Least Likely Of All

Chapter One: Parts One - Five

Chapter One, Part One: The Perfect Couple

Lily Evans and James Potter, voted best couple of 1976 by all four houses. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, voted most popular group by three of the four Hogwarts houses. Lily Evans, voted prettiest 6th Year by all four of the houses. Sirius Black, voted most eligible bachelor of the Gryffindor house. Remus Lupin, voted most likely to become the next Minister of Magic. Severus Snape, voted most likely to become a Death Eater.

To Severus, the thought was ridiculous, but to the rest of the school, it was inevitable. He showed all the traits; He was a first-class Slytherin, knew more hexes than the rest of the student body combined, and even slightly resembled what Lord Voldemort was rumored to have once looked like. With his long black hair and cold black eyes, he looked more menacing than any teacher ever did, even while threatening expulsion.

However evil he looked, however much vice he was believed to take part of, however much chaos he seemed to have caused, he hated it. Not so much the fact his classmates seemed to ignore him, but the fact he had inherited the reputation to begin with. His father before him -- a bastard in Severus' eyes -- had done more than his share of wrongdoing within the walls of Hogwarts.

He was constantly teased for his looks and heritage, something he eventually learned to ignore. It was his belief the school would have left him alone if it hadn't been for two boys; James Potter and Sirius Black. Ringleaders of a gang they had dubbed the Marauders, since day one they had tortured Severus. He didn't know what he had done to deserve their wrath, or if they simply thought it was great fun to torment people they thought lower than themselves. Either way, by their sixth year, after an incident where Sirius and James had nearly killed Severus, he had spent most of his time looking for things to get them back with -- he was bent on paying them back dearly, not only for their pranks but for their utter inability to be human.

He silently vowed to prove them all wrong, to show them that the five most popular people in the school were, in fact, only human. Severus hated school; the entire 6 years he had attended Hogwarts had been a joke. Top of his class, yes, but always right below James Potter. As much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous of James. Severus dreamed of having even a portion of James' popularity, a percentage of the respect James was given. He had everything, everything down to the girl.

Lily Evans had never acknowledged his existence, as far as Severus was concerned. Of course, every once in a while a disgusted look or nasty comment was thrown his way, but he doubted she even knew his first name. She did, however, know his last; all she ever referred to him as was 'Snape'.

James Potter and Lily Evans. They were the seemingly perfect couple to everyone accept the precious few who truly knew what went on. They were the most popular couple in Hogwarts, no one dared to question their relationship, convinced it would last forever.

On one snow-filled evening in the middle of their sixth year, the four friends were gathered around the Gryffindor common room fire, swapping stories and pranks they had managed to pull off recently. Lily had come walking down the stairs from her dormitory, clothed in robes of rich green velvet she had recently bought at a store in Hogsmeade. Catching Remus' eye, she smiled as he winked, nodding his head slightly in his approval. Before she could take another step towards the four, James whirled around and gaped at her slightly, before smirking and shaking his head.

"Green isn't your colour, Lily." James snapped at her, once again smirking. "You look like a trashy whore. Go put on some decent clothes."

"I'm sorry." She sighed, glancing away from James and looking directly at Remus as she made her way back up the stairs.

"You know, this would have been the perfect opportunity to compliment her." Remus commented, sighing inwardly at James' harsh words towards Lily.

"Why though? Whenever you compliment a girl they get all giddy and never leave you alone." James shuddered as he started to read from Quidditch Through The Ages.

"Five words my friend, five words." Sirius grinned, holding up a splayed hand showing four fingers and a thumb.

"And which five words are those? 'I want you like candy'?" Peter Pettigrew smirked, adjusting his robes slightly so his potbelly was completely concealed.

"No, stupid. 'To get in her pants'." Sirius grinned, punching James' shoulder.

"Damn... Good point." James scowled slightly just as Lily came back down.

"Sorry James." She apologized once more as she sat down next to him.

