A/N: Welcome to my story! It's meant to be written as closely to JK Rowling's style as I can manage, and I would love feedback on how I'm doing. Similarly, the story's plot is structured similarly to a Harry Potter book. Of course, I am not nearly as good a writer as good ol' JK, but it can't hurt to try. Currently I have a few different chapters finished, so updates should be quick. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I own any of her characters or settings.

Lily Evans awoke with a start. She quieted her breathing, which was loud in the dark room, and listened. She could hear the whirr of her window air conditioner, the thrum of the fridge downstairs, and the soft tick-tock of the clock on her bedside table. Otherwise, everything was quiet. She let out a long breath.

Nothing unusual. It must've just been a weird dream-she closed her eyes, and her subconscious stirred up an image of a black haired baby. Weird. Nonetheless, she was fully awake now.

She flicked on the light, and sat up. Her room had the air of being only partially lived in-there were wide gaps in her book shelf where books had been removed, and pale spots on the walls marked where her parents had pulled down her Muggle posters and put up framed pictures of things like sail boats and flowers. She didn't mind the empty feeling.

Somehow, ever since she had received the letter declaring that she was a witch six years before, 14 Appleblossom Lane hadn't quite felt like home. When her parents had owled asking whether she would mind if her father used her childhood room as his study, it was only with a small twinge of regret that she had agreed.

Lily climbed out of bed, smoothed out her patched quilt, and crossed to the desk. A charms book was open on it, and a young man with a bubble over his head watched her from the page. She flicked through the book, then closed it and set it down. At that moment reading more Charms didn't appeal to her.

Instead she picked up the letter her best friend, Alice, had sent her. "Lily," she had wrote in cramped handwriting, "Good to hear you passed your Apparition test-now we can visit each other so easily! Frank still hasn't passed his, and it's been a right pain arranging visits. It's funny-he's so good at all other types of magic, I'm not sure why Apparition has caused such a block. His mother has given him a very hard time about it, and I think maybe that's contributed a bit. She's a tough lady, but in times like these, I'll be glad to have her as a mother-in-law. No, no, don't worry we aren't quite at that point yet. But you know how it is. After four years it's hard not to talk about getting married with some degree of certainty. Anyway, let me know if you need a break from Petunia before the summer is up. Or, better yet, let me know if you'd like to meet up in Diagon Alley to pick up our last round of school supplies! Bonus points if you bring your dad. He's my favorite. Send Nyma back with your answer. Lots of love, Alice."

Lily set down the letter and sank into the desk chair. Her day in Diagon Alley with her dad and Alice had already passed, and her new items-a pile of glossy books, new robes, and a kit of potion supplies-had been stored neatly in the wooden trunk at the foot of her bed. On top of the trunk, an extra set of robes and a shiny golden badge that read "HG" had been set carefully out.

Next she picked up a folded, much-read newspaper from her desk. The headline read, "A Dark Lord to Rival Grindelwald?" She immersed herself in the story, even though she had already read it several times. Somehow, she felt as though by memorizing the words that marched matter-of-factly across the page, she would be able to get a grasp on the dangers that surrounded the wizarding world.

Soon the sun peeked over her windowsill. Lily blinked a few times, and put down the newspaper. She had that foggy, weak feeling from waking up too early. The house had come to life around her-the bathroom groaned as someone turned on the shower, and downstairs she could hear her dad putting on a pot of tea. She refolded the newspaper and tucked it into a drawer in the desk, where the image of a smoky skull with a snake that slithered out of its mouth couldn't watch her.

She padded down the stairs in her slippers, and pulled up a chair at the kitchen table. The smell of baking chocolate chip cookies had flooded the downstairs. "Lily flower!" Her dad closed the oven and straightened up. He was a middle aged, greying man with Lily's bright green eyes. Before his hair had turned grey, it had been the same dark red as her own.

Lily privately thought that she had received most of her genetics from her dad. They had the same sense of humor, the same pet peeves. And while he may not have been magical, he certainly did have a unique way of looking at the world. The only thing she seemed to have inherited from her mum was the constant need for organization and control. Well, and her nose-which was lucky, as her dad had quite the beak.

"Cookies for breakfast again?" She grinned at him.

He shrugged, smiled. "Mum picked up more milk yesterday, so I figured, why not? What's more muggle than a nice tray of cookies to send you off with?"

"I don't leave until tomorrow," she reminded him, voice gentle. He wasn't great at dates.

Harry Evans was non-plussed. "Well, we can eat half of them now, and you can save the rest till tomorrow."

She grinned into the mug of tea he'd placed in front of her. "That solves that then."

She looked around at the kitchen, with its worn tiled counter tops and clutter of food that seemed to spill out of the drawers. Vases of freshly picked flowers decorated every flat, open space available-Lily's dad was a florist. It was disorganized, but in a warm, cozy way. She always missed it when she was at Hogwarts.

"Mum not up yet?"

"I let her sleep in. She only has a precious few days before she's got to go back to dealing with the spawn of our society."

Lily laughed. "It's a good thing she's the teacher."

