The bathroom door's closing echoed in the empty bathroom. All the other students were still in the Great Hall or heading to their dorms, which allowed him the privacy he desired. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone Lily gave him and smiled to himself. With a heavy sigh, he entered a shower stall and took off his robes. As the warm water hit his face, he ran his hand through his hair and choked.

Nearly 24 hours post what should have been the end. Tomorrow was December, which meant end of term exams and holidays, neither of which he was looking forward to. He didn't know what his plans were for the night. Hell, he did not know his plans for anything. He had no plans. He was not even supposed to be alive.

It was only Tuesday, so he really had to think about what to do for his classes. Show up? The thought of going to his classes and dealing with his housemates and his professors over his absences last week and this week made him pissed.

Wednesdays meant Transfiguration with McGonagall and she was already suspicious of his lies that he was not suicidal and was fine. He had already missed eight of his classes this week. There was so much to catch up on as well from his poor attendance and work. He just did not care. He still did not care. It seemed so pointless.

While he unsure what to do about his classes, what he did know was that he zero intention of returning to the Slytherin dorms. His former friends wanted nothing to do with him and he absolutely did not trust them. He certainly did not trust being alone with them, especially while he slept. Then again if they did kill him, it would end everything anyway and they would be expelled. The issue was he knew they would not actually kill him, just hurt him.

He ran his hands down his face and cursed to himself before staring at his hands. His pale, fleshy hands that still had life. His pale slender stomach moving up and down because he was still breathing. A morose thought about his body being devoid of colour and greyed of decay as he lay in a box as it should have been entered his mind. Quickly he pushed the thought away.

After he cleaned himself up and put on clean robes, he left the shower stall. The bathroom was still empty for the time being, but dinner was ending so it wouldn't be long. He dried his hair quickly with a spell and looked at himself in the mirror at the sink. His eyes bore heavy bags underneath and his face was even more pale than he recalled. Dammit it was only nearly December. There was still six months of school to get through. The only option for the night was to go the library to study before they forced students to their dorms.

He decided to perambulate the distance to the library. The more time he could kill the better after all. Since it was still early the portraits were all busy or enjoying the leisure time before students interrupted. As he made his way down the halls, more and more students voices vibrated off the corridors. When he finally arrived at the library, he found it nearly empty to his delight. Taking the back table near the window, he flopped into a chair and shut his eyes for a moment to imbibe the silence. The librarian coughed once to disturb the quiet. The sound of rain pelting against the window calmed him. He missed his old dorm where he could hear the lake lapping against the window each night. He did not miss his dormmates.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled out some of his schoolbooks with some parchment and ink. He had two hours of time to kill.

0o0o0

Lily entered the empty common room with everyone else likely still in the dining hall. She slid her hand into her pocket and pulled out the other half of the rock. She clutched her hand tightly over it with a deep sigh and sat down by the fire. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him alone, but also did not want to overcrowd him either. She had stayed with him the entire night before and this was going to be his first night since the incident alone. Being alone and without things to occupy the mind risked his suicidal ideation returning. How would he fair in his dorms? Would he even go to his dorms? Where else could he go? She just wanted him to realize his own worth and value and feel safe. She wished he would feel some happiness again. If only she knew how to help him be happy again.

As she pondered these thoughts, fellow housemates began to enter the common room from the portrait. She pulled out her arithmancy book to start her homework and to also try and take her mind off Severus. Though she tried to convince herself he would be fine, it was hard to shake off the concern. The previous night replayed in her mind repeatedly like a horror film. How close he had come to taking his own life still unnerved her. A lump caught in her throat as she held the rock. She could not shake the feeling that his depression was partly caused by her even if she did not intend on it.

A tap on her shoulder made her jump. She turned to see her friend Niamh standing behind her. "Hey, everything okay?"

Lily cleared her throat and nodded as she tried to suck back the tears that threatened to fall. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem a little-preoccupied since this morning."

"Just thinking about the end of term, that's all." She said quickly, maybe a little too quickly because Niamh gave her a slight side eye. She had a feeling Niamh saw her damp eyes.

"Yeah, exams are going to be hectic, but we still have a couple weeks to prepare for those." She sat down across from Lily. "Hey, you sure that's all that's bothering you?" Her tone was soft, and she grabbed Lily's free hand. "What's wrong? You look like you are going to cry."

