On A Rainy Day

By Serena

A/N: This story has been brewing in my head for a while, especially after seeing the last movie twice.

Summary: For the third time that week, Lily Evans missed the bus. SS/LE. VERY AU. Just warning you. VERY. Oneshot.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

NOTE: My YA sci-fi mermaid novel OCEAN OF EMPTINESS is available on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple iBookstore. Please see my profile for direct links to these sites.

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Here's a short summary of OCEAN:

What do you get when you cross a runaway rich kid, a space mermaid, and a stuck-up teen commander with a bunch of pirates in space? ABSOLUTE CHAOS. Throw in a little hint of romance, a few starship battles, and a lot of yelling, and you've got yourself an intergalactic tale. Think Star Wars meets Little Mermaid meets Treasure Planet.

Also, if you'd like to be a fan of me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, links are on my profile as well, as well as a link to my Deviantart page.

For the third time that week, Lily Evans missed the bus. Her deep red curls flying behind her, she raced through the pouring rain in downtown London, brushing past the pedestrians, annoying tourists, and the vendors calling out for her to buy their things. She ignored them all, holding onto her hat with one hand, and rushed to get to work on time.

As she took the steps two at a time, several men called out her name in a hello. She threw them quick smiles and finally entered the police station where she worked. When she finally reached her desk, she tore off her coat and hat and dropped into her chair with a heavy sigh.

"How's the rain, Evans?" one of her coworkers Billy Thornton asked, leering down at her drenched form.

"Rainy," she retorted sharply, rolling her chair closer to her desk.

"I can see that," Thornton said, his eyes roving over her.

"I'm sure you can, you bloated pervert," she said sweetly. "Excuse me, I've got work to do."

"Aw, come on, Evans. Let's have a drink tonight." His yellowed, crooked teeth shined in the fluorescent lights of the police station.

"Sod off." Her tone was sweeter than a raspberry pie.

"Thornton!" snapped Lily's boss, glaring darkly at Thornton. "If you don't have anything better to do than harass Evans, go dump your head in a toilet somewhere. But if you'd rather get paid this week, I suggest you get to work on this case."

Thornton shot Lily a glum look and meandered off into the bustling station. Lily's boss, Chief Inspector Murray, came forward with his hands in his pockets and a large cigar in his mouth, and stared down through rimless spectacles at Lily.

"Morning, sir," greeted Lily.

"Morning, Sergeant. You look like a drowned red rat."

"Thank you, sir."

"I mean that as a compliment. You up for another walk? There's a report downtown near some place called..." He checked his file. "The Leaky Cauldron."

"Sounds charming."

"I'm sure. You ready to brave the rain again?"

"Not at all, sir."

"Good. Get out there."

With a short sigh, Lily heaved her coat and hat back on, hurrying out of the station for some strange place called the Leaky Cauldron.

Twenty minutes later, even more drenched than usual, Lily Evans could not gain access to the Leaky Cauldron. The sign said it was closed, and no one was there. She had no witnesses, no one around, no nothing. Just completely soaked and frustrated beyond belief.

But she hadn't come all this way for nothing, damn it. Gritting her teeth, she sneaked around to the back alley behind the pub and tried to get in through the back door. Locked.

"But of course," she muttered.

Then, she heard the shouting coming somewhere from behind her. There was a fence and a trashcan, but she couldn't see over the fence. Frowning, she stepped closer and tried to peek in. Without warning, she fell forward and stumbled through the fence. Blinking in shock, she stared at a dark alley. The storm clouds billowed above her, whipping the cold wind and rain into her face. Directly ahead, she saw two men standing some yards apart. There were flashes of green and red light. It looked as though... as though the men were pointing... wands at each other!

"What the hell," gasped Lily.

Both men were tall and darkly clothed. Then, finally, the taller of the two, dressed in billowing black robes, sent out a bright spark of light, coming out of his wand, as he shouted "Sectumsempra!"

The other man flew back towards her and collapsed on the ground, bleeding. Lily stared down at him in horror. Then, she looked up as the man drew forward out of the shadows.

The man, suddenly noticing her presence, halted. His lips parted in shock, his eyes, coal black, burned into her, shadowed from his sheets of raven hair.

Eyes wide, she whirled around and fled back through the fence.

That night, Lily sat her in apartment, musing. She knew what she'd seen, but no one sane would believe her. How on earth would she explain that to anyone sane? Of course, her whole life, strange things had happened to her, starting from her childhood, but she merely dismissed them as random occurrences. Or, she had, to begin with.

