Chapter 4 – Oh My Lily

Severus awoke early the next morning and upon remembering his meeting with Angel Lily, he literally sprung from his bed and was ready and out the door within three minutes. When he arrived at the park, Lily was already there, waiting for him.

"Early riser?" Severus asked her. Lily spun around and a wide smile spread across her face.

"Yeah," she laughed softly. Lily seemed sort of shy, and her cheeks were slightly pink. An awkward silence fell upon the 10-year-olds, and after several minutes of staring at his feet, Severus broke it:

"So…" he said, "What do you want to know about wizards?" Lily looked up and went into a long rant about magic and Hogwarts, throwing question after question at Severus, who was desperately trying to answer them all. Suddenly, she stopped talking, and after a short pause, said, "It is real isn't it? It's not just a joke?" Severus smiled.

"It's real for us," he said, and the Angel's eyes sparkled with happiness and life as the sun rose above them. She beamed at him, then continued talking about Hogwarts, and asking him questions about the Ministry, Dumbledore, owl post, and Dementors.

"They're sort of like the government, so there's a Minister of Magic, and loads of Departments, like the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Department of Mysteries."

"Albus Dumbledore is Headmaster of Hogwarts. Some people say he's 100 years old!"

"You can get an owl as your pet if you want, or a toad or cat, and when you write letters to your family, the owls deliver them."

"What do you want to know about Dementors for?"

"Well," Lily said sheepishly, "I have been doing magic outside of school, like yesterday and–"

"Lily!" Severus exclaimed, "Don't be silly! The Ministry won't give you a Dementor's kiss for underage magic. And besides, you're only ten. Once we get wands is when they have a problem with it," he explained.

"Oh, good," Lily said, looking thoroughly relieved. A few days of this question-answering went by, and near the end of the week, Lily asked, "Hey, Severus?"

"Hmm?"

"Do, uh," she hesitated, "Do you want to, er, come to my house, one day?" She looked up at him sweetly. Severus blinked. Visit?

"Uh, visit?" he asked.

"Well, you don't have to. I… I was just wondering––"

"No, no! I mean, yes! Yes, I'd love to come, yes." He smiled.

"Okay, cool! So, uh, when would you like to visit?" she asked.

As often as possible.

"Whenever you'd like," he said.

"How about today?"

Yes, yes and then every other day from then.

"Sure," said Severus. He took her outstretched hand, and together they literally skipped to Lily's house (well Lily skipped and Severus jogged to keep up with her).

Lily's house was like a mansion compared to Severus's. The biggest difference was the amount of colour in her house. Their couches were a deep blue that sat in front of a flat-screen TV, and the smell of cookies wafted from in the kitchen. They went upstairs and stopped at a door labelled Lily. She pushed the door open and ran and flopped on her light purple bed.

God, she is so adorable.

The walls of her room were lilac, and she had cream coloured curtains. Soft, purple material hanging from the roof were draped around the head of her bed, creating a curtain of lilac around her, letting some light through the gaps in the fabric, dotting her face with sunlight. A photo of a younger Lily and Petunia hung from the wall, surrounded by cut-outs of Lily with her family and friends. On a cream bookshelf sat a Spelling Bee trophy and three dolls dressed in black robes. A pretty green frock hung from the door handle of Lily's wardrobe and a purple patterned rug lay in the centre of the room.

Lily gestured to the spot on the bed beside her, and Severus sat down, still looking at the green dress. Lily noticed him staring and said, "Oh, I'm going to a family dinner tonight; that is what I'm wearing."

"It's pretty," said Severus without thinking.

"You think?" she replied, "I'll try it on!"

She took the dress and ran out of the room. Severus looked around the Angel's room again and saw an open notebook lying face up on her bedside table, a blue pen with its lid off sitting on top. He leaned over and in Lily's fancy handwriting, was written;

and he's a lovely boy, a little shy and no sense of fashion, but lovely all the same. I really like him, and Mama said he should visit sometime. I shall ask him tomorrow. Yes, I will, and he can meet Tuney properly. Although, I don't think they will get along. Scratch that thought. Well it's getting late and I must sleep soon. I hope Severus is having a nice night.

And underneath there was a fancy signature,

Lily~

Severus marvelled at the fact that Lily actually liked him, thought he was 'lovely', even. The bedroom door opened and the Angel stepped into the room. She looked exquisite. Her hair brilliantly complimented the colours in the dress, which brought out the colours in her eyes.

Oh my Lily, he found himself thinking. What? What happened to 'oh my god'?

She smiled at Severus, and he smiled back.

"Well?" she asked him, "What do you think?"

"I think…" I think she looks like an angel but I can't really say that now, can I? "You look wonderful."

Her eyes lit up and she grinned widely. "Thanks, Sev!" she said, running over and hugging him quickly. He closed his eyes and savoured the moment.

And he realised. Gods are worshipped, gods are looked up to, gods are sought when help is needed, and gods are what bring life. Severus had inserted Lily's name into his sentence, because Lily was Severus's god.