Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Characters, names, and places belong to J. K. Rowling.

Lily Evans flopped onto her four poster bed in the girl's dormitory in the Gryffindor tower. Staring at the ceiling, she couldn't seem to get Severus's sneering face out of her head. She could still hear his words in her mind.

Mudblood. Mudblood. Mudblood.

The words repeated over and over in her mind, echoing around brain. She could still hear Potter's arrogant laughter in her ear and she could still feel the stares of everyone boring into her back.

Severus, the only person she trusted had dismissed her with just one simple sneer. Lily was hiding from everyone, but it wasn't long before her friend Alice would find her.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Alice poked her head into the room.

"That Snape boy is here to see you. He won't go away. He said he was going sleep in the corridor if you didn't show."

Lily sighed again, and wiped away a few stray tears from her face. She smoothed out her skirt, and tucked her fiery red hair behind her ears. Standing, she faced her friend and squared her shoulders.

"You don't have to see him, you know," Alice said, her voice gentle, "you don't owe him a thing. He was the one who-"

Lily cut her friend off with a defiant shake of her head.

"It's your call Lily," said Alice, still looking worried.

Lily made her way down the staircase and crossed the common room to the portrait hole. She stood just inside, and took a deep breath before pushing open the painting of the Fat Lady.

No turning back now, she thought.

As she climbed out through the portrait hole, Severus stood up straight from where he had been leaning against the wall. His face brightened when he saw Lily, but he turned away and hung his head when he saw her expression.

"Alice tells me you are going to spend the night out here," Lily said.

"I was," said Severus.

"Don't" replied Lily

"I'm sorry," said Severus.

"I'm not interested" Lily replied.

"But I'm sorry!" Severus protested, "I didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out!" Lily looked at her friend. She could see that he genuinely was sorry, but she saw no reason to forgive him. His greasy black hair partially hid his face. He was staring down at the ground, unable to meet her eyes.

"Sev," Lily said after a moment, "I really do think that you're sorry." His face brightened and he looked up at her. "But I can't forgive you for this," she went on. His face fell, and he dropped his gaze once more.

"We've been growing apart. After all, you are in Slytherin. You're bound to make new friends. Besides. I don't like those people you hang out with. They're evil, Sev. That trick they played on that poor girl,"

"It was just a joke," Severus protested.

"That was dark magic Sev. It's bad. I don't like them at all. You call yourselves death eaters. I know that's what you want to do. You all want to go and help You-Know-Who" said Lily, her voice growing louder, "I don't think it's a good idea to waste you're education on dark magic!"

Severus stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. In a softer tone, Lily continued,

"Besides, you call all the other muggle-borns 'mudblood'. Why should I be any different?"

Severus still didn't say anything. After a moment, Lily crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"Fine, if that's what you want," said Severus from behind her, his voice suddenly cold, "I don't need help from a mudblood."

Lily whirled around and glared at her former best friend.

"Fine. Stay away from me then! I don't think I want to be your friend anymore either!" She turned and climbed back through the portrait hole, barely managing to conceal her tears. Behind her, Severus stared at the Fat Lady's portrait, before turning away as a single tear made its way down his pale cheek.

As Lily made her way down to breakfast the next morning, she felt lonelier than ever. Sure she had Alice and the other girls in her dormitory, but she no longer had Severus. He'd been the one to open her eyes to the wizarding world, before she had gotten her Hogwarts letter.

She had trusted him, and cared for him. She'd stood up for him against Potter and her sister, Tuney. She didn't know that she'd feel so empty inside after losing him.

She sat at the Gryffindor table in the great hall and picked at her bacon and eggs. Her back was to the Slytherin table, so she failed to notice Severus' lonely face. Lily looked around the hall, before returning morosely to her breakfast.

James Potter and his friends plunked down onto the benches beside her. Remus stared at her sympathetically while Peter eagerly attacked his pancakes. James and Sirius were as boisterous as ever, laughing and teasing. Ignoring them, Lily looked up at the ceiling. Today, it was bright blue with just a few wisps of cloud in the sky.

It was also the last day of O.W.L.s. Lily only had a Charms O.W.L. left that day. Lost in thought, Lily didn't notice when James Potter slid closer to her on the bench and leaned into whisper,

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't know. But Snape's a git. Don't pay him any mind. You've got us for friends now." Lily turned, and was alarmed by how close James' face was to her own. She frowned, but hesitated to move away. She suddenly wanted to reach up and smooth his unruly hair away from his face.