But who would believe that she could move things without touching them and make flowers grow just by looking at them? It wasn't normal.

She sat in front of the TV, chewing on her fingernails, when she heard a knock at the door. An ill feeling crept into her stomach, but she turned off the TV and headed to the door. After a short moment, the stranger knocked again - rather, banged on the door. Lily threw it open and stared into the burning coal black eyes of the man from before.

The man glared down at her, then said in the richest, most incredible voice she'd ever heard in her life, "We need to talk."

Lily slammed the door on his face.

A week later, the stranger knocked again on Lily's door. She'd been expecting him to call and stubbornly refused to answer the door.

The man banged hard on the door. "Open this door, you bloody woman," he thundered, his voice sending delicious shivers up her spine. "Before I hex it to pieces."

"Bite me," sang Lily defiantly.

"My pleasure," growled the stranger. Lily waited, gun in hand, for the door to be smashed down. However, after a moment, nothing happened.

"I'm wai-ting," she called out gloatingly.

"Reducto!" snapped the stranger. "Sectumsempra! Alohomora!" From the crack in the door Lily saw streaks of light. But nothing happened. "Damn it!" the stranger cursed. "Why isn't this bloody door opening? What the devil have you done, woman?" he shouted at her. "Why aren't my spells working?"

Spells? Lily decided to play along, calling out, "Maybe you forgot your lucky wand, you big-nosed bastard."

"OPEN THE DOOR!" he roared, slamming his body against it. It creaked precariously but didn't open. "I just need to talk with you, you stubborn wench!"

"Sure doesn't sound like that!"

"Will you just let me in? I swear I won't hurt you, even if I feel like hexing your bloody arse off at the moment."

"Oh, that's reassuring."

The man sighed from behind the door. "Open the door."

"Ah, but you didn't say the magic word," goaded Lily.

She heard him curse again, then, "Fine. Will you please open the door?" Every word sounded like he was throwing a knife at her.

Lily knew she should not open the door. She knew she should call for backup. She knew this was absurd - that she had not walked through a fence and seen two men fighting with wands and chanting spells. This was all absurd. She may have been only twenty-one and the youngest sergeant on the force, but this was ridiculous.

And yet...

Lily sighed through her nose, stomped up to the door, and yanked it open.

"What do you want?" she snarled.

"May I enter the premises?" the man asked stiffly.

"Drop the wand," ordered Lily.

"No."

"Then no."

The man's eyes narrowed. "I am not leaving my wand out here for other muggles to see it. I will put it away, however." He slipped it into his trouser pocket and held up his hands. "There. Now may I enter?"

Lily glared at him. "Fine."

He swept in, brushing past her without another word. Once inside, he whirled around, fingers notched together, and carefully eyed her flat. Those sharp dark eyes of his caught sight of the pan in the sink, with the water running - and the brush that was washing the pan without anyone standing there.

Then, he turned and fixed her with a sharp stare.

"Your name?" he demanded.

"You first."

"Severus Snape," he said shortly. "Auror of the Ministry of Magic, specializing in the Dark Arts and Muggle encounters. Who are you?"

"Lily Evans," she replied. "Sergeant of the London Police... specializing in dealing with self-righteous pricks and criminal encounters."

He frowned. "You're a bit young to be a Sergeant."

"I'm very good at what I do. Better than you are at your job, it seems. Now what the hell is going on?"

"How is it that you've managed to avoid not only the trace of the Ministry, but also every other magical being in England, Miss Evans?" Snape demanded, storming up to her.

"Sergeant Evans, thank you. And don't take that tone with me," she warned.

"You have achieved spells of a level that is impossible by someone untaught," Snape thundered. "Who was your teacher?"

"Mrs. Hibbins in the sixth grade. She had four dogs and two canaries. One of the dogs peed on me once."

"Do not mock me," he said coldly, standing over her at least a head taller than she was. But she refused to back down.

"Fine!" she snapped, and shoved him back. "What do you want me to say? I have no idea what you're talking about. One minute I'm at this dump called the Leaky Cauldron, and the next I'm running through a fence and seeing two guys fighting with wands and chanting spells. The next minute you're here - and I don't know how you found me in the first place - and you're talking about the Ministry of Magic, Dark Arts, and Muffles."

"Muggles," he repeated. After a moment of silence, he pointed to the sink. "How are you doing that, Sergeant Evans?"

Lily glanced over, startled, to the sink. "Um... I don't know."