"It's ok, baby... I'm sorry I was so harsh, you looked really good in those and I just didn't want to other guys seeing you like that." James nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as Sirius winked at him.

"Oh, ok... Want to go upstairs and see it then? I really like it." Lily suggested, pointing up the wooden staircase that led to her dormitory.

"Sure, let's go." James took Lily's hand and led her upstairs, briefly glancing back at his three friends, two of whom were trying desperately not to laugh.

"Score one for Potter." Sirius high-fived Peter as Remus just glanced up towards the staircase James and Lily had disappeared up, sighing once more to himself.

The next morning, Lily and James were late to breakfast, not to their friends' surprise. Severus, however, was disgusted at the scene unfolding in front of him, along with the rest of the Great Hall; James had wrapped his left arm around her shoulders once more, chaining her to his side. Even from a distance Severus could see the dark circles under her eyes and he could have sworn he saw her flinch as James brought his hand down to rub her upper arm in what looked like a comforting gesture.

The Gryffindors and the Slytherins had Transfiguration together as the first class of the day, and Severus made it his first priority to find out what had happened.

Throughout the class, Severus had tried to catch Lily's eye, but it was only towards the end of the hour that he was successful. He signaled to her the best he could to wait up for him, and after class, he ran to catch up to Lily, who was now waiting patiently. Severus was thankful that, for once, she wasn't surrounded by her usual group of friends.

"What do you want, Snape?" she asked quietly, her eyes darting around as if she was afraid to be caught talking to a future Death Eater.

"I just wanted to know if you were ok." Severus admitted. "You look tired and that bruise on your arm is probably turning a nasty shape of purple."

"How do you know...?" Lily looked at him with questioning eyes, her right hand touching her upper left arm.

"Observation." Severus shrugged, his eyes focused on a spot on the wall some five feet behind her.

"Well... Thank you for asking, and yes, I'm ok. I'll live, anyway." Lily glanced behind her to see Remus coming.

"Listen, if you ever want to talk... I know we're different and everything, but I can listen if you need someone." Severus said quietly, eyeing the approaching Remus suspiciously.

"Thanks for the offer, Snape, maybe someday... I have to go though, I'll see you later." Lily departed as Remus stepped up to the two of them, and with a curious glance in Severus' direction, he quickly ran after her.

"Lily! Wait up!" Remus called, finally catching up with Lily's long strides. "Why were you talking to that piece of Slytherin scum? He's really not stable enough for a girl of your structure to be conversing with." Remus murmured, touching Lily's shoulder.

Lily flinched and shrugged Remus' hand off. He sighed, "You really can't let James do that."

She shook her head, holding back tears of frustration, "Well, what else am I supposed to do? Stand up to him? I'm sure that'll help... Make him stop right then, that will."

"I can try to talk to him if you'd like." Remus suggested, ignoring her sarcasm. "I'm his friend, he should listen to me."

"Remus, thanks, but I'm his girlfriend... He claims he loves me, so why shouldn't he listen to me? Besides, if he even thinks I told you anything, I won't be able to move for a week." Lily sighed, "He's really a good man, he just doesn't know how to handle his anger. I'm the closest thing to him most of the time; therefore I usually end up being the target. It's not his fault, I really shouldn't make him so mad."

Remus shook his head, "If that's what you want to believe, then believe it. I can't do anything, but talking to Snape sure as hell isn't going to help the situation."

Lily sighed, "He seems... nice. It's not his fault he's like that, I guess."

Remus grinned, "Lily, with you, nothing is ever anyone's fault."

Lily smiled back, "One day that'll change... eventually."

*

Chapter One, Part Two: As The Mermaid Sleeps

Severus was walking through the corridors a few weeks later in the late evening with a blank look on his face when he heard a faint sob echoing through the halls. Curious as to what or who was making those sounds, he quietly made his way down towards the prefects' baths. As he came nearer, he saw Lily with her legs dangling out of the painting, head in hands.

Before he could decide whether to approach her or not, Lily looked up and saw him. With a barely audible sigh, she sat up straight and beckoned him towards her.

