Disclaimer: I own nothing, though I wish I did, all belongs to JKR

Magic Moments
Chapter 1: The Break-Up

June 1976
"Lily I'm sorry!" he cried in anguish, staring at the fiery red head in her dressing gown. They were stood outside the Fat Lady's in the darkened corridor and he was pleading for her forgiveness. Yet again.

"Save your breath Sev" she spat, the once familiar nickname like poison from her angry tongue. "What you said, I never expected it from you." And she turned from him, ready to leave him forever and he felt the anger rise within him, mixed with the hurt, the despair, the need for her.

"Well what about you?" he cried. She stopped and turned slowly to face him again. Her emerald eyes were narrowed.

"What about me?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

"You wanted to laugh while Potter and Black did what they did. I saw you Lily, don't even try to deny it! I was hung upside down, choking on soap bubbles, about to be exposed to the whole school and you wanted to laugh! What I said was a mistake, born out of frustration and humiliation but what you did was like a knife in the heart, Lily. You never expected me to call you a Mudblood and I'm truly sorry, but I never thought I'd see the day when you'd choose James Potter over me."

He was shouting by this point and hot tears welled in his eyes. He wiped them away so fiercely he hurt his eyes. The portrait behind them opened and a few Gryffindors, including Mary MacDonald and James Potter, emerged obviously alerted by his shouting.

"Snivellus!" snarled James, drawing his wand. Severus just looked at the wand and then back to Potter's face.

"Go on then Potter. Curse me. Really go for it, don't hold back. Kill me if you've the power" sneered Snape. His eyes shifted back to Lily's face and he saw her eyes widen in shock. But there was something else in them now, an emotion he couldn't identify.

"Take my life, you've already taken the girl I love. There's nothing worse than that" he stated and the crowd of Gryffindors seemed to draw in a collective breath. He resisted the urge to clap his hand to his mouth and apologise. He hadn't meant to be so dramatic; the words had burst forth in his anger. But they were out there now and he couldn't take them back.

'Oh God' he thought. 'I can't take them back!" The realisation that she now knew, that everyone now knew how he felt made him want to be sick and he did the only thing he could think to do. He turned on his heel and stormed off.

He didn't stop until he reached the dungeons. The corridor leading to the Slytherin common room was deserted and he leant against the wall and let his head bang against it. He felt so lonely and now everything was hopeless. He'd put all his cards on the table and now he had nothing left.

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"He loves her?" Mary MacDonald cried after Snape had disappeared from sight. "Like loves her, loves her?"

"That's a redundant statement Mary" Tess Greene put in stonily. All eyes were on Lily who was stood like a statue, staring at the spot where Snape had been. James walked forward cautiously, taking Lily's hand.

"Hey Evans, come back inside" he whispered. "Forget about him." She nodded numbly, not even realising what she was doing as she allowed the Gryffindors to lead her back into the common room.

XXXXXXXXXX

They didn't see very much of each other during the last two weeks of term. Classes were cancelled pending their OWL results and so Lily spent her days lounging by the lake with her friends or in Hogsmeade; while Severus barely ever emerged from the Slytherin common room and when he did it was to go the library. He'd even taken to skipping meals and going to the kitchen later for food instead.

He refused to partake in the nefarious activities of his roommates, wanting instead to be alone with his thoughts. He spent hours reading a new Potions book he'd discovered, full of wonderfully difficult potions he couldn't wait to try: like the Moonblush Potion, designed to enhance the drinker's natural beauty and Liquid Courage, a tricky mixture which was said to 'give one the heart of a lion.'

Neither were much use to him, he didn't need to be beautiful or brave for anyone, but they would be a good test of his technical skills.

On the last day of term he skipped breakfast and went straight to the library, determined to spend a couple of hours copying out any useful potion recipes to practice over the summer. He would need something to occupy himself.

He only looked up when a persistent tapping broke his concentration. An unfamiliar owl was tapping its claw against the window beside his table, a note attached to its leg. Sev leaned across and let it in.

"Who are you for then?" he asked. He checked the name on the scroll and saw his name written in familiar, slender handwriting. He tore open the letter and read, it was very brief:

Sev,
Meet me at the edge of the Forest at 11. I need to see you. Lily.

'Abrupt' he thought. Maybe she was going to tell him conclusively, once again, to bugger off and leave her alone. He wouldn't allow himself to dwell on it.

Lily made her way to the Forbidden Forest shortly before 11, shaking off her entourage of giggling Gryffindor girls fairly easily by telling them she was meeting Zara Rubenstein, a Ravenclaw that only Lily really knew well. She stood nervously at the edge of the Forest, twiddling her thumbs, looking around occasionally. 'Maybe he won't come' she thought. But she knew he would.

Sure enough, at one minute to, he appeared. He walked to where she was like he knew where to go, without her having told him. She didn't smile but neither did he.

