*Drinking Is Harmful to Your Health*
"Apologize to Evans!" Potter shouted at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.
Mudblood. It was the one insult Evans couldn't refute, the one thing she couldn't change about herself.
"I don't need you to force him to apologize," Evans turned to Potter and yelled, "You're just as awful as he is!"
Potter was stunned. "What?" He spread his hands, shaking them slightly. "I've never called you... you know... that!"
"You think it's cool to act like you've just fallen from the heavens, so you mess up your hair, show off with someone else's precious lilies, and hex anyone in the corridor who annoys you, just because you think you can... I really wonder, what kind of brain makes you think other people's glares and disgust are a form of attention!"
Up in the tree, Lys, who had been rubbing one of her eyes, paused. She tilted her bottle of whiskey, letting the last drops flow into her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red darting away.
"Evans!" Potter called after her retreating figure. "Hey, Evans!"
But the red blur moved away like the evening clouds, never looking back.
"What's wrong with her?" Potter asked, trying to sound casual, as if it didn't matter, but failing miserably.
What's wrong? Lys turned her head, searching for Gaben while her mind wandered to the image of that lily. What's wrong? She's angry, obviously! She turned her head again, and now it was really spinning.
Below, Potter listened to Sirius Black's commentary, his temper simmering. "Judging by what she said, mate, I'd say she thinks you're a bit arrogant and self-centered."
Lys found Gaben's tail and wobbled as she crouched to grab him, intending to sling him back onto her shoulders.
A flash of light—Snape was once again hoisted upside down into the air by Potter, cursing uselessly as his wand had already been knocked away.
"Who wants to see me strip the greasy git's underwear?" Potter twirled his wand, grinning wickedly at the Gryffindors behind him.
But before he could act, a Slytherin cloak fell from the tree, draping over Snape's legs and covering his body.
Before Potter could aim his wand at the tree, a misstep caused Lys to tumble out of it.
"Ow... ah!" Lys landed on her left arm, and before she could push herself up, Gaben fell onto her back with a thud.
Even so, Lys held tightly to her wand. With a silent Levitation Charm, she gently moved Gaben aside and deflected a Petrification Curse from that stupid dog.
"What's this? Are you standing up for the greasy git? All he ever does is cower behind you lot, trembling!" Potter taunted, glaring at the suddenly-appearing Lys.
Her response was an unmistakable "Bleh!~~"
Lys crouched by the tree root, unable to hold it in any longer. After casting a feeble Shield Charm, she vomited onto the roots.
Finally feeling slightly better, Lys hugged Gaben and buried her head. "Ugh! I was here first! Before you started playing fetch with that stupid Snitch like a dog, I was already here!"
Using the tree for support, Lys tried to steady herself, closing one eye to focus as she attempted to stand. But she underestimated just how drunk she was. Her body swayed violently, and she reached out with her left hand, grabbing onto something that elicited a muffled grunt.
"What's this?" Lys squinted and realized she was holding a handful of Snape's hair. She muttered an absentminded apology. "Oh, sorry, had a bit too much to drink."
Though she apologized, her hand didn't let go.
Potter's forehead vein looked like it was about to pop. "Stay out of this, Lys Black! This has nothing to do with you."
Lys glanced at Potter, then grinned at the upside-down Snape, whose face was obscured by the cloak. "Hey, did you hear that? He didn't call me Rat Skin this time!"
"You filthy little..."
She wiped the corner of her mouth with the cloak covering Snape, muttering to herself, "Of course I know my mother didn't always want me. She's wished I didn't exist since I was barely a year old. Every time she drank, her eyes couldn't hide it. I'm a burden..."
She hiccupped. Gaben stretched his head far away from the alcohol-laden breath, but his body remained tightly clinging to Lys.
Without a sound, Lys sent a flurry of spells at the two Gryffindors pointing their wands at her, knocking them unconscious.
"Rat Skin, you..."
"Of course I know I'm wearing who-knows-how-many-hand-me-down robes. Of course I know I'm illiterate. I know. I don't need you to keep reminding me."
Lys suddenly seemed impatient. "Stop repeating it! Stop repeating it!"
She pointed her wand steadily at the group opposite her. Though they appeared as blurry doubles, at least there were many of them, making them easier to hit.
Her left hand still clutching Snape's hair, Lys tightened her grip. She feared she might topple over if she let go.
"I'm not stupid, you know. Just not very smart," she muttered, feeling a bit warm. Rolling up her sleeves, she revealed her scarred arms.
