Thanks for the reviews! I know some people are surprised at the casual talk of Voldemort in the last chapter, so I thought I would try to explain without giving too much away. While writing this chapter and a few upcoming ones, I remembered a particular quote by Sirius in OOTP when he's talking about his family. "They thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having purebloods in charge. They weren't alone either, there were quite a few people before Voldemort showed his true colors, who thought he had the right idea about things." That quote helped a lot with my view on the war. The few who are fully aware of Voldemort, such as Lucius, would be more careful, but from the way Sirius phrased it, I figured that Voldemort was this exciting new figure who promised pure bloods the power they craved until they realized that his tactics were a bit...strong, around the time people started to panic. As for the second year Slytherins, I couldn't see their parents revealing much about Voldemort and the Death Eaters, since it would look suspicious if they knew too much. That theory comes from Draco Malfoy's quote in the COS when he's annoyed that Lucius refuses to tell him who opened the Chamber of Secrets for the same reason. Again, this is just my view, but I thought I would try to make make sense of it anyway.

Chapter Twenty-One- The Third Lie

1972

For the first time in months, Severus slept peacefully. Even the sound of Rosier's loud snores echoing across the dormitory couldn't keep him awake. There were no tainted dreams, poisoned by Tobias's pounding fists or Eileen's shrill screams. It was a dreamless sleep, a sleep that Severus favored.

He met Lily outside the Great Hall after breakfast, his rare good mood soaring even further at the mere sight of her. Before he greeted her, he noticed dark circles under her eyes as well as her tangled mess of curls. She was yawning. "Did you sleep at all, Lily?"

"Hardly," Lily yawned again, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "I kept thinking about…"

Her voice trailed off, her green eyes unusually distant.

"What?" Severus asked, half expecting it to be Petunia. He held his tongue, forcing himself not to scowl. What he was not expecting was her response.

"Voldemort." At his startled expression, Lily quickly continued. "I overheard the Slytherins talking about him. Alice told me he hates Muggle-borns."

"Lily," Severus said with unusual gentleness, even though he was irritated with himself for not being able to keep her from earshot. Ever since Mulciber had called her a Mudblood, blood purity was a sensitive subject to Lily. "You don't have to worry about it."

"But Marlene-"

"What does Marlene know? She's not in my House and even I know how much she likes to gossip. I promise you, Lily. You don't have to worry." Severus's dark eyes searched hers earnestly. Voldemort may have been a mystery to him, but that didn't matter. If a lunatic broke into Hogwarts and started massacring all Muggle-borns, as farfetched as that was, he would find a way to keep her safe. He doubted that he would have to. Lily wasn't just an ordinary Muggle-born, at least not to him.

Lily was quiet, pondering his words. Once her face cleared, she smiled up at him. "I suppose I was overreacting. I'll never understand why blood is so important. It doesn't mean anything."

Severus relaxed, relieved that she was no longer upset and even more relieved that they wouldn't have to discuss Voldemort. That topic would only lead back to Mulciber and the others, and Severus didn't want to be caught in the middle again. He was still undecided on the matter himself. He hated Muggles, but he didn't care a great deal for the Slytherins either. If he was honest with himself, the only true loyalty he felt was to himself and Lily.

"Sev?"

"Yeah?" Severus snapped back to reality.

"It doesn't meaning anything, right?" Lily peered at him, her green eyes suddenly enormous. They were twin pools of emerald, reflecting the slightest hint of doubt. The liquid green suddenly seemed depthless, threatening to drown him alive.

"Right," Severus said automatically as he looked away, feeling uncomfortable again. For some inexplicable reason, he felt a flicker of guilt, but that was ridiculous. If Lily had grown up with Tobias as her father, she would dislike Muggles as much as he did. He decided it would be best to distract her. "But we should hurry or we'll be late. Even if it's Caldwell."

"She doesn't seem so bad," Lily offered as they began walking toward the marble staircase. With the subject of Voldemort forgotten, the usual spring in her footsteps was returning. "At least she looks nicer than Hawthorne."

"I liked Hawthorne."

"That's because he liked you. He hated everyone else," Lily frowned. "He was so mean. I hope Caldwell isn't."

"She doesn't seem capable of hurting a fly," Severus said scornfully.

