Disclaimer: If I were JKR, would I be writing fan fiction?

A/N: Ooo! I'm excited for this chapter. C'est le Slug Club! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

X An Odd Dream

"More sugar, Regulus?" asked Horace Slughorn during the Slug Club that Friday evening. It had been a long and tedious week, and Lily Evans was quite tired and more than ready to sleep in tomorrow. She was seated in a comfortable armchair, legs crossed, and sipping tea in the room in which the small Slug Club get-togethers usually occur. She looked around and saw the new member, Regulus Black, chatting merrily with Slughorn. Narcissa and Bellatrix Black were whispering and Lily swore that they continuously glanced at her. Frank Longbottom was eating a cookie silently with a bandage wrapped around his head. On the first day he slipped on a well placed puddle, courtesy of the poltergeist Peeves, and was knocked out for most of the week, just starting classes today. Severus Snape was staring out the window looking highly bored; he kept glancing at the clock on the wall. A first-year that Lily only knew as Basil was looking rather nervous, a fourth-year Ravenclaw, Abigail Abbott, sat quietly, and a seventh-year Hufflepuff that Lily only knew as Gregory was in a deep conversation about Quidditch with Melissa Greengrass, a quirky Gryffindor fifth-year.

"You may be unaware of this, but I invited your brother Sirius and his friend James to this club in their first year, but they declined. I suppose they would have rather played Quidditch," Slughorn chuckled. "I've seen you on the field, Regulus. You are a fantastic player. Hopefully Slytherin will get the Quidditch Cup this year, eh?"

"I hope so sir," replied Regulus.

"Oh, and Bellatrix and Narcissa, I hear your sister is still happily married with that man Ted Tonks. I hear their child is around seven now, am I right?"

"Indeed," Narcissa said with a hint of a snort in her voice.

"Oh, well, I hope to be her Potions teacher in four years' time!"

"Yes…of course," Bellatrix said with a phoney smile.

"Severus!" Slughorn exclaimed suddenly. The little first-year squealed and spilled tea all over him, but Slughorn didn't seem to notice, while Melissa helped Basil.

"Sir?" Severus answered.

"Remember when I mentioned your mother a few days ago?"

"Oh, yes sir," he said with a bit of a quiver in his voice.

"You know, I was her teacher a while ago. How would she react if I invited her for a cuppa in perhaps a month's time?"

"Erm, I'm not sure. She's been a bit busy…"

"Not too busy to see her dear old professor, is she?" Slughorn said with a chuckle.

"No…of course not…"

"Well, you may want to owl her just in case, I suppose. It will be lovely to see Eileen after all these years." Slughorn then turned to Lily. "Ms. Evans, Ms. Evans. How are you this fine evening?"

"Mr. Slughorn, Mr. Slughorn, I'm just fine," Lily replied with a smirk.

"Ho ho, I do enjoy your cheek, Lily." Slughorn chortled. "How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was fabulous. My parents were a bit of a hassle, but I had lots of fun. Did activities that I miss during the school year."

"Oh really? Muggle activities? Do tell!"

Lily noticed that Narcissa and Bellatrix looked at her with repulsion. She decided to explain her Muggle holiday in as much detail as possible, just to spite them. "Well, I watched a lot of television. The muggle entertainment device. My favourite show would have to be Doctor Who. It's very funny and rather strange."

"I watched that show too!" piped up Basil.

"You must be Muggle-born, right?" Lily said. She looked around and noticed that all the students except for the Blacks and Severus seemed interested.

"I also like to listen to records," Lily said.

"What Muggle music do you enjoy?" asked Abigail.

"Well I'm sure you've never heard of the bands, well, except for Basil. But I enjoy listening to The Beatles, David Bowie, Simon and Garfunkel, Rolling Stones, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Queen, Janis Joplin, Cat Stevens, the occasional Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan—"

"I believe we get the picture, Evans," said Severus coldly. Bellatrix and Narcissa were giggling from the interruption.

