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Pairing: F/M, M/M

James Potter/Lily Evans, Lily Evans/Severus Snape, James Potter/Severus Snape, and James Potter/Lily Evans/Severus Snape

SUMMARY: Set during fifth year of Hogwarts during the Maraunder's Era. Severus is beaten by the DeathEaters. He doesn't call his best friend a MudBlood. He is pranked by the Marunder's all the time. And his mother just died. It's enough to drive him insane. Left alone, and bullied, he cuts.

WARNING: Contains cutting. If that disturbs you in any way, please do NOT read.

"Look at the greasy git," he hears James say with a smug smile. "Hanging off by his underwear. And -oh, god - are those heart patterns on his boxers? What a joke, honestly," he laughs with his friends and Snape can feel his fingers trembling. James is levitating him up into the air by the wand, and has already pulled his pants off. His face is beet red. "Damn you, Potter." He hisses, gritting his teeth, as his greasy black hair falls over his face. James just smiles, as he watches the scene from a distance. "J - J - James, s - s - shouldn't we s - stop, now?" The fat mousy boy, Peter, he recalls, says in a small voice. "W - we could get in t - t - trouble."

James laughs. "I'd like to see them try. Unlike him, I'm famous, rich, and everyone practically loves me! If anything, that prickly prat is getting detention. Not me." Severus growls, looking down at himself in shame. What would Lily say? Would she laugh at him, too?

His eyes widen with newly formed tears. Lily, her red hair, her soft smiles, so full of life...

...Would she even look at him, anymore? Or would she just laugh with Potter and his prunes?

"Oi, Prongs," Sirius says, pointing to a familiar figure at the distance, and Snape squints through his humiliation.

"POTTER!" A voice so loud, so full of fury, Snape wonders if the whole castle can hear. Probably.

James drops Severus immediatedly who hits the ground unceremoniously, and quickly shoves his wand into his pocket as if nothing had happened. He smiles at the redhead, who has her hands on her hips.

"What is it, Lily? Have you finally fallen for me after all this time?" He asks, with affection in his voice. Snape stumbles, pulling up his pants and throwing Potter a death glare. He would never live this down. Not ever. And especially not now.

What came next, Snape was completely unprepared for.

Lily Evans slapped Potter across the face. So much force behind her punch, that it left a red handprint on one side of his face. Ouch. 'That's got to hurt,' Snape thinks with a curled smile. 'He bloody well deserved it, though.' Suddenly, he feels a rush of footsteps and Lily is by his side, looking him over carefully. "Are you OK, Sev? Are you hurt anywhere? Are you-"

"-'m fine," he snarls, his narrowed eyes set on James. He shoves Lily off of him, and with a swish of his cloak, leaves the Castle Grounds without so much as a goodbye.

Thank you for reading :D

Feel free to check out the full fanfic on my Archive of Our Own (AO3) account under the same pseudos. Thanks again!