There was never a better time to be at Hogwarts, Lily Evans reflected, than the fall. Everything seemed so much sharper. The dark green leaves of the trees in the Forbidden Forest stood in contrast to the deep blue of the sky. The clouds seemed whiter, the lake bluer.
She stood, half listening, as Professor Watkins of care of Magical Creatures listed the many uses of Unicorn hair. The silver hair of the young unicorn glistened in the sunlight. Many of the Gryffindor girls--and some Slytherins--were gathered around the creature, cooing. Lily stood apart from the group, a distant look in her eyes, lost in thought.
It had been a boring day for the Ice Queen otherwise known as Lily. She had already snickered at Sandra Diggory's inability to go near the unicorn due to her...er, promiscuity. No doubt her twin brother Amos, of Hufflepuff, would be lecturing her that night. She had already stuck tape to Laura Mashburn's rear end and hidden Frank Longbottom's pet toad. There wasn't much more she could do.
But the day was lacking excitement.
Lily narrowed her eyes as she saw Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and Sirius Black laughing over Laura's be-taped ass. It was a shame having Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindors.
Sardonic, sharp, and ever sarcastic, Lily Evans was the picture perfect Slytherin. It mattered not that she was Muggle born--the first one placed in Slytherin in over 30 years, it was rumored. No, her Muggle heritage had stopped being an issue in her first year, when Todd Flint had come off worse in a fight with her over the matter...twice.
Sighing, Lily flipped her ruddy locks and turned to her number one compadre, sour-faced Severus Snape. No one, Slytherin or otherwise, understood the Lily-Snape dynamic. Lily although constantly cynical, was most often seen with a smile on her face, constantly stirring up trouble. Severus on the other hand, didn't appear to know how to smile and was a known stickler for rules. But somehow, the friendship had endured their 6 years at Hogwarts and was entering its seventh.
"Sev, do you ever get the feeling as we grow older, our lives become increasing mundane?"
Snape's reply was to arch his thick, dark unibrow.
"Think about it. It's October. This time 2 years ago, we would have gotten at least 10 detentions already."
"We?"
"Granted. Me."
"You're Head Girl," Severus admonished. "You should be setting an example. Get your priorities straight, Lil."
"Right. That's me. The picture of perfection. The inspiration to all those hoping to grow up to be tight-assed bitches with an affinity for wisecracks."
"You're a real bitch, you know that, Lil?"
"This coming from someone that would be a bitch if he was female."
"Well. Until I get the sex change, I'll settle for being a full-blown bastard."
Before Lily could agree, the bell rang. The two trooped towards the castle in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts once again.
***
In a dimly lit tower some miles away, a meeting was being held.
"Well Lucius? Do you have any more recruits for me?"
A tall, handsome boy, with silver blonde hair and sharp features, shook his head, obviously trembling from head to toe. Whether it was due to the icy temperature of the room or his great fear of the man standing before him was impossible to tell.
He had disappointed his master. And would be punished, undoubtedly.
"No Master. McNair has already recruited the young Goyle and Crabbe." He looked up hopefully. "Though I've heard rumors Lestrange is interested in joining..." He broke off meagerly, seeing this news wasn't enough to keep away the pain...pain like he had never experienced before. Pain that was indescribable. Something he knew he could never get used to, even as he neared his second year as a Death Eater.
His master was looking at him expectantly, cold, calculating. It was rare that someone who disappointed this man--if he could even be called that--got away scotch-free. Lucius could see this, in the menacing glitter of his eyes, the way he stood, though not tall, towering over Lucius, more powerful than anything Lucius had ever seen or even heard of.
"There is a girl!" Lucius burst out, desperately. "A Slytherin. And Head Girl. She's quite clever and extraordinary at Charms, I've heard. She'd be perfect...as part of The Plan..." He broke off, hoping it would be enough. Enough to save him.
A look of interest was now flashed in Lord Voldemort's eyes. "What is her name?" he asked, his pale features standing in great contrast to the dark stone walls of the tower they stood in.
"Lily. Lily Evans."
"Very well. Bring her to me. You may go now Malfoy. Do not disappoint me."
Yes, he had saved himself. Surely the Evans girl would come. She must. His life, and others in his circle, depended on it.
***
"Ugh."
"Why are we ugh-ing, Lily?" Mychal Johnson, a Ravenclaw sixth year, asked slapping mashed potatoes onto her plate.
Severus, Lily, and Mychal were sitting at the end of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, eating lunch.
