Disclaimer: Every recognizable character, idea, place, event, etc. is from the brilliant mind of JK Rowling. I own nothing.

Author's note at the end :)

…..

After putting all of her new things away in her dormitory, Lily Luna Potter set out to study in her favorite spot in the library. There was so much material for her to read that she sagged in defeat as she stared at all of her new textbooks. None of them were familiar titles to her. Not even any familiar authors.

As soon as they had returned from shopping, she'd done her best to avoid Sirius Black. Perhaps it was best for him to believe that she mistrusted him. She was more than interested in him, if she were being honest with herself. Being in his company gave her butterflies like she'd never felt before. Maybe he had that effect on all girls? She got the impression from those around her that he was a bit of a player, but then, she'd never actually seen any other girl approach him.

"So you're Lily Luna Granger."

The voice sent shivers of bad vibes up her spine. She looked up to find a boy who looked a bit younger than her, but still rather handsome. He was a slightly gaunter version of Sirius. "Yes, and you must be Regulus."

He sneered down at her and asked, "So what are you? Half-blood? Mudblood? Blood traitor?"

"Blood status doesn't matter," she replied very calmly, still wearing a smile, "My mum was a pureblood, my dad was a half-blood, so what does that make me, I wonder? A three-fourths-blood?" her voice was sarcastically patronizing and Regulus' frown deepened.

Two blokes who were taller and wider than him came up on either side of him, looking like body guards. "This is Nott and this is Avery," he motioned toward either of them in turn, "You don't want us as your enemies, Luna."

"I don't want any enemies, actually. You were the one who started this."

"You started this when you started showing interest in my brother. My brother doesn't date. He never has, and yet you've been here for one day and have him whipped. What sort of love potion did you use?"

"You think I drugged your brother into liking me?" she asked in anger, "I'll have you know that I didn't slip him any kind of potion! If he is interested in me, then that is something that happened without any magical intervention."

"You don't know Sirius," said Regulus with a growl, "he's always been content being adored by girls from afar. He's never had a girlfriend, never even really liked a girl, but then you come along and he's chasing you around like a lost little puppy dog!"

"Wait…are you here because you're worried about your brother and you think I'm tricking him into liking me?"

Regulus shifted his weight uncomfortably and finally said, "No matter what he's done or said, Sirius is still my brother and I care about him. If you hurt him or if you are using him, you will regret it." He took a threatening step toward her and she cringed into her seat.

"Perhaps," said Nott as fingered his wand with purpose, "we should give her a small taste of what would happen if she upsets you."

Lily whipped her wand out and leapt to her feet in less than a second. All three boys took a step back, as they hadn't been prepared for her speed and daring nerve. "Touch me and die," she threatened, her wand aimed directly at Nott's chest.

"Oh, you're going to get it, you little bitch," Nott flicked his wand, but before Lily could even move to block it, a tall figure was standing in front of her and had just blocked the spell.

"Leave her alone," said a deep silky voice.

"Come on, Sev, she asked for it, you heard the way she spoke to us."

"You deserved it," said Severus Snape conversationally, "I wouldn't have intervened at all except three to one hardly seems fair. However I doubt you could beat her in a fair duel, Nott, with your amount of magical talent. Why don't you go cower under Regulus' skirt and leave Luna alone."

"Fine, Sev," growled Nott as he shoved his wand hastily back into his pocket, "I'll leave for now, but once you come to your senses, you know where to find me. It isn't like you to stick your neck out like that. I haven't seen you stand up for anyone since Lily Evans. Got a thing for Gryffindors, do you?"

Severus flicked his wand and all three boys were dangling upside down by the ankles, "Oi!" yelped Avery, "We're friends, Sev, let me down!"

"Maybe I should re-think my choice of friends," Severus sneered. He motioned for Lily to accompany him out of the library.

"You can't just leave us here!" Regulus screamed.

"Watch me," Severus said slowly, deliberately. He then led the way out of the library. Once they were in the corridor, he turned to her and said, "Regulus Black isn't someone you want to cross."

