"Please, Sev. We haven't hung out in ages. Last time was right before our last exams. Please. It won't kill you. One little night out in the Muggle world." Lily pleaded, her green eyes wide, her fists in front of her chest, twitching anxiously. Severus sighed, raising a hand to rub his temples, his eyes shutting. "Please, Sev. Just go with me, just you and me, I swear." "No James?" Severus asked, his eyes opening a bit, the black orbs shining with hope. "No James. No Sirius or Remus. You don't even have to meet me at my house, so no Petunia." Severus smiled, looking at Lily in front of him. "Alright. I'll go." Lily smiled bright, straightening up. "Thank you, Sev! You won't regret this, I swear!" She gave him a quick hug before running off. Severus sighed, running his hand through his jet-black hair. "I really hope so, Lily. I really do."
Severus sighed, standing on Lily's block. "Come on, Lily. It's almost nine and you wanted to be out by 9:15." He tapped his foot, his eyes glued to the silver watch on his wrist. His black billowing cloak didn't seem out of place among the costumed children and their cheerful but tired parents. Halloween. It was the one night when they didn't stand out in the Muggle world. He heard the click clack of high heels coming from the direction of the Evans home. He looked up from the curtain of fallen hair in his face. "…. Lily?" He asked, taking in the woman in front of him.
She wore blue glittering fake shells for a top, held up by clear straps. Her long green skirt shimmered like scales. Her heels, the same shade of green. Her dark red hair fell around her in soft waves. Her emerald eyes looked big and innocent with her light makeup. She smiled at him, biting her bottom lip a bit. "Like?" She asked, doing a little twirl, her skirt swirling around her legs. Severus nodded lightly, speechless. "I'm Ariel, the little mermaid, you know?" "I'm guessing that's a fairytale princess since you look more beautiful than the creatures in the Black Lake." She blushed at his complement. "Thank you Severus." She said softly, slipping her hand into his, now near to his height with the heels on.
"So…. Where are we going?" He asked hesitantly, having never gone trick-or-treating before. "Well, I was thinking we could try the next neighborhood so Petunia and her friends won't be able to annoy us." Lily said, starting down the street. Severus followed her which wasn't hard with Lily close to fall every time one of her heels landed in a crack in the sidewalk. Lily stopped suddenly at a street corner. "Dang….I forgot the bags. We'll need them for any candy we get." She raised a hand to her cheek, blushing slightly at her own embarrassment. Sev laid a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Its ok Lily. I brought some. Just in case." He pulled out a black pillowcase and a green one, handing the green one to Lily. "Slytherin colors, ehh?" She asked, taking the bag. He shook his head, pointing to her bag to her eyes with his free hand. She blushed lightly, moving her head away to hide it.
"Let's get going, huh? Gonna miss all the candy if we just stand here." Severus said jokingly, moving closer to her. Lily smiled and nodded. "True." She headed off for a block full of still lit houses. Severus trotted after her, a smirk playing on his face. He caught up to her as a group of little children dressed up as pumpkins and ghosts past them on the other side of the street. "Ooo, look a mermaid, Mommy!" One of the ghosts shouted, pointing at Lily's outfit. Lily smiled and waved to the group before retaking Sev's hand.
"Guess they like the magical little mermaid." He smiled at her, steering them towards a house. They knocked on the door together. "Trick or treat!" The wooden door opened slowly, an old woman poking her white haired head out. "Ohh. More teenagers." She rolled her eyes, moving the door more to stick out a bowl of mixed candies. Lily took a few, tossing them into her bag and Severus copied her. "Thank you. Have a nice night, Madam." Lily flashed her one of her trademark smiles before turning around and headed back to the sidewalk, Sev following behind her like a obedient puppy.
The trick-or-treating lasted for another two hours, well into the night, the pair only stopping when it was clear that there was no more houses to hit. Lily sighed from her spot against a streetlight, her candy-filled pillowcase in one hand and her heels swinging back and forth from the other. Severus sat on the edge of the curb, his bag between his feet, his hands twirling his wand around absentmindly. "What's on the agenda now, Lily?" She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "Wanna get some Butterbeers?" Severus looked up at her. "At the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks?" "Three Broomsticks." Severus raised one black eyebrow at her. "Three Broomsticks? London's closer, Lily." She stuck her tongue out at him. "I know, Sev. But you're staying at the Hog's Head, right? We can stash the candy at my house. I can change into something a little less Muggle-ish and we can have a few drinks and maybe chat with Madam Rosmerta." She moved away from the streetlight, reaching out to help Sev up. He took her hand and rose, looking around at the deserted street that they were standing in. Together, they walked to the Evans home.
Lily ran inside with their candy, leaving Severus on the front porch. She came back out so quickly, Severus thought she Transfigured her costume into a t-shirt, skirt and traveling cloak. "Ready?" He asked, hesitantly. She nodded. "Candy's safe. Parents are asleep, left them a note. Petunia's at a friend's for the night." She took his hand for the millionth time that night, making a smile want to appear on Sev's face. "Let's go then." They Apparated together to the entrance of the Three Broomsticks.
Lily and Severus entered, quickly grabbing an empty table. Even though it was after 11 at night, the pub was still going strong, more so than usual because of the holiday. Severus ordered them two Butterbeers.
Lily moved her hair in her face, trying to hide the blushing that were caused by the drunken remarks of a few wizards at the bar. "Hey ginger! Ditch the pale kid and come over to where the real wizards are." Sev turned towards them, shooting them a dark glare. "Lay off before I make you eat your tongues." His voice was low but the intent and power behind it rang clear. They shut up and promptly turned away from the pair.
Their drinks arrived and Lily started sipping hers, still blushing over the remarks and Severus's protection of her. Severus took a big gulp of his. There was a silence between them as if someone had cast a shield around them, blocking them from the rest of the noisy and hectic pub. Severus put his now empty mug down on the table, a bit too forceful. Though the action did seemed to cure them of the awkward moment since Madam Rosmerta came around to them, putting down a couple of shots of Firewhiskey. "Happy Halloween, dearies!" She waltzed off, clearly a bit intoxicated. Lily took one of the glasses and swallowed its contents down quickly to Severus's surprise. Lily blinked as the hot liquid ran down her throat. She smiled though, sliding one to Sev. He took the glass carefully, downing it in much of the same fashion as Lily.
The next hour and a half or so seemed to go by in a blur. The shots of Firewhiskey kept coming. Their conversations varied, the topics changing quickly with their train of thoughts. The rest of the pub seemed to fade, all their concern and attention was on the other.
At some point, they decided to take a break from the rest of the witches and wizards partying it up at the Three Broomsticks. They leaned on each other, making their way down High Street towards the Hog's Head. The downstairs pub area here was deserted except for the barkeep who was sweeping up. Lily Evans and Severus Snape made their way up the stairs, headed for the room at the end of the hall on the second floor, the room Severus was staying at.