"Listen, Snape... Before you get the wrong idea about this all..." Lily sighed once more, "I'm fine, ok?"

"No, you're not." Severus shook his head, "Remus and I both know you're not fine. Hopefully you're listening to him?"

"Neither of you two are listening to me... I'm fine, really. I can handle him." Lily leaned back a bit, avoiding his gaze.

Severus smirked, "The marks on your face are definitely telling me how well you're handling him, Lily."

Lily got up silently and walked into the baths, waving her hand as an indicator towards Severus to follow her. He got up quickly and made his way through the portrait, his eyes widening with surprise at the room she led him into.

Adorned with silver and gold, there was a large pool big enough to swim laps in. Surrounding the pool were golden taps, each showing off a different colored jewel. A blonde mermaid was sleeping on a rock in a painting on one of the walls, and white fluffy towels were pilled everywhere.

"Snape, listen to me. If anyone finds out about this, and I mean ANYONE, I'll have your head on a platter." Lily hissed, sitting down on one side of the pool and dipping her bare feet in.

"What a way to start a conversation..." Severus commented sarcastically, cautiously sitting down next to her. "Just tell me what's going on, and I swear I'll try my best to help you."

Lily had stopped crying the moment she noticed Severus, but her eyes were still rimmed with red. Patting one with the back of her hand, she turned towards him. "Snape, you only know half of what he does. James is great, really, but he gets angry a lot. He's under so much stress with Quidditch and the House Cup... It just doesn't seem right refusing him or anything." With this, Lily's eyes focused back on the water.

"You mean he...?" Severus' eyes widened with surprised as he leaned forward slightly, trying to get her to look back up at him.

"It only hurt the first time." Lily whispered, her eyes now darting back and forth between the water and the wall, completely avoiding Severus' penetrating stare.

"If you don't want to, he's not supposed to do that... It's not right." Severus said quietly, wanting desperately to comfort her, but not able to work up the nerve to touch her.

"I know, but it's ok. It is 1976, after all. We're not our parent's generation, this kind of stuff is acceptable." Lily looked up at him once more. "I'm ok though, really. He's always been careful, or tried to be. No matter what he acts like, he does love me. He even told his friends that, and he rarely tells them what he feels."

Severus sighed, "I have no idea what you're getting yourself in to, Lily, but like I said before, if you ever need someone to talk to... I'm here."

Lily smiled and put her hand on his shoulder tentatively. "I know, and I promise if I ever need your help, I'll ask."

Severus nodded then stood up, offering his hand to Lily, who took it gratefully.

"You realize if James ever found out about this, we'd both be dead." Lily grinned.

"And he'd have a life sentence in Azkaban, so it all works out in the end." Severus smiled back as they reached the painting once more. They both climbed out and started to head in opposite directions, when Lily called after him.

"Severus!" His name didn't feel odd, as she had expected it to feel on her tongue, instead it felt right somehow. Severus spun around quickly, surprised at the sound of his first name passing through her lips.

"Thanks again... It means a lot to me." Lily waved once more and spun around on her heel, walking as fast as she could away from him.

"You're... welcome." Severus said quietly, watching her go. "You said my name... She said my name..." With that, he turned the corner and made his way back to the Slytherin common room, smiling all the way.

Her name is Noelle

I have a dream about her
She rings my bell
I got gym class in half an hour
And oh how she rocks
In keds and tube socks
But she doesn't know who I am
And she doesn't give a damn about me

'Cause i'm just a teenage dirtbag baby

Yeah I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Listen to Iron Maiden baby, with me...

And her boyfriend's a dick

He brings a gun to school
And he'd simply kick
My ass if he knew the truth
He lives on my block and he drives an IROC
But he doesn't know who I am
And he doesn't give a damn about me

'Cause i'm just a teenage dirtbag baby

Yeah I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Listen to Iron Maiden baby, with me...