"Well, they asked, so—"

"So you decided to name every musical artist that you've ever heard. Charming," disparaged Severus, again looking out the window.

"Now, now, let's not get hostile in here," said Slughorn.

"Do you drive a car!" asked Gregory excitedly.

"Well, not legally, but a couple of summers ago I drove my mum's car along the countryside. It wasn't legal, but—"

"My mum says that cars are killers covered in metal," said Frank.

"Your mum also wears a vulture on her head," muttered Severus.

The kids laughed, but Frank held his head high.

"Settle down, everyone. Your mother is a lovely woman. Very proud of you. Sent me an owl the minute she found out you got into my N.E.W.T. Potions class. She told me that you hope to be an Auror one day."

"Yes, yes I do hope to be an Auror. I was quite surprised to find out that I did so well on my O.W.L.s."

"You shouldn't have been surprised. You are a fantastic student!"

"Thank you, Professor."

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the window. The students turned to see that there was an important-looking owl outside of the window with the evening edition of the Prophet. Slughorn walked over and gave the owl a Knut and frowned at the front page.

"What is it sir?" asked Greengrass.

"Dear, dear, dear. Twenty Muggles and five wizards dead in Kent," said Slughorn gravely. "Death Eater attack, I'm afraid. The Dark Mark was seen in the sky." Lily's heart jumped in her throat.

"Where was the attack again, sir?"

"Kent. Some town named Dartford."

"Oh no! My parents go to Dartford every Friday around this time to see my grandmother!" gasped Lily.

"Lily, don't worry, calm down," Frank said, rubbing her shoulder.

"Oh my God…oh my God," murmured Lily, her palms on her cheeks while her fingers pulling her hair nervously.

"The chances of your parents being in that very area are quite low…" said Slughorn

"No! Please, sir, I need to owl my parents immediately," Lily said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Okay, you may go up to the Owlery," said Slughorn.

With that Lily jumped out of her seat and ran out the door.

XXX

Severus watched as Lily's eyes filled with tears about the news. She's too damn sensitive. Her parents may not even be there, thought Severus. He wasn't big on sympathy…empathy either. Lily jumped up and ran out of the classroom, her robes and long auburn hair billowing behind her.

Bellatrix whispered to Severus as the rest of the students chatted about the newest Prophet. "I hope her parents are dead," she said. "Make Evans depressed, huh?"

"Humph," Severus grunted.

"I wonder if Lucius was one of the Death Eaters who killed those Muggles." Narcissa said excitedly, joining in the conversation.

"Maybe…" he said.

"You don't sound excited, Severus," Bellatrix whispered. "Have you thought about joining the Dark Lord recently?"

"Can't say I have, Bellatrix," he replied flatly.

"Well, you may want to get a move on," Bellatrix snapped, brushing her hair back. "The Dark Lord loves when you are right out of school. But you should still work on your grades. I hear he likes spies within the Ministry."

"Fabulous," he said in a bored tone.

"Just think of it, Severus. You'd be looked up to greatly among our fellow pure-bloods from around the world. Blood-traitors and Mudbloods would shudder just hearing your name. Of course, that's if you become important enough. Connections upon connections; riches beyond belief. The Dark Lord can give you all of that and more. He accepts people who are in need, seek knowledge...seek power. Power does amazing things to people. Just think about it some more, Severus," Bellatrix said. There was something haunting about the way Bellatrix said all this. Maybe it was her tone; it was a bit cryptic yet straightforward at the same time. He was also a bit annoyed by the fact that she sounded like a silly brochure. Severus had lied; he was thinking about it. But he still hadn't made up his mind, and knew it would be a long while before he did.

"Well, on that note, everyone, I think this meeting is over. I'll catch up with you all eventually. Let's all hope that Ms. Evans' family is all right," said Slughorn sadly.

Narcissa snorted and swept out of the room followed by everyone else.

