Disclaimer: Harry Potter, as you should all know, belongs to JK Rowling, not me. Kudos to her for making our lives so much better.

Chapter 6: First Kisses

Lily sat under the beech tree next to the lake with Severus. "Hey Sev, you don't have any siblings, right?"

"Nope. I'm an only child. It gets kind of lonely sometimes," he replied with a little sigh of sadness.

"At least you have me!" Lily grinned.

"Yeah," he smiled, "at least I have you."

"I need some help."

"For what?"

"I don't know what to write to Petunia," Severus's face stiffened. "I've written her several letters already, but she hasn't replied to any of them."

"Why do you still want to write to her? She was absolutely horrible to you."

"Yeah, but she's still my sister, and we used to be best friends. I can't stand the thought of losing her."

"Hm… I don't really know, honestly," not that he really made an effort to help her. Secretly, he thought that Lily should sever all contact with her muggle sister. She'd be better off without her sister dragging her down. She just doesn't understand us. Besides, he was still a little miffed by Petunia's insulting disapproval of him. So what if he lived at Spinner's end? So what if he washed his hair when he felt inclined to do so? She had no right to insult him, as he was obviously superior to her.

"Severus?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was spacing."

"That's okay. How long was Slughorn's essay supposed to be, again?"

"A foot. How much do you have so far?"

"I'm nearly there. I have ten inches. Are you done?"

"Yeah. I finished yesterday."

"Wow, Sev, you're really on top of things. So how's Slytherin?"

"It's fine. I wish you were in there with me, though."

"I know. It's sad that we're apart so much. Have you made friends?"

"Yeah, I guess. Evan is kind of my friend now."

"That's good," Lily smiled.

He smiled weakly, "Yeah. I guess." He was still smiling at Lily when (in his eyes), a stupid git came tramping by.

"Hey Evans, are you sure you want to pass up on that kiss?"

"Of course, Potter. I wouldn't want to kiss a slimy git."

"I know. That's why you're not snogging Snivellus. But I asked about me."

Lily glared. But before she could make a reply, Severus spoke. "She doesn't like you. So get away from us. We're actually trying to work. You should try it sometime."

"I have a life. You should get one."

"That's rude!" Lily exclaimed, standing up.

"Well, it's true. He doesn't have to be such a kiss-ass all the time." Severus stood up at this.

"Better to be smart than blindly confident."

"Oh, are you talking about someone I know?" James sneered.

"Yeah. Are you too stupid to recognize yourself, even I if hold a mirror up in front of you?" Severus retorted, color rising his sallow cheeks.

"Look, Potter. You're not welcome here. Leave," Lily demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Well, ta-ta, darling. I'll wait for you to come begging to me later. Have fun with Snivellus."

Lily glared back, but did not reply as James sprinted away.

"The nerve of that git," Severus muttered.
Lily sat down again to ponder her letter. She stared at the parchment she was writing on.

Dear Petunia,

I miss you a lot.

It wasn't much, but she had no idea what to write. She desperately wanted Petunia to write back, so she had to convey that desire to contact her sister in the letter. She also wanted to tell Petunia how much she missed her, that Hogwarts just wasn't the same without her sister. She decided that she had to downplay how much fun Hogwarts was… If only she could combine all those things.

Dear Petunia,

I miss you a lot. It's a lot of fun over here. I've made a lot of new friends. The classes are absolutely amazing.

No… I can't make Hogwarts sound too fun. She was in the process of crumpling up the parchment when an idea hit her. I can use regular mail to send this! It might be a little harder, but she might appreciate the effort! Thus inspired, she nearly knew what to write. She decided to just let the words flow off the pen onto the paper, and edit it later. She pulled out a new piece of parchment and began.

Dear Petunia,

I miss you a lot. Hogwarts isn't really that fun without you. There are plenty of gits over here, and I wish you were here. I hope you are fine at home. Please send mum and dad my love. Our schedule is really busy, and we have a lot of homework, but I would definitely make time to read letters if you sent me any. Please write back, Tuney. I really miss you.

We've been sisters forever, so I hope that my going to Hogwarts doesn't ruin our close friendship. It doesn't matter if I make friends over her. You will always be my sister, and best friend. I don't want you to be mad, so I hope you can forgive me for leaving. Please, Tuney, it would really make me happy if you wrote back.

Much love from your little sister,

Lily XOXO.

Lily looked over the letter one more time. It was short, but it expressed her feelings fairly clearly. She hoped she had made Hogwarts sound a little less exciting than it really was.

"I'll be right back, Sev," Lily announced.

Severus looked up from his book, "It's getting close to dinner. I'll probably go back. I'll see you then."