Surprised, Lily drew back and put as much distance between her and James as she could manage without falling off the bench. James looked wounded for a moment, but covered it with a devilish grin. Sirius, who had been watching all this time, laughed and pushed James' shoulder.

"Padfoot, you've got a way with the ladies!"

James grinned ruefully, and rubbed his chin.

He was about to reply, but Lily couldn't stand it anymore.

"James Potter, you arrogant toerag! How dare you speak to me. I didn't need you sarcasm!"

"But-" James protested.

"No! I'm tired of you and you friends teasing and bullying everyone who is not part of your little group of friends! Stop teasing me too." Lily whirled around and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Later, as Lily sat her Charms O.W.L, she couldn't help but think back on all the havoc the four boys had caused at Hogwarts. They'd pranked almost every teacher at least twice, and half the Gryffindor house was scared of them. They'd also pissed off McGonagall dozens of times, but they were only punished for about half of their tricks. At one point, they even could have given Peeves a run for his money.

When the written portion of her O.W.L. was finished, Lily made her way out of the Great Hall with the other fifth years. Lily was hurrying along a fifth floor corridor when she abruptly collided into something. Something warm and solid.

Lily lost her footing and would have fallen but warm, thin hands caught her wrists. Sighing with relief, she turned to thank whoever had saved her, but her smile melted when she saw it had been James Potter.

Scowling, she turned and tried to walk away. Then she realized that he was still holding onto her. She glared at him.

His face turned red and he looked away from her fierce, angry gaze. However, he maintained a strong grip on her arm. Lily was saved by Remus, who had also just fished his O.W.L., and was coming down the corridor behind her. He observed the scene in front of him with a bemused expression on his face.

"James," he said," It might be best if you let Miss. Evans go now. I'm sure she has business to attend to."

Lily smiled her thanks to Remus as James' fingers slowly released he wrist. Turning away from both of them, she headed off down the corridor. She could hear both boys whispering behind her back as she left, no doubt discussing what had just happened, but she ignored them. She had more important things to think about.

Later that day, Lily collapsed into an armchair in the Gryffindor common room.

She had barely managed to keep her mind on her last O.W.L. She was sure she had made some mistakes. Nevertheless, Lily was not worried in the slightest. She was waiting for Alice and Remus to come back from their Potions O.W.L.s. She would need their help.

When the two arrived, Lily sat them down and asked for their help. Alice immediately agreed, as she detested Potter as well, but Remus needed a bit more convincing before he too conceded. Alice went off in search of James and Sirius to keep the away. Before Lily headed to the boys dormitory she asked Remus,

"What about Peter?"

"Don't worry about Peter," Remus reassured her, "He does whatever you tell him too. He won't go tattling to James or Sirius."

Lily shrugged and followed Remus up the spiral staircase to the boy's dormitory.

Lily woke on Saturday morning at about 8 o'clock. Climbing out of her four poster, she shuffled around the dormitory, trying to get dressed and not disturb Alice or Mary, who were still sleeping.

Alice woke as Lily was pulling her socks on, and the two girls went down to the Great Hall together.

The ceiling was a cheery blue, but occasional dark clouds crossed the vaulted ceiling. Alice and Lily chose seats opposite each other, and sat down.

Alice seemed to be still half asleep, and Lily was just nudging her awake, when the usual breakfast conversation in the Hall came to a stop. Lily looked up.

Sirius Black held a firm grip on the arm of James Potter, who Lily realized had just been dragged into view.

James' hair was a shockingly bright pink. He walked sheepishly between the house tables, and sat down at the far end the same bench that Lily was sitting on. All the eyes in the Hall were fixed upon James Potter's pink hair.

As he passed by the Ravenclaw table, a dark cloud moved away from the sun, and Potter was bathed in warm, spring sunshine. The light illuminated his hair. The pink curls were sparkling.

Lily stifled a giggle. Alice stared open mouthed at Potter as he sat down next to Sirius.

Gradually, the conversation in the Hall rose again, and Potter visibly relaxed. He even showed his signature cocky grin.

"Lily, you're staring again," Alice said, poking her friend. Lily caught herself and sighed. Alice grinned and reached for a muffin.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound echoed through the Hall as hundreds of owls soared in with that day's mail.

Grateful for an excuse to avoid her friends inevitable questioning, Lily reached for some toast as a tawny owl settled in front of her plate.

