Stars
A/N: None of this belongs to me. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Lyrics from Take That's 'Rule the World'. Some concepts taken from the movie 'Stardust'. This is a songfic tragedy. Poor Lily is torn. Read & Review please!
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you
Severus huddled against the wall, staring into the twinkling stars. He saw a figure approaching him. He looked up. It was Lily, of course. Lily. She was the only one who knew where to find him on a sultry night like this, with the stars shining benevolently down. It was their corner, his and Lily's. Even his "Slytherin friends" – as Lily called them – didn't know where he went most nights. They left him alone.
He sighed inwardly. She would never know. He looked across at her; she had joined him on the ground. They spent a while just looking at the stars. He was smiling like a maniac: he couldn't help it. Her presence just made him so…so happy, there was no other word for it. He was content to sit there all night in the warm breeze, right beside Lily Evans. He slowly registered she was saying something. To him.
"Do you ever get the feeling that the stars are watching you?" she was saying. Her face was dangerously close to his. She laughed a small, self-conscious laugh, and shook her head.
"I don't know," she muttered, more to herself than him. "Sometimes I just – I don't know."
Severus turned to face her.
"What?"
She laughed her tinkling laugh, a sound of pure pleasure to Severus' ears.
"Well, I always thought the stars were – were people. Stars, still, but humans like us. And – and – Merlin, I just don't know. They're watching us, you know?" Her voice was quiet. "They're watching us."
Severus nodded absently, examining Lily's features. She looked miserable today. Her delicate mouth drooped at the corners, and her eyes, as green as the emeralds that represented Salazar Slytherin's house, seemed to stare into a distance even beyond the stars. She felt his stare, and she turned away. She wasn't just self-conscious, she didn't want him to see her right now. But he did see her. He saw her, and he saw her sadness, and he saw her need for reassurance. He tenderly tucked her shining red hair behind her ear.
A sorrowful tear ran down her face. A regretful tear. A grateful tear.
You and me we can ride on a star
If you stay with me girl
We can rule the world
You and me we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side
We can rule the world
She was weeping now. Crystalline, pure tears, Lily's tears, streamed down her pale cheeks, glistening in the moonlight. Severus felt the weight of her head on his lap before he heard the dull thud of it. She leaned against him, and he leaned against the wall. He stroked her comfortingly. He loved the feel of her hair swimming around his fingers.
"What's wrong Lil?" he murmured. She sobbed heavier.
"Sev," she choked, lifting her head. "Don't – don't…" A small puddle of tears had soaked straight through his robes, but he didn't notice, he didn't care. His eyes were full of concern for Lily, and they were stuck on her. They were stuck on Lily Evans – his best friend, his everything.
"Sev, I'm sorry," she whispered. He held her against him, and her body, shaking with tears, gradually collapsed into his. He folded his arms around her, embracing her. He could feel tears in his eyes to match Lily's. He gently rested his chin on her, taking care to support his own weight. He just wanted to make her happy. He just wanted to make her happy.
"Don't be sorry," he murmured. She cried more.
She didn't answer for a long time.
She reluctantly heaved herself off Severus.
"What – what is it?" He asked. She turned away. She couldn't bear to look at his worried expression, clouded over with dread. She could see the dread creeping across his face. Severus could feel it, too. His heart, so full two seconds ago, when he had been holding Lily, was now empty. "What is it?" he whispered.
She croaked, turning towards the stars. "I'm…I'm going out with…"
She didn't have to finish the sentence. He knew. He'd always been able to finish her sentences for her, and she for him. He knew. He fell to the ground and cried. He closed his eyes, but she could still see her face. It was tattooed on his eyelids for eternity: a laughing Lily Evans with James Potter. Lily gave a final sob, begging the stars to understand her, to understand what she had done. They no longer twinkled. They were cold and distant, and she knew they would never, never forgive her of this deed. She ran away from Severus – her best friend, her everything.
If you stay by my side
We can rule the world