All right, pick your favourite love song and play it as you read this…the effect will be instantaneous ;)
One clarification…last chapter I said Ginny instead of Lily at one point, and I apologize for that…
Last chapter…enjoy
Chapter III: Love Found
Lily had decided to do her best in acclimatizing back into Hogwarts. She woke up in the morning, feeling strangely refreshed and confident.
"Lily?" her roommate asked her. "Feeling alright?"
"Oh yes, very much so!" Lily answered a bit too enthusiastically, and departed towards the bathroom.
Once she was down in the Great Hall and eating breakfast, Lily's eyes kept searching for the presence of one rather mysterious and intriguing character – Severus Snape.
For late last night, a realization had hit Lily with the force of a stampeding troll – she loved him.
How? She could not understand, but did not care to either.
Yes, she was in love with Severus Snape; what was it about him that attracted her so?
It was his compassion, care and support. Lily had been acting odd for days – why hadn't her friends come forward to offer her assistance?
Because they didn't care, or they were simply scared of her behavior, Lily couldn't quite decide, but still irked her to no end.
At last, he walked in, and directed his steps towards the Slytherin table. Lily tried looking directly at him, in an effort to catch his gaze.
It didn't work – he was too absorbed in himself.
She, however, did not surrender easily. Deciding to ambush her quarry later on, Lily concentrated on eating her jam-covered pancakes and formulating a plan to corner Severus the next chance she received.
The object of Lily's affections had remained after the last class of the evening, Herbology, in one of the greenhouses, busily writing the ingredients for a certain potion he was keen on perfecting – Polyjuice. The concept of transforming into another being's physical characteristics had occurred to him a few months previously, and now, he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
Severus' hand flew across the parchment. The quill was quivering in his hand, and from the excitement of the discovery, it left deep impressions in the yellowed parchment.
A draft of wind from a crack in a window somewhere caused the candle to flicker, and nearly be extinguished. Just so he could see better, Severus pointed his wand to the dying flame, and after a muttered incantation, it burst anew.
The sound of a scratching quill continued to permeate the relative quiet. Small raindrops had begun to drum against the roof and walls of the greenhouse. The effect was nearly hypnotizing…it provided a calm, a void, free of distractions, where he could work in peace.
The lightning illuminated the black silhouettes of the plants around him – still, unmoving, as if expecting something…
He was drawing a sketch of a leaf, the heart-shaped lubovice plant; one of the most rare and difficult ingredients to obtain; rumored to be deep within the Forbidden Forest, confined to a clearing, only the centaurs were knew of.
Severus, however, had managed to acquire a single specimen of the plant, offered to him by a mysterious traveler in Hogesmeade some weeks ago.
It was the shape of the leaf that reminded him of his own dilemma – Lily. Her heart was good, considerate, and rare these days, and even more difficult to find a person such as her; in a word, her heart was golden…
He squeezed the small piece of parchment in his hand tightly. Heart pounding, he read it once more:
Severus,
Meet me on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, tonight after dark. I need to talk to you.
Lily
Chills ran down his spine – she would never request anything of the sort usually; but tonight – tonight had to be significant.
He wrote a few notes beside the sketch of the leaf, in an effort to regain his composure, about its origins and properties
Will provide the effect for an hour – a complete physical transformation…It was no good – his focus was waning, as his mind was slowly succumbing to thoughts of the red vivacious desire that was Lily Evans.
The rain had become more intense by now. Thunder sounded more frequently, and heavier drops battered the glass. Another lightning strike illuminated the dark outline of the trees in the Forbidden Forest.
Yet, Severus sat, unperturbed; he was determined to finish writing the theory behind the Polyjuice potion. The candle had again started to grow weak…he was almost finished…
Over the noise of the rain, Severus thought he heard the sound of running footsteps, splattering against the muddy ground. Perhaps it was a teacher, coming to check nobody was left behind?
His senses quickly became more alert. The dark outside did not reveal anyone coming, and it couldn't have. Unable to disapparate, and nearly trapped, Severus hastily transfigured his parchments into an ordinary flowerpot, and thinking quickly, he stuffed it behind a pile of black earth – tomorrow, he would sneak back to retrieve them.
Opening the door quietly, he slipped out into the dark, hoping to evade detection.
The other person was nearby; he, or she, stopped in their tracks, gasping. Severus quickly realized that the strange guest was a girl. He ignited the tip of his wand.
"Lily?" he said loudly over the noise of the falling rain – it was still falling, but seemed to have weakened slightly.
"Severus!" she said in return. "Oh, good…I barely made it."
He remained quiet for a second.
"Let's go inside," he said eventually. "We'll catch a cold out here."
"No!" Lily gasped. "I have to talk to you."
His heart pulsed quicker…the intrigue of the secret rendez-vous climbed by the second.
Severus walked closer to Lily. "Wh…what about?" he said quietly.
"You…me…us," she replied, very quietly.
Still, he heard her quite well. The rain had not ceased, but had, by now, drenched them both.
Severus could not help, but stare transfixed at Lily…words failed to describe her in the soft glow of the wand light…her red hair, usually softly curled, was wet, clinging to her face and neck, water cascading down from it. She swept a lock aside, and her gaze met his…
It took his breath away.
Not that it mattered much – her eyes, those eyes…rich green, burning with passion, promise, affection, and was it…love?
A streak of water slid down from her forehead, to her cheek, chin and down her neck…Severus' eyes were compelled to follow it…they met her red shirt, clinging to her tightly, made heavy by the rain…her breasts were quite accentuated through the thin fabric…
Severus gulped in anticipation. His mind had ground to a halt, taken over by the sea of emotion, swelling within him currently – and certainly matching Lily's anticipation, for she was feeling no less calm…
He, in turn, captivated her…the intense gaze, the determination in his eyes, it made her quiver with excitement, with sweet passion, that grew more powerful constantly…she could stand it no longer, as her welled up frustration threatened to break loose…
The rain had become insignificant, irrelevant, even if it was still soaking them both…as if by instinct, Severus and Lily moved forward, slowly, willingly, towards one another…she felt her eyes slowly close…faintly noting the fact, Lily saw his eyes closing of their own accord as well…
In one long second, their lips met, tentatively…water still cascaded down, but they didn't care…
And then it became braver, more passionate and intense…he placed more effort, feelings and desire into the kiss…she responded, using her tongue, exploring, sliding, and biting his lower lip slightly…
That was the turning point…her arms closed around him, and his hand traced her chin, whilst still sending her to seventh heaven… the kiss only deepened more, erasing all conscious thought, as instinct started to surface, and take over, take control in a way neither had felt, nor imagined before…
The need for air could at last, no longer be ignored…they broke apart.
What followed, was the incredulous, questioning gaze they shared.
"Severus?" Lily said at last.
"Yes?" he managed to answer huskilty.
"I can't ignore it any longer," Lily replied, a little stronger. "I love you."
Severus' mind simply quit working again. He leaned in once more, and softly kissed Lily again.
"I love you too," he murmured against her lips.
Drenched, still embracing, and looking into each other's eyes, neither felt the cold…a strange new warmth had arisen within Lily, spreading all the way to her fingertips…her mistake was corrected, and a beautiful love was about to blossom once more…
A/N Here ya go, gals…hope you had fun, cause that's enough fluff to last me a lifetime…if you liked it, leave a review, and if you didn't, still leave a review… thanks for reading…