A/N: Sorry about the long update, things are kind of erratic right now and I can't exactly be sure when I'll update next (most likely within the next week). Enjoy~

I don't own Harry Potter...

"Now remember, he probably won't remember who you are, so don't remind him of anything," Sev whispered to Lily as the returned to the table where a very-grumpy looking James awaited them.

Lily nodded nervously in return and edged her way onto the seat next to James. He stared at her for a moment, trying to bring back any previous recollections of the girl, but he came up with nothing.

"Who's this, Sev?" he asked innocently as he gestured to Lily.

"Ah—"

Sev and Lily darted panicked glances at each other, each of them silently willing the other not to speak.

"She's my friend," Sev spluttered. "Hey, look at the time James, it's really getting late; we should get working on your essay…"

"What's your name?" James prodded further, this time looking at Lily squarely in the eye.

Lily froze. The last time she had looked into those hazel eyes, she and James had been soaring high above the ground…not a care in the world until reality showed its ugly face and James completely lost his grip, nearly dying from a fall that she had directly caused. For a moment, Lily almost thought she saw a flicker of a memory from that day behind James' eyes. It was a strikingly vivid picture of James falling to what could have been his death…did James sense this too? Was she really seeing anything at all?

No, she told herself firmly. You're just imagining it.

"No name," mumbled Lily, now averting her gaze to Sev's glittering black eyes. He tried offering her reassurance, but he knew that James Potter was far too nosy to accept a ridiculous answer like that.

"James, your essay—"

"How can you not have a name?" James asked incredulously. "Don't lie to me!"

Lily sighed in defeat at the sound of betrayal in the boy's voice. He was confused, and arrogant though he was; Potter deserved an apology, not more lies. It was her fault he lost his memory, after all, and she would have to pay the price. Sev noticed Lily losing her will to uphold their little lie, and shook his head frantically. Lily dejectedly nodded: it was only fair to Potter for him to know the truth.

Clearly disliking the silent correspondence between the other two, James stood up, looking angry. "What's going on?"

"My name is Lily Evans," she squeaked, fearing that she would never have the confidence to tell him the truth if she delayed any longer. She knew there would be hell to pay once the boy recognized the name, and indeed he was none too happy about this revelation…

"Evans…" he muttered incoherently as his mind tried to process this new information.

For a few moments, Lily and Sev thought that he wouldn't remember her after all. Clearly that wasn't the case.

"EVANS!" James bellowed, his eyes darting to where Lily had instantly retreated after his heated outburst. "You…you…I remember you!"

He kicked over several chairs and got away from the two as though they had just threatened to practice the Cruciatus Curse on him.

"Who taught him those er— colourful words?" Lily mused gloomily as James continued sputtering incomprehensible insults and swears at them until he was dragged forcefully out of the library by the new librarian, Madam Pince.

Lily was somewhat surprised that Sev had done absolutely nothing to stop the other boy from leaving; though judging by the look on his face; he was relieved to see Potter gone.

"I told you not to tell him anything," Sev mumbled sourly, still looking towards the door in which James had just been kicked through and shut out.

"Oh come on Sev, like I really could have continued lying to him? You know I'm a bad liar."

"The Slytherins don't seem to believe that," Sev replied quietly. Noticing the freshly enraged expression on Lily's face, he hastily changed tactics. "I might have found a cure for him, though. Look…"

He jumped up from the table and returned a few seconds later with an old book titled Elite Potion Making.

"Sev, that's a seventh year book!" Lily gasped.

"I know, but look at page 130."

Lily looked down at what her friend was pointing at: it was a potion used to aid those with memory loss.

"I don't know…are you able to make something this complicated?" Lily asked uncertainly.

Sev nodded. "I have to try, at least. I dunno about you, but I've just about had it with James lately."

Lily smiled encouragingly. "Well, you're the best potioneer I've ever known—"

"I'm the only—"

"Oh, that's beside the point, Sev! If anyone can make this, you can."

