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Severus hurried down the hallways, trying to clean off the blood from his face. He wondered if Lily had just gone to class without him. His eye felt swollen and he tried his best to use a healing spell on it. It still looked black, but it would have to do. James and his friends had done it again. He didn't know how long he had been knocked out, but it could have only been a few moments. His tie was loose, his hair a mess, and a few spots of blood was on his collar. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could, his foot aching. Lily had gone to class.

Of course she did, he thought. She couldn't be late.

He couldn't sit with her today, she would ask what happened. He would have to tell her how James had put a binding spell on him and Sirius had sent rocks on him, using a continuation spell. Remus hadn't done anything as they left him, the spells still going. Peter had laughed at every rock thrown. The spells had worn off, leaving him bloody and sick.

No, he couldn't tell her. But he so wanted to. He pulled a piece of grass out of his hair and crept into the classroom. An empty seat was in the back, perfect. The professor wasn't there and everyone was talking too much to notice him. Lily sat near The Marauders. They were telling the student near them something funny. Remus was simply going over his notes. Lily looked around, her green eyes glazed with worry.

Severus tried to creep past her, but she looked over just as he did. She tried to wave him over. He shook his head and pointed at the empty table, his head was spinning. He realized his arms were still covered in bruises, and tried to roll down his sleeves. He sat down at the empty table, Lily joining him a few seconds later.

"Sev! What happened? You look sick." He felt like it too. His head was spinning and he ached all over.

"I..um..tripped on the stairs.", he answered, hoping she would buy it. The look on her face said she didn't.

"What really happened?"

Severus just looked over at James and the other Marauders. Lily seemed to realize who had done it.

"But they normally only do pranks!", she exclaimed, utterly disgusted. Severus just nodded.

"I think they took this one further.", he said. Lily waved her wand and a washcloth appeared. She grabbed it and rolled up his sleeve. He winced.

"Don't think I didn't see these.", she said as she began to clean the dirt off of his arm.

"I'm sorry Sev. I should have just lent you my notes. Then you wouldn't have gone off to find yours."

"I'm fine. You know they give me bruises all the time."

"Ok. Then why do you smell like blood?"

Severus froze. He had hoped she wouldn't notice. Nothing got past Lily. Just then, the professor walked in and class started.

Later, he and Lily were on their way to Madam Heckrey. Poppy Pomfrey wasn't there, a great relief to Severus. The fifth-year was always there, learning and fussing over fellow students. Madam Heckrey was always gentle and patient with her patients. She was especially kind to Severus. After Lily murmured goodnight, she left Severus to Madam Heckrey.

"All right dear. What happened now?", she asked kindly while examining Severus's bruises.

"Well..I..um..fell down the stairs."

He could tell she didn't believe him. But she didn't question him further. Giving him a rag to bite down on, she popped his wrist back into place. About half an hour later, he was walking down to the Slytherin common room. Deciding to go to sleep early, he changed into his night robes and climbed into his bed. He pulled his curtains closed. He didn't fall asleep right away. When he did, his dreams were haunted with rocks shouting curses at him, armed with wands. James was chasing him with threats to tell everyone what had happened. The Marauders appeared everywhere and Lily was always just ahead of him, calling for him to run. But he never seemed to reach her. And then he awoke. It was morning.

He met Lily at the entrance of the great hall.

"Morning.", she said, her dark red hair was in curls.

"Morning.", he replied happily. He couldn't wait to get to eat, as he had skipped dinner. He sat down beside Lily and began to scrape scrambled eggs onto his plate. Lily sat for a moment.

"You need to tell Professor Slughorn.", she said. Severus paused and set his fork down.

"I can't.", he said.

"Why not?"

"He won't believe me. I have no proof and everyone loves James and Sirius. I wouldn't stand a chance. They would just get me back for it." Lily just looked at him.

"I'm sorry Sev.", she said. She put her hand on his, and Severus felt a warm feeling spread through him.

"It's fine. Cuts and bruises heal. You know I'm used to it.", he answered.

Severus looked down at his plate, thinking about the life he had left behind. He used to get beat almost everyday. He had to do everything in his house, his mother being too frail to do much. She did the dishes and such, but he collected wood, helped his mother, and bought the food. His father had always been at bars and his mother had the job of gardening for others. She was beautiful, despite the bruises. Most loved her. But it was her husband everyone feared. He hated her and his son. That was why the other children never played or even talked to Severus. Until he had met Lily.

