Chapter One:

Petunia's Grudge

"You know you could use a pen like a normal person." Petunia sneered as I did my Potions homework, my quill making soft scratching sounds.

"Aww, but Tuney, where would the fun in that be?" I asked, not looking up from my scroll of parchment.

"Vernon is coming over soon," she announced, ignoring my previous comment.

"I'll make sure to hide the food," I muttered under my breath.

"I don't want him to see you doing work from that freak school of yours," she snarled, glaring in the direction of my textbooks.

"If you two are getting that serious, then don't you think he should know about me?" I asked her rationally, looking up from my homework.

Petunia looked horrified at the idea. "Don't be stupid. Vernon would leave me in a heartbeat if he found out I come from a family of...weirdos."

I rubbed my temples. Lately, it had been a lot harder to put up with Petunia's insults.

"Anyway, you need to go put away your...textbooks before Vernon gets here. Actually, if you disappeared entirely, then that would be fantastic."

"Petunia, it's a family dinner. And whether you like it or not, I am family." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Mum had insisted we invite Petunia's boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, to dinner in order to get to know him. Thankfully, Mum had allowed me to invite some of my friends too. Normally, the first person I would have invited was Severus...but now...things were different. So, instead, I wrote to my two best friends at Hogwarts, begging them to come to my rescue.

"If it's a family dinner, then why did you invite that Snape boy?" she snapped.

"What?" I asked, startled. "I didn't invite Severus."

"Well, I ran into him at the market a few hours ago and he said he was coming," she said, clearly annoyed that she had to talk to Severus.

"Well, I don't want him here," I said, standing up.

"Did you two have a fight?" Petunia asked, sitting up eagerly. Tuney loved gossip.

"Why the sudden interest?" I snapped. "I thought us freaks weren't worthy of your time."

"You're not," she replied, stung.

"Good. I'm going to take a shower. If Severus shows up, I'm sure you'll be more than happy to kick him out. You can tell him I want nothing to do with him." I grabbed my books and stomped up to my room furiously. How dare Severus invite himself to my house? That slimy, greasy-haired git! I had the sudden urge to jinx the oblivion out of his shampoo-needing arse.

I took a deep breath, calming myself down. Dorcas and Marlene would be here soon...

I put on a nicer dress, hoping to not give Petunia anymore reason to disapprove of me. Downstairs, I heard the doorbell ring and somebody shrieked in terror. I hurried downstairs and found my best friends, Dorcas and Marlene, bickering in the middle of our foyer.

"...I told you not to scare Lily's sister!"

"Hey! She deserved it! With the way she treats our Lily..."

"That's no reason to point your wand at a muggle!"

Dorcas was about to retort when she spotted me giggling at them.

"Lily!" she shrieked, flinging her arms around me.

"It's good to see you." Marlene grinned before giving me a hug.

I stood there for a moment, taking in the appearance of my two best friends.

Dorcas, was just as tall and beautiful as ever. She had long blonde hair that came down to her waist and that danced around her hips as she walked. Her big blue eyes were beautiful and twinkling like they usually did when she was up to something. Out of the three of them, Dorcas was the boldest and most daring one. Marlene, meanwhile, was just as beautiful as Dorcas, but in a much less obvious way. She had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Sometimes, depending on the lighting, her eyes almost looked black. She was much quieter and more solemn than Dorcas, but she was just as strong and stubborn.

"So, what did you guys do today?" I asked, shutting the door behind me.

"We had lunch at the Potter's," Marlene told me.

"Yeah, James was all for us showing up at your house in pointed hats and flying on broomsticks," Dorcas added, grinning.

"But I said we didn't want to give Petunia a heart attack," Marlene told her sharply, though there was amusement in her eyes.

"Well, she deserves it," Dorcas muttered.

I made a face. "You were at Potter's house?"

Dorcas and Marlene exchanged looks.

"He's been our friend since we were little kids," Marlene repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. "The three of us practically grew up together."

"Plus, he's really good friend once you get to know him," Dorcas added. "Even though he is a complete idiot."

"Nah, I think Sirius is a bigger idiot." Marlene giggled. "Remember what his idea for tonight was?"

Dorcas grinned. "I'm pretty sure we would have gotten expelled."

"Arrested more like it."

"What was his idea?" I asked.

"We can't tell you." Dorcas smirked. "You're a prefect. You'll disapprove of such pranks."

"So is Remus!" I pointed out.

"Yeah, well, Remus likes a good laugh every now and then, doesn't he?" Dorcas said.

I creased my eyebrows. Remus was the only Marauder I liked. He was a prefect with me last year, and we had gotten very close. He was unbelievably smart and an incredibly loyal friend. Though he disapproved of some of the antics of his friends, he never said a word against them, and always defended them when I asked why someone so kind and loyal as him was friends with such prats.

"Lily?" Mum called from the kitchen. "Why is Petunia hiding in her room?"

Dorcas and Marlene exchanged guilty looks.

