A/N: Here it is, my last little chapter... so enjoy!

To my disappointment, but Lily's pleasure, Potter's stay in the Hospital Wing was very short lived. This was probably due to the fact that he and Madam Pomfrey had formed somewhat of a friendly relationship after his many stays with her. She let him go after just four days, which was something of a record for her; the young matron was very strict about her bed-rest rules and knew no-one would enforce them unless she did it herself. It was thus decided that no person that was delivered with a broken bone would leave the Wing in under three days.

So it was a surprise to see Potter wandering the halls only four days after his accident, which had caused one broken arm, a broken thigh-bone and several cracked ribs. He must have a very friendly relation with her, indeed…

I couldn't decide whether I was happier with Potter out of the Wing… on the one hand, it meant seeing Potter again every day and I had to admit that four days without having to watch him and his Marauders strutting about like they owned the school had been a much-needed vacation. On the other hand, having Potter locked up in the Hospital Wing entailed Lily being with him whenever she possibly could, and me not seeing her at all for days. I couldn't decide which was worse.

The next few weeks were a relief for me. Nothing happened – which is to say, nothing of any interest to me. Things went on as they had in the beginning of the year, with Lily quickly becoming known as the 'Fifth Marauder', a term I could only scoff at.

But this non-activity had me constantly holding my breath. I couldn't help but always be on my guard, waiting for the situation to explode.

One day, in the beginning of January, I was walking around the corridors with my fellow Slytherins. The castle was empty as everyone had left for the holidays and would only be back the next week. The four of us, which is to say Mulciber, Avery, Bellatrix and myself, had decided to stay at Hogwarts as none of us had any particular desire to return home.

I was just following the rest thinking about nothing in particular when the sound of someone calling my name snapped me back to reality.

"Sev? Hey, Snape?" said Avery, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"What is it?" I answered in my usual bored tone.

"We're gonna go sneak to Hogsmeade…you coming?"

If I was honest, no. I had no real desire to go to a pathetic little pub and watch as my so-called friends got piss drunk. But it beat hanging around the school and doing nothing, which was my other option. So I nodded curtly and we made our way to the Entrance Hall. With the castle as empty as it was, the security around the castle was bound to be minimal. Nothing we couldn't get through, not with the ink we all had on our left arms and the 'extra education' (as Bellatrix called it) we had gotten from our master.

And so we made our way down to the Entrance Hall, through the oak front doors and down the path that led to the mountain village.

We sat in the Three Broomsticks for what felt like hours, my three companions chugging glass after glass as I watched them with no small amount of disdain. I had been wrong; it would have been better to just stay at the castle. I just wanted this to be over. And with 'it' I meant all of it. School, classes, pretending there wasn't a war going on, pretending we were all friends and didn't hate each other. It was all so exhausting…

And, to my enormous relief, we finally made our way out of the pub and back to the castle.

On the way back Avery decided to try striking up conversation. "So Snape, why don't you tell us what's got your knickers in a twist, huh?"

"That's none of your damn business, got that, Avery?" I snapped back.

"Whoa, what's got you all defensive?" snickered Mulciber from my other side.

I was about to retort, but Avery cut me off, "I bet it's about the Evans chick again." He muttered. That snapped me to full attention and I heard Mulciber chuckle again.

"It's aaalways Evans with him, ain't it?"

"Shut your mouth, Mulciber. You don't know what you're talking about." I bit out. I was worried if I talked too much I'd start shouting. And that just wouldn't do right now.

"Oooh, hit a soft spot there, did we?" cooed Avery as we made our way through the Entrance Hall. "What, you all bothered 'cause she spends all her time with Potter?"

"I don't care about the stupid mudblood, you got that?" I snapped. "And don't even start with Potter! Those two can do whatever it is they damn well please, because I just really don't care any—"

"But you should." Said Bellatrix from my side. She had been quiet all through the walk back…unusually so. Bellatrix Black wasn't really one to keep her mouth shut. She proved that once again now, as she circled around me, her face a mask of deathly calm. "You should very well care what they do, Severus. Does the mark branded on your skin mean nothing to you? What about the oath you swore? Does their meaning wane so quickly after a few months behind these castle walls?"

I looked her dead in the eye and I felt my jaw tighten indignantly. "What do either have to do with any of this?"

