This is the story if Lily Evan's life, starting with her fifth year at Hogwarts. I have been working on this for a year now, piecing together the aspects of her life that JKR gave to us in her wonderful books. Please make suggestions/corrections in the comments-I am hoping to make this story as acurate as possible. Thank you for reading! :)

-Elaina

Please note: any and all who would question whether or not I am trying to pass for Ms. Joanne Rowling: I do not own any of the characters in this story! :P

CHAPTER ONE

King Cross Station was abustle with families, not unlike it usually was during this time of year. Three people were standing in front of a large train amongst the crowd: a mother, slender build with dark red hair that came to her shoulders, a father, tall and somewhat bulky with a thick graying mustache, and their daughter, young and beautiful with the same hair as her mother's and piercing, almond-shaped eyes. A shiny badge with the letter "P" was displayed proudly on the front of her school clothes. The man and woman, like the rest of the families at the train station, were saying goodbye to their child. However, different from the other parents was the fact that they kept looking around at everything that was going on around them, as if they had hardly ever been there before.

"Mum, Dad, will you stop looking around?" the girl giggled. "You might as well just go ahead and announce to the whole station that you're Muggles."

"But it's all so fascinating, Lily," her father replied. "I just saw someone move and entire trunk without placing a finger on it."

"Well, I'm glad someone appreciates what goes on in my life," said the girl, Lily. "And speaking of Petunia...where is she today?"

It was amazing how the mood could turn from lighthearted to uncomfortable with the words of one simple question. Her father shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat with a deep grunt. "She..well, she had plans with her friends."

Her mother sighed. "We tried to get her to come along."

Lily smiled at them reassuringly, wishing that they would understand that her strained relationship with her older sister was in no way their fault. In fact, often times when she was alone with thoughts of her sister for too long, she would blame herself; if she had never become a witch, Petunia would have no reason to be jealous. There were so many times that Petunia would beg and plead, cry and wail, trying to get Lily to give up Hogwarts and come back to regular school. But for Lily, there was nothing more disgraceful then denying who you truly were; magic was just as much a part of her life as the air she breathed. And she was good at it.

The change of subject that would have usually been forcefully made by her father came instead in the form of a boy with long hair that was as black as night and eyes to match, with a hooked nose on his hardened face. He smiled at Lily and she greeted him warmly. "Hey there, Severus. Dad, Mum, you remember Severus Snape."

Her father smiled. "Of course, how are you, son?"

Apprehension filled Severus' face for a moment before he grasped Lily's father's extended hand and answered him in a shaking voice; whether that had to do with the man being his best friend's father or a Muggle, she would never know. But she did appreciate her parents being kind to him. Severus, as nice as he was, was not the type of person her family usually associated with. Mr. Evans worked for a financial company and was always trying to impress the next big person—Severus, with his grungy looks and unfriendly features certainly appeared far from being someone important.

When Lily had first introduced her parents to Severus, three years ago, she remembered closing her eyes and praying that he would say something to impress them. Of course, Severus was in no way smooth and had mumbled some sort of compliment to her mother before turning away. However, while no one saw good in Severus, Lily saw it shining as bright as a lighthouse caught in a nighttime storm.

"Are you excited for this school year?" Lily asked him kindly, cutting through the silence.

"Yes," he said. "Although I am not quite looking forward to the O.W.L's."

She nodded in agreement and turned to her parents. "Those are the tests I told you about, the ones we have to take this year. They help us determine what we will be doing after our schooling."

Her mother's eyes grew wild with confusion as they darted back in forth between Severus and her daughter. "What you will be doing? But I thought...I thought you would be coming home after you're done. Getting a job with your father or going to school to become a teacher—you have always loved children, Lily."

"Mum," Lily said coolly, keeping herself as composed as she always had been. "I don't know what I want to do yet. I promise, we'll talk about it over Christmas holiday."

"I better get on the train," Severus said quickly before the conversation could continue. Lily's green eyes met his, filled with a thousand apologies that she would never say aloud for fear of embarrassing him. He mumbled something along the lines of 'nice seeing you again Mr. and Mrs. Evans,' picked up his luggage, and climbed the steps to the Hogwarts Express.

"Lily," Mr. Evans said with a sigh. "I just don't see why you're friends with him. He is not your type. He's so..."

"What?" she snapped, her sweet voice now filled with frustration. "What is he? Weird? Different? Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm different too."

Her mother shook her head vigorously. "No, no, honey, you're not. You've always been unique. But that boy is...well, he's just not someone we would like you associating with."

"Exactly," her father continued. "Now where is that one young man we met last year? What was his name? Patcher, Presley...?"

"Potter!" her mother exclaimed happily. "Yes, that nice boy James Potter."

Lily scowled and quickly glanced around, making sure James was not in earshot of this conversation; a bigger ego was the last thing he needed for the upcoming school year. She saw him at the far end of the platform standing with his parents, a pretty plump woman and a tall man who resembled James to the tee. Both seemed a lot older than the other parents, and had many strands of graying hair to prove it. Lily knew that his dad was someone special in the Ministry; James had been known to brag about him every time the subject was brought up, and even many times when it hadn't been. From the first time she had seen Mr. Potter at the train station her second year, she had immediately realized where James got his conceited attitude.

"James Potter is an arrogant, self-centered, prat. And he just further proves my point—you cannot judge a person by the outside. I know what you see in each of them. James is a confident, well-spoken boy, one that will surely be successful one day, while Severus is unkempt, awkward, and going nowhere. But you're...you're...you're just w...wrong." She closed her eyes at her anticlimactic ending, taking a deep breath to recover.

"W...we don't want to upset you, Lily," her mother said softly. "That's the last thing in the world we want to do."

Her father nodded. "Yes, we just want you to be happy."

"But I am happy," Lily asserted. "Severus makes me happy. And besides, I have a lot of other friends. But Severus just...gets me, you know?"

"We know," her mother said kindly as she reached a hand out to touch her cheek. "We love you."

"Love you too," she replied right as the train whisle sounded, signaling that it was time for every student to board.

"This never gets any easier, leaving you," her mother cried as she pulled her into a sufficating, motherly hug. "Write to us?"

"Of course. And I'll be home before you know it, I promise."

With a reassuring smile, she picked up her old brown trunk and headed for the train. "Tell Tuney I said goodbye," she called.

With a pang of sadness, she realized that each time she took a step onto the Hogwarts Express, she felt a little less attached to the world she was leaving behind.