Sorry I've been lagging with updates, between school and work and all I just can't seem to find a bunch of time to write. I know, excuses, excuses... Later on in the chapter is a note, and it's really upsetting that it's not letting me use the fonts I had picked out...but oh well. Enjoy!

"Professor Vector, I'm so sorry I'm…late…" Lily said in a rushed voice as she ambled into the classroom seven minutes late for her first detention ever. James had kissed her forehead goodbye outside the Hospital Wing as McLaggen had arrived, much worse for wear. James had promised to stay only until Madam Pomfrey saw to him, and nothing more.

Lily looked at who she was serving her detention with, and felt stupid for being surprised; she couldn't have been the only one in Hogwarts to have gotten a detention this week. She slowed, and walked hesitantly toward Severus Snape as his eyes burned holes through her.

"That's quite alright, Miss Evans. The Headmaster has already informed me of your tardiness," she said, waving a note in the air, "but this does mean that you both will spend some extra time here"

"Both?"

"Well Mr. Snape was late, too"

"I'll bet he was" Lily grumbled.

"I'm sorry?" Professor asked her.

"That's sad he was" Lily replied, pulling another sentence out of thin air.

"Well…yes, I suppose…anyway, your assignment is to grade these third year homework papers…I have some cheat sheets here for you somewhere…Oh, Miss Evans, I would like you to sit together, please…easier to keep an eye on you…"

Lily inwardly used some of her choiciest swear words. She'd been making her way toward the opposite end of the classroom, but apparently she was paying for the wonderful afternoon she'd had with James with what was sure to be a horrific evening with Snivellus.

She trudged over and slumped down in her seat as Professor Vector dropped off the homework and the cheat sheets. Lily reached forward to grab some off the top of the stack at the same time Snape did, and their fingers touched. Snape yanked his hands away from hers, his face plunging into a puce color. Lily rolled her eyes, and grabbed some papers with unnecessary force. For the first thirty minutes or so, Lily stared only at the paper she had in front of her, refusing to even acknowledge Snape's presence.

Unfortunately, he just wasn't going to have any of that.

Lily only noticed that he was trying to get her attention when he kicked her lightly. She snapped up, ready to tell him where he could put his foot instead, when he nodded to a piece of parchment he'd scooted toward her. She snatched it up, and read it quickly. It read:

I'm sorry

She scoffed, and wrote back:

No, you're not. Please, don't even act like you are.
But I AM sorry!
You mean 'not'
Lily, stop. You know I wouldn't apologize if I didn't mean it
There's nothing I 'know' about you anymore.
Okay, so I was angry. Can you blame me?
Not really, (though I am unsure WHY you're angry in the first place) but you didn't have to curse him into retardation! That last curse was pure Dark Magic; that's a little beyond 'angry'
You mean you really aren't angry with him for what he did to you?
Whether I'm angry or not doesn't justify you being a complete snotrag.
I bet if precious Potter had cursed him you wouldn't be angry…
Oh my God, will you get off Potter?
Only if you will
You're an asshole, you know that?
Just please tell me that you'll forgive me
Why should I? I'm sure what you did back there will impress quite a few of your Death Eater pals. What, so it was a win-win? Win me over AND show your dearest mates how truly evil you really are! What a glorious day for Snivellus.
That wasn't why I did it.
There isn't another good reason for you to have done it. You came just short of torture out of what? Your kind-heartedness? What a laugh.
You wouldn't believe me if I told you
Probably not, but why don't you give it a go?
Because if there is anybody in this world that is worth protecting, it's you.
I can protect myself, thanks
Obviously not
Oh ha ha. Lucky for me, James got there in time anyway. And if I'd had my wand you know I wouldn't have needed him.
Please tell me you're not actually dating him. He's just a toe-rag, Lily. He's not good enough for you.
Oh, but you are?
I never said that
And you shouldn't. I don't date Death Eaters.
No offense, but they probably wouldn't date you either, considering your birth and all…
Very funny. Why don't you go slip into something more comfortable, like a coma?
That was a joke!
I know. And coming from somebody who isn't a Death Eater, it might have been funny.
I'm not a Death Eater
Oh, I forgot. You have to be out of school, right? So I guess you're waiting for your big send-off into You-Know-Who's ranks so you never have to go back to Spinner's End. Well good luck in all of your endeavors, Tobias.
What's that supposed to mean?
Like father like son, right? He made you miserable for your entire life, and now you're making it your life's purpose to do the same to others.
You wouldn't understand
Well, I suppose I wouldn't, being decent and all. Look, this is all beside the point anyway, I'm not going to get into the same old arguments with you. What happened to me is none of your business. Whether or not James and I are dating is none of your business. Just drop both subjects; neither of them involve you.
I miss you, Lily
Well then I'm sorry
No you're not
It's your own fault
I know.
Who told you about McLaggen?
Why should I tell you?
Well, I did ask politely
Peter Pettigrew

