The Wedding Tryst

by counterfeitmoon

Lily hasn't seen or spoken to Severus Snape in years. On the weekend of her wedding, he comes back into her life capsizing her world and engulfing it in shades of gray. As feelings resurface that she once thought had been buried forever, Lily agrees to a tryst with Snape that changes everything.

1. Small Oceans

1– Small Oceans

"Small oceans still get big waves, my dear."

Those words shouldn't have sounded ominous, yet they hung in the air and stung Lily like a cold, winter wind. She stood in front of a full-length mirror. Its reflection showed her in an hour-glass wedding dress, taffeta silk flowing to the ground collecting like a pool of silvery snow. The dress was sleeveless and formed a subtle V at her neckline showing just enough bare skin to tempt the eye to trail down to her full, round breasts.

"Cokeworth doesn't have an ocean, my dear. So there won't be any waves." Lily turned to see her side profile, pulling her red hair into a messy bun. "Do you think I should wear it up or down?"

Dumbledore chuckled. It hadn't been so long ago that Lily Evans was skipping through the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. Was it possible that she would really be Lily Potter after tomorrow? "I think how you wear your hair is a better question for James. Cokeworth might not have an ocean, but small affairs can become quite volatile, like a stormy sea—"

"My wedding is not going to be a stormy sea," insisted Lily. "What's with all of the water analogies? You wishing you were a pirate instead of a wizard?"

"No, I—"

Lily turned from the mirror and let her hair fall. "Dumbledore, it's going to be okay. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, he's not going to be there tomorrow. He wouldn't do that."

"How can you be sure? If I were to guess if there's anywhere in the world he would be, it's here. Tomorrow."

"Not possible. The wedding is small. We'll know right away."

Dumbledore seemed to weigh her words carefully, not showing any tell if he believed them or not. "I suppose if you're certain, then I should be too."

Lily gave the headmaster a hug. "Thank you. And thank you for doing the wedding tomorrow. It means so much to us."

"I best be letting you go." At the door, Dumbledore turned. "You should wear it down. No one has red hair quite like yours."

Lily blushed a little, and tried not to beam. "Thank you."

After Dumbledore had left, Lily closed the door to the room and locked it. She made her way to the full-length mirror and flipped it to the other side, placing her hand over a photograph, obscuring who or what was in it.

"Not tomorrow," she said. "No small oceans."

Lily took her hand from the photograph. A black-and-white portrait of Severus Snape stared back at her.