6th October 1971

It was a bright, but cold Wednesday morning which saw Lily Evans making her way down to the dungeons to meet Severus Snape before breakfast began. As the descended Hogwarts' many staircases, students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw diverted away – some on the first floor, probably on their way to the library to finish some homework at the last minute and most on the ground floor for an early breakfast. By the time she'd passed the potions' classrooms and the temperature had dropped to uncomfortable levels, she was the only student in sight without the distinctive green tie.

It was a pity, she thought, that students were sorted at all. All it did was pit them against each other. This was more that the friendly houses they had been sorted into in her muggle first school so they could compete against each other in sports day events and easily filed into the hall for lunch. Though the history of the founders was interesting (she'd discovered a chapter on their relationships and the early running on the school in Hogwarts, A History) all it achieved was to give a historical backing for unnecessary rivalry. She supposed it was nice to have a pre-selected set of students to make connections with, but what if they didn't get along? Severus has often recounted how noble his house was before he was even sorted into it, but in the past few weeks, it seemed to Lily that he simply wasn't making friends.

Lily knew her friend was unusual – after all her school friends back in Cokeworth had been nothing like him – but she had put most of this down to him being a wizard and supposed that she would run into more people like him at Hogwarts. Now that she was here, however, she found that many of her house members were more like her old classmates in the muggle world than she had expected. The student that she had found most similar to Severus was probably Sirius Black in the way that he was often quiet and pensive, but making the same seemingly random, tactless outbursts that Severus had when they'd first met. She supposed it had more to do with how they were brought up than it did that they were both wizards – though Severus would probably stop speaking to her for a week if she voiced to him that they were similar.

She could see why, though. Since before the train had even pulled up at Hogwarts, it seemed that those four had it on for Severus the same way that her sister did.

They just can't be bothered to get to know him, she thought, stopping before the Slytherin portrait. Just because he's different to them and looks a bit shabby.

The portrait swung forwards and out came Severus, accompanied by Evan Rosier and William Wilkes.

"Evans," they acknowledged neutrally, before making their way down the dim corridor towards the stairs. She and Severus followed them at a slower pace.

"Binns first," Severus commented dully, looking down at his timetable. "What could be worse? I can think of about twelve things I'd rather be doing than sitting in that room for an hour learning nothing."

"We can compare notes on the defence homework though." Said Lily. "Remus said he'd help me with it, but…" She trailed off. "He said he was going to visit his mother. He's been away a few days now."

"Doesn't look like he's around this morning either." Severus commented, nodding towards the Gryffindor table. Lily could see James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter wolfing down breakfast, without Remus. "Pity his housemates are though."

"Those two really are a couple of twits. I just don't understand why Remus bothers with them." Lily sighed and sat down next to Severus at the Slytherin table. "They're just as insufferable out of lessons as well, would you believe it. I'm sure I've heard them in the common room at stupid times in the night, coming in and out of the portrait hole."

Severus took his hard gaze off the back of James' head to look up the Gryffindor table. "Who's your prefect? You could tell them. Or I'll tell Malfoy. You know he'd love to catch some little Gryffindors breaking rules."

Lily looked scandalised. "You can't tell Malfoy! He'll take points from us for sure! I don't want the whole house to get into trouble because they're a pair of inconsiderate twits."

Severus returned to his breakfast with a shrug and a smirk. "It was worth a try."

Lily scowled at the side of his head. She hoped Severus didn't hate James Potter so much that he really did tell Lucius. "Don't be sneaky, Sev." She scolded.

Lily felt a sudden hand on the top of her head and jumped. Looking up she found the Slytherin prefect, Lucius Malfoy, looking down at her.

"Evans, would you please sit where you belong before Professor Slughorn finds you? Don't you two see enough of each other in the library? If I recall correctly, the two of you were in there for hours last night. Are you joined at the hip?"

"Please, Lucius, we were just finishing." Severus piped up.

"Yes, you say that, but it's every mealtime, Snape. And if it's not happing over here it's happening over there-" he nodded towards the Gryffindor table. "You make the place look untidy. Just sit with your house when you're supposed to. You're here for seven years and you need to make connections. That's why the houses exist in the first place."

Severus sighed and rolled his eyes. "I've already made a connection," he replied, somewhat cheekily. "What's wrong with her."

Lucius glanced at Lily then fixed Lily with a hard stare, all friendliness forgotten. "Don't get me started, you don't want to hear it. Look, what you do and who you consort with in your free time is none of my business, Snape, but don't come to me with this attitude as though you've any social standing and don't expect me to do anything more than professionally tolerate your riffraff friends. Evans, move yourself." He gave the pair one last, disparaging look and stalked back off up the table to sit with the other NEWT students.

Lily scowled after him, but dutifully collected her things. "What's his problem?" She asked Severus, attempting to brush off the altercation. "Did a Gryffindor piss in his tea once or…?"

