In A Nutshell

A/N: I'm really really sorry everyone for not updating for such a long time but I just have had a ton of exams so yeah..okay enuff of me yabbering and on with the show. Okay, I'm not sure whether I mentioned what year they are in or anything, so I'm just going to say that they are in fourth year..hehe sorry if it's totally wrong. I'm gonna try to get this story to follow the Canon as much as possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the stuff you don't quite remember from the Harry Potter series

Chapter 20: Business as Usual

"I can't believe Severus humiliated me in front of everyone!" Groaned Sirius, while Becky just shot him a look.

"There was only Kim, Lily, Malfoy and Snape.not quite everyone in the world Sirius." Becky replied. They were both in the hospital ward drinking some headache potion.

Everything that had just happened seemed just like a blur. Seeing Snape in so much pain, seeing Malfoy just hop out of nowhere, feeling herself being grabbed by Malfoy and what Snape had done, and seeing what Lily had done. She felt somewhat indebted to Snape, but she felt as though Snape did not what her to be, so by feeling that she was already wronging him again. Thinking hurt..now she knew how Peter felt..

Sirius was spinning around, well not literally but his thoughts were. He remembered the potion, going up to the ward, seeing James, seeing Lily, Snape then what the hell Malfoy? Then Becky got trapped and all he could feel was pain and panic. What if something happened to Becky? What if he never got to talk to her again? He cast the body bind spell on him, and he fell to the floor, why hadn't anyone thought of that? Snape had made Becky stop bleeding, and Sirius tried doing the same to Snape but the four years of hatred could not vanish in just one second, and it had failed. Then Lily could do it. But wasn't Lily a muggle-born? I thought it could only be done by Purebloods? Huh? Thinking hurt.more than usual..(haha)

Kim was lying in the ward, she had already choked down her potion, and was now just lying there. All the events of the nights were getting to her. Malfoy wanted her, and he had almost killed her friends in order to get to her. Why? Deep down Kim knew why. Kim's blood lineage was one of the purest in Gryffindor, with the exception of Potter and Black. Kim practically went around in the same social circles as Malfoy, Potter and Black. Most of the Slytherins's bloodline was not even as pure as hers.

She still remembered the near raping of Lily. Why would Malfoy had controlled Snape to do that? Was it just some animal instinct? And why Snape? And what was it with Snape? She felt so confused, but she did not even want to compare herself to Lily, who was probably feeling so turmoiled, so confused. How was James? She wondered, how could she go to sleep while she was thinking of all of this?

Lily had made her way back to James's cubicle. When she had left to call Madame Pomfrey James was no where near being on the road to recovery, but now he seemed to be well on his way. His breathing was easy, he no longer looked so hurt, James did not need her right now, Severus did. Lily, contrary to most beliefs, was not one to ponder and think about what had happened, what could have happened. She was clear on whatever had happened, but she lived for the present, not for what had just happened. Now she knew that Severus had not nearly-raped her, it was Malfoy, damn that scum. She knew that it was not Remus, and that was probably the thing she was most grateful for. She now knew Remus was a werewolf, but she always had that hunch, it really was the bad acting of the guys when trying to pick which relative should be struck down by "that contagious bug, terrible isn't it?"

James, in his sleep, had begun to murmur, and Lily couldn't' help herself, she bent in to listen. What she heard made her draw back in disgust.

"Of course I love you Anne.Yup..only you.." James was smiling in his sleep now, but Lily noticed that the names kept changing, from Anne to Veronica to Sybill (not Trelawny) but it never stopped at Lily. Never. Lily felt so hurt, and she did not know why. She had convinced herself that she was not falling to James, but the events of the days past had led her to think that James really cared for her, but obviously that was wrong wasn't it? James had that smug look on his face, and Lily could not help but wish that he could just push him into the dirt, just wipe that smirk of his face.

"I helped you recover" She hissed at James, then realized how ridiculous that must have sounded, hissing to someone who was asleep. Well, she was definitely not going to dwaddle around and wait for Potter to gain consciousness to begin playing his coy games with her again.

She stalked out of the cubicle and walked towards Severus's. She saw him lying there, shooting flies down with his wand, and grinned to herself.

"The notorious fly killer strikes again." She joked, as she slipped into the cubicle.

"Hi, a simple Hi would have been fine.." He laughed, but he seemed grateful for Lily's company.

There was an awkward silence, and Lily was wondering what to say when Severus suddenly came to a decision.

"Evans, please. Just don't come near me, I don't know what I will do, you're not safe. Just leave. Please." Severus managed to spit out, trying to cover his hurt with bitterness, he had been doing that for the past four years hadn't he?

"You think that would scare me away? I'm always here." Lily replied, unfazed.

"However, I respect a patient's decision and I don't want to get thrown out too soon, so bye." She relented, but before she left, she whispered something which Severus had to strain to hear, but she was too quiet, and she left, leaving Severus wondering whether he had made the right decision.

Severus was always a rather smart boy, he knew that just as long Lily was around him, Luscius would try to harm her again, and anyway Lily, a muggle- born, would be in danger around a Slytherin. It would damage Lily and damage himself. Even as friends, that mixture was liable to be potent. He had to use some of the qualities which landed him in Slytherin, he had to let go whatever he wanted for the benefit of himself. So ironic, he thought bitterly, so ironic.