Disclaimer: All mentioned characters are property of J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 1. Life's greatest burdens
Sixth year had gone by in a blur for Lily, so many things had changed, she wasn't quite sure she was ready to face her seventh and last year at Hogwarts. Even though, she was glad to be back; summer had been particularly difficult this year. It was her first time back home since the death of her parents and she had had to go through it living with Petunia and her whale of a fiancé Vernon. If things had been tense between the two sisters before, it was nothing compared to what things had become since that excuse of a man had found his way into Petunia's life. Lily knew her parents wouldn't agree with the two of them being engaged; they had disliked him the very first moment they had laid their eyes on him. But they were gone now, and Petunia had made her choice.
As if that hadn't been enough, every time Lily would leave the house to escape the ghost of her parents or the overwhelming presence that was Vernon, she had to scurry around the neighbourhood in an attempt to avoid Snape. He had never really left her alone, even after the "mudblood incident" in fifth year. But ever since he had learned of Mr. and Miss. Evan's passing he, for all intense and purpose, had become Lily's shadow. Of course, before leaving Hogwarts for the summer vacations he had been pretty discrete about it, not wanting the other Slytherins knowing he cared. But he did. More than anyone would ever know... So once summer came rolling around and no one was there to take notice, he hardly hid his attempts to get a glimpse at her. Lily was thankful for one thing though: at least he had stopped trying to talk to her all the time, and on those rare occasions when he would tempt his luck once more, he had learned to steer clear of the topic of the passing of her family.
James Potter had written to her quite a bit during the summer, he had even been by a few times to see her. Sometimes he would come alone, other times all the Marauders would tag along. And sometimes, just sometimes, Lily would visit him and his family at the Potter Mansion. She had grown fond of the boys and was happy to have their companionship. She had grown closer to them after the death of her parents. She didn't know if it had been her grief or if it was because they had finally matured, but their relationship had changed immensely in the previous year and one would rarely see the Marauders without Lily, or she without them. Of course Lily had other friends, close female friends. But the bonds she had developed with the Marauders during that year is what kept her going through the hard times. It's what permitted her to live through the grief and grow. And that's why, even with her anxieties regarding her seventh year and her new responsibilities as Head Girl, Lily was glad to be back at Hogwarts: she had escaped the ghost of her parents, the excruciating agony of living with her sister and Vernon, the exhausting burden that was Severus (well… almost!) and she could now spend her days with her friends and the Marauders, especially James, who had pretty much become her best friend during the summer months. All in all, it was good to be back!