GUYS I'M EATING GUMMY BEARS! Sorry, this is really exciting. I'm sick (which is not that exciting) but it's the first time I haven't gone to class all year with an actual excuse!

Two days later

Okay, this is part two of my author's note. I am no longer as sick. However, the bus I'm waiting to take home is TWO HOURS LATE so this chapter will totally be up sooner than I thought!

PS: I advise you all to never take the megabus EVER AGAIN (if you even know what that is)

And now, on to the next chapter!

Lily POV

"Severus Snape. That's an interesting name." He cocked his head to the side and I thought he was offended so I quickly backpedaled, "not in a bad way! A good kind of interesting. Oh God, I am making the worst first impression, I'm so sorry."

For some reason, my uncomfortable state seemed to be just the thing to get Severus to loosen up.

With a wry smile he responded, "it's alright, Lily, you said it was?"

I just nodded. "Right, well, Lily, it's actually a family name. So yeah, I guess it is a little weird."

I quickly protested, "I never said it was weird! It's not weird!" He shot me a look.

I giggled, "Yeah, okay, maybe a little weird." We both got a decent chuckle out of that. Just then the professor made his way to the front of the room. And with a slight bow to the class, Potions began.

Sirius POV

"Alice!" No response. "Oi! Alice!" Still nothing. "Mad Hatter!"

"What?" she scream-whispered in my direction.

"What in the hell is Lily doing up there laughing with Snape?"

"With who?"

"Snape! Only the most foul, loathsome, annoying, little prick Slytherin to ever walk the face of the earth!"

"I don't know. We couldn't find seats together so she went up front, it's a Lily thing; best not to question it."

I couldn't even form words. I just gaped at Alice until she chuckled and turned away.

"Remus," I whispered, "This. Is. Not. Good." He too could not take his eyes off the situation (which I have just forever named this Lily/Snivellus blasphemy.

"Now wait just a second, Pads. This could end up being the best prank in history."

"Are you serious?"

"Entirely. Prongs has no idea Lily is even here, then you add some Snivellus in…what could go wrong?"

"Are you serious?"

"Well, I'm not saying it will be funny for James! But for us, now that's an entirely different story."

"I can't believe you're serious."

"I'm not, you are." He said with a smirk.

It's official. The world has come to an end.

Lily POV

"Wait, wait, wait, you're saying you've never left the United Kingdom?"

"Yeah, whatever Miss America" he said with a smirk. I stuck my tongue out at him and did my best to sound British, " 'Ello mate! Care for some fish and chips? Tea?"

"You're right! I don't know how I mistook you as American. You're as British as the queen."

I shoved him a little as we exited the classroom, "oh you think you are so clever, don't you? Let's hear you sound American then."

He cleared his throat theatrically before continuing, "How is it hanging, man? Let's go down to the beach and catch some killer waves, my brother."

I managed to keep a straight face for all of two seconds before I burst out laughing.

"Where are you from? Malibu?"

"What?"

"Nothing, just a place in America." We walked in silence for a few moments before I realized that people were staring.

"Um, Severus?" I said, "why are people staring?"

He observed our surroundings for a few moments, "well, a few reasons. It could be because you're new and I'm the last person people would expect to approach the new girl. Or because you are as boys in this school put it, hot. Or because I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor, so obviously we can't associate. Or because I don't usually talk to people."

I was still blushing over the 'hot' comment when I answered, "Why don't you talk to people?"

"I don't know if you have had a chance to talk to people here, Lily but let me tell you, most of them are obnoxious. Take, for example, the two buffoons behind us." I turned around only to be greeted with the sight of Sirius, Remus, and Alice.

"What's so bad about them?" I said with a chuckle. Besides the fact that right now they were staring at me like I had grown a head out of my eyeball, they seemed pretty decent. Well, as decent as Sirius and Remus could be.

"They are probably two of the most insufferable, obnoxious, egotistical, pricks to ever walk the face of the earth."

"I don't know, they don't seem so bad-"

"Oh just wait! And you haven't even met their ring leader yet, James Potter."

Okay, now this was getting uncomfortable.

"So uh, what is this James like then?"

And now Severus was on a roll. I don't know if he even realized all he was saying, or maybe this was a speech he'd had planned for years. Maybe he was just waiting for someone who would listen.

"He's terrible. Ever since the train in first year he has been a downright arse to me. For the last six years, I've been the butt of all his pranks. He's the worst, Lily. And do you know what the worst part is? No one realizes it! All the boys want to be his friend and all the girls want to be his girlfriend! Everyone loves him! They are all mindless little followers, holding on to his every last moronic word."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way."

"I just feel bad for you. James always likes to go after the new girl, and since you're in his house you can guarantee that he'll try all of his tricks to get you alone in a broom cupboard." As each moment passed, I became more uncomfortable, not only with Severus, but James as well. There was a blonde boy up ahead who waved at Severus.