"Thanks…I just wish it wouldn't take 'til the holidays to finish brewing..."

xXxXxXxXx

"Cheers," Sev said cheerlessly as he tugged James' messy black hair back and dumped the reddish-orange potion down his throat. The boy writhed around in imaginary agony, but there was no escape: with the help of Sirius and Remus, Sev had taken his wand away and magically bound him to the chair to ensure maximum security. He knew James would fuss over being force-fed something he'd never seen before, even after Sev repeatedly explained that it was only for his own good.

The potion tasted liked fire in James' mouth; he howled in pain as it slid down his throat, burning his insides from his mouth to his core. Sev winced, knowing that he probably wasn't exaggerating for once, but there was nothing he could do if he wanted James to get his bloody memory back so everyone could return to their normal lives.

"Are you sure it's working?" Remus shouted over James' wails of terror from the hellish pain his supposed 'friend' was forcing him through. Sev nodded tersely, and returned his concentration to the shaking boy in front of him. Sirius had moved in to help, but jumped away at once: James' skin had left a burnt mark where he had touched him.

At long last, the goblet was drained, and James' shrieks were reduced to whimpers. Luckily, nobody else had come up to their dormitory to see what all the fuss was about. Sev continued holding James by his hair, waiting for him to calm down enough to regain his senses and tell them whether or not the torturous process had worked. Sirius and Remus darted nervous glances at each other; if this didn't work, they would have to return to tutoring James more often until the boy regained his memory by natural means.

"Diffindo," Sev muttered, still keeping his steady grasp on James even while the ropes that bound him fell uselessly to the floor.

Sensing his newfound freedom, James opened his eyes. Blurred images of people swam before him in his line of view; it took him several seconds until he realized where he was. It felt like he had been thrown into a volcano, but his skin looked perfectly normal. Someone was holding his hair behind him; was it a teacher?

Faint images of his first few weeks at Hogwarts slowly returned, but instead of comforting him, they only gave him a massive headache. The train…the duel…the man in the wardrobe… Dumbledore…Evans and the flying practice…

James groaned and let his head slump forward. Everything hurt, though nothing more so than his head. His brain felt ready to explode. Why were Sirius and Remus just standing there and staring at him?

"Did it work?" Sirius whispered. His friend's face was looking straight at him; was he asking him that?

"It should have," a different, though all-too-familiar voice replied from behind him.

With a great effort, James forced himself to look up. His vision blurred from the exertion, but he instantly recognized the boy.

"AGH! GET AWAY FROM ME SNIVELLUS!"

Sev sighed, hardly surprised from the boy's reaction. "Welcome back Potter."

xXxXxXxXx

Lily normally didn't walk by herself. Especially after dark. However, since Sev was busy tonight, she had spent her evening alone in the library, trying to figure out Chapluck's latest assignment: an essay on protecting oneself from thieves who want to steal one's treasure. After many failed ideas, Lily resorted to writing about traditional Muggle defensive tactics: shooting the thief with a gun or stabbing them with a knife. She found the project very repulsive, but she somehow thought that the more violent she sounded, the better grade she'd get.

The common room was almost deserted when she entered; only a few seventh years were sitting at the desks, working on their N.E.W.T.-level coursework. Lily hadn't expected Laika and Narcissa to wait up for her, but she still felt a twinge of disappointment nonetheless.

However, as she slowly made her way up the winding staircase that led to her dormitory, she heard a soft voice call out to her: "Why Lily, just the person I wanted to see!"

Lily scrambled back down at the sound of Laika's voice wafting from the emerald green chairs towards the back of the common room. She hadn't even noticed her two friends sitting over there, but she was pleased to have found someone to talk to.

"Hi Laika," Lily greeted her friend, who gestured for her to come and take a seat next to her. Narcissa waved her silent hello.

"So, Lily—" Laika wasted no time in getting to the point, "— Christmas is next week, isn't it?"

Lily nodded, unsure of where Laika was going with this. Was she going to ask her if she wanted to decorate a tree for their dormitory? After all, it was tradition for the Evans family to go out and buy a nice fir tree the week before Christmas; it seemed only natural that she would continue the custom here at Hogwarts. Lily felt herself smiling at the memories of her and Petunia each decorating their own trees. Lily's tree was always loaded with coloured lights, tinsel, and homemade ornaments; Petunia was always more on the conservative side with just a string of plain white lights on hers.

