From The Very Start
Severus Snape and Lily Evans were on their way to potions class. It was their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and they were inseparable from the very start. Hardly anything could come between the two, well hardly anything.
"Hey Evans!" shouted James jogging to catch up to them. More so Lily, he despised every fiber of Severus' being.
"Hi Lily," said Potter with an enormous smile smeared across his face. He placed a possessive hand around his girlfriend's shoulder, giving Severus a hard look that went unseen by the red headed Gryffindor.
"Hello, James," she giggled placing a tender kiss on his cheek. Snape did his best to ignore the two while the jealousy burned up inside him.
"Here," said James, grabbing Lily's books, "I'll walk you to class." Before she could turn around and say goodbye to her best friend, he took her hand and quickly led her away. Unfortunately, she was still oblivious of the rivalry between the Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Once Potions, being their last class of the day, was over, Severus rushed up to Lily before Potter had the chance.
"Hey, are we still going to Hogsmeade together this weekend?" he asked hopefully, but his stomach churned when he saw the look on her face.
"I'm so sorry Sev, I completely forgot. James asked me to go with him on the way to class and well I-" she averted her eyes from the sad look upon his face, "I told him I'd go…"
Instead of saying anything, Severus merely nodded his head and made his way back to his dormitory. At this point, he figured he should be used to it by now. Potter always found some method of getting in the way. He didn't have the slightest idea as to what Lily saw in him. He was, by no means, smart, and…well I guess he does have everything else. Severus sighed as he opened the door to the Slytherin common room. Before he was able to step inside, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Fearing it was Potter and his lot, he slowly turned around only to see Lily standing before him. His emotions had gone from fear to confusion and sadness.
He shut the common room door and took Lily's hand from his shoulder, but still not letting go of it. "Lily," he said in a soft voice, "What's wrong?"
"I…he…then…" she was trying her best to explain, but the tears streaming down her face prevented her from doing so. Next thing he knew, Lily had thrown herself into his arms.
"Hey," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "It's going to be alright Lil." He gently stroked her hair, still confused.
Lily slightly pulled back and used her sleeve to wipe some of the tears away. "I felt really bad when I told you I couldn't go with you Sev, and-"
"You don't have to feel bad about that, Lily," he said out of guilt.
"That's not it, but don't get me wrong, I did-"
"Just tell me what's going on," he said cutting her off again. He was genuinely concerned.
She took a deep breath, "Well once you left, James walked out of class and so I decided to tell him that I had already made plans with you for the weekend," she then looked down, trying to hold herself together. "And he completely snapped at me. He got so upset over such a little thing and I have no idea why. Before I even had the chance to explain myself or apologize, he stormed away and told me to back off," she looked away. "I have never seen this side of him, Sev."
As much as he wanted to tear apart her relationship with Potter, he didn't want to hurt Lily. So, to his regret, he tried cheering her up with words he didn't mean.
"Well, maybe he was just upset because you'd already told him you would go. It's also possible that he could've had something special planned. You never know Lily. Some people just lose their temper when you say the things they don't want to hear," he tried his best to seem sincere. The entire time he had been mentally cursing himself for doing Potter this favor. Even though it was hard, he did his best to ignore that detail and focus on the fact that he was helping his best friend.
"I guess that's true…" Lily sighed. "But I still don't feel much better about it."
"Sometimes you're too nice, you know that?" Severus gave her a smile.
He finally got her to laugh, "How do you figure?" she asked.
"Because, it doesn't matter what people do or say to you. You always give them the benefit of the doubt. In your eyes, everyone is perfect," he said in all honestly.
She merely shook her head, "No, Sev. I believe everyone deserves a chance."
Despite the fact that they had been friends for years, Lily never ceased to amaze him. She had always been the perfect portrait as to what a person should be. It really was inspirational.
Severus took a deep breath and braced himself for what he was about to say. "Lily, I think you should still go with Potter."
She looked taken aback, "But I already made plans with you, Sev. Besides, I just told him that I couldn't-"
He raised a hand to silence her. "I know what you did, but it will only make things worse between the two of you if you go with me."
"I don't care. I made plans with you first."
The Slytherin sighed yet again. He desperately wanted to go with her, he really did, but he knew it would cause more trouble, not only for her, but for him also. His heart sunk a little…the truth hurts.
"I'm sorry, Lily," he said with a voice that was almost cold, "I made plans with Lucius on my way back here," he lied.
She looked at him in disbelief, "If you don't want to go, just tell me."
"You know that's not it, I told you I-"
"Fine, if that's the truth I'll go ask Malfoy myself," she gave him a hard look and turned to leave. She hated being lied to, but she hated it even more when Severus chose to be around bad influences like Lucius. It was clear that he was soon to be at Voldemort's side, also with the intentions of taking her best friend with him. She had been and is still doing everything in her power to keep the two apart. It was just like Severus wanted to keep Lily from James, and neither knew what the other was doing.
Severus reached out to grab Lily's arm, but she quickly pulled away.
"There's no need to discuss this with Lucius," he said walking fast beside her.