"Sorry, Lily," he said, "I have to go. But I'll see you later? Maybe I can help you find your way around the castle."

"That'd be great," I said with a smile. As he began to walk away, I called him back, "Hey Severus!" He turned and looked at me, "I thought you didn't associate with people here."

"Well," he said with a sardonic smile, "not with most people. Bye Lily."

And with that, he was gone. I liked Severus, but I couldn't deny that he'd left me with a lot to ponder.

James POV

"Hey hey hey Jamie boy!" Sirius shouted, bounding into the room.

"Sirius, has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"

"Why yes, my boy, I believe I have heard that. But you see, due to all the love I received as a child from my nurturing parents such comments just roll right off me."

"Prick," I muttered from underneath four pillows.

"C'mon, James, just get up. It's time for dinner and there are some new girls in school that might help you take your mind off Lily," Remus tried coaxing.

"That's highly improbable, Remus."

"Well," Sirius cut in, "you could at least take a stab at drowning your sorrows in food. Girls do it all the time with great success."

"Do I look like a girl to you?"

"You're starting to act like one."

That was it, "Fine," I yelled, throwing the pillows and blankets off of me, "let's go get some freakin' dinner!"

"Don't you at least want to put some actual clothes on?"

"Sirius," I growled, "you are two words away from being turned into a toad."

"Understood." He said. And with that, we marched down to dinner.

Lily POV

"So," Dorcas said, "how is Hogwarts compared to your old school?" Alice and I had sat down at dinner only five minutes ago, and our roommates had already found us. They seemed really nice, not at all like some of the girls I had seen at James' ball.

"It's definitely different," Alice said, "the accents for one thing."

Both girls laughed at that, "yeah, I guess the British accents would seem a little strange to Americans," Gwen said with a smile

"Although, not going to lie," Dorcas added in, "your accents seem a little strange to us too."

"I'm actually excited for the moments when our slang freaks each other out," I said with a smile.

"Oh Merlin yes! This year is going to be hilarious!" Dorcas said.

"So," Gwen added, "who have you guys met here so far?"

"We spent most of Defense with each other but in Potions, Lily and I both had our own little adventures."

"Oh really? Spill."

"Well, I sat in the back with Sirius and Remus, nice guys," Alice said with a glint in her eye. I looked at her and she shot me her own look back, clearly stating 'play dumb'.

"And Lily here spent the time next to one Severus Snape."

"You sat with Snape?" Gwen asked incredulously, "did he talk to you?"

"The whole time. You know, he's actually pretty nice."

Dorcas snorted, "Yeah okay, nice. Sure he is Lily."

"He is! People just have to give him a chance!"

"If you say so," Gwen said, "so Alice, what did you think of Sirius and Remus?"

She smiled to herself for a moment, "oh those boys were…nice," she said, stealing my descriptor.

"Did Sirius try to put the moves on you?"

For some reason, that made Alice laugh extremely hard, "oh ew! God no, they would have gotten a swift kick in the ass if they had even tried."

"Really? Any girl here would love for Sirius and Remus to ask them out."

"Well, except for us. Gwen had the unfortunate experience of being Sirius' conquest fifth year and I dated Remus a while back. It ended fine enough, but we're just friends now."

"So uhh," Alice started, looking at me, "girls here love them? Do they have any other friends?"

"Well, it used to be four of them. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James. No one has seen Pete since the start of term, but that's fine. He was always a bit creepy."

I felt a kick in the leg and looked at Alice, she was staring at me with such intensity that her eyes seemed to bug out of her head.

"And what about James?"

"Oh lord, girls love him. I don't know of a single girl who hasn't tried to get in his bed. I mean, understandably, the boy is blessed with the looks of a god."

I couldn't help turning red, so other girls liked James huh? Well, we'd just see about that.

"So uh, he's been with a lot of girls, huh?"

"Tons. Well, until the end of last year. He left for a week to deal with 'family stuff' and when he came back, he was entirely different. No one has seen him since school started."

"Jesus, he really needs to just get out of bed already."

"Someone anxious to meet the James Potter? All I'm saying, Lily, if he goes for you a lot of girls here will be a bit mad," Gwen said.

"Mindless bimbos, the lot of them," Dorcas said, "but seriously, don't go for someone like James. He can find something to like in every girl, if you know what I'm saying."

"I'll keep that in mind," I muttered, already lost in my own thoughts.

James POV

When we got to the Great Hall, we sat at the spot closest to the door.

"Why aren't we going to sit in our usual spot?" I asked them, already piling food onto my plate.

"Because, dear James, variety is the spice of life. Now pipe down and eat." Sirius said with authority. I didn't need to be told twice.

