When Severus Snape woke up he immediately knew something was wrong. For one thing, the other side of the bed was warm. The scent of a woman's perfume was on his pillows.
Who did I sleep with, WHO DID I SLEEP WITH?! He thought, panicked. He couldn't remember sleeping with anyone, but he hoped him and Hermione hadn't gotten drunk and given in to their baser instincts. They both had crushes on each other, but worked like hell to suppress them. It'd be the end of his teaching career if he acted on his desires and slept with a student, particularly a student as young as she was. Then he sniffed the pillow. Tears came to his eyes. It was lilac. It smelt like Lilly Potter. He wondered if he hadn't had a one night stand with a woman wearing Lilly's favorite perfume. He tried to think back to last night. He remembered brewing a potion. It was supposed to give him pleasant dreams, not make him so drunk he had a one-night stand. This was quite embarrassing. He sat up and noticed a nightstand. When had he bought that? There was a letter. He picked it up. The letter said "went to go get milk, be back soon, hugs and kisses." It was signed with a kiss, made with lipstick. Be back soon. One did not come back after a one-night stand. That's why it was called a one-night stand. Unless of course his original theory was correct and it was Hermione. With her maternal qualities she'd no doubt check to make sure he had milk, then go get him some upon finding that he was lacking it.
Not so bad, I suppose. Sweet girl. Annoying though. He sat up and began walking around. His own bedroom looked unfamiliar to him. He stopped at a picture. It was of him and Lilly, holding hands. They both looked to be in their twenties, which was impossible as Lilly wouldn't even talk to him when he was in his twenties.
He put down the picture, puzzled. He heard someone walking into the room and then he felt someone wrap their arms around him. They were soft arms, feminine and familiar. He turned around and stared into the eyes of a dead woman.
Lilly Potter was behind him.
He broke away from the embrace and stared at her.
"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" The almost-certainly a hallucination asked.
"No, no, Lilly. Lilly. I…dear Merlin, you're alive." He touched her cheek. She held his hand to her face.
"Sev, why wouldn't I be alive?" She asked.
"The Dark Lord…wait…"
He pulled his hand away and glanced down at his bare arm. The dark mark was gone.
"How?" He whispered.
"How what?"
"The dark mark…"
"Sev, you're scaring me. What's all this about the Dark Lord and the dark mark? You-Know-Who's been gone since Dumbledore and the Order defeated him. Did you have a bad dream?" She asked.
"Yes…I…I must have had a bad dream. That's all."
Lilly shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "That's it, no more concocting potions you know nothing about, you're not eighteen anymore, you're going to get yourself killed."
"Quite right." He agreed. "The dream was just so vivid."
He placed both hands on her shoulders and kissed her deeply, passionately. She held him close, pressed her body to his and kissed him back.
"The dream frightened me. I guess losing you is my worst fear." He told her.
"Oh, goodness, Sev, that's so sweet!" She pushed him down on the bed. "But I'm not going anywhere."
A smile spread across Snape's face.
Could it be…was it all just a dream?