A/N: I'm going to be honest with you guys, I struggled really hard with writing this chapter, for some reason, so it didn't come out as long as I'd like it to have. Still, I hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for your kind words and support it makes my day.

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own anything.

Chapter Two

or

Test the Waters

(September 1st, 1976)

It was her first day back at Hogwarts. The weather was lovely and the food was even better. Lily had missed her friends, the faculty, and the familiarity of the castle. So far, everything was going according to plan. She finished her meal and then proceeded to take care of the first years and show them around. The little brats did as they were told by their Prefects and even the train ride hadn't seemed as long as usual. Of course, Lily knew, all good things must come to an end.

There were five beds in the fifth year Gryffindor girls' dormitory, although, at the present time, the room most resembled a war zone. It was almost funny, really.

There were pillows everywhere and the room was a mess, which didn't make any sense at all because it was their first night in the castle and – Lily checked her watch – thirty minutes ago everything was in place."Men are pigs, Lily. Don't ever date," said Marlene, throwing another pillow on the floor. Elizabeth, who had been somewhat patiently picking up various articles of clothing off every surface, finally snapped.

"Honestly! It's only the first day back and Sirius Black has already been to the infirmary - and the dorm is a mess! There's clothes everywhere. Would it kill you to tidy up for once or at least to leave my bed out of it?"

"Wait, what?" Lily was beyond confused. "Black was in the infirmary? What for?"

"Care to explain, dear?" Mary smiled knowingly.

Marlene sighed and – finally – sat still on her four poster. "It all started after supper."

(What went down)

The feast was fantastic, as usual, and Marlene left the Great Hall content. She had Mary, her best friend of six years with her and she was on her way to meet her date, Michael Duncan.

He was a seventh year Hufflepuff, incredibly tall with his hair cropped short. There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about the boy, except the fact that he was a good shag. Marlene had learned to appreciate those, as she'd found that they weren't all that easy to stumble upon.

"Should I wait up?" Mary asked her.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?"

"Honey, you're a slag, but I love you for it. See you tomorrow."

Marlene made her way to the unused classroom on the second floor. As she passed the Anne Boleyn portrait, someone caught her eye. It was Duncan, and he had his tongue down Ada Walsh's throat.

Everything after that was a blur. The Marauders showed up, as they always did when something interesting was about to happen. No one knew how they knew where to go or how they got there so quickly, but over the years, people had come to just accept it.

First, she shouted. Ada fled the scene, and Marlene honestly could not blame her. Michael and her had never made their relationship public, so there was no way Ada could have known. The fact that Ada Walsh was a tart was common knowledge, but this time it really wasn't her fault, Marlene knew that. Michael, on the other hand…

"What is wrong with you, Duncan?"

He tried to defend himself, claiming that they'd never talked about exclusivity but Marlene didn't care. She didn't care about his half-arsed excuses, she didn't care about the crowd that had gathered to watch, she didn't care about any of the spectacle. What Marlene cared about was how betrayed she felt. She wasn't in love with him or anything, nothing like that. To be completely honest, Marlene barely even fancied him.

But public or private, exclusive or not, relationships and individuals deserved respect and Marlene felt belittled by his lack of consideration. She felt frustrated, cheated on – which was, of course, exactly what had happened. And he was a Hufflepuff, for Merlin's sake! Weren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be fair and just and loyal? What on Earth had possessed him to snog a tart like Walsh? She was angry and therefore could not be held accountable for her actions. Marlene was an impulsive girl and she was fed up with being treated like a doormat.

"Of course he snogged her, Mckinnon." Had she said that part out loud? "She's fit," said Sirius Black.

And then, Marlene did what any sensible woman like herself would do in her situation; she punched him.

(Dolls)

Ada Walsh was attractive, and she knew it too. She had a thin, willowy build and her hair was styled into a fashionable below-the-shoulder wave. Her chestnut coloured locks went perfectly with her blue eyes and her skin was perfectly tanned, perfectly freckled. She had everything that was necessary to be popular, except a shred of compassion. Boys didn't like her personality and girls didn't like her at all, but well, people didn't shag other people's personalities.

It made sense that Michael Duncan had wanted a slice of the cake, so Sirius had a point. But Marlene had been fuming at the time – and still was – so Sirius really should have watched his tongue.

At least that's what Marlene droned on and on about, and that's what Lily had to listen to for the next hour or so. The Common Room was exceptionally noisy and one of the fourth years, Kath Terry, had come to their dorm to ask for help. Mary went downstairs and Lily put Marlene to bed; Lizzie and Susan were already fast asleep.

She was (finally) getting ready for bed herself when she heard someone call her name.

"Yes, Mary?" Lily stopped fluffling her pillow to look at her roomate.

"Just thought I'd let you know... Snape is outside the common room and he's threatening to sleep there unless you come down. Usually I'd leave it alone, but it's scaring the first years."

"It's okay, thanks for warning me." Lily smiled at her friend. "I'll be right back," she assured Mary.

"Do you need any help?" Mary offered.

"I'm good, but thank you."

From the way Lily stomped her way down the stairs, everyone in the Gryffindor common room took it she wasn't in the greatest of moods. She slammed the portrait shut after her, and not even bothering to make eye contact with the boy in front of her, she started talking.

"Before you get any ideas, I only came down because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here. What do you want, Severus?" Lily was tired. Snape had made her hide away in her room the whole summer, and she'd be damned if he tried to make her hide away in her dorm as well. This was her castle too.

