A:N/ Hey! On time AND the right length. I know you love me. Thanks to everybody who reviewed:

NarglesAreBehindIt

jwtwifan

anonymous

And ESPECIALLY thanks to Ranma's girl1 who gave me advice and a lot of ideas for this chapter!

REVIEW. Hope you love it!

Disclaimer- If I was J.K Rowling I would've been tooting my own horn all over this dang story.

Madam Pomfrey had finally gotten James to leave the infirmary, with the promise that he could come back as soon as his classes were over. She'd given him the full work up- James didn't think it was fair that all he ended up with was a few scratches and a badly sprained ankle.

Lily still wasn't awake.

He'd sat and talked to her for the past four hours and still nothing.

Lily's other friends had tried too. Her limp body was surrounded by candy and presents. It seemed everybody had missed their Head Girl.

He almost missed History of Magic because he waited until the very last second to leaver her. His robes were wrinkled and his hair was messier than usual. There were stains on his tie and his socks were dirty.

And he couldn't care less.

Lily had been asleep for two days. Two. Whole. Days. Who cared about personal grooming?

A late first year gawked at him as he raced to class. Another reason he'd waited until the last possible second to leave the hospital. Ever since he'd walked through the front doors with a fainted Lily hovering behind him, he'd been attracting the attention of everybody. He could barely get through the corridors peacefully anymore.

A month ago he would have reveled in the attention. Today he just wanted to tell them to back the hell off.

All the looks he got were either glares (Slytherins) or even more annoying- the pity look. Like he was a kicked puppy or something. If Lily were awake she'd stand on the table in the Great Hall and tell everybody to stop- she was alive. But of course, she wasn't, and of course they weren't sure she'd stay that way.

And he was supposed to go to History of Magic after all of this?

He pushed the door to his classroom open roughly, ignoring the shocked stares of his classmates. He knew what he looked like- he just didn't care. Why should he?

James slammed his books down next to Sirius. Sirius didn't even look up. He knew all about his friends moods- now was not the time to push him.

"Hey" James said grumpily. Professor Binns hadn't even notice the sudden distraction in his class- he just kept droning on and on clueless to the fact that his class was paying more attention to James than his lesson.

James didn't even try to take notes, he knew he wasn't going to get anything done.

His mind was still on Lily. He knew she'd yell at him if she knew how much he was obsessing but he couldn't help it.

He could feel eyes boring into him and he did his best to ignore them. He could see them start to look away as Sirius made it his personal mission to stare down every one of them until he stopped.

Suddenly a piece of parchment was charmed to land in front of him. James didn't even notice. Sirius gave him a slight shove, breaking his deep concentration on the depth of Lily's eyes. He glared at his friend, but picked up the parchment anyways. It only had two words written on it in Sirius' handwriting-

You okay?

James chuckled to himself and took out a quill and wrote under it in his own messy scrawl:

No.

It was the first time ever that Severus Snape wasn't in class- and nobody seemed to notice. He'd slipped out of History of Magic without a mere glance from Binns- but that was to be expected, he was a ghost after all.

The hard part was going to be Madam Pomfrey. She was kind but strict and didn't like to allow visitors to see her patients. But Severus had to see Lily.

He had to.

He had tried to apologize with words and actions but it didn't seem to be enough. At least this way he could apologize without her running away- maybe she wouldn't remember it. That would be good.

As he stealthily slid through the hallways towards the Hospital Wing he started to think of what should say.

Sorry I called you a mudblood and was part of the organization that tried to kill you. Three times. Just didn't sound right.

When he finally reached the double doors that led to the Hospital Wing, Severus hesitated. He wasn't used to saying sorry. He had realized early on that his parents didn't care if he apologized or not- he'd still get the punishment. What if he was no good at it?

Who was he kidding nobody was going to hear him.

He hurried in nervously checking for the nurse- it seemed she was on break.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw her.

She was pale and her eyes were closed- hiding the beautiful green eyes he knew so well. She was in a loose white night gown. Her hair had been brushed- Hestia had been there.

Lily.

She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. He almost turned around as not to disturb her but thought better of it. He walked slowly to the bedside and hesitated before brushing a stray auburn hair out of her face.

He sighed. He missed her friendship so must. His hand darted forward, but he pulled it back at the last second. He took a deep breath and grasped her cold hand.

A tear leaked out of his eye and he wiped it away furiously.

"Lily" he whispered. "I am so sorry!" he gasped, crying freely now. "For everything- I know I've been a prat and you'll never forgive me but at least I can tell you now that-" Severus coughed.

He couldn't say it. The three words that had consumed him from the age of six.

"The thing is Lily...I-I-I I love you" the words spilled out of him and when they were out he shoved his hand over his mouth and cried harder.

