Authors note: I've updated the last chapter a fair bit since I first published it because of some errors, like Alice's last name before she becomes a Longbottom. :S Anyway, now there is a huge jump to 5th year and this is only because their realtionship and all the good drama doesn't really start till then. I will hopefully be doing the 5th, 6th and 7th year in full.

Enjoy reading. (:

Chapter 2 – September 1st

"Can you believe it, Alice? 5th year already." Lily beamed, packing away her last piece of luggage before taking a seat next to the small dark haired girl.

Alice nodded, "Feels like only yesterday we were being sorted into Gryffindor."

Lily gave a small nod in agreement, "I have a feeling this years going to be a good one, don't you?"

"If you think Potter being a pest is going to make it a 'good one' then sure, I bet it'll be a great one."

The red head rolled her eyes, "I didn't think it was possible for him to get more arrogant. Whose great idea was it to make him Quidditch Captain?" Her friend merely shrugged, "Beats me."

It was as though James had been stood there listening in – which he probably had – waiting for his cue, as he slid open the door to the compartment and gave the pair his signature grin.

"Ah, Evans, have a good summer?"

The whole lot of them: James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all came piling into the compartment.

"What's it to you, Potter?" She returned, looking up at the dark haired boy who was undeniably good looking.

"Not in a good mood today are we?" He smirked, dropping onto the seats opposite along with the others.

Lily glared, something she seemed to do a lot when she was around him. "Since when do you wear glasses, Potter? Blind as a bat are we?" Only just noticing the glasses perched on his face that were slightly crooked.

James continued to keep his same naturally antagonizing smirk on his face, "What's it to you, Evans?" He mimicked.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Potter' really had a thing for winding her up, he had done since the day they had met four years back. It seemed like almost everyone loved him, minus Slytherin, herself and possibly Alice.

Okay, maybe she could see why the girls liked him so much – Tall, muscular, that messy brown hair, those deep hazel eyes and that oh-so-famous smirk of his. – she'd admit to herself that he was pretty good looking. But if you brought into account the fact that he was basically an arrogant git you may be able to understand why Lily detested him so much.

"Was this really the only compartment with any space left?" She questioned, continuing to glare in his direction.

"Well, no but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to sit with the famous due. Could we Padfoot?" James replied, looking to his left where his equally as good-looking and just as arrogant friend was sat.

Sirius joined in with the amusement of winding Lily up, leaning forward slightly. "Exactly, we thought we might have spotted Snivellus too."

It was an understatement to say that they made her blood boil. They made her blood much higher than boiling point. "Well, Severus is with his other friends." She responded, putting extra emphasis on Sev's name.

"Friends, what friends could he possibly have?" Sirius scoffed, getting a small laugh out of James.

"I'm one of his friends." She snapped back quickly, the group had taken a hatred against Severus since first year and had been pests ever since.

"Bad choice by you." James inputted, putting his arms behind his head as he lounged backwards. Peter seemed to be watching their conversation intently, enjoying watching his friends be the annoying, vulgar, irritating…did she already think of annoying?

Lily was jogged out of her thoughts about all of the names that came to her mind when she thought of the name 'James Potter' by Alice hitting her on the arm, making her realize that she must have looked like a complete moron sat there staring into space with a look of disgust on her face.

"Is my presence too much for you, Evans? Send you into fantasies?" James teased.

"You wish."

"Come on, Lily, let's not pretend that I don't drive you crazy." He continued. The smug look on his face added to another thing on her list that she hated about him.

"Yes James, you drive me crazy, insane actually." She replied, glaring at him as she folded her arms across her chest. It had only just occurred to her that the four others were watching the pair bicker this whole time.

"Knew it." Was his response, followed by a suggestive wink.

Lily looked away and let out a small sigh in frustration, "What is it going to take me to get you to go away?" She snapped, moving her gaze back to him.

James and Sirius looked to each other, giving that knowing look when she knew that they were really up to no good.

"Go out with me Evans."

Lily snorted, "In you're dreams."

James gave a shrug, stretching out across the small space he had between his friends. "What? That's my offer, to much of a wimp to take it?"

Lily rolled her eyes, her arms still firmly crossed across her chest. "Potter, I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last person on the planet."

He still had the same smug look on his face – that look really did drive her crazy and not in a good way – "Fine, guess you'll have to find another compartment."

"Fine."

And with that the red head stood up and started collecting her things together, waiting as Alice did the same. Once they were both done collecting their things she pulled open the door and stormed down the corridor to find some space for the pair to sit.

