Much of my 3rd year would be a blur to me when I looked back at it. For most of the year, little changed in my life. Mary became closer to us and I genuinely began to consider her as a friend and as someone I enjoyed spending time with. If there were any feelings she had about me, I couldn't read them. I was still disappointed Severus didn't halt his dark arts instruction, but there was very little I could do about that. For most of the year, Severus and Lily were frantically studying for their OWLS. They were really the best in their year, but I think they had high expectations for themselves, wanting to get as many "Outstandings" as possible. They went into the OWLS feeling nervous, but I imagine they left feeling confident enough that they were over and they did the very best they could.

It was several days after the OWLS when something horrible happened that would shape our lives forever. One afternoon, I came upon Severus, feeling a very dark impact on his psyche. You didn't have to be a legilimens to tell something was very wrong, but I had never felt anything so strong with him before.

I approached him as he was staring out the window, looking incredibly depressed. "Sev, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Everything," he sighed.

"What happened?"

"Lily hates me," he said, morosely.

"What?"

"I kind of… said something to her that I shouldn't have," he said.

"Oh.." Suddenly flashes of filthy mudblood! echoed through my mind. I hesitated before speaking. "Yeah I guess you really shouldn't have said that to her…"

He flashed me a glare. "Thanks, legilimens," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry, Sev, I…." started to apologize.

"It's ok, Reg," he sighed, interrupting. "I just really don't know what to do right now."

"You've tried apologizing?" I asked.

"Of course. I feel really terrible about this. She said she wants nothing to do with me."

"Oh… well, keep trying, Sev. She can't just give up on you, she loves you."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore. Really, things have been very tense with us for some time, I'm sure you've noticed how much she is against my camaraderie with Mulciber and the others."

"I'm not really happy about it either, Sev, but Lily is more important than them. Surely she realizes that?"

He shook his head. "I don't think she does."

"Listen, Sev, don't get discouraged," I put my hand on his shoulder, encouragingly. "Go to her and don't leave until she listens to what you have to say," I instructed.

"She doesn't want to," he argued.

"Then make her," I insisted. "She has to forgive you I mean… she has to," I said, trying to convince myself that it was impossible for her not to forgive something like this.

"Ok, Reg, I'll try again, tonight," he said.

I smiled. "Good, she'll surely forgive you," I said, but as I said that, I really wasn't sure. Severus's activities had been a driving point in their relationship. Maybe calling her that terrible name had been the last straw. I hoped not. I really couldn't stand to see them lose each other like that.

Severus tried to be confident when he left that night to chase Lily out of her dorm and make her listen, but I could feel his defeat from far away. "Keep trying, Sev," was all I could say, but he said that she was final about it and she didn't want to be friends anymore. His pain was almost unbearable to me. I wanted to start crying, but if he could keep a brave face, I would have to as well. I wondered if he knew I could feel him crying himself to sleep that night, and many nights into the future.

I hadn't talked to Lily for days after their falling apart. Finally, I had enough of Severus's misery so I approached her and asked if we could talk in private. Knowing what I wanted to discuss, she reluctantly agreed to see me.

"Lily, you have to put an end to this," I pleaded.

"It's not so easy anymore, Reg," she said sadly.

"Why not? You still love each other. Don't tell me you don't. I know you do." I said.

"Of course, I'll always love Sev. But… he has chosen his way and I have chosen mine. I chose not to be a death eater and he has chosen to bring them up. I can't be friends with someone like that, Reg."

I shook my head. "You know that he would chose you over Death Eaters a million times over." I insisted.

"He hasn't yet," she said.

I hesitated because I had no response to that. "I know the both of you are miserable. I can feel the pain and regret you have in your heart, Lil', and it's a million times worse with Sev. Being around him is like being around a Dementor. It's just nonstop gloom and dreariness. He is always like that now, he never feels positive about anything, and I imagine this won't change until you forgive him."

She sighed. "I can't, Reg, please try to understand."

"This feeling of emptiness, it won't go away," I told her. "It's always going to be there because the connection you two have will always be with you. If you cut him out of your life now, you will feel it for the rest of your life."

"I know, Reg, but that's just something I'll have to deal with."

"It doesn't… have to be like this," I said as my eyes filled with tears.

We were quiet for a minute before she pulled me into her arms. "I'm sorry, Reg, I really am, I know this is hard on you," she comforted.

I closed my eyes as tears fell on her robes. "I miss you, I miss being with you and Sev," I said, quietly.

"I miss us too…" she said.

"Does this mean you and I have to stop being friends too?" I asked.

"No…" she hesitated. "We can still be friends, however, right now, I think it's best if we didn't see each other, just for the time being. If Sev saw you hanging out with me, he would be very upset, and it's better for him that he didn't see that right now."

I sighed. "Alright."

"But I still want you to come see me again this summer, alright?" She looked into my eyes. "Sev might not be around, but we can still be together."

I nodded. "It won't be the same…"

"I know, I imagine a lot of things won't be, but I still love you, and I still love Sev. I'm sorry that things had to change," she said.

I went back to the dorms, finding Sev preoccupied with some studies. I never told him that I tried to talk to Lily. I imagined that it would just hurt him, and I couldn't do that to him anymore.

I looked forward to spending time at Lily's house less than I did last summer. I imagined it would feel a lot less emptier with Severus not being there, and it did. It was still nice to be with her, and I did enjoy spending the time with her, since I saw very little of her in the last month or so since she and Sev had that falling apart. Still, Severus's absence put a damper on our moods and the emptiness never really went away. Eventually, she suggested that I pay him a visit. She would show me where his house was, and I could go there myself to check up on him.

