Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, but the plot is mine. Enjoy!

Chapter One: The Way It Should Have Been

~As she and Slughorn began discussing the upcoming quiz, Potter rolled his eyes and signaled to the other three Marauders. They trouped from the room together, Potter and Black in the lead, as usual.


Lily thanked the Professor, about three minutes later, and left the room, eager to meet up with Severus again. She made her way outside to the tree by the lake, eyes widening slightly at the sight she beheld.

"Potter!" she shouted out angrily. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!"

Severus went pale. Lily shouldn't be seeing him like this...not again.

Potter turned to look at her. "Well, hello Tiger Lily," he smirked a bit, almost forgetting Severus was still dangling in the air.

"Put him down this instant!" she demanded, expression set in a harsh glare. "Do you think this is funny?!"

"It's quite amusing, actually," Potter answered suavely, giving a light shrug. He didn't seem to be phased by her temper any longer. After five years, he was rather used to it.

"If you think this impresses me somehow, you've got it all wrong," she informed him angrily.

From up above them, Severus frowned a little. "Lily..." he pleaded quietly.

"Oh look, mates," Potter laughed quietly, looking back to Remus, who was avidly avoiding looking on the scene, Peter, who was standing there laughing, and Sirius, who was still smirking up at Severus. "Snivellus needs a girl to defend him."

"I do not!" Severus protested loudly now, pale skin flushing a bit with pink in embarrassment. "I don't need a--"

Lily cut his words off by raising her hand and slapped Potter hard, snapping his head to the side. He looked back up at her in surprise and lost concentration on his spell, causing Severus to tumble back to the ground.

"I could kick your arse any day of the week, so don't say he needs a girl to defend him like it's so demeaning. You wouldn't stand a chance against me," she informed clearly, then for extra measure, added, "Go to Hell, Potter." She then moved to help Severus up and walk with him back to the castle. The Marauders watched on in a stunned silence as James raised a hand to his reddening cheek.

The odd pairing strolled inside without speaking to each other. Severus knew that Lily was taking advantage of the time to calm down from dealing with Potter. He'd never seen her hit anyone, not even her horrid sister. He knew, for his well being, to let her have her time and not speak to her until she spoke to him.

"So..." she stated slowly, running her hand through her hair and giving an exhale. "The weather's nice."

A small grin worked onto Severus's face despite his humiliation with the incident. He nodded, wrapping an arm around her. "Yeah," he agreed, tension gone. "It's sunny today."

"About time after all the rain we've been having," she noted with a smile, happy to be off the subject of Potter and his gang.

Severus smiled widely now at her. About time indeed.

---

"I don't think you can add that to the potion..."

"Trust me, Lils, I'm getting a better mark in Potions than you are. It's not dangerous. I think it'll help."

There was silence for a long while between the two working over their cauldron outside in the courtyard for homework as Severus dumped in a small amount of chopped up mint leaves. Quiet surrounded the two for quite some time as Lily sat back and pondered his statement. And finally--

"You're getting a better mark than me in Potions?"

Severus laughed quietly, dismissing her fretting with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it, Lily. It's the one thing I excel in."

It took a few more moments of pressing silence for her to remember how to speak. "But...I...I have the best marks in our year!" she protested, not understanding how quickly she could have lost that position as top student.

He smiled a little over at her, giving her a playful nudge. "I could always tutor you, if you'd like."

"But...how did you even..." She was getting a headache.

"Lily," he sighed heavily, placing his things on the ground and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe. In. Out. It's only because I do things a little differently. You follow the rules and get exactly what's expected of you while I add things in that I know will give it a little extra."

Lily finally paused in her confounded speech to look at him carefully. "Sev...?" she smiled lightly, biting her lip and tipping her head to the side ever so slightly.

Severus groaned and glanced away from her only briefly, turning a little pink. "Don't give me that face," he pleaded, dropping his hands to his lap.

"Sev," she urged quietly, pushing her bottom lip out just a little.

After a few moments, he dared to look up, regretting it immediately. "You're lucky you're cute," he huffed, half mumbling in hopes that she wouldn't hear.

Her face brightened immediately. "Great, so you'll tutor me in Potions?" she inquired.

He sighed heavily and nodded shyly. He didn't feel she should know how to use that look so well. "I'll tutor you," he consented with a slight, playful grumble.

"Thank you!" Lily burst out, throwing her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah yeah," he mumbled, turning even more red.