"I'm sure she's qualified," Lily argued. "Dumbledore wouldn't have chosen her if she wasn't."

"Dumbledore?" Severus's disdain intensified with each word. "Keep in mind that he's also the one who applauded the Maraudersfor disrupting his speech. He's mental."

"I thought it was funny," Lily said quietly.

Severus stopped walking to gawk at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "It was Potter. You know, tall, dark hair that resembles a pigsty, a swollen head, so swollen, that he can barely manage to hold up?"

"I thought the way Dumbledore handled it was funny. You don't need to tell me how swollen Potter's head is. It's impossible to miss," Lily said, arching an eyebrow as if she couldn't quite make out Severus's cryptic thought process.

Severus felt his tension ease at once and quickly caught up to her. He shot her a quick half-smile. "Maybe you're right about Caldwell."

It was a peace offering. A subtle yet painful one. Severus never liked to admit he was wrong, even to Lily. From Lily's own smile, he could tell that she understood.

Before Lily could say anything, Peeves made an unwanted appearance. Severus and Lily had always done their best to avoid the poltergeist, but their luck had evidently run out.

"An ickle Slytherin and an ickle Gryffindor?" Peeves said gleefully. "PREPOSTEROUS! LUDICROUS!" As he listed other words that went along with 'preposterous' in an obnoxiously singsong voice, he began pelting the two with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Severus and Lily had no other choice but to run the rest of the way.

By the time they had arrived to the classroom, they were two minutes late and out of breath. Professor Caldwell looked at them expectantly, her merry expression never faltering.

"Sorry…Professor," Lily managed to say between breaths. "Peeves."

"Ah," Professor Caldwell gave an understanding nod. "Please open your books to the first chapter."

Severus and Lily quickly scurried to a pair of empty seats in the back. Severus could already tell that he disliked the new teacher. The ever-present cheeriness was beginning to unnerve him.

"We'll first discuss the Curse of the Bogies," Professor Caldwell announced, a broad smile still plastered on her face.

Severus was satisfied to see that the dismay on Lily's face mirrored his own feelings. They had already learned about the Curse of the Bogies the previous year. It hardly warranted a discussion.

After Alice Clarke had finished chiming in an extremely long response, Severus turned to Lily. She was resting her head in her arms, her hair spilling over the desk in a waterfall of red. Her eyelids were fastened shut. As much as he hated to wake her, he didn't want her to end up in detention. His eyes never leaving Caldwell, Severus nudged Lily awake. She bolted upright, glancing around in surprise, before recovering.

"Sorry," Severus whispered, his dark eyes dancing with amusement.

Lily made a face at him before returning to her half asleep state.

It didn't take long to make his final verdict. Professor Caldwell wasn't as dense as Severus had originally expected her to be, but she was dull. Hawthorne hadn't been afraid to delve into the darker depths of the subject, but Caldwell clearly censored whatever she had deemed unsuitable for young ears, which was too much for Severus's liking.

The Marauders proved to be restless as well. Midway through the class, Severus noticed Potter's head was bent close to Black's. The two were whispering, occasionally stealing peeks at Professor Caldwell. It was a definite sign of upcoming mischief. Severus stiffened, anticipating that he was their prey.

Fortunately for him, the Marauders had other plans. Those plans consisted of ending the lesson early. A minute later, a Dungbomb was mysteriously hurled toward Caldwell's desk. Two minutes later, the students were excused and Professor Caldwell was no longer smiling.

"I admit it. You were right," Lily said, pinching her nose as they exited the classroom. "That was awful. A roll of parchment on the Curse of the Bogies!"

Severus was just glad that they seeing eye to eye again.

1972

Lily stared at the parchment in front of her, absorbing each and every word for the eleventh time. When she was done, she viciously crossed it out with her quill, scowling.

For the past two hours, she had been attempting to write a letter to Petunia. Her anger had whittled down gradually, only to be replaced by guilt. Perhaps Petunia had been wrong to try to trick her into expulsion, but Lily was forced to admit that she hadn't been the best sister either.

Petunia had been right. She and Lily had been best friends before Severus. It wasn't as if Lily had purposely replaced her. She had tried a countless amount of times to merge the two friendships, but each time had failed miserably. Both Petunia and Severus had been so set in their convictions that neither one had bothered to give the other a chance. When Severus wasn't glowering at Petunia, Petunia was glaring back, her favorite word never far away.

