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and to everyone who favorited the story and added it to their alerts! I love you all!

Sorry guys, but no ball-hexing in this chapter...although that would be fun to write!

I hope everyone's enjoying this story...I'm doing my best! I'm so OCD I'll read a chapter like three times before I post it, trying to make everything perfect and make sense, and then someone reviews and points out a mistake I made, and I feel so dumb! Anyway, hope this chappie is up to your expectations!

YAY! Long chapter!

CHAPTER FIVE 'Reunion'

Lily opened her eyes and turned over, causing the sheets to make a crinkling sound. She sat up and looked around. Severus' letters were scattered around her. Suddenly she remembered what happened last night, how she left James in front of the bar. She had never done that before. It was like a feeling of freedom that she had never felt before when she was with James. It was like a heavy quilt was wrapped around her, denying her the ability to move, and it was suddenly lifted off for a few minutes, enabling her to walk away from James.

Lily glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was already late in the afternoon. How could she have slept that long?

Lily pushed the blankets back and got out of bed just as someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"Lily?" her mother called. "Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"Are you feeling better?" Mrs. Evans asked as she opened the door.

"Yes, much better."

"Then I guess you'll be up to receiving a visitor?"

"It is James?" Lily heard a scrap of distaste infiltrate her words.

"No, it's another young man. He asked to see you, said he knew you from school. He didn't say his name, just said that you would know him. He looks familiar, but I can't put my finger on who it is..."

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute," Lily said, and her mother closed the door.

Lily wondered curiously who it could be as she changed her clothes and combed her hair. She peeked over the stair rail as she walked down the stairs, trying to catch a glimpse of the visitor.

"Lily, we're in here," Lily's mother called, hearing her come down.

Lily followed her mother's voice to the sitting room. There was a dark-haired man sitting there. When she entered the room, he stood, eyes suddenly gleaming in excitement.

"I'll just leave you two alone, then. I have to go do some grocery shopping anyway, your father is at work and Petunia is out with Vernon, so you have the house to yourselves." Mrs. Evans winked and left the room. This young man seemed very nice, much nicer then James Potter. There was just something about James that she didn't like, something that scared her. She had tried talking to Lily about James, trying to learn more about him, but Lily was very closed on the matter. She never really talked about James.

The only things Mrs. Evans knew about James were that he came from a fairly wealthy family, and he had an apartment but no job. He apparently lived off his parents' fortune, feeling as if he didn't have to work, he was too good for it. Unlike her Lily, who worked part-time at St. Mungo's as an apprentice Healer.

Mrs. Evans had a hunch that their relationship was not working, but she didn't want to interfere, although sometimes she couldn't help it. If Mrs. Evans happened to spot a handsome young man that looked right for Lily while they were shopping together, she would always point him out to Lily, but Lily always shook her head.

It would be nice if Lily could go out with this neat young man instead of James Potter. Mrs. Evans had seen the light that sparked in his eyes when they fell upon her daughter. Now that would be the right man for Lily.

Lily sat down, a bit embarrassed by her mother. She had a feeling that her mother could sense how horrible James was, and wanted them to break up. She was always pointing out young men to Lily in the stores. As if she didn't have her own eyes to notice them with. Speaking of handsome men...Lily stared at the man in front of her. He looked so familiar, but she didn't know who it was.

"I'm sorry, but what's your name?" Lily asked, feeling like she should know him. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, a boy from school...a name just out of her grasp...

The man's face fell, the gleam in his eyes extinguished. "You don't remember me?"

"I feel like I know you, but.."Lily felt guilty. It looked like the man's whole world had just been destroyed.

"Lily, it's me. Severus."

Lily looked at him in disbelief. He looked so different then he had in school, and his voice had even changed a bit. But it was him. She knew it was. She couldn't believe she hadn't known right away.

Lily suddenly blushed, remembering the things he wrote about her in the letters.

"Do you remember me?" Severus asked, pleading in his voice.

Lily remembered most of his letters saying that he hoped Lily didn't forget him. She did think of him occasionally, when James was reminiscing about his school days, but never really wondered what had happened to him, or how he was doing. Her mind was preoccupied with other things, mostly James.

"Yes, how could I forget, Sev." Lily said.

Severus perked up at hearing Lily's old nickname for him. He relaxed a bit.

"So, um, why did you come?" Lily asked, not looking him in the eyes, instead watching her fingers as they traced the pattern on the couch. She was still thinking about the letters.

"Well, I know it's been a while since we saw each other, but uh, I wanted to see how you were." Severus didn't want to just plow in to what he overheard Black and Potter saying, just in case he was wrong. He didn't hear very much, after all, just enough to make him suspicious.

"I'm okay, how are you?" Lily answered, still tracing the pattern.

"I'm fine," Severus replied.

They sat in awkward silence for a minute, each thinking of things they wanted to say, but unable to say them.