Oh yeah, Dirtbag

No, She doesn't know what she's missing
Oh yeah, Dirtbag
No, She doesn't know what she's missing

Man I feel like mould

It's prom night and I am lonely
Lo and behold
She's walking over to me
This must be fake
My lip starts to shake
How does she know who I am?
And Why does she give a damn about..

"I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby

Come with me Friday
Don't say maybe
I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby, like you.."

Oh yeah, Dirtbag

No, She doesn't know what she's missing
Oh yeah, Dirtbag
No, She doesn't know what she's missing...*

*Wheatus, Teenage Dirtbag

*

Chapter One, Part Three: Bittersweet Arrangement

Lily lay awake that night, thinking about her conversation with Severus. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right; she had to at least try to stand up to James. It wasn't that he was bad; he was one of the most caring people she had ever met. Part of the problem was his friends, especially Sirius, who egged him on and called him a "sissy" if Lily even remotely tried to stand up to him. That, of course, led to more bruises. He never did it in front of everyone, only in his or her dormitories when no one else was there, and he always felt bad about it. He always tried to make it up to her, even if he had to miss practice or a class. He loved her; she knew that, he just didn't know how to show it.

Severus Snape had always been the enemy. She was never allowed to talk to him, as that would have been a serious blow to her reputation and status. James never would have allowed the conversation that took place between them tonight to happen, never. He would have died rather than have his girlfriend talk to whom he considered the scum off the walls in Azkaban.

She sighed and rolled over just as the door to the dormitory opened. Thinking it was one of her room mates, Lily didn't give it any thought, until her curtains were pulled back, revealing James.

"Holy... James? What are you doing here?" Lily hugged her velvet blanket around her chest.

He sat down beside her, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I know about your little escapade with Snape."

Lily froze. "James... I- I-..."

James raised his hand up, as to silence her. "Say no more, I understand." He slowly leaned down, so his face was directly above hers. "And I think you're brilliant for doing so."

"B-B-Brilliant?" Lily stuttered, not having any idea of what he was talking about.

"You seducing Snape? It's better than I could have ever come up with. That little Death Eater won't know what hit him... Make him fall in love with you, Lily. Make him want to die for you."

Lily was now thoroughly confused. "Why though?"

James looked surprised, "You should know, of course. Make him love you more than he's ever loved anyone in the world; I know you can. Then, as the year progresses, break his heart. Break his heart as hard as you can, because I know you can."

Lily shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. "What are the conditions? His -- slimy hands, touching me? Your girlfriend? What's the catch?"

James smirked. "What ever you do, don't let him f-ck you. That's my job and my job alone."

Lily nodded numbly. "Ok, will you tell me when to dump him?"

James smiled and kissed her, "Of course. And if he starts to give you hell, tell me and I'll make sure he never lays a hand on you again."

How ironic,

thought Lily, You can abuse me, hit me, use me all you want, but you won't let anyone else touch me. How perfectly ironic.

"What about our relationship?" Lily asked, attempting to ignore James' roaming hands.

"We'll stage a breakup -- a big one -- in the Great Hall tomorrow, at breakfast. Cry, cry hard, and I'll do the rest." Lily started to ask another question, anything to keep his mind off of his 'prize', but he silenced her with another kiss.

The next morning, much to Lily's dismal, came much too quickly. Waking up with James beside her was turning out to be more than she could handle. Feeling as dirty as she ever had, she got out of bed quickly and turned on a shower to scalding. Unaware of the effects the hot water was having on her skin, she took a bar of soap and scrubbed as hard as she could. After a moment or two, she was aware of someone else coming into the 6th year's bathroom. Silently praying it wasn't whom she thought it was, she turned the temperature of the water down to a reasonable level and set the bar of soap down on the edge of the porcelain tub. Moments afterward, James peaked his head through the curtain, smiling at the sight.

"James!" Lily scolded, jumping a little. "I could have been anyone!"

James laughed as he took off his robe and stepped into the shower. An admiring look glazed over his face as his eyes scanned her body, still pink from where the water had hit her and where she had scrubbed so hard skin was starting to come off.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" James wrapped his now wet arms around Lily and kissed her forehead.