I knocked on his door on Spinners End one afternoon. He answered it and was really surprised to find me there. "Hi, Reg," he greeted as he stepped outside. I imagine he was embarrassed of his house. Somehow, I managed to feel a twinge of happiness, something I hadn't felt from him for a long time.

"Hi Sev," I smiled. "How are you?" I asked.

"Alright, I guess," he said. "Do you want to take a walk?" He asked.

"Sure," I agreed, as he lead me to the park.

We sat on the swings as we talked. "So you're here to visit Lily?" He asked, as a deep sensation of pain overtook him.

"Well, right now, I'm here to visit you," I said.

He smiled. "Thanks. It's nice to see you," he said, genuinely.

We sat quietly for a moment. "You know, Lily really does miss you," I said.

He looked at the ground and shuffled the sand with his feet. "Maybe you feel that, but I just feel miserable," he admitted.

I stood up. "Sev, try to talk to her again," I said.

He sighed. "Been there, done that, remember?"

"I know, but… just don't give up. Tell her that you'll always be waiting for her, and that you really want to express how sorry you are," I insisted.

""I'm not sure how to express that," he admitted.

I hesitated. "You know how you get almost every night when sadness just overtakes you and you just lay there and cry and feel like dying?" I finally said.

He blushed, embarrassed. "You know, I always knew you could feel that, but I guess that when I got like that, I just didn't care."

"It's ok, Sev," I said. "Anyway, I know how you feel, I always know how you feel, I was born with this ability. But Lily, she isn't a legilimens. She doesn't know. You have to show her."

He nodded. "It's kind of embarrassing," he mumbled.

"I know, but it really is the only way."

He looked at me. "I guess you're right," he said, standing up. "I'll give it another try."

I grinned. "That's the spirit!" I encouraged. Somehow, that made him smile too.

The next day, he showed up at Lily's doorstep. Mrs. Evans answered the door and was happy to see him, not really understanding why he had not been to her house all summer. She invited him inside, but he said that it'd be better if he could borrow Lily to talk outside for a moment. Grudgingly, she met him on the porch.

"So what'd he say?" I asked after he left.

"Said that he will wait for me at the park every day until the day I decide to talk to him. I told him not to bother, but he said that he would wait for me every day regardless." She sighed.

It took her several days to bring up the subject again, but I could tell that it didn't leave her mind.

"You know, he's there every day, waiting for you," I gently said to her one night.

"I know, Reg, he won't give this up."

"Because he won't give you up," I said.

She stared at me. "Reg, I'm really spent. I'm tired of this." She said as tears formed in her eyes.

"Then you know what you have to do," I said as I wrapped my arms around her, comforting her.

"I know," she mumbled. "I'll do it. I just need a couple days, alright?"

"No one is rushing you, Lil'" I said, "He'll wait for you forever, though it does get agonizing as each day goes by."

She nodded. "I miss him."

"Believe me, he misses you even more," I said.

She smiled. "You're a good friend, Regulus."

"So are you," I said as I let go of her. It was then when I finally knew that things had to be alright.

It did take Lily another 3 days before she had enough courage to go to Severus.

"Do you want me to stay here, or go with you?" I asked as she prepared to see him at the park.

"Go with me, but I think he'll want to talk to me alone."

"Of course," I said. I took her hand. "Let's go?"

"Let's go." She smiled as we headed out the door. She held my hand all the way to the park until she saw him.

I really don't think Severus expected her to finally show up because he felt incredibly stunned when she did.

"Hi Sev," I said, as he continued to stare at Lily.

"Hi, Reg," he replied, still awestruck.

"Um, I think I'll go back to Lily's house now," I said, leaving them alone.

"Thanks, Reg," she said, as I left.

I waved and nervously walked back to her house. I hoped that they'd be ok. I doubted I could handle all the emotion anyway.

It took just half an hour for them to come back, but it was really one of the most agonizing half hours of my life. Nervousness overtook me until the exact moment they were approaching the house when I could feel the blissful relief washing over me. I ran to the door and threw it open, grinning.

"Hi, Reg," Lily laughed as I threw myself at her, squeezing her tightly.

"You two are finally so happy!" I grinned. I could tell they'd been crying a lot, but they weren't sad anymore.

Unexpectedly, Severus hugged me. He'd never done that before. "Thanks a lot, Reg," he said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

I smiled as tears filled my eyes. Lily ushered us onto the swinging bench on her porch.

"Hey, Reg," she said. "You know, you're partially responsible for this, and we want you to feel how we feel right now, so maybe… you should connect with us so we can share?" She offered.

"I'm not sure, Lil'," I said, hesitating. "I'd probably just start bawling or something. I don't think I could handle it. Besides, I can feel it enough just right now. It's very strong."

She held my hand. "We have enough tears to go around today," she smiled. "It's alright if you start bawling, we don't mind. If you don't want to, it's ok, I just think that you really deserve to feel how we do right now."

Severus nodded. "You're part of us, you really do deserve it."

Against my better judgment, I did agree to connect with them. Somehow, I didn't start immediately bawling, but maybe it was because I felt such overwhelming happiness that I didn't feel the need to. I really didn't need to say anything at that moment, and neither did they. I held Lily's hand as I felt their emotions running through me. This would be the happiest feeling I ever experienced for many years to come.

Author's Note

Alright, so I really did write everything I set out for with this fic. I think it might be the longest Harry Potter fic with no reviews, lol. I have very little to add to this story, so I've just been writing like mad today. Thanks for reading. I may be persuaded to add a little more, but I kind of like leaving it as it is right now.