Severus didn't bother to humour her. He stood up abruptly and tugged on her robes to bring her with him. As they reached the doors, Lily turned around and caught three people watching her. Lucius and the girl with long blonde hair sitting next to him and then, at the Gryffindor table, James Potter with an almost amusing combination of annoyance and curiosity on his face that reminded her of a confused dog. She snorted and followed after Severus.

Severus set a quick pace up the stairs to History of Magic and Lily could tell from the stony look on his face that he was far more annoyed than she was. As expected, the class was dull and so they took the opportunity to compare the Latin roots they had been given for their next class. Occasionally the boredom was interrupted by a small thunks. It seemed that Sirius was trying to teach James a charm under the table but whatever it was, he wasn't very good at it and objects like chalk halves kept randomly flying towards him and then dropping in mid-air.

Despite that it began with a lesson as dull as History of Magic, Wednesday was Lily's favourite day. Except from Transfiguration in the evening, Gryffindor was paired with Slytherin for lessons all day that day and it was the most she got to see of Severus, except for weekends. She thought they made rather a good pair in Defence and Potions and was sure that her results at the end of year exams would show it.

They were making their way to double potions after lunch in the afternoon when Severus finally blurted out what had been bothering him all morning.

"It's not that you're a Gryffindor," he blurted over her, coming to a stop in the middle of a corridor so abruptly that Lily almost walked into him. A group of Hufflepuff sixth years making their way to the transfiguration courtyard grumbled at the pair when they almost tripped over them.

"Wha-"

"Lucius, you know. It's not that you're in Gryffindor. His problem, I mean."

Severus pulled them out of the way into an alcove that housed a torch bracket and painting of a frilly looking witch tending to a baby dragon sitting in a caldron in her fire.

"About this morning? It's not that big of a deal Sev. Some of the prefects are just like that. That Ravenclaw one that always kicks people out of the library for spilling ink-"

"No but it is important." Severus interrupted her again and Lily raised her eyebrows at him. "Sorry, but just… just listen, alright? I guess the talk that goes on in your common room isn't the same as in mine, but I've been hearing some odd things from the older students – they stay in their quite late and they don't even notice I'm there if I sit in the corner. They're talking about what they're going to do once they get out of school and, well…" Severus looked up at the stone archway. He seemed to be searching for the right words. "Have you heard of Voldemort?" he asked.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "No. What's that? It sounds like an OWL level potion."

"No, it's a person. I hadn't even heard of him until I can here, but I heard his kind of ideas before. I used to see it in the wizarding newspaper but my mother used to scoff at it. I mean, she married a muggle, I suppose. No matter how much they seem to hate each other…"

Lily gave a frustrated huff. She was so tired of everything in this place being about 'blood status' as Severus called it. "Is this more of the rubbish that Potter and Black were spouting back in the first week? Because if it is-"

"No." Severus interrupted her again. "That was just Potter and Black being arrogant as usual. He wouldn't dare. Anyway, his family aren't part of the Scared 28 so maybe they have some impurities far down the line. When he saw that Lily was about the start asking questions he hurried on. "Never mind the Sacred 28 for now. This stuff sounds serious, it's not their idea. They're following in the newspapers and radio broadcasts about this Voldemort and it looks to be similar kind of ideas behind Grindlewald."

Lily had a vague idea about the rise and reign of Grindlewald during the 1940s in central Europe and his defeat at the hands of Albus Dumbledore, but only what Severus had told her during those endless days they had spent before Hogwarts talking about the hidden world. She supposed he must have learned what little he knew from his mother as, compared to the wizarding children she had met since starting Hogwarts, Severus' childhood seemed somewhat isolated from the wider wizarding world.

"Look, I don't really get it myself, but the things they say are scary and I think that's what Lucius meant this morning. He really doesn't like being questioned."

Lily remained unconvinced. Almost every morning, Lucius would wearily instruct her back to her house table, or stride down to the Gryffindor table to collect Severus with an almost fatherly fashion. True, the Slytherin prefect had never been nice to Lily, but she felt that he had never been unfair or rude to her. Until this morning.

Apparently, Severus could tell she was unconvinced, because he raised his eyebrows. "You must have noticed, because I know I have, the purebloods – they really aren't the same as the rest of us. They just act differently. You wouldn't believe the way Lucius speaks in the common room when you see him patrolling the corridors. It's amazing really. I'd give a lot to be able to become another person like that."

Instead of answering him, Lily checked her watch.

"Come on, Sev, we're late for potions."

She merged with a group of Slytherins coming from lunch and hurrying for the dungeons. She could hear Severus following after her.

The truth was, Lily didn't want to hear about it. She had spent the better part of the last two years wiling away the hours in parks and by the lake with Severus while he opened her eyes to this new and magnificent world that she had agreed to step into. She had all but sacrificed the friendly sisterhood she had with Petunia for this, had decided against the high school her parents had chosen for her and had moved far away from home, without the comfort of a telephone call and to be honest, she was disappointed by how it was shaping up. She was growing very tired of hearing about this pureblood nonsense. It was all very boring and stuffy and seemed to sit in front of far more interesting things – such as her apparent innate ability to levitate objects with a stick of wood.