Lily couldn't respond; she merely shook her head and forced herself to kiss James back.

What's wrong with me? Twenty-Four hours ago, this was my life; this is what I looked forward to each day.

Ahh, yes, but that was before you knew of any other kind of affection.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind responded.

Why, of all times...

Lily audibly sighed, busying herself with James once more.

As soon as the two finished, Lily changed into her school robes and accompanied James down to the Great Hall, where around two hundred students were sitting, enjoying their breakfast. With a feeling of anticipation, Lily talked with James as quietly as she could, in fear of someone overhearing her. James nodded, signaling he was ready to 'break up'. Lily nodded back, giving him a small smile before standing up in unison with him. Throwing up his hands in mocked frustration, James started.

"Lily, how could you! Sneaking behind my back with that- that DEATH EATER!" James yelled as loud as he could. Quickly, the rest of the population ceased to make any noise, as to hear the Perfect Couple's feud.

"If you had just tried a little bit harder, James... That was all I was asking for!" Lily yelled back as loud as she could. Very few people had ever heard her yell, including James. This stunned him more than anything, but he quickly recovered.

"What didn't I give you? There was nothing that could have been improved upon, Lily, NOTHING. If you'd rather have your fun with SERVERUS SNAPE, of all people, then don't let me stop you. Go ahead, Lily Evans, have your fun."

Lily forced a few tears to fall down her face as she started pacing around her chair.

"If you hadn't been so arrogant, so idiotic, so ABUSIVE to me and my feelings, then this would have never happened, James. For once, just try to take in other's feelings for account, then you might be able to have someone love you. Just STOP being an arrogant, self centered asshole and I then I'll come back. But I guess I have nothing to worry about, do I James? Because you're NEVER going to change!" With these final words, he flashed her an approving look and then both of them stormed off in different directions. She heard Sirius and Peter try to go after him, but it took her a few moments to realize there were two sets of footsteps following her.

Turning into the prefect's bathroom quickly, she slammed the painting behind her and sat underneath the mermaid, who was now awake and laughing at her teary face.

Moments later, she heard the painting creak open and two voices holding a quiet but fierce argument.

"Dammit Snape, you caused this, leave."

"No, I didn't do anything, and I need to see if she's all right, Remus."

Finally, after a minute of debate, both of the two boys came into the bathroom, both looking quiet flushed.

"How did you two get in here?" Lily didn't dare meet Remus' or Severus' eyes, in fear that she would burst out laughing.

"The Marauders are all knowing." Remus forced a smile as he sat down on one side of Lily. Severus hung back, and it wasn't until Lily invited him to sit down that he dared to make a move.

"So... Is it true?" Remus asked, his eyes glancing from Lily to Severus back to Lily.

Lily nodded meekly, giving Severus a "Don't say a word" look. She turned her attention back to Remus, whose mouth was now hanging open.

"You and... Him? Wow. This didn't have anything to do with James hitting you, did it?" Remus asked quietly.

Lily nodded, "He was the perfect boyfriend, except for that tiny fact."

Severus smirked. "The bastard lost the best thing he'll ever have in his life; he deserved it."

Remus, while silently agreeing with Severus, didn't say a word.

"Sorry... I know you two are friends."

"Were friends. Were." Remus corrected him, thinking of all the good hexes he was going to put on James whenever he saw him.

"Remus... Don't let this get in the way of your friendship. I know how important they are to you." Lily silently acknowledged the fact he was a werewolf, and the Marauders were his closest friends.

"I'm still going to give him hell for what he did to you." Remus said, gripping Lily's hand. "I promise, I'll try to... You know... next time."

Lily nodded, smiling a bit. "Thanks Remus; thanks a whole lot. I really appreciate it... But could you leave Severus and I alone for a bit? We'll be right out, I promise."

