An old record player filled the bottom floor of the Shrieking Shack with music. Annoying music, in Severus' point of view. There were far too many students at the party: so many that the top floor was filled with dancing students, along with the stairs and the outside of the narrow house.

There was certainly a festive mood at the ridiculous party, a mood he had never felt before. He did not feel like dancing or eating the food that lined the snack tables along the walls of what was supposed to be the dance floor.

The floor boards of the house squeaked rather often, but no one seemed to notice this. They were all too excited by being at an actual party at a forbidden hour to care if the house was about to fall over them.

He recognized few faces, although he wasn't supposed to, but some just made it far too obvious. Sirius Black was one of those people that only wore a suit and painted a beard on himself to seem different. Others were so hard to recognize that Severus wondered if they even went to school with him.

One of those people had to be Lily.

He hadn't seen anyone that even looked a little like her, but he was sure she was at the party. He tried to stand around groups of girls, but Lily's voice didn't sprout from any conversation. Her skin was nowhere to be seen and her eyes were probably shut since he hadn't seen the green he so desperately craved.

Frustration was getting to him. Gemini hadn't been helpful at all during this party, which was probably one of the only chances he had of enamoring his childhood friend. Although he understood that Gemini had her own problems, she had promised to help, but didn't keep said promise.

"Who needs her, anyway…" Severus muttered to himself, pushing past the crowds of people.

He was suddenly shoved by a screaming boy who seemed to be searching the crowds just as desperately as he had been doing, except this boy was shouted "I'll kill her! I'll more than kill her!" with every step he took.

Ah, the distinct voice of James Potter filled his ears.

And that her just had to be Gemini.

Which, Severus now noticed, he hadn't seen at all either. He usually noticed her easily because her height was so strikingly short, but everyone seemed rather tall at the party. Perhaps she hadn't shown up at all.

"Focus!" he thought to himself, pushing past more people. He continued looking for the green eyes for a moment before he realized the door was open. He knew there were people outside, but hadn't checked if Lily was out there.

"Snape! Have you seen Gem?" Gideon, who was wearing a laughable crown on his head, nudged Severus in the ribs, causing the hat to fall from the younger boy's head.

"No, have you seen Lily?" Severus held on to the hat, but pulled the hood of his robe over his head in order to look less stupid.

Gideon nodded his head, pointing out the door, "Last time I saw her, she was outside. She's wearing a muggle dress! You can't miss her."

Severus thanked the host before he walked outside, pulling his robe closer. It was very windy outside, so the only people outside were huddled together, dancing to music that came from inside. The tall boy sneered, not feeling the need to get too close to any of those people. He liked his space.

He walked around the house, looking for Gideon's description of Lily until he noticed a girl sitting on the grass, her back pressed to the house. Her skirt was sticking out from the bottom of her robe, but her hood was over her head. She was visibly freezing, her teeth clattering as she pulled her knees closer to her chest.

"Lily?" Severus whispered to himself, clearing his throat a little in order to disguise his voice. If she really was Lily, it was probably best to make his voice unrecognizable. He deepened attempted to deepen his voice a little, and as hilarious as he sounded, it would help him.

"If you're cold, I suggest you go inside," Severus said as he sat down next to the girl. She glanced at him briefly before turning away, her teeth clattering a little less.

"I'm fine here, thank you," a raspy voice replied. The girl chuckled softly, clearing her own throat, "I've been out here for too long, I suppose."

"You sound sick. I could walk you back to your common room if you want…which is…?" Severus blushed, noticing he was being way too forward trying to figure out who this was.

"In Gryffindor Tower. And I said I'm fine here, THANK YOU," she emphasized the end of her sentence, clearly annoyed.

For someone who had the possibility of being Lily, she was a little temperamental. Then again, Lily did have a habit of taking things the wrong way, so he couldn't let himself be swayed away by the act. Instead, he continued to pursue her.

"Gryffindor, the house of the brave," he chuckled softly, trying to hide his choke after saying that, "I can assume you're someone with great character."

"Your assumption is incorrect, actually."

Severus found himself unable to reply, which happened often when he talked Lily. Although he wasn't sure, he could assume it was her for now. She was wearing a muggle dress, but her hair was hidden from sight, which made it hard to tell if her hair was what Gemini described initially.

Whether it was Lily or not, the girl next to him sounded fairly annoyed. He partially blamed himself for her annoyance, but something told him she was already feeling unstable when he came over to her in the first place.

"Is there a reason why you're hiding out here?"

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't be hiding out here?" she said defensively. It was clear that she was looking at him now, but neither one of them could see each other's face. She could probably see the bandana that was hanging on his face, but he was still undistinguishable. Perfect.

"I'm serious."

"Oh, are you?" she chuckled faintly, "I guess I can say that I'm not exactly in the best situation right now."

Severus smiled, happy to finally get a real response out of her. He turned his body to face her completely, and although he couldn't see her, it was nice to at least know he was talking to Lily…or someone oddly similar to her, but most likely, Lily.

"What's the problem?" the boy said, genuinely concerned. If the girl was Lily, at least. He felt extremely attached to this girl, even if he couldn't see her face. That meant it was Lily. Right?

"I'm just confused…and I guess disappointed in myself," her voice seemed to getting rougher as she spoke, "You see, I hate seeing myself as a prize, but I seem to being so lately. Do you get me?"

She was talking so vaguely that Severus couldn't understand, but he nodded, encouraging her to go on.

She nodded to herself as she cupped her hands together and blew a few breaths on them to heat them up; the muggle way of warming hands, the way Lily did most things. She cleared her throat once again before she continued, speaking softer than she had initially, "Well, I just wish I could go back to being myself, but it seems practically impossible. I feel like I'll disappoint a lot of people."

"But if you don't go back to being the way you used to be, you'll disappoint yourself, " Severus reasoned, smiling at the way Lily seemed to care for others more than herself. He always admired that about her, even if he couldn't do so himself.

"I guess so…" she mumbled, looking down at the ground.

The two stayed quiet for what felt like hours, but it was only a few minutes. That is, until she felt like opening her mouth again.

"And you? What are you out here for…talking to me…?" the girl seemed confident at first, but she soon sounded suspicious.

Severus didn't know how to answer initially, scared that he would give away who he was if he responded like he usually did. There was no way to sound casual, so he thought he'd tell her the truth…indirectly, of course.

"I wanted to have a nice conversation with someone," Severus shrugged, "you caught my attention, I guess."

"I see…" she still sounded suspicious, but her voice didn't match what she did, "I guess you win…"

She shrugged, taking the Severus' bandana from his face in one quick movement, and in another, she was kissing him. He was caught off-guard, which made him freeze instead of actually kissing her back. He then realized what she was doing, but he had no idea what to do next. He simply waited.

His heart was beating quickly, not from his own emotions, but for the surprise. The cold air seemed to be flowing faster around them, making him want to run inside, but he couldn't move. He soon felt the lack of warmth from his lips and saw the girl pull away, gasping from what he thought was shock.

That couldn't be…

"Lily?"

The girl hesitated for a moment before she answered.

"Snape?"

Author's Note: Short chapter, but a little change happens here- um. Yeah. Enjoy and feed me with reviews! Also, check out my other stories if you're bored. :)