King's Cross Station.

"All right, everybody out!"

Lily hopped out of the family car as her father parked at King's Cross Station. Today was the day; she was finally going back to Hogwarts.

She had been waiting all summer to return. She and James had been writing to each other constantly, and my gods, he was so romantic! He called her 'the shine in the sun.' Like, who thinks of that?

But James wasn't the only teen boy occupying her mind. Severus. She hadn't seen him all summer, and her parents noticed crazy fast. First, it was her dad asking when Severus was coming over because he got tickets to the game.

"Is Severus coming over soon?" her father had asked, holding up two tickets to the latest football match. "I got us some tickets, I already got my bets placed!"

And then, Mum started making his favorite snacks and subtly leaving them in the fridge, asking me if I'd invited him over. she hadn't, of course.

She remembered mumbling an excuse about Severus being busy with his own family. The truth was, she hadn't spoken to him since their last fight at the end of the previous term. The thought of him brought a pang of pain, quickly followed by a wave of irritation. It wasn't her fault things had turned out this way; he had been the one to act so ridiculously. She wasn't the one who should feel bad. She wasn't.

"Come on, Lily, let's get moving," her mother called, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Lily grabbed her trunk and her owl's cage, following her family into the bustling station. She glanced around, hoping to spot James among the throng of students and their families. She felt a flutter of excitement at the thought of seeing him again. Before she could run off to find James, her mum suddenly shouted.

"Severus!"

She turned to find her mother hugging said boy before pulling back. "Look at you, we didn't get to see you all summer, where were you?" she watched in annoyance as Severus spoke with her mother.

Why the heck did he have to show up and ruin her mood? She watched his eyes shift from her mother to her father.

Severus looked uncomfortable but managed a polite smile. "I've been busy, Mrs. Evans. Preparing for the year." he replied, his voice calm and measured.

Lily's mother patted him on the shoulder. "Well, it's wonderful to see you, dear. You've grown so much! We missed having you around. You must come by for dinner sometime."

Severus nodded, his gaze briefly flickering to Lily. For a moment, their eyes met, and Lily felt a surge of conflicting emotions: anger, sadness, and something she couldn't quite identify. She quickly looked away, pretending to busy herself with adjusting her trunk.

She watched as her father gave severus a nod, he father was never a man for public affection but if you looked into his eyes, it was easy to see what he was trying to say. Lily clenched her teeth. Why did her parents have to be so nice to him? He didn't deserve it. Not after he had betrayed their friendship.

She was just about to make an excuse to leave when Severus abruptly turned to go. Without thinking, she jogged after him, calling his name. "Severus!"

He stopped and turned, fixing her with a cold stare. This was different; the Severus she knew always looked at her as if she were the most important person in the world. Now, he looked at her like she was nothing.

"Can we talk?" The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. She didn't want to talk to him. He was... he was... She didn't know what to say. He was Severus. She watched as his eyes narrowed, clearly surprised, before he made a quick reply.

"If I wanted to talk to you, Evans, I would have fucking reached out."

What?

She didn't hear him right. Did Severus Snape, the boy who told her she was his sun and moon, just curse at her? She stared in shock, not knowing what to say or how to react. Her heart was pounding. She had never felt something like this before. This was new. This wasn't how she felt when he ended their friendship, nor when James called her cute. This was... pure pain.

Why did it hurt so much? She hated him, didn't she? He was the one who betrayed her, who ended their friendship, who made her feel like she was nothing. But the coldness in his eyes, the venom in his words—it pierced her in a way she didn't understand.

A flood of memories overwhelmed her: the times they spent together, the secrets they shared, the way he used to look at her with genuine affection. How did it come to this? She had tried to bury those feelings, to convince herself that he no longer mattered, but now they were clawing their way to the surface, raw and relentless.

Her chest felt tight, and she struggled to breathe. The pain was sharp, almost physical, and she hated herself for feeling it. How could he still have this power over her? She wanted to scream at him, to tell him how much she hated him, but she couldn't find the words.

Instead, she put on a mask. She rolled her eyes and stormed off past her parents and towards Mary, who was talking to Alice.

"Hey, girls," she smiled and hugged them, acting like her heart wasn't shattering into pieces inside her chest.

Mary beamed back at her. "Lily! We missed you so much! How was your summer?"

"Busy," Lily replied, forcing cheerfulness into her voice. "Lots of family stuff, you know how it is."

Alice gave her a curious look. "Everything all right?"

"Of course!" Lily chirped, hoping her smile didn't look as fake as it felt. "Just the usual madness. How about you two? Ready for another year?"

As her friends launched into stories about their summers as they boraded the train, Lily nodded and laughed in all the right places, but her mind kept drifting back to Severus. The sting of his words, the coldness in his eyes—it was all she could think about. She hated that he could still affect her like this, hated that a part of her still cared.

