic, she also ended up drunk at the end without intending to. They slept on the same couch... She couldn't remember anything that could have caused such a sentence if it meant what she thought it meant.

- "I'm sorry," - Said Severus, - "I didn't mean to, it still affects me about Lily, but I'm not going to use it as an excuse to avoid my obligations. I hope you'll be patient and understand that I'm not yet a financially stable man, I'll fix up the house and..."

- "Wait a minute," - She interrupted, taking a second, - "Are you proposing marriage? Excuse my confusion but I don't know what you mean. We're friends, or at least I think we are, even if you want to use me to get closer to my sister. You didn't say anything offensive, it was logical for you to insult my brother-in-law considering your shared past. And you didn't 'make a pass at me' as far as I remember, you didn't force me into anything, and if you had, you wouldn't have a penis anymore, because I woke up before you did and I might as well cut off that part of you and throw it away."

Severus turned pale and stammered incomprehensibly, looking sideways at the bloodstain. It clicked in her mind, for that stain and the condition in which they woke up, the wizard must have imagined anything.

Eleanor held up her hand and showed it to the wizard.

- "I was injured and the healing was not perfect, I have the scar. When I return home I will use one of the ointments and in less than a day it will disappear. Nothing happened between us, nothing like I suppose you imagine. Severus you're nice in your way, you have a lot of annoying things like almost cruel sarcasm, stubbornness, low self-esteem, and bad temper."

- "Silence! I get it," - He exclaimed, embarrassed.

- "What I mean is that despite everything, I like you very much. I don't particularly have sex with my friends, but he didn't rule out the idea either. It never happened and I doubt it happened, because it's one thing what I say and think, and another how I react at the moment. Kissing is not wrong, in some cases, it is stimulating, but let me tell you that between us it didn't go beyond that, and I don't expect us to marry because of it... You love Lily in a way that brushes me but I can't quite understand. I don't judge you, though I think you'll make mistakes out of that love, like that business you have with the death eater movement."

- "That's not your problem."

- "It is if it affects me," - She refuted, taking a seat next to him, - "Severus, you know my position. If you continue down this path you will regret it. Siding with the dark lord will only bring you pain. His ideals have a twisted and sick undertone, killing for the sake of killing, does that even make sense?"

The wizard brushed his hair out of his face, combing it back. He stood up and wordlessly made his way to the bathroom.

Eleanor sighed in frustration, not being able to explain things concretely was inconvenient, even if he believed the truth about his "past life", it wasn't something he wanted to share, perhaps it was selfish to want to keep some of the mystery.

- "Why must human relationships be so complex?" - Eleanor muttered.

She decided to prepare breakfast, sniffed around for a while, and complained about the lack of food. - "Not an apple at least."

- "I don't usually eat here. I thought you'd be gone by now." - Severus peeked out the door with damp hair and a change of clothes.

- "Am I disturbing you? If so, I'm going, but I think I'd better go anyway. I'm hungry, and going out for breakfast dressed as a party would be conspicuous," - She answered calmly, walking towards the exit and raising her hand in farewell.

- "Let's have lunch tomorrow," - Said the wizard.

- "Ok, don't get into trouble and come and find me, you know I'm not good at looking for directions."

Severus accompanied her to the door and said goodbye, still off balance.

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The fire had already been brought under control, and Eleanor was engrossed in watching the scene.

After Lily's wedding and "Petunia's" absence from the meeting afterward, she argued with "her parents", neither of whom were amused that she wouldn't be back until the next day. Lily and James went on honeymoon for a week, James no longer had permission to be absent from the Auror Academy, where he was about to graduate, benefits of his "enthusiasm." Lily wrote to hear from her sister and Severus, being saddened by her childhood friend's reaction.

For a month Eleanor had a tense atmosphere regarding her friendship with Severus, previously the Evanses held back for Lily but once she commented that there would be no reconciliation, the couple began trying to get their eldest daughter away from the potential murderer.

James and Sirius declared their feelings about Snape, arguing that all dark wizards belonged to Slytherin House, besides, Snape's friends were suspected death eater, so what guaranteed that he wasn't part of that group?