"It has everything to do with this, Severus. It is the whole reason why we fight this war. The fact that filthy mudbloods like Lily Evans pretend to be our equals. They are not. And while Potter is a blood-traitor, he remains a pureblood." When she spoke again, her voice had risen to a screech. "And pure and mudbloods do not mix! No matter who they are! It is the highest treason there is, allying yourself with that vermin. So you should very well care what they do, Severus Snape. And I do not care what lingering affection you feel for that mudblood bitch, if she befouls the blood of one of the only pureblood lines left," and she spoke again in that calm voice of hers as she approached her face to mine "you will kill her." And with that, she turned and walked the rest of the way to the dungeons.

I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Yeah, and while you're at it, you might as well finish off Potter, too." Muttered Avery as the two of them walked past me, following Bellatrix to the common room.

When they'd rounded a corner, I heard a gasp, and then quickly retreating footsteps. I spun around, but all I saw was a mane of red hair disappearing behind a corner. I sighed deeply again and made my way slowly, very slowly, toward the Slytherin common room.

How much Lily had heard, I had no way of knowing. But she had definitely heard the last part. I decided that was a good thing… the chances of me and her ever getting along again were slim to none already. This would change nothing for me. The only thing I could hope from this was that she would finally see sense: that any kind of relationship with James Potter would lead to nothing but trouble.

If I had hoped for an immediate effect following the talk Lily had overheard, I was badly disappointed. She spent as much time with the four troublemakers as ever, a fact that deeply unnerved me. Additionally to the usual reasons I didn't want her to be with them, now there was the added threat Bellatrix had pronounced. Of her dying…of me killing her…

I wondered, not for the first time, how everything could have gotten so out of hand.

The only thing that seemed slightly different was Lily's behavior. Her mood, to be more precise. She used to shine as bright as the sun whenever she talked to Potter or one of the others. But lately it seemed like dark clouds had gathered around her, drawing her into a world of shadows. She looked like she barely ate, she was so skinny, and the shadows under her eyes betrayed her lack of sleep.

On Lupin's birthday in March, she came into the Hall, greeting the group with her first genuine smile in weeks. And she hugged all of them. And as she wrapped her arms around Potter, I saw her face relaxing for once. But then she snapped back to reality and quickly disentangled herself from him. She hastily glanced at the Slytherin table to see if anyone had noticed. No one but me had.

And that's how it went on for weeks. Lily, seeming more and more distressed, paid careful attention to not show any sign of possible affection for Potter. Not more than she was showing the other three Marauders, anyway. And it was all because she had overheard that talk between me and Bellatrix Black…

It had been an awful day, that fateful day in April. I had woken up too late because Mulciber had found it amusing to turn off my alarm clock, which had meant no breakfast and a detention from Flitwick. Then, in Potions, my extremely dimwitted partner had made our potion overflow, showering me in deep green slime. Those two hours were only made worse by the fact that Lily was sitting with Potter and that they were whispering furiously together. About what exactly, I couldn't tell, but it looked like they were arguing. And that's when the cauldron incident occurred. Slughorn had made me stay after class to clean up the mess my 'partner' had caused.

When I finally got out, my robes still dirty and my hands dried and shriveled up from the cleaning supplies, I made my way back to my common room.

Suddenly, I heard voices echoing down the stone hallways. They were loud voices, not too far away. I don't know why, but I found myself making my way toward the source of the shouting.

I came upon a scene that was more than familiar to me: Lily and Potter, standing a few feet apart, both looking furious and throwing insults at each other.

"For the last time, Potter, it's got nothing to do with you! So just drop it!" she was yelling when I quickly hid behind a tapestry. (A/N: All these tapestries sure do come in handy…).

"Oh please, don't give me that! I know something's wrong, you've been avoiding me for weeks."

"I have not been avoiding you. And how typical of you to directly assume that whatever is wrong with me has anything to do with you. You haven't changed a bit, have you? Still the same arrogant little berk as last year, right? I can't believe I thought you could actually grow up…" she yelled, I felt a flash of pride at her words. Finally she was seeing the truth.

"Don't start this again, Lil. Don't come back with those old arguments, okay?" Potter seemed livid now, too. "And don't pretend this isn't about me in any way! I'm so sick of you pretending, Lily! Can't you just tell the truth, just this once?"

"I'm not pretending anything! What would I be pretending…?" her voice seemed to falter when he took a step closer to her.

"I know you, Lily. Like it or not, but I know you. And I think that by now I can tell when something's bothering you. But I can't read minds yet, Lil, so you're gonna have to tell me what's wrong. You know," he smirked, "specifically…"

Lily seemed to hesitate: she was looking at him, trying to decide whether to be honest with him or not. Finally, her words came out, but they were barely more than a whisper and I had to strain my ears to hear them. "I can't." She turned her back to him, her shoulders slumped, and took a step away from him. That's all she was able to do, as Potter had wrapped his hand around her arm and held on tightly.