Remus glanced towards Severus, then nodded. "Fine, but if you're in here for more than 15 minutes, I'm coming in." He quickly and silently departed, closing the painting as he made his way out.

Severus leaned against the wall, his eyes closed. He finally opened them and looked at Lily.

"God, I'm so, so sorry... If I had known... I would have never..." Severus shook his head in apology.

"It's not your fault, that was only the needle that broke the camel's back. There was so much more, don't blame yourself. Besides, I'm glad it's over with. The bruises I have now will heal in a few days, and then I'll never have to experience anything like that again."

Lily surprised herself at how truthful she was sounding; how truthful she felt. Unable to tear her eyes away from Severus', she slowly drew closer and closer, until their lips were connected.

For a moment, Lily expected him to back away; once he didn't, she tried to but also couldn't. His hands, at first very unsure and unsteady, quickly became accustomed to the back of her neck, and soon her arms. Although Severus was in fact older than her by a few months, up until that moment she saw him as a child. Now, however, she saw him as her equal, not as her superior as she had seen James.

She had no idea how long their kiss lasted, but when it ended, she was breathing hard and silently begging for more.

"Lily, I..." Severus started, and then seemed to change his mind. "This is wrong."

Lily shook her head, "No, no, no. This is anything but wrong, Severus. Please, just trust me on this."

"Lily, you just broke up with James. I don't want to be the rebound guy, ok? Lily, just listen to-" Before Severus could finish his sentence, Lily's lips were upon his once more. Melting in to the kiss, he pressed up against her, not wanting to ever stop.

Minutes went by faster than time was ever intended to go. Soon afterwards, Remus was making his way back into the bathroom. He was so shocked by the scene that lay before him that his cheeks turned scarlet.

"Lily... You... Oh God, you two. Get up, get up! Lily, you just broke up with James, give yourself some time to heal before jumping all over poor Snape here." Remus chuckled at the display in front of him now, two teenagers looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Remus, he's the reason I broke up with James. I don't feel any remorse for James, none at all, so just let this happen, ok?" Lily asked, mentally pleading with Remus to let the two be.

Remus looked the two over for a minute, then nodded slowly. "Just don't do anything you'll regret later, Lil. And Severus -- You lay one hand on her where she doesn't want it, I'll kill you."

With those final comments, he left the room, silently wondering if he had made the right decision.

*

Chapter One, Part Four: Surprise...

It was nearing 2 in the morning when Lily finally heard James' footsteps outside her dormitory. She had no idea where her roommates were, and she was thankful they weren't in the room with her. She heard James slowly open the door and make his way across the room, then pulling the curtains back to expose a wide grin on his face.

"Remus told me you and Snape spent nearly an hour making out in the prefect's bathroom." James stated, sitting down next to her.

"Mmhmm." Lily mumbled, playing with a silver ring of an Ankh on her thumb.

"Good job." James leaned over and kissed her roughly. "I'm proud. On your first day and all."

"I guess." Lily shrugged. "What happens if he proposes to me or insists I... with him?"

"You tell the slimy bastard to go to hell." James said, "Why?"

Lily shrugged, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. "Just in case he does."

"Lil, if he respects you at all he won't ask you to do anything you don't want to do, and you're only 16. Trust me, the chances of him asking you to marry him are very, very slim."

She shrugged once more, "It just seems like something a lovesick boy would do."

He smirked and moved as close to her as possible. "You know, one of these days you're going to get a ring, and it'll be when you least expect it. Fate works in mysterious ways."

"It'll be from you, I'm assuming?"

"As long as I don't die between now and then, of course."

Lily forced a smile, "Good, because I wouldn't accept one from anyone else."

As the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and finally almost six months after Severus had asked Lily out for the first time, Lily's sister, Petunia, got married. Torn between whom to ask to go with her, Lily finally decided on Severus. After multiple bruises and a cut lip, James agreed it was for the best, to keep up appearances. Set for July 3rd, Lily arranged to meet with Severus the weekend before at her place.

