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CHAPTER TWO

It was the first day of classes at Hogwarts. Lily and her friend, Julia, looked at their schedules and groaned. " Not again! " Julia moaned. " We have double potions with the Slytherins first thing! "

" Oh, come on, Jules, it won't be that bad, " Lily said, rolling her eyes.

" That's easy for you to say! You make pretty good grades in potions and even the Slytherins like you! You're just so sweet, Lil! "

" You act like that's a bad thing! And don't worry, not all of the Slytherins like me," she said, thinking of the unpleasant encounter the day before.

They ran down the hall, not wanting to be late.When Lily entered the dungeon, most of the seats were taken.

Lily soon spotted a vacant seat behind James and Sirius and sat down, relieved that she had made it to class on time. As she got out her materials, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw that Severus Snape was standing behind her. He looked a little uneasy.

" Hey, Lily, " he said unsurely. " Is anyone sitting next to you? "

" No, " she smiled at him. " You can sit here, if you want to. It's probably the only seat left, anyway. "

Snape twitched his mouth -Lily assumed that he was trying to smile- and sat down in the seat next to hers.

Lily asked, " Do you know what potion we're going to do today? "

" I'm not sure, " Severus said. " But I heard something about truth potions. " He had an excited gleam in his eyes.

" Wow, " Lily said. " That's pretty advanced stuff. It's exciting, though, now that we're finally old enough to learn more interesting potions. " She pulled a lock of hair back from her face, then continued. " I don't know if I'll be able to keep up, though. Potions isn't really my best subject. "

Severus, who was known throughout the school for being a potions genius, said,

" Well, if you ever need help, Lily, I'll be glad to -er- study with you, or something like that, " he mumbled, not wanting to appear too nice in front of the Gryffindors.

" Really?! You'd do that for me? Thanks, Severus, you're the best! " Lily exclaimed.

Severus half-way smiled, then looked down at his potion. He didn't want Lily to see the tiny bit of pink that was creeping into his cheeks...

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Once class started, their professor did indeed have them make truth potions ( very mild ones of course ). The students all had to work with the person next to them. James and Sirius did their best to slice their ingredients into equal pieces, and tried to mix everything correctly, but their potion was looking worse by the minute. And on top of that, James couldn't concentrate. He kept hearing Lily's golden laughter behind him as Snape talked to her, Snape occasionally laughing himself.

Sirius glanced over his shoulder, then looked at James. " Getting a little jealous, are we James? "

James snorted. " Huh, me? Jealous of that greasy-haired rat? You've got to be joking."

Sirius' eyes danced. " I knew it! You are jealous because you're madly in love with Lily! "

" Shhhhh! Why don't you just tell it to the whole class, Padfoot! "

Meanwhile, Lily and Severus were almost done with their potion. It was a perfect Viertaserum potion. Wow, thought Lily, I've actually had fun in this class! She smiled at Severus, then returned to her thoughts. He's a good person, really, once you get to know him...

As they finished adding the final ingredients, Severus cleared his throat. " Um, Lily, if you're not doing anything this evening, would you- uh - like to take a walk with me around the grounds? "

Lily's big eyes sparkled; they reflected something that Snape's own eyes held. " I'd love to, Severus, " she replied.

This time, a smile actually did appear on Severus' face. " See you tonight, then, " he said, and strolled out the door.

Remus approached Lily as she gathered her things. " Gee, Lily, what's wrong with Snape? He looks...happy! "

Lily laughed. " Oh, Snape's not so bad once you get to know him, Remus. "

" Huh, could've fooled me, " Remus said as James, Sirius, Peter and Julia joined them.

" Whew! That was a really difficult potion, " Peter squeaked.

" Yeah, " said Sirius. " Ours ended up green instead of clear. It's not something I'd like to test! "

James took Lily aside as the others were talking. He ran his hand through his unruly black hair. Lily thought that he looked extremely cute.

" Hey, Lily, " he stammered. " Uh, if you're not doing anything tonight, would you like to go down by the lake with me? "

" Oh, I'm sorry, James, " Lily said. " But I already have plans with Severus this evening. " She looked distraught.

James tried to hide his disappointment. " Oh, " he managed to say. " Well, maybe some other time, then. "

" I really am sorry, James. "

James shrugged. " Don't worry about it, " he said half-heartedly, then rejoined the others.

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At dinner, Lily sat down with her friends at the Gryffindor table. Julia and Peter were in a deep conversation about something, and Remus and James were talking quietly. Lily sat next to Sirius.

" Look, Lily, " Sirius said. He pulled out a piece of parchment. " I've got something to show you. "

" What is it? " Lily asked curiously. The parchment looked blank.

" This, " said Sirius proudly, " is the greatest invention that the Marauders have ever created. We combined all of our resources, skills, and mischief knowledge to create... The Marauder's Map. "

" But Siri, it's blank! "

" Appearances can often be deceiving, " Sirius said mysteriously. With that, he took his wand, tapped the parchment and said, " I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. "

Pictures and lines began to form on the parchment, revealing the most curious map that Lily had ever seen.

" What is it? " Lily asked.

Sirius grinned. " It's a map of Hogwarts. See? "

Lily examined the map closely. On it, she saw a little black dot with her name labeled on it. Next to it, a similar dot was labeled " Sirius Black ".