"Oh, Severus, since you are the last one to leave the room and I must attend a brief meeting…" asked Slughorn hurriedly.

Severus groaned but turned around to his head of house.

"Ms. Evans seemed to have forgotten her purse, maybe you can give it to her. She should still be in the Owlery."

Severus eyed the small, very Muggle, handbag. If I come into contact with another one of Evans' personal belongings… he thought. "Um, fine."

He grabbed the purse unceremoniously and headed for the long walk up toward the Owlery.

Once he quietly opened the door the saw Lily standing by one of the many windows. She was sniffling and tying a letter to the leg of an owl. Her hands were fumbling so much that the owl gave her an annoyed peck on her knuckle.

"I'm sorry, girl," she whispered. She finally tied the letter and said, "Please, Artemis, get this letter to my parents, or Petunia, as soon as you can, okay?"

The owl gave what could be considered a reassuring hoot, and flew off into the starry indigo sky. She then put her hands in her hands and started to sob softly as she fell to her knees.

What the hell do I do now? he thought. I guess I'll just leave. And with that he turned around to leave. But not before an extremely hyper owl swooped in and dug its talons into his hair.

"Ouch!" he yelled. The owl quickly left his head as he heard a startled gasp. He turned around to see Lily facing him, her eyes a red and she was still sitting on the floor and if possible began to sob even harder.

"Erm, you forgot your purse…at the Slug Club. Slughorn told me to—" he started and thought about giving it to her later, but really didn't want to be in possession of one of her belongings in the Slytherin dungeons again.

"Well here," he said. Dropping her purse next to her and began to walk out of the door.

"Snape?" Lily said softly, still sniffling.

"What?" he said, more rudely than he meant to.

"Have you ever…well…I don't know…thought that the last time you saw someone…it would be the last time you see them…ever again?" she said, glaring at a nonexistent spot on the ground. "Not to be horribly melodramatic…"

He was quiet for a while, and then he turned around, reluctantly sitting on the floor. Looking around the Owlery as though he was afraid someone would pop out from the window.

"Yes," he said shortly. Why are you telling her this?

"Who?" she asked glancing at him.

"Someone," he replied vaguely.

Lily scoffed emptily, "As if you would answer a personal question. I should have known."

"Yes, you should have." They were both quiet for a few seconds.

"I know I may be overreacting about all this. I mean, my parents could be sitting comfortably at home. And here I am…" Lily said, waving her hand around the Owlery.

"Well, you have a reason to be upset," he said in an unconcerned tone.

"I mean, with all the violence going on…I can't help but be worried. Especially since I'm…well…you know…"

"Muggle-born?" he helped.

"Wow, you actually called me a Muggle-born…not a Mudblood," Lily said with a sarcastic smile.

"Look, I usually don't use that word, but—"

"But Potter and Black were being total arses."

Severus didn't respond.

"What am I doing? Sitting on the Owlery floor sobbing…talking to the one and only Severus Snape," she said dryly.

Severus noticed that she actually said his full name, albeit in an unfriendly way. She was looking at the ground again, smoothing out her skirt slowly. One side of her body was illuminated by the torch on the wall, the other side shadowed, giving her an elegant but dark look. Half her hair glowed in the light, her tears causing black streaks under her eyes, Severus assumed from the make-up she wore around her eyes.

"Severus?" she asked in her more normal voice.

He realized that he was staring and composed himself before asking, "What?"

"Can you tell me who that person is now?

"What person?"

"The one who you said you sometimes fear you won't see again."

Severus looked at the windows to his left. Why are you still here? You should be in the Slytherin common room, listening to Wilkes tell some stupid Muggle joke. "Why do you—"

A loud creak was heard and they both turned their heads towards the door. Severus jumped up, his hand subconsciously near his wand pocket. Severus rolled his eyes however as he saw Peter Pettigrew watching the two of them with a slight frown.

"Was I interrupting anything?" he asked.