Later, he was in Slughorn's classroom, Lily beside him. Gryffindors and Slytherins normally had double classes together in almost every class. Except for History of Magic. Severus was writing in his notes while Lily put the ingredients into the cauldron. A strange smell floated across the room. Looking up, he saw Peter cowering behind Remus while he tried to fix the potion. James was trying to stifle a laugh while Sirius was bursting with laughter. Severus just rolled his eyes and got back to his notes. Finishing up, he and Lily compared notes and added anything they didn't have. Severus had only missed a few things, as did Lily. Lily brought up the vile of aging potion up to Professor Slughorn's desk. Severus walked into the hall and waited for Lily. Sirius came out, James right behind him. Peter tagged along beside Remus.

"Hey Snivellus! Waiting for Evens again? Can't go anywhere without her?", James sneered.

"Can't you anywhere without these three?", asked a voice from behind them. Lily pushed through them and stood beside Severus.

"Come on Sev.", she said, taking his hand and turning towards the stairs. Walking up, they began to talk about the essay they had been assigned. Getting to the library, they sat at an empty table to start the essay. Finishing first, Lily went off to find a book to help with transfiguration class. Severus was distracted by the whispering from the corner. Knowing he could easily finish the essay later, he snuck over to investigate.

"Well we could just go. I mean, Dumbledore can't have known or we wouldn't be here!"

Severus recognized the voice of Sirius. Another voice spoke.

"Yeah but he might have just be waiting for absolute evidence." It was James's voice, he was sure. Peering around the corner, as he thought, was the duo sitting in armchairs, looks of frustration etched on their faces. Looking up, Sirius spotted the hem of Severus's robes disappearing. Sirius stood up, James following him. They followed Severus to a deserted part of the dusty library.

"What do you think you're doing Snivellus?", Sirius asked Severus, who was cornered.

"Nothing.", he replied.

"Yeah right! You were snooping around! Like the scum you are!", James chimed in. Severus swallowed. He knew where this was going.

"That's not allowed.", Sirius said with a sneer. He pushed Severus against the wall, his wand to his chest.

"I don't know what you heard, but you're not telling anyone, anything. We wouldn't want that spell from yesterday to be repeated, do we?"

Severus did nothing. He had, had no intentions of telling what he had heard anyways. He didn't understand it. Sirius pushed him again, leaving Severus on the floor. They left, Severus looking angrily after them. What wasn't he supposed to know? What were they hiding? He stood up, brushing off his robes. He hated how The Marauders were so close to who his father had been.

Walking up the stairs to Divination, he had forgotten about leaving Lily in the library. He was still confused about what had happened in the library. He walked into the classroom, only a few students had arrived. He sat down at his usual seat. The teacups were already out and filled when Lily arrived. Severus hated this class, while Lily thought it was funny. Professor Kettleweeds was a strange woman with flowing brown hair. She was an average size with a fair face. Feather earrings were always on her tiny ears, making it look like they were hanging from her hair. Her large blue eyes wore a natural shine and she was graceful as a swan. She talked in a singsong voice that made you feel strangely at home in her classroom. She didn't often make a prediction, but when she did, they came true. Sure enough, her last prediction had come true. Three students were absent from class with Quidditch injuries.

"Alright class. I'm sure you know what to do. Don't be worried. Some are good at the noble art of Divination, and some just aren't. Try your best!", and with that, she went off to examine random students.

Staring into each other's teacup, Lily and Severus confronted their books.

"Well according to this, you are going to have a near-death experience in a months time.", Lily said, "Well that can't be true! What could possibly happen?"

Severus shrugged. "I told you this class is rubbish."

Looking closely at the teacup, Severus tried to indicate what the shape was. Lily was flipping through the book, trying to find a different conclusion. Concluding that Lily was going to going to defeat a great fear, Severus began to pack up. Lily couldn't find anything else to explain Severus's tea.

"Well, anyways, it can't be true. That's silly. A near-death experience! Ha!", Lily mocked on their way down stairs. But Severus couldn't help but get a bad feeling about the prediction...