Ever since Lily was young, she knew that she was different. Petunia had always said it was because she was special, until she turned 11 and got her Hogwarts letter. Then Petunia started calling her a freak. But she hadn't cared for Petunia's opinion for three years and she wasn't breaking her streak now.

Lily sat at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, just far enough that she was hidden from the castle and close enough that she wouldn't get lost even by mistake. It was a peaceful day, no harsh winds or rain to bother her, and she had taken the opportunity to soak up the fresh air. Sure, it was the middle of classes, and she was bunking, but that hardly made a difference.

None of her classmates would notice or care, since History of Magic was a class most people skipped. The only people who didn't were the marauders, who were there as a punishment from the previous year and they didn't even pay attention to Binns, constantly busy planning their pranks.

"Lily!" Severus Snape's fake posh voice reached her, and she stifled a grin. "There you are! I've been searching all over for you!"

"I'm sure you were Sev!" Lily replied, making her tone sugar sweet.

Severus had been spending more time with his Slytherin friends, and less time talking to her. And even when he did talk to her, he was always so guarded if they weren't hidden. She knew what kind of friends he'd made, and that his new friends called people like her 'mudbloods', as if it would insult them.

"What are you doing all the way out here? Did you skip all your classes?" He asked, sitting down beside her without even asking. Lily moved to the right, making space between them.

"I'm soaking up the peace."

"There are rainclouds in the sky."

Lightning flashed in the background as if to emphasize his statement.

"That's exactly my point," Lily shot back, and leaned against the tree a little more. "Why are you here Sev?"

Severus hesitated before answering and that told Lily everything she needed to know. "I came out here to spend time with my best friend."

Lily scoffed. "Did you get bored of your little friends in Slytherin? I know what Avery has been caught doing, and I've caught him doing it more than once. I don't understand why you spend time with them!"

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead. They should've been getting back to the castle.

Severus' eyes blazed with fury and self-righteousness. "They aren't my friends, Lily. Avery's actions aren't my own." He slumped down, contrite and upset. "I need friends in Slytherin."

"And you choose to befriend the bullies."

"They're the most popular," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Lily smiled, poisonous and cold. "And the marauders are in my house, Sevvy. They're the most popular in the whole school. But you don't see me hanging out with them, do you?"

A bright flash blinded them before Severus could argue.

Lily blinked the tears out of her eyes. Her gaze darted around the surroundings, wondering what had caused the flash. She couldn't spot anything different around them, not until she saw the falling letter. She hopped up and reached up to catch it.

She looked at the envelope, Lily Evans, Hogwarts, was printed on the front. The handwriting was unlike any other she had seen before. It was scratchy and uneven, as if written in a hurry, and the blue color of the ink faded into the parchment, like the author had written it with a ballpoint pen.

The clouds broke apart with another rumble, droplets of rain falling onto the trees overhead and making their way onto the two of them.

Lily glanced up at the rain and looked at Severus, who was lying on the ground, unconscious. She remembered their argument, and despite the urge to check on him, she thought about it rationally. If their places were switched, what would he do? He certainly wouldn't be checking on her. He'd read the letter without hesitation. So, with a spiteful grin, she opened the letter.

Lily sat back on her heels, still pondering the letter's contents as she woke Severus. It had been fifteen minutes since she had opened the letter, and she had barely managed to sort through the details. The most important of them? The letter was likely aimed to reach her in 1980, after the rest of the letters. It had reached the wrong time.

She couldn't let anyone else get their hands on that letter. Not since she didn't understand most of it. Not since it spelled out the one thing that she was afraid of ever since Petunia had drummed it into her head. Lily knew that Petunia's taunts and insults were merely creative ways for her to be jealous of Lily, but that didn't mean some of them didn't affect her.

She had never thought about it before, but ever since Petunia had cursed her, she was afraid that she would die young, without having seen the world.

Seems like that was one wish Petunia got.

But other than that, Lily had one more decision to make. One of her friends got her killed, and of them the easiest and most obvious suspect was Severus. That he was right next to her when the letter arrived seemed like too much of a coincidence. And she had to know what the other letters contained. Without those, she could never put together the puzzle and neither could any of the marauders. Her letter was the last, and likely the most important.

She had to get the marauders' trust and having Severus as her friend, especially if he continued to spend time with the other Slytherins wouldn't help her cause. She either had to get him to break off his friendship with them, or she had to break off her friendship with him.

She knew what she had to do. She closed her eyes and willed the sadness welling up in her to subside. This was a long time coming and she knew it, deep in her bones.

Severus groaned.

Lily turned her attention to him, nursing her head slightly as she leaned over him. "Sev? Are you alright?"

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking and rubbing them, before he sat up. "What happened? What was that bright flash of light?"

"I don't know." Lily answered, rubbing her forehead as though it hurt her. "I was unconscious as well, and I hit my head on the rock."

Lily gestured at the rock at the side. She hadn't noticed it before, with the leaves all over it, but the rain had uncovered it enough that it was seen. Conveniently for her, it was right beside where she had been sitting. Severus glanced at the rock, warily.

"Are you alright?" She asked, looking him over and patting him over. "Are you hurt?"

"No." He answered, confusion and lethargy slowly clearing from his expression. His hair was stuck to his face, covering his eyes and he pushed it away impatiently. "Do you think we should head back to the castle?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, Sev. I think we should stay here, in the Forbidden Forest, with both of us having minor injuries." She waited for his uncomfortable chuckle, before standing up and offering him a hand. "Come on, up you get!"

He didn't take her hand, which didn't surprise Lily at all. They had been walking on eggshells around each other since the fiasco this summer between Petunia and Lily. Severus had interfered on her behalf, calling Petunia a worthless muggle. As much as Lily dislike Petunia, she also couldn't deal with anyone else calling her names and she had yelled at Severus after her sister had run away.

"Did you get your books out here?" Severus asked, looking at the bookbag Lily had picked up from the forest floor.

"Hmm…" Lily nodded. "It was a spur of the moment decision."

"That had you skipping all your classes?" Severus asked, skeptical.

"I lost track of time, Sev," Lily replied, sharply. "I don't need you poking your nose into my business. Especially not when you're so prissy about your own friends."

"That's not the right word."

"Doesn't matter to me, Severus. You got what I was trying to tell you."

He slumped, shoulders curling in even more than it usually did. His wet hair hung as a curtain between them, and where a younger Lily would have moved it out of his face gently, Lily couldn't bring herself to do the same now. Their friendship had splintered over the years, with Lily giving so much and Severus not reciprocating enough.

"Are you going to keep bringing them up?" Severus asked, as they neared the castle entrance. He didn't need to refer to them by name for Lily to know who he was talking about.

"Of course I am. You know what they do to mudbloods." She spat out the name like the slur it was, and Severus flinched. "Unless you break off your friendship with them, I'm never going to drop it."

"I can't do that Lily. I- I really can't."

Lily didn't wrinkle her nose like she could have. She didn't curl her lip in disgust, out of respect for her best friend. But that didn't stop her from raising her head and speaking against him. "As one of the victims of their bullying, I can tell you it isn't fun or pretty. You should know this, and yet you spend your time hanging out with them. Just like you can't break off your friendship with them, I can't remain friends with a known bully."

She stepped up to the side door they would enter the castle through and smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry Sev, but unless you can find it within yourself to leave them, I have to leave you. This was a long time coming, but I'm sorry it had to be like this."

She turned and walked into the castle.

All she felt was weariness and triumph, the guilt and regret buried deep inside. She was one step closer to getting the answers she desperately needed.