Lily wanted to tell Severus she did, in fact, read the letters that he had buried{she thought it was a bit ironic that the day after she read the letters Severus came to visit her}, and wished with all her heart that she had paid more attention to him in school, listened to what Severus had said about James being no good. Maybe, Severus would have asked her out if she had turned James down. Maybe she could have been happy with Severus now instead of miserable with James.

Severus really wanted to ask Lily about the things he heard Potter and Black saying and ask her if she was happy with Potter, if he was treating her right. And mostly, he wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but if she was happy with Potter, he didn't want to ruin that. But seeing her again for the first time in three years had given Severus' heart a jolt; he had forgotten the way that she smiled, the way her eyes twinkled, how beautiful she really was.

He had missed her more then he had imagined. True, the hurt he felt in school when she started ignoring him was horrible, but he had mostly gotten over it, contented himself with happy memories of him and Lily. Tried to block out the memories from school. But now he found himself thinking about the times at school that he had caught Lily staring at Potter, and how his and Lily's friendship ended...

Lily watched Potter in the classroom, when he was talking to his friends instead of listening to the professor. On the quidditch field, when he raced across the blue sky, just a red and gold blur in the air on his broom. Walking across the grounds, laughing with his friends, while he ran a hand through his black hair to make it stand on end.

Lily and Severus had been friends since they were young children, but little by little, they grew further apart as Lily tried to get Potter's attention. It seemed, at times, like she was completely obsessed with the dark-haired, dark-eyed chaser. Severus told her that he was a self-centered arrogant bastard, but his words went in one of Lily's ears and out the other. Severus couldn't understand how she could block out all the horrible things Potter did, not just to him, but to other students also, who he thought little of.

Soon, Severus and Lily stopped talking all together, when Potter finally noticed the pretty red-head that was following him around in an almost stalker-like fashion and asked her out.

Severus heart fell as he watched Lily walking in front on him, her hand tightly clasped within Potter's, heading down the path toward Hogsmeade for their first date. She laughed at something Potter said. Normally the tinkling sound would warm Severus inside, but today he felt cold. She didn't even know he was there behind her. He was nothing. She didn't even turn around when Potter's best mate, Sirius black, pushed Severus down into the muddy ground and said, "Go back to the hole you came from, Snivellus."

When Severus next looked up, wiping thick, gooey mud from his eyes, Lily, Potter and Black were gone, and Severus wished he was gone, too. Severus wished he had had the courage to ask Lily out himself, but Potter had got there before him.

Severus still watched Lily during the school year, heart dropping when he saw her walking with Potter, talking to him, kissing him. He wanted to pull his pure, beautiful Lily off of that disgusting filth, and he had tried to talk her about Potter while they were waiting to enter Potions, but she had simply waved him off, and flounced away to talk to her other friends. Obviously, she had mentioned their talk to Potter, because he sent his thugs, Black and Pettigrew, to seek out Severus. Remus Lupin was not there; Severus rather felt bad for him. Lupin did not seem like the same arrogant type as the other Marauders. He seemed like a lonely boy who had been pulled in by the allure of friendship, and became trapped.

And Potter was not there, probably off with Lily, snogging somewhere. So Black and Pettigrew were alone when they cornered Severus coming out of the library late one night. Black pushed Severus against a cold stone wall, and placed his hands on the wall, one hand on either side of Severus' face. Black glared at Severus with loathing before speaking.

"You better not bother Lily anymore, Snivellus," Black snarled into Severus' face, while Pettigrew nodded eagerly in the background. "She doesn't want to talk to you, or be seen with you anymore. She doesn't want to be associated with someone who dabbles in the Dark Arts. So you go on, and practice your dark spells, and leave her be."

Severus frowned. It seemed a common rumor that he practiced the Dark Arts, but it wasn't true. His dorm mates did, but he didn't participate, he simply watched them with disgust. Everyone figured that since he was Slytherin, he was scum, a Voldemort-worshiping freak to be shunned and spit on, even though not all Slytherins turned out bad. It was just a stereotype.

"Are you listening, Snivellus?" Black hissed, and Severus nodded. "You make sure you don't bother Lily again, or you'll have us to deal with. And it'll be worse then usual. You understand?"

Severus nodded again, and Black tapped the side of Severus' cheek lightly. "Good." Then the Marauders left.

Severus wasn't exactly afraid of the Marauders, but he didn't want any more trouble then they already gave him. It wasn't like him to retaliate with spells, so he usually just took it, and tried to avoid the Marauders when he could. He just wanted to be left alone, and didn't want to cause any more trouble or tension between him and the Marauders, so he stayed away from Lily and admired her from a distance. She never tried to talk to him, never said hello when they passed in the hallways. She didn't come to the Slytherin table anymore to say good morning, didn't study with him in the library. There were no more walks around the lake, or through the shallow edges of the Forbidden Forest, or in Hogsmeade. She was doing those things with Potter instead. So Severus watched for the remainder of their school days as Lily went around with Potter, wishing it was him with Lily.