Severus Snape moved over to the small kitchen and gazed down at the self-washing pan.

"And I suppose you do know?" Lily challenged, folding her arms over her chest.

"Indeed," said Snape silkily.

Lily scowled. "Do tell."

"Because," said Severus bluntly, turning to face her, "you're a witch."

He didn't expect the mean right hook in his face. Stumbling back, he cursed and held his nose. "Merlin's beard, woman!" he growled, as blood gushed from his nose. "You are more violent than a Blast-Ended-Skrewt!"

That earned him another punch.

"You don't even know what that is, do you?" shouted Snape, doubling over in pain.

"No. But it doesn't sound like a compliment," said Lily stiffly.

"Agh," grunted Snape, collapsing in a nearby chair. "Bloody hell, woman. You're lucky I don't stupefy you right now."

Lily's green eyes narrowed. "You want another punch?" she said dangerously, curling her fingers into a fist.

Snape's eyes widened and darted down to her hand. "Let me... agh... explain."

Lily glared at him. "Please do."

Two weeks later, Lily Evans learned that she was a witch. An actual witch. It explained why she was so good at her job. But it wasn't like the stories she'd always read or seen on TV or in movies - it was different. More like mutants from the comic books she'd read as a child (and still did, from time to time). Wizards and witches had their own world - they were just people, but with special powers. There were good wizards and bad wizards.

And Severus Snape, it appeared, was one of the good wizards. He was an Auror of the Ministry of Magic, a wizard who hunted down the bad wizards.

As it turned out, he was also a downright prat. Still, Lily found herself liking him despite his prickly demeanor. For one, he didn't leer at her. He hadn't asked her on a date, or for a drink. He hadn't asked to sleep with her, thank goodness.

He'd treated her with respect, and Lily liked that more than anything.

Such, however, was not the case when Snape took her to the Minstry of Magic to find out why, exactly, she hadn't been registered as a witch - and the magical trace never applied to her. The Ministry of Magic was a busy, hectic place with witches and wizards from all over England coming in and out, spells being cast, and cameras snapping pictures.

Lily followed Severus through the halls of the Ministry, awed by the grand scale of everything, and was amused to note how everyone scurried out of the dark auror's way.

When they entered the elevator, Severus murmured, "Hold on," and the elevator jetted sideways. Lily crashed into Severus, who held her for a moment before pulling back and looking away. Lily knew she was blushing.

The elevator opened, and in stepped an older, grizzled man with a strange false eye that moved in all directions, and a thick wooden staff. The man stared at her for a moment, then nodded to Snape.

"Severus," he greeted with a grumble.

"Alastor," returned Severus shortly.

"Is this the little redhead I've been hearing about?" Alastor demanded.

"Indeed."

"Hm. Needs a little more meat on her bones. Pretty girl, though. What's your name, missy?"

"None of your business, you old coot," snapped Lily, quite irritated at the older man's words.

Severus had to hold back a laugh. "If you'll excuse us, Moody, this is our stop." He took Lily by the arm and swept past Moody for the Minister's office. When they were walking swiftly down the hall, Severus hissed to Lily, "I hope you realize you just insulted one of the greatest aurors of all time."

"I don't care. I don't think you do, either," she said, shooting him a sideways look.

Snape didn't respond.

When they finally reached the Minister's office, they were greeted by a middle-aged woman clad all in pink, right down to her fur collar and small hat. When she saw them enter, she smiled sweetly and rose to her feet.

"Can I help you, Auror Snape?"

"No. I'm here to see Fudge," answered Snape shortly. "Kindly step aside, Umbridge."

"Now, now, Severus," giggled Umbridge, "I don't think I can just let you do that. Not unless you have an appointment."

"We do," said Severus. "Now please step aside. This is urgent."

Umbridge cast a dark look to Lily, who raised an eyebrow. "I see," Umbridge said, the bubbly tone leaving her voice.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heaven's sake," she said, and pushed past Umbridge, strolling right into Fudge's office. Fighting back another grin, Snape hurried past a spluttering Umbridge and shut the door behind both of them.

As it turned out, Lily's magical talent had been kept from the Ministry due to a mix-up in the chaos of the war of the last few decades, and she had never been discovered. The trace had never been activated on her, and despite her extreme ability, no wizard had ever discovered her until Severus.

For Severus, he was brimming with the hope that Lily Evans was the next Muggleborn prodigy of magic. Very few Muggleborns had the skill Lily possessed without some form of training; and as she had none, the possibilities were endless.