News of the conflict was not favorable, it seemed as if the Ministry was losing control. People were disappearing and some were discovered dead, attacks on Muggles, chaos at events, and the picture of the Dark Mark in the sky were a constant feature in the day's newspaper.

Severus did not accept the Dark Mark, he had arguments with his friends who advocated it to the inner circle and Lord Voldemort, but he was fed up with the movement, it was not what he thought. After analyzing the proposal as "Petunia" suggested, he concluded that he was being tricked, power and glory were not essential for him, and what he wanted was to be seen by Lily as someone important, and this did not happen; having the ability to not be intimidated by others, he got it on his own, Voldemort would not teach him anything he could not get in a good library and the Prince had an amazing one. He never thought his grandfather had left open the possibility of inheriting the family fortune, contrary to what his late mother believed, she was neither disinherited nor disowned, had he not consulted Gringotts he would never have known. His fortune was not immense but he did inherit a substantial amount of money along with interesting items, many of whose enchantments he was eager to investigate to discover their purpose.

The wizard kept in contact with some of his companions, such as Narcissa and her husband Lucius Malfoy, moving into the Prince family home when they warned of the punishment for deserting the death eater that was ordered against him, though he was not yet a proper follower of Voldemort. The damage to his house on Spinner Street was unfortunate, he had been making repairs to improve it structurally and should recycle it once all the socio-political chaos was over.

He concentrated on his goal of getting his master's degree in potions, he continued to keep in touch with Petunia for fun, he didn't understand why he liked her, although they didn't see each other as often anymore for security reasons and kept in touch by mail.

Eleanor moved into a property near the Evans family home, the rent was low and she spent a week enjoying her "independence" before the tragedy. 

After her art class, Eleanor went to visit her parents and bought something in a cake shop to share during tea time, as she went along a bad feeling came over her, she quickened her pace and in the distance, she saw with horror the shadowy mark shining in the sky.

Lily Evans' family in Cokeworth was attacked as a sign of what happens when Lord Voldemort is rejected, the young Potter couple were active members of the Order of the Phoenix, led by Albus Dumbledore to fight Voldemort's plans.

Eleanor tried to enter but was prevented from doing so by the Aurors, her magic was of no use as she was unsuccessful. The fire brigade arrived and agents from the Ministry took charge of modifying her memories, as well as the memories of neighboring witnesses.

- "Petunia!" - Cried Lily tearfully, - "Where are they?"

Eleanor looked at her without really looking at her, she was in shock and couldn't bring herself to say anything. She simply looked at what had been her home for a while, the Evanses had passed away, a sad fate she could not avoid, she forgot about the danger again, and she blamed herself for not taking into account that without maintenance and a wizard or witch living on the property, the barriers were going to weaken. Voldemort had experts in his ranks who could break curses or barriers in such a case, without weapons the Evanses had no means of escape.

- "We must leave, their bodies are at St. Mungo's..." - Said James, putting his arms around his wife's shoulders.

- "Tuney," - Lily called to her sister, taking her hand, - "Let's go. Then we'll see what we can salvage from the inside."

According to the healers, the Evans couple died unknowingly from a killing curse, Eleanor wanted to believe that they didn't suffer but Lily sobbed and assured them that they were being lied to. When the fire started the couple were already dead, so the professional assured them, looking annoyed at the shrieking redhead.

Arrangements were determined by James and Lily, the wake was brief, attended by friends and acquaintances of the family.

- "What are you doing here Snivellus?" - Sirius asked, stopping him from entering.

- "I came to pay my respects and offer my condolences to the family."

- "You're not welcome," - Sirius replied, starting his speech like a broken record about why he shouldn't be around the Evans sisters, the idea that he was a dark wizard, a snake death eater, and so on.

Severus clenched his fists and took a deep breath, knowing that this was no time to fight. He looked over at Lily, who was being comforted by her husband, surrounded by her few close friends, she saw him and turned her face away, pretending she didn't know who he was. Petunia stood with a sad expression, in the other corner next to some people who must have been acquaintances or friends, she looked towards the entrance where Sirius Black was spewing his venom next to Peter Pettigrew who was wasting no opportunity to insult a Slytherin.

- "Severus," - Said Eleanor approaching him, ignoring the two wizards and taking his hands, - "It's a good thing you managed to come, it was all so sudden, I still can't get used to the idea that I won't see them again."