When their graduation ceremony was over, Severus eyed Lily, her red hair shining in the sun, cheeks rosy, dress flowing around her, thinking maybe he would try to talk to her one last time. Since he was leaving school, the Marauders wouldn't be able to torture him anymore. As Severus headed over to Lily, trying to look confident and happy{actually, he was happy, finally leaving this horrid school}, Potter was suddenly there, and he pulled Lily into a long kiss, Black and Pettigrew and Lupin watching from nearby. They broke apart, and Potter spun Lily around, her dress flaring around her.

Severus felt tears in his eyes and he walked quickly away, blinking rapidly. He left the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the image of Lily and Potter burning in his mind.

After that, he got a job at the potions shop. He left his parents' house in the middle of the night, without saying goodbye. They wouldn't care that he left, they probably wouldn't even notice that he was gone. But he never forgot Lily.

"So, do you want anything to drink?" Lily asked, breaking the silence, and Severus' thoughts.

"No thank you." Severus replied, and decided to touch upon the subject of Potter. "So, are you ah, still going out with Potter?"

"Yes," Lily said, before she remembered that she was going to break up with him.

"So you're happy with him? You get along well?" Severus asked, genuine concern in his voice, as if he knew how James treated her.

"Um, well.." Lily didn't want to tell Severus the truth, but she didn't want to totally lie to him either. Maybe, after this fling with James was finally over, after she could get away, she could tell Sev everything... but maybe he wouldn't want to be with her anymore, after how she had ignored him after their last years of school. Maybe he even had a girlfriend, or even a wife. She wished again that he hadn't been drawn in by James' good looks and his attitude, wished Severus was her boyfriend instead.

Poor Sev. She was the only friend he had in school, and what did she do? She went out with his worst enemy, when he loved her more then anything in the world. The hurt that he must have felt...Lily couldn't even imagine. Lily felt some tears drip down her cheeks out of guilt of what she did to Severus, and frustration with herself.

"Lily, what's wrong? Did he do anything to you?" Severus asked, and Lily was startled by the anger in his voice.

"No, we just had a fight last night." Lily said, wiping her tears. "But I'm going to sort everything out today."

"Did he hurt you?" Severus looked like he could kill.

"No," Lily lied, and she felt a ghost sting on her cheeks from James' slap. "I'm fine."

Severus felt that Lily wasn't telling him the whole truth, but he didn't want to push her, not when they were actually talking for the first time in four or five years.

If she was in real trouble, Severus thought. She would tell me, and I could help. So I guess she really is getting along fine with Potter.

"Well, Severus, I actually have to go see James now, so.." Lily said, not wanting to talk to Severus any more right now. She was afraid she would fall apart if she did, and tell him everything. And then he would go sort James out. But this was something Lily had to do herself, something she had to end. While she still had the courage to do so.

"Oh." Severus took the hint. She wanted him to leave so she could patch things up with Potter. "I guess I'll go then."

Lily sensed the disappointment in his voice, knowing that he wanted to stay, but she wanted this to be over with James, and then she and Severus could talk more.

Lily led Severus to the front door, and he pulled it open quickly, wanting to leave, feeling more depressed then he had in a long time. Here he had another chance with Lily, and it was gone.

Lily caught Severus' arm before he exited. "Why don't you come over tomorrow, and we can catch up more? You just caught me at a bad time right now."

Severus perked up immediately, and Lily smiled.

"Yes, I can come tomorrow." Severus said, his heart beating very quickly. Did this mean Lily wasn't pushing him away again for Potter? That they could at least be friends again?

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, " Lily said, and kissed Severus softly on the cheek. "Bye, Sev."

Severus stood on Lily's front stoop for a minute after she had closed the door, savoring the moment. Lily's kiss, the smell of her perfume...maybe it wasn't too late after all. He had felt something in her kiss, heard something in her voice-regret, perhaps?- like she wanted him to stay and talk, like she wanted to be with him. Maybe Lily could be his Lily after all, and not Potter's Lily. Severus was light-hearted as he hopped off the stoop and twirled around, apparating back to Diagon Alley.

Maybe I'll buy some nice clothes for tomorrow, Severus thought, excitement rising already in anticipation for his meeting with Lily the next day.

If Severus had waited one more minute before apparating, he would have seen Potter appearing at the end of the block with Sirius Black, Potter with a bottle full of some evil looking black liquid in his left hand.

I hope you enjoyed Severus' little memories that I added...I had written them for something else, but I think they work well here. I know he seemed kind of weak, as opposed to canon, where he'll take any chance to hex the Marauders, but this is AU. That's what fanfiction is all about!

Until next chapter,

Dementors

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