Lily stared at the two words that Snape had just scrawled. She was dumbfounded. She looked at Snape with suspicion heavy in her eyes. He held up his hand with only his pinky up; he was pinky-promising her he wasn't lying. She made an ugly face, and crumpled the paper up before tossing it in her bag.

She's taught Snape the muggle-tradition of a pinky-promise as a joke, but it had become something that they used frequently, when they'd been friends. She didn't appreciate the reminder.

When the detention was over, she sped out of the room, keen to not be followed by Snape, who she had no intention of talking to. Unfortunately for Lily though, they were both headed in the same direction. What she wouldn't have given to borrow James' strange map…

"Lily" he called after her once they were a safe distance from the classroom, and Professor Vector's ears. She kept walking, hoping he would get the hint.

He didn't.

"Lily!" he called after her a little more urgently. She heard hurried footsteps behind her, and ducked out of the way just in time, her hand flying to her wand. Snape however, who had obviously been trying to catch up to her, tripped over his robes, barreled over and slid a few feet on the floor before coming to an embarrassing halt, sprawled out on the floor. It was a split second before he got up.

"Don't call me that" she told him, authority ringing in her voice.

"Don't call you what?" he panted.

"Lily. You don't get to call me that anymore" she spat out.

"You can't tell me what I can and can't call you"

"Okay Snivellus. Have it your way" Lily said, trying to make an exit.

"I want to talk to you" Snape stated, following her anyway.

"Well if it's not blatantly obvious yet, I don't want to talk to you"

"Why? Why don't you want to talk to me?"

Lily rounded on him.

"Really? Why? Shall I name off the reasons or do you need a visual aid?"

"I get it, I've done some things you don't agree with and I've insulted you, but if you knew how sorry I really was then - " he started, his voice on the verge of breaking.

"Then what? My feelings wouldn't matter anymore? I'd suddenly forget all the hurt you've caused me this past year and just forgive you because you deserve it? Fat chance, Snape. It sucks that you miss me and all that, but like I said. It's your own fault. Go talk to precious Muliciber about it"

"I could never talk to them like I talk to you. You don't understand! I never had a choice…"

"You always had a choice" Lily growled before turning and sprinting off. She didn't care if he tried to follow her; she wasn't stopping until she got to the Gryffindor Tower. After a moment or so, Lily realized that she was alone, and she slowed to a walk. Lily was instantly relieved, but that only lasted for a second. Plunging guilt flooded through her as she thought of Snape left alone in the deserted corridor. It tore at her heartstrings to leave her childhood friend like that, even if he had deserved it. She hated treating her ex-best friend that way, but it wasn't like she missed him like she did before. Alice had stepped up valiantly to fulfill the spot that Snape had once occupied, and the emotional wounds that came from his perfidy had long since vanished.