He also, however, did not like the way Fudge was looking at her, the dirty old man.

"Quite remarkable, truly," Fudge said to Lily. "You are a wonder, my dear."

"Thank you," said Lily politely, although she was on edge.

"So, my dear," said Fudge, smiling at her toothily, "if you'd like to get a drink, we could discuss it further..." He was coming around his desk towards her.

Needless to say, there was more than little buzz about how the Minister of Magic himself was knocked halfway across his office by an unknown, red-headed little spitfire.

Severus was reading in his study when the door flew open, and in swaggered the famous Quidditch player James Potter: chaser extraordinaire, womanizer, Marauder, and best friend of Severus Snape and Sirius Black at once, which was an astounding achievement itself.

"Hey, mate," greeted James, throwing his Chudley Cannons cloak on a chair. "Got anything to drink?"

Severus motioned to the bottle of brandy on the corner table. Once James poured himself a glass, he seated himself in a large, comfortable chair across from Severus and propped his feet up on an ottoman. Fixing his old friend with a grin, James took a sip of his drink.

"So? You going to tell me about her?"

"About whom?" Severus didn't even look at him.

"Don't play dumb, you slimy bloke," James laughed. "You know bloody well who. The gorgeous little redhead who decked Fudge down at the Ministry today. Everyone's been talking about it. Skeeter couldn't get enough of the story. Arthur Weasley couldn't stop laughing. So?"

Severus raised an eyebrow, still not looking at him. "And you're asking me because..."

"You know bloody well why! I know you were the one with her, Sev," James said, grinning wickedly. "You took her to see Fudge. And from what I hear, you've been spending loads of time with her before this. So? What's this all about?"

Snape turned another page. "A simple mistake," he said. "The Ministry failed to pick up on her abilities. Rather remarkable, I might add. She's had no training whatsoever and is already quite exceptional at shield charms and wandless magic."

James whistled. "So, gorgeous and talented to boot. A regular mystery woman. You going out with her?"

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Severus. "I'm merely trying to teach her what she should have been learning ten years ago."

"So you're not seeing her."

Severus now looked up and glared at him. "I wouldn't," he warned.

"Let me have a crack at 'er," James said with a grin.

"Not going to work with this one, Jim."

"Oh, please. I'm James Potter. I can do anything. Not only did I manage to become Head Boy, but I'm the only Gryffindor who has a Slytherin bloke for a friend." He slapped Severus on the back. "I'm just that lovable."

"Very amusing, Potter. Or have you forgotten the fact that your little Gryffindor friends hate my slimy guts?" snapped Severus.

"Eh, Sirius is just stubborn. Gets it from his mum, but you didn't hear that from me," James hastily added. "And you and Remus get along, so I don't see why you're still playing the sulky card."

"I do not sulk," replied Severus stiffly. "I brood."

The next evening, Lily was making dinner for both her and Severus, when she heard a knock at the door. She was about to tell Severus that it was open when she realized that he did not knock like that. Frowning, she went to the door and opened it.

Standing in front of her was a young man around Snape's age with messy black hair, hazel eyes, and rimmed glasses. He wore a white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar and rolled up sleeves, and black trousers, and a grey coat. He smiled charmingly and conjured up a lily out of his palm.

"Hello," he said, "I'm James Potter. A wizard and professional quidditch player for the Chudley Cannons." He held up the lily to her. "And may I say what a great pleasure it is to meet the most famous girl in the Ministry." He grinned leeringly. "Turns out I'm just as famous. Grab your coat, love, and let's get some dinner, shall we?"

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Piss off, you arrogant toe-rag," she snapped, and slammed the door in his face.

"Ow," moaned James, still nursing a bleeding nose an hour later. "What's her bloody problem?"

Severus turned another page of his book and raised an eyebrow. "You, apparently."

"Ha bloody ha," grumbled James. "Can't have a little sympathy for your mate?"

"Not particularly, no. I'm having far too much fun watching your ego getting crushed to tiny bits by a fiery little slip of a girl."

James gingerly touched his nose and threw the rag at Severus, who muttered a spell. The rag went up in flames.

"The girl's crazy," James muttered. "Forget her." He slumped down in a chair.

"You won't," said Severus.

"No, I won't," conceded James with a shrug. "She's brilliant, Sev."

Severus stared into the flames. "I know," he murmured.

Severus got the surprise of his life when one evening, he opened the door and found Lily Evans standing in his doorway. "Lily!" he exclaimed. "What on earth... How did you find out where I lived?"

