Authors note: please review and enjoy this will be slightly shorter I'm afraid

Continued straight from last…

She stormed up to the Gargoyle and angrily said the password, before marching up the stairs and thumping loudly on Dumbledore's door.

'Come in, Lily.' He called wearily.

Dumbledore was standing in the higher tier of his office, by the fireplace where she assumed he'd just been talking to Slughorn. He walked out from behind his desk and slowly towards her, all the while looking at her through his spectacles.

'Mr Snape.' He called, glancing over her shoulder. 'Please remain outside for a moment.'

She turned to see his office door shutting again and then swiftly turned back round to face Dumbledore, her hair swinging behind her.

'Miss Evans, calm down. Take a deep breath and tell me what happened.'

Lily did as instructed and informed Dumbledore of everything that occurred just now in Potions, including everything Snape said and everything she said to both him and Slughorn. The portraits on the walls had varying degrees of reactions to her having shouted at a teacher. Professor Dibble actually gasped, and clutched his heart, which Lily saw as an extreme overreaction.

'You shouted at a teacher.' Dumbledore stated.

'You can punish me, sir, but I have no regrets.' Lily said defensively.

'I don't see a reason to punish you when it was I who requested you speak to Mr Snape. I feel we don't have to go over everything again, and I understand why you lost your temper with Slughorn. However, not everyone is brave enough to step into a fight, but that doesn't mean they are against those who are. You will do well to remember that, Lily.' Dumbledore said wisely.

'Yes, sir.' She replied. 'I know that, sir. I think my anger may have been a little misaimed.'

'Perhaps towards Professor Slughorn it was, but not towards Snape. I believe that from what you've told me the hope I had that he was not committed to following Voldemort was misplaced. However, I will be expecting you to apologise sincerely to Slughorn, as he does value you as a student despite you being Muggleborn, and in his own way is valuable to this war. It is always good to keep those of value on side.'

'Okay, sir. I'll apologise.' Lily said.

'Really mean it, Lily.' He said.

'I will. May I leave?' She replied.

'You may. Please send Mr Snape in as you depart.' Dumbledore said quietly.

Although she knew it was wrong. Lily hung back a little after Snape went in and listened in to their conversation.

'Well. It seems I was very wrong about you.' Dumbledore said.

'Wrong, sir? How so?' She heard Snape reply.

'I thought I saw good in you. Turns out any good there was, has been squashed out.' She heard Dumbledore reply. His voice was colder than she'd ever thought it could be. Snape didn't reply to that, but she imagined him looking anywhere but at Dumbledore.

'I believe your good was only brought out by Lily Evans. You've lost her now. There won't be any getting her back.' He continued.

'What do you mean?' Snape said, his voice shaking.

'I feel I may have misled her into believing you were anything but a puppet of Voldemort's. Now she sees that you're just as committed to his side of the war as she is to her side, you won't win her affection.' He said.

'I-I don't want her affection. She's just a mudblood.' Snape sniffed.

'You will not speak that word in my presence, or in my school. I will not kick you out of this school, but I will not tolerate that language. You are still a student of mine and I know you as well as I did when you were a first year. You came to this school clinging to a clever muggleborn, and even after you were put it Slytherin you remained close friends. Both of you were exceptionally talented and appeared to genuinely enjoy each other's company. I have watched Miss Evans turn into a remarkable good witch with good morals, whereas you a remarkably good wizard with bad morals. Even still, despite these differences, you have been falling harder and harder for her since you met her. I am also aware of the tension between you and Mr Potter in competition for her heart - even though both of your efforts just pushed her further away. I have watched you two these past two years and seen the tension between you, but even still - I believed that your shared friendship and your love for her would keep you from Voldemort's reach. Love is a power that Voldemort knows nothing of. A power which you have ignored. You will live to regret not choosing your love for her, and you will lose her forever because of it.' He said, calmly but colder still.

'N-not forever. She will see that the Dark Lord is right to want the wizard race to be more powerful.' Snape stammered.

'You are mistaken, my boy. She has been bought up in a world of both Muggles and wizards and values them both. She cannot return the love you feel for her, when you don't value them both.' Dumbledore said, almost softly but not quite.

'I don't love her.' Snape whispered.

'My dear boy, I know unrequited love. I see it in your eyes whenever she talks to Mr Potter - despite her not having chosen him at this moment. Miss Evans is free to be with whomever she chooses, though this does not mean that just because it isn't you, you should turn your back in her. It doesn't have to be this way.' Dumbledore said, and Lily could hear the sincerity and kindest behind the cold front.

'It does.' Snape replied, and Lily could also hear the misery in his voice.

'Then you have made your decision.' Dumbledore said, any kindest leaving his tone once more.

Thinking she could not bear to hear anymore, Lily tore herself away from the office door and fled down the stairs, tears streaming down her face, and did not stop running until she reached the Fat Lady.

'Flobberworms.' She cried, and the portrait swung open.

Lily ran up to the Heads common area and into her room, slamming the door behind her. She threw herself onto the bed and sobbed into her pillow. Lily remained in that position for the rest of the afternoon and evening, until she ran out of tears. Until dinner was over and she heard the Gryffindor house heading up to their dormitories. Until she heard James gently knocking on her door. Until she heard him give up, and then for hours more after that. In her head, Lily could see all of her friends talking about her concernedly and worried about her welfare, seeing as she'd been missing all day. However, that wasn't her top concern. She was trying to figure out just how to apologise to Slughorn, as she did feel remarkably guilty now for what she had said.

As the clock struck 2am, Lily rolled out of bed and looked at her face in the mirror above her desk. She noted that her mascara had smeared all the way down her face and her eyes were still a little puffy, and so she quickly removed all make up (which was minimal because she rarely wore anything apart from mascara). Her hair was a tangled mess and so she quickly gathered it up and tied it in a high ponytail. Lily adjusted her clothing and checked the mirror one last time, before deeming herself presentable.

Lily was aware that the fact that she was Head Girl meant she would be able to patrol Hogwarts without teachers caring, however she still wanted to go unseen. She snuck out of Gryffindor Tower and down the stairs, the Fat Lady grunted in her sleep and then resumed snoring as she passed through the portrait. She trudged down the stairs to the dungeons, where she knew Slughorn's office was (as the potions master always worked in the dungeons because of the smell from the potions) and let herself into Slughorn's office. She heard him gently snoring in the adjoining room and knew she would have to work quickly so not to wake him up. Lily grabbed a bowl from the side of the office and placed in on the desk outside out his bedroom door so that he'd see it when he got up. She filled the bowl up with water using her wand and magicked a lily petal to float on the top - and to only start transforming when Slughorn's presence was in the room. She made sure the lily petal was the most vibrant purple and then, using the spell McGonagall had taught them a week ago, she gave it the ability to transform into a fish when Slughorn entered the room. She grabbed a piece of parchment from his office desk and quickly scribbled a message on it. For good measure, she then tied the fish's life to her own so that it would live for as long as she did and would be the perfect, low-maintenance companion for him.

She finally snuck back out of the room, pleased with her work.

Slughorn,

I'm sorry for how I acted today, and you are not what I claimed you were. I hope you can accept my present as my apology and forgive me for my behaviour.

Love,

Lily