Book Six – A Shocking Decision and Reactions
Part One
One day she and Mary were talking inside their room - the temperature had soared, and Anetka didn't want Lily to get heatstroke or sunburnt (as a redhead, she burned easily) - when Mary brought up the subject.
"They're really getting on your nerves, aren't they?"
Lily smiled guiltily. "Yeah, they are," she admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I love Anetka and Nicki, I really do, usually they're practically the perfect parents, but I'm fifteen now, I need some room to stretch, and they're smothering me." She blew out her breath.
Mary listened sympathetically, and when she finished, Mary decided to voice a thought that had been prodding her for a while now. "Lily - I don't ever get on your nerves like that, do I?"
"No, of course not, Mary!" Lily exclaimed in surprise. Mary wasn't satisfied.
"I never meant to be overprotective, but I just can't stand to see a boy give you a wrong look." she tried to explain.
"Mary, you are not overprotective."
"Well, maybe not now, but I don't want to get in your way later." Mary was nervously twisting the edge of the quilt she was sitting on. "Look, let me make you a promise. When you get a boyfriend, I promise not to interfere. I mean, you're clever. Top of your year. You ought to be able to make a wise choice. So I promise I won't stalk you or him, or eavesdrop, or try to get you to break up. Okay?"
Lily was startled. She couldn't help but wonder if Mary would have still made that promise if she could have read her mind. But she smiled at her adopted sister. "Okay."
The weather fluctuated wildly. A week later, it was down to eighty degrees, and the cool breeze helped a lot. Lily decided to escape the house by disappearing into the tree above the tree house.
It was extremely comfortable. Lily was dressed in only shorts and a tank top, and the wind managed to reach her through the branches. She sat with her back to the trunk, one leg dangling off the limb and the other stretched out on it. A glass of cold lemonade was suspended in midair, and every few seconds it would move to her lips so she could take a sip. Her eyes were closed.
She was interrupted with a "Hey." Surprised, she looked down at her sister leaning out of the tree house window. Lily smiled in return.
Rose scrambled out of the window and onto a branch near Lily's, a lemonade glass floating after her.
"Did you finish writing your letter to David?" Lily inquired. The couple had been exchanging letters very energetically ever since the beginning of the summer. Nicki, surprisingly, didn't have a problem with her dating David. After four years of friendship, Nicki decided he was acceptable, so they had his full blessing.
Rose nodded, a dreamy expression coming across her face.
Lily sighed wistfully. "I wish I had a boyfriend."
"You have boys asking you out right and left," Rose pointed out. Lily had actually gotten a few owls from hopeful boys since school let out. They were all turned down.
"I already told you why I didn't accept," Lily said, trying hard to keep the impatience out of her tone. But Rose sensed it anyway. And didn't reply. Lily said abruptly, "I do have a crush, though."
Rose perked up. "Really? Who?"
Lily smiled shyly. "Promise you won't tell him."
"I promise."
"Okay...James."
"James Potter?"
"Do we know any other Jameses?"
Rose ignored that. "Oh, this is so cool! We can have a double wedding! Our children will be double cousins!"
"Wedding?" Lily practically shrieked. "All I did was say I had a little crush, and you're talking about weddings?"
"It could happen," Rose insisted, grinning.
"Yeah right..." Lily muttered, picking absentmindedly at the bark of the tree. Rose watched her curiously.
"What?"
"What what?" Lily retorted.
"What are you thinking about? You have this whole trance look about you."
"Well...." Lily shifted uneasily on the branch. "I like someone else too. At least I think I like him. I'm not really sure. If I do like him, it'll be really weird. I mean, so far I think he's just a friend, but there's a chance I may like him more than that.
You know what I mean?"
Rose studied her. She could only think of two people that would fit that description. "I think I do."
"If I do like him, it's going to be really awkward. It may cause a whole lot of problems."
Rose gave a small smile. "Causing problems is not what love is about." She was seventy percent sure she knew who it was now.
"It would be really awkward, Rose."
"Well...then that's the test."
Now Lily studied Rose. "You know who I'm talking about, don't you?" They could read each other like a book.
"I think I do." She hesitated. "Severus Snape, right?"