"Mum, Dad! Severus is here!" Lily yelled up the stairs as she opened the door. Standing there in perfectly placed Muggle clothing and a duffel bag was Severus. His straggly hair was combed back into a tight ponytail at the base of his neck. He was wearing a button down black shirt and a pair of jeans with normal tennis shoes. He smiled almost shyly at Lily as she opened the door, setting down his bag and wrapping his arms around her. Lily looked into his eyes for a moment and saw something she had never seen there before; within those black eyes was a flicker of light and a sense of warmth. Startled at this change of attitude, Lily grinned broadly and kissed him.

"Lily, why don't you introduce us to Severus here?" Lily's Mum smiled politely, waiting at the foot of the stairs for Lily's father.

"Mum, this is Severus Snape, my boyfriend. Severus, this is my Mum. My Dad should be down here shortly... DAD!" Lily yelled.

When Lily introduced him as her boyfriend, a huge grin appeared on Severus' face. She had never called him that before to anyone except himself. The grin was quickly replaced with a look of fear as Lily's father came rumbling down the stairs. If he hadn't known Lily was Muggle born, he would have sworn her father was a half-giant. Standing at least six and a half feet tall and at least three feet wide with deep auburn hair, was Mr. Evans. The moment he saw Severus, his face broke out into a wide grin and he extended his right arm.

"Severus! How good it is to finally meet you! The name's Robert Evans, I'm Lily's father."

Severus took his hand with a sudden feeling of warmth for this man. They shook hands for a moment, then Mr. Evans let go and gave his daughter a stern look.

"I'll have none of that boy-girl nonsense going on under my roof as long as I'm in the house, you know the rules Lil. As for you," he turned towards Severus once more, "Just make sure she's happy at all times, and then I'll hope to see you as part of this family one day."

Lily turned scarlet at looked down at the floor, "Dad! I'm only 16."

"Yes, and you're graduating next year. Any fellow is better then that James Potter, but I like this one especially." Mr. Evans winked at Severus, then took his wife's hand and guided her upstairs. Lily slowly turned towards Severus, an apologetic look on her face

"Sorry about that... Dad gets a bit over excited sometimes." Lily shrugged, and then picked up his duffel. "I'll show you your room."

Severus followed her up two sets of stairs toward into a hallway that had 8 doors, four on each side. Lily pointed to them as they went along.

"This one's a bathroom, those three are guestrooms. This one leads up to the attic, this one's my room, and the one next to it is yours." She stopped at the last one on the right and turned the handle. The door opened up to a huge green room trimmed with white with a four poster bed in the middle and a desk, dresser, and walk in closet on the wall opposite a huge window that led out on to a balcony.

"Second best guestroom in the house... My great-great-great-grandfather is currently occupying the best, sorry about that."

"Are you kidding me? This room's perfect!" Severus exclaimed, his eyes wide. He quickly recovered and took his bag from Lily as realization set in.

"Hold on... Was there three greats in that sentence?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"Yes..." Lily drawled, walking over to the wall with the walk in closet. "If you go through here, there's a door on the other side that leads to my closet, which leads into my room." Lily opened both sets of doors to show him, "In case you get lonely."

Severus nodded, "That's an interesting feature... Does your Mum and Dad know about that?"

Lily shook her head, "Nope."

"Convenient." Severus smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "Am I going to meet this great-great-great grandfather of yours?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "You wanna meet him right now?"

"Yes. I want to see a Muggle that old." Severus stated, releasing Lily and then following her out the room and down the hall to the first door on the right. Lily knocked three times on it, and a muffled voice instructed her to come in.

Lily cracked open the door and stuck her head in, carefully shielding Severus from view. "Hi Papa, he's here."

"Bring him in, bring him in." Severus heard, and Lily opened the door all the way, revealing her 130 year old great-great-great-grandfather.

Severus' expression immediately changed from curiosity to shock as Lily brought him into the room.

"Hello Severus, it's very nice to see you again."

Severus quickly masked his surprise, then answered.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore, it's great to see you again too."

