Snape was utterly baffled.

Sirius Black, his arch enemy, tormentor, and rival had just apologized.

"Has the world gone mad?" Snape huffed.

He and Black had always hated each other. In fact, he thought that he hated Sirius more than James sometimes.

Snape sat himself down and rested his chin on his hand. They had dug up some old secrets last night. Snape twitched as he thought about his run in with Black in the study. Black had almost caught him looking at pictures of Lily. Snape had shut the book as fast as he could. Black couldn't have seen the page from where he was standing, could he?

Was Black just trying to be nice to him to fool Dumbledore? Or was it to find out more information about his role in protecting the Potters-or his role in damning them.

He knew he'd better keep an eye on Black, surely he was up to something. Severus had concluded long ago that people don't just forgive. They always want something in return. He had learned this when in school. People who pointed and laughed at him apologized, and then asked him to 'help' them with homework.

His father apologized to him and then demanded he give him money.

Dumbledore apologized to him about allowing the Marauders to get away with so much and then asked him to keep silent about Remus's condition.

No apology he had ever received was sincere, and he never expected to be given a real apology.

Snape sighed. He was so exhausted. Last night had been spent keeping an eye on the wolf, and even on his downtime he could not manage to nap. How could anyone sleep with a man-eating monster in the next room? Plus, he had flashbacks of that fateful moment in the shrieking shack…

Snape rubbed his eyes. His body begged him for sleep. But as much as he wanted to sleep his mind craved something else. Seeing Lily again exhilarated him. And there were more pictures in that book, there had to be. His heart jumped at the thought of seeing more of her. Maybe he could sneak back into the study a little later and flip through the pages, and once more feel like she was with him again….

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Harry paced back and forth in his room. Ron and Hermione had gone downstairs hours ago for breakfast. It was almost nine and Harry was starving. The plan was working itself out, except for one thing.

Sirius meant what he said. Sirius was an honest person and would live up to his words. Snape on the other hand was a different story. Snape had been on the receiving end of Black's bullying. It was much easier for Sirius to halt his treatment of Snape than it was for Snape to abandon his resentment for Sirius. Hatred was heavy baggage to carry around, and a very difficult thing to throw away. Harry had to find a way to help soften Snape and encourage him to let go of the hatred he had carried for so long.

This lead to another problem. Snape hated Harry as well. Harry had to find a way to show Snape that he really wasn't all like his father. This included actually talking to Snape, which made Harry shiver.

Somehow, someway, Harry needed to get Snape to forgive Sirius. If Snape could not come to do it himself, maybe Harry could lend him a helping hand.

Hungry and eager to check up on Lupin, Harry pulled on his clothes and went downstairs. He peered in the living room to see Lupin all bundled up on the floor. Tonks had fallen asleep beside him. Harry smiled. He walked into the kitchen to find everyone chattering and nibbling on the delicious breakfast Molly and Arthur had made.

"So boys, I was thinking we could make a trip to Diagon Alley later on. School will be here before we know it, and your all in need of some supplies." Arthur said to the table of children. Fred and George rolled their eyes, the last thing they wanted to think about was the end of summer and school.

"I would love to go. Thank you Mr. Weasley." Hermione said.

"I just want to get out of this place for a little while. That haggard elf is bloody nasty." Ron mumbled as he chewed ferociously on a piece of bacon.

"Come now, Ron. You should be thankful for all the work Kreacher does for us." Arthur reprimanded. "And you never give him a thank you."

"He has a point you know." Harry said.

Ron sighed. "Yeah, but its fine and dandy for him to call me a mudbloo.."

"No..no… oh what have I done.." A voice moaned from the other room.

"Remus, I'm fine. Its not your fault you couldn't control it." That was Tonks voice.

That meant Remus must have woken up. Woken up to see the damage to the house, and the damage to Tonk's face.

Harry rushed into the other room, followed closely by Molly, Hermione, and Ron.

Remus was kneeling down on the floor, his hands over his face. He was sobbing and whining. His body had some scratches and bruises, but nothing serious.

