Disclaimer: I recognize that all plot and characters in the Harry Potter and MWPP world belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling, and that I only own the plot you do not recognize as her own.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to one of my best friends, Jayna. Thanks for being there for me through everything that's going on! You're one of the few people I still trust in the world, and I'm so grateful for your friendship. Love you! xo

Reviews: Sasha! My first and only reviewer! I can't believe how quickly you found this, and thank-you so much for it! Jesus, you've been with me since freaking Only Hope! Love you!

Song: It's Been a While by Staind

Author's Note- This is the chapter where we begin to see the relationship between Lily and Peter. Again, I can't stress it enough, if you are going to read this chapter with a closed mind about how gross and impossible this pairing is, please just don't read the chapter at all. Rather, if you read it with an open mind you will be able to see why Lily choose to be with Peter, and how she is struggling with that decision. Constructive Criticism is good, remarks about how gross the pairing is, are bad. It's not my favorite chapter at all, and it was difficult to write, but it was definitely necessary to the plot of the story. Thanks for reading!

Coming soon – actually now – to a fan fiction site near you,

Chapter One of Bittersweet Irony: The First Snow of the Season

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December first had to be Lily Evan's favorite day of the year. It was the day where the Thanksgiving season officially ended, and the Christmas season officially began. It was the day where the beautiful 27-year-old could be found outside hanging colorful light fixtures on her house. It was the day where beautifully thick snow flurries spiraled down from the cloud-covered December sky. It was the day where her life truly began.

There were two things in the world that Lily loved above all else. They were Christmas and snow. No matter what tragedy was happening in her life, they were the two things she knew she could count on to stay pure and joyful.

It was a rare occasion when it actually snowed on December first. That's how Lily knew this season would be extra special.

She strung the lights out on her bushes as perfectly as she could. The wind was blowing the snow around, making the visibility low despite the minimal amount of accumulation actually on the ground. She would look over towards the street, imagining a handsome gentleman galloping toward her in a white stallion. Despite all her efforts not to think about it, she wanted to be swept off her feet. She longed for some kind of excitement in her life.

To somebody who wasn't acquainted with this special red head, they would never guess that she already had a boyfriend.

He had a round, boyish face, the kind of person who didn't change much appearance-wise. He had the same bright blue eyes, blonde hair, and chubby figure he did as a boy. In Lily's eyes, he was adorable. He was the kind of guy who was always around to give a hug if needed.

So why was she thinking these things? She didn't know. They had been together for a couple years now, and maybe it was just that the spark was starting to diminish. She loved Peter Pettigrew with all of her heart, but the magic just wasn't there anymore.

Walking over toward the porch, Lily let the rest of the Christmas lights drop in her hands. It was late afternoon and the smell of firewood was fresh in the air. Her stomach tossed idly, as it was growing close to dinner time, and she picked an icicle off the porch overhang, sucking the water out of it.

It was one of her favorite pastimes, sucking on icicles. Peter would laugh at her, calling it childish, but it was a comfort to her. She remembered all the times when she and her childhood friend Leslie would sit in snow banks sucking on icicles. They were the good old days, when everything was simple. Friends were friends, boys were gross, parents were wise, and icicles made everything better. When she was upset, or just generally contemplative, she would sit on her front stoop and suck on the icicles, telling herself things would get better eventually, even if they did get worse in the mean time.

"Lily?" She looked up and smiled at the sight of her boyfriend.

"Hey…" She replied quietly.

"What's wrong?" He sat down on the stoop next to her, sliding his arm around her tiny waist.

"Mmm, nothing. Just… thinking…"

"About?"

Lily looked into his eyes with a sly look on her face. "Us…"

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to go run out and get Chinese for dinner. What do you want?"

"Split a poo poo platter?"

Peter made a face at her. She laughed "Fine, lo mein please." He smiled and kissed her cheek one more time before apparating away.

She loved Peter, she really did. He was great and knew her inside out. They were just falling into a lump… doing the same old thing day after day. They would spend so much time planning their future together; it sometimes felt like they were abandoning their past.

