A/N: Another one of my lunacies; an l/j, and a little twist in the plot this time. Some familiar concepts can be detected, see if you can guess what they are. Dunno if it's been done before like this, but Lily and James co. have never seen each other in their lives until Hogwarts. No secrets this time, they are NOT life-long friends/enemies! Set post Hogwarts, fresh out of school. LE/SS; RL/AJ, (but she's expelled if you read my other fic and so she never appears in this fic because I could give something away. She's really important.)SB/AR(from main fic); PP/none: but will have someone soon; JP/that's why you have to read the fic!

1

Lily took small steps toward the dark Knockturn Alley sidestreet. There was the dump on one side of her which reeked of Gingko oil. 'Essential intensifier to Truth Potion; Fragrance to Love Potion when combined with Tomatoes , Sibyll's divining inspiration; Dumbledore's flesh eating slug repellent;' a wealth of information rushed to her with one sniff. She knew she was in the right place.

"Severus, I can't let you go on like this. You have to tell him."

"No, Lily," Snape crawled out from behind the large trash canister. His pallid and glowing face was covered in streaks of sud. "I have to do this. This is the only potion strong enough to reveal his location. He already knows Lily. He's playing with me, It's all a simple game of chess for him."

"Who, Malfoy? He's an idiot, Severus, he can't know anything, the potion's too strong! He faints after even the most minute drop!" She knew whom he was talking about, but…

"Come on, Lily, don't play games with me." Snape's face twisted into an expression of anger and frustration. She walked towards him. Her lips met his for a few brief moments. She touched his dirty cheek in a signature of thanks.

Snape pulled away. 'It's not safe here, I have to get her out, NOW!'

"Lily, you have to get out, Lucius is here."

"Sev, why don't y-"

"No, Lily, go, NOW, he's coming with the traitor." Lily's eyes widened, she disappeared without the usual pop. That powerful of a witch she was, Severus often thought to himself. She didn't even make a noise during apparition.

He often cried to himself in the nights, he knew who would kill her, he said nothing to anyone about it. But he knew, that was all that mattered. He deserved to die, but people needed him.

Her eyes were red, and cheeks puffy. She had worn sunglasses to cover it up, but her voice still sounded nasally modulated (a/n:sorry, I didn't know what else to call it). Florean came over to her.

"Would you like a sundae darlin'? Chocolate Fudge like you've liked it since you were a little Hogwarts girl."

"Thanks Mrs. Fortescue, I'd rather pass, I'm waiting for someone. Maybe when they get here? Anyway, thanks for the offer." (a/n: too lazy to look up gender, sorry again.)

"Oh, that Sirius, you know he makes such a deal of getting here 'fashionable late'; nonsense was outdated in my time! Have one, darling, you know you don't have to worry about paying for them, the last time you payed you were twelve!"

"Yes, I know," she seemed to be thinking it over. Under the glasses, her eyebrows were furrowed, she bit her lip where it had split the day before. 'Lord knows this child is still a child. I wish He would just take her life and put her out of her misery' Florean thought to herself. She didn't know Lily that well, and had the impression that all the people younger than her were suffering like she had to keep her family heirloom: the store.

Just then, a bouncing figure caught her attention. "I will take you up on that offer Mrs. Fortescue, thanks so much. And the usual for Sirius?" Lily smiled warmly, and Florean smiled back, still praying to the Lord for her.

Sirius sat down, his eyes had lost the cheer, but he still smiled handsomely like there was no tomorrow. To any ordinary eye, nothing had changed.

"What did you find out Lily? How is the loser? Dead yet?" His handsome smile slowly turned into a scowl. Lily sighed. He was the worst conversation starter.

"Severus-" she gritted her teeth, "Is fine. He's been working so hard that he smells of it. There's nothing wrong with him, Sirius, I wish you would give him a chance…" Sirius' eyes warily scanned the tables behind her. He was assuming his poker face, she knew, and she was tired of it.

"Dumbledore says that Voldemort is after James. Have you been taking good care not to tell him or is he after my skin yet? I have enough problems already, I don't need one more maniac out to kill me." Some dry humor, and Lily turned the tables on Sirius. He thought he had her, but Lily darted out of his grasp with her insufferable charms. Sirius sighed out loud.

"What? Aren't you going to eat your sundae?" Sirius hadn't even noticed the large Sherbet Lemon Sundae, glazed with flavoured Eastern peanuts. Though a little unorthodox, under ordinary circumstances, Sirius would've gobbled it up in mere seconds. This was not ordinary circumstances, much to his inner displeasure. He picked up the cool transparent spoon. Still glancing behind her, he swallowed the ice cream slowly. He thought about her and James, and avoided Lily's eyes. She was supposed to be going steady with James, not running around with the butt of their school-day pranks.

"We've agreed not ever to see each other again. I'm not asking him to die with me, Sirius, just cooperate. No matter what you want us to be together, its James who makes the end decision. He has been angry with me ever since I started seeing Sev-Snape, and he refuses to talk to me. If he respects my decisions, the least he could do is act civilised." He was silent.

"Finding love is the least of my problems, Sirius," she said softly. He looked at her, "I have to learn to keep what I have so far."

Sirius got up and left her, and Lily's eyes became cold. She walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, her muggle cellphone in hand. She had to call the broker in Liverpool, he would give away her flat if she didn't call before six.