"I'm a danger to everyone here. I could have killed someone. I..I…"

"Shhh, everyone is okay. You've done no harm Remus."

"I destroyed the room and I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." He raised his hands from his face and looked at down at the floor.

"I'm a monster. Just a monster."

Tonks wiped his face with her sleeve. "You're no monster. You are a sweet, gentle, kind, and giving man. Don't ever think you are anything less." Tonks smiled and gave Remus a hug, who blushed when he realized that he was only wearing a towel around his waist.

"Now go upstairs and put these clothes on. There are children present." Tonks joked, looking over at the onlookers.

Remus blushed some more. He got up off the floor and rushed past everyone. He gave them a brief good morning and ran upstairs.

"Okay kids, shows over. Go clean up the kitchen and we'll head off to the alley." Molly said as she ushered them into the kitchen.

The children cleaned up their mess quickly, except for Ron who tried to get away with leaving his dirty dishes in the sink.

"Oh no you don't Ronald Weasley! Clean that plate and then you may go." Molly admonished him.

As Ron was scrubbing the plate, Kreacher entered the room and began mopping the floor. Ron sighed.

"Um, Kreacher." He muttered.

The sour elf looked up at him patiently.

"I just wanted to say thank you for cleaning and stuff. We really appreciate it." Ron faked a smile to try and appear genuine.

The elf dipped the mop into the bucket and started dragging in across the floor.

"Kreacher is glad to know that Ronald Mudblood and his dirty blood friends appreciate Kreacher. Nothing can make Kreacher happier than cleaning for a bunch of mudbloods. Too bad Kreacher cannot clean their blood."

Ron gasped. "You lowly effing bastard!"

Just then, Arthur came in to fetch Ron. Upon hearing his son curse, he dragged Ron out by his ear and gave Kreacher two galleons to make up for Ron's outburst.

Kreacher pocketed the money and grinned.

"Kreacher thinks he will have a tall butterbeer when his work is done."

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down Diagon Alley. Their bags were heavy with new school supplies, books, and treats.

Although a new school year meant many good things, it was trivial time in the wizarding world. Things were getting bad again. The newspapers along the streets held chilling headlines that Harry could help but read.

"MUGGLE FAMILY MURDERED." "DEATH EATERS ATTACK MUGGLEBORN."

"IS VOLDEMORT BACK? OR IS POTTER LYING."

The worst of all was the new page in the newspaper, the missing person's page. It was no longer made up of a couple missing wizards and witches, it listed hundreds of names. Most of which would be found dead somewhere, their lives cut short by the death eaters bigotry.

"Things are getting bad." Hermione said, breaking the silence.

"Look how empty this place is."

It was true. Usually around this time the alley was packed with people. With the new school year approaching many families would be lined outside shops waiting to get the latest broom and other items. Today, there were only a few people in the once crowded alley.

"He's back guys. Things are bound to get worse." Harry said.

"Harry, don't let all that nonsense get to you. You know, all the stuff about you being a liar. We know your telling the truth. If Harry Potter says Voldemort's back, he's back." Ron said.

"I believe you too Harry. Just keep your head up. We'll get through this, together."

Said Hermione.

Harry smiled. "Thanks you guys. What would I do without you."

The children continued walking along, making jokes and laughing like old times. Harry smiled and laughed with his friends, but he was not truly happy. Ever since that night in the graveyard and with all the talk of war he felt anxious and scared. He felt an impending feeling of doom. He knew that someday, sometime soon he would be face to face with Voldemort again. Only this time one of them would be dead.

A sudden pain ran through his forehead. He felt the familiar burning sensation in his scar. Harry grimaced and put his hand onto his scar. He began to feel dizzy and disoriented, so he lowered himself to the ground.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted. Ron dropped his bags and rushed to Harry's side.

"What's happening mate?" He asked.

Before Harry could answer he heard a cold, high voice echo inside his head.

"Harry Potter…enjoy the time you have now, for soon your days will come to an end…"

Everything went dark. Harry could no longer see the alley or his friends. Instead, he saw an endless dark hallway. There was something at the end, but it was blurry and he could not make it out. The voice spoke again.