"I came here to apologize, and I'm not leaving until you say we can be mates again. You've avoided me the whole summer-"

"Well, I wonder why that was." Lily commented sarcastically. Snape seemed to cower at the tone of her voice.

"I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just -"

"Slipped out?" Lily interrupted him, her voice ice cold. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years…. You call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?"

"It was just an accident! Of course I don't think you're a Mudblood. We're supposed to be friends." He smiled at Lily, and Merlin, it hurt to see how much he'd changed.

"No, Sev, we're not. Do you see… I don't know, Potter and Black shouting racial slurs at each other?"

"Why are you bringing them up? I thought Potter was just an arrogant toerag to you-"

"He is, but at least he treats his friends properly. And you're being ungrateful. I hope you're not forgetting how he ran down the Whomping Willow to save you from whatever it was that was down there."

"You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to—I won't let you—"

"Let me? Let me?"

"What's going on here?" Of course. James bloody Potter had to come along and stick his nose in other people's business.

"Nothing." Severus and Lily said in unison, causing Snape to glance hopefully at her.

Lily's bright green eyes were slits. "We're not friends. Friends don't insult each other." Before Snape could reply, Lily continued. "I'm tired of making excuses; I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way and I've chosen mine."

"Evans, you should probably go upstairs." Potter warned her, cracking his knuckles, readying himself for a fight.

"What is it with you two trying to boss me around? I am not a goddamn puppet!" Lily shouted. "Off to bed! Both of you!"

For what felt like the first time in his whole time at Hogwarts, James Potter looked taken aback, and Lily could not believe her eyes. But instead of confronting him about it, she decided to turn back around and climb up the stairs to her dormitory. The two dunderheads wanted to settle matters between them? She'd let them. She wasn't their mother; she'd done her best. It was up to them if they wanted to act like nine year olds.

(A New Beginning)

The next day, Lily woke up with a massive headache. She was expecting to go down to the Great H all for breakfast and listen to everyone going on about a brawl between the two boys, but instead there was nothing but blissful silence. The toast was warm, as usual, the pumpkin juice was just as delightful and the porridge was just the right texture. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Good morning." James Potter slid into the seat next to her. His hair was messier than usual and he appeared to be out of breath (two characteristics which weren't, by themselves, unusual, so Lily paid no attention to them).

"Hi." Lily's tone was clipped. Just because Potter had decided to listen to her and leave Snape alone, it didn't mean Lily couldn't act passive agressive about the way he'd coddled her last night. "Now, if you'll excuse me," Lily glanced at her schedule, which Professor McGonagall had given her just moments before, "I have a Transfiguration class to attend."

"Are you okay?" He asked, standing up, determined to finish the conversation.

"Just peachy."

"You're seriously starting to freak me out, Evans."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry-"

"Will you please cut it with the sarcasm and just tell me what it was that I did to annoy you this time so I can apologize and we can both move on?"

"That's exactly the problem." Lily stopped in her tracks. Luckily, it was so early that the corridors were still pretty much empty. "You don't think about things, you just say them. And then, when people get upset, you act like you don't care about it at all and you just want everyone to be friends with each other. It was a long night and I'm tired. I don't like to be bossed around, Potter, and if you can't handle that, then this… friendship thing... it's not going to work."

"Is this about last night?"

"Yes, it's about last night."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to meddle between you and Snape," he said as though he believed it, but the grin that stretched across his lips told Lily otherwise.

"No, you shouldn't have..." She didn't feel like fighting anymore. They were supposed to be getting along, for Christ's sake."But I forgive you."

"Can I ask you a question?" Lily didn't know what to expect.

"Sure."

"Promise you won't get mad?"

"I'll try not to."

"How were you ever his friend? Him and his little Death Eater mates are no good, Evans." She should have known. She really should have known.

"Of course! You know, if I wasn't so sure you two hated each other, I'd think you were secretly snogging." Potter made a disgusted expression.

"I'm being serious," he said.

"So am I! I swear to Merlin, you're both obsessed with each other. It's always Snape this and Snivellus that... It's maddening! And it's the same with him! Do you know how many times I've had this conversation with him?"

"Evans."

"You don't think I know who he is? Who he's become? He's my best friend. Was my best friend." Lily quickly corrected herself. "But you have to understand, he wasn't always like that. Besides, you and Sirius were the ones who antagonised him right from the start! What could he possibly have done to you in those first few minutes on the train that made you hate him so much?"

"Why are you defending him? Don't you remember what his friends did to Mary last year?"

"I'm not defending him. I'm just curious, that's all."

"If I'm being completely honest, I don't think I know myself." (He knew it. It was because of her. It was always because of her.)

"Oh."

There was so much tension; there were too many things that the two of them wanted to say, but that could never come out, as it was difficult to rebound from such harsh words. And because there wasn't much else to say (at least, nothing proper, innocent and worthwhile at the same time), the two of them walked to Transfiguration class in a silence that was as comfortable as it was awkward.

Minerva McGonagall was a responsible woman and, at times, a responsible cat. One of the strictest professors Hogwarts had ever seen, she was not only the Gryffindor Head of House but also the Deputy Headmistress. With her hair pulled up tightly against her face and her lips so easily pressed into a nearly invisible line, Minerva McGonagall was born to be a teacher, there was no doubt about it. A woman of Scottish origins and cast-iron moral sense, Minerva loved her students – and Quidditch – more than anything else.

Minerva McGonagall was never late. And yet, on that September 2nd, she was. But more on that later.

A/N: So what did you think? Please, do let me know! The next chapter will be a longer one! x