"Neither are you, it appears," she said with a small smile, "Thank you, by the way, for helping me out back there. I'm not entirely sure I could have handled all three of them at once."

"You were very fast on the draw," he motioned to her wand, which was still clutched in her hand.

"Yes, well, my father was somewhat obsessed with making sure I could protect myself."

"I don't blame him," he said sincerely, "you can't be too careful nowadays."

"Severus, it really means a lot to me that you stuck up for me like that."

"Something tells me that you would've done the same for me," he sounded a bit confused and Lily felt his consciousness brush against hers. She slammed her mind shut and blocked him from reading her thoughts.

"A skilled Occlumens?" he asked with interest, his eyebrows rising into his greasy black hair.

"A skilled Legillimans?" she mocked him.

Scowling he said, "I apologize for trying to enter your mind without your permission. I just don't know what to make of you, Lily Luna Granger. I was hoping to be able to see for myself if you are just some sort of trick Potter is playing on me. Gryffindors aren't usually that nice to me."

"Not all Gryffindors are the same, just as all Slytherins are not the same," she replied, "Plus, a skilled potioneer like you, I figured you would try to slip me Veritaserum instead."

"How do you know I'm good at Potions?"

"I can just tell. You seem to have the right temperament for it."

"Listen," said Severus at once, "I think you're a nice enough person. I didn't mind helping you out in the library, and I don't mind you being nice to me, but I am rather suspicious. Not to mention it seems as though you are with Sirius Black," he sneered the name, "and I'm..um..well I'm just not on the market."

So that was what was going on? Severus thought she had a crush on him? "Sev," Lily put a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped walking, turning to face her, "I know that you fancy Lily Evans. I don't blame you. Hell, I don't know how she has kept herself from falling for you," and she was telling the truth, "but I think she is starting to fall-"

"For James Potter, I know," Severus sighed and leaned back against a wall, "He always did like her and James Potter always gets whatever the fuck he wants," he looked so angry that Lily took a step back away from him.

"To be fair, you did call her a 'mudblood,'" said Lily.

"Once, and it was a mistake," Severus looked tortured by the memory and Lily regretted bringing it up immediately, "I have loved her since before we came to Hogwarts and she only ever thought of me as a friend. Then I was jumped by Potter's gang and humiliated in front of the entire school, and I couldn't even think straight, and it just slipped out. I have never regretted anything more."

"Maybe she will forgive you," Lily knew there was no hope for that, but she still wanted to console him.

He snorted, "I doubt it. I tried for a year to get her to forgive me but she didn't. So I gave up. She is better off without me, honestly. As much as I hate to admit it, Potter wouldn't hurt her the way I have. I think the reason I hate him so much is because deep down I know that in some ways he is better than me, that he deserves Lily more than I do. I have nothing to offer her, but he could give her everything, and I hate him for that. For choosing her when he could have any girl in the school."

"I don't think he could ever love her as much as you do, and that's saying something, Severus. Just as you have fancied her for years, so has he. Don't hate him for this. You just said yourself that you know he'll treat her right. That's as much as you can ask for, isn't it?"

Grudgingly, he said, "I suppose. Though I will never stop hating him. I can't stand to even look at him. If it wasn't for him and his idiotic mates, she and I might still be friends."

"You can't change the past," said Lily, talking to both Severus and herself as she couldn't help how her mind kept wandering to Sirius and how badly she wanted him, "but you can control your future. Learn from your mistakes and become the best man you can be, Severus Snape," Lily reached up, kissed his cheek, and then skipped off toward Gryffindor Tower.

Severus Snape reached up and touched the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. Lily Evans used to do the same exact thing. As a matter of fact, Lily Evans and Lily Granger had an amazing number of things in common; their name, the way they walked, the fire that blazed in their eyes, the way they kissed his cheek. Having a feeling like he was just touching the tip of the iceberg on this subject, Severus slowly made his way back to the library, intending to find out as much as he could about the Granger family.

…..

"There you are!" said James as she came through the portrait hole, "We were worried about you!"

"About me?" She mocked, batting her eyelashes, "you do realize that I could hex you into oblivion, right? I can handle myself, Potter."