Not that Lily really minded…

Christmas music played softly in the background as the couple ate their Chinese food on the couch of their comfortable family room. It was decorated nicely with Lily's holiday touch here and there. Their fantastic tree was in the corner, full of garland and special ornaments they had collected over the years.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" Peter asked, taking a bite of his dinner.

Lily smiled, looking around the room thoughtfully. "Something… different…"

"Like, you mean go out?" he asked.

"No, just something different." Lily smiled brightly as a thought came to mind. "Do you want to look at old pictures from Hogwarts?"

Peter looked at her hesitantly. "Isn't that a rather touchy subject?"

Lily looked down at her hands. He was right, it was, but for some reason Lily didn't have a problem dwelling on her past right now. She needed to remember, to figure out what her true feelings for Peter were. She had never really let go; in her heart she was still waiting for him to come back. But as things started to get more serious with Peter, it was only fair to both of them to let go. She needed to move on like he undoubtedly had.

"No, not at all."

He smiled and got up off the couch, taking her finished carton with him into the kitchen. "Where is it?" he called back.

"I'll get it!" She pushed her afghan aside and walked down the hallway to the room she and Peter shared. She opened her sock drawer and shifted things around until she found the photo album filled with all the pictures she had taken in her last couple of years at Hogwarts.

She cautiously took it out and opened it up, the first thing to catch her eye a picture of her and James Potter in the common room.

James Potter was what made her past so dreadful, yet at the same time so incredibly wonderful. Lily went out with him at the end of their sixth year at Hogwarts. You could say what they had was serious for awhile. James was the most understanding person she had known at the time. He worked hard at his studies, but saved more than enough time to have fun. Well, until…

"Did you find it?" Peter called, giving her a start. She quickly slipped the picture out of the album and put it in her jean pocket before he walked in. "I made a fire, do you want to go sit in the family room and look? It'd be cozy."

Lily smiled, turning her bright emerald eyes to look into his, startled to see that they weren't hazel, but blue. Why had she thought for that split second that James was with her now?

"Yeah, that'd be nice." She held onto Peter's hand and sat down with him on the couch.

The Christmas music played away as they flipped idly through the pages, pointing out a picture here and there. Reminiscing of the good times they had shared with their friends. Every time they would come across a picture of Lily and James together, they each would remain quiet, flipping to the next page. After all, Peter had been best friends with him then. He probably felt like he was betraying him by sitting on the couch with her now.

At least that was how Lily felt. She and James were long over, so she told herself, and he very well could be sitting on a couch with a special somebody right now also. For all she knew, James could be married and have kids that he was tucking in to bed or telling a Christmas story.

"Hey, look at this one…" Peter said, directing her attention to a picture of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, two of Peter and James' best friends at Hogwarts, striking a funny pose for the camera.

Instead of looking at it, Lily's eyes were once again pulled toward a picture of her and James. This one wasn't as friendly. James was sitting at the Gryffindor table, the house they all had belonged too, scoffing at Lily as she pulled him into the picture. That was more of a representation of how the year had been. James had become so distant from everyone but his closest friends.

You see, during their time at Hogwarts, a cruel man had started to come to power. Nowadays, he was well-known and even more feared. His name was Voldemort. He hated people, and loved to kill. Unfortunately, in the summer before their seventh year at Hogwarts, James' mother became one of his numerous victims.

James had never been the same.

There were countless times when Lily tried to get him to open up to her, but every time she failed. Ultimately, he had left her. She had put everything into what they had, and when he left her… she had nothing else left.

She looked into the fireplace. She missed him. A lot. No matter how much she told herself she was over him, he was always in the back of her mind. Every time she kissed Peter, she would silently compare it to her and James's. She missed the way he smelt, the way he tasted, the way he looked at her, she even missed the way he ignored her. He was her drug in this intoxicating life she led. But she didn't have him, she had Peter. And no matter how horrible it sounded, she had to make do with him.

He was great, he really was. People learned to love each other. If they could do it, so could she. All she needed to forget was the 'tall dark and handsome' that had recently taken to haunting her thoughts.

-Its been a while by Staind-