*

Chapter One, Part Five: Sleep To Dream

Severus never asked Lily why she had kept her family history a secret, of which she was grateful for. In fear of being teased or accused of only being a prefect because of her relation to the Headmaster, she had never said a word about it. Her great-great-grandfather, Professor Dumbledore's son, had married a Muggle and had a daughter who ended up having no magical powers. Lily was the first witch in her family since her great-great-grandfather, which was why her parents were so proud when Lily got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

Later that night, as Lily was climbing into her own navy and silver bed, she heard a knock from the inside of her closet. She got up and opened the door, grinning when she saw a very sheepish looking Severus.

"Sorry," he shrugged. "I missed you."

Lily smiled and guided him into her room. "You saw me a half an hour ago, how could you already miss me?"

He smiled back and kissed her, "I guess you're just too missable to be away from for more than twenty minutes."

Lily kissed him back quickly and went to lock her door. "You know, Mum and Dad left Papa in charge while they went over to Vernon's for the night."

"And what exactly are you suggesting, Miss Evans?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Daddy said you had to make me happy." Lily kissed him once more, "And do you know what would make me happier than I've ever been?"

"No, I don't know... what would make you happier than you've ever been?"

"Lily took his hand and brought him over to her king-sized bed. She sat him down on the edge and slowly climbed into his lap, then kissed him as gently as she could.

"You."

The next morning, Lily awoke to feel another body against hers. For a fleeting moment, she thought it was James. It took her mind a minute to realize it was Severus, not James, lying next to her.

She opened her eyes to see if he was still sleeping and was momentarily blinded by the light coming from her window.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Severus greeted her.

"Good morning... what time is it?" Lily asked before stretching for a minute.

"A little before nine." He answered after checking his watch.

"We have a full hour before anyone else is going to be up." Lily mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

"Do you want to go back to sleep then?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, "I actually... wanted to tell you something."

"Yes?"

"You have to promise to listen to everything I say though. If you only listen to the beginning, you'll miss the whole point, ok?"

"I promise."

"Don't freak either, just listen to it all."

"Ok..." Severus answered slowly.

Lily took a deep breath, then started. "The night when you first talked to me in the prefects' bathroom, James found out. But instead of blowing up like I expected him to, he came up with this... plan, I guess you could call it. I didn't want to go along with it, but he gave me no choice. He told me the next day he'd stage a break up with me. He knew you liked me, but what he didn't realize is that I liked you back equally as much. He told me that I had to make you love me, that I had to make you love me so much that when James told me to break up with you, you're try to kill yourself." Lily paused as she felt Severus tense up.

"I swear, I was so happy when him and I broke up, even though it wasn't real. You're ten times the man -- the boyfriend -- he ever was and ever could be. When Remus followed you into the bathroom, I wanted to kick him out so badly, and when we kissed.. God, it was like I was finally free. I fell in love with you in a matter of days, but I knew James would kill either you or me if I ever told him I wanted to really break up with him... Especially to be with you."

Lily smiled slightly as she felt Severus relax and pull her into a hug.

"One of the conditions was that I couldn't ever, no matter how much I wanted to or how much you begged, sleep with you. I was supposed to drop you right then and there, but here we are... I'm so, so, sorry about not telling you from the beginning, but I was terrified you'd never want to see me again unless I proved to you I really do love you." Lily sighed, "Feel free to yell at me now."

Severus pulled her even closer to him, then kissed her forehead. "Lily, I could never be mad at you... Even if you deserved it, which this time you don't. James is a total asshole, and if he ever tries to touch you again, I want you to yell at him hard, so that he'll be too surprised to hit you... Then I want you to come either directly to me or your Papa, and I know he and I will make sure James never touches you again, ok?"

Lily smirked, "Me? Stand up to James? I'll try... But you know how hard I'm gonna get hit if I don't surprise him enough, right?"

"If he hits you, I'll hit him ten times harder and make sure he gets expelled."

"You promise?"

"I promise."