The boys laughed and James turned a light shade of red, "Really, Granger? How about we test that theory of yours then, eh? How about we have a wizards' duel?"

"Alright then, who's your second?"

Shocked that she had agreed, it took James a second before saying, "Sirius, of course. Who is yours?"

"Evans. Lily Evans."

From across the room, Lily Evans called, "Absolutely not! I am Head Girl! I should be stopping this kind of behavior, but if I'm letting it slide then I am definitely not going to participate in it!"

"Oh come on, Evans, pull that broomstick out of your arse and get over here," said Sirius moodily. Lily Luna gave a small laugh and Sirius winked at her. With a flick of his wand, James cleared all of the furniture out of the way and they stood back to back. Together, they counted their steps as they walked away from each other.

At the same moment, they spun to face each other, each screaming a different spell, "EXPELLIARMUS!" yelled James.

"STUPEFY!" yelled Lily. Expecting his spell, she snapped her wand up in time to perform a Shield Charm. James, however, resorted to diving to the side to avoid the jet of red light that shot past him from her wand.

"Nice one," said Sirius appreciatively, though she wasn't sure who he was talking to.

For several minutes they continued shooting spells at each other, blocking their opponents spells, and with a last desperate attempt to win, James thought in his head, "Levicorp-"

But Lily was faster, being skilled in Legillimans and Occlumency, she knew what he was about to do and blocked it. James looked astounded. Nobody had ever thwarted that spell, except Snivellus on occasion.

"How did you…" he began, but Lily flicked her wand and they continued to duel. They circled each other as they fought and eventually both of them were cursing like mad, spitting swear words through their clenched teeth as they panted from the effort they were exerting.

"How about we declare this a tie?" Lily finally offered.

James nodded and replied, "As long as that doesn't mean I lose."

"No," she said with a laugh as she held her side, still panting, "but you didn't win either."

He shrugged and collapsed into an arm chair that was the favorite of both of them. "You are very skilled, Granger, I'll give you that much."

"Thank you," she couldn't help but brag a little, "I am the daughter of the Savior of the Wizarding World after all."

Everyone within earshot paused to look at her with curiosity. Shit. Fuck. Damn it all to hell! Why had she said that? "The wizarding world doesn't have a savior," said Remus with a frown, "at least not that I am aware of. Who is your father?"

"Yes," said James, "What's his name? Perhaps we've heard of him?"

"I'm sure you haven't," she said dismissively, "I was just being…stupid. I didn't mean anything by it. It was just…an inside joke you wouldn't understand."

"Enlighten us," said Lily Evans dryly.

"I'd rather not," said Lily Luna, "anyway, phew, I am hungry after that duel, James! I am going to sneak down to the kitchens and grab a snack!" she stood up and started to walk away, but Sirius stopped her.

"You know where the kitchens are?" he asked, "and how to get in?"

"Shit," she hissed too low for them to hear, "I have really got to stop messing up like this." She turned to face them and said more loudly, "I figured I would just wander around until I found it."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," said James with a frown, "Come on, Padfoot, Moony, let's show her around."

"James Potter!" said Lily Evans severely, "I forbid you from leaving the common room after curfew! That is where I draw the line!"

"Calm down there, Evans, don't get your knickers in a twist," said James as he tapped her lightly on the nose, "Lu-Lu is hungry. Are you going to make her starve?"

Scowling, Lily Evans gave a noncommittal jerk of her head, and the three Marauders scampered out of the room with Lily Luna. That was when Lily Luna realized why her grandmother was acting so strangely; she was getting jealous of the attention James was showing her.

"You should ask Lily out," she said to James.

"He does," replied Remus, "everyday."

"Hmm," said Lily as she stroked her chin thoughtfully, "you need to find a really special romantic way to ask her out that will sweep her off her feet! She doesn't seem like the type of girl who will respond well to things that are public. You need to make yourself vulnerable in private, open up to her and just her. That way she will know you're sincere and she will be able to respond to that without everyone watching her."

