Disclaimer: I own only the idea, J.K. Rowling owns the rest


All The Magic We Made

Balance

Chapter 1: Summer Always Ends


"PETUNIA CLAIRE EVANS!" Lily Evans smiled to herself because she knew that her older sister was about to be busted for sneaking out last night while their parents were at some dinner thing. Petunia stomped down the stairs and was brought into another room by their mother. She could tell because their voices, though still screaming at the top of their lungs, were now muffled somewhat so she couldn't make out the details.

The excitement over, Lily flopped back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. she spent as much time doing this as she did staring at the calendar that she briefly contemplated putting the calendar on the ceiling. During the summer Lily became quite a senseless and silly person. No work to do can do that to a person, and compared to the work she did during the school year, she was doing less than nothing.

During the school year she pushed herself as hard as she could. Magic came easily to some people, but a muggleborn had to work twice as hard as others did. No parental guidance, no way to practice during the holidays, it was easy to tell when someone was a muggleborn by their work quality and their confidence around magic.

Lily had decided within her first week at Hogwarts to not be that person. She was actually very good at hiding it. Many people were under the absurd opinion that she was a half blood based simply on her intelligence and ease with magic. Lily hadn't meant to keep it a secret, but with the way that muggleborns were looked down upon, it had become something of a convenient habit.

Realizing she had nothing to do but stare at the ceiling all day, Lily sat up and left the house.

"Be back later!" she shouted behind her shoulder. It made no difference. Her parents knew exactly where she would be, and how she wouldn't be back until just before supper. It was her regular summer routine, a simple schedule that was only interrupted on the rare occasion that she actually had something to do.

Down the street and across was a simple park. It had green grass- though the summer air liked to do it's best to dry it out- and it had the standard swing set and slide that most parks had. The field was excellent for walking dogs or playing frisbee and other games of that sort, however not on a hot day such as this. On this day- and most of this particular summer's days- the park was deserted.

Lily took her usual spot on the swing and mused to herself about a couple thoughts that had been occupying her mind while she waited for her companion.

First, that she missed Hogwarts. It was her lifeline, her connection to the magical world, and the reason she had spent countless days looking pointlessly at that stupid calendar in order to somehow force the time to go by faster just so she could get back to Hogwarts.

Lily had received her Hogwarts letter just two days ago. With it came another letter announcing her newly appointed position as the Gryffindor Prefect, an honor if she ever knew one. With Hogwarts just days away, and this new knowledge that she would be a Prefect, only one thing could ruin her good mood. And, of course, that one thing just had to ruin it.

Lily had only one best friend in the entire world, Severus Snape- who happened to be the companion that she was waiting for at that moment. He had loyally taken Petunia's place as her only confident when Lily was shunned because of her magical abilities. He had soothed her worries about being clueless in the magical world by teaching her all he knew about it. He had done everything he could possibly do for her, and so she had never imagined a day where he would no longer be there for her. But after gradually drifting apart last year to a point where she only saw him a few times when studying together on weekends, she didn't know what to think anymore. The year before that they had been inseparable.

It was strange for Lily to have a summer where there was time left over to do things without Severus. It was dead boring. She hadn't seen him for nearly a week, though she kept waiting at the park. She didn't think her parents even knew that Severus was out with his other friends while she sat here alone.

Second, there was an increasing worry that things would not be the same back at school. Summer always ends, and their friendship became slightly strained when it was not summer. It was, not just uncommon, but down right appalling for a Gryffindor to befriend a Slytherin, and because of it both Lily and Severus had not made many more friends outside of each other.

At least, this was the case until about last year, when Severus had gravitated slightly more towards his bunkmates in Slytherin. Lily was suspicious of his new interest in his bunkmates to say the least, but he wasn't entirely blameless on their friendship fading. She herself had gotten closer and friendlier to her bunkmates as well, and as she and Severus had drifted further apart, she was excluded less and less by the others in her dormitory. The worst part was that she wasn't even sure what she thought about it. It was good and bad.