"Sorry, Mrs. Evans, that was my fault," Dorcas told her guiltily, holding up her wand.

Mum laughed at the girls. "It's so good to see both of you. Now, we're just waiting for Severus and Vernon to show up."

"Mum," I said sharply. "Severus isn't coming."

"Oh, he can't make it?"

"He better not," Dorcas said, flaring up at once. "I don't think I could resist jinxing him if he shows up."

"I can't believe you invited him, Lil," Marlene said, shaking her head. "After all he's done to you..."

"I didn't invite him," I said defensively. "He invited himself."

Mum was watching us with a confused look on her face. "You and Severus are no longer friends?" she asked, frowning.

"He's not the same Severus anymore, Mum. He's a different person...a bad person," I said sadly.

Just as I said this, we heard the doorbell ring. Mum opened it, expecting to see Vernon Dursley, but instead she found Severus Snape standing there, his greasy hair hanging like curtains against his face.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans. I'm Severus. We've never personally met," he said, in an annoyingly polite voice.

I felt Dorcas and Marlene tense up beside me, their hands on their wands.

"Don't," I muttered to them. They reluctantly put their wands away. "It's rude to invite yourself to other people's houses," I said, striding over to the door.

Severus looked up at me, his face twisting into a hopeful smile.

"It's good to see you, Lil."

"Can't say the same for you," I said in a pleasant voice.

"We're friends," Severus said. "Friends forgive each other."

"We're not friends!" I said, outraged. "We haven't been friends in ages! I want nothing to do with you. You're cruel and pathetic. You think you're better than others because you come from a wizarding family?"

"James Potter is always hexing others and you don't seem to have a problem with him!" Severus said furiously.

"This isn't about Potter! It's about you!James is just some prat in my year. He wasn't my best friend. You were supposed to be!" I said, outraged. "Besides, James may like his stupid pranks but he would never actually hurt people!"

"Wouldn't hurt people?" Snape repeated in disbelief. "What about me?"

"Well," I said nastily, "frankly, you deserve it."

"Look, Lily, I said I was sorry. What can I do to make this better?" he pleaded.

"You can leave," I said frostily. "No one wants you here."

With that, I slammed the door in his face, the tears quickly streaming down my face.

"...want to work for a drill company," Vernon said smartly. "Excellent pay."

"He's very ambitious," Petunia said fondly, patting Vernon gently.

I kicked Dorcas under the table as she opened her mouth to say something.

"I wasn't going to say anything mean," she muttered defensively to me a moment later.

"Sure you weren't," Marlene mumbled sarcastically.

Dorcas threw her a dirty look but didn't say anything.

"Where do you go to school?" Dad asked politely, trying to keep the conversation flowing.

"Wellington University. That's how Petunia and I met." Vernon looked over at Petunia proudly.

"That's a great school. I considered going there back in the day. I originally wanted to become an electrician!" Dad said.

"Electrician? I know all about electricity! I learned about in Muggle Stud-I mean class." Marlene looked around impressively.

I choked on my food, trying hard not to laugh at the look on Vernon's face. Dad and Mum burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry did you say muggle?" Vernon asked as Petunia shot me a filthy look.

"Erm...slip of the tongue," Marlene said, trying to cover up her mistake. She was blushing fiercely.

"You know, I never knew you had a sister, Petunia," Vernon said thoughtfully, looking at me and my friends.

Petunia glanced over at me. "Well, Lily doesn't live here. She goes away for school."

"You never told him about me?" I asked my sister, my eyebrows raised.

"Why would I?" she said, giving me a look of pure disgust.

"Do you really hate me that much?" I asked angrily.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Petunia snapped. "You're causing a scene."

"Petunia. Lily." Mum said sharply. "That's enough."

I ignored Mum. "You never answered my question. Do you really hate me that much?" I asked Petunia again.

Petunia glared at me for a second, before standing up. "Yes, I do. You're a disgrace to this entire your family. You're nothing but a freak to me!"

"I'm your sister!" I shouted, standing up as well.

"You're no sister of mine," she spat. "I refuse to believe I can be related to someone so...odd."

"Petunia!" Dad shouted angrily. "Both of you stop it right now!"

"That's a terrible thing to say!" I told her, my eyes stinging.

"I didn't even want you here tonight!" she shouted at me. "You or your weirdo friends. I don't know why that school lets you out, anyway. You people should be locked away all year long!"

Marlene and Dorcas had stood up now, towering furiously over Petunia.

"Let's go," I said, afraid they might take out their wands and expose magic to Vernon.

"Fine by me," Dorcas said, flipping her blond hair. She took my arm and we stormed out of the house with Marlene closely following behind. "Where to?" Dorcas asked, as we turned the corner of the street.

"My house?" Marlene suggested. "We can return later, Lily."

I nodded, sticking my wand up in the air. "I'll write to my mum when I get there," I said just as the Knight Bus appeared in front of us.