Hogwarts, Charms Classroom

Lily wanted to fucking scream!

How was this happening? She was at the top of her class when it came to Charms, so why the hell was this random Hufflepuff getting in her way?!

She watched as the girl, Burbage or something, answered another question before her. The professor beamed at the Hufflepuff girl, who wore a modest but triumphant smile.

"Excellent, Miss Burbage," the professor praised. "Five points to Hufflepuff."

Lily clenched her quill tightly, her frustration boiling over. She knew the answer. She always knew the answer. But her mind was clouded, unable to focus, thanks to the freaking Severus Snape.

"Lily, do you know the answer to this one?" the professor asked, trying to bring her back into the discussion.

She snapped her attention back to the class, forcing a smile. "Yes, Professor. The incantation for the Levitation Charm is 'Wingardium Leviosa.'"

"Correct," Professor Flitwick nodded. "But we've moved on from Levitation Charms. Can you tell us the principle behind the Switching Spell?"

Lily's mind went blank. She should know this; she had studied it countless times. But all she could think about was the look in Severus's eyes, the harshness of his words. The classroom seemed to blur around her as panic set in.

"I... I don't remember," she stammered, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her.

Professor Flitwick gave her a sympathetic look. "That's all right, Miss Evans. We'll review it together." She nodded numbly, her cheeks burning as she watched Burbage answer another question.

Just watching the girl smile whenever she answered made her want to walk over and strangle her! The bubbling frustration within her was almost too much to bear. How could this girl, who was probably just having a lucky day, overshadow her like this?

Lily was brought out of her thoughts by the bell ringing. She quickly gathered her things, eager to escape the classroom and the unwelcome emotions it had stirred up. Her friends caught up with her as she exited, their concern still evident.

"You okay, Lily?" Mary asked gently, her brow furrowed with worry.

Lily forced a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, just a bit off today. I'll be fine."

She was just about to ask Alice about her relationship with Frank when she saw Burbage run across the hall, calling out to someone.

"Hey, Severus!"

She watched as Severus, who was leaning against the wall talking to Mulciber, turned to Burbage running up and hugging his arm.

no.

No.

Hell fucking no!

A surge of anger and jealousy hit her like a tidal wave. How could he? After everything, after the coldness, the rejection, the harsh words, how could he let someone else get close to him so easily? The sight of Burbage clinging to him, smiling up at him, made her stomach churn with a mix of rage and hurt. First it was Bellatrix, now this girl.

"Damn, looks like Snape's stepping up in the world," Alice's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

Lily tore her eyes away from the scene, her pulse pounding in her ears as she stared at her. "What?" Her voice was hard, and her eyes were crazed.

Alice barely looked up from her notes, her expression indifferent. "I just meant it's surprising to see him with someone like Burbage. Didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset," Lily lied, her voice trembling slightly. "I just don't get why he's acting like this. Why he thinks he's so big and bad."

Mary glanced at Alice and then at Lily, her face impassive. "People change, Lily. Maybe it's time to get over the fact he dumped you."

"For the last time, HE DIDN'T FREAKING DUMP ME, SO GET THAT THROUGH YOUR UGLY HEAD!"

She was breathing heavily as everything stopped and all eyes trained on her. The hallway was suddenly silent, the chatter of students around them dying down as everyone turned to look at the outburst. Alice and Mary exchanged an annoyed glance, clearly over the drama.

"Really, Lily?" Alice said, her tone flat. "This again?"

Lily's face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. "You don't understand. He was my friend, and now he's just... he's just—"

"He's just living his life," Mary interrupted, her voice hard. "Maybe you should take a page out of his book and do the same instead of being a bitch to us."

Lily watched as the two of them walked off, her body trembling with a combination of anger and embarrassment. Her fists clenched at her sides, and tears of frustration welled up in her eyes.

"Well, I don't need you anyways!" she shouted after them, her voice echoing in the quiet hallway.

As the words left her lips, she realized how hollow they sounded. Deep down, she knew she needed her friends, even if they didn't understand what she was going through. She glanced around the hall, her eyes landing on Severus, who was staring her down.

One half of her wanted to run up to him and cry in his arms, let all her worries fade away in the comfort of familiarity. Despite everything that had happened between them, a part of her still longed for the bond they once shared, for the ease of being understood by someone who had known her so well.

But the other half of her was filled with anger and hurt. How could he stand there, looking at her with those eyes that used to hold warmth and friendship, now seemingly indifferent or even cold? She couldn't forget the pain he had caused, the way he had shut her out and moved on so effortlessly.

She stormed away, not caring where she was going, just needing to be alone. The castle corridors seemed to stretch on forever as she walked, each step heavy with the weight of her emotions. Thoughts of Severus and their shattered friendship tormented her, gnawing at her insides like a relentless beast.

(don't feel bad for her, you'll hate her later)