Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

A/N: Hello people! Hope all of you had a Very Merry Christmas. I would post this up sooner, but this site wasn't working for me for the past few days. Moving on, I'd like to thank Moonlight-Muse, Night-'n'-Day, Futon, and Emily Woodmark for their reviews. This is where my story actually starts, so I hope you enjoy!

Nighttime Conversations

Sixteen-year-old Lily Evans entered Gryffindor Tower, wearing a sullen expression. The common room was unusually empty, even for a Saturday night. She walked up to the armchairs near the fire, where her best friend, Arabella Figg, was reading a book.

Bella put her book down and faced Lily, who had just sat down. "Here before eleven, of course."

"Well, as school prefect, it is my responsibility to set a good example for my fellow students, regardless of age, size, or any other factor that defines a certain-"

Bella cut Lily off. "Lily, you're rambling."

Lily looked sheepishly at Bella and fell silent, looking subdued.

"What happened?" Bella asked Lily gently. "Bad date?"

"I'd prefer if we didn't talk about it just right now," Lily said.

"Okay," said Bella slowly, and she returned back to her book. Five..., she counted in her head, Four.... Three.... Two..... One...

"You'd think dating him for eight months would tell me all I need to know about him," Lily started, talking about her Slytherin boyfriend, Severus Snape. "But nope, he becomes all moody and unpredictable today."

Bella smiled. She knew her friend too well to know that she wouldn't talk about her date. But then she took in what Lily just said and became a bit angry. "Why, what'd he say this time?" she asked, not bothering to keep her sourness to a minimum. It was common knowledge that all the Gryffindors were unhappy about the Lily-Snape relationship. They failed to see what Lily saw in the greasy, slimy-haired kid. In turn, the Slytherins were furious that Snape was dating a Muggle-born.

"Nothing," said Lily gloomily.

"Then what's the problem?"

"That is the problem Bella!" Lily cried. "He just seemed so....distant."

"Oh," said Bella. "And is that a problem?"

"Bella!" said Lily, but she couldn't help smile.

"Come on Lily," said Bella, flipping through the pages of her book. "If you have a problem with him every single Saturday, why not just break up?"

"Because I really like Severus!" Lily exclaimed. "He's always been so nice to me. I mean, it takes lots of courage to date a Muggle-born."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, how brave of him."

Lily bit her lip and fell quiet. It was time for a change of subject, she thought.

"So, what'd you do today?" she asked brightly.

"I was reading this oh-so-wonderful Muggle romance novel you gave me last year," Bella said. "Seriously, these Muggles are so silly and dramatic. Sort of like you," she added.

It was Lily's turn to roll her eyes. "The common room's really empty tonight," she remarked, looking around and noticing that no one above third year was there, except them of course.

"Yeah," Bella said. "Our fellow Gryffindors are pairing up before the Winter Ball. What's weird though is that the Marauders were here on this lovely Saturday night. Well, except Remus, of course."

"No, that can't be," Lily said. "I just saw Michelle on my way up here." Michelle Andrews of Ravenclaw was Remus' long-time girlfriend.

Bella shrugged. "That's what the rest of the Marauders told me. Michelle could have been coming from the Astronomy Tower or something. How romantic...." she said in a dreamy tone.

Lily laughed. "So where are James, Sirius, and Peter now?" she asked, looking around the room.

"They just left a little while ago."

"Sneaking around the castle, I suppose." Lily said stiffly. "Really, they're going to get caught one of these days. Actually, if I were a better prefect-"

"You'd go alert a teacher. I know Lil, you've told me so many times. Lighten up, they're just having some fun." Bella paused. "Actually, you should get to know them. Especially James. I'm sure you two would hit off."

Lily looked revolted at the very idea of spending time with James Potter.

"You never had a problem with him before," Bella told her.

"Yeah, because he was different back then. Now all he does is break rules. And people like you encourage him!"

Lily and Bella were quiet for a while. Then-

"So, how come you didn't have a date tonight? Didn't get asked by the right person?" Lily teased.

Bella opened her mouth to say something, couldn't think of what to say, and closed it again.

"Bella, why don't you just tell Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, like Sirius Black, the lady's man, would ever want to have anything to do with me." Bella said sadly.

"You two are on the Quidditch team," Lily pointed out.

"But Quidditch and romance are two different things. It's pretty obvious that he doesn't look at me more than a fellow Quidditch player or a friend," Bella said.

"I'm sure we could change that," Lily said, her eyes glinting.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Well, the ball is coming up, just like you said. Just look stunning and make sure you have a really hot partner."

Bella's eyes widened. "Lily Evans! You've been reading too many romance novels!"

Lily smiled mischievously. "Just trying to help a friend in need."

"I knew there was some fun, crazy person behind that school prefect!" Bella exclaimed.

Lily suddenly straightened up and realized what she was saying. "Okay, well, we could talk about all this nonsense later. Right now it's time we go to sleep."

Bella mumbled something that sounded distinctly like "spoke too soon," but followed Lily to their dormitory anyway.

After ten minutes, Lily was in bed and thinking about her date. She suddenly felt gloomy again, but decided that she would talk to Severus at the Slytherin table tomorrow over a piece of toast. She avoided eating meals with Severus at the Slytherin table, where they were both jeered at a lot, but this was important. And after that, she thought no more.

A/N Again: If you've read it, please review! I'm hoping to post the next chapter up pretty soon.