Lily held up a phonebook. "Voila."

Severus shot her a dirty look. He'd forgotten that he also kept a telephone, just in case. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. "I didn't realize you'd be coming. Come in, then." He stepped aside to let her enter.

"Ey! Who's that?" James came out from the kitchen and stopped when he saw Lily. Lily, on the other hand, gaped at him, then shot an incredulous look at Severus.

"What the devil is he doing here?" Lily shouted.

"What the devil are you doing here?" James retorted sulkily.

Severus sighed again. "Lily Evans - James Potter. I realize you two have already met..."

"I wish I hadn't," sneered Lily. "Sev, what's he doing here?"

Severus swallowed at her using his nickname. "He's my friend. We were schoolmates." Merlin's beard, but she did look beautiful in that Fair Isle cardigan and short denim skirt. Her lean legs were covered by deep emerald tights, knee-high woolen socks, and brown suede boots. Her lusciously thick red hair was adorned with an orange scarf.

"I find it very hard to believe that you're friends with him," Lily said, pointing angrily to James.

"Me?" demanded James. "I just asked you out to dinner, and you slam the door on my nose!"

"You didn't ask, you ordered. I don't like being ordered, Potter," thundered Lily.

"Fine, then I'll ask next time," James said.

"There's no next time. Get it through your thick head - I'm not going out with you! Not now, not ever!"

Severus knew James wouldn't give up. He never did, especially with women who didn't immediately throw themselves at him. But he didn't see Lily going for someone as arrogant and womanizing as James. At least... he hoped not.

"Can you two at least try to be decent?" Severus demanded, growing irritated with their childish bickering. "Jim, Lily is my student, and Lily, Jim is my oldest friend. I suggest we all try to get along. Or you two can both leave."

"He doesn't look like a Jim," muttered Lily.

"Only Severus and his family can call me that," sneered James. "Everyone else calls me James. Jim is not a normal wizarding name."

"Well, neither is arrogant toe-rag, but that suits you just fine," Lily said archly, taking a seat on the couch.

Severus snorted. Taking a seat in his normal chair, he leaned back and studied Lily. "James and I grew up together," he told her. "My mum is a wizard, but my dad's a muggle - a person with no magical abilities. James and I - we're like brothers."

"We are brothers," James said. "Mum practically adopted Sev. My parents had me later in life, so I didn't get any siblings."

"Poor baby," muttered Lily.

James promptly threw a cushion at her.

Months passed.

Lily, Severus and James soon found themselves spending the majority of their free time together. They would meet for coffee in some muggle places, for butterbeer in the Leaky Cauldron, and play cards and watch muggle films in Lily's flat. All in all, a strangely comfortable friendship had developed among the three.

James would egg on Lily, continue to try to get her to go out with him. Severus would brood, and Lily would continue to refuse James while pester Severus with questions about the wizarding world, which Severus was more than willing to answer.

He and Lily would spend hours pouring over potions books, over charms and spells, and over everything Lily had missed growing up Muggle. She was particularly enamored of wandlore, dragons, and potions, which was the subject that she and Severus would spend most of their time discussing and practicing.

"You're no bloody use at all, woman," Severus muttered one afternoon as Lily poured a little too much dragon blood into the cauldron.

"You're a greasy git," grumbled Lily in return, nudging him in the side.

"Oof," Severus grunted, rubbing his side. "Whenever I'm around you, I always seem to be getting injured..."

"It's your own fault."

"For someone so completely stunning as you are, Evans, you're a vicious little thing." The words just popped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Lily stared up at him, startled. He paled, opened his mouth to say something. But then, she grinned and breathed, "You're not so bad yourself, hot stuff."

Severus couldn't help it - he grinned back.

For the first time, Severus Snape was falling in love with Lily Evans. What he didn't know was that Lily was also falling in love with him.

What both of them didn't know was that James Potter knew they were both in love with each other, and because of this, was a little sad, and a little pleased that his old friend had finally found someone to put with him. The slimy git.

Five months after Lily and Severus had first met, the three friends were sitting in the dingy hall of the Leaky Cauldron, drinking butterbeer on another rainy day. The pub was quiet, with only a dull murmur of the few customers present. Snape was quiet, listening to Lily and James argue about James' new film obsession - James Bond.

"I'm telling you, Lil, I'm just like him," said James. "We're both superstars. We're both heroes. We're both incredibly handsome, popular with the ladies..."