Lily sniffed, shook her head and sighed, "I'm fine, honest. Just a lot on my mind lately, that's all."

Niamh also sighed, "Okay, but you know you can always to talk to me, right?"

Lily gave her a tiny smile and looked down at the rock again. Not about this she couldn't. "I know. I'm okay. Really."

Niamh gave Lily's shoulder a slight squeeze and got up to walk to some other Gryffindors in their year. She folded her arms into her lap and stared at the crackling fire. In the span of about 24 hours so much had changed. She did not know how to tell anyone else about the situation and feared what would happen if she did. There was no way any of her friends would likely feel any sympathy for her former friend. They did not get it. They never had understood their friendship. It was hard to explain, but despite their falling out, there was always a place for him deep down. He had been the one to show her the magic. The diverging of their paths and house rivalries had seeped down and cracked their friendship over the years, but they still had a lot of memories. They were not all as bad as the ones that helped end their friendship. Most were indeed good memories.

A small pain gripped inside the pit of her stomach and she brought her folded arms closer to her abdomen. The lump in her throat returned.

"Having the cramps, Lily?" A voice sneered behind her.

She jumped slightly and turned to glare at them, "No, Black, I'm not." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Sure about that? You've been awful moody today."

She scoffed and started to get up from the chair, "Screw you."

"Well, I'll save that one for Potter for you."

Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Keep it. You can both screw each other instead." She stood up with her arms still folded across her stomach.

"Well, that's a nice offer, but I don't think James would be as interested."

"I'm neither in the mood nor do I care for your tired old jokes." She turned on her heel and walked towards her dorm.

"He's just kidding, Lils." James blurted.

She turned to look at James for a moment, her lips pursed, "If you say so." She wheeled herself back around to the dorm stairs.

Alone in her dorm, she decided to try and study some to take her mind off Severus. He had promised her he would not end his life right now, so she had to trust him at his word.

In the middle of the night, Lily bolted up in her bed in a cold sweat. The room was silent minus the slight creaking of branches outside and the snores and heavy breathing of her dormmates. The stone. Where was it? A surge of panic washed over her as she felt all around under her sheets. She neither felt nor saw it. In the darkness, she leaned over and snatched her wand from her nightstand and accioed it. It emerged from under the duvet to her great relief. As she looked at it, it was still clear meaning he had not summoned her. She gripped the stone tight in her hand and crawled back under the covers out of the chill of the winter night. With heavy eyes, she drifted back into slumber, the rock still in her hand which was tucked under her stomach.

0o0o0

Severus managed to get some of his homework done before he was basically kicked out of the library. Everyone rushed by him to get to their dorms before curfew. He just hung back and loitered near the entrance of the dorms until the rush died down. He dragged his feet into the common room and found a seat off in the corner away from the lingering students not ready to turn in for the night.

With his back turned from his fellow housemates, he opened his arithmancy textbook and began to work on one of the assignments. Slowly over the course of the next hour, the room thinned out until the heads came out and told everyone to get to their room. At that point, Severus gathered his books and headed to the bathroom. A couple other students were in there, so he went into a stall and sat down. Once the voices died down and silence deafened the lavatory, he exited the stall. He carefully opened the lavatory door and found an empty and darkened hallway. Careful to keep his steps from alerting his presence, he entered the deserted common room. He left the Slytherin dorms and made his way to a nearby study room. With a heavy sigh, he flopped onto the lounge chair and tossed his bag onto the floor. The fire let out a soft crackle as it died out.

Severus reached into his pocket and ran his fingers over the rock. He clutched it in his fist and delicately pulled it out as if he might drop it. Slowly he opened his fist to reveal the rock. A tiny smile crept at the corner of his lips as he stared at it. It was surprising she had given this to him. He was unsure when she made this item or who she might have given it to before unless she had made it today. Lily was gifted at charms and this would not have been complicated for her to create. Still, it would have taken a little time. He did not know what to think about her giving him this and telling him to use it if he needed anything at all, even in the middle of the night. It still baffled him that she even bothered to care.

A log rolled back in the fireplace and he wrapped his fingers over the rock before placing it back into his pocket.

