AN: What's up guys/girls. So sorry about the dorky name, but I legit suck at coming up with titles sooo…. Currently I'm just writing this to relieve stress, so we may or may not go far with this storyline. Only time will tell. I am obviously not JK Rowling or Warner Brothers and I have no official affiliation with the Harry Potter franchise, so please nobody sue me! If you enjoy this story, let me know in the reviews. If you don't enjoy the story, I guess you can let me know that as well. But I hope you like it!

It was late in the evening as Lily Evans poured over her transfiguration homework. Her parents attempt to spend every possible moment as a family during the summer holiday made certain that she was much further behind on her assignments than she would have liked. It was the last few weeks of August and another year at Hogwarts was racing towards her. Her mind turned to the soaring towers and beautiful grounds of the school. She thought about the Great Hall and the Owlry, the Giant Squid and Hogsmeade. The more she thought about the castle the more she missed it. As much as she enjoyed spending time with her family, she could not wait to be back at the beloved castle.

A slight noise made her look up. Probably just Tuney getting home late after another excursion with her new boyfriend, she thought to herself. At the thought of her sister she involuntarily cringed. Petunia had spent as little time as possible with Lily this summer. The same as every other holiday since lily had discovered she was a witch. She had been able to claim that work or friends interfered with the family events her parents had planned, but Lily new the truth. She and Petunia had been at odds ever since Lily received her Hogwarts letter. Their parents tried their best to make peace between the two girls, but it was hopeless. Lily tried her best with Petunia but her sister remained distant.

Lily shook her head to dispel these unpleasant thoughts. She glanced over at the clock and realized with a start that it was close to one in the morning. She groaned as she thought about the prospect of an early morning tomorrow. It was then that she heard the small clinking noise again. But this time she knew it couldn't have come from Petunia. It was too close for that. She looked around her room attempting to identify where the sound had come from. After a moment or two she figured she must have been imagining it. But as she shrugged and turned back to her homework she heard it again. She got up and walked around the room now slightly on edge. Not that she was scared of the dark or anything she reminded herself. Then she saw something small hit the window and heard the noise again. She slowly moved over to the window and looked down. On the lawn below she saw a familiar shadow lurking.

She raised the window and hissed, "you scared the devil out of me! What the hell are you doing?"

"Can I come up?" The shadow called to her.

She nodded and moved back over to her desk waiting for the fool to make his way into her room. As she moved back to her desk she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her big t-shirt and loose pajama pants coupled with her untidy pulled back hair gave her the look of, what her sister would have called, a complete mess. But she didn't care, not with him. She heard a slight scuffle as the dark haired boy moved through the window. She listened carefully to the peaceful house, just to be certain no one in the house had heard the young boy climbing up the side of her house. As usual, there wasn't the slightest stirring, they were old hats at this by now.

"You scared the crap out of me you know." She said her back turned as she screwed the cap back on her ink bottle.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." He responded quietly. She heard her bed springs squeak as he sat down. She turned around and immediately knew something was wrong. Though his dark hair was obscuring part of his face, his body language told her all she needed to know.

"Sev what's happened?" She asked hearing the concern in her voice.

"Nothing," he replied but he didn't look up at her, "I just fancied a chat that's all."

He was wearing a rather patched pair of jeans that showed far too much of his ankles and a faded old band t-shirt her parents had given him years ago. He also had on that stupid old coat which finally fit him. Lily walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sev," She said softly. He finally met her eyes and she saw a large bruise on his cheek that started at his eye and ran down to his cheekbone. She let out a small "oh" but kept her calm. Sev didn't need her anger on top of his. "What happened this time?" She asked.

He didn't speak for a moment but finally broke his silence sighing. "Apparently my form of sardonic humor isn't appropriate in his household." He shook as he said it.

Lily sat down beside her best friend and grabbed his hand. "Were they fighting again?" She asked simply.

He nodded. "He was going on about how we don't appreciate him enough and how I don't appreciate how lucky I am to not have to actually work at anything.' One flick of a wand and everything's done for you,'" he said the last in a deep mocking voice. He let out a breath and continued, "So I told him that I found it strange for him to be complaining about work when he hardly did anything himself anyway."

"Oh Sev you didn't," Lily replied then after a moment she added, "I'm guessing that he took that well?"

He laughed bitterly, "oh you can imagine." He didn't tell her anything more but she could imagine what happened. This wasn't the first time he had come to her with such bruises. Even now she could see more dark bruises around his neck and wrists that looked a lot like the fingers of a massive hand.

She put her arm around his shoulder as Severus rested his head against hers. They sat there quietly for several moments. He was angry, but it was the undertone of self-loathing that upset her. He always let his father get to him even though he knew he shouldn't. A part of him was still seeking approval and acceptance from the man. Something that they both knew was not likely to ever happen. But there was also a part of him that still believed it was his own fault when his father got angry and hit him.

"I threatened him with my wand," Severus said quietly.

"You what?" Lily asked a little more loudly than she meant to. Lifting her head, she pushed his shoulders around so that he faced her.