But still, Lily reflected. She could have tried harder.

"Guess what, Evans?"

Lily didn't glance up from her parchment, but her grip involuntarily tightened around her quill. She was never in the mood for James Potter, but she especially wasn't today. "You're expelled for throwing a Dungbomb in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"No, that old cow never knew what hit her," Potter boasted.

"Oh. Just wishful thinking then," Lily looked up at last, her green eyes narrowing. "What do you want, Potter?"

"I want you to guess, Evans," Potter said impatiently. His grin never wavered while his hazel eyes sparkled impishly beneath his glasses. There was something so alive about him that it exhausted Lily just to look at him. She still hadn't managed to catch up on her sleep.

"I did guess," Lily said through clenched teeth. She couldn't understand his ability to madden her. It was astonishing how a simple grin had the power to make her want to rip her hair out.

"Guess again."

"Do you want me to jinx you?" Lily threatened.

"You wouldn't."

Lily smiled sweetly at him and lifted her wand. Potter stared at her, obviously trying to determine if she was serious or not.

"Fine! I'll tell you myself," Potter said as if it was doing Lily a great favor. His hazel eyes didn't leave Lily's wand until she set it safely down. "I'm trying out for the Quidditch team."

Lily eyed him, visibly unimpressed. "That's it?"

"I did say Quidditch team, didn't I? Not Gobstones?" Potter sounded bewildered. He was clearly wondering why she wasn't jumping for joy at his announcement. Lily couldn't fathom why he had expected her to.

"You did," Lily said flatly.

"But it's Quidditch!" Potter said again, emphasizing the last word melodramatically as if it meant everything.

"Which is why I'm not surprised."

"Because I'm an excellent Chaser with a Nimbus One Thousand?" Potter said excitedly, tousling his hair until it was untidier than ever.

"Because you never shut up about it!" Lily exclaimed, louder than she meant to. She quickly busied herself, focusing once more on her letter. She didn't look up again, even though Potter hadn't moved. She didn't even flinch when she heard Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew join him. As they prattled on about Caldwell and Quidditch, Lily's grip on her quill tightened. It was threatening to snap at any moment.

"What are you writing anyway?" Potter said suddenly, snatching the letter away before Lily could stop him. Black and Pettigrew eagerly gathered around him. Lupin stood back, not meeting Lily's eyes.

"Tuney," Potter cleared his throat and then continued in a dramatic voice. "I'm sorry-"

That was the final straw for Lily. Before Potter could react, Lily brandished her wand toward him. "Silencio."

Potter opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He stared at her, thunderstruck, as Pettigrew quickly backed away. Feeling immensely satisfied, Lily snatched the parchment from Potter and crumpled it up. She was only sorry that she hadn't learned that particular spell her first day.

"How did you manage a Silencing Charm?" Lupin sounded genuinely curious, ignoring Potter's furiously waving hands. "We don't learn those until third or fourth year."

"I like Charms," Lily said, feeling considerably more fond of them now that Potter was silent. She gathered her belongings, not bothering to stifle a yawn. "I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, Remus, Sirius, Peter." She turned to each one with a cheery smile, pointedly ignoring a fuming Potter.

"Aren't you going to undo it?" Pettigrew burst out anxiously, his small eyes surprisingly wide as he stared at his hero. Instead of his usual worshipful gaze, it was pure horror.

Lily shrugged, unperturbed by Potter's predicament. She turned on her heel. "I never learned the counter spell."

"But we have plans to make! Havoc to cause!" Black was aghast. "How are we going to scare Caldwell off if he can't even talk?"

Lily paused to look over her shoulder. "Give him a quill."

Still smiling, Lily made her way up the staircase to the girls' dormitory. When she snuck a final look, she almost burst out laughing. Pettigrew was frantically searching the common room for a quill while Black tried to read Potter's enraged lips. Lupin seemed almost healthy as he watched the scene in amusement, the corners of his lips turning up. He was unable to fight back his laughter as Potter began swatting his wand against Black's arm in frustration, causing red sparks to fly.

Lily had a very good feeling that she would sleep in peaceful silence that night.