Blushing furiously, Lily nodded. "It's crazy, isn't it? The boys have been fighting with him since the beginning of time, he's in Slytherin, and everything else. And I like him! It's totally illogical, irrational, and unreasonable. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy, what kind of a girl am I?"
"A very sane one," Rose soothed. "Calm down. Lily, you are a very...insightful person. You were the first one to figure out Remus was a werewolf. If you like Severus Snape, then there's a good reason why. Maybe you see something in him no one else does."
Lily, as she always had, listened to her sister. "You really think so?" she whispered.
Rose nodded.
Suddenly, Lily smiled. "Thanks," she said softly, leaning forward to hug her Rose.
When they broke apart, Rose asked, "So, which one are you going to go for?"
Lily shrugged vaguely. "I'm not going to go for anyone. I decided to wait and see what happens. Just...toss up my fate and let the wind carry it away."
Rose grinned. "That's always fun."
When the usual school owls arrived, something extra came for Lily.
"I'm a prefect!"
Anetka and Nicki were overjoyed by this. Petunia rolled her eyes once and headed upstairs to call Vernon and tell him how she couldn't wait until her sisters get out of the house for another nine months.
The boys were not at all surprised when they learned on the train Lily was a prefect.
"Now I can take points away when you get on my nerves," Lily said, looking especially hard at Sirius.
"Oh, come on, Lil," he exclaimed with a diabolical grin. "You don't have the heart to!"
"Just try me, Sirius," Lily warned.
James switched the subject. "You know," he whispered, leaning forward confidentially, "I think we might be able to become Animagi this year."
"Really?" Rose said excitedly. James nodded.
"All we need to take care of are a few more glitches with Peter," David added.
Sirius shook his head. "Peter, did you know your name actually means 'rock'?"
*~*
The next morning they received their timetables, and the boys were very disgruntled to find that they would be sharing Potions again with the Slytherins.
After lunch they joined the fifth-year Slytherins in their descent to the dungeons. Severus tried to catch Lily's eye, but she was too busy talking to her friends.
Their teacher was waiting for them. Professor Middleton was an old and kindly man with a wrinkled round face and sparkling blue eyes. He was a bit different from the other professors; he allowed a moderate amount of whispering and note passing, as long as everyone was learning something. Also, he liked to try to figure out who had a crush on whom, and then try to make them sit together. For this reason he was either liked or hated by the students - because he put them with someone they really did like, or he put them with someone they hated, and now they would be teased for the rest of their existence.
Now he stood up as they sat down. "Welcome to another year of Potions. So glad to see you all again. Now, at the end of the year you will be taking your O.W.Ls, so you may find Potions this year a bit more difficult than the previous four. Now, before we begin, I have your seating arrangement." He paused, looking up at all of them from the roll of parchment he was holding. "I'm going to be mixing houses somewhat. It's important you learn to work with people you do not necessarily like." The entire class looked horrified, but he ignored it.
"Mr. David Potter and Miss Rose Evans, please sit there." He pointed to the middle of the classroom. "Mr. James Potter and Miss Adesanya, please sit over there." Middleton motioned toward the extreme left of the room. Lily was disappointed. "And Mr. Black and Miss Rakine sit right over there." He pointed wisely to the far right of the class. "Everyone else may sit where they want. Mr. Lupin and Miss Skrit, Mr. Lestrange and Miss Lavonne...." On and on, until finally- "Mr. Snape and Miss Lily Evans...."
Startled, Lily looked up. Beside her, Sirius groaned.
"You poor child. Make sure he doesn't poison you." Lily shook her head, and then glanced across the room at Severus to see where they should sit. He motioned for her to come to him. Of course, he doesn't want to sit by Sirius, she thought as she picked up her bag.
"Hello Lily," Severus said casually as she dropped into the seat next to him. "Did you have a good summer?"
"More or less," she replied, arranging her powders and liquids. "My parents seemed to think that I might collapse again at any sudden moment. That made it a bit tedious."
"See? Starving yourself has consequences," he said knowledgeably. Lily laughed softly, and as she leaned over to get her Potions book, he caught sight of her prefect badge. "You're a prefect?" She nodded, smiling. "Your parents must be happy about that."
"They were. Very much."
