Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and the rest of the Wizarding World, no matter how much I want to.

Sev and Lily

Once everyone had left the Gryffindor common room, Lily quietly stood up from the chair she had sat in and tiptoed towards the Gryffindor entranceway. She waited, looking around to see if anyone had heard, then opened the entranceway. The fat lady was asleep and didn't notice the cloaked girl slipping past. As Lily ran down the deserted Hogwart's hallways, she heard a noise behind her and dived behind the nearest statue just as three boys rounded the corner. She recognized them immediately. James Potter and Sirius Black, the worst two boys she had ever met. They were dragging a reluctant Remus Lupin behind them, probably why they hadn't noticed her, and were most likely off for a snack in the kitchens. Trust them to always break the rules, she thought, rolling her eyes. She made her way down to the lower levels of Hogwarts until she reached the hidden Slytherin tower entrance in the school's dungeon, walking over to a dark corner of the hallway. She was met with only shadow, no dark figure waited for her. He must have left already. Lily sighed and turned to the wall behind her. She fit her fingers skillfully into a familiar crack close to the corner, feeling around inside until her fingers felt parchment. She pulled a folded piece of paper out of the crack. Using her wand for light, she read,

'Stargazing Tower.'

Then, she reached for her robe's pocket, pulling out a second scrap of parchment, which she had received during lunch from her owl, Snowy,

'L,

Meet me at Slytherin's tower.

Tonight'

She had recognized the elegant handwriting instantly; it was from her closest friend. Since it was one of their last nights at Hogwarts, he had promised they would go to their secret meeting place. She left the room as quietly as a ghost and made for the stargazing tower, which was the tallest tower in Hogwarts. She slowly climbed up the many stairs, curious as to what would be waiting for her above.

Sure enough, he was already there, lying on the many blankets and cushions strewn across the flagstones. He didn't sit up as she settled herself down next to him but instead inquired, "How do you think you did on the exams?"

"I won't know until I see the scores, but I think I did well." she replied, looking down at his shadowed face, "What about you, Sev?"

He sighed deeply and said, "I did good enough, I think, to get a job as a Hogwarts professor."

"Are you sure you want to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? Why not Potions? You're good at that."

"Not my calling." He shrugged, "But if it means so much to you, how about this? If I don't get the DADA position, I'll try out for a job as Professor Slughorn's assistant. He only has a few more years of teaching left in him before he retires and I could still learn a lot from him. Then I could take over his job." He looked at her inquiringly, "And that brings us back to you, Lils. What's your plan?"

"I don't know yet; maybe I could work at Hogwarts as well." They both looked up at the stars, picking out the different constellations. It was depressing to think that they wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts the next year. Instead, they would be adults, starting their new lives in the outside world. Lily glanced at Sev and noticed with a jolt that he had no shirt on, his bare chest seeming to almost glow in the moonlight. She glanced at his face again and, when she felt his inquiring gaze, asked, "Aren't you cold, without a shirt?"

"It's almost 85 degrees out here, Lily. It's too warm." He sighed again and sat up, turning his body so he faced her, his black hair, almost silver in the moonlight, falling into his eyes. He was really close to her now. She held his gaze unblinkingly and suddenly found herself inches from him. His breath tickled her face as he noticed her faster breathing and turned his head slightly. She felt him lean forward and his lips touched her ear. "You're so beautiful, Lily." He chuckled and nipped at her ear, causing her to yelp in surprise, before pulling back to look fully at her.

She watched him closely before leaning forward, touching his lips with hers. He shuddered and deepened the kiss further. But with a gasp, she broke the kiss and turned away, staring at the lake and the ground far below them. She heard him shift and closed her eyes, "Sev, we can't. We're only 17."

"We're almost adults," he replied quietly, "And we won't go that far." Lily could almost feel him blush with embarrassment and she opened her eyes, turning back to face him. He slowly lifted his hand and, when she didn't object, tugged her reddish hair away from her face before leaning into her again, his lips touching her forehead before moving to her mouth. Lily didn't refuse and instead the kiss deepened. She fell back, tugging Sev after her and felt his hand tense and tangle into her flowing hair. She put her hand on his bare chest, feeling his heartbeat and accidentely touched the healing gash that Sirius Black had inflicted on him recently. He moaned in pain and she moved her hand away, instead caressing his cheek, feeling its warmth while he rolled off of her and pulled her down on the blankets with him. The stars were forgotten. All she could feel was him. They could have stayed like that forever.

In the darkness, they heard a creak and both froze, their hands grasping for their wands. When the noise didn't repeat again, they relaxed and pulled away, again watching the stars shine in the sky for some time. Severus turned to Lily, wondering why she was so silent.

"Lily?" he whispered, and was answered in silence. He again whispered to her and touched her arm, "Lily?" At her name, she stirred and turned, resting her head on his bare chest. She was asleep. Wrapping his arms gingerly around her, he felt his own eyes grow heavy and he allowed sleep to take him as well.

-(((())))-

Lily woke up to the early morning light, wondering why the sun shone on her so directly. Then she remembered the events of the night before, her eyes widening as she felt Sev stir beside her, his arms wrapping tighter around her. Heat colored her cheeks; she had never slept with a boy before. She slowly made to get up and his eyelids snapped open in surprise, blinking to get rid of sleep. When she attempted to walk away, he jumped up after her and grabbed her arm, looking deeply into her eyes. She knew that he would notice her embarrassment and her face colored further.

"Lily, I'm sorry." She looked down, noting the genuine apology in his tone, and gently pulled his hand off, not daring to look in his eyes. She made her way to the stone stairs before turning around and smiling warmly at him. He smiled hesitantly back and she made her way down to the Gryffindor tower, aiming to slip back into her dorm bed before her friends noticed her absence. She heard steps following her and a hand slipped into hers. Lily didn't need to turn to know it was Sev.

They walked quietly down the many corridors, the early dawn light casting a rosy glow on everything around them. Lily spared a few glances at the young man walking beside her. Severus had put on a shirt; he must have brought one along, and was wearing black trousers. His pale feet were bare and made no noise on the marble and stone floors. He was taller than she remembered him to be and towered over her. Sev noticed her gaze and smiled faintly at her. She returned his smile and squeezed his hand, content just to walk with him.

All too soon, the two of them stood before the still sleeping fat lady. Sev sighed deeply, his reluctance to leave evident, and Lily turned to look at him. He leaned down and touched her lips with his, a short sweet kiss that didn't last long enough. They stepped away and Sev grasped her hand with his slender fingers for a last time before letting go.

Lily stepped over to the portrait, saying the password, and the entranceway opened. She looked back at Sev again and smiled warmly before shutting the door behind her, pressing her back up against it and sliding down to the floor. Her heart was racing and she breathed slowly in an attempt to calm its frantic beating. She had never expected that she and Sev's childhood friendship would ever come to this, but it felt so right.

As she almost floated up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, she realized with a start that she might have just seen her future.

Please, tell me what you think! If you find any mistakes that I missed, don't hesitate to tell me.