"You know mates, I won't lie. Wallowing really does make you build an appetite."

"Why have you been wallowing?" Came a voice from the doorway.

"Teddy!" I shouted, "how ya doing mate?"

"Better than you from the sound of it," he said, joining us with his best friend Frank.

"Rough summer, Potter?" Frank said with a smile, "was fighting off all that female attention too draining for you?"

I threw a piece of bread at him, "From what I hear the girls on my quidditch team say, you do pretty well yourself, Longbottom."

"Can't complain," he said with a smile.

"Oi," Teddy interjected, "have you lot seen the two new girls?"

"We have new girls?"

"Yes, idiot, isn't it your head boy duty to go and greet them?"

"Let the head girl deal with it, I really don't feel like being flirted with right now."

"Would everyone listen to that, James Potter is over female attention. Switched teams over the summer, Potter?"

"You wish, Ted. So what are these new girls like?"

For some reason, Sirius and Remus looked ready to explode, "If you two are going to piss, would you mind getting off the bench?"

"Oh we're fine," Sirius barely managed to get out, "Tell us Ted, what are these girls like?"

"Well, there's a brunette. Hot as hell, nice size cans and a face to match. She wears her hair short though, so you know."

"Know what?"

"Nothing, I'm just not into short hair. I like something to hold on to, if you know what I mean," he said with a wink. Sirius high fived him, "hear hear, good sir!"

"I don't know," Frank said, "I kind of like her, she seems really nice."

"Oh well of course you would like her, Longbottom. You actually date girls, so personality matters to you." Frank shoved Ted before Remus cut into the conversation.

"And the other one? What's she like?"

"Now she is one fine piece of woman, if I do say so myself," Ted answered, "Auburn hair, long too. Really nice pale skin and I've heard she has killer eyes." God damn, that sounded like Lily, which just brought the wallowing back full force.

"So do you know their names, Ted?" Sirius wheezed, he was laughing so hard.

"The brunette is named Alice I think and the redhead is named Lillian or something, her last name is Evans, that's all I know for sure."

"Excuse me?" I said, coming out of wallowing mode faster than I thought possible.

"What?"

"Her last name is what?"

"Evans. What's it to you Potter?" Sirius and Remus could no longer keep it in. They broke out in the most embarrassing fit of giggles. Well, embarrassing if you weren't a Marauder.

"You knew? You knew this whole time and you let me sit in bed like a girl?"

"Oh god, you should have seen yourself James! It was so pathetic!"

"Where is she?" I almost yelled, I hadn't been this excited in a long time.

"Look down the table why don't you?" Remus managed to get out between giggles.

Frantically, I stood up and looked down the table. It took a few moments, but hell I would know that hair anywhere.

"Lily!" I shouted before I could stop myself. All of the Great Hall looked in my direction, but I was just waiting to see one pair of eyes. She looked at me with that little smile on her face, one that seemed to say 'took you long enough'.

She stood up at the same moment I started making my way towards her. I could just imagine all the gossip we were about to start, but it didn't matter. She was here, something I was sure would never happen.

I reached her after what felt like hours.

"How long have you been here?" I said in a rush, taking her face in my hands, making sure she was real.

She gave me a slow smile before answering, "since this morning, I was hoping I'd see you before this."

"Yeah well, I was out of commission."

"Oh, I know," she said with a smirk, "your friends aren't the most coy."

"I can't believe you're here," I said.

"Um, James?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to kiss me, or do I have to take initiative again?"

"I was the strong manly one!" I whined, taking my hands away from her face and clasping mine with hers, our fingers intertwining.

"Where are we going?" She asked as I already started towards the doors. From around us I heard cat calls and whistles, and one girl saying, "now that's the way to greet new students!"

"I'm going to need more privacy than the Great Hall can give us for our little reunion," I said with a smile.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Then lead the way Potter."

We left the Great Hall at a run, and ran until we reached the Gryffindor common room, I ran up the stairs, Lily barely managing to keep up.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," was all I said.

I burst into the dormitory, falling on the bed and dragging her with me.

"Now, where were we?" I asked with a smile before once again taking her face in my hands.

"I think you have it about right," she said with a smile. Before she could say another word, I kissed her. She smelled just as I remembered and her body felt perfect in my hands. She was here. She was mine.

"You know," I said, coming up for air, "I may have to kiss you until I actually believe you're here."

"Don't I feel real enough to you?"

"I don't know, this may take awhile," I said with another long kiss.

"Take you time," she answered, breathless, "we have all the time in the world."

And she was right. I drew the hangings on my bed, and let us get lost in our own world.

So I hope you all like this chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! If I had internet access right now, I'd list ya'll individually. You are all awesome! And another thanks to everyone who favorited or followed this story! I hope you liked the chapter(:

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