"All right, class, get started on your Confusion Potion!" Professor Middleton called.
The ninth of September Rose turned fifteen, and it was no small occasion. David vanished with her directly after noon, and they didn't return until after ten.
Potions was getting to be a very enjoyable class for Lily. Severus was actually more of an expert of Potions than she was, and he taught her several tips and hints.
The boys didn't like at all how close she was getting to him.
"Lily, you haven't forgotten who he is, have you?" James questioned her one day.
"No, I haven't."
"Good. Because it looked like you've forgotten he's our worst enemy!"
"Your worst enemy. Not mine," Lily corrected.
James rubbed his temples. "Lily...do you remember back in our first year, at the Sorting, what I told you? About Slytherins not liking Muggle-borns."
"Yes, but Sirius made that argument obsolete last year, didn't he?" countered Lily, grinning at a nearby Sirius.
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is your point?"
"That you shouldn't be hanging around with him so much."
"James, Professor Middleton put us together. I don't have a choice in the matter."
He gave up.
It was the Thursday of the third week of school. Potions, their last class of the day, was nearly over - Middleton was passing out the marks from a test taken earlier in the week.
"Excellent - you two made the highest marks in the class," the Professor praised as he handed Severus and Lily their score. Severus grinned at a jubilant Lily.
"Looks like we make a good team."
She smiled back. "I suppose we do."
Severus hesitated. Do it now! he ordered himself. It was the perfect opportunity. But just as he opened is mouth, the bell rang.
"Lil!" Sirius called, waving her over.
"See you later," she called to Severus as she left with her sister and the boys.
He frowned as he pushed his book into his bag. Tonight, he vowed. Right after dinner. I can't put it off forever.
That night, as Lily, Rose, Mary, James, David, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were leaving the Great Hall, they were stopped by a call.
"Lily." Severus Snape stood leaning against the wall of a corridor on their left. "May I have a minute?"
Lily flashed him a smile. "Certainly." Turning back to her friends, she added, "I'll catch you up, okay?"
"Okay," David said, staring suspiciously at Snape. "We'll be in the common room."
"All right." Lily walked over to the patient Severus. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yeah..." He was staring at something behind her. Puzzled, she glanced around to see her friends still standing there, watching them.
Lily waved, calling, "Bye!" They got the hint, and reluctantly filed up the stairs. She turned back around.
"Sorry," she apologized. "They're nearly as protective as my parents."
He smiled, biting back a comment he would have loved to make. But that would not have helped his purpose. "Lily, did you know this weekend we can go to Hogsmeade?" She nodded. "Well, I know of a nice restaurant there. Would you like to go there with me for dinner?" As she stared at him, he added, "As on a date?"
"Oh." Lily ran her tongue over her lips, wildly searching for something to say. "Er - can - can you give me a little time to think about this?"
He nodded. "Of course."
"Thanks," said Lily breathlessly. She managed to walk until she turned the corner - then she ran, full speed, all the way to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady looked down at the panting Lily in surprise.
"Password, dearie?"
"Rusty - mailboxes," Lily gasped out, stumbling inside the common room. Inside, she motioned for Rose to join her in an isolated corner. She went straight to the point.
"Severus Snape just asked me out. What do I do?"
Rose took a double take. "What?"
"Severus asked me out. What do I tell him?" Lily repeated impatiently.
"Did you just leave him standing there?"
"No! I told him I needed some time to think about it."
Rose closed her eyes briefly as she formed her thoughts. Of course she didn't want Lily dating him, but she had to do what would make Lily happy, not herself.
"All right," she said slowly. "Do you want to go out with him?"
Lily hesitated. "I don't know."
Rose took a deep breath. "The idea of you on a date with Severus Snape. Does it repulse or attract you?"
"It doesn't repulse me. I don't know if it exactly attracts me."
"Lily...what's holding you back?"
She gave up. "Rose, what about James?"
"What about James? He didn't ask you out - Severus did."
Lily saw her point. "Well...but what if James does later?"
Rose shook her head. She hated what she was doing, but she had to. "We can't count on that. He may never ask. All we know is that Severus did ask you out, and you like him fairly well." As Lily hesitated, she added, "Lily, it's just one date. If you hate it, you don't have to do it again. It's not like you're getting married, or making some other huge commitment. It's just one date. If you never want to do it again, I'll help you think of excuses for him next time."