In fact, Cordelia, a friendly Gryffindor girl of the same year, had invited her to go shopping at Diagon Alley next Saturday. This happened to be the crux of Lily's problems at the moment, because as much fun as it would be to shop around with another girl for once, she was feeling the loss of Severus more than ever. Since her first year at Hogwarts she went school supplies shopping with him. At first, it was because she was nervous about not knowing anything and was supervised by her mother and father. The next year it was convenient and practically expected, they had spent all school year and summer by each others' side. And by the third year it had become a tradition that was never changed, even when people had forgotten why.

So it was, at first, shocking, and now aggravating, that Severus would ignore three- three- owls asking when he wanted to go. She had even gone as far as to go to his house to see what was with him, but he had not answered and neither parents were home. Furious, Lily had stomped back to the house to find Petunia in charge and announcing that she had plans and to not tell Mum and Dad.

In the heat of the moment, she had sent her reply to Cordelia that she would very much like to go school shopping with her and not moments later felt the incredible guilt and betrayal to Severus that came with it. It was his fault, she said to herself firmly, he is the one who ignored you and pushed you out.

When it was nearly suppertime, Lily made her way back home.

Severus never came.


"Come on, Lily!" cried Elizabeth. "You've been in that book shop for ages!"

"In a minute, I just found this lovely book for-"

"It's a book, Lily! Are you really going to blow off your friends for a book?" Cordelia cut her off, but that's not what made Lily stop. Friends. she had said they were friends. Was making friends really that easy, that simple?

"All right, I'm coming."

It had been a bit of a shock to find Elizabeth Price with Cordelia when she arrived at her house, however she should have assumed. While Lily spent nearly all of her time with Severus, the other girls in her dormitory made friends, and Cordelia was best friends with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth had never spoken to Lily before, but Lily was finding her to be great company and hilariously funny. Although shy on the outside, Lily saw how Cordelia found her to be a good friend. Cordelia, on the other hand, was nearly the polar opposite. Loud and outspoken, she was frank and to the point on all matters.

"Let's get ice cream, shall we? It's bloody hot outside!" Elizabeth giggled at her friend's dramatics.

Unfortunately, Florean Fortesque's was packed with people who had the same idea as them. The line stretched on and on, winding around the back of the building.

"Well this is ridiculous! Come on, we can just get ice cream at my place," Cordelia offered. "It's not a far walk, and my mum would love to meet you, Lily."

"All right," Lily replied, though in her mind uncertain. "Do you have a phone, I should tell my mum where to pick me up."

"Oh don't bother, we can drive you home."

"What about a sleepover?" Elizabeth suggested. "I'm staying over anyway, just phone your mum, Lily."

Severus would miss her, probably, despite his newfound isolation. But her mother would love to see her hanging around new people, new friends. Maybe Petunia would even be happy if she spent less time around Severus. It was one of the things that annoyed her sister most about her.

"Sure, I'd love to stay over."


"And then, mum was screaming at the poor boy who wanted nothing more to do with me at that point. It was all just a huge mess!" Cordelia finished her story. She was particularly gifted in story telling, making a simple mix up into a thrilling tale of adventure.

"What about you, Lily? Anything juicy about your times with Snape." Cordelia was also a notorious gossip. Lily supposed the two went hand in hand; one couldn't be a gossip without being able to tell a good story, and one tended to gravitate towards gossip when good in story telling.

"Certainly nothing as exciting as what seems to go on in your lives, but my sister on the other hand..."

They stayed up all night exchanging stories. Lily had never had such a sleepover as this one. For the first time she regretted choosing Severus over her dorm mates for so long. At least, until the subject of boys came up.

"So Lily, who do you like?" She was startled. The subject had never been discussed before.

"I think Sirius Black is just dreamy!" Elizabeth exclaimed in a mocking tone, referring the many younger girls who seemed to fawn over the poor boy. The girls laughed. "But James Potter, now..."

"Oh James Potter! Lizzie here's been practically in love with the boy since 2nd year," Cordelia cut in.

