--Once Upon a Day in Springtime--

The sky was as brilliant a blue as it could be, bluer even than the word 'blue'. The sun was shining more brightly than the word 'light', its eager rays seeking into the deepest shadows, like the curious hands of a child. The stone walls of the castle gleamed in the May sunlight and gold and silver danced on the waves of the lake like so many playful, frisky, glinting fish. Many shades of jade and lime painted the grounds with fresh foliage and tender grass. It was a Saturday afternoon and most of the Hogwarts students had abandoned their Common Rooms and the library, grateful for the beautiful weather. There was a group of boys from Hufflepuff, Second-Years by the looks of them, tossing things into the lake, laughing and cheering when a long slick tentacle would break the surface and fling back the discarded items. Three Ravenclaws were mounted upon broomsticks, laughing and calling to each other as they soared about and spiraled higher and higher. Six or seven Slytherin girls were chattering where they sat in the shade at the border of the Forbidden Forest. Clumps of friends, all ages and Houses were sprinkled about the grounds, some doing homework they had brought outside, some chatting idly and some strolling about carelessly. The red-haired girl that sat in the comfortable shade of a beech tree by the edge of the lake, could not keep from smiling as she watched her peers and reveled in the wonderful day.

Lily Evans had her lap filled with books and rolls of parchment, but they sat there neglected and unused. Lily was 14, although she was still in Third Year and as thrilled by Hogwarts as she had been when she had first seen it as an ignorant and disbelieving eleven-year-old. How had she ever lived in the Muggle world? How had she ever forced herself to believe that she would find a way to fit in, although she could do things other kids couldn't? How had she ever allowed Petunia to convince her that obedience and normality were more important than being true to herself?

It was at this thought that Lily's smile faltered the slightest bit. She adored magic and the Wizarding world with every fiber of her being, but she had not joined it without sacrifice. Petunia was no longer Tuney. She was no longer a sister, despite the blood that coursed through their veins, and they were no longer friends. Neither would ever confess to it as long as they lived, but they had been friends once. When they had both been Muggles, when they had both been young and innocent, when they had both been care-free and fretless. When they had been equals they had been friends, but they were never to be equal again and so that friendship was forfeit. It pained Lily to know that her sister was lost to her. Had Petunia so easily forgotten the times when Lily had skinned her knee and been comforted by her protective (if pratty) elder sister? Had she forgotten the giggles late into the night and the significant looks exchanged over dinner to convey messages their parents could never decipher? Had she really forgotten how she had led Lily along by the hand and how Lily had worshipped the ground her sister treaded upon? Clearly, she had for she never even said 'God bless you.' when Lily sneezed over the holidays when she came home, much less comforted her for a small injury. Petunia had grown rigid and cool towards her baby sister and was unlikely to ever giggle again in her company, if ever. She had not tried to grab Lily's hand again when magic pulled it from her grip and it seemed their paths had now wholly split.

With a mournful sigh, Lily rid her thoughts of Petunia. The days when Petunia had been important had passed away forevermore and thinking of her was both a waste of time and a waste of energy. Lily looked down at her lap at the heading for the History of Magic essay she had intended to write and despite her overall devotion to being a conscientious student; she had to admit that writing it seemed as much a waste as worrying about her Muggle sister. After all, who wanted to think about Goblin wars and uprisings on a beautiful day in springtime? She surely didn't.

Lily heard a shriek and at the noise she looked around in alarm. She found that the source of the noise was Peter Pettigrew, laughing at something one of his three friends had done. The Marauders were walking nearby, Potter walking backwards and entertaining his friends with an outrageous (and likely fictional) story about a Quidditch match. Lily thought to herself sourly, That's new. Potter was reenacting catching the Golden Snitch with his right hand, while the other mussed up his already horribly-messy black hair. Directly in front of Potter, Black walked with two rather heavy-looking bags, likely his and James', slung casually on his shoulders like they didn't weigh so much as a knut. His sleek black hair was rippling although there was no wind, like a Veela's or a Muggle model's. Remus Lupin was trying to look distracted, scuffing the ground with his toes, but he was smiling at his friend's story. Pettigrew, on the other hand, was making quite a spectacle of his interest. In fact, he seemed simply rapturous, judging by the way he was twitching more than usual and his occasional squeals and shrieks of mirth.

Not to her surprise, James Potter looked in her direction, as he was apt to do every few minutes. He was all aglow when he saw that her brilliant green gaze was already on him and she realized it was likely to give the wrong impression. He halted, only a few yards from her and folded his arms over his chest. He smirked and raised an eyebrow, "Quite entertained, are you, Evans?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," she said in mock-admiration, "It's just like watching the clowns and the oddballs at the circus!"

Potter snorted although Lily saw him redden about the ears a bit and his hand sprang back to his hair, "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

Why does he get to me so much even when he's acting normal? Lily wondered and said in irritation, "Well, it was a lovely day, until you came along!"