"You. Are. A. GENIUS!" James cried as he grabbed her and hugged her, swinging her around, "Sirius, mate," said James to his friend as he set Lily back on her feet, "You are one lucky bloke to have a girl this intelligent!"

"Or unfortunate to have a girl this conniving and manipulative," Lily argued with a smirk before realizing what exactly James had been implying about her relationship with Sirius.

"Wait," said Sirius, suddenly looking like he might be sick, "I have a girl?"

"We just assumed you two were dating by the way you've been acting, and you went to Hogsmeade with her. Without us," said Remus importantly.

"I…just…we…good time," said Sirius absently. Lily smiled, having never seen him speechless before. Not even when she had surprised him with the things she had said in Hogsmeade.

"We are not dating," said Lily, dismissing the boys' assumptions, "I'm not particularly interested in anyone as a matter of fact. So, for now, I am on the market," she grinned, thinking of how Severus had used that expression earlier.

Sirius made a deep growling noise in his chest, and his friends knew that it was a warning that she was definitely not on the market as she claimed to be. Sirius knew, logically, that he wasn't in any danger of his friends making a move on her; James was too in love with Evans, and Remus refused to date any girl ever in fear of falling for her, or she for him. Remus fully intended on living his life alone, not wanting to risk passing on his genetic abnormalities or accidentally hurting someone he loved.

"I met your brother earlier," Luna said at a failed attempt to be casual.

"What?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"I ran into Regulus in the library. Actually, he sought me out. He said that if I was using a love potion on you he was going to make me regret it."

"Reg said that?"

"Yes, he did. Then Nott pulled his wand on me and was about to curse me, but Severus stepped in and left Nott, Regulus and Avery dangling by their ankles in the Restricted Section," she laughed at the memory, wondering if the three of them were still there.

"Snivellus did that?" asked James with distaste.

"Don't," Lily's voice was a growl, "call him that. He saved my arse in there."

"But why?" asked Sirius with suspicion.

"I was nice to him today. I went up and introduced myself and he's a really nice bloke."

"We are talking about the same greasy-haired Slytherin, right?" asked James, "Severus Snape, about this tall, hook nose, flaps around here like an absurd bat?"

"You had better stop making fun of him, Potter, or I will challenge you to a duel that I assure you I would win," she said in a warning, "but yes, that is who I am talking about."

"Damn," Sirius cursed, "if that's true then I owe him. What did you do to tick off my brother so much anyway? And Nott normally doesn't pull his wand on people."

"After Regulus threatened me if I was drugging you into liking me, Nott suggested that they give me a taste of what they would do to me if I upset Regulus. I pulled my wand out faster than any of them, but it was still three to one. I doubt I could have taken all three of them."

"I think you underestimate yourself," said James, "you held your own with me, and that's the best compliment I can give you. The only person who can beat me in a duel is Sirius, and even then it's only sometimes."

"Regulus is his brother. You don't think he might have a few tricks up his sleeve?"

"He might be better than the average wizard, but he still has nothing on us," said Sirius as they reached the portrait of the fruit bowl. Without thinking, Lily skipped forward, tickled the pear, and the portrait swung open.

"I'm not even going to ask how she knew that," said Remus with a shake of his head.

"Winky?" Lily asked as she saw a short house elf wearing a bow on her head. The house elf looked up at her and shook her head, her ears flapping.

"No, Miss, I is not Winky. Winky is not a house elf that I is knowing, Miss. You is calling me Dainty, Miss."

"Oh, hullo, Dainty, could I please get some treacle tart?"

"Of course, Miss," about five house elves appeared holding out treacle tart.

"My favorite!" said Sirius and James together, each helping themselves. Remus settled for just a cup of tea.

After they ate, Lily excused herself and ran upstairs. This was only her second night in the past and yet she missed her family. She felt more alone than she had ever felt before. What if she accidentally said too much? What if someone found out her secret? Looking around to make sure nobody else was in the dormitory, she pulled the curtains closed around her bed, flicked her wand and conjured up a vial.