Lily stood up, grabbing her purse with her. She smiled. "Of course not, Peter."

"Well, erm, I'm just sending an owl to my mum. It's her birthday tomorrow."

"Oh, well, I hope your mum has a lovely birthday."

"Yeah, she usually goes out with her friends. But with all the stuff that's going on…"

"Yes, I know what you mean," Lily said softly, still smiling at Pettigrew.

Peter then looked at Severus and the two exchanged glares. Peter tied the letter to the nearest owl and it flew out the window.

"Would you like to walk with me back to the common room? I think your friends are worried about you."

"You're probably right. Okay then, let's go," said Lily. Peter began talking about his latest charms essay as they headed out, glancing at Severus one last time before closing the door behind her.

Severus sighed deeply and noticed his stomach felt a bit odd all of a sudden. He ignored it and assumed that he was just hungry, and walked out of the Owlery wishing he had eaten a bigger dinner.

XXX

"Lily! We were so worried! Where were you? Did you read the paper?" asked Marlene very quickly when Lily entered the common room with Peter.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. I just wanted to be alone. I just sent an owl to my parents, hoping that they weren't victims of that attack," she said as she sank down on the couch, clutching her temples.

"You live in Kent?"

"No, but my grandmother does, and my parents visit her every Friday."

"I'm sure they're fine, Lily, don't worry. Maybe you should head in early, and wash up. Your make-up is all over your face."

"Alright. But where's Emmeline and Alice?"

"They should be coming back from the library soon. I'll tell them not to disturb you."

"Thanks, Marlene. 'Night."

Lily walked up the staircase still shaken up by the Evening Prophet. She couldn't stand to imagine her parents killed while she was at school. She changed into her favourite nightgown in a lazy manner as she mused about her time with Severus in the Owlery. He didn't seem very concerned about her situation (not that she expected him to be), but he did sit with her, even if it was for a short amount of time. She had discovered in her fifth year that he deeply intrigued her. He was considered quite the loner; studying constantly, acting nasty towards just about everyone he came across. Yet she also noticed that he was quite respected among a few of his House-mates. He was often seen talking with Nott and the Blacks (sans Sirius) and when they were vulnerable first-years, Lucius Malfoy. In the Owlery, she had had a strange feeling that he was watching her. Trying to understand her like she tries to understand him, perhaps? She had an urge to know him better. He seemed so locked up, introverted and downright unhappy. But she couldn't help but be intimidated by him at times, especially since last year. It seemed like he was hiding something, many things actually, and Lily wanted to know what they were. She lay on her bed, trying to clear her head. Little did she know that on the other side of the school, someone else was having a troubled night as well.

XXX

He touched her shoulder but she just ran faster, out of his reach. Cursing, he ran after her again. He heard thunder in the distance and it began to drizzle. The figure began to run through the dense trees up ahead; he followed. He heard rustling in the vegetation surrounding the trees. He looked up and saw a shadow run between the trees. He saw the silhouette of a bare foot, a naked ankle, and her calf. She was getting further and further away, and he was walking aimlessly through the trees, until a steadily growing white light surrounded him.

XXX

Sunday afternoon, Severus was sitting by the lake looking out into the glistening water, lost in thought. He usually did this on Sundays; he usually finished all his homework on Saturdays so he had time to relax. He was reading 300 Advanced Defensive Techniques Against the Dark Arts but put the book down when his eyes started to hurt. He was alone. Nearly everyone else was inside doing last-minute work, so that meant no annoying first-years, no people snogging by the lake, and best of all, no Marauders. He scowled at the thought. Ever since first year they had hated each other, and the rivalry between Severus and James had now been known for years. Severus couldn't stand any of them: Potter with his arrogance, strutting around as though he owned Hogwarts; Black, known as the most attractive student in Hogwarts, also full of egotism; Pettigrew, the weakest of the bunch magically, yet close friends of those idiots anyway, looking up to James and Sirius as though they were gods; Lupin and his half-hearted attempts to stop his friends from their bullying, although he knew Lupin enjoyed every minute of it—just not as much as the rest. He also had something about him that wasn't right, and Severus was almost fixated with finding out what it was. Constantly getting "sick", showing up with scars and cuts on him; it was just odd. Whatever it was, the rest of the Marauders were most likely involved, and if this secret was exposed, it could just be the thing to finally get the Marauders to be expelled. He would love to see the look on Potter's face if—

