To the reader:

I just had a revelation about the chapter in OOTP titled "Snape's Worst Memory." Perhaps I am slow,but before now I always thought that the worst part of the memory was Snape's humiliation because of James. I think now that much of it had to do with what he said to Lily.It also had to do with what Snape saw as his ultimate loss to James, Lily. It's Snape's worst memory because the fight, at least in Snape's opinion, wasn't over James making fun of him or showing everyone his underpants, the fight was over Lily and James, unknowingly, won. What do you think?

Two figures spun around and around, laughing as they became dizzier. "I'm going to fall!" giggled the little girl breathlessly as she nearly stumbled into a tree.

"We have to fall together," insisted the boy. His overlarge smock twisted around him as his feet moved in circles.

"On the count of three!" cried Lily. "One, two, three!"

There were two soft thuds as first she, and shortly after, Severus landed upon the ground. Their chests heaved as they gasped for air amidst their laughter. Lily closed her eyes while her breath steadied. The crushed grass beneath her released the freshest scent, sweet and green. She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in it.

"Mmm," she sighed. She turned her head slightly and peeked through an eye, wondering at Severus's silence. He was an odd boy, or at least, very different from all the boys she knew. He didn't seem to have any friends beside her. He didn't mind playing quiet games with her instead of running around and being loud. Severus always seemed so sad and sometimes flinched when she scolded him for being mean about Tuney. She knew his father was very, very mean to him, but he never told her anything else. She had once asked if his father had given him a bruise on his arm, but Sev had gotten mad at her until she cried, so she didn't ask any more questions.

"Sometimes I wish I could fly," he said quietly, his eyes turned up toward the sky. "It would be nice to escape into the sky."

"From what?" Lily asked, her expression now serious. She rolled back onto her back to look upward through the canopy of trees at the blue, blue sky. There were no clouds to be seen.

"From all the mean things in the world."

Severus had to be the smartest person that she knew, besides her parents. Only grown-ups said things like that.

"But if you were in the sky, you'd miss the good things too, wouldn't you?" She sat up now, her stomach trembling as she waited for his reply. Did he think that their friendship was a bad thing?

"I would miss you, Lily," he agreed.

She smiled in relief. "There are mean things in the world, but there're good things too. Like candy and the sun and friends."

"I don't have any friends, except you," Severus admitted quietly as he sat up. His dark hair fell into his face and he shoved it away. He stared at her. Lily couldn't see into his black eyes. They were closed to her bright green gaze. It always seemed that no matter how honest his face was, his eyes kept secrets he would not tell her. And that made her want to cry.

Lily stared out the window as tears ran down her face, imagining Severus standing desperately outside of the Fat Lady, hoping that she would come back and un-end their friendship or wishing that he could rewind time. But she wouldn't go back out and time couldn't go back.

Maybe Severus would have been better off in the sky, away from all the bad things in the world, of which there now seemed to be a proliferating number.

She closed her eyes and Severus's livid face, for once pounding with color with the blood that was rushing to his head, reappeared in her mind, his anger having imprinted a clear image upon her memory."Mudblood!"

Mudblood,mudblood echoed around in her head, growing louder and then softer, mocking and then cruel, Avery, Mulciber, Malfoy, and Black's voices were joined by Severus's, all taunting her, the voice of all the Slytherin glares that seared her back. She crumpled onto a sofa, driven to the sobs that her former anger had held at bay.

Somewhere in the sky, a star dimmed at one more shattered friendship in the world. There seemed to be quite a number of dimming stars lately and greater darkness curled around those that still shone.