A/N The World's End is a famous pub in Camden Town, London since 1897 (but claimed to be much older). In its cellars there's a venue called The Underworld where a lot of rock and metal bands perform. Many famous Londoners have written their now classic novels in this pub over the years. It is a fifteen-minute walk from King's Cross Station.
The World's End
'Oh, c'mon!' cried Lily as she dragged him in the direction of The World's End. 'Mum and Dad won't be here to pick us up for a couple of hours or so. Besides, I've always wanted to see this place from the inside.'
Severus looked up at the pub. Its red-and-gold exterior reminded him of Lily's Hogwarts house, and he wouldn't be surprised if the inside was decorated in a similar style to her common room. Either way, the place appeared to be rather crowded, and against his best judgement, he allowed Lily to drag him inside by the hand, even though he had no desire to socialise.
'Look at that glass ceiling!' said Lily enthusiastically as she pointed to the roof. The few stars that were visible in the London sky twinkled as bright as the magical ceiling in the Great Hall. 'I love this place already. Care for some hot chocolate, Sev?'
...o0o...
Severus blended in surprisingly well with the crowd inside The World's End. Lots of long-haired men and women dressed in mostly black occupied the pub. After all these years, it had become the only place where he wasn't remotely irritated by all the Muggle frivolities. Absentmindedly, he stirred his hot chocolate while looking up at the glass ceiling that had caught Lily's attention all those years back. There were no stars visible in the sky this time around — only heavy rain pounding loudly against it, causing everyone inside to raise their voices by several notches.
...o0o...
The sound of more than a dozen motorbikes caused the windows to rattle as a group of café racers arrived on the front side of the pub. A large group of men and women dressed in studded leather pushed their way through the entrance and headed straight for the stairs that led to the pub's cellar. 'I think there's something going on downstairs, Sev,' said Lily as she watched the group disappear. 'Want to go and see?'
...o0o...
With his hot chocolate clutched firmly between his hands, Severus shadowed a group of long-haired men carrying amps and instruments down the stairs that led to what was called The Underworld. From a dark corner, Severus watched the men set up their gear as they hummed along to the rock songs that were playing through the speakers.
'Oi!' cried one of the band members in Severus's direction. 'Care to give us a hand, mate?'
...o0o...
'Care to lend us a hand, kids?' asked a curly-haired member of the group. 'We've got some heavy gear we need to set up.'
'Sure, I'll help out,' said Lily happily as she bounced her way over to the stage. Severus, however, decided to keep his distance and remain standing in the dark corner, looking at the spaghetti of cables on the floor that must have made more sense to Lily than it did to him. He could see Lily whispering something in the young man's ear. The man nodded in understanding and showed Lily which cable she was supposed to put whereas Severus observed from where he was standing in the shadows.
...o0o...
'Glad to see a man who knows what he's doing,' said the man who had asked for help. 'You look familiar, somehow.'
Severus looked up. Curly hair covered the man's shoulders, and the faded band-shirt he wore betrayed that he had been in the scene for quite some time. 'So, do you,' he said. 'Ever performed here before?'
'More times than I'd like to admit,' said the man. 'First time was back in the seventies. Had two kids helping us out then. A pretty girl with red hair and her shy friend. She whispered that to me — said it took a while to get him out of his shell. Eventually he did, though. Guess curiosity got the better of him.'
'That "shy friend" happened to be me, and the girl was a good friend of mine,' said Severus as he untangled a mono jack, a humourless smile flickering across his face. 'You were the one who taught us all about setting up a stage.'
Laugh-lines appeared around the man's eyes as he lips curled into a smile. 'Guess I'm not the only one who keeps coming back after all these years, eh? Where's your friend, again?'
'She passed away, unfortunately,' said Severus.
The smile on the man's face turned upside down the moment Severus mentioned Lily's passing. 'Sorry to hear that,' he said awkwardly. 'The war?'
Severus dropped the cable on the floor the moment he heard the man mention "the war". 'How did you—'
'Your Slytherin scarf gave it away,' said the man dryly. 'That, and I recall your friend wearing a Gryffindor one back then. I'm a Squib. Wasn't really a safe thing to mention out loud back in those days.'
...o0o...
'Great instrument,' said Lily as she played the few chords she knew on the Hammond organ.
'The greatest instrument known to man!' said the man enthusiastically as he improvised a funky jam beside her on the keys. 'Lots of people think it looks silly to rock out on — what they like to call — a glorified piano. I, however, think it gives magic to the music.'
'I can believe that,' said Lily with a grin. 'My sister plays the piano. We do have a music room at our school. Perhaps I should start picking it up as well.'
'Will you kids be sticking around for the show?' asked the man. 'Just letting you know, there will be a lot of drunk people by the end of the night.'
'I'm afraid we can't,' said Lily, looking a little bummed. 'My mum and dad are picking us up at any minute to drive us back to Cokeworth. They want us to help set up the Christmas tree.'
...o0o...
Severus played a few chords on the Hammond that Lily had once taught him. 'Did she ever pick up playing the piano?' the man asked as he joined in.
'She did, sort of,' said Severus with a nod. The memory of it caused the corners of his mouth to curl. 'As it turned out, it was one of the few things she didn't have a talent for.'
'Feel free to stick around for the show,' said the man. 'Or are you waiting for someone to pick you up again this time?'
'I'll stick around this time,' said Severus. 'I'm sure Lily would've wanted me to stay.'