"Hello, Snape," said a cheerful voice. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"What do you want, Evans?" he asked dully.

He saw the redhead settle next to him in the corner of his left eye. She took off her jacket, he assumed because of the sudden change of temperature, and saw her wand sticking out from a pocket within it. She placed her purse next to her, crossed her legs and turned to him.

"Just sitting," she replied simply.

"Why here?"

"Because. Nice view."

There was nothing special about the view in his opinion. All he saw was the other side of the lake and an opaque side of the Forbidden Forest. He picked up his book again and pretended to read.

"Whatcha reading?" she asked conversationally.

He turned the front of the book towards her wordlessly.

"300 Advanced Defensive Techniques Against the Dark Arts. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You are the best Defence student in class. Probably as good as you are in Potions."

"I like Defence better. I just happen to be quite good at Potions, too," he said tonelessly.

"Really?"

"Did I stutter, Evans?"

Lily snorted. "If I were to hear you stutter I'd be worried. Sign of the apocalypse, if you ask me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, not taking his eyes off his book.

"You seem to word everything so carefully…never making a blunder or anything. It's almost like you have a script. Well, maybe just around me, because whenever I talk to you, you always give very basic, short answers so—"

"Stop talking so much. I'm trying to read. You seem to have a knack at interrupting my reading time," he snapped.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said ignoring Severus.

"What?" he asked. He glanced at her and saw that she was looking out at the lake. "The lake?"

"Yes."

"There's nothing special about it. Just a lake like every other lake."

"With a giant squid, mermaids, other magical creatures, and strange plant life. Yes, just like every other lake indeed," she said sardonically.

Severus smirked.

"Was that a smile I saw?" Lily said mockingly.

"No," he said as his smirk fell.

"Sure," Lily said with a smirk of her own.

"Evans, why are you here?" he asked, irritated.

"I told you, just sitting."

"I want the truth," he murmured, actually starting to read his book again.

"What's wrong with me wanting to talk to you?" she asked.

"Because it's out of pity. And don't play dumb, because I know it is—" he added quickly as she opened her mouth wanting to protest.

"Snape, for the last time, that's not true! You seem like an interesting person. Rude, and quite haughty at times, but—"

"Haughty? What the hell do you mean, haughty?"

"Oh please, don't act as though you don't know."

"Haughty? I think you're describing Potter and the rest of his nimrod mates," Severus snarled.

"Well you both are quite full of yourselves," she said plainly. Severus scowled and returned to his book once more. "Look, I didn't come here to talk about Potter."

"Well, what are you here to talk about, then? The stupid lake?" he mumbled.

"Nothing. Just wanted to chat. Stop acting as though it's blasphemy."

"I don't chat," he said shortly.

"Well I do," Lily snapped. They were quiet again. The wind was rustling the leaves in the trees around them. The hair on both their heads was gently tossed to the left.

"When's the first Quidditch game?" asked Lily airily after a few minutes of silence.

"Don't know, actually. It's getting a bit tired to me," Severus said, not looking up from his book.

"Yeah. When I was in first year I was so excited; about Quidditch, broomsticks, cauldrons…all of it was a fairy tale…but it came true," she said with a smile on her face. He glanced at her, the silly smile still on her face and the wind blowing her hair about. "Sometimes," she continued, "I wake up expecting it all to be a dream, but it isn't. It's still weird to me sometimes, you know? Or I guess you wouldn't know, being a pure-blood and all," she said as an afterthought.