"People." Lily scoffed. "Can't stand 'em. McGonagall only gave me 98% on my quiz, the Cannons lost yet another game, and look at this."
She plopped that morning's Daily Prophet onto the table. "5 Muggles killed last night, with the Dark Mark found hovering over the house. How sick is that? What kind of people would do that? To stoop so low as to kill people who don't even know what a wand is, much less which way to point it?
Mychal and Lily, both reading the article, failed to notice the fact that Snape had gone extremely pale. How he'd been able to keep his turn to Voldemort and then his turn back a secret, had been a mystery to him. But a mystery he felt best left unsolved. He didn't know how he could explain his turn to the Dark Side or the fact that Lily had been part of the reason for his return to the Light.
The pale color of his face was replaced by a blush at the thought of Lily.
"Snape? Hello? What did you get on the quiz?" Lily asked, looking slightly annoyed. She flipped her hair, a sure sign that Snape had entered her bad side. He wasn't worried. He never stayed on Lily's bad side for long. He could still remember clearly the day their friendship had begun. Hey Sour-pants. Mind passing me those beetles, she had asked, glaring up at him, extremely short for her age even then.
"75%"
Snort. "Thanks, Sev. I needed that. Now by comparison, my 98 looks stellar. Too bad the 4 Musketeers over there always beat me somehow," she said, beckoning vaguely towards the Gryffindor table where James Potter and his cronies were sitting.
***
"The 4 musketeers always beat me!" James Potter mimicked in disgust. He pushed back his trademark, messy black hair. "The Bitch Goddess has landed."
Remus chuckled appreciatively. "Come on now, James. She's not all bad. I had her my study group last semester and found her quite amusing."
"She's a Slytherin." Sirius said, unbelievingly.
"And she hangs out with Snape." Peter added.
Remus blanched. "Point taken. But you all have to admit, she is rather hot."
James looked appraisingly at Evans, as a 17 year-old is wont to do. There was no doubt she was pretty. She stood out with her curly, red hair and emerald green eyes. She was short for her 17 years of age, only 5'3", but had an hourglass figure. No, he couldn't deny Lily had the looks. The problem was, where was the personality?
He turned back to his friends, who were now discussing the upcoming quidditch match. Thoughts of Lily Evans vanished, as he jumped in to argue with Sirius over what he thought their best shot at winning was.
***
"Are you prepared, Severus?" Albus Dumbledore asked gravely, the usual twinkle in his eyes vanished.
Snape refrained from rolling his eyes. They went through this every month, every meeting of his circle of Death Eaters, headed by Lucius Malfoy. He understood the dangerous position he had placed himself in. He felt he deserved it, for ever straying. But there was nothing to worry about. No one was onto him. He had the look of a Death Eater and the sour demeanor that came with it. He knew the information he brought back was valuable and was willing to risk his life for it--and for Dumbledore, a man who had believed his story when most would have condemned him.
"I'm prepared, sir. There should be more news of new recruits tonight. I'll be able to bring more names if all goes well."
"Be careful, Severus. That's the number one rule of the game we're playing. Be careful."
Snape couldn't help smirking. He was, after all, still a Slytherin. It wasn't like Dumbledore to be so melodramatic. But though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he felt touched by Dumbledore's concern for his welfare.
"I'll be careful, sir."
With that, Snape stood up and strode out the door.
***
Lily sat in the dark Slytherin Common Room, staring blankly into the fire. She wasn't really thinking. Just sitting, just letting the waves of heat from the fire wash over her. The Slytherin Common Room always had to be so damn cold.
Where was Severus? Where did he go every month? If Lily didn't know better, she would think Severus was a werewolf.
She snorted at the thought. More likely, a vampire.
"Hey, Lil." Leila Zabini, a pretty 6th year perfect, sat down next to Lily.
Lily smiled warmly at the girl. Leila was one of the few Slytherin girls that didn't annoy the hell out of Lily.
That, Lily thought, was part of being in Slytherin. You didn't enjoy anyone else's company, and in exchange no one enjoyed yours.
"So?" Leila asked, with the air of a man on a mission.
"So?" Lily asked, beginning to regret her smile of welcome at the girl.
"Is it true? You know, that you and James Potter...you know?"
Leila Zabini watched in shock, as Lily Evans tumbled off the ottoman she had been sitting on.
***
"As you all know," Lucius began, "the search for new recruits has not been going well."
He glared at the group of men and women standing before him.
"Who can tell me why?"
