AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This was a whim. I didn't plan this at all. So it's kinda short, kinda...funky. Hope you guys like it. I didn't even realize how much I liked the whole Snape/Lily thing until I was writing it...funny, no?

ANYWAYS, this will just be a series of Snape and Lily-ness as the years go by. I dunno how I'm going to manage it...

Do me a favor and review! This was thrown together, I wanna know how good I am at impromptu fics! Or not...:(

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters, places, objects, etc., are property of J. K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Scholastic, Bloomsbury, and other respective copyrights.

Chapter 1

The Hogwarts Express blew one last final whistle, alerting the students that it would be departing within a few short minutes. Some of them lingered only to catch a glimpse of the school before they left, while others gazed around, puzzled. Everyone who wasn't in this category was hurrying about, talking about last minute Christmas gifts for their friends or ripping up old pieces of parchment.

Among the students racing to board was Severus Snape, who was jumping up and down to see over the sea of heads. He was looking for someone, but they were nowhere to be found; and it didn't help that the smoke from the train was obstructing his view. Grunting, he stopped exasperatedly to catch his breath when he heard series of 'thuds' coming from his right.

"Sev!" Said a muffled voice.

Severus looked up and saw that his friend, Lily, was the one the voice belonged to, and also the one responsible for the thudding. She was on the train, pounding on a window to get his attention.

"I'll save you a seat, Sev!" She shouted, fumbling with the window latch. Once it was open, she stuck her head out and shooed him along. "You'd better hurry; Potter said something about wanting to sit with me!"

Severus grumbled. "Be right there!" He ran along the platform, knocking a large fifth year over. The fifth year shouted something rather rude after him, but he didn't care. He had to board the train.

A few minutes later, a very exhausted Severus was hobbling down the corridor, searching for Lily. There was a group of second years in one corridor singing Christmas carols rather loudly, and Severus accidentally bumped into Lucius Malfoy, who was stomping into the compartment the carolers where in. Severus tried to suppress a laugh as he heard Malfoy scream about the propriety of singing on trains, and he continued down the corridor. The train started moving. He peered inside every compartment until he found the one with Lily, and unfortunately she wasn't alone.

Lily was sitting with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes at James Potter and Sirius Black. James was laughing raucously at something Sirius was saying, and Lily was giving them a very disapproving look. Severus felt something boil ferociously inside him, and he swung the compartment door back, stepping inside importantly. James and Sirius didn't even notice, as Sirius was rambling angrily.

"...And I swear, if Bellatrix tries any of her bulls--"

"Sev!" Lily roared standing and dragging him over to her seat, shoving him down beside her. James scowled at the new guest and nudged Sirius.

"--this year, I'll hex her hair off. Oh, lookee, James! It's ickle Snivellus!" Sirius jeered. James grimaced and stood, plopping down between Severus and Lily. He jabbed Severus in the ribs vigorously, then turned to Lily with a cheesy grin.

"So, Evans... Did you consider my offer?"

Lily snorted. "Yes, Potter, and the answer is still NO."

Sirius snickered. James threw him a very vulgar gesture before turning back to Lily. "Are you sure? My mum makes the best Christmas ham you ever tasted. We were all going to go play Quidditch in the field behind my house after dinner." James puffed out his chest pompously. "You could see me in action."

"Shove off, Potter, before you go home to Mummy with a bloody nose!"

By now, Sirius was laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. Severus sat quietly, unsure whether or not to think this was funny. James clicked his tongue and stood, going over to the compartment door. "Your loss, then. C'mon, Sirius. We should find the others before we're covered in Snivellus Slime. See you after the holidays, Evans!"

James strode out of the compartment with Sirius close behind. Severus stood and closed the door behind them. "Potter invited you to his house for Christmas dinner?"

Lily smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I told him that I was spending my holidays with you. That really set him off...I wish you could have seen his face! It was hilarious!" She distorted her face to mimic James's, and Severus laughed. He sat down across from her and she spoke again. "You are coming over for Christmas Eve, aren't you? Mum told me to tell you that she'd be more than happy to have you over."

Severus frowned and shrugged. "I dunno...I'm sure I could. Everyone at my house barely notices I exist anyhow."