"What are you doing for Christmas?"

"Oh! Uh…well…"

Lily hadn't really made plans yet. She had originally thought of returning home for the holidays, but Hogwarts was still new and fascinating to her; she wanted to spend as much time here as possible. Her parents would understand, but she was pretty sure Petunia would throw a fit once she found out.

"Not much," Lily replied after a moment of thinking about it. "I figured Severus would stay at Hogwarts for the holidays, so I might—"

"You can't possibly be thinking of staying here!" Narcissa cried, looking appalled at the very thought.

"But—"

"Narcissa's right, Lily," Laika calmly interrupted her. "This place is dreadfully boring during the holidays…just ask Lucius. He stayed here during his first year and he was miserable."

"But I have Sev," Lily said defensively. "We can have snowball fights and explore the castle and get ahead on homework…" she trailed off and blushed as her two friends howled with laughter.

"Homework?" Laika mocked her, "Are you serious? If school's not in session, why don't you enjoy yourself, at least?"

"Well—" Lily bit her lip. She really wanted to spend her first Christmas as a true witch at Hogwarts, but then again…

"Why don't you come to my home for the holidays?" Laika offered. "Narcissa already agreed and we hardly ever see you aside from when you're with that Gryffindor boy. This would be our chance to get to know each other a little better."

Lily blinked. Laika's offer did sound like fun. Perhaps two weeks away from Hogwarts and Sev wouldn't kill her…she hadn't made any plans over Christmas vacation with him anyways, so she didn't need to worry about breaking any promises to him…Laika was right, after all: if they were going to be in the same house and dormitory for the next seven years, they really ought get to know each other better. Sev would always be there for her, but if she started pushing away her Slytherin friends…she wouldn't have any left!

"Okay," she replied, however hesitantly. "Sounds great. Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"Them?" Laika scoffed. "They're hardly ever home. And there are so many rooms that they probably won't notice two more visitors anyways…"

xXxXxXxXx

"I'm so glad this is the last day of classes," Lily whispered to Sev during Transfiguration.

"Me too."

It was exactly six days before Christmas, and the first years were bursting with anticipation for the winter holidays. It had snowed especially hard the night before, and it took every last bit of their patience not to ditch class and run outside into the fresh powder.

Looking up from the feather they were supposed to be Transfiguring into a glove, Sev took in a deep breath and fiddled nervously with his wand.

"Hey, uh, Lily? I was wondering…"

"How's Potter?" she asked, having not even heard a word he said. She was too busy concentrating on her feather to really listen properly; Sev felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment from not realizing that she was distracted.

"Oh, he's doing fine now…back to his old self," he added resentfully as another one of James' crumpled up essays hit him in the back of the head. He had faithfully tutored the boy for so long and even spent all of his free time back in October to brewing the complex memory potion. And this was the thanks he got? Getting pummelled by used parchment?

"Oh…that's good to hear, though…right?"

Sev shrugged. While he could certainly do without the return of that awful nickname, he found himself immensely relieved that Potter could handle his schoolwork on his own now. No more tutoring, and no more childish outbursts.

"So, Lily, as I was—"

"— did you finish that essay for Chapluck yet? I couldn't think of anything good, so I just wrote down stuff like using guns and knives."

Sev frowned. "Well, there's always the Avada Kedavra, not that I'd ever use that in real life…"

"Oh."

Lily's green eyes widened in fear at the prospect of someone using the Killing Curse on another human being. Sev had told her about it a year before they got their Hogwarts letters, but until a teacher confirmed that a curse that evil existed, she would remain in denial. Surely wizards found no need to murder, when all of their life's problems could be solved with magic?

Sev knew his friend was oblivious to the evils in the world, but he figured now was not the time to hammer the realities of life into her head.

He couldn't wait any longer…she had already interrupted him twice; he needed to ask her…

"Lily do you want to go play in the snow this afternoon?" he blurted out, feeling rather foolish for acting like this in front of his best friend.

