Disclaimer: The world and characters of this story don't belong to me, and were created by J.K Rowling

One: Dirty blood

Mudblood.

The word echoed through Lily Evans's head as she wandered the corridors of Hogwarts. The walls were tall and cold winter light streamed through the arched windows. She turned a corner, lightly tracing the old, but strong, stone with her fingertips.

Mudblood.

It was bouncing, bouncing from side to side, worming its way inside all of her insecurities and awakening old doubts.

Her hair, red and radiating along her back in a braid, swung to and fro as she slapped her feet along the cold stone floor of the castle. Yesterday had not been a good day.

She had been asked out, gained a friend, lost a friend and been humiliated in front of the school. And now she was wandering around the castle, days before everyone would leave for Christmas break, with cold hands and a heavy heart.

Mudblood.

The fact that it was Sev- Snape, her best friend, no, former best friend, who let the filthy word slip from his lips so easily, drove the punch home. He knew her. She thought he cared about her. If he thought she was a worthless witch with dirty blood, maybe- no. Lily knew she was a good witch, easily as good as any pureblood, and-

"Lily Evans!" James Potter's voice, heavy and dripping with arrogance interrupted Lily's thoughts. He was the last thing she wanted to deal with after yesterday's incident. His tall, lean body walked quickly towards her, his legs not stretching out to their full length but moving quickly to make up for it. The way he only walked when he was chasing something- or someone.

It was his fault she no longer had a best friend. He was the one who started something yesterday. He hexed Severus, humiliated him, and drove him to ruin their friendship. There was no way around it. She hated James Potter, hated him. The way he ran his fingers so easily through his stupidly messy, silky black hair made her sick, the way he made sure everyone in the room knew he was there in the most heavy-handed way possible, the way he craved attention and expected the world to love him for no reason other than he existed. But most of all, the way he would bully and victimize students, just because he could.

She.

Hated.

Him.

Lily's face heated up, turning her cheeks almost as red as her hair. She couldn't stand to be around him at the moment, she couldn't stand seeing his lanky silhouette follow her and chase so diligently after her. So she walked more quickly along the corridor, her feet hurting every time she slapped them against the stone floor, harder with each step.

But his quick half-steps caught up to her, his warm hand, a little slippery from sweat, wrapped around her wrist, his fingertips dug gently into her arm, as if he was clumsily taking her pulse.

"Potter! Leave me alone!" She stared him in the face, her green eyes glaring into his with slight madness. James took a deep breath before speaking.

"Evans! I just came to say-"

"I know what you want to say and no, I do not want to go out with you!" Lily cut him off, her annoyance and anger coming out from between her lips.

"Actually I-"

But Lily's anger kept coming, snaking its way out of her mouth and into his ears like the snake she wasn't.

"Potter, I can't even look at you right now."

"I'm sorry lily!"

Lily turned away.

"Save it. I know you're not really." Her voice was harsh, her words slapping him in the face.

James's mouth opened in defense, but lily continued, running over him like an express train.

"If you were, you wouldn't be on your way to bully another fourth year!"

The light left James Potter's sickly hazel eyes as they dropped to the floor.

His guilty expression told lily everything.

"Just- ugh! I don't know why you think you can even talk to me. I hate you, okay, Potter?"

He looked back up at her desperately.

"I don't understand. How-"

"Can I hate you?" A humourless laugh spilled from Lily's lips.

"It's really that hard to believe isn't-" she broke away, her fingernails digging into her palms in frustration and her eyes raised heavenward.

"Potter, maybe if you looked away from your mirror for a moment, you'd figure it out. Now if you'd let go of my arm, I'd like to go to bed."

Ripping her wrist out from his grasp, Lily stalked away, her short and powerful figure oozing anger.

"Lily!" He called, his voice echoing through the corridor, losing the momentum he had thrown into the word.

She kept walking. Her legs moved faster and faster and she could hear his footsteps behind her even though her heartbeat filled her ears but she didn't care, she was just so mad.

He stopped her. Hot fingers wrapping around her wrist like a handcuff.

"Listen to me. Listen!" He yelled harshly, startling her.

Lily turned around and glared at him, her green eyes filled with anger that she she had injected into him like poison, working its way through his body, filling his veins, doing its best to stop his heart.

He cleared his throat. It sounded like bark brushing harshly against a sleeve.

"I didn't come to ask you out. And I didn't come to apologise for making a scene yesterday. I came to say sorry for ruining your friendship with that slimy git. He doesn't deserve you." His voice was as harsh as his cough. "So I'm sorry."

Lily stared skeptically into his face. His tawny eyes had lost their spark of mischief, and they were looking sadly back at her. His mouth was a straight line, like a grimace. Honesty dripped sadly out of every crevice in his face. Lily knew he wasn't lying. She breathed a gentle sigh, her anger flowing out of her.

"It's okay. I know it wasn't your fault. His words were his."

Potter just nodded. He turned away.

"Also, Remus wanted you to know that he swapped the rounds around and you're with mark tonight. That's all"

He walked away from her now. His figure swaggered slowly, carefully away, as if he was recovering from a stomach wound. He certainly felt like it.

"Thanks, Potter." Lily called after him, her voice shrill and piercing and not at all the way she wanted it to sound.

He just shrugged, his figure retreating along the corridor. Lily walked into the nearest classroom, cast a silencing charm on the door and let the scream she'd been holding in for so long rip from her throat.

It tasted like chalk in her mouth.