Chapter Three

It seemed a perfectly normal morning when The Letter came.

Lily was laughing at Sirius's usual moronic antics involving breakfast food while Remus helped Peter with his Potions homework and James threw winks at her from across the table.

She could feel a cold pair of eyes on her from across the room, and somehow knew that they belonged to Severus. She concluded that she would have to talk to him sooner or later.

Everything was so blissfully perfect.

And then....

"Miss Evans?"

Lily looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing above her, looking unusually grim.

"Oooh, Lily," Sirius said teasingly. "You've gone off and gotten yourself in trouble, haven't you?"

"Hush, Black," snapped Professor McGonagall before continuing, in a much gentler tone, "Evans, may I see you in the hall for a moment?"

Utterly bewildered, Lily nodded and followed the Transfiguration professor out of the Great Hall.

"E...Evans," Professor McGonagall said, biting her lip.

Nervousness began to dance through Lily's veins.

"Yes?"

"I...I received a letter this morning," the professor continued gravely. "And..."

"What is it?" Lily asked, urgently.

"Evans...your home in London was...attacked last night."

"...What?" Lily whispered. The volume in her voice rose, radiating barely-contained hysterical panic. "What?? Is everyone all right? Mum, Dad, Petunia?"

"Your sister is fine," Professor McGonagall responded softly.

At first, all Lily heard was fine. Fine, fine, everyone was fine.

And then....

"Just my sister?"

Professor McGonagall nodded in verification, looking pained.

"Are my mum and dad okay?" she asked weakly.

A wet veil of unshed tears had gathered in the professor's eyes as she shook her head.

"What's wrong with them?" Lily demanded, voice trembling. "Are they hurt, are they badly injured?"

Professor McGonagall shook her head again. "No, Miss Evans."

Realization threatened to ensnare her, but she fought it desperately, fervently. No. They couldn't be...

"They can't be...."

"Dead," Professor McGonagall finished softly. "Lily, your parents are dead."

And in that instant, her world stopped, and all she could see was her mother's sweet smile and her father's green eyes.

"No," she breathed, barely audible. The world seemed to spin suddenly, and the floor took on a strange tilt. She stumbled back, her hands finding and gripping the cool stones of the wall in a desperate effort to remain upright. But it was still a difficult thing.

She was vaguely aware of Professor McGonagall speaking to her, no doubt asking if she was okay. What a silly question. How could she be okay? Her parents were dead... she was an... her breath hitched at the thought... orphan. The room spun more, and the floor seemed to be coming closer than it had been, almost too close.

And suddenly, strong arms were wrapped around her, lifting her almost effortlessly. The action brought a flood of strange relief, and she stumped against the body, letting everything go blank.

A few minutes later, a low voice interrupted her brief reprieve. "Lily... Lily, I need the password."

"Password?" she mumbled.

The voice took on a strained edge, which was when she recognized who exactly owned the voice- Severus Snape. "To Gryffindor Hall."

She closed her eyes. Somehow he had known that all she wanted to do was to curl up in her familiar bed, not be faced with the harsh starkness of the hospital wing. "Thank you, Severus..." she whispered.

He swallowed. "Lily, the password."

"Roseroot."

She heard the word repeated in Snape's voice and she let herself relax against him once again as he carried her up the stairs. A tiny smile creased her lips. She had never known a Slytherin to be such a gentleman.

Of course, she would probably never see it again.

After he was able to persuade the password to her dorm from her lips, Lily found herself being lightly set down onto her soft quilt... the quilt her mum had made and sent to her. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she clung to the material almost desperately.

She buried her face in her pillow, letting her red locks fall down to form a protective curtain around her. Only then did she let herself actually cry.

* * *

Snape stood awkwardly beside her bed. Admittedly, he had never seen a girl cry before. Oh sure, there had been a few tears after one of his snarky comments or when a fellow student had failed a test.

But never like this.

Lily's thin shoulders shook with her silent sobs, as did the rest of her body. He felt as if he should do something...

He tried to imagine what James would do were he in this situation, but he found that thinking like a Gryffindor was too damaging to his intelligence. So he simply sat down in a chair beside her bed and waited until she finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

Then he left her in what peace she could find.

* * *

Where is she??

James desperately studied the Great Hall doors, searching for a glimpse of red hair or sweet laughter. McGonagall had led her outside nearly fifteen minutes ago.

"...Right, Jamesie?" Sirius asked brightly, and only then did James realize that a conversation had been going on around him and he'd tuned it out without even noticing.

"Mmm-hmm," James said distractedly, still studying the doors.

"Have you heard a single word I said?" Sirius asked, annoyed.

"Nope," James responded promptly before rising from the table. "I'm going to look for Lily."

Sirius snorted. "Figures."

James rolled his eyes before crossing the Great Hall, tension building with every step he took. There was something wrong with her, he knew it. He stepped outside to find that neither Lily nor Professor McGonagall were in sight, and his heartbeat quickened. His surroundings flew by in a frenzied blur as he hurried down corridors and up staircases to Gryffindor Tower.

When he finally reached his destination, he was tired and out of breath, and the Fat Lady studied him, interested.

"Why were you running?" she asked.

"Never mind," he said quickly. "Just let me in. Roseroot, roseroot."

The portrait hole swung open, and James rushed into the common room, only to abruptly collide with someone else.

"Sor..." his voice trailed off as he realized just who that someone else was.

Severus Snape stood before him, looking awkward and unusually grim.

"What the hell are you doing in here, Snape?" James sneered at once. "The last time I checked, you weren't a Gryffindor."

"Clever, Potter," Snape muttered darkly, attempting to brush past him.

"No, wait," James ordered gruffly. "You didn't answer my question. What the hell are you doing in here?"

"I don't know why you would expect me to answer anything for you, Potter," Snape shot back evenly. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"What are you doing here?" James demanded.

"I came with Lily," Snape said simply.

James immediately felt his annoyance morph into full-out fury. Why the hell couldn't the slimy bastard just stay away from her??

"And what are you doing with her, Snape?" James asked, smirking. "Fancy her, do you? Think she'd stoop so low??"

"If she's already involved with you, Potter, then I don't see how she could stoop any lower."

"Listen, Snape," James growled, lowering his voice and stepping closer. "I want you to stay away from her."

"Since when is what you want any of my concern?" Snape asked coldly.

James studied Snape's face in loathing and pictured his fist colliding with that awful hooked nose in a satisfying crunch.

If he says one more thing, I'll punch him, he thought angrily. I swear to God I'll punch him.

"Your little infatuation with that Vilka bitch is one thing, Snape," James hissed. "But Lily's far out of your league. Go back to your pretty little Mudblood and don't mess with Lil. You're not worth her time."

In one swift movement, Snape's fist plunged towards James' face, and fiery pain seemed to explode through his body.

"You bastard!" James shouted, waving his fists sloppily through the air in an attempt to strike Snape back. He could feel sticky blood trickling down his face.

"I wouldn't throw around the term 'Mudblood', Potter," Snape said coolly. "In case you've forgotten, your precious Evans is Muggleborn as well." He paused. "Or perhaps you don't know her as well as a friend should? Anyone with half a brain cell knows what you want from her, you know. It's quite unlikely that you actually care about her."

"Get the hell out of here, Snape," James ordered viciously. "Get the hell out of here, or I swear I'll kill you."

Snape studied James skeptically for a moment.

"How intimidating," he deadpanned before turning and making his way rapidly toward the portrait hole. He swung it open, and was about to step out when he turned and said loftily, "And by the way, Potter, her parents are dead."

And with that, he disappeared.