"I am coming Harry Potter, I am coming and I cannot be stopped…I am coming for you…"

Harry swore he was screaming as loud as he could, but all he could hear were Voldemort's words echoing in his head. He felt as if he would be stuck in this hallway forever with Voldemort's icy voice swirling around.

At last, he reached the end of the hallway. He could make out a tall, rectangular shape. It was a door. It wasn't a door from Hogwarts though, nor one he had ever seen before. As he tried to lean in closer to see it better, two glowing red lights appeared in front of the door. They grew larger and formed into eyes; a pair of evil, red eyes. Their stare was so intense that Harry shivered and tried to look away, but all he could see was the pair of red eyes. They burned into his with ferocity and made his eyes water. Fear and terror pulsed through him. The eyes stared at him for a long time. There was no joy in those eyes, nor kindness or love. Hate itself was the only emotion the eyes conveyed. At last the eyes began to fade into the darkness. Once they had disappeared completely, everything went black. All was dark and quiet. Harry had gone unconscious.

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Snape ran his fingers through the pages as fast as he could. He skipped over hundreds of smiling faces in search of the only one that mattered to him. On the desk was a scissor waiting to be used. He remembered a picture he had submitted to the yearbook. It had been of him and Lily back in fifth year, before they had a falling out. He had handed it in senior year even though they were no longer friends. Maybe she would get that he wanted to be her friend again; to be forgiven. Maybe she would understand how important she was to him. Something different had happened instead.

Last Day of School, May 1979

Snape scuffled along the empty hallway. The last day of school had drawn to an end. All the other students were saying their goodbyes to the teachers and gathering their things. The graduating class had been given their yearbooks. Students were running all around to get their classmates signatures.

Snape held his yearbook close to his side. He had no friends to sign his. He had a few signatures from other Slytherins, but all just alluded to his coming induction into the death eaters. He was convinced that the death eaters would lead him to the life of power and respect he so desired. However, he was nervous. He would come face to face with Voldemort in a few days. He had not yet met the dark lord and was eager to make a good first impression. Voldemort already knew of his talent and unfaltering loyalty from Lucius, who was a high- ranking member.

Snape changed his thoughts to Lily. This might be the last time he would see her again. He wanted to speak to her. He had placed an old photo of them in the yearbook in hopes of reminding her of their good times together. He was on his way to the Gryffindor common room. He would knock and see if she was there. He had rehearsed what he would say many times over again in his head. The last time he waited there for her he hadn't been so articulate. "Hey Lily, I just wanted to ask you to sign my yearbook. You know, just to say goodbye. We've known each other for so long and now we won't see each other every day in the halls. I know we haven't talked for a long time, but maybe we can again in the future. I feel terrible about what I said to you and I'll do anything to make it up to you…"

Severus heard a familiar voice as he drew near the end of the hallway. He peered into a nearby classroom and saw Lily, Marlene, and Alice sitting on the desks and talking. Lily looked upset.

"I just cannot believe he did this… we haven't talked in two years and he pulls this? Really?" Lily said.

"He's a weirdo Lily! I don't find it all that shocking." Marlene said.

"Yeah, he has been following you around for the past two years. Its kind of creepy." Alice added.

"But why do you think he would put this in? I asked Charlotte on the yearbook committee and she said he personally asked her to put this picture in." Lily went on.

"James had a fit when he saw it! He would have obliterated Snape if I hadn't stopped him and told him the school put it in."

Marlene gasped. "You protected that little snake? You should have let James take care of him!"

Lily shook her head. "No way Marlene, I just want these last few days to be peaceful. Besides, tormenting him won't change anything and its wrong."

"Wrong! He called you that word! That's about as low as someone can go." Marlene hissed.

"I don't need you to remind me Marlene." Lily huffed.

"But Lily, he has kept on begging for your forgiveness. I don't know if I could forgive someone if they said that about me, but maybe this is another way for him to say sorry." Alice said shyly.