"Why not?" came the pained whisper.

"Because if I admit to you how my skin tingles when you touch me, how I automatically smile when you're there, how every moment I don't spend with you seems like a moment wasted, how – how I have managed to fall for you so completely in the past few months…. Then that would be the most selfish I have ever done and could ever do." I didn't see her face as she had her back to, but I knew it was tear-stained and her voice had broken several times throughout her declaration. "Because as much as I want you to grab me and kiss me right now, the fact remains that we are in a war. A war in which you would be killed if you were with someone like me."

"Someone like you?" he repeated. "You mean the most intelligent, funniest, bravest person I have ever met? I'm sorry, but I just don't see how that's a bad thing to be…"

Lily made a sound of protest, so Potter went on. "I know what you meant, Lil. But I just can't bring myself to care about that. I mean, it's not like I'm safe now! After school, I'm going to fight in this war, Lily. I'll be in danger then, too. And it's not like these wannabe Death Eaters in here are going to kill me right under Dumbledore's nose! Look," he grabbed her hands tightly in his as he continued. "I know you're scared. And that's okay. Because the truth is, I'm petrified. Thinking about everything that's going to happen once we get out of here, everyone I could lose… it scares the crap out of me, Lily. But if I let those bastards dictate what I do or don't do, then they've already won. And that is just something I cannot do. So if this fear of something happening to me because of – because of your blood status is the only thing holding you back… then I say please, please Lily, for once forget about everyone else and just do what you want to do."

"I…I…" she began. It sounded to me like she was trying – and failing – to formulate a correct sentence. The words that did manage to come out of her mouth were spoken so faintly I almost didn't catch them. I wish I hadn't. "I love you."

Potter was facing in my direction and I watched as different emotion flickered across his face in a matter of milliseconds: confusion, surprise, shock and a mix of elation and relief. I barely caught his mutter of "Thank God." before he pushed her against the wall.

But I could still hear her little gasp as the cold wall made contact with her body. And I could still see her hands reaching into his hair when his lips covered hers. And I could still hear my own heart finally breaking with a resounding crack. But that sound was drowned out by the sound of my feet slapping against the floor as I ran away from my worst nightmare.

You know how, sometimes, you wake up screaming and shaking and sweating from a bad dream and then realize that it didn't really happen? Isn't that just the best feeling in the world? Well, when I woke the next morning, I felt nothing like that. The reality of what I had witnessed the previous afternoon came crashing down on me. The one thing that had been my last comfort – that I didn't have Lily, but that at least he didn't have her either – was gone.

While I got showered and dressed, I dreaded the thought of walking into the Great Hall and seeing them together… But still, me being the masochist I was, I went down to breakfast.

I was surprised at the normalcy of things. I didn't know what I'd expected, maybe that the Sun had turned black or that it was raining fire… but it was all the same as it had been yesterday morning.

When I sat down at my table, I spotter them. They, too, looked normal, just a slightly pink tinge in their cheeks as they looked at each other.

It was black who made me realize it. I would have imagined him to be out of his mind with joy, making public announcements that his best mate had finally – finally – gotten the girl. But he was the epitome of boredom, slowly eating his bacon and eyeing the Hall lazily.

Ah, I thought. So they hadn't told him. And if he didn't know, then nobody did. That was interesting.

As I watched them over the next few days, nothing happened. Not openly, anyway. She had probably told him of my talk with Bellatrix. And he, to assuage her fears, had agreed to keep their relationship a secret… But I could see the covert glances, the secret smiles, just like before. But they were different. They were so, so much worse.

And they're hiding it. Or at least trying to hide it. But I see it. I see it all. I see them sneaking out of school at night, holding hands in the dark corridors. I see her holding back from wrapping her arms around his neck and snogging him when he wins the next Quidditch match. I see him joining her at rounds and pulling her into an empty classroom. And then I don't see them for a while.

And I know – I just know – that they're together, but they won't show it and they keep lying to everyone and I'm the only one that knows and somehow that makes nit so much worse.

But something will go wrong. He'll hurt her. Somehow, he will hurt her and her heart will be broken. And I can't stand that I still care.

A/N: There…it's done… Pretty fast, don't you think? Well anyway, Read and Review pleeeeease! :D

XO XO Anna