She had already met two skilled Legilimens and was afraid that if they pushed too far into her mind, they would find out too much. With a sigh, she pulled out memory after memory, filling several vials. She didn't have to extract everything; just the incriminating stuff. Anything her father had mentioned about the Marauders, anything where Harry had mentioned the names of his parents, and particularly anything dealing with Sirius Black.

As she pulled out her books to study, a giggling Alice came into the room. "Oh, hullo," she said, biting her lip as if unsure what to say to the new girl, "I'm not used to people I don't really know being in our room," she said this almost apologetically, the shy girl blushing as she spoke, "are you settling in okay here? The castle can take some getting used to."

"I'm doing just fine, thanks," said Luna with a smile, "are the professors here nice?"

Alice looked almost relieved at how effortless this conversation was, "Oh, mostly. Slughorn doesn't bother much with you at all unless you are particularly talented. McGonagall is stern but fair, Flitwick is very kind, and Sprout is patient. I wonder if that's just a trait of Hufflepuff house?"

"I'd bet it is. It's awfully rare for any of them to have a temper, isn't it?" Luna commented.

Alice was still smiling, and Luna was getting the idea that Alice was almost always smiling, "Yes, I suppose it is. My boyfriend, Frank, he graduated last year, and he was almost put into Hufflepuff. Perhaps I should push his buttons and see if he has a temper or not?"

Both girls laughed playfully, and then Alice caught sight of the text book in Luna's lap, "Are you studying? I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"Oh, not at all, you're no bother! I'm not even sure where to start, really," she sighed in desperation.

"I'll get Lily," said Alice happily, "she always helps me study," without waiting for a response, Alice yelled down the stairs, "LILY!"

A moment later, a head of flaming red hair appeared and Lily Evans stepped in the room. Lily Luna Potter still had a hard time looking at her grandmother. She was so beautiful that it hurt. "What's up, Allie?"

"Luna needs to catch up a bit with seventh year course work. Do you think you could help her out?"

Lily Evan's startling green eyes looked carefully, calculatingly, over the girl before her. Sizing her up as if she were competition. "Yeah…alright…" she said this slowly, and Alice's smile faltered for a moment as she caught the coldness in her friend's voice.

"Oh don't give me that look," Luna was on her feet, "I know what you're thinking, Evans! You're thinking that you might as well keep your friends close but your enemies closer!"

Lily Evan's eyes widened; how had this girl known that was, essentially, the train of her thoughts? "What do you mean?"

"You think I'm some sort of competition, well I'm not! I don't fancy James Potter, nor does he fancy me. You think that the only reason he would be remotely nice to me is because he likes me, but that's just not true. He's sincerely a nice bloke, and if you would stop berating him for every little misdemeanor, you might be able to see past it and realize that he's not so bad. On top of it all, I happen to fancy Sirius, so stop looking at me like you'd enjoy nothing more than to hex me into oblivion!"

Alice was looking back and forth between the two Lily's anxiously, while Lily Evans looked thunderstruck. Luna flipped her long black hair over her shoulder haughtily and said, "Well? I'm waiting, Evans, where's my apology?"

Lily Evans's mouth snapped closed and after a short pause she said, "I'm sorry, Luna. I didn't mean to come off that way to you. You're…well, I reckon you're right that I was intimidated by how taken James seemed to be with you."

"Intimidated?" challenged Luna, "or jealous? Let's be honest here."

"Fine," growled Evans, "I was jealous! There, are you happy?"

Alice squealed in delight, "I knew you were starting to fancy him, Lils! This is excellent!"

Both Lily's shot her identical glares and Alice quickly went silent. "You're quite sure he doesn't fancy you?" Lily Evans asked quietly, shyly, as she looked down at her feet.

"Absolutely positive. Trust me, if he did fancy me, even in the slightest, Sirius Black would've killed him by now."

Grandmother and granddaughter smiled timidly at each other, Evans even giggled, "I reckon you're right. Sirius does appear to be quite taken with you, doesn't he?"

"I've never seen him appear to be the least bit smitten until you showed up," Alice added.

"Which reminds me," said Luna importantly, "Neither of you are to tell him that I fancy him. If you do, I swear on my magic I will make your lives as unpleasant as I possibly can."