" Wow, Sirius! " she exclaimed. " This map is amazing! Does it show anyone you want it to? "

Sirius nodded. " And it shows you all of the secret passages at Hogwarts! It took us ages to make it, " he grinned.

Lily's grin matched Sirius'. " Hey, " she said. " Do you think maybe I could borrow this sometime? "

Sirius looked alarmed.

" Well, I'd give it back! " Lily laughed.

Sirius hesitated, glanced at Lupin, then turned back to Lily. " Well, you know I would, Lily, but you see... " he hesitated again. " We're not quite through with it yet, and it could be dangerous if someone found out about it... "

" So you don't trust me? "

" No, that's not it at all. I trust you more than anyone I've ever known. It's just that...I don't know if it's my place to tell you. Ask Lupin about it. "

As Lily joined her friends in other conversations, she had the strange feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around the room until she found Severus staring at her. She grinned at him and he smiled slightly. Malfoy nudged Snape impatiently, and Snape reluctantly turned to him, dropping Lily's gaze. His scowl returned.

Lily sighed. I can't believe it, she thought. I'm actually looking forward to this evening...

James had seen the interlude between Severus and Lily, and was very angry. What does she see in him? he thought.

" Hellooo, earth to James! " Remus waved a hand in front of James' face.

" Yeah, what's the matter Prongs old boy? " Sirius asked.

" Nothing, " James replied gloomily, resting his chin on his hand.

" Yeah, right, " Peter said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

" You know what I think? " said Julia with a smug expression on her face. " I think that little James has a crush on a certain someone, and he's feeling rather jealous at the moment. "

James blushed furiously. " No I don't! "

Sirius pulled a chair up next to James and jokingly sighed. " James, James..." He said, shaking his head in disapproval. " Had you really convinced yourself that we wouldn't figure it out? Do you underestimate us that much? We've known for an eternity that you like Lily. "

James groaned. " Is it that obvious? "

They all laughed. Lily walked over to them and asked, " What's so funny? "

" Oh, nothing..." Sirius winked, a smile playing at his lips.

" Well, I better go, " Remus said, not looking at his watch, but at the sky. The sun was quickly setting, and a few stars were beginning to appear. " I have to study for my transfiguration class. See you guys later! "

He turned to go, but Lily noticed that he didn't walk in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. She looked questioningly to James, Sirius and Peter, but they were exchanging dark looks with each other.

Soon, each of them departed. Lily thought that it was probably time to go and meet Severus, so she quickly walked outside and sat on a rock by the lake. It was such a calm and serene night. The stars were twinkling and the full moon gleamed over the shining lake. Lily closed her eyes and let the cool night breeze wash over her. She wished that everything could always be as peaceful as this, but she knew it could never be so. She had read the news reports in The Daily Prophet. The-one-who-must-not-be-named was gaining power. He was killing more and more innocent wizards and witches; the ones who stood against him. And now, even muggles were dying. It would only be a matter of time before he destroyed all that was good. 'There has to be something we can do to stop this,' Lily thought, 'before he destroys everything that we hold most dear to us.'

Severus Snape stood silently behind a tree, watching her. She was so beautiful. The wind gently blew her long, wavy, red hair behind her. The moonlight illuminated her smooth skin, making it seem to glow in the night. Severus couldn't believe that she wanted to spend time with him. It seemed irrational, didn't it? A Gryffindor and a Slytherin, spending time together? And yet... He gazed at her from afar one last time, then slowly walked towards her.

Lily felt a prescence behind her and turned around. "Oh, hello, Severus," she said warmly.

"Hi, Lily," he said quietly. He noticed that the expression on her face, though kind, looked sad. "Is everything alright?" he asked gently.

Lily nodded. "I was just thinking about something... but I'm okay. Shall we go?"

Severus smiled and offered her his arm. Lily took it and looked at him. I can't believe it, she thought to herself. He's actually washed his hair! As an afterthought, she added, And he looks very nice tonight... She blushed at herself and quickly pushed the thought aside.

They walked around the whole length of the Hogwarts grounds, talking and occasionally laughing. Severus was actually smiling sincerely, and Lily thought that it did wonders for his face. She couldn't help but think how handsome he looked, his black eyes staring intently into her own green eyes. There was something rather striking about the contrast between Severus' pale, thin face and his dark, black hair.

As they neared the lake again for the fifth time, Lily looked up at the moon. It was very high. It must be getting late, she thought. She turned to Severus.

"We should probably go back inside," she said.

"Yes," said Severus quite reluctantly. "I guess we lost track of time."

They both walked into the dark castle. Severus walked with Lily until they reached the great hall. Before Lily left for the Gryffindor tower, she hugged Severus around the neck, taking him by surprise. "Thank you for the wonderful evening," she whispered, then disappeared into the hall.

Snape stood there in the silence for a long time, thinking.

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A/N: Well that's the end of chapter 2! I hope you all liked it! As you can see, there is a romance blooming between Snape and Lily. But James might win over her affections in future chapters! Jealousy and chaos await! Plus, a group of Death Eaters forms... Stay tuned!

Oh, and please Read and Review! I already have chapters 3 and 4 typed up, but I won't post them until I get at least 10 reviews! Well, I have to study for my final exams, now. See ya!

P.S. Don't forget to read my sister's story. She is Mask of Twilight and her story is called The Fall. It's about Tom M. Riddle, and how he becomes Voldie.