A/N: Well I was originally going to do this story for NaNoWriMo but it has come to my attention that I will in no way be able to finish before the deadline. So instead I decided to post it here. I currently do not have a beta so I apologize for any mistakes. I will try to update regularly, but I can't make any promises, I will finish the story though, that I can promise. And just so that everyone knows I own nothing. If I did own any of the Harry Potter characters things would have been different.


Severus chocked on the pink bubbles that filled his mouth as Potter and his pathetic friends laughed at his expense. If only he had his wand, he could then fight back against the bullies that surrounded him. The bubbles were starting to choke him when a new voice called out drawing Potter's attention away from him. His eyes moved over to Lily as she yelled at Potter and the arrogant git just made more attempts to get Lily to go out with him. As the two were 'conversing' Severus could feel the jinx wearing off and he started to inch toward his wand, anger and humiliation boiling up inside him.

Finally reaching his wand Severus sent a cutting curse at Potter, just as Black yelled alerting his friend about the attack. Another flash of light and Severus found his self hanging in the air by his ankle, once again Lily yelling that they leave him alone. Crashing to the ground Severus managed to hold back a groan of pain and glared at his attacker as he said that he was lucky that Lily was there. More humiliation flowed through him and with no thought he opened his mouth, "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" As soon as the words left his mouth and he saw Lily's face he regretted what he had said. Before he even had a chance to open his mouth again, this time to apologize to his friend, Potter was already demanding an apology for her and she was screaming at him once again.

The rest of the attack was a blur for the young Slytherin, his mind stuck only on the fact that he had caused such pain to his only true friend. Eventually the Marauders released him and he was able to make his way back to his dorms. As he sat in the common room listening to his house mates talk about the glories of the Dark Lord, Severus just thought about what had happened that afternoon. Things had been stained between him and Lily for awhile now, but he was certain that he wouldn't be able to fix things now. Besides he had plans for when he left Hogwarts, and he knew without a doubt that Lily wouldn't be able to stand by his choices.

The sound of his name being called drew his attention to Percival Greengrass, one of the seventh year students that made no secret of his allegiance to the Dark Lord, "What?" Percival was always testing the waters with the other Slytherins trying to determine who would be willing to swear allegiance to his lord and increase the number of Death Eaters. After Lucius Malfoy, who had been the one to originally get Severus's interest in joining the rising dark army, had left Hogwarts he had continued to converse with the blonde pureblood through letters and Severus found that he was really leaning toward joining the dark faction.

A dark brow lifted on Greengrass's face, "I asked if you were going to be joining us this summer. There will be a chance to meet the Dark Lord and swear your allegiance to him. Though he won't gift you with a Mark until you are out of Hogwarts, you will still have the opportunity to join the ranks." The idea intrigued the fifth year and he nodded, "Excellent. You will receive an owl a few days before the meeting letting you know the time and place. We will look forward to seeing you there." The small group that had gathered all nodded before the privacy spell that had been put into place was released and they all made their way to the dorms. They were all leaving the next day for the start of their summer vacation. While he always hated having to go home, the summers weren't all that bad since he would normally spend most of his time with Lily, this year it seemed that all he had to look forward to was finally getting a start into becoming a full Death Eater. While he did have the option to apologize to the red head, he felt that it would just be a waste of time and that it would just be better if he allowed all the ties between them to be cut. The idea cause an ache to form in his chest but his pride wouldn't allow him to make the first move in fixing what had been broken.

The next morning he woke and made a final check to make sure that he had all of his things packed before he left to the Great Hall for breakfast. Entering the Great Hall he heard the excited chatter and laughter that normally appeared on the last days of the school year. Promises of owls and summer meetings met his ears as he made his way to the Slytherin table and sat down placing some breakfast on his plate. Though he tried to avoid it he couldn't keep his gaze from looking over toward the Gryffindor table and searching for a familiar head of red hair. It didn't take him long to find who he was looking for and he just watched her for a couple of moments as she talked and laughed with her friends.

Soon enough the meal was over and Dumbledore had said he final speech for the year allowing the students to leave for Hogsmead to catch the train. It was a quick trip to the dungeons for Severus to grab his trunk, casting a light weight charm on it, and leaving the castle for the next few months. Once on the train he started looking for a compartment, stopping briefly outside of the one that he normally shared with Lily before moving on. Eventually he found room in with a few other Slytherins and settled in for the trip back to London. While the others talked about summer plans Severus found his self buried in a book on the Dark Arts. They were a subject that he had always found interesting, right alongside potions, and he found that he couldn't get enough information on them.

All too soon the trip was over and he was meeting his father outside of Kings Cross. The trip home was made in silence allowing the sixteen year old to get lost in his thoughts. The summer was looking to turn out to be a horrible one and he was hoping that Lucius Malfoy would offer for him to join the Malfoy family for the summer, as he had for the last three summers. If the invitation came up again, Severus would surely jump on it this time, anything to get away from his father and the memories that he had made in and around his home with Lily.

With a brief hello to his mum Severus headed up to his room and unpacked his books. The thought of starting his summer homework was there but instead he grabbed the Dark Arts book he had been reading on the train and left the house to find a quiet and solitary area to read. That was how the first two weeks of his summer went until he received an owl inviting him to a gathering at the Malfoy residence. Like all other times the regal creature waited for the dark haired boy to write a reply before flying off to its master, unlike all the other times though, this time it carried a positive response to the request. Two days later he was making sure he had all his things packed before grabbing the port key that he had received and leaving his house, only stopping long enough to tell his mother he was leaving and would be back in a couple of weeks.


A/N: So I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Just a Dream. Reviews are nice but I'm not going to beg for them. Any and all flames will be used to make smores and roast chestnuts.