"See you later, Evans." Was the last thing she heard before Alice pulled the door to.

That boy really did know how to drive her insane. She couldn't be in his company without wanting to ring his neck or hex him. Why he liked annoying her, she had no clue but she despised it with a burning passion.

"Can you believe him? Arrogant little toerag…"

Luckily Lily and Alice had managed to find another compartment that was empty, where she was now sat ranting on about everything she hated about James Potter to her clearly bored friend.

"I have a feeling this years going to be a good one, don't you?" Alice mimicked, laughing to herself at her friends distress.

Lily couldn't help but laugh along with her friend, lying down across the seats between the pair. "This isn't funny, I shouldn't be laughing." She complained, some how still finding herself laughing along.

"I think it's slightly funny." Alice responded, looking down at Lily from where she was sat upright. "It's your own fault, he likes getting a reaction and you give him one."

"So, I should just ignore him? Let him speak utter rubbish about Severus?" She questioned. Even though it was clearly the logical thing to do Lily was a good friend, or liked to think of herself as one, and couldn't sit there while the group mocked her friend. Especially if it was Potter mocking him.

"Well… He is a Slytherin, I'm sure that that those people he hangs around with…uh…" Alice stopped, racking her memory for the names, "Evan Rosier, Bellatrix Lestrange and that Wilkes boy." She said, having remembered the names, "Can stick up for him." She finally finished.

Lily sighed slightly, looking up at the ceiling. "You're probably right…"

Alice grinned, "See."

"But…" Lily continued, making Alice roll her eyes, "I'm not going to let Potter be rude about him around me and not say anything back. I don't want to give him the satisfaction."

Alice sighed, rolling her eyes again as she leant back. "Whatever…"

The sorting was pretty boring to be honest and Lily wasn't really paying any attention as of what was going on around her. She really did have a thing for daydreaming.

Luckily, James and his group were sat further down the table than she was and she had managed to avoid talking to him since the incident on the train and she planned to avoid him for as long as possible.

The feast was as amazing as usual and Lily ate until she really couldn't take another bite. She had missed Hogwarts more than you could imagine. Petunia was still a pain, she seemed to hate her even more now. 'Once a freak, always a freak' was just one of the comments fired her way over one of the many tense family dinners they had had over the summer. She had made Alice promise that she could go home with her for the summer next year.

Once the feast was over and everyone was wandering back to their common rooms to go to bed was when it happened. The whole lot of Slytherin's, the group Sev always seemed to be around with.

"Oi, Evans." For a minute Lily thought it may have been James, usually hearing her last name was the signal that she was about to have a conversation with someone she really didn't want to have one with.

She turned, eyes widening slightly as she looked to the lot. Severus was stood towards the back, his face hidden by that great lot of greasy locks.

"Can I help you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The one at the front who she took as Bellatrix because of her hair let out a cackle of a laugh that made Lily shiver slightly. "No, we just wanted to start the year off well, didn't we?" She said, looking over her shoulder to the others, "By telling you that we think you're a filthy mud-"

The girl was cut off by a charm of some kind, causing her to immediately shut her mouth.

"Cousin, you really need to learn when to shut up. It's not nice to call people names now, is it?" Came the familiar voice of Sirius Black.

Lily turned, already knowing that he wouldn't be alone but with his whole group.

Whatever spell they had cast was undone by one her fellow Slytherin's. "If it isn't the blood traitor." She snapped, a grin almost as bad as her laugh on her face.

"I mean this in the worst way possible but you really are much more pleasant to be around when your mouths shut." Sirius quipped back, clearly not fazed by the group at all.

Lily tried to meet Severus's eye but failed, he seemed pretty content looking at his shoes rather than her.

"How are things living with Potter, you did after all get kicked out of the house did you not?"

"Do you really care?"

"Not in the slightest." She snapped back.

"Cousin, as much fun as this is been I really don't feel like wasting another minute around you." Lily glanced to Sirius over her shoulder, watching the look of hatred on his face closely. "Have a terrible nights sleep."

The group of Slytherin's gave a last glare before leaving, they hated the Gryffindor's as much as the Gryffindor's hated them.

Lily kept her eyes on Severus' back as he walked away. Everyone kept telling her that she shouldn't be around him – that he wasn't her friend anymore but she kept defending him saying that he wasn't like the others and was merely a follower. Even Lily was starting to doubt what she was saying.

"You're welcome then, Evans."

Lily turned around to walk past the four, "Thank you." She said bitterly, making her way towards the Gryffindor common room with out saying another word.