Snape held his breath. 'Come on Lily, listen to Alice she has the right idea…'

"That's a load of bull!" Marlene shouted. Lily and Alice hushed her.

Marlene lowered her voice. "Lily, this was nothing more than an attempt to hurt you again. He knew what he said that day, and he meant it. You see him hanging out with all those racist scumbags. He put that picture in to remind you of the friendship you lost."

Lily nodded slowly. "It could be Marlene. You have a point."

Alice gave Lily a hug. "You were so sad when your friendship ended. I guess I have to agree with Marlene. It does make sense Lily."

"I don't know, do you really think he would go out of his way to do that?" Lily sniffled.

Alice and Marlene nodded. "It seems so."

"He is a Slytherin Lily. They are a cunning bunch." Marlene added.

Severus stiffened. 'No no no this is not going as planned..' He thought.

Suddenly, a firm hand gripped his shoulder. He spun around to see an Filch with a mop in one hand.

"Out of the way Mr. Snape, I have cleaning to do!" Filch snapped.

Severus froze. Filch had given him away. The girls knew he had been listening.

The girls filed out of the classroom and glared at Snape. He didn't care. Everyone gave him nasty looks. But the glare that hit home was Lily's. Her eyes twinkled with hurt and betrayal.

"What are you girls doing in that classroom? The school policy says that students may not be alone in a classroom when a teacher is not present." Filch reprimanded.

Lily glared at Severus. "Don't worry sir, we were just leaving."

Lily and the girls turned around and began walking away. Snape called after them.

"Lily, wait up I have to.."

"You were spying on us! You listened to our entire conversation didn't you?" Lily shouted.

"I did, but Lily let me explain."

"I have wasted too much of my time letting you explain! I can't make any more excuses for you Snape. Just let me go and leave me alone!"

He was speechless. He had to say something, anything. He couldn't let her get away again.

"Lily, will you…please sign my yearbook?"

Lily gawked at him.

"You have some nerve Snape!" Marlene snapped.

"Come on Lily, let's go." Alice begged.

Lily just stood there frozen. "Sure." She said.

Severus was shocked. He handed over his yearbook to her. She snatched it from him and began turning the pages.

"Ughh, Lily, you can use my pen if you want." He said.

"Oh, I don't need a pen." Lily said. She flipped to the page that had the picture of her and Severus. With a quick motion she tore the picture out. She crumpled it up in her hands and tossed in into Filch's soapy bucket.

"Who do you think you are young lady?" Filch hissed. "That's not the garbage can."

"Sorry Mr. Filch, my mistake. Have a nice summer Snape, don't keep in touch." Lily said. She walked off fast and disappeared into the common room followed by Marlene and Alice.

Snape was crushed. He had ruined his chance at redemption. She would never speak to him again. Severus remembered the cherished picture and tried to remove it from the bucket, but it melted apart in his hands; the same way he had let their friendship break apart. He let it break apart into nothing more than faded pictures and bittersweet memories…

Snape glimpsed at the book and shook. He would never forget that day. It was his second worse memory. The first had been that fateful day fifth year. He had hurt her so much and he could never forgive himself. He was not a good person, and he knew this. There was no reason for him to be happy with her gone. It would be wrong. The only thing he could do in her memory was protect Potter. Although he had no love for the boy, he knew Lily did. He was all that was left of Lily and she would want him safe. He could not change the things he had done. He could not bring back the lives lost. All he could so was try and keep one more life from being taken by Voldemort, the life that would eventually defeat the dark lord.

With shaking fingers he picked up the scissor. He lifted that cherished page up gently and cut out the picture along the sides. He was careful to keep it in good condition. He held the picture in his hands and stared at it.

Him and Lily. It was funny, he thought. Lily had cut out the picture to forget. He had cut the picture out to remember. She was his only reason for carrying on. His only reason for joining the good side. The only reason he never became evil. She was the light of his life, the only joy he ever had. Yes, she was a light. A light he had helped to extinguish long ago when he was lost in darkness, when he got himself into a predicament he would never have anticipated all his life.