Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. All rights belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. Unfortunately.

Author's Note- Hi guys, sorry for the delay, I got writer's block, I couldn't work out for the life of me how to start Snape's section of the chapter. Luckily I got some help from a talented friend. :)

However, at the moment I have no idea how I'm doing, or if anyone's even read this, because I only have 4 reviews! 4! Thank you to flame55, IndianaBliss and jupiterjackal for reviewing, I love you, but the rest of you guys! This could all be a load of rubbish for all I know. Even if it's just a dead simple one- liner, please let me know you've read it and what you think. I'm counting on you!

Oh, and I've kind of resigned to the fact that my chapters are quite short, I don't want the story to drag, and there seems no point in creating unnecessarily long chapters for the sake of it. By the way, if anyone who has subscribed to the story kept getting alerts about chapters 1 and 2 being uploaded multiple times, I apologise, I kept spotting mistakes, and I only ever spotted a new one after I'd already updated it. Sorry!

So, in this chapter, I've decided to split the POV between Lily and Snape, to give it some more depth. I think Severus can get kind of morose sometimes, so I wanted to put another person's thoughts in there to stop everybody dying of depression, and it makes it easier to explain what's going on in Lily's head. What do you think? Good idea or not? Talk to me! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. :)

Chapter 3- Distractions

Lily

I sat in the classroom, staring out of the window, completely preoccupied, and not by the charms teacher at the front of the room. I was in turmoil.

Sitting beside me was my sort- of boyfriend James, who was at the current moment writing me a note on a scrap piece of parchment. No doubt it was some cheesy line intended to make me feel special. Don't get me wrong, I liked him, he was so sweet to me, and he did make me happy, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else going on behind his eyes, that his attraction to me wasn't the only reason he wanted us to be together. Of course, I knew what it was; he wanted to get one over on Severus. I couldn't prove it, and he would never admit it to me, but it didn't stop me thinking it. It had always been okay with me, me and Severus weren't exactly on the best of terms, to say the least.

But then, last night... I had no idea he still felt that way about me, and it had confused me no end. I thought he was just watching me because... well, I didn't know why, and in some ways, I wished I still didn't. His last words echoed through my head-

"I... I need you"

I replayed in my head the image of his usually conceited posture drooping in defeat, his hair falling pathetically about his gaunt face, his eyes showing me just how scarily empty his soul was as he admitted those words. Did I really mean that much to him? Sure, I had figured out he had a crush on me in second year, but I didn't know I had the capacity to affect a person quite so much.

I felt horrendously guilty. I had no idea I was hurting him. However, he hurt me two years ago, so did that make it alright? I wasn't sure. On one hand, he betrayed my trust, he was the only person I thought I could completely put my faith in, and he took that and threw it in my face, after I had been trying to help him, no less.

On the other hand, did he deserve the pain he was in?

But that wasn't the only reason I stopped being friends with him. He was a slytherin, and on his way to becoming a dark wizard. Those friends of his, they pulled him away from me. I couldn't be friends with a death eater! Which he undoubtedly would become, I thought, if he kept up his unhealthy obsession with the dark arts. So, I couldn't help him.

But then, could I? Without me, he had no influence of good in his life, so was I the one driving him into the darkness? Without something good to hold on to, how could he stop himself from tumbling down the dark rabbit hole?

"...Miss Evans?"

I looked up sharply, realising that I was, in fact, in a lesson, and I had just been asked a question I had not heard.

"er...I...I..."

"Lily, ignorance is not tolerated. 5 points from Gryffindor, and see me after class to collect your detention."

Inwardly I groaned. Detention? I was the head girl! I didn't get detentions! A note slid to me from my left hand side.

"what's up, Lil? You look upset. Anything I can do? Xxxxxxxx"

Smiling, I shook my head at James. He was so sweet, but if I told him what was the matter, he would never understand. He and Severus, and Sirius for that matter, had a vendetta against each another, and he couldn't contemplate me forgiving him. I brought up the matter a couple of months after we started going out, but James got angry and defensive, and we agreed not to talk about it again.

I sighed. It looked like I had some more thinking to do.

Severus

In the afternoon I finally got to potions. Potions was, obviously, easy for me, but it still took immense concentration. I sincerely hoped that Professor Slughorn, as big a dunderhead as he was, assigned something fairly challenging this lesson otherwise I knew my thoughts would stray to Lily and how I made a fool of myself. My thoughts always strayed to Lily.

To my dismay the assignment that lesson was a fairly simple one that I, for one, could probably do in my sleep. Nevertheless I made a conscious effort to focus on every single stage of the process. It was therapeutic being able to concentrate on nothing but counting the amount of stirs needed...five...six...

"Hey, Sev. We're skipping Divination, you in? We're gonna –"

He was cut off by Slughorn.

"So by now you should be about ready to heat your potions."

Avery cast a quick glance at his potion, which was barely started, shrugged and said, "Sev, help me out?" I sighed and stepped over to his cauldron. I was always having to save one of my friends' potions, whether it was because they'd gone wrong or, like Avery, they hadn't bothered to do it. Again I fell into the simple actions this potion required and slipped into an almost trance-like state, meaning my mind wandered.

"So, are you in?" Avery whispered.

I cursed myself for not answering straight away because I knew the reason for my hesitation: our house had next lesson with the Gryffindors and while that meant a class that I don't like, with people I don't like (namely Potter, Black and co.), it also meant an hour with Lily. Damn it, I inwardly groaned, and we're back to Lily.

I finished Avery's potion and returned to my own which had finished brewing. Should I skip with my friends? It's not like I'd miss anything important in Divination; it was basically a free period anyway with the lack of work that went on. But I knew Lily would never imagine skipping a class. I have to stop thinking about Lily! I knew after what I said last night she'd want to avoid me like the plague which meant she'd probably even prefer it if I wasn't at Divination. If I was ever going to have any hope of getting on with my life then I had to start now. But did I want to let go? I leaned over to Avery.

"Okay, I'll co – AH!"

In my distracted state I'd leaned too far and ended up tipping my cauldron over and, throwing my hands out to steady it, I managed to wind up tipping it onto the floor where it splashed all over Slughorn's legs as he walked past. The little of the potion that fell onto my finger instantly made it itch but the cauldron-full that Slughorn got would, I knew, cause an unbearable rash to spread over his legs – too much to cure with the small vial of antidote on his desk that he'd made before the class; he'd have to go to the hospital wing.

"Severus! How could you be so clumsy of all people! Avery, assist me to the hospital wing, Severus, use the antidote on my desk for your hand then come and see me for a detention. Merlin's beard, boy!"

Slughorn was itching at his legs through his whole speech. If he hadn't been in so much trouble, Severus would've pointed out that scratching would only make it worse. As it was he made his way to Slughorn's desk as the Professor and Avery left, his face a deep shade of red, used the antidote, then grabbed his bags and hastily made his way out of the classroom amidst giggles and laughter from the rest of the class.

Perfect.

Author's Note- Don't forget to review, I'll love you forever if you do!