Elizabeth knocked gently on the door of her twin brother's house. She stood on the doorstep, wrapped in a long cloak, and waited for someone to answer the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice asked from inside the house. Elizabeth knew that it was for safety measures that the door was always locked and that the Potters always asked who it was before opening the door.

Elizabeth let out a small sob. "It's me," she responded weakly.

There was a gasp from inside and Elizabeth heard the lock unclick. Elizabeth was surprised though. Usually, the Potters asked a specific personal question before opening the door, but Lily Potter seemed to have forgotten.

Elizabeth was soon faced with a sympathetic looking best friend who stood in the lit doorway of the house. But she almost immediately realized what she had forgotten and put a hand over her mouth.

"I know it's you, but I should ask the question first," she said quietly, smiling at her own stupidity.

Elizabeth nodded, not saying a word.

"Oh…umm, who is it that you love most in the world?" Lily asked looking guilty.

Elizabeth winced at the question she had arranged with Lily to ask every time she visited the Potter residence.
"Sorry," Lily apologized.

"I love my husband, Severus Tobias Snape, more than anything in the world," Elizabeth said, trying to hold in the tears.

Lily nodded and opened the door fully. She grabbed Elizabeth's hand and dragged her in. She turned around and shut the door, making sure to lock it, and then turned back to her best friend since their days at school.

"Oh Liz, what did he do now?" Lily asked pulling Elizabeth into her arms.

"We were so close!" Elizabeth yelled and started to sob. She put her arms around Lily and let her body shake with the tears she had tried so hard to keep away.

"I'm so sorry sweetie," Lily whispered when Elizabeth had calmed down some.

Elizabeth didn't respond.

"Come, let's go into the sitting room. It's more comfortable in there. You can tell me what happened," Lily said and grabbed Elizabeth's hand. She began to lead Elizabeth down the hallway.

Elizabeth nodded and allowed Lily to drag her around.

Severus sat in his personal room in the house he and his wife shared. His breath came in shallow gasps and he couldn't control himself. He had wanted her so bad tonight. Why did she have to be so damn beautiful?

What was wrong with him? He had lasted a year without being like this. But as he thought about the look she gave him when he pushed her away, he couldn't help but shake. She looked as if she thought it was over.

Of course he knew he was ruining his dream relationship. A marriage to a person as perfect as she was. He didn't deserve her. She deserved to be with someone who didn't keep secrets from her. Someone who gave her everything she ever wanted.

But right now, it didn't matter if he deserved the love of his life. He had to keep her safe no matter what. And if it meant treating her like he did that night, then he would have to do that.

Severus growled and his head fell helplessly into his hands.

"Tell me what happened sweetie," Lily pushed gently.

Elizabeth looked at Lily and tried to hold back her tears. They just continued to form and wouldn't stop. But Elizabeth knew she had to calm down in order to tell Lily what happened. So she took a deep breath and forced the tears out of her eyes.

"Everything was going wonderfully tonight. I thought maybe, just maybe, he was warming up again. We were sitting next to each other on the couch in the sitting room. There was a fire, so the room was really pretty warm. We were both reading our books and he was rubbing my thigh with his hand. We were both so comfortable together," Elizabeth stopped for a moment. She took a breath, as if collecting herself and continued.

"Eventually, the books lay forgotten on the floor and we were kissing. It was progressing quite nicely, I thought. He was on top of me on the couch, and my shirt was already off. I was trying to get his off, when he just stopped," Elizabeth stopped talking once again. She blinked back the tears from her eyes and looked at Lily. She saw the look of encouragement to continue, so she did.

"Well, he got tense all over. He immediately sat up and got off me. He walked over to the fireplace and watched the flames. I wanted to make sure he was okay, so I stood next to him. I put my hand on his arm and he instantly jerked away. I tried again and he pushed me. I ended up on the floor. I thought it was over right then," Elizabeth finished quietly. Her tears were silently falling down her face, but she didn't make a sound.

"What did he do after that?" Lily asked quietly.

Elizabeth looked down at her fidgeting hands. "He…left. He locked himself in his personal room."

Lily nodded in understanding. She had only been to her best friend's house once, but she knew that along with a master bedroom, there were two extra bedrooms for when the couple got angry at each other or just needed some space. She also knew that Elizabeth had never once entered her own personal room. She hadn't even decorated it; the room was bare of anything. It was her husband who practically lived in his.

"I'm so sorry Liz. You can stay here tonight if you want," Lily offered sympathetically.

Elizabeth shook her head. She was about to open her mouth to answer in words, when James's voice rang through the house.

"Lily! Grab Harry and run!" he screamed.

Elizabeth looked over to see Lily's terrorized face.