Lily's smile drooped. "I…I can't Sev. I'm leaving this afternoon."

"Leaving?"

She nodded sadly. "Laika invited me to her home for the holidays— oh Sev, don't give me that look!— and I said I'd go. She said I barely spend any time with her and Narcissa because I'm always off with you. I really hate leaving you, but I'll be back in two weeks, at least."

In a matter of seconds, all of Sev's plans for winter break came crashing down all around him. With Lily gone, he'd be forced to spend all of his time either alone or with those dunderheads, James and Sirius. Remus he didn't mind as much, however; perhaps he could get to know the quiet boy a little more? But…Lily…the fact that his best friend had agreed to desert him for two girls who would probably end up marrying dark wizards some day scared him.

"But Lily!" he protested, but it was obvious that Lily had expected this reaction, and wouldn't hear of it.

"Sorry Sev. When we get back, I'll see you all the time again. But for now, I really want to be friends with Laika and Narcissa, too. Can't you be happy for me? I'm making friends, and so are you! Why don't you hang out with those three more?"

"Two months ago, you were telling me they were lousy friends," Sev muttered grumpily. His interest in the lesson had completely diminished by now, and he now found himself glaring at the backs of Malfoy and Black's heads.

Why couldn't Lily just be his friend? He was content with having only one friend; why did girls always have to surround themselves with tons of friends in order to be happy?

"Sev, I'm sorry, okay? I'll still send you a present for Christmas…"

"Please don't," he mumbled, feeling too ashamed to add that he couldn't afford a gift for her.

"You know I will anyways. But look on the bright side; maybe I'll be so sick of those two after spending all of Christmas with them that I'll—"

"Evans! No talking! Five points from Slytherin!" McGonagall barked at her from her desk at the front of the classroom.

Lily couldn't believe it. For the first time ever, she had lost points for her house. She, the model student, had just gotten points taken away for talking. Sev had been talking too, but she certainly wasn't going to remind McGonagall of that.

"Sorry," she replied apologetically. "It won't happen again, Professor."

xXxXxXxXx

"We'll be to King's Cross in twenty minutes," Lucius informed the three Slytherin girls.

Laika and Narcissa completely ignored his intrusion into their compartment, but Lily darted her glance away from the window and nodded her head in acknowledgement. Lucius seemed amused by this, but said nothing and returned to his own private compartment.

Lily couldn't believe that after just three months at Hogwarts, she was already headed back to normal civilization on the Hogwarts Express. She didn't quite know where Malfoy Manor was located, but Laika had told her that they would use the Floo Network to get there.

Lily wished she had asked Sev what in the world the "Floo Network" was. She didn't want to slip up in front of her friends; especially because they were both from prominent pureblood families and would disapprove of her true heritage. Lily figured she'd done a decent job upholding her half blood status so far; surely she wouldn't have anything more than a nice, peaceful Christmas with her new friends?

Lily smiled to herself as she silently admired her friends around her. She was so lucky to have such wonderful housemates, and she was glad she had stayed in Slytherin. She had just been under a lot of stress back when she had told Sev that she shouldn't be in Slytherin; now that she was used to it, she fit right in with the other Slytherins and had even formed a friendly rivalry with Sev during the season's first Quidditch game. Fortunately for her, Slytherin had won the first match, two-hundred-and-forty to seventy. Sev lost seven Sickles in their little bet, but Lily secretly promised herself that the money would go for his Christmas gift anyways.

Laika had promised that they would do some Christmas shopping before going to her home; Lily assumed they would go to Diagon Alley, but Narcissa said that place was dull and suggested some place called Knockturn Alley.

"It has the most fascinating shops," Laika had gushed, making Lily's excitement grow tenfold. If Laika thought it was great, then it must be true. Lucius grudgingly agreed to letting them wander around for an hour, before they went to another strange place called "Borgin and Burkes" to Floo home.

Yes, thought Lily, this is going to be a wonderful holiday…

A/N: Okay, okay, next chapter we'll see "the dangers of eavesdropping." This one ended up a little to long for me to add any more. I hope you all liked it, and as usual, I'd appreciate hearing any thoughts you might have :)