The owl carried that Saturday's Daily Prophet. Lily reached into her pocket, withdrew 5 knuts, and slipped them into the small brown pouch tied to the owl's leg. The owl then shook out its wings before flying off. Lily was about to open the paper, when another owl, this time a large barred owl, landed in front of her. This one carried a small pink envelope.

Sighing, Lily put down the Prophet and grabbed the letter. As Lily opened it, a small fountain of glitter spewed from the envelope and into Lily's face. Coughing, she held the letter at arm's length, and squinted at the flowery script in the inside.

Dearest Lily,

I'm sorry.

Love,

Prongs

P. S. Snivellus is an idiot.

Lily frowned. There was no question as to who the letter had come from, but Lily couldn't think of a way to make him back off. She read the letter again. Even though Severus had dismissed her as his friend, she couldn't help but feel defensive.

Lily was a little pissed. Even if it wasn't about Severus, James was still an idiot.

Without thinking, Lily grabbed a nearby first year's copy of Hogwarts: A History. Taking careful aim, she chucked the book as hard as she could in James Potter's general direction.

A sharp pain flared in her bicep, but she watched with a satisfied smirk as it made contact with his jaw. Potter cursed loudly as the weighty volume hit him and he proceeded to fall backwards off the bench. His pink hair shimmered as he fell out of sight.

Alice blinked at her friend in shock before laughing and smiling at Lily.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked down the table at Lily. Peter looked rather frightened, but Sirius was grinning. Lily couldn't read Remus' expression, but she didn't care.

"Nice shot, Evans!" Sirius called, before he and Remus went back to devouring their sausages. Peter was still staring at her with a timid expression. Lily met his eyes. After glaring intently at him for a few moments, she suddenly crossed her eyes at him. Flustered, he quickly went back to his food.

Alice was still grinning at Lily as Lily turned away from the boys. Lily was sure she'd won Alice's seal of approval, but she was too focused on her own feelings. The instant she'd released the book, she had felt a sudden pang of something in her chest. Was it...sympathy? For James Potter? Never. But Lily had no way to be sure.

Lily shook her head and went back to her Daily Prophet. Scanning the front page, Lily noticed that the list of missing personnel was exceptionally long. Spanning three columns, the list contained hundreds of names. Lily knew that at least a quarter of these people were never going to see their families again.

The thought made her stomach churn. She searched the list for any names she recognized, but she found none.

Lily glanced up. Across the hall, she noticed that Severus' usual spot was once again empty. Then she had to scold herself. She had promised herself that she wouldn't care about him anymore.

But Lily knew deep within her, that she would never stop caring a little bit. Just a smidge, but it would be enough.

Sighing, Lily opened the newspaper, and found an article about a relatively famous wizard, who had recently published a new book on magical creatures. This wizard claimed that magical creatures should be protected instead of hunted. Lily wasn't sure if she agreed with him. Next to the article were several photos of these creatures. Some were quite adorable, but others looked rather terrifying.

Suddenly, Lily noticed that James Potter was making his way down the table toward her. In his hand, he held the book she'd thrown. Lily lifted the paper to shield her face, and did her best not to notice him. James sat down on the bench next to Alice, who promptly groaned and left the Hall, telling Lily she'd meet her later to study or something. Lily sighed inwardly, hoping Alice would come back. She didn't want to face James on her own.

James slid the book across the table, saying,

"I believe this belongs to you?"

Lily ignored him, pretending to be engrossed in her article. James didn't say anything, and instead drummed his fingers on top of the thick volume. Lily was doing her best to ignore him, but the constant sound was driving her crazy. Not to mention that it was obvious that James Potter wasn't going to go away anytime soon. Finally, Lily couldn't stand it.

"The books' not mine. It belongs to her," Lily pointed at the scared looking first year.

"Oh," said James, sliding the book in her direction. Still, he refused to leave. His pink hair sparkled in the light, and Lily found herself staring at that instead of her paper. Noticing that her attention was focused on his hair, James grinned.

He lifted his hand, and ran it through his shaggy locks, making a face like he was in a commercial. He gestured to something imaginary with his hands. He was about to say something to Lily, when his hand bumped into Lily's goblet of pumpkin juice. The goblet tipped and orange liquid was splashed over Lily's plate and shirt.

"You idiot!" She screamed at James, "What are you doing?!"

Pulling out her wand, Lily tried to siphon the juice out of her sweater, but the stain only got worse. Swearing at Potter again, Lily aimed her wand at him. Before she could do anything, though, a sharp voice rang through the hall.

"Potter! Evans! What do you think you're doing?!"