Chapter Two

Severus and James were momentarily stunned, but they immediately leaped into action after about two seconds' surprised silence.

James whipped out his wand, and Severus already had his in his hand and a jinx on his lips. But before either of them could do any magic, Lily shot a Shield Charm between them. It burst into being with a small 'pop' and a millisecond of bright light.

The two boys were forced back a step, the shield of shimmering power between them. James, Lily, and her dad were on one side, Severus on the other.

"Lily, what . . . ?" her father started, but Lily interrupted him.

"I don't know, dad. I was hoping Severus could explain himself," Lily said, her narrowed, flashing eyes never leaving Severus' face.

Severus was unsure of what to do. James had murder in his eyes; he obviously knew (or suspected) that Severus had not been invited, and he was ready to make Severus pay. But Severus knew this was his last chance ever to try to win Lily over, and he had to try.

"I . . . I came to speak to Lily," he said, using every last ounce of his self-control to not sneer at James.

Lily looked slightly surprised at his words, but she nodded and said, "Let's go walk outside, shall we?"

James opened his mouth, but shut it without saying anything when Lily shot him a quick look.

Lily led Severus to the back door, and they walked out into the balmy spring air.

"Lily, I want to apologize for last year. I . . . " But he got no further. Lily had turned angrily on him.

"Oh, so that's why you're here! You're trying to apologize again! Well, just so you know, I haven't changed my mind! I still think you're an evil, dark-arts practicing, power-hungry git!"

Lily paused for breath; her voice shaking when she continued.

"I can't believe you think you can just waltz into my house and expect me to accept you with open arms when you've been completely horrible to me and ignored me the rest of the school year after you insulted me in front of the whole school! But of course I won't be able to resist your charm. . . ." she said sarcastically.

"I was so stupid to think that you would ever be sorry! You probably thought the whole thing would be just dandy and that I'd run happily into your arms when you walked in the door and that . . ." She was crying now, and sobs choked further words.

This was not how Severus had planned it to go. Well, actually, the whole thing had gone wrong from the start. James was not supposed to be there when he and Lily saw each other face-to-face for the first time in almost a year, and Lily was supposed to be happy to see him! She wasn't supposed to be mad!

Severus tried to comfort Lily, but the words wouldn't come, and she wouldn't let him touch her.

"Just go, Severus. Just leave. Please!" she begged tearfully, and Severus, confused, angry and sad, turned on the spot and was gone.

James, who had watched the whole thing from the back windows, ran up to Lily. Torn between hunting down Snape and killing him and comforting Lily, he made up his mind when he saw that Lily was in no fit state to go back to the party. He instead sat down with her underneath a willow tree, the hanging branches hiding them from view. James stroked Lily's hair until she stopped crying.

Lily sat up a little bit and leaned her head against James' shoulder, her eyes sad in the darkness.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" James asked softly.

Lily told him the whole story, about how she and Severus had been friends since before she even knew she had magic, about how in fifth year he had called her a Mudblood, and all the things in between. She told him about how she hadn't talked to him since last year and how she had blown up at him just now. Silent tears were still pouring down her face as she remembered and related everything.

James was still suppressing the urge to find Snape and hex him into a bloody pulp. Instead, he sat with an arm around the still-sniffling Lily until she fell silent. They sat like that for a minute, thinking their separate thoughts: James about how happy he was that the moment when he was alone with Lily had finally come, and Lily about why sitting here with James felt so right.

They sat in silence until Lily stirred and murmured, "Shouldn't we be getting inside? My parents are probably worried, and my sister's probably livid I haven't wished her a 'happy birthday' yet."

James made no mention of the fact that Lily had often said that her sister hated her for being a witch, nodded, stood, and turned to help Lily up. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. They walked in the back door and into the living room. Lily found Petunia and chatted for a bit while James talked with Lily's mother.

"So, how is school going?" she asked James.

"Very well, thank you," James replied politely. "I spend a lot of my time studying," he lied easily.

She nodded, obviously pleased. "Good, good. . . ." And without another word, she went over to greet Lily.

James had the feeling he'd just been subjected to a brief parental 'boyfriend test.' He also had the feeling he'd passed.

Lily came over to him after a bit. She looked a bit flustered, and Petunia looked angry.

"I think we'd better go soon," Lily murmured to James. James was confused; they'd barely been here twenty-five minutes, and she wanted to leave? Without argument, he nodded.

Lily greeted some people and chatted a bit with some Muggle friends, and then they made polite excuses and went back to the dining room to Floo back to Hogwarts.

"Bye, Mum, Dad. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, but you know. School and all." Lily's parents nodded understandingly, pride in their eyes at their daughter's dedication to her schoolwork.

Lily hugged her parents and James shook their hands before taking out the small bag of Floo powder McGonagall had provided for their return to school.

James threw a pinch of the glittering powder into the empty fireplace, stepped into the roaring emerald flames, and said clearly: "Gryffindor common room."

The room spun away from him, and he came to a stop facing an assortment of squashy armchairs occupied by students, some with textbooks in their laps, others talking amongst themselves.

All talk and activities halted for a few seconds as he stepped out of the fireplace and turned to help Lily down.

Lily thanked him and gave him a quick, radiant smile and a heartfelt hug. Then she walked over to her friends and talk started up again in the common room.

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For a long time, nothing much was said about Lily and Severus' conversation or James and Lily's moments under the willow tree. But it had been the beginning of a very strong bond between the two teenagers. . .

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Severus Snape was never the same after that day. Being called 'evil' by the girl he loved shattered his too-long-unloved heart irreparably, and he was a surlier, more withdrawn and careful person from that day forward. To really live, you have to wear your heart on your sleeve; Severus tried the best he could, loving Lily with his whole being. When she left him, he was lost, turning to darkness to fill his empty soul.

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A/N

Please review! I really want to know what you guys think of this!

I don't fully agree with what I said at the end of the story, how 'she left him', because it was part Severus' and part Lily's fault that she left and that he called her a Mudblood. They're both to blame, and poor Severus never really loved again. I'm just glad that most people on here are giving him that chance. Yes, for all of you who might be wondering, Lily was exaggerating when she said that Severus had insulted her in front of 'the whole school', but she was flipping out. I think we can all cut her some slack.

I'd like to thank my brother Joseph for all of his...if sometimes annoying...constructive criticism, my good friend Amy for being so. . . Amy, and my very first beta, Erin, who made up the silliest and most hilarious names ever, kept me focused, and made me laugh even when I never thought I'd ever get this story up.

And finally, thank you to everyone who read my story and loved it, and also to those who read and didn't. The ones who did got a good story, the ones who didn't hopefully learned what not to do, and they all read it!

~Katie