"Oh, Evans, you're so funny." he said in a lame attempt at hiding embarrassment, but he and his fellow Marauders promptly hurried away. Merlin's Beard, he is a pain…

"I see your day's going well." a sardonic voice said nearby. Lily looked around and saw Severus standing and looking down at her, a smile beginning to curve his thin lips. His robes were too short for him and dirty, his hair not untidy like Potter's, but greasy and limp. Lily would admit that Potter, Black and even Lupin were better-looking than Severus, but he had something they didn't have; superior intellect, a dry and effortless sense of humor, a soul, "Not even lunchtime yet and you've spoken to our four favorite gits." He sat beside Lily and she gave a laugh of agreement, "Unfortunate."

Lily rolled her eyes and nodded, "That's an understatement, but I thought tragic was a bit too much."

Yes, he was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor. Yes, he was, er, not popular and she was, well, she wasn't popular but she was generally liked. They didn't care, they had agreed in First Year that they would not let anything get between them and Lily was confident nothing ever would. Her oldest, closest and most loyal friend nodded thoughtfully. "I no longer seek words to describe such unpleasant events; I find that the sound of someone vomiting or a grimace gets the point across far more sufficiently."

Lily laughed and tucked some of her vibrantly red hair behind her ear, "So, Sev, what'd you fancy doing?"

He shrugged, "Dunno, Potter and his cronies can't provide conversation for long at all. That would require depth of character, which they seemingly all lack." he said and turned to Lily, his dark eyes glittering, his thin mouth quirking into a mischievous little grin, "I think we'll have to find a new topic."

"Nice day today." Lily said at once, then smiling at his expression of mock-exasperation.

"The weather?! Honestly, Lils, have you got any conversational skills at all?" Lily raised a single eyebrow at him skeptically, "The first rule is that you may resort to discussing the weather only when the conversation turns to awkward silence, even I know that and no one ever talks to me!"

"Well, they don't know what they're missing!" Lily replied and ignored the color that went into Severus' cheeks when she said so. "It was sorta awkward and kinda like silence!" Lily continued, defending weakly, gazing out at her peers scattered about the grounds, their black school robes like freckles in the green.

For a moment Lily thought Severus was gaping at her in artificial awe, but then he made an odd noise and she looked at him, and realized that he had been laughing noiselessly. She had never in the five years that they had known one another seen him so much as grin at anyone's jokes but hers. She felt a surge of pride as he wiped tears of mirth from his face with the back of his hand; no one had her prowess when it came to Severus Snape. She found that she could get to him in a way no one else ever could. Lily grinned at her best mate, "Oh, Sev, whatever would you do without me?"

He smiled warmly and said softly, "I'd be lost without you, Lily." he said and he meant it. He was sincere, his onyx eyes locked upon green ones, making her feel as if he was staring deep into her spirit and memorizing her secrets and stealing into the essence of her being. Severus nodded, still looking intensely and perhaps even lovingly into Lily eyes and he said, "I don't know how I could even exist without you."

There was a moment of heavy, tangible quiet, punctuated only by the sounds drifting on the soft breeze from the other students spending their Saturday enjoying the day's delightful climate. They continued looking into one another's eyes and Lily said, "Oh, so no pressure, right?"

And like that the moment was over and they broke eye contact. Lily raked her fingers through her hair and swept it all in front of her left shoulder absentmindedly while Severus replied sarcastically, "No, no; no pressure at all, Lils!"

"Whew!" Lily swiped the back of her hand across her forehead as if wiping away sweat, "I was beginning to think I had a bit of responsibility, like I held your heart and soul in my hands!"

"Of course you don't, not to worry!" Severus replied, but he knew that even if his soul was his own, Lily did indeed hold his heart. Yet on a day like this where the sunrays, the bright sky and the soft, gentle breeze seemed to call words of welcome to friends looking for relaxation or joy, Severus and Lily were both perfectly content to be 'just friends'. There would be plenty of rainy days and snowy winters to change that, but on a day in springtime when summer was sweet in the very air, they would not allow anything to stop them from resting up and enjoying themselves. After all, friends are not there only to share tough times, but good times as well.

"So...you fancy playing a card game?"

He rolled his eyes, saying jokingly, "You and those Muggle games!"

"So, do you wanna?"

"Only if you promise it'll be fun, but not too easy." he held back a grin at her look of genuine frustration.

"Well," She smiled as she withdrew a deck of Muggle playing cards from her bag and dealt them out between herself and Severus, "It'll be fun."

He smiled back at her, "Just this once, I think I can let it slide."

"You had better." She replied with mock-sternness and he found as he picked up his half of the deck, that he was having more fun than usual already. Lily picked up her own cards and glanced at him and smiled, "You will."

And do you know what? He did have fun. They both did.

--Fin--