Suddenly, she beamed, stretching both arms forward. Losing the support of Snape's hair, she stumbled, causing the group opposite her to take a collective step back.
Only Potter and his friends' spells managed to slightly ripple Lys's shield.
"I did it. I healed it. Stupid dog, look! This is why my mother didn't want me. How could this not hurt?" Seeing someone clutch their left arm in the crowd, Lys focused her gaze.
Squinting hard, she spotted someone standing at the back of the group.
"Lupin, isn't that the prefect? Why aren't you maintaining order?" Lys felt another wave of nausea. Rolling her eyes, she swallowed it down. "I warn you, whether you're looking for allies or something else, stay far away from me and my family. Otherwise, what do you think I'll tell others?"
"Why haven't you grabbed your unconscious friends and run off yet?"
Still clutching Snape's hair for balance, Lys swung her wand forward. A simple, forceful Severing Charm sliced through the roots and thick soil in front of the Gryffindors, leaving a deep gash.
Seeing Potter still defiantly raise his wand, Lys pointed hers at him too. But while his spell was an attack, hers was a Healing Charm, because Lys irrationally feared she might accidentally kill him in her drunken state.
When the spell hit, Lys gagged, hurriedly lowering her shield to avoid vomiting on herself, and Potter's curse struck her.
Meanwhile, Potter's face twisted with humiliation as he realized the wound on his face had healed.
Lys released Snape's hair, clutching her side where the fiery curse had burned her. Pulling at her shirt, she saw the fabric was torn. Without hesitation, she took it off.
The expressions of the boys opposite her shifted from anger and resentment to panic and embarrassment.
Because beneath her shirt, Lys wore only a thin tank top. While nothing inappropriate was exposed, the soft skin and undeniable femininity were suddenly very apparent!
The boys, all flustered, turned their heads. Some fumbled to pick up their unconscious friends, while others pretended to have urgent matters elsewhere.
Sirius Black stared for a moment, stunned. After all, it's quite a shock when someone you're angrily confronting suddenly removes their shirt, transforming from an annoying, blurry figure into a clearly female one.
Lys held up her shirt, staring at it for a long time. "Potter, see? Even without shielding, you couldn't even..." She paused, looking around. "Hey? Where'd everyone go?!"
Everyone had fled...
Turning to the still-dangling Snape, Lys slurred, "Where'd they go?"
After a moment of confusion, she used Snape's cloak to wipe her mouth again. Then, with a burst of magic, she violently dismantled Potter's spell, lowering Snape to the ground.
"What a stubborn spell!" Lys grumbled impatiently, still drunk.
Leaning close to Snape, she inspected him, the heavy scent of alcohol washing over the boy's tightly shut eyes.
"What are you afraid of? Before I was five, I barely had clothes to wear! But look at me now," Lys shouted, gesturing dramatically before glancing down. "Oh, my clothes are ruined."
"But it's fine. Don't move!" Lys roughly patted Snape's head.
"Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. You're so much smarter and more talented than me, right? You'll be the greatest Potions Master," she said, her tone like soothing a child.
Lys brought her scarred right arm close to his face, not caring whether he looked or not. "But I think you'll be the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. When I was trapped in my memories, I couldn't see any light. It hurt so much. I went all out! You're amazing, aren't you?"
"Talent. Talent. I wish I had talent too... I'm so tired..."
"Bleh~" Lys turned away to vomit again. She had drunk far too much. The bottle of mead was fine, but the whiskey that followed was simply too strong.
After vomiting, Lys turned back, intending to use Snape's cloak to wipe her mouth again, only to find it had fallen to the ground. She would have to bend down to pick it up.
Instead, she cleaned her mouth with a spell, filling it with bubbles, which she spat out repeatedly.
"Don't be afraid. One day, you'll be able to protect your own Lily. Little star, you'll shine in your mother's eyes too," she mumbled, her words unclear. She tried to prop herself up on Snape's shoulder, but ended up slapping his head instead.
Barely able to walk straight, Lys stumbled down the hill, muttering, "Of course I'm scared... But what can help me? I'll cling tightly to whatever I can, right, Gaben?"
Gaben stretched his head as far away as possible in disdain.
Under the tree, Snape buried his face in his cloak for a long while before glancing at the direction where Lys's voice had faded, only to quickly avert his gaze.
...Damn it, that alcohol-soaked idiot! She wasn't even wearing a proper shirt!
Gripping his wand tightly, Snape cast a Binding Charm to tie the cloak of that idiot firmly around her as she staggered away.
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