"Right," he said quickly.

"So, into gossip?" Lily asked.

Severus sneered. "Oh, of course, because I must know who is going out with who this week."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, I'm not into it much either. It's too…catty. But I hear loads. Marlene McKinnon is in my dorm, so—"

She stopped when Severus gave a guffaw.

"What?" Lily asked defensively.

"McKinnon? She probably gossips more than Narcissa Black, and that's saying something."

"She's just…knowledgeable. She's that sort of girl."

"Too bad she can't be half as knowledgeable school-wise," he muttered.

"Hey!" Lily said protectively. "I won't stand for you making fun of one of my best friends. How would you feel if I just started bad-mouthing one of yours?"

"Go ahead. Start with Nott, there's plenty to make fun of," he said dryly.

"That's alright, I'll use my time more wisely," Lily said, eyes narrowing slightly.

Severus was still reading while Lily pulled out a nail file from her purse and began to groom her nails. The sound of her filing her nails was somewhat relaxing to him for some reason, and out of nowhere he asked her:

"So, your parents okay?" he mumbled. Oh, like you really care, the back of his mind told him.

He sensed Lily smiling. "Yes. Fortunately, they were in the city with my grandmother that night, looking for a car for Pet actually."

"Pet?"

"Oh, my sister, older sister…" she said quietly. She awkwardly fiddled with the nail file in her hand; tossing it in the air and twirling it around the grass. "Her real name is Petunia. Pet is her nickname though."

"Do you hate her or something?" he said.

Lily's head shot up looking at his profile, his face still in his book. "Of course not. I'd never, ever, hate my sister. But…she's been difficult. She doesn't understand me…or magic. Freak, she calls me," she said quietly.

"Someone calling perfect Lily Evans a freak? That's new," he said scathingly.

"Perfect?" Lily snorted. "Far from it!"

"Oh, shut up, Evans. You are probably one of the smartest, most popular girls in Hogwarts. The teachers wish you were their child most of the time," he said unpleasantly.

"That's not true," she blushed.

"It's obvious that people are jealous of you. You should hear Narcissa…" he said, not caring that he was practically gossiping himself.

"Narcissa Black? Jealous of a Muggle-born like myself? Sure…" said Lily.

She startled him when she began to take off her shoes and socks all of a sudden. He watched as she pulled the bottom of her long black skirt up to her knees and walked towards the shallow shores of the lake.

"Eep! It's cold!" she squealed as she dipped in a toe.

"It's a lake, what did you expect?" he mumbled.

"But it's hot today, it should feel good. Speaking of hot, aren't you hot in that coat?"

"No," he said shortly.

Lily sighed and walked in deeper. "Would you like to join me? Doesn't feel so bad after a moment or two," she assured him.

"Does it look like I'm in that sort of attire, Evans? Use your head," he said nastily.

"God, Snape. Just a simple question. You could just take off your shoes and roll up your trousers. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything."

Severus looked out at the water. He hated to admit it but he was getting quite warm and the water was very tempting.

"I don't think so," Severus said.

"I'm not asking you to live in the lake with me where we can grow old and have grandchildren," she laughed.

Severus flushed, either from Lily's comment, or being in a hot black coat for a long amount of time. He considered at least standing near the water. But then he thought about her motives. Why did she want him in the water? Was she going to push him in the lake as soon as he got in? Were her friends nearby watching?

"What are you doing?" asked Lily, beginning to walk out of the lake as she saw him gather his things.

"I have to go," Severus muttered.

"Where, why?" Lily asked.

"As usual, Evans, none of your concern. Good-bye," he said angrily and marched up the verdant hill back up to the castle, leaving Lily standing there baffled at his sudden change of plans.

A/N 2: Hmm, seems like nobody reviewed on the last chapter. That was a bit disappointing but it was a boring chapter so I understand. This chapter is much better in my opinion. Review if you'd like.