"Oh, James," sighed Lily dramatically, batting her eyelashes at him. When James and Severus both stared at her, she laughed and kicked James. "I'm joking, you idiot. Good grief, you're so full of yourself..."

"I'm allowed to be full of myself," James said matter-of-factly. "I'm above the common man."

Lily scoffed. "In your dreams, Potter."

"No, in yours," James said with a devilish grin. Lily shoved his head back and looked away to the window, watching as the rain pattered down.

"I'm leaving," announced Severus dully, staring off into the distance.

"You're paying," muttered Lily, idly stirring her butterbeer with one finger.

"No, I mean leaving England," said Severus. "I'm going to Japan."

Both James and Lily looked at him now, startled.

"Japan?" demanded James.

"Why on earth?" squawked Lily.

"There's a dueling master there," Severus explained. "An expert in the use of double-wand dueling. We don't have anyone remotely like that here, and he's invited me to become a student."

"What, like a ninja wizard?" said Lily, excited.

Severus shrugged. "I suppose."

"What's a ninja?" James asked blankly.

"Something ten times cooler than you are," Lily said.

James glared at her. "Thanks."

"I'm so comforted by your despair at my departure," said Severus sullenly.

"Come off it, Sev," Lily snapped. "Of course we're upset. I don't get why you're being such an idiot and leaving us to go all the way around the world. What if I never see you again?"

"Come visit." Severus's eyes were dark and suddenly hungry as he gazed on her. James didn't fail to notice his expression.

"It's expensive," she shot back.

"Apparate."

"I don't like apparating."

"Fly on a broom."

"Still too far."

"Use the floo network."

"Don't go," she returned.

Severus opened his mouth, but closed it and took another swig of his butterbeer. "I need something stronger," he muttered.

"Japan's pretty far, mate," James agreed. "Don't get me wrong - if it's something you want to do, then by all means, get the bloody heck out of here - but it's a long way."

"Do you even speak Japanese?" demanded Lily.

"Yes," replied Severus, watching her reaction carefully.

Lily glared at him for a long moment. Then, she jumped to her feet, shoved the mug away, and stormed out of the pub, both men staring after her.

"Mate," said James, "for someone as brilliant as you are... you're a real idiot, you know that?"

"Yes," mumbled Severus. "I do."

The thunder was rolling, and the rain was still pouring down in sheets when Lily heard a pounding on her door. A familiar pounding, one that she knew very well.

"Go away!" she yelled.

"Open the door, Lily," ordered Severus.

"I said I don't like being ordered around."

"I don't care," roared Severus. "Open the damn door, Lily. If you don't, I'll -"

"You'll what?" shrieked Lily. "Hex the door down? Right, 'cause that worked so well for you the first bloody time, didn't it?"

Severus pounded on the door again. "Open the door, Lily, or I'll have to announce to the whole bloody world that I'm in love with you!"

Lily stared at the door. Then, she jumped off her couch and scrambled to open the door. She threw it open and saw Severus standing there, drenched, looking just as shocked as she that he'd just said that.

"What did you say?" Lily whispered.

"I..." Severus trailed off.

"Oh, not here," muttered Lily, and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. When she turned to face him, he still looked as though he were in shock. "What did you just say, Severus Snape?" she demanded.

"I... I'm in love with you," he admitted. "I hadn't really planned on telling you this..."

"Why not?"

He started to say something, then scowled and demanded, "What about James?"

"What about him?" said Lily.

"I thought... Well," said Severus, "I thought that you fancied him."

"Sev, I call him an arrogant toe-rag every time I see him. Granted, it's more of an endearment now than anything else, but still..."

"Ah, see? Endearment," said Severus sullenly. "I knew it."

"Endearment as a friend," said Lily, irritated. "Don't get me wrong, he's a gorgeous bloke, and a good one at that, I'll admit. But he's not you, Severus. Why can't you see that I'm completely in love with you?"

Severus gaped at her. "You... ah... what?" he stammered, growing red.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Sev." And she grabbed him by the lapels and kissed him soundly. When they finally pulled away, she breathed, "Don't go to Japan, Sev. Please."

Severus took her in his arms, his eyes glittering down at her. "I already said no. It turns out that the master is coming here. Apparently he likes the rain."

Lily smiled. "Good. So do I. Reminds me of when I first met you."

Severus leaned down and hungrily kissed her again.

THE END

Yeah, so I'm probably going to get a lot of people saying "What the heck? James and Severus friends? Lily's a muggle police officer? JAMES AND SNAPE ARE FRIENDS?"

But yes.

- Serena