A/N: updated this chapter nov 2/20 to flesh it out more and make it sound less like i wrote it when i was a teenager haha oops. Enjoy! 3

"I did NOT say that!" Lily Evans shouted indignantly into the phone.

"You did, you admitted it. You think James Potter is cute," came the voice of her best female friend, Marlene McKinnon from the other end.

"That is not what I said," she groaned, falling back so she was lying on her back on the couch. "James Potter is an arrogant, bullying, slimy-"

"But cute," interjected Marlene.

"Not cute."

"LILY," came the voice of her mother from the kitchen, presumably. "Get off that phone, I need it!"

Lily sighed theatrically. "I gotta go, Mar. I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, okay?"

"See ya Lils!"

There was a click as Marlene hung up the phone. Lily had only been gone from Hogwarts for two weeks, but was already missing the castle and her friends. She had explained to Marlene how to use a phone (her parents, both being wizards, had never needed one), and Marlene had been using her next door neighbour's phone every day of the break so she and Lily could talk. Lily had made quite a few friends in her first few months at Hogwarts, but other than Severus, Marlene was her best friend.

"You kids and these telephones," said her mom, chuckling as she came into the room. "What's wrong with sending letters?"

"It takes too long, mum," groaned Lily. "Phones are faster than owl post, even."

Her mother rolled her eyes in response which Lily took that as her cue to leave. "I'm gonna go see if Sev is around," she said as her mum began dialing the phone.

"Be back before dinner!"

"I will, Mum," Lily responded. At the door, she pulled on her coat and boots to ward off the cold. Her wand remained in her room, as it always did when she was at home. She couldn't use magic outside of school and besides, it didn't seem fair to rub the fact that she was a witch in Petunia's face. Severus would probably be appaled that she didn't carry it everywhere, but then again, he hadn't grown up as a muggle.

She was nearing the park at Spinner's End when she spotted him sitting alone on one of the swings. Lily smiled secretively. At Hogwarts, she had been sorted into Gryffindor and Sev into Slytherin. They didn't often have classes together, and many of the Gryffindors didn't approve of the Slytherins. Her time with Severus had been reduced to studying in the library after classes, which was a disappointment to Lily. After all, he had been the person to teach her about the Wizarding World and prepare her for Hogwarts. He was her first friend from the wizarding world, not to mention her best friend.

"Sev," she called out when she got close enough. He turned and smiled at her. It was snowing, so his black hair had flecks of white in it and he looked cold. But his black eyes lit up when he saw her, anyways.

"How has your day been?" he asked as she sat down on the swing beside him.

"It was okay. Tuney was at a friend's house all day, though. And I'm leaving tomorrow, so I doubt I'll see mcuh of her before I go," responded Lily sadly. Petunia had been scarce all break. Lily understood that she was jealous, but it still hurt to not have her older sister around.

"I'm sorry," he responded, but she noticed the almost minute eye-roll that followed the apology. Severus, of course, did not approve of Petunia's jealousy in the slightest.

"How were things at home today?" she responded with a change in topic.

"Okay." He shrugged non-commitally. "My dad's been… well, you know. It'll be good to be back at school."

She nodded and they lapsed into silence for a few minutes. Lily looked out at the park. It was rather dismal in the winter – much nicer in the summer. She and Tuney used to play in it all the time. And, it was the place where she first met Sev, and where she first discovered she could do magic.

"I know one thing that won't be good about being back," she said as her thoughts strayed to the conversation she had had with Marlene earlier.

"Potter and Black?" responded Severus levelly.

"Got it in one," said Lily with a groan. She brushed her hair out of her eyes. The wind had picked up and was blowing hard around them. "I wish we saw more of each other at Hogwarts," she said after a moments silence.

She could feel Sev looking at her, but it was shrouded. She couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking. "I know," he said finally. "I wish…" he trailed off and looked away from her suddenly.

"I don't think any differently of you, you know," he said finally.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. She was sure she knew the answer, but puzzled as to why he would even bring it up in the first place. He stood from the swing, suddenly, and motioned for her to follow him. His skin was pale, almost sallow in the afternoon light. She could see bruises that marked his arm, disappearing into the sleeve of his jacket.

"That your parents are muggles," he said finally. "I know people make fun of you."

He didn't have to specify who "they" were, she knew he meant his friends – the other Slytherins. While Lily, upon being sorted into Gryffindors, had made friends quickly with the girls in her year, Sev hadn't felt the same about the boys. She had thought it might be her fault, at first – that they hadn't liked that his best friend was a girl. She had learned a lot since then, mostly about what it meant to be born a witch into a family of muggles. It was frowned upon – and it wasn't just the Slytheirns, although they were often the meanest about. Lily had learned quickly to not speak about home so much, or her life before Hogwarts.

Severus had reassured her that it was because he just didn't like any of the boys in his dormitory – and besides, she was his best friend. Still, though, she worried that being friends with her was making him a target amongst the Slytherins.

"It's okay," she said with a sigh. "I got bullied before Hogwarts, too. I guess even wizards have bad eggs," she gave him a small smile. "That's why I have you, though."

"And that's why I have you," he said, smiling back. "Plus, I'd be hopeless at charms without you."

She smacked his shoulder lightly. They were nearing her house, now. She could see it just up the road.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked, looking over at him carefully. He had never said yes before, but it didn't stop her asking every time.

"I can't," he responded almost immediately. His hair was falling into his face, and she resisted the urge to push it behind his ear for him.

"That's okay," she said quitely. "I'll see you on the Express tomorrow, yeah? I'll sit with you the first half of the ride."

He smiled properly at that and it made Lily's chest warm. "Okay," he said, before giving her a quick hug goodbye.

She ate quickly with her parents – Petunia was still out – before heading up to her room, determined to get a head start on some of the material they would be covering in class after the break.

The next time she looked up from A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration it was dark out. She stacked the book neatly back into her trunk where everything was already packed and slipped out the door to her room.

The hallway was dark and quiet. She felt her way along it until her hand hit a familiar doorknob. Turning it slowly, she entered Petunia's dark room. She had done this so many times throughout her life that she knew the layout of Tuney's room like the back of her hand, so creeping through the dark to Petunia's bed wasn't a challenge at all.

She shook Petunia awake and whispered, "sleepover?"

Petunia's response was to grunt in annoyance, but she did roll over and leave space for Lily in the bed. Lily crawled in, wishing, not for the first time, that her sister could come to Hogwarts, too.