Chapter One

"Sev!"

"Lily, what did you want to meet fo-"

Severus was, unexpectedly, though perhaps not rudely from the perspective of a teenage boy, interrupted my Lily's sudden decision to thrust his body towards hers and press her lips onto his. Severus, attempting to pull away from Lily, was held steadfast by her desperate cling, and succumbed to kissing her back. For a moment, he was suspended under her weight, feeling the smooth movement of her soft lips against his, too surprised to move at all. At the point at which he felt as though he was about to suffocate, for he had not the opportunity to prepare for Lily's sudden ambush, Severus felt Lily loosen her hold and move her hands to his shoulders, which she grasped with a painful tightness. Severus stood dumbfounded, gasping for air, his dark eyes enlarged and staring into Lily's tear-filled ones.

"Sev," she said again, and squeezed her arms around him, breaking into sobs. Again surprised, it took Severus a moment to register all that had happened in the past thirty seconds and wrap his own arms around her body. His gaze was still fixed in front of him; his eyes mixed with fear, surprise, confusion, and hope. He cleared his throat.

"Erm, Lily, I-" he began.

"No, Sev…I….was…I was….wrong…It...It was…my fault," she struggled to communicate between gasps and gulps for air. Her body shook and quivered against his with the constant convulsions of sobs.

"What? Lily, no, erm," Severus was never one for words in the presence of girls, often revered as socially awkward by James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus. Lily had left their friendship for James; why was she back now? Severus began to grow suspicious…

His thoughts were interrupted by his awareness that Lily had again let go of him. She stood before him, the redness in her cheeks matching that in her hair, which was frizzy and slightly tangled, shiny tears dripping down her face in the moonlight and falling on her wool sweater.

"Lily, did…did James do something to you? I, I don't understand why you're so...so…" Severus stood awkwardly before her, searching for words.

"Sev…no…I just…you can't tell…James, okay…I just…I just realized something," she said, gaining control over her sobs, staring at the stone floor beneath them and wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Lily…is there any way I can help you?" Severus inquired, taken aback at Lily's odd behavior.

"No…no, I just," she answered looking up at him, sobbing into her hands once more. She looked up at him tentatively, reaching towards him. Severus stiffened, anticipating her touch, something he had longed for during all of his time at Hogwarts, though never really expected. Her warm, slightly damp hands reached along the back of his neck, and goose bumps began to spread across his back. He closed his eyes, sensing Lily moving towards him. She stepped up onto her tiptoes, craning her neck up towards Severus, and softly met her lips with his cheek, kissing him slowly and sending the slightest breeze down to his neck. Goose bumps now coated the entire surface of his body. Once again, she gently embraced him, and Severus this time met her warmth by pulling her into his own body, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling as though he was floating towards the navy sky, freckled by the sparkling stars. What he saw sent him plummeting back to Earth.

James stood twenty feet in front of him.