"Sev" she began, her mouth completely dry. "Sev, I'm sorry." He looked up in surprise but said nothing.

"I'm sorry I did what I did. You're right, I did want to laugh and that's awful but what you did was awful too, so can we just agree that they cancel each other out? Please?" She hated the pleading edge to her voice.

"I don't think I can Lily." He surprised himself with this statement. What he'd intended to say was "Yes, God yes, thank you!" and possibly get on bended knee and kiss her feet, but instead he'd said that. Why did he do it to himself?

"I told you I love you. Really love you, like in those insipid Muggle films you enjoy so much and I don't think I can be your friend until I know your thoughts on that. Because either way, I'm still going to be your friend, but I can't forget that I told you and I just need to know where I stand" he said, reaching for her hand. He was so relieved she was willing to try, he'd accept either, but he desperately wanted all of her, if she'd have him.

Lily studied the earnest face of her best friend, gripping his hand tightly in hers. It came down to him or Potter, always him or Potter. She knew she'd have to choose eventually, just not so soon. She closed her eyes and listened to her heartbeat, staying like that for so long Severus was convinced she'd fallen asleep.

But for the first time ever, she listened only to her heart and not the squawking of the Gryffindors and the pureblood supremacists, and she kissed him. His lips were soft and pleasantly warm on hers, and she wound her arms around his neck as his encircled her waist and pulled her against him. It felt so good to finally admit to herself how she felt for the dark-haired Slytherin, and she hoped the kiss was enough to show him, so that she didn't have to use so many words.

They broke apart and smiled sheepishly at each other.

"There's still the small matter of Mulciber and Avery" she said, breaking the silence. "Severus, were you ever considering becoming a Death Eater?"

The fact that she'd used his full name made him realise how serious she was.

"No. I mean, I want respect and God knows I don't get any now, but I only ever wanted you. If I have you, I don't need them" he said. "I'll have to do some thinking about how I can get out, but I'll do it Lily. For you." She looked into his face, saw he was sincere and she kissed him again.

"Will me being your girlfriend be enough to get you out?" she whispered. Severus's face lit up at the implication of these words.

"It will help in the long run" he smirked. "But it won't work by itself. I'll have to convince them that I can't be trusted, that I don't work for their side enough to become a Death Eater. And dating you will show them I'm serious. That way, You Know Who never has to know about me. And that will hopefully keep us out of danger."

"Oh" said Lily, her eyes round. "Well, we have the whole summer to form a plan. And this time next year, you will be free." She spoke with such determination it was impossible not to believe her. Severus kissed her again before they really had to leave the safety of their sanctuary and head back to their separate dorms to finish packing. As they turned to go their separate ways Lily turned back to him.

"Sev?" she said. He turned back to her. "I love you too." She hurried up the staircase, smiling at the look of shock and delight on his face.

XXXXXX

August 1976
Sev and Lily were sat at her kitchen table nursing cups of tea and talking. They'd had a whirlwind romantic summer, spending as much time together as possible, talking and kissing and doing couple's things.

Lily had told her parents and he'd been invited to dinner the following night, when Paul Evans had taken him aside and explained quietly that until they were 17, there was to be no sex of any kind, as he understood 17 to be the wizarding age of majority. After that, their full blessing was given.

He'd told his mother and she'd insisted on them having afternoon tea to 'get to know each other better' and she too had approved of the relationship, so they were quite free to do as they pleased. But today they discussed the plan to get him out of the Death Eaters.

"What are you planning?" she asked, sipping her lukewarm tea and watching him carefully.

"I have a plan, and I hate to say it" Sev said grimly. "But I think I might need Potter's help with it." Lily looked at him in downright alarm.

"Oh Sev, can't it be someone else?" she asked.

"I could try but I think it would be most effective with Potter, given our erm history." He spoke the last word through gritted teeth. "Can you get him here, just to talk and I'll put my idea to him and see if he'll play? If not, we'll have to reconsider." Lily looked at her boyfriend in awe. To be able to rise above Potter's poor treatment of him was truly remarkable.

"Well don't you worry, Sev, I'll get James Potter here even if he won't listen when he arrives" she said, absolutely determined. Sev could only smile; he just hoped it would work.

Ok, I know this looks like a cliffhanger and it's quite a short chapter, but they are vital to the rest of the story, which will be the 'highlights' of Sev and Lily's life together. Just bear with me. I know the original dialogue isn't what JKR wrote, but I had to change it to get in what I wanted to. I also want to show James Potter in a better light than he usually is in Sev/Lily fics and, in canon, he is said to have matured before 7th year, or he wouldn't have been Head Boy. So I don't think he's OOC too much. Thanks for reading, review if you wish but criticism must be constructive and flames will not be tolerated. Exx15 .

PS: Title of the fic is taken from the Perry Como song (amazing, look it up if you don't know it!) and the title of the chapter is from the 2006 film.