A/N: Wishing Neville, Harry and JK Rowling belated happy birthdays! Woot!

Disclaimer: I don't own either series. Siriusly.

Very Important Note: This will be a very short chapter. Reasons are at the bottom. I'm so, so sorry.

Chapter 6: Cliffhanger Plus an Author's Note

After her eyes, Lily Evans's second-best feature had been her fiery hair. In fact, Snape had loved Lily's hair so much that he used to nick her brush when they were teenagers and pluck out the loose strands as secret keepsakes, which he always carried with him in a vial necklace underneath his robes. Always.

Was it gross? Disturbing? Creepy? Indeed, but not nearly as creepy as groping the fresh corpse of your unrequited love in front of her infant son.

…Oh, wait.

But at least now the hairs were being put to good use. Before leaving Hogwarts, Snape had taken with him several potions that he kept in reserve. Adding Lily's hair to the pre-brewed base of Polyjuice Potion had turned it – yep, you've guessed it – a glittering crimson. It tasted of strawberries, cream, sugar, and extreme angst. And when he transformed, it was all that he could do to not look at reflective surfaces.

Snape turned Lily's beautiful green eyes toward the peephole belonging to the entrance of what the Shinigami had told him to be the Muggles' hideout (what on earth did they need a hideout for, anyway?) and noted that there was a suspicious and familiar brown eye looking out at him from the other end of the peephole.

It belonged to the man named Aizawa.

Snape-turned-Lily tried to smile, but it turned out as a pained grimace. He just wasn't the smiling type. Sneering and smirking, yes, but smiling? It was as though he had forgotten how to.

Then, half a minute later, the door swung open.

A/N: As it's against the site's rules to post something that's just an author's note, I ended up churning out that tiny chapter plus the cliffhanger. I realize it's kind of cruel, but it was all I could manage. Please forgive me!

That being said, I have an important announcement to make. It's not a very good one, unfortunately. I'm going through a really rough patch in real life right now and am having trouble focusing on writing (especially humor), so I have no choice but to go on a brief hiatus of an undetermined time – as a writer, NOT as a reader. I'll still be around to read and review my fave fics. Normally, I'm a regular updater, but with all this IRL stuff going on, I can't fulfill my earlier promises/commitments/requests anymore. I'm afraid it'll impact the quality of my writing. Same goes for my other fics. My plan is to continue to write on the side, and then return to post whatever I have whenever I feel like I'm ready again. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning anything, I just need a break to deal. Hope you'll understand :)

Anyway, enjoy the rest of the summer (winter for the southern hemisphere) and hopefully I shall see everyone again soon. And may all you Potterheads get into Pottermore early (I got in just this morning, haha)! Thanks so much for reading ^_^

– MB