Chapter Three
Lily awoke to the smell of bacon, she yawned and stretched, before going into the kitchen. Severus stood by the stove cooking bacon and eggs. "I hope this is alright, I wanted to give it to you in bed, but..."
"It looks great Sev, thanks." Lily said and poured herself a cup of tea, she sat down at the table and smiled at Severus.
"No problem Lily." Severus said finishing cooking the meal and transferring it to two plates. He sat down across from her and started to eat. Lily looked down at the food, realizing that James had never bothered to prepare a meal for her. Tears welled in her eyes and Severus dropped the toast he had been about to take a bite of. "Lily what's wrong?"
"I just thought of James, I can't get him out of my head. It hurts to think about him, but I can't stop doing so. How could he have done this to me?"
"I do not know Lily, but look on the bright side, at least you are free now. You have filed for divorce papers haven't you?"
"I haven't, Dumbledore said that it would be better not to divorce James until after Harry is born. Otherwise he can claim that I'm heisterical because I'm pregnant."
"Dumbledore would suggest that, you need to file for a divorce at once. Don't give James time to plan, they might looking for a way to take Harry from you. Dumbledore must believe James to be more mailable, especially considering that he doesn't know of the pregnancy. Did Dumbledore seem surprised to you when you told him about James?" Severus asked and Lily thought back a moment, before realizing that Dumbledore hadn't seemed surprised by her accusations.
"Dumbledore knew." Lily said and felt her tears turn to anger. "How could he have known? How could he have done this to me?"
"I don't know Lily, but we will figure this out." Severus said. "I will protect you and Harry, I won't let them hurt either of you."
"Thank you Severus, you are a good friend."
"We can look in my library, there might be a potion in there to help us." Severus suggested and Lily nodded, they walked to Severus' living room together. "When I finished my apprenticeship my former master gave these books to me as a gift."
"These look amazing, I considered doing a potion's apprenticeship before..." She said and Severus saw the anger and sadness in her eyes. She had clearly been in denial earlier, but now the events were catching up to her. "I just can't believe that he did it."
"James always struck me as a selfish person." Severus said. "Then again most people are, including myself."
"Don't say that Sev, you opened your home to me, you are far from selfish. I've known you since you were a child. I might not know the man you have become, but I know now that people's natures don't fundamentally change. You are still the giving person I know you to be, even if you can't see it for yourself."
"I wish that I could see myself the way you see me." Severus said and Lily took his hand.
"I do too, maybe you will in time." Lily said gently, before picking a book at random and sitting in one of the chairs. Together they read until Lily grew hungry and looked to Severus. "Why don't you stay here and read some more, I will make us something to eat."
"Mmmhm." Was Severus' only reply as he scanned the pages, Lily laughed and left the room. Severus had always been hard to disturb, while he was reading. She went to the kitchen and looked through the food they had bought the day before. She decided to just warm up what was left of the pot pie they had eaten last night. She stuck it into the oven, letting it warm up for a while, before pulling it out and putting it in bowls. She then carried the bowls into the living room. She sat down next to Severus and handed him the bowl taking her own and starting to eat. It took Severus a moment to notice the food and when he did, he held the book in one hand, turning the pages with a spell as he ate. Lily watched him amused by how he didn't take his eyes from the book, before finishing the food and returning to her own book.
"I might have found something, but I am not sure that you will want to do it." Severus said to Lily."
"I'd be willing to try anything, if it means that Harry and I will be safe from James."
"It isn't something one enters into lightly, I think I would be willing to do it to protect you...At the same time, don't expect me to be good at this..." Severus said. "But if you want me to do it...I will."
"Do what Severus, what are you talking about?"
"There is a potion to change the paternity of the father, while the child is still in the womb. It would insure that James would have no claim on Harry, yet at the same time..."
"You can change who Harry's father is?" Lily demanded and Severus hesitated a moment before nodding. "But who would be his father."
"I would help you Lily, to make sure you and Harry are safe from James." Severus said and Lily stared at him a moment, awed by what he offered to her.
"Are you sure?"
"I am and it isn't as though either of us can't change our mind, after I start the potion." Severus said, but looking at the relief in her eyes, he knew that he couldn't stop brewing the potion. Lily needed him and he would do what she needed, he wished he knew why he always had to do whatever it took to make her happy.
"Thank you Sev, thank you!" Lily said, throwing her arms around him. "As much as I care about Harry, I don't want to look at him and be constantly reminded of what James did. I would much rather look at him and see my friend." Lily said and he reached an arm around her back, patting it gently. Severus had never really known what to do with displays of affection. Growing up as he had it was difficult for him to understand why someone would want to touch him as Lily did now.
"You are welcome Lily, now I will get started on the potion, it should take a few days to brew." He said and Lily let go of him.
"Thanks again, would it be alright if I stayed here and read some more?"
"That would be fine by me Lily, feel free to make yourself at home."
"Thanks Sev." Lily said and sat back in the armchair, resuming her page in the potion book. She read for several hours as Severus worked in his potions lab, before putting aside the book and going into the kitchen. She made spagetti for her and Severus and called him to the kitchen, when it was ready.
"I put a stasis spell on it that should last for several hours."
"I won't ever be able to repay what your doing for me, thank you Sev."
"It is the least I can do, if it wasn't for me...You and Harry would never be in danger in the first place."
"Sev that's not your fault, you believed that you were doing the right thing. No matter how misguided your actions might have been, even the best of us can be fooled into something we will later regret."
"Thank you for forgiving me Lily, I have not been the friend to you that I should have been." Severus said and wished he had never set foot into the Three Broomsticks.
"Neither have I Sev, I remember a young girl that lost her best friend, simply because he said something in anger." Lily said. "If I wasn't so stubborn, we would have rekindled our friendship much sooner."
"You had every right to be appaled by my actions Lily." Severus said and Lily patted him on the back.
"The fact remains that I wasn't there, when you needed me and that I regret." Lily said stood up, before starting to wash and put away the dishes. "Now go back to your potion, I can finish in here."
"Alright Lily, thank you for cooking it was very good."
"It was just tomato sauce out of a can and some noodles Severus." Lily said and laughed, hitting him with a dish towel. "Now go, before something happens to the potion."
"Very well, goodnight Lily, I doubt that I will go to bed before you retire for the evening."
"Night Sev." Lily replied and watched as he left the room. She went back to cleaning up the kitchen and then realized that she was in fact tired. She went to her rooms and got ready for bed, she turned off the light and fell asleep thinking about how despite everything Severus was still a good friend.