Lily wasn't a child anymore. She'd grown up. She and James were happy now and Hogwarts felt like a distant memory even though it was only a few years behind them. Whenever they spoke of the past, somehow the topic of Severus always came up. Lily did not like the cruel things James said about him, despite the fact that Severus had said some cruel things to her back then. For Merlin's sake, they were not children anymore! Couldn't he let the past go? Couldn't she?

The last Lily heard, her former friend had become a Death Eater. It was only an awful rumor but she had to admit there might be some validity to it. After all, it did make sense, considering the dark path Severus insisted on taking. The spells and curses he used to learn, the books he kept, frightened Lily. It seemed he was rapidly losing himself to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's influence even then. As much as she'd wanted to help him, it was also clear to her that Sev did not desire her help.

So she moved on. Lily was wholeheartedly in love with a wonderful man now, and although she sometimes suspected that maybe it had been James' constant bullying of Severus which sent him over the edge all those years ago, she contented herself with the knowledge that he'd had a choice. Every wizard had a choice, and Lily chose James while Sev chose evil.

He crossed her mind more often than she cared to admit. Lily would find herself wondering where he was now, what You-Know-Who forced him to do, if he was safe and happy, or if he regretted any of it. Mostly Lily tried to focus on the future: a future with James. They were to be married in the little church in Godric's Hallow a few months from now, and Lily couldn't be happier.

"I've never seen such a horrible storm before," she remarked, standing by the front window, watching as high winds blew the rain sideways. "I feel sorry for anyone who has to be outside tonight."

"It is quite something, isn't it?" James agreed. "Luckily I get to stay inside where it's warm, next to the woman I love."

"Oh, James..." Lily smiled and kissed him.

That night, as the storm raged on in the bitterly cold streets of Godric's Hallow and they prepared for bed, a quiet yet insistent knocking could be heard at their door. Lily went to answer it; her eyes immediately grew wide, a torrid of emotions welled up inside her simultaneously. The most prominent one was shock, followed by fear, confusion, and dismay.

"Lily..." Snape rasped. It was too dark to get a proper look, but she knew it was him. The Death Eater was on his knees, black robes damp with what Lily hoped was just rainwater but a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach told her it was in fact blood, and his eyes were filled with pain.

No time to think. She tried to help Sev to his feet but his legs collapsed under his own weight the moment he was inside. Then he just lay there in a heap of soaked robes and unnaturally pale skin, like the dead. Not knowing what to do, she called out to James, who came running when he heard the rising panic in her voice.

"He's hurt," she said as if her fiance couldn't tell. "I think You-Know-Who might have done something to him, or..."

"Why would he come here?" James asked, more than a little irritated. "Why not go to a bloody hospital?"

"I don't know!" Lily exclaimed just as Snape reached out a clammy hand, gripping one of her own.

"Help me..." he pleaded weakly, but she had no idea how to help him. Sev was shaking violently, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, eyes wet with unwilling tears; he gritted his teeth in an effort not to scream. Lily thought he might crush her hand. She realized suddenly that someone must have cast a Cruciatus curse on him.

"I think he's been Crucio'd," Lily said, speaking as much to herself as she was to James. "I'll need to take off his robes so I can tend to these wounds."

"You do that," he replied. "I will contact the Ministry."

"What?" Lily's face flushed. "No!"

"Why the hell not? He's a Death Eater!"

"Yes, but..." But what? What could she say? Perhaps part of Lily hoped that You-Know-Who had tortured Severus because he'd finally come to his senses and denounced the dark arts. She had no proof of this, however, and the man in question had passed out from a combination of pain and blood loss. "Look at him, James! We have to do something or he will die! The Ministry would just kill him anyway."

"That's what people like him deserve. I don't want him in my home!"

"Give Severus a chance, please!" Lily begged. "Maybe he's changed..."

"People don't come back from the dark side, Lily."

"You're wrong. Besides, I won't allow anyone to die when I have the power to prevent it, no matter where his loyalties lay. I grew up!"

James was just looking for another excuse to hate Snape. Lily turned away and began assessing the Death Eater's injuries, all of which alarmed her but mostly did not appear to be life-threatening. The pain was the worst, she knew, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

"If we do not go to the Ministry, we are just as guilty as he is in their eyes." James said more calmly.

"So we'll send him on his way when he can walk." Lily reasoned, using her wand to levitate Snape onto the couch.

"Fine, then I'll help," he relented. "The sooner he heals, the sooner he's gone."

James' displeasure was obvious, he made no attempt to hide it, but Lily didn't care. She had been given one last chance to save Severus and maybe resurrect their friendship. The choice had been his, of course, but what if she could somehow sway him back onto the path of light?

Lily was angry for a very long time after he'd chosen the dark arts over her. However, they were not children anymore. Things had changed. Little did she know, Snape's love for her was not one of them.