A/N: WORDS. I DO NOT HAVE THEM. THIS IS MY FOURTH TIME TRYING TO POST THIS STORY/CHAPTER.

YES, I'M BACK WITH A NEW STORY, YES I WILL UPDATE MY OTHER STORIES. EVENTUALLY. I'M TIRED OF WRITING THE SAME AUTHOR'S NOTE, SO YOU'RE GETTING THIS SHORTER AND SWEET ONE.

*DISCLAIMER* I HAVE TAKEN TEXT/EXCERPTS AND QUOTES FROM THE BOOKS AND MOVIES WORD FOR FUCKING WORD. EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTIES: ME, JK ROWLING, WARNER BROS. JK ROWLING, AND JK ROWLING. I GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. I WILL NOT PUT ANY DISTINGUISHING MARKS ON THE COPIED TEXT AND QUOTES, BECAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE EVERYTHING LOOK WEIRD AND DETRACT FROM THE STORY. IF YOU KNOW THE BOOKS AND MOVIES AS WELL AS I DO, THEN YOU'LL RECOGNIZE WHEN I STOP PUTTING MY WORDS AND PUT ROWLING'S IN. THIS GOES FOR THE ENTIRE STORY. YOU HAVE BEEN PROPERLY WARNED AND NOTIFIED.

PROLOGUE

Halloween night 1981 was a fairly normal one for the Granger household. Mr. Granger, George to those close to him, sat in his recliner reading a journal article in Dentistry. Mrs. Granger, or Helen, sat on the couch next to her husband, reading an essay on Shakespeare. Their little two-year old daughter Hermione Jean Granger sat at their feet, reading her alphabet books. Occasionally, the doorbell would ring, and Helen would rise to pass out small apples to hopeful trick-or-treaters. This was a family of dentists after all, and what self-respecting dentist would pass out candy on Halloween? Definitely not the Grangers. At 10:00 pm they turned in for the night, unaware of any strangeness and peculiarity.

The next day however, was a different story. As they walked their daughter to the library nursery school, they passed strangely dressed people, their faces alight with exuberant joy; Owls flew around, acting strangely diurnal. Some owls approached Hermione, much to her giggling delight, hooted at her, and flew away. The strangeness lasted all throughout the day, and made it to the evening news. Once they all went to bed however, they put it from their minds, and never spared a thought again for the strange occurrences.

One year later, they began to get accustomed to strangeness, as their daughter became a truly peculiar child. Nine years after that, their world changed.

OOO

SNAPE POV
HALLOWEEN 1981

Dead. Gone. Lily. Gone. Safe. Why? My fault. Gone. Lily. GONE!

"I thought...you were going...to keep her...safe..."

Severus sat slumped forward in a chair in Professor Dumbledore's office, unable to rein in his terrible anguish.

"She and James put their faith in the wrong person," sid Dumbledore. "Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?"

Severus didn't bother replying, his breathing shallow. Lily was gone.

"Her boy survives," said Dumbledore.

Severus was barely able to keep silent about his lack of care regarding the infant.

"Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans's eyes, I am sure?"

Green. Gone. Lily. Please! Dead. GONE!

"DON'T!" bellowed Snape. "Gone...dead..."

Severus still couldn't breathe. He relished the sensation. If he stopped breathing he could see Lily again. Forever.

"Is this remorse, Severus?"

"I wish...I wish I were dead..."

"And what use would that be to anyone?" said Dumbledore coldly. "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear."

Severus looked uncomprehendingly at Dumbledore, unable to process anything through his haze of pain. It took a few moments for him to realize what Dumbledore had just said.

"What-what do you mean?"

"You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son."

"He does not need protection, The Dark Lord has gone-"

"The Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does."

There was a long pause as Severus considered what Dumbledore was saying. Determination filled him. He couldn't save Lily, despite his best efforts, and though he hated her husband and the idea of her son, she cherished the child, and so yes, he would protect him to the very best of his ability. For her. For Lily. 'Always'. Severus regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, "Very well. Very well. But never-never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear...especially Potter's son...I want your word! No one can know."

He'd be damned if he let people see enough of him to mock and pity him and his motivations.

"My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?" Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape's ferocious, anguished face. "If you insist..."

And thus Severus Snape forced himself to live ten long, hellish, hellish years in a world without Lily, waiting for that first day of September 1991. And then it came.

A/N: WELL? I'M NOT HONESTLY HAPPY WITH THIS CHAPTER. AFTER HAVING TO REWRITE IT FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES, MY MUSE STOMPED AWAY, LEAVING AN EMPTY NOTHINGNESS BEHIND. SO IF THIS CHAPTER LACKS FEELING, THAT IS WHY.

IN OTHER NEWS, I WILL BE UPDATING MY PROFILE, AND EVENTUALLY MY FANFICTION BLOG, SO CHECK THAT OUT IF YOU WANT. YOU GUYS KNOW THE DRILL: READ, AND PLEASE REVIEW. IF YOU WANT.

-AKEMI