"Same goes for me, about my feelings with James," Lily said. They eyed each other up for a moment, then both nodded in understanding.

"Now," said Luna, clambering back onto her bed, "I am going to start with Transfiguration, and your assistance would be greatly appreciated if you're willing to help."

"Yes, I would very much like to assist you with catching up in your classes," by this point all three girls were sporting small smiles, and Lily's widened noticeably as she climbed onto the bed with her new friend to start studying.

"Oh, my," said Luna as she flicked through the first chapter, "But I already know all of this…"

As it turned out, Lily Luna was several chapters ahead in every class she was taking. So instead of being tutored by Lily Evans, they studied together, practicing their nonverbal spells, charming random objects to sing the school song, and transfiguring their books into cauldrons.

James Potter and Sirius Black were lounging lazily in front of the fireplace. "What do you reckon all that noise is about?" asked James as he stared up the girls' staircase.

"Naked pillow fight," Sirius suggested with a wink, "three galleons."

"You're on, mate," they shook hands on it.

When Evans and Luna came down the staircase, laughing together, and reminiscing about the fun spells they'd been practicing, Sirius groaned and passed three galleons to his best friend; no naked pillow fight had taken place.

"Done studying then, Lu-Lu?" asked Sirius as he sprang to his feet, "Go grab your new Silver Arrow and we can go for a flight before we turn in."

"First of all," said Luna, "I think Evans would curse us if we tried leaving again after curfew. Secondly, I'm rather tired. I think I'll turn in early. Goodnight, James, Remus, Sirius," she nodded to each of them in turn, being sure to mention Sirius last.

Knowing that Sirius's eyes were on her the entire time, she turned away from them and went immediately back upstairs. "Bad luck, mate," said James with a frown, "maybe you weren't as smooth today as you thought you were."

"Bullocks," said Sirius, though his face betrayed just a hint of his doubt.

"We really should be going to bed ourselves," Remus interrupted Sirius's thoughts, "tomorrow is Monday. And Quidditch tryouts. As captain, James, you need to be prepared and well rested."

"Alright, alright," griped James, "Like a mother Hippogriff, you are, Moony."

"Full moon is next weekend," Sirius whispered, "he's just grouchy and tired because it's almost his time of the month," Remus rolled his eyes as his two best friends guffawed and they made their way up to their dormitory.

"I am not grouchy."

"Tetchy, isn't he?" James stage whispered.

Sirius snickered, "About as pleasant as an angry Cornish pixie."

Sighing, Remus pushed the door open and the three boys entered their dormitory, ready for a restful nights sleep. However, as Sirius stripped off his clothes and slipped lithely under the duvet, he knew he wouldn't be getting much rest that night. He had a more eventful day than he could ever remembering having. This girl was such a mystery. Such a beautiful mystery. And he was a Marauder, after all, and as everyone knew, a Marauder just couldn't let a mystery like this slip through his fingers without a bit of investigation.

…..

A/N: Dun dun DUUUNNNN…what's going to happen with two boys investigating the mysterious new girl? Also, who do you think is going to come out victorious; Lily Luna in her attempt to avoid Sirius or Sirius in his attempt to get closer to her?

I know it seems like it's moving a bit fast, but they're not in love with each other or anything. They have just met, they're interested in each other, they fancy each other a bit, and they are both determined to do something about it…even if at this point they want to do opposite things about it.

I wouldn't consider this a slow or a fast story. Sort of balanced? There is a LOT more to the plot than just what goes on in this time period. There is also a LOT more to the plot than just the possible romance between Sirius Black and Lily Luna Potter. SPOILER ALERT: I am about to give you some spoilers about this story, so if you want to be surprised, stop reading NOW. If you want a spoiler or two, then here you go: Lily Luna will return to her own time, and when she does, the story will continue. I won't tell you who it follows after that or anything, but this story won't be over very quickly after she returns.

Okay, now for the important question…Do you think that between Snape and Sirius (both being suspicious of her), one of the two of them will figure out that she's from a different time? If so, who do you think will figure it out? Let me know!

Yours,

MofDA