He started as Lily shifted slightly under his hand. A soft voice cut through his tears

"James"

Severus leaped up from where he was sitting and ran from the room.

Lily was having the worst dream. First she was tortured, then she ran away and met a huge spider, then there was fire and finally a standoff with Voldemort himself.

And that wasn't even the scary part.

The scary part was that once Voldemort had fled, her vision had changed to a little house with pretty curtains and family photos.

That wasn't the scary part either. The scary part was who was in the family photos.

She recognized herself immediately. That was weird- James Potter was holding her around her waist. Didn't she hate him? A small voice told her that was wrong but she ignored it.

Even weirder was the small baby boy she held in her arms. When she first noticed him, she started. He had her eyes- and the beginnign of what looked like the infamous Potter hair.

Could he be?

No. She wouldn't have married James Potter. The small voice told her to remember her previous dream. They'd been pretty close in that one- but it was just a dream right?

Lily shook the weird feeling and starting exploring the house. It was decorated exactly as she had pictured her future house being. It was strange to see it so perfectly laid out in front of her.

In the kitchen, a pot of her favorite tea was brewing and her mother's china was on display in a nearby hutch. It must be her house if her mother's china was here. It had been left to her, much to Petunia's chagrin. The Weird Sisters calender on the wall marked it as July 1980.

She made her way into the living room. The sight there startled her so much she toppled over.

It was herself. Laughing happily on the couch while James Potter clapped for what appeared to be their son on a toy broomstick.

She fell hard on her back and the cursed. Surely the group had heard her. But when she looked at them, they hadn't seemed to notice. They just went happily right along joking and laughing. She could just barely make out their conversation-

"Shut up James" her eyes widened at her own voice.

"No really Lils I think he might do it!" the deep voice of James Potter spoke back. She found it strangely comforting.

"I will not have you putting wild quidditch star ideas into my son's head Potter" the other Lily said. Lily chuckled despite herself as James picked up the other her and swirled her around.

The second Lily giggled like a school girl.

The real Lily screamed at the top of her lungs, flapping her arms around like an idiot. No answer- they couldn't hear or see her.

"Potter is it, Evans?" James said jokingly as he swirled her around again. The real Lily couldn't help but smile. If this was the future- she might actually enjoy it.

Then the scene changed.

As the room swirled around her she gasped. She landed roughly in the same place she'd just left but now the other her was bringing tea to James as he conjured up bubbles for their son. She looked out the window- it was a different time of day and the calender had been set forward a few months.

She heard a shout and raced to the living room. For some reason she felt oddly scared for the family.

" Lily! Take Harry and run!" she heard James Potter yell. She watched them argue and saw herself run upstairs with Harry. Her mouth dropped all the way to the floor when the face of Voldemort loomed over James. She gasped again.

James had no wand.

She started crying when James was struck down with one blow.

Voldemort continued upstairs. Lily followed him quickly.

"Not Harry! Please not Harry! Take me instead!" she heard herself say. She watched in horror as the evil man laughed at her and raised his wand.

She covered her eyes, unwilling to see what she knew was about to happen.

Then she heard it. His voice.

James' voice.

"Lily" he said. She shook her head. He was dead. He was gone.

"Lily" she heard again.

She opened her eyes.

They were immediately met with hazel ones.

They had to be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

James had no idea why he was even doing it. After all, it was Snivellus who had told him too.

At the end of History of Magic, James bolted out of the classroom so fast, none of his friends could keep up. He had to get to Herbology and his theory was that if he went fast enough, nobody would see enough of him to stare.

Or at least he wouldn't see them.

Of course, his theory didn't work. They never did. Every person he passed had the annoying urge to stare straight at him.

As if he already wasn't mad at the world enough.

He kept barreling through the hallways despite the curious eyes following him. He didn't notice the boy in front of him until they'd slammed together.

James was knocked over, but the other boy seemed to have expected it and remained upright. He gave James his hand but James ignored it. He growled.

Snivellus.

"What do you want" he growled. As far as he was concerned Snape deserved to be shot.

"Go to the hospital wing. Now." he said gruffly. James looked at him and his eyes narrowed.

"why" he said shrewdly, ready to tear him apart if he said he'd been to see Lily. He didn't deserve to see her.

"Just go." Severus said before waking quickly away.

And James did.

He didn't know why, but he did know that Snape loved Lily and that had to mean something.

He skived off Herbology- his professor wouldn't care- she knew about Lily.

Now he was sitting in front of Lily and he had no idea why. But he did like to sit with her. He grabbed her hand.

"Hey Lils" he choked on the words. Did her eyelids flutter?

"Lily" he breathed hopefully- Did her fingers move?

"Lily" he said again. Nothing happened. He gasped.

Green eyes were trained on him now.

Lily was awake.