"All right, Sev. Bye. See you!" She picked up her books and skipped towards to castle. He stayed where he was for a moment and looked after her. When she had disappeared out of sight, he closed his books and stood to leave.

Lily went straight to Professor McGonagall's office. She knocked timidly on the door.

"Come in."

Lily turned the doorknob and peeked in. The teacher was sitting at her desk, flipping through student essays with a frown on her face.

"Am I interrupting?"

She looked up, "Oh dear, no, not at all. Come in, dear. Have a seat."

Lily followed instructions and sat down in the plush chair facing the professor. She was slightly intimidated by this austere-looking woman with her black hair pulled back in a severe bun.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

"Um… I have a letter to send to my sister, and she's a muggle, so she was upset when I left. I was wondering if there were any way to send this letter to her through the muggle mail system."

"Oh, of course. Do you have the address written on that envelope?"

"Yes."

"Good, give it to me. I shall ensure it is mailed, and I will make sure her reply gets to you."

Lily smiled gratefully, "Thanks so much, Professor."

"Not at all," she smiled back. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks. I will. Bye!" Lily retreated from the room with a bounce in her step. She hoped that her sister would write back. How delicate friendships and relationships seemed to young Lily at that point. She had already become quite cynical of the world around her. If the best and closest of sisters and friends could drift apart in a single moment, no relationship was eternal. You could enter into a relationship, but it wouldn't last. It was best not to invest herself to deeply into sort of relationship. And from such and early age, Lily had already almost lost faith in human sincerity. Even though she eventually regained some trust, she was always wary of protecting her heart, shielding herself from the hurt of a broken relationship.

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Remus Lupin cut an unassuming figure in the corner of the Gryffindor common room. He was quiet and reserved, nearly invisible in the daily evening bustle of the common room. If you didn't know him well, you might've thought that he was snubbing the rest of his house, when in fact he wanted some peace and quiet outside of the library. He was trying to avoid Belle Zabini. She kept following him threateningly. When he switched seats, she would wait for a moment, then follow him over. At some point, she worked up the nerve to speak to him. Remus nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of her voice. She would ask probing questions about James, and he was hesitant to lie, or to refuse to answer.

He sighed; he was unable to get solace anywhere. He lowered the book from his face to find James and Sirius staring intently at him, wearing identical expressions.
"BLARGH!" he exclaimed as he dropped his book and nearly lost balance on his chair.

"Ah. Remus has descended from La-la Land to join us in the real world," Sirius observed.

"Humble thanks for honoring us with your presence," said James, bowing slightly.

"What do you want?" asked Remus warily. Just last week, they had asked him to perform a tricky spell that would have… well, he didn't like to think of it. Suffice it to say that Argus Filch had spent several hours with a smoking buttock.

"We need you to change our dares," explained Sirius and James simultaneously.

"What? Why me?"

"We need a witness or something," explained James.

"It'll make everything official," added Sirius.

"Why do you want to change?"

"Well, our dares are impossible!" exclaimed Sirius and James simultaneously.

Remus smiled. "Giving up so soon?"

"Well, dear Molly is a little too attached to Arthur for her own good. She's too blind to see what she's missing."

Remus snorted, but covered it up with a discreet cough. "I see…"

"And I fear for my life if I ask her one more time to kiss me."

"Then," Remus said, straightening up slightly and puffing up his chest, "I shall assign new dares." Sirius and James sat with rapt attention. "You, Sirius Black, shall get Mary MacDonald to go out with you. You, James Potter, shall kiss Lily."

"Whattttt?" both protested.

Remus flounced away, books in tow, grinning all the way. He was a crafty one for bringing people together, albeit only for others. He knew he had no hope for himself… what with… his "problems." He couldn't get too close to anyone, for fear of divulging his secret.

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Lily sat in the Gryffindor common room, grinning. Petunia had written back! She had written back! Sure, it had been a very terse and awkward letter, but at least it was something.

Dear Lily,

Truth is, I miss you a lot, too. I'm so sorry that I acted so badly. I was just disappointed that you would be leaving me, and I couldn't follow. I hope you have having a terrific time at Hogwarts.

I also do not want to lose my only sister in such a silly fight. Write back soon!

Love,

Petunia

She leaned her head against the back of the armchair, closing her eyes and basking in her happiness. Out of the blue, she felt something touch her lips. She opened her eyes to find James Potter less than an inch away from her face.

A/N: Please review! It gives incentive for me to write. You can tell me what you want to happen, if you want me to write faster, how the story's going etc etc. Click the button! It'll only take you 30 seconds, but it'll brighten my day. Thanks! Happy fanficcing!