He was greeted by silence. The Death Eaters were all attempting to be sullenly defiant. Them listen to Lucius Malfoy? Hah. They were their own bosses.
"Wrong answer." Lucius said, so quietly they almost didn't hear him. "Crucio!" he cried, pointing his wand at the man standing nearest to him--young Severus Snape.
Snape's cry penetrated the cold night air. Lucius watched, taking pleasure from the look of pain on the boy's face. But now was not the time for play. Now was the time for work, and work he must. He put his wand away, and with a sharp kick to the half-conscious Snape on the ground, turned back to the group of Death Eaters before him.
"Despite," he said sharply, "the mistakes of you lot, I have devised a way to get back into my Master's good graces."
The Death Eaters now gave up their game of defiance and looked genuinely interested--or as genuine as a group of Death Eaters can look.
"Lily Evans is our new recruit. She, it has been said, is the heir of Slytherin, and she," he said, his voice rising powerfully, "will help us with the plan to rid the world of Mudbloods and Muggles!"
Snape who seemed to have recovered somewhat, spat venomously, "She is a Mudblood, you fool!"
Lucius' reply was a glare in the general direction of Snape, but Snape had ignited a flame with the others in his circle. The crowd was murmuring and things such as "Mudblood?" and "I've never heard such a thing," could be heard.
"Silence!" Lucius roared. "We will use the Evans girl, and you will like it!"
Snape noticed with wry amusement that Malfoy seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating. The amusement was quickly replaced by worry. Worry for Lily, worry for himself, worry for the world--what was the world they were now living in? What had it become?
***
"Checkmate."
"Damn."
"Dorks."
The three remarks had been emitted from Remus, Peter, and Sirius, each in that particular order. It was 11:30 and all was well in the Gryffindor Common Room. James Potter was staring morosely into the fire, Sirius was trying to learn how to knit, and Peter and Remus had just wrapped up their game of chess.
"Us dorks? This coming from the boy with a ball of yarn sitting in his lap." Peter said dryly.
Sirius smirked. "It appeals to the ladies, my friends."
"If the ladies happen to be looking for a grandma to baby-sit their kids." Remus snorted.
"When I'm the first one to get laid, you won't be making fun of my knitting. Now who wants me to teach them how to make a homemade potpourri? James? Feel like joining us on Planet Earth, my man?"
James shook his head, causing his glasses to slip down his nose. "What?"
"I said, would you like me to teach you how to make a glorious smelling potpourri bag out of just some old stockings? You can hang it on you door and have a fresh smelling dorm for the entire term. And fix your glasses. You look like Madam Pince."
"Sirius, am I going to have to cancel you subscription to Witch Weekly?" James asked, sliding his glasses back up his nose.
Sirius looked scandalized. "Not with the Halloween Special coming up!"
Shaking his head, Remus decided to attempt to change the subject. The best thing to do, when Sirius got in his moods.
"So what's bothering you, Jamsie?"
"Another letter from my parents. You know, the usual. Heir of Gryffindor, blah, blah, blah."
His friends nodded wisely.
James stared once more into the fire, seeming to forget his friends were even in the room. They stood up silently and trooped up the stairs to their dorm. It was best to leave James alone at times like these.
A long time after the three boys had left, James spoke, almost silently.
"Why does it matter that I'm the heir of Gryffindor? What possible difference can one person make?"
***
It was after midnight when Severus finally walked though the entrance to the Slytherin dungeon. As soon as he entered the room, Lily pounced on him.
"Where have you been, Snape?" she snapped him.
"Don't start with me, Lily. I just had the worst night imaginable."
"You had the worst night imaginable? No, no, no. That goes to me. People think me and James Potter...did the Wonky-Tonky!" She looked as though the very words hurt to say. "A Gryffindor! Imagine! Beat that, Snape." She said, her lips tight and the expression on her face still one of disgust.
Snape smiled for the first time that night. "No, Lily. I'm afraid I can't beat that."
"Yeah, I didn't think so. I'm going to bed. Night, Sev."
She skipped towards the hallway leading to the seventh year dorms and soon after she disappeared into the darkness he heard the door slam.
"Night, Lily."
A/N: I know it's a bit strange. I know Lily probably wasn't a Slytherin Bitch. And I know gorgeous Snape probably didn't have a unibrow. But bare with me. I've always wanted to do a fic with Lily in Slytherin, so here I am. Placing her in the House of the Sex Gods. ^_^ R/R, it's only proper.