"Fantastic." Lily grinned. "And you won't even have to worry about Petunia pestering you. She's got her own friends coming over."

"Petunia doesn't bother me, she just--"

"Bothers you?"

"Yeah, that's it."

They laughed and began to remove their scarves and outer robes. When the witch with the sweets trolley came by, they each purchased a couple of Chocolate Frogs and some Cauldron Cakes. They were talking animatedly about their Potions homework when Severus popped a Frog into his mouth. It made a faint croak as he swallowed, and he took out the card. "Blimey. It's Dumbledore."

Lily jumped up and looked it over. "Wow. I didn't know that there was a Dumbledore card in the Chocolate Frogs. Can I see?" She asked.

Severus handed it to her. "You can keep it. Dumbledore gives me the creeps." He opened a Cauldron Cake.

"Why do you say that? I think he's brilliant." Lily said.

"Because!" Severus exclaimed, popping the Cake in his mouth. "He's always...smiling at me."

"I smile at you all the time. Am I creepy?"

"No, Lil, it's not a polite smile, or a friendly smile. It's like a...I dunno,..."

"Maybe he thinks you're cute." Lily giggled.

"Shut up!" Severus jokingly threw the cellophane wrapper at her. "It's like he...like he knows everything about me. Like he knows what I'm about to do even before I do it."

Lily shrugged and ate another Chocolate Frog. "That'd creep me out too. But I'm sure he doesn't mean anything weird by it."

Severus nodded. "I suppose. So, what do you think I should write for Slughorn's essay?" The two discussed their Potions homework further and would do so for the rest of the ride to King's Cross.

The train slowed to a stop, and Severus threw on his robes and scarf. Lily did the same, and the two packed up their parchment and quills. The corridor outside was packed with students hurrying to get off. Both of them waited until there was enough space to squeeze into the crowd before jogging down the corridor as not to get run over. Somewhere behind them, a voice soared over the many heads. "This is your last chance, Evans!"

Lily turned her head and shouted, "Sod off, Potter! No means no!"

Severus also turned around and shot James a protective look and put an arm around Lily, leading her off the train.

"Owl me if you change your mind!" James shouted in a sing-songy manner.

Lily rolled her eyes as they stepped onto the platform. "Right, that'll happen. Stupid prick's forgotten I'm a Muggle-born, I haven't got an owl..."

Severus laughed, and Lily soon joined him. They hauled their belongings out into the space between platforms 9 and 10, looking for Lily's parents. Lily huffed and stood up straight and saw nothing. Severus, however, was more engrossed with the seedy looks he and Lily were getting from the Muggles. He even heard one of them say, "Kids these days and their odd clothing..."

The sound of a man's voice pulled him out of his reverie, as it called out, "Lily! Severus! Over here, kids!"

Severus looked down the platform and saw tall Mr. Evans, his dark red hair very noticeable in front of the stony walls of the station. Mrs. Evans was beside him and waving them over, and beside her was Petunia, who was chomping on a very large wad of gum.

Lily and Severus waved and made their way over. Mrs. Evans held out her arms to enwrap Lily in a large hug while Mr. Evans held out his hand to Severus, a large grin on his face. "Hello, Severus. How has your first year been?"

Severus shrugged, nodding a greeting to Mr. Evans and shaking his hand. "Good, for the most part, thanks."

"Splendid, Sev." Mr. Evans said, turning to Lily. "And my little girl! What about your year so far?"

Lily began to explain everything she could think of about Hogwarts, while Mrs. Evans swooped down on Severus and enveloped him in a rib-breaking hug. "It's good to see you, dear!" she said.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans." Severus wheezed, his eyes bulging from the force of the hug.

"You two must be starving. Sev, say you'll join us for dinner." Mrs. Evans said.

"Mum, let him breathe!"

Severus politely pried himself away from Mrs. Evans to catch his breath, then nodded. "I'd like that." he smiled and rubbed his sides to help regain the feeling. Even though it sometimes hurt, Severus was grateful for Mrs. Evans' hugs. It made him happy to think of her as a second mother.

"Good!" said Mrs. Evans. "Then we'll be taking you home with us then. Well, we were going to anyhow, but--"

"Wait," interrupted Lily, "Sev's parents aren't coming for him?"