"Is that so?" she asked, breathing hard as she continued walking as fast as she could, in search for the older Slytherin. "If you're not lying, then it shouldn't matter what I do."
Snape grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her back, clearly frustrated. "Lily would you just-"
Before he had a chance to finish what he was about to say, James came striding towards them.
"What do you think you're doing?" James bellowed as he roughly pulled his hand from Lily's. He obviously got the wrong impression.
Severus took several steps back, "N-nothing, I was just-"
"You were just, what?" he said, giving Snape a hard shove. "I saw how you forcefully took my girlfriends hand, Snivellus." He went to go at him again, but Lily held him back.
"James, you're overreacting. I was walking too fast for him so he just took my hand for a sec to catch up, that's all."
"If that's what you say, then whatever Lily, I'll take your word for it." His face was still slightly red from the anger.
"Yeah, and the attitude really is not necessary," said Severus feeling somewhat more confident. Finally, Potter was showing his true colors to Lily. He didn't see the harm in making it a tad bit clearer to her.
"Who are you to tell me what's necessary?" James spat. Unable to control his hatred towards Snape, he lunged at him. Lily did her best to pry the boy off of Severus, but it was no use. She went for her wand, which she'd dropped on the floor as she rushed to her friend's aid, but it was no longer there. Hearing Severus's shrieks, she frantically looked around only to see Lucius standing before her, his hands containing her wand.
Unfortunately they had still remained in the dungeons outside the Slytherin common room, and to their luck, it was supper time so nobody was around. James was only there because of his stupid insecurity. The second he was back in his dormitory, he whipped out the marauders map that he and his friends had created. He then found where Lily had gone after their fight. Realizing that she was down here with Severus, he let his jealousy get the better of him and made his way down.
"Give it back, Malfoy," she glared.
Lucius arched an eyebrow, "Now is that any way to treat me?" Lily just clenched her teeth. "I didn't think so," he said with the Malfoy trademark smirk.
"I thought he was your friend!" she shouted as Severus tried to uselessly fight back with James.
"Define friend," he said sarcastically.
Lily didn't have time for this. When Lucius least expected it, she threw her best punch at him, causing the Slytherin to topple over. Quickly, she snatched her wand and aimed it at James, "Stupefy!"
The Gryffindor was immediately thrown back and had roughly hit the wall behind him. Slowly, Severus leaned up to see Malfoy passed out to the left of him and Potter rising to his feet at the right.
"James, what is with you lately?" said Lily walking over to her "boyfriend". "He's my best friend! And you know he did nothing wrong so you better have a good explanation." Normally, she would never lose her temper with anyone. However, when it came to those she cared most, she'd do just about anything to protect them.
He looked down, ashamed that he had completely lost it with her. "Look, Lily, I care about you a lot, but ever since I met that git," he said pointing at Snape, "I despised him."
She was somewhat shocked. James knew that Severus was her best friend, and had been from the start. He always understood it when she spent most of her free time with him. Now it just explained the change in personality whenever he was around the two. It also explained what had happened today. She had noticed her boyfriend was a bit possessive, but never thought anything of it. Well, until now.
"Then why didn't you say anything?" asked Lily placing her hands on her hips.
"Because I didn't want to wreck our relationship…I care about you too much."
She shook her head, "If you really cared you wouldn't have let this get the better of you. Obviously, you knew it was bound to happen, but if you would've just told me how you felt, we could've worked something out," she took several steps back from him and bent down to help Severus.
"Lily, I'm so sorry," he pleaded.
She looked up at him with sad eyes. She still cared for him a great deal, but Severus meant so much more to her. For once in her life, she couldn't find it in her heart to be forgiving. It was too late.
"I'm sorry James," she said looking back at Severus, who was still unable to stand. "I can't be with someone who wants to cause harm to him. You should've known that."
Before James had the chance to respond, Lucius was up and had his wand pointed at Lily.
"Cruci-"
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, before Malfoy had the chance to cause any harm. The Slytherin was just about to retaliate when Professor McGonagall made her way into the dungeons.
"What on earth is going on down here?" she asked looking around. Severus was doubled over in pain, Lily's eyes were red and her hair was a mess, James was standing there with his wand pointed at the boy before him, and Lucius' face was bloodied up and a disgusting shade of purple.
"It's my fault Professor," said Lily standing up to face her. "I-"
James cut her off, "No," he looked at Lily, "It's mine. You see, I got kind of jealous with Snape being around her and I overreacted."
"Is this the truth Miss Evans?" asked McGonagall.
She bit her lip not wanting to get anybody in trouble, "Well…umm…"
"It is, Professor," said James.
"Alright then, she sighed, "Mr. Potter, make your way to the Headmaster's office." He nodded his head and made his way out of the dungeons.
"Wait!" shouted Lily. "May I please speak with him first?" she pleaded with her eyes.
"For one minute only," she reasoned.
Lily frantically nodded her head and chased after the Gryffindor. "James!" she shouted, catching up to him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, defeated.
"I just wanted to thank you, for earlier."
"For attacking your best friend?" he asked in confusion.
