Disclaimer: All mentioned characters are property of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 3. An evening to remember

That evening at diner, the seventh year Gryffindors were particularly loud. The Marauders kept teasing Lily, trying to get her closer to James. If none of them, save Remus, had noticed Lily and James' exchange during their Hogsmeade visit, they could certainly not ignore the way they kept teasing each other on the way back.

It started with Lily and her friends catching up with the boys as they were walking towards the castle. None of them had noticed the three girls coming up from behind, being busy listening to James explain, yet again, why he was sure this time he was getting somewhere with Lily, but how he was still afraid of getting his hopes up - and 'oh what should he do?' Which explains why they were all caught off guard when James received a particularly large snowball to the back of the head. As the girls broke off in peals of laughter, the boys spun around. James' eye falling instantly on Lily, we was astounded to see that she was bright red and that her friends were congratulating her on such a precise throw.

"She didn't even need an aiming spell!" Dorcas was nearly crying she was laughing so hard at the boys bewildered expressions.

"Yeah well" Marlene's gleeful voice cut in "I guess years of doing it the muggle way pays off!"

And before anyone had the time to do anything, James was launching himself at Lily, tackling her to the ground. As they fell in the snow laughing loudly, the Marauders started pelting the two other girls with snowballs, magically aimed of course, and everyone grew too busy to notice how James had turned himself around midair so that Lily would fall on top of him, making sure she wouldn't hurt herself in the fall. Remus didn't miss however, how both Lily and James where looking intently into each other's eyes, and Sirius didn't miss how, two seconds later, having regained some sort of composure, Lily grabbed a handful of snow, smearing it in James' face before running off laughing with her friends. James didn't react immediately, his lust filled eyes following Lily up the path.

"Need a cold shower mate?" Sirius laughed as he offered his hand to his friend to help pull him up.

So that's why, when Lily made her way over to the boys at dinner, and sat next to James, none of the Marauders missed how she pressed close to him, softly put her hand on his forearm while turning her bright eyes to his and asked him, voice low and sensual "Had a nice shower? I kind of got you... hard."

He knew she must be talking about how she hit him with the snowball, but he couldn't stop himself from dropping his fork. But then, looking back at her knowing smile, he had to wonder if that's what she really meant. He struggled awkwardly on his bench trying to hid the bulge growing in his pants as his friends laughed knowingly at him. He choked back a gasp when Lily put her hand on his thigh, subtly looking down.

XXX

Later that night, as she was coming back from some time studying in the library, her thoughts full of James and the look on his face when she touched him, she was interrupted by a low, cold voice ringing out behind her

"Lily?" She knew that voice, would recognize it anywhere. But it was still with reticence that she slowly turned towards it, asking herself all the while why hadn't she just ignored it and kept walking.

"What do you want Snape?" Her voice was harsh, she really wanted nothing to do with him.

"What are you doing?"

"Excuse me?"

"What are you doing?" He asked again curtly, accusingly.

"Well I was walking..."

"Not what I meant and you know it." He cut her off irritated.

"Well I don't know what you're talking about. But it's none of your business I'm sure." And with that, she turned to walk away exasperated by her old friend. He just had a way of getting to her, and it wasn't pleasant in the least.

"I meant with him! With Potter! What. are. you. doing?" He was getting angry now and as much as he wanted to fight it, it was showing trough his voice.

"With..." but her voice broke off, cracking of its own accord. "I'm not doing anything with James, other than head business." She'd made a point of using his first name, partly because she wanted to; she didn't just see him as Potter anymore, and partly because she didn't mind making Snape see red. "Not that it's any of your business, as I'd presumed." she finished coolly, although her heartbeat had accelerated at the mention of James.

"That's not true and you know it! I see how you both look at each other. Steeling glances, laughing... touching." He spat that last word, the mere thought of it causing bile to rise to his throat.

"Yeah. Because we're friends now." She couldn't fight the blush that had found its way to her cheeks in his last statement. Of course there was something between them. Of course she wouldn't touch someone that was just a friend the way that she had touched James previously today. But he didn't need to know that, it was none of his business.

"Funny. I don't remember us being so touchy." And if it was possible, his voice was even lower than before, anger and resentment seeping into every word. "And what happened to him being a bullying toe-rag? Or have you already forgotten? Fallen for his charms like those other fools, have you?" His voice was cold, eyes biting into her. He was livid, she could tell by the look in his eyes, but she didn't care. Not anymore.

"Well. Seems to me like I've been a poor judge of character in the past. Severus." And with that she turned to leave, saying as she went "What goes on between James and I. Is none of your business." And she was gone. And in that moment, he knew he had lost her forever.

XXX

It was only three days later, as Lily was happily sitting down for breakfast, that her world changed. Yet again.

Things between her and James had been getting clearer and clearer and she couldn't stop the smile that would spread across her face every time she thought of it. Every day they would be seen together, laughing and flirting. It had become quite evident that they couldn't stop but gravitate towards one another, and all of their friends had been making bets on how long it would actually take for them to just finally get on with it and officially date. Lily was shy though and worried. She had been so sure for months now that James no longer felt that way about her. And even if the past few days had seem to show different, she was worried that after years of chasing her, maybe he'd find her to be a letdown. As for James, if he had learned anything during his previous six years at Hogwarts, it was to not take anything for granted, especially when it came to Lily, and to not get his hopes up. He didn't know what he would do if Lily turned him down again. Now that he was almost positive she finally wanted to be with him.

But that morning, as Lily was lost in her thoughts, thinking about how James had looked at her the night before, lightly grazing his fingers against her own as he wished her goodnight, an owl swooped down and dropped a copy of the daily prophet before her.

Reading the first page, her bagel fell to the ground as it suddenly became clear, as to why, she just couldn't be with the man that had been in all her latest dreams.