Mrs. Evans looked helplessly to Mr. Evans, who returned her gaze with a blank stare. Severus thought it best to just speak up. "No, it doesn't look like it."

He pulled his trunk upright and leaned on it, and Mrs. Evans put a hand on his shoulder. "We drove down Spinner's End earlier today and your mum flagged us down. She asked if we could go ahead and bring you home. Said something about not feeling up to it...is she ill, Severus?"

Severus shrugged. He honestly didn't care that his mum and dad couldn't give a rat's bum whether or not he came home tonight. "I don't think so, she didn't write to me. Then again, she hardly writes to me at all." Mrs. Evans bit her lip sympathetically. He smiled at Mrs. Evans to reassure her. "It's alright. I only came home for the holidays because Lily did. If she hadn't, I would have stayed at Hogwarts."

Petunia scoffed indignantly beside them, her arms crossed and a huge pink bubble forming from her lips. Mr. Evans sighed and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't fret, Petunia, we're almost ready. Has everyone got everything?"

Severus and Lily both inspected pockets, trunks, and schoolbags for any missing items. When they both confirmed that everything was in order, Mr. Evans clapped his hands together. "Right. Let's go, then. It's freezing out here..."

Mr. Evans led the rest of the family and Severus out of the station. Mrs. Evans began arranging everyone around in the backseat of the car while Mr. Evans tried to fit all the luggage in the trunk. Finally, she decided on Lily in the middle and Petunia and Severus on either side. She sighed when every one was in. "Oh, Severus, I meant to ask you. You've ridden in a car before?"

Severus nodded. He hadn't really liked it, if he could recall. "Yes, ma'am, but I prefer brooms."

Mr. Evans laughed, assuming this was a joke.

Lily giggled, nudging Severus teasingly. "Of course he has, Mum. Remember? Before we started school, we all went to the amusement park. We drove that time. And your father's a Muggle, Sev, didn't he ever take you for a car ride?"

Mrs. Evans snapped her fingers when she remembered and got in the car. Severus cast his eyes to the floorboard. "Well, my Mum wasn't used to Muggle contraptions, so he didn't use it much. Also, they argue too much to think about things like that."

Severus's shoulders shook a little, and Mrs. Evans tried to change the subject. "We should go back to that amusement park again, when it's warm outside. Are you free for the Easter holidays, Severus?"

Mr. Evans fired up the engine and they were off. Severus thought for a minute. If his parents didn't care that he came home for Christmas, surely they wouldn't care if he spent Easter with the Evans family. "Yeah, I think so."

"Great! We'll do that, then." Mrs. Evans chirped.

Lily shifted around in her seat so she could look at Severus while they were talking. "And this time, you have to go on the rides." Her eyes widened with excitement.

Any color that was in Severus's face was gone. "I don't trust them."

Lily poked his chest with every syllable that followed. "They're completely safe. You're just chicken."

Severus curled his lip, flicking Lily's nose. "Am not. And I'll show you, as soon as Easter comes."

Lily squealed, and Mr. Evans clicked the radio on. There were some Muggle Christmas songs playing softly and, just to annoy Petunia, Severus and Lily swayed in time with the music. The ride home was a very pleasant one, and so was the dinner that followed. Severus enjoyed himself, much more than he ever had at Christmastime before.

That night, Mr. and Mrs. Evans agreed that Severus should sleep over, and they arranged some sleeping bags for he and Lily in the parlor. Severus pulled some pajamas out of his trunk and settled into his sleeping bag while Lily put some more wood on the fire. The TV in the other room was on, and Severus was listening as Lily snuggled into her sleeping bag.

"Do you like The Beatles, Sev?"

"Not so much, but there are a few species that I can tolerate."

"Nevermind." She sighed and turned over to face him. "What do you want for Christmas?"

Severus also turned over. "What do you mean?"

"What gifts do you want?" she asked.

"I don't know. I usually just get clothes."

"Well, we'll talk about it later. I'm really tired. Long train ride and all." Lily said, yawning.

"Yeah, me too."

And with that, Lily muttered a good night to Severus, and he returned it. Within minutes, the two were fast asleep, dreaming of the Christmas joy to come as they shared it together.