Lily laughed, "No, for protecting me from Malfoy," she placed a hand on his shoulder, "And for admitting the truth."
James took her hand off his shoulder and held onto it, "I'd do anything for you, Lily."
She sighed and pulled her hand away. "I'm grateful for that, really, I am…but that doesn't mean we can take our relationship any further. I'm sorry James."
He shook his head, "No, I understand. I'm just sorry I blew my chances with you."
"James, we can still be friends," she said hopefully. She didn't want him completely out of her life.
He smiled at her, "I'd like that. Just give me some time, okay?"
Lily smiled back, "Of course," she then kissed him on the cheek for the last time and made her way back down into the hall.
"Now," said Professor McGonagall once Lily stepped inside, "What happened to Mr. Malfoy?"
"Well, when things got out of hand, I dropped my wand trying to stop it. When I went looking for it, I found him standing there holding it. I tried asking for him to give it back, but he refused," Lily shifted her feet, not wanting to say what happened next.
"The mudblood attacked me!" shouted Lucius.
Severus made another useless attempt to stand. If he had his wand, he would've hexed Malfoy to hell.
Lily gave Lucius a sharp look, "I had no choice!"
"Silence!" ordered McGonagall. "Miss Evans, violence is not tolerated at this school. You, of all others, should have known this."
"I do know, Professor," she said as tears formed in her eyes, "I just couldn't sit there and let Severus get hurt."
"Malfoy isn't innocent here," said Snape, finally speaking up. "He tried to use an unforgivable on Lily," he squeezed his eyes tight, trying to fight off the pain. "If Potter hadn't been here, he would've succeeded."
"Is this true?" she asked, turning to Lily. She felt bad for the girl. It was clear that she was distressed over everything that had occurred in the past several hours.
Lily nodded her head, trying to blink the tears away.
"Well then, Malfoy I advise you join Mr. Potter in the Headmaster's office. I'll be joining the two of you soon to insure you are given the proper punishment."
He twirled the wand in his hand as he slowly went to leave.
"Wand, Mr. Malfoy," said the Professor holding out her hand. Saying nothing, Lucius threw his wand on the floor and walked out.
"Now as for you two," she said facing Lily and Severus, who was still lying on the ground, "Let's head to Madam Pomfrey."
"You're not going to send me to the Headmaster as well?" asked Lily, surprised.
"Not today Miss Evans. Consider this a warning," she said as she levitated Snape off of the floor. Lily smiled in relief and helped make their way to the hospital wing.
In one short hour, Severus was all cleaned up and healed to the best of Pomfrey's abilities. He'd just have to stay overnight due to the severe rib damage he had undergone.
The next morning, the two were headed to breakfast. Snape was happy that Lily and Potter were finally broken up, but that was definitely not the way he wanted it to happen. Lily was just happy that everything worked out okay in the end. She finally learned the truth about James, her best friend was going to be okay, and Malfoy was expelled, which meant he'd no longer be around to try and manipulate Severus anymore.
Later on that day, the two of them were sitting down on the grass beside the lake. After everything that had happened Friday, and having spent most of Saturday recovering, they really needed some relaxation time.
"Lily?" asked Severus.
"Hmm?" she was watching the birds ahead soar through the sky above.
"I'm really sorry about the way things turned out. If I hadn't lied to you, none of it would have ever happened."
"Sev," she took his hand, "I knew you were trying to look out for me, I just overreacted. Nobody is to blame for any of it. We all took on our own roles."
"I suppose," he looked away.
"And you know what I realized?" she asked. He looked back at her in curiosity. "I realized that no matter who else stepped into my life, you always came first. Although I cared about James a great deal, that still didn't change anything. I've always treated everyone the same, so I couldn't quite place it…but after what happened that day, I was suddenly able to," she became nervous at this point and looked towards the lake instead.
"What did you come up with, Lily?" he asked, squeezing her hand in reassurance.
"I…" her face became slightly red as she turned to face him."I like you, Sev…as more than a friend. I think I always have, actually…"
"Really?" he asked, not believing the words coming from her mouth. He wanted to insure it wasn't some sort of side effect from the healing potions.
Lily just nodded her head.
"I like you too…I always have, Lily…from the very start." He looked at her with honest eyes.
She let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. "Really?" she asked in return.
"I would never lie to you," he said. He then realized what he had just done the other day and became flustered. "You know, unless-"
Lily put a finger to his lips, "I understand, Sev." She then put a hand to his cheek, stroking it softly.
Taking a leap of faith, Severus slowly pulled her closer and finally kissed her. He slightly pulled away and looked into her eyes, making sure she was okay with it. Lily smiled, she had been around him long enough to know what he was thinking. So, she closed the space between their faces and kissed him back, but this time, more passionately. They didn't pull away until air was needed, but when the time came, Severus let out the feeling he had kept in his heart for a very long time.
"I love you, Lily…" he whispered. However, the seconds of silence were starting to make him regret saying it.
"I love you too, Sev," she smiled and held onto him tight.
Then, in unison, they finally let out the truth, "From the very start."