Lily sat down next to Severus at breakfast in the Great Hall. She smiled at him with great aplomb. "Are you ready?", she asked. Severus nodded, still looking down at his cereal. Several Slytherins were staring at them with malevolent interest, and he could feel a sensation of heat building in his face. "Good. Let's get a head start, then." She stood, and stared down at him expectantly. He followed her obediantly to the entrance hall.

As they walked down the path toward Hogsmeade, Lily attempted to make conversation. "We've made a lot of progress, haven't we?" Severus glanced at her. "Yes, I believe we'll be finished by Christmas holiday."

Lily grinned. "I meant progress with us."

Severus felt as if a presence were quickly closing in on him. "Oh, well, yes, I suppose. You don't annoy me quite so much anymore."

She rolled her eyes, then took his arm. "You're a git, you know that?"

They continued in silence, finally reaching the wizarding village. "Where to first?" she asked.

"This outing was your idea. You tell me."

"Well, I wouldn't dare take you into Madam Puddifoot's."

Severus smirked. "And if you tried, I'd jinx you into a tea cozy."

Lily turned to him, seeming to lose her patience. "You don't have to act like this anymore!"

Severus took a step back from her, alarmed. "Act like what?"

"Like...you hate me or something."

He looked down at his hands. He suddenly felt very cold. "I...I don't hate you."

"You could have fooled me!"

Severus took her hand. "This would be much more easier for me if you could just see how much I like you," he said roughly.

"You...what?"

"Don't make me repeat it," he said impatiently.

She moved a little closer to him. "Severus, I didn't know...I had no idea." She laughed a little.

He pulled back, angry. "Don't laugh at me."

She pulled him back. "I'm not laughing at you."

"I'm tired of this! I'm tired of being mocked, tired of being harrassed by Potter." He attempted to break away from her grasp.

"Severus!"

"What?"

She leaned in toward him, and he felt it again, the hot sensation. It was a moment before he realised that it was her breath against his skin. She was coming very close...part of him wanted to pull away, wanted to run far away from there. The other part wanted to meet her incoming lips, and it seemed as if he didn't have a choice.

They were soft, and warm, and it spread through him like a poison. Parts of him seemed to be waking up from a very long sleep; he felt like he was swaying, as if at sea. He felt so many things at once, as if he were many different people. Yet he wouldn't have wished to be anyone else at that very moment. He pressed his lips against hers, and tasted something sweet. A hand crept tentatively up, caressing her hair. Her hair, it felt the way that hair feels underwater, incredibly smooth and light. He could have been standing in a snow storm and still the warmth would have engulfed him.

She pulled back, and stared into his eyes. He, stunned, took a deep breath. "That was..." He laughed a little. "I can't say what that was."

"That was a kiss."

"I'm aware of that."

She wrapped her hand around his as he repressed a shiver. "Shall we go to the Three Broomsticks?" she asked. He nodded in consent, for he couldn't bring himself to speak again.

They entered the warm confines of the Three Broomsticks, and chose a small table in the back. They ordered two butterbeers, and took off their cloaks, leaning back in the wonderfully comfortable chairs.

"Before you wonder if I didn't," she said, "I enjoyed that."

He looked down at the table. "It felt like...it felt like what being safe might feel like."

"Are you not accustomed to that?"

"Not at all," he told her matter-of-factly.

She leaned over the table, and kissed him again, briefly. "I can help you become accustomed to it," she whispered.

"What the hell is this?"

They both looked up, startled. James Potter was looming over them, his features contorted in rage.

Lily gave him a stony glare. "You kissed Alice," she said calmly.

"So this is revenge?"

Severus looked sharply between the two. "Lily?"

"You picked the most pathetic person at Hogwarts, Lily. Congratulations." James turned to Severus. "I hope you enjoyed your little date." He stormed out before Madam Rosmerta could kick him out.

Severus almost couldn't breathe. "You used me," he said. His voice was quiet, but there was a turmoil within it. "You..." He couldn't. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't take seeing her face. He stood. "How could you fool me?"

"Severus, please. I'm sorry. This was...I did plan this. But the kiss was real!"

"How can I believe you, you...filthy...mudblood." His words were broken by sobs, and Lily was absolutely alarmed to see that he was crying. He threw the meager amount of gold he had in his pockets down on the table, and turned to leave.

As he stepped outside, he turned and hit the stone wall with so much force that his hand started to flow blood. He didn't care. He knew what he had to do now.