"Yes ma'am it is, I'd rather prune a plum tree any day. So, is Severus riding with us to the train station tomorrow?"

"I think so. He could apparate-"

"No, no. It's tradition! Tell him he has no choice. And that we're leaving at-er-9 o' clock, or at least I think that's what your mum said..." He bent to peer through the oven door again. Lily tugged the Muggle news toward her, and began to read a story about an earthquake that had caused a dozen homes to crumble up in the mountains.

Her dad had just pulled the cookies out of the oven when her mum and older sister came trundling down the stairs, still clad in their pajamas. Petunia was tall and thin, with straight blond hair that she kept pulled up in a ballerina's bun (this had begun the day after a girl at school had told Tuney that her long neck made her look like a dancer).

"Cookies for breakfast?" Asked Lily's mum as she entered the kitchen. "Isn't it rather early?" She had a kindly, soft face, and Petunia's height. Her eyes looked more lined than usual this morning.

"Yes indeed, honey. Have to send Lily off properly."

Lily and her mom met eyes behind his back. Lily shrugged, and her mom smiled. Petunia pursed her lips as she poured out a mug of tea.

After a breakfast of tea, cookies, and scrambled eggs, Lily stood. "I'm going to head to the park. I should be back in a few hours."

"Going to meet your boyfriend?" Petunia sneered.

Behind her, Lily's mum, Rose Evans, turned to listen. The tea she had been pouring spilled over the brim of the mug and onto the counter. "Leave her alone, Petunia."

Lily simply raised her eyebrows in Petunia's direction. "See you later Mum, Dad."

It was shaping up to be a beautiful summer's day outside. As Lily walked, her thoughts drifted in and out of focus in the same familiar swirl that they'd followed the past six months. How could she keep her family safe? She wasn't important enough for them to become a target, but what if that changed? Or what if they fell prey to random Muggle-baiting? That article about the landslides had upset her-there had been rumors that Voldemort was recruiting giants. What if that was what had destroyed the Muggle's homes? So how do I keep them safe?

A little voice inside her whispered: "Don't get involved with the war."

But that was impossible. She had to-she had no choice. She was top in her class, and she had worked hard to make it so. She wasn't about to let that hard work go to waste. But what about her family?

The leaves of a grand oak tree above her rippled in the wind. She looked up at them, and took a deep breath. Enough.

The park was only a block away from her house. She walked along the little, winding path until it came to the swings. One swing was already occupied by a young man, with dark black hair and a sallow face. His oversized, black smock billowed in the wind as he rocked backward and forward.

The boy's black eyes found Lily and didn't leave her face as she neared. "Hey," he said, the casualness of his voice at odds with the intensity of his gaze.

"Hey Sev," she said. With a little hop, she pulled herself onto the swing next to his. His eyes followed the swirl of her dark red hair as the wind caught it.

"You look… unhappy." He smirked. "Sad to leave Petunia?"

Lily ignored the jibe. "Sad to leave my family. I can't stop thinking about that muggle family in Hanover that was murdered. I'm worried."

Snape's face softened. "They'll be okay, Lils. You're not important enough for anyone to want to target your family."

Lily smiled. "Safety in anonymity."

They swung in silence for awhile. Severus' hands clenched and unclenched on the swing chain, his knuckles striped white and red. His eyes cut to her every time she swung ahead of him.

"I can't believe it's our last year," Snape said finally. "Do you remember the first time we spoke? When I told you that you were a witch, and that you were going to Hogwarts?"

"It seemed too good to be true." Lily was smiling in earnest now. Snape seemed to light up under its warmth.

"It is too good to be true. I don't want it to end. I mean, I'm going to miss the food, and the library, and even good old Sluggy…"

Her laughter splashed into the air. "I can't decide if I'm going to miss Sluggy or the food most."

"Don't be silly, clearly you're going to miss the library most. I don't think there's been a bookworm as big as you in the past century."

Lily shook her head, grinning. She increased the speed of her swinging, until her toes rustled the long leaves of a nearby willow. She closed her eyes, and enjoyed the feeling of the humid summer air against her skin. When she opened them again, the swing had slowed to a gentle sway.

"Hey Sev, you are driving with us tomorrow right? My dad wanted to know."

"Of course." Severus had long since stopped his swing, and had watched Lily with unfathomably dark eyes. "What time?"

"Dad says 9, but maybe make it 8:45 just to be sure."

Snape smiled. "I'll never forget the time he thought the train got in an hour later than it actually did, and we missed it."

"I've never been so furious in my life. Well, maybe except for the time Potter charmed my potions essay to flap around my head and ask me out." Or the time you called me a Mudblood. The thought rose unbidden. She kept it inside. It was only in the last few months that they'd been able to mend their friendship after that incident. Despite all the anger, the hurt, she understood why he had done it. He'd been shamed, and he was desperately embarrassed that she'd witnessed it. It was too much that she'd tried to help him when he was unable to help himself, and he'd lashed out.

They were both silent, slightly uncomfortable. Lily got the sense that they were both remembering the fight that had ensued after, and how she'd stormed and raged. No, she had never been angrier than that. Finally, Snape shook his head—his lank black hair flopped into his eyes. "You should've just ended him then. That kid is no good."