"You know not to call me Lizzie! And it was 3rd year, and not till the end of it anyway. And I don't love him... It's just a slight fancy, very, very slight."

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, you never answered my question, Lily."

Lily thought about it. There wasn't really anyone in particular that caught her eye. Maybe Black, or Potter, if they hadn't been terrible bullies, maybe Ross Fawley, if he wasn't notorious for his player status, maybe even a sixth year, or a seventh year! But that was just it, it was always a maybe with her because she never got the chance to meet someone she might like.

"No one." She would rather be known for honesty than for fitting in.

"Rubbish! You only say 'no one' if there is someone you don't want anyone to know about, or if there is someone but you don't know it. There is never just 'no one'," Cordelia established in a definitive tone.

"So which is it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, if I only have those two options, then I suppose it's the latter, but I honestly don't like anyone. Why does there always have to be someone?"

"You ask silly questions like that now, but soon you'll understand that there is always someone." Lily didn't necessarily agree, but the subject matter was so pointless that she didn't feel the need to argue further.

"Well then, I guess the question now is: who do you like, Cordelia?"


"Where were you?"

No, it was not her parents asking. She had phoned them as she said she would. No, it was not Petunia either. She left all the time and for all the things she was, she was not a hypocrite.

There was only one other person that Lily summered with.

"I thought we were going to go to Diagon Alley together, like we always do." It was Severus.

"Yes, I thought that too, until you ignored my owls- in plural- and were off for almost an entire week without mentioning anything to me whatsoever!" Her voice had risen without her meaning to. He cringed at her harsh words.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't know I was going away until I was gone. And I meant to return your owls, really, but I've just been so busy and-"

"Busy with what?" She was curious, she hadn't been attempting to catch him in a lie.

"Well... Er... " She narrowed her eyes.

"Severus..."

"Nothing! It wasn't what you're thinking!"

"So what was it then?"

"Look, it's not a big deal. Do we have to ruin our last afternoon before Hogwarts with an argument. I feel like all we do is argue anymore." Lily sighed. She closed her eyes. She counted to ten. Slightly calmer, Lily turned to face him.

"Alright, let's just enjoy today." She flopped back onto the grass and Severus followed suit. "I see... a dragon."

"A wand."

"A parachute."

"That is not a parachute, Lily, it's obviously a clock."

"No, why would it be a clock? That doesn't make any sense. A parachute is the obvious choice. You just can't tell because there's no person attached to it, but trust me it's a parachute." Severus laughed, and Lily joined in. It was a silly game, but there was something to be said about tradition, and today happened to be the perfect day for cloud watching.

"No, it's definitely a clock. Besides, I was just humoring you when you said dragon. There is no way that cloud is a dragon. It's a spider of course."

"And exactly how many spiders are there that have four legs?"

"What about the tail? That makes five."

"So you admit that's a tail. And spiders have eight legs not five."

"You're not counting the fire spewing from the mouth, that makes six."

"First of all, the fire proves it's a dragon, and second of all, spiders still have eight legs."

"I've definitely seen a spider with six legs."

"You have not! You're making that up. And even if you truly believed that it was a spider, it wasn't because spiders happen to have eight legs."

And while the two laughed over the silliness and spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening just having fun like little kids again, Lily thought back to her stolen day in Diagon Alley. She had two new friends.

It wasn't as though Lily had ever had trouble making friends, it was that she never had the need to. In primary school everyone made friends on the first day and that was that. It was sad when she left, but she was already friends with Severus, and Lily could never really remember a definitive point in their relationship where they became friends. One day he simply popped up out of nowhere and taught her about a magic world that was actually real.

She had never had any real need to make new friends, one was enough, especially one as great as Severus. It was the first time she had ever second-guessed that policy. Yes, she thought, summer always ends.


A/N:
I feel like it starts off slow, but I needed to explain some things and set the story up. I don't think the rest of the story will be like that. So anyway, let me know how it was in a review. I personally prefer super long (like 40+ pages long) chapters which this is not, so I'd be interested to know what you guys think of chapter lengths.

Love,

Sapphire1616