At first he didn't meet her gaze, but when he did she could see the coldness in his stare. He continued in a dangerously soft voice, "My wand was close by. I picked it up and told him not to touch me again." She stared hard at him. "Lily I couldn't take it anymore," he continued. He stood up suddenly and began pacing back and forth. "He kept shouting about how I was no good and just like my mother. Lazy and stupid and disrespectful. I just couldn't ya know."

"What about your mom? Is she okay?" Lily asked finally, watching him as he moved.

"Oh she's fine," he spat, "she just let him carry on as usual. But she got angry with me when I threatened him like that. Told me I had no right to act in such a way. 'He's a muggle and it isn't right or fair to threaten him with magic.' Like he can't defend himself," Severus scoffed. Silence pervaded for a short time. "That's when I left. But she'll sort him out. I doubt he'll even remember any of this in the morning." He stopped pacing to look over at her desperately his eyes pleading for her to understand.

She reached out and grabbed his hand again, "So you'll just stay here for the night then." His face broke into sad grin. He was shaking with anger or fear she didn't know, but she suspected both.

Standing to her feet, Lilly disregarded the beds loud protests and walked over to her closet. By turning her back on him, she gave him the few moments to compose himself that she knew he needed. Grabbing the extra pillow and blankets from the familiar place in the top corner, Lily took a moment to calm herself as well. She turned around and tossed them at him. He missed both.

"Well at least they are already in the floor." She said lightly giving him a wink. "There's an extra toothbrush and all in the bathroom if you need it. You know where everything is." He gave her a grateful look that was full of everything she knew he couldn't put into words.

As he spread out the blankets in their usual place on the floor she moved back to her desk where her half-finished transfiguration homework sat dauntingly. She plopped down in the chair and rubbed her tired eyes. "Sev have you done this transfiguration homework yet?" She asked yawning.

"Oh yeah I've finished all my stuff for the summer." The slight bitterness in his tone told her that he had been using summer homework to stay out of his parent's way. But there was also a gratefulness in his voice. She had changed the subject for him and was attempting to distract him. They had been through this enough times by now that Lily knew that Severus would talk to her when he was fully ready. So she followed their routine. Never pushing him for details she didn't need and attempting to distract him from his own misery.

"Well good because I've barely started mine and I could use a hand." She replied turning to him. He smiled at her and walked over grabbing his usual chair. "We're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, if you want to join us." She stated faking a cheerful tone. "You can use my owl to write your mom if you need gold or anything." He nodded appreciation in return apparently unable to speak. He looked close to tears but, she thought to herself, at least he no longer looked angry or deranged.

"Lily Evans you're the most amazing person I know," he replied quietly after several moments.

There was something strange in his tone that she couldn't quite place. But she didn't think too much on it, instead she simply nodded and replied, "I know." He smirked at her and with his help her transfiguration essay was completed in no time. He would stay the evening and tomorrow night too if necessary. As she lay in bed that night and listened to his attempts of pretending to be asleep, she considered her best friend.

It wasn't an unusual occurrence for her parents to wake up and have Severus at their house on any given evening during the holiday breaks. So she knew they wouldn't be surprised. She had explained the situation to her parents long ago, much to Severus's apprehension. They couldn't report the incidents because if they did there was every chance that his mother would magic her and her husband's way out of it. Eileen could obliterate memories or simply move away without leaving a trace. Besides this way at least Severus had a place to go if things got too bad. Lily had always been so proud of her parents for their reaction to the situation and for the kindness they treated Severus with.

True it had taken her mother a bit of time to warm up to the shabby boy from Spinners End. Mrs. Evans knew Tobias Snape from work and knew how foul he could get in a temper, especially when alcohol was added to the mix. But after she'd met him, Lily's mother had warmed to Severus immediately. Her parents took to Severus and always made certain that he felt welcome in their home. Mrs. Evan's favorite past time was to fuss over how skinny he was or how quickly he was growing. Sev usually blushed and accepted her fussing in good nature. Lily was quite certain that he didn't receive such attention anywhere else.

Lily couldn't help the deep surge of pity that welled up inside her for her best friend. But she also couldn't dispel the apprehension she now felt. He had threatened his father with magic and nothing about his tone showed any remorse for that. Not that she could blame him, of course, but something about his tone and the way he seemed empowered by that revelation continued to irk her.

The people he now hung around with at school had badly influenced him over their four years at Hogwarts. She had known that for a while now. Even though she continuously warned him against them, she knew he was fascinated by the same things they were. With all of the darkness spreading across the country right now it frightened her to know the type of propel who Severus had managed to befriend. She understood it though, despite the bad taste it left in her mouth. As difficult as it was for him to make friends, she was glad he had someone to keep him company when she couldn't. But still she was uneasy about it all and it had been causing more and more fights between the two of them. Her friends couldn't stand the guys he hung around with and they used every possible opportunity to warn her about them. But then again her friends has never been exactly warm towards Severus either. That probably had something to do with that complete toe rag James Potter though. She shuddered with anger just thinking about him.

Lily rolled over and looked at her best friend in the whole world and noted with a surge of warmth that he had fallen asleep. Assuring herself that for the moment things were okay, for the moment they were safe, she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her. But it was with apprehension and a sense of dread that Lily Evans finally dozed off.