It took Lily a moment to remember that they were talking about Potter. "He's annoying. But he's not as bad as some of the guys you hang out with. Mulciber, Avery." She frowned. It was a familiar argument between them, one that they could settle into without much thought.

This time, though, Snape surprised her. "I wouldn't be so sure," he said, voice dark. "Black's family is as dark as their name, and I can't see how he would've escaped that. I wouldn't be surprised if he's drawn James into that sort of thing. You don't know half of what goes on in their little circle outside of the Gryffindor common room."

Lily dragged her feet through the wood chips as she digested what Snape had said. "What did happen last year up at the Shrieking Shack, Sev?" She asked tentatively. It wasn't the first time she'd asked the question.

"You know I can't tell, Lils. Not even you. But I promise you that it's worse than anything anyone in my house has done. The Marauders make Mulciber and Avery look like saints."

What if they were as bad as Mulciber, as Avery? Was she really so biased as to believe that those sorted into Gryffindor couldn't get involved in the Dark Arts? And why not? They bullied people, and used their popularity as a mask to get away with it. They had their own name-The Marauders. Was that so different from the Death Eaters?

"What about Lupin?" she asked finally. "I can't see him getting involved with that sort of thing."

"I think it's closer to his nature than you would believe," Snape said. The way he said it, dark, secretive, made her half believe it.

Lily stood up from her swing. "I'll have to think over that some more. Ready to head home?"

He half bowed before her, and slid off of the swing. Lily laughed, and wrapped her arm around his as they headed down the path and out of the park. Next to the warmth of her hair, Snape didn't look quite so sallow.

They were immersed in a conversation about the latest potion Snape had been working on-a terribly tricky mixture called Felix Felicis that brought the drinker luck-when they arrived at her door.

"I swear, if you shred the lacewings instead of putting them in whole, you'll get a much better absorption rate," insisted Lily.

"I suppose I could do that…" he frowned, mulling it over. "Unless the reason they're whole is that the potion requires a slower absorption rate."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You always think you know best. When we get back to Hogwarts we can both try making it, and we'll see whose turns out."

"Sounds like a deal." They shook on it, and Severus turned away from her door. "See you tomorrow, Lils."

"See you, Sev." She watched him walk away down the street, expression troubled, before stepping inside. The house still smelled like freshly baked cookies.

Petunia was sitting in the living room, a bottle of open nail polish clutched in her hand. Something about the whiteness of her face, the tight way she was holding the nail polish, made Lily sit down next to her. "Want me to do the left hand?"

Her older sister smiled. "That'd be wonderful. No… no funny business though."

"I wouldn't dare." Lily dipped the brush in the pale pink paint, and expertly dabbed it onto her sister's nails. "Have a date with Vernon?"

"He's taking me out to Ricardo's. You know, that fancy Italian restaurant over by-"

"I grew up here too, you know," Lily reminded her. "I know where Ricardo's is. Fancy, for a regular dinner date."

Petunia's hollow cheeks pinkened. "Well, Lily-" for the first time Lily noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly. "I, um, well I'm glad you offered to paint my nails tonight. I have a feeling it might be a special night…"

Lily's grip tightened on her sister's hand. "Really?"

Petunia nodded shakily, and Lily felt warmth bloom inside of her. She loved her sister, and she knew that Tuney loved her. But they were very different, and ever since Lily had left for Hogwarts, their relationship had been strained at best. For Petunia to confide in her-to want to share this moment with her… Lily's eyes felt hot and itchy.

She swiped at them with the back of her hand, embarrassed. "That's wonderful, Tuney. Vernon makes you really happy." She squashed the piece of her that whispered that Vernon brought out the most close minded, small version of her sister, and forced it into a contained part of her. Right now was not the time to have those thoughts.

"Are you crying?" Petunia's gaze searched her face. "You are! Lily, you don't need to cry!" She sounded slightly horrified.

Her words made the tears come faster. Lily swept color onto Petunia's pinky nail and capped the bottle. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm just glad you told me." She inhaled deeply, forced the tears to stopper themselves. "Are you going to tell mom and dad?"

"Not until later. We planned to tell them tomorrow at dinner, and you won't be here-" Petunia trailed off. The warmth inside of Lily cooled slightly.

She had missed a lot in Petunia's life-her graduations, her birthday parties, her first dates and first kisses-and she could feel how much that had cost their relationship. "Well, thank you for sharing this with me now, you don't know how much it means to me."

Petunia's smile gave a tremulous waver, and she squeezed Lily's hand. They sat for a moment, looking at the neat way the nail polish had settled on Tuney's nails. When it had dried, Petunia stood up. "Well, I suppose I had better start getting ready."

"Let me know if you need any help."

Petunia waved her away, and disappeared upstairs.

Lily's brain felt very full. Her sister almost engaged, the Marauders involved with the Dark Arts, Voldemort's rise to power… At times like these, it was too difficult to reconcile her normal, muggle life with everything happening in the magical world. She pulled a blanket over herself, closed her eyes, and spent the rest of her last day at home asleep on the couch.