She realized that she pitied Snape. She knew what kind of home he grew up in, and the expectations he had to fulfill both at home and in the Slytherin House. She always knew how hard it would have been for Snape to deal with his House-mates had he defied their ways only to team up with the other side, but that didn't change the fact that it was the right thing to do…

"Password?"

Lily jumped, and looked up at the Fat Lady in surprise. She hadn't realized that she'd gotten all the way to the Tower already.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked again, a little more impatiently this time.

Lily gave her the password, and ambled in to the common room. She saw her friends and the Marauders minus Peter sitting by the fireplace; she was glad that Peter wasn't amongst them. She didn't really believe Snape's accusation, but if Peter were here she would have probably grilled him about it anyway, considering the mood she was in. She made her way toward them, and when she saw James, the guilt she felt about her old best friend and all the anger it brought with it seeped away and a warm feeling took its place. They'd had their first date today…

She sat down on the arm of James' chair and smiled at him. He shot her a winning grin and pulled her face down to kiss him. She obliged, but then the awkward position made her sit back up. She rested her arm over his shoulders instead.

"So how was your first detention?" James asked her smugly.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be…but guess who my detention partner was?" she finished sourly.

"Who?" Sirius and Mary asked at the same time. Lily couldn't help but notice that Mary blushed and turned her gaze to the carpet. This didn't escape Sirius, either.

"Snape" she replied shortly. James' dashing smile turned to ice in an instant, and Lily felt the arm he had curled around her waist clutch her tighter.

"Did he do anything to you?" James asked almost immediately.

"No. He just tried to talk to me…and you might be right about him, James. At least partly so" she said thoughtfully. She looked up and noticed everybody looking at her with varying degrees of shock on their face.

"What?" she asked uncertainly.

"Somebody take note of what she just said. Lily Evans just told James Potter that he was right" Sirius play-gawked. Lily snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. But seriously," she said, turned to face James, "I think part of him likes me"

"Anybody could have told you that" Sirius said loudly.

"Well I don't know…should I say something to him about it? I mean…what should I do?" Lily asked them all.

"You have to consider your options Lily," Alice told her matter-of-factly. "I mean come on. He's as interesting as a bowl of cornflakes and at least as sexy"

"But you can't forget to look at the downsides too," giggled Mary, playing along, "He's so greasy that his face is like, a no-go area. It'd be like kissing the Berlin Wall"

Lily couldn't help but laugh with the others. What they were saying was strictly true, but they weren't complete lies, either.

"You know what I mean," Lily laughed, "But think about it. How depressing would it be if he just liked me this whole time?"

"He has liked you this whole time" James interjected, while Remus and Sirius nodded.

"I don't think so" Lily mused. James caught a look from Remus, and rolled his eyes.

"So, did anybody catch the Magpies game over the wireless? I'm afraid I forgot to tune in…" Lily changed the subject blatantly. After a seconds' silence, James started to recap the game for her, and conversation flowed elsewhere.

The Marauders and Lily's friends talked until they were very nearly the last people in the common room. Lily glanced out of the window to the grounds, and noticed that the moon was at the highest point in the sky.

"It's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to head off to bed" Lily interrupted. Sirius and Mary had been having a fiery debate about House Elves, with the rest listening intently, occasionally throwing in their own input. Interesting as the argument was, Lily was tired, and wanted to rest before the next mornings' classes.

James stood up, and wrapped her in a hug, and gave her a brief and almost hesitant kiss on the forehead before handing her the bag of sweets she'd forgotten in the hall earlier. Lily took it and squeezed his hand, and left up the stairs to her dormitory. She closed the door and smiled. It had been a very interesting Sunday, this was for sure. Between a date with James and two very disturbing incidences with Snape, she was beginning to think that if she ever actually dated Potter she'd never have a normal day again.

She started changing into her nightclothes, thinking about when she and James would make it official (a light panic came over her as she thought about it) when she heard the door open and close softly. She turned to see which or her roommates it was, but it wasn't a roommate. It was Patricia Patil.