I'm not really upset she realised, holding the dungeon door for Severus and apologising to Professor Slughorn for their tardiness, I'm just not interested. It's getting in the way of all the magic.

She took a free seat at a place for two and smiled at Severus as he sat down next to her, just to make sure that he knew she wasn't mad.

"Let's just be the same as we always were," she insisted. Severus gave her his awkward smile in agreement.

"Remus!"

Curiosity had Lily and Severus snap their heads up. Just as they were getting ready to leave double potions, Remus Lupin had slipped into the door. Apparently, Peter Pettigrew had noticed him and shouted out as he was now sitting with a hand over his mouth and an embarrassed flush on his face.

Professor Slughorn looked up from the students' potion vials on his desk at the outburst and smiled warmly at Remus.

"Ah mister Lupin!" He stepped around the desk with some difficult caused by his enormous stomach. "Yes, Professor McGonagall warned me that you might miss the lesson today. Though I am most surprised that you came to collect work that you could have easily escaped from!"

Lily watched as Remus shyly fidgeted with the strap of his satchel. "Yes well… I didn't want to fall behind, Sir." His voice was unusually soft and he avoided his classmates' eyes, though Lily knew he must feel her and everyone else's curious stares.

Slughorn beckoned him forward to the front desk to show him the work that had been covered in his absence. As he did, Severus elbowed her in the ribs.

"Lupin is limping," he whispered to her behind his long hair. It was true. Lily watched carefully as he joined Slughorn behind the teacher's table and she could see that he was favouring his right foot.

"Maybe he caught his leg in a trick stair," she suggested. In truth, she was worried about him. He looked tired, skittish and rather grey – she thought his eyes seemed glassy as though he'd been crying and hoped that his mother was alright. Perhaps he just didn't want to come back after being at home, she reasoned and managed to comfort herself a little with the possibility. She couldn't imagine being away from home if one of her parents were ill. She found it bad enough without the added anxiety.

Lily gave Severus a brief hug as they parted for their last lesson though she was noticeably distracted by Lupin, a fact which had Severus scowling. She eyed the sandy haired boy all through transfiguration, frowning as she saw his timid interactions with the pair of morons Potter and Black. Instead of the note-taking that the rest of the class was participating in, she pulled out a muggle ballpoint pen from the depths of her bag and began to draft a letter to her sister. It really didn't do well to carry on this animosity. She did not underestimate Petunia's ability to hold a grudge for three months for one moment – especially not in a case such as this where she was justifiably bitter. She put her pen to the parchment and began.

Dear Tuney

Would you believe that I am writing this in the middle of a lesson? Please don't tell mum you know she'd go spare. I just really wanted to talk to you right this moment, but since there aren't any phones at Hogwarts, this is the next best thing isn't it?

I'm really missing you and sometimes I wish I were at home still. Tell me about the big school. You're always so short in the letters I get from mum and dad. What are the other kids like? Are there many from our old primary there or is it like starting over again? That's a bit what it's like here. Of course, I have Sev, but he wasn't put into the same house as me – his is called Slytherin – and we only have a few lessons together. I know you don't want to hear about Sev though.

I'll tell you about the people in my house. I think you'd like them. With me in the girls' dormitory is this girl, Dorcas. She's got a pet cat and you know that mum and dad wouldn't let me have one. I can see why, I suppose. It gets up to all kinds of mischief and wrecks the tapestries and the chairs and the prefect has to go around fixing everything. There's also Mary and Marline. I think their family are magic already though and they know what they're doing in a way I just don't yet.

Oh and in the boys' dorm there are four of them. One is really nice; this boy called Remus. He's a bit quiet and you would probably like him he doesn't ever get into any trouble. He's friends with Peter, who's not so bad but I don't think the two of you would like each other – he's a bit nervous and sort of follows Remus around but he's nice enough.

I wish you were here to tell off the other two though. They're such pigs. Well, Sirius less so I suppose but over the month he's definitely become more like the other boy – James. He's totally obnoxious and is always losing points here and there for being clumsy and for not keeping his mouth shut and for laughing in classes. And he's such a bully. He says the worst things to Severus and attacks him in the corridors. He really rubs me the wrong way and I reckon you could sort him out well enough!

I'm sure you'll understand – I just wanted to talk to you a bit. I don't really have anyone here yet who I really get along with – I left all my old friends at home with you. It'd make me so happy if you wrote back but I get it if you're still mad.

Lots of love,

Lily.

Petunia left her bedroom window open but the dusty looking barn owl just stared at her obstinately, refusing to leave. It perched on the headboard of her bed at stared at her as though it were waiting for her.

"Oh alright then," she whispered for fear of waking her parents in the next room. She wiped her tears aggressively with the back of her hand and shuffled through her desk draws for some black paper on which to write a reply.

This chapter gave me so much trouble! I think it was just too early to bring out Lily as I hadn't properly established anything with her yet – it should have been Remus or Severus I suppose. But I'd promised Lily last chapter so… Haha!

Anyway, thank you for reading it – I'd love to hear what you think. Hopefully the next chapter shouldn't take so long.

~BS