The wizard pulled her in for a hug, and looking at his opponents out of the corner of his eye, he enjoyed their reactions despite the moment.

- "I am here for whatever you need Tuney. You can count on me, I was also shocked by the news, I knew them and they were good people, it's a pity they're gone."

- "Petunia, you shouldn't be with one of your parents' murderers. Lily is suffering, at least respect your family's pain," - Peter said quietly.

- "Do I know you? Ah yes, you're my brother-in-law's 'friend'. This is my parents' funeral, you're not the one to decide who gets in and who doesn't. Severus isn't part of the murderers, he's been a friend of my family for years, the problems that happened are private things that don't matter. Don't speak for my sister either, in the same way, that she allows her friends and acquaintances, who didn't know my parents and want to accompany her at this moment, I have the same right and even more so Severus, who is not only my friend but who also shared time with my parents."

Sirius and Peter stood silently in obvious disgust, they went over to Lily's side of the group, who looked like a wronged victim watching from her place. While no one inside the room could hear what was being said, the expressions and posture gave away that there might be an argument going on.

- "What's going on?" - Severus asked after being introduced and greeting those near Eleanor.

The room had 2 groups formed, with some neutrals going back and forth.

- "Lily and her heartbroken heroine drama."

- "Petunia."

- "I know, I'm sorry, I don't mean to come across as attacking her. I respect the way she expresses her sadness and I'm sorry I can't be of any help in comforting her. But I am a bit annoyed by her attitude, she decides without asking, she gives orders, and she seems to be playing a role in front of the people present. She even played the victim blaming herself for what happened and acting as if I had told her, I assure you that more than half of the people here believe that I blame her for what happened," - Eleanor explained in a low voice, leaning against the wizard's side, resting her head on Severus' shoulder.

Severus didn't have or know what to make of it, he didn't know the Lily he was seeing, he was hurt by the attitude she took against him, those furtive glances were new and hostile. Petunia would not explain why she allowed Potter to take control of the decisions over the remains and belongings of the Evans marriage, all she would say was that it was Lily's will. 

He stayed until the couple was buried in the cemetery looking for an opportunity to offer his condolences to Lily without success, then retired after dropping his friend off at the house where she lived. He was surprised that Lily was distant with her sister, Petunia was at no time hostile to her she was strangely submissive in her acceptance of the directive. There was no denying that Lily's change was disappointing, but he still loved her, Petunia felt that he should consider who he loved, the Lily of his memories or the current Lily who was practically an adult, "People change and have many facets," Petunia said to Severus' denial, who couldn't help but think that Potter stole her away from him.

Eleanor had a brief communication with Lily, accepting her decisions because she felt that although she was "Petunia Evans", inside she wasn't, that Petunia had long since passed away and Lily was the only remaining child of the marriage. The relationship with the Evanses was good overall, the couple died believing that their eldest daughter had matured satisfactorily, even if her choice of friends was dubious. Eleanor grew fond of the pair, to the point of accepting them as uncles close to the position of parents.

The family home was put up for sale, Potter took on the task of repairing it, and a team of wizards worked to restore it to its former appearance and took care not to arouse the suspicions of the neighbors. As for the belongings, much of it went to Lily, Eleanor kept some photographs and small belongings of the couple, such as a hat, two ties, an empty jewelry box, a bow tie, a watch, a ring, and a necklace.

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Lily was sad, determined to fight Voldemort and his followers. She had a new life with James, full of magic and love, her husband loved her so much that he denied her nothing, and despite the fear of the threat of the Death Eaters, she had never felt so complete.

She didn't even know how to deal with her sister, she expected an explosion of insults and complaints, blaming her for the sudden death of their parents, however, Petunia behaved differently, not cold but absent, of course she knew she must be upset but she missed her former sister. She hated being insulted and demeaned by Petunia, but in a way it made her feel acknowledged, her parents were always on her side and scolded Petunia, she knew how jealous she was and showed compassion for her sister by letting her vent. Now that Petunia had magic and a calmer personality, she was conflicted about how to feel, she loved her for being her sister and would keep in touch, though at the moment she preferred to concentrate on her own life.