"Err, hi Patricia"

"Lily" she acknowledged.

"What can I do for you? Do you need a brush or something?" Lily asked, wondering why Patricia was in her room, and why on Earth she hadn't knocked.

"No, I actually need you to lay off of James"

"E-excuse me?" Lily asked.

"You heard me. Stop doing whatever you're doing with James" she reiterated. After a moment's thought, she added, "Please".

"First off, he kind of started it" Lily laughed, "And second off…no"

"Okay Lily, I'm going to be straight with you. I really like James, and I think there is something between us. I'd like you to lay off so I can have a chance"

"You think there's something between you?" Lily repeated, unable to keep the derision out of her voice.

"Don't say it like that! And yes, I do. I mean, have you seen us in History of Magic? We're like, totally in sync"

"Have you seen us in…well, everywhere? We're like, totally into each other" Lily mocked. She couldn't help but tease Patricia; a large wave of defensiveness welled up way past its boundaries and overcame her. How could this girl be so deluded? James had only been asking her out for about forever. Patricia's hopeful expression settled into a glare.

"We'll see" Patricia simpered.

"I bet we will" Lily countered.

And on that note, Patricia whirled out of the door of the dormitory, slamming it. Lily slid her feet into her slippers, thinking. While it was true that he had flirted with Patricia in History of Magic, he couldn't actually like her.

But at that point, hadn't he been not talking to her? Wouldn't it make sense for him to talk to the next girl he liked? Or was he just trying to make her jealous? Did he like Patricia? He couldn't like her like he liked Lily, but maybe he felt something towards her? Suddenly, Lily thought of James, sitting downstairs in the common room with an extremely delusional Patricia Patil. She jumped up from where she'd been sitting and practically tore downstairs.

And sure enough, Patricia was sitting on James' armchair, and James looked heartily uncomfortable huddled on the other side of the chair. The Marauders and her friends looked confused, as did James. When James caught sight of her, she saw the relief break across his face. He hopped up off of the chair to meet her, leaving Patricia to fall off of the arm of the chair and into the cushions. She glared at Lily murderously.

"Hi Lily! I thought you were tired" he said, his statement sounding like a question but sounding pleased nonetheless.

"I was…but then I decided that I'd rather come down and spend some time with you" she replied, glaring at Patricia as she said it; out of the corner of her eye, she saw James cottoning on to why she was really here. Patricia's expression was cold as ice. James started to say something, but he was interrupted.

"Well then James, I think I'll just go to bed. I guess I'll see you tomorrow" Patricia said as she got up off of the armchair, holding her arms out for a hug. James extracted himself from Lily, and hugged Patricia reluctantly. She locked onto him like a vice grip and didn't let go for six seconds; Lily counted. After the hug, she flounced off toward her dormitory.

"Wow" Mary said once she was out of earshot.

"Seriously" Sirius responded. James shook himself, and threw himself back into his chair. Lily leaned on the back.

"Look like you have some competition, Lily" Alice laughed, "And man, is she serious"

"I guess I do" Lily said, teasing James.

"Oh, come on Lily, she's got nothing on you" James said as he turned to look at her. "You're in a completely different league"

"A completely different sport" chimed in Remus.

"Yeah. Girls like you don't grow on trees" James said, meaning to compliment her. Then his face went slightly blank and he stared at the air-space above the fireplace for a moment.

"Picturing that tree, are you?" Sirius laughed.

"Yes, yes I am" James answered lightly and jokingly. And with that James reached up and grabbed her hand. Lily felt instantly better, and was surprised that she flew into such a jealous mood so quickly. James obviously preferred her. She felt silly. She smiled at James, and announced that she was going back to bed. She leaned in to kiss James' cheek, but he swiveled around and caught her lips with his.

As she crawled underneath the covers, she smiled. Patricia Patil could bring it on.