Severus was not sure when he fell asleep, but it was not long enough as he groggily opened his eyes with his alarm. Darkness still penetrated the room as he laid on the chair. With a heavy sigh, he was reminded that it was now December. The calendar in the room had flipped overnight with a large red circle over the 1st. Cheery displays of the coming holidays would soon be everywhere, and he mentally groaned thinking about it. Soon enough almost everyone would be going home. Except him. He had not thought that far ahead but figured he would stay behind.

He swung his legs around to touch the floor and rolled his neck and shoulders to ease the stiffness of sleeping on a chair. With a heavy sigh, he put his hand into his pocket and felt for the rock. Feeling it in his pocket, he decided it was time to return to the start of the year. If his life was not ending, he had to get his life back on track. This meant he would resume attending his classes whether he wanted to or not.

As he stood up, he glanced to the window to see the purple streaks of the sunrise beginning. He grabbed his bag and left the study room to an empty corridor. His footsteps echoed in the hall as he sauntered to the lavatory to get ready for the day,

Severus entered the quiet Great Hall. Only a handful of students were up and eating breakfast. Lily was likely not awake yet so he took a seat at the end of the Slytherin table. Only two other students were at there as he grabbed a toast with jam. He watched over the next hour as more students filtered in until he saw Lily enter the Hall. Her eyes darted around the room until they locked with his. She sighed with relief and smiled at him before going to the Gryffindor table.

Now that she had seen he was okay, he left the Hall and strolled to his first class. Upon finding the classroom empty, he took a seat at the back corner and opened his Transfiguration text and worked on the assignment due that day.

He was deep into the assignment when he was startled by a figure next to him. Severus jumped and turned to see Lily. "Geez, Lily, you're like a cat. I didn't even hear you walk in."

Her eyes widened for a moment with a start and then she laughed. "I didn't mean to startle you. Just wondered how things were going."

He sighed. "They are going."

"Decided to attend classes today?" She sat beside of him.

"May as well. Since I'm not dead, best get back on with things."

She frowned and her shoulders sunk. "I wish you didn't feel so down. I wish there was something I could do to make you happy again."

He gripped his quill tight, "I don't know how to be happy."

"Well maybe you can let me try to help." She put her hand over his free hand.

He glanced at her. "Lily, you know I care about you and trust you, but I just, I, I don't know how you can possibly make things better."

Her jaw locked as she gave a soft huff, "Still, if you'll let me, I can be your friend again."

"You're the only friend I've got right now," he admitted. "I've nearly finished this assignment at least. Trying to play catch up." He turned to face her, "What's your class this morning?"

"Sciences. Then English. I have free period after lunch before Charms."

He raised an eyebrow. "So do I. Double Transfiguration this morning. Then a free period before Arithmancy."

She smiled at that, "So, want to hang out then?"

He shrugged, "I have a lot of homework or I'd say yes."

She gripped his hand, "Then we can do homework together. If you want, that is."

With her hand on his, a faint smile pierced his lips, "Sure. I'd like that."

Her eyes bore into his for a moment until the door pushed fully open and they turned to see who it was.

McGonagall nearly jumped at the sight of them. "Oh, good morning. Ms Evans, what are you going here? You don't have class again until tomorrow morning."

"I was just talking to Severus."

"I see. Good morning, Mr. Snape. It's nice to see you in class again."

He was hoping she wouldn't be here so early.

"Feeling any better?" She asked him. Her eyes narrowed at him, yet had a soft edge to it.

Not really, he thought, "Fine. I'm here."

Lily stood up, "I better get upstairs to class. I'll see you at lunch, then?"

He nodded, "See you then." He watched her leave the room and turned back to his parchment.

The room was silent for a moment and he noticed McGonagall had left. A shadow appeared over his paper and he again jumped. "Geez, why is everyone sneaking up on me today?"

"Completed your missing assignments yet?" She asked, unfazed at his response.

"Most of them, Professor."

"Severus?"

He cringed.

"I know I'm not your head of house, but I'm still your professor. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask. We may be professors, but we are all here to help too. The teenage years can be rough."

He tried to give her faint smile but couldn't succeed. "Thanks. I'm fine."

She nodded, but he could tell she did not believe him. "Well, my door is always open if you ever want to talk about it."

He sighed and went back to his assignment though he could feel her watching him. He could only think how much school sucked right now and how much he did not want to be here.

It was a long morning with McGonagall. Her eyes shifted towards him frequently during the class. He could only think how much school sucked right now and how much he did not want to be here.