Lily thought about this for a few seconds, and then reached up to hug her sister.
"Thanks." She walked up the stairs to go to bed.
Rose collapsed into a chair behind her, asking herself why on earth she just convinced her sister to go out with Severus Snape the Slytherin.
Lily didn't see Severus again until near the end of the next day, when he was walking back from Herbology.
"Severus!" She ran down the hallway to where he was standing. "Er, hi," she began, nervously pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Hello," Severus said quietly. He had a horrible feeling that she was about to turn him down.
"Well, I did think about what you asked me, and I decided...that it might be fun." she said in a rush. "I mean, I'd like to go on a date with you."
Severus was stunned. After all the boys she turned down, he was the one who got her? But he managed to find his voice. "Seriously?"
She nodded, blushing.
"Er, thank you. So, I'll see you in the Three Broomsticks at...five thirty?"
Lily nodded. "Sure. See you later."
But unknown to both of them, someone had heard their conversation, and was now racing as fast as his feet could carry him back to Gryffindor Tower.
Peter breathlessly burst into the common room, heading straight to the tousle-headed boy doing his homework by the fire.
"James! James! You won't believe what I just heard!"
Slowly the boy raised his head. "James is sitting over there," David said, pointing to three boys sitting at a table. Unheeded, Peter ran over there. Curious, David followed.
"James! You won't believe what I just heard!" Peter cried breathlessly.
From that day on, whenever Peter breathlessly approached James with news, James would involuntarily cringe.
Peter knew, as Sirius, Remus, and David did that James was starting to have certain feelings for Lily. In fact, that's what they had been discussing before Peter arrived.
"Oh, go on, ask her out!" Sirius had urged him.
"I don't know...I don't think she likes me as much as I like her." James, like his son would be, was reluctant to ask a girl out.
"How will you know if you don't ask her?" Remus had pointed out. "Look, if David can ask Rose out, you can ask Lily."
"James, it's easy. Just ask Lily if she would like to spend some time with you at Hogsmeade tomorrow," Sirius had instructed. "Go explore the residential area."
"All right! I'll ask her."
It was at this point that Peter showed up.
Now Sirius sighed, "What did you hear, Peter?"
"Well, I was going to the library, when I heard Lily and Snape talking!"
At once the interest of the four boys was caught.
"What did they say?" James asked, leaning forward.
"I don't know what was going on, but I think Snape must have asked her out last night."
"What?" David yelped; James went white, while Sirius asked sharply,
"How do you know?"
Peter said eagerly, "Just now, she went up to him and said - I think her exact words were, 'I would like to go out with you.' And Snape said he'd see her tomorrow. "
David, Remus and Sirius's jaws dropped. James fell weakly back in his chair. Sirius whispered,
"She can't - she couldn't have - she's under the Imperius Curse!"
"Don't be stupid, Sirius," David muttered. "I can't believe it...I thought she was brighter than that...." Remus said nothing, but stared at the table as he tried to figure out why Lily would have done something like this.
Right on cue, Lily entered the common room.
"Lil!" Sirius jerked his head sideways, emphasizing that she should come over.
As Lily walked towards them, she thought about when she should break the news. She dreaded their response – and rightly so. Maybe she could tell them afterwards. Like Sunday morning. Eight years from now.
David grabbed her by the arm and yanked her down into a chair - hard. Sirius accused,
"You're going out with Snape. Do you deny it?"
Lily was shocked. "How did you know?"
"Peter overheard you," informed David. Sirius barked,
"So you admit it?"
"What is this, my trial? May I appeal?" Lily was starting to get nervous.
"Lily, calm down," David soothed. "Try to think. Did you drink any funny liquids lately?"
"No." Now she was starting to get angry.
"Do your sisters know?" Remus chimed in.
"Rose is the one who told me to say yes!"
David leapt up and left, muttering something about needing to have a talk with his girlfriend.
"Look," Lily started. "This is my life. Not yours. I get to go on a date with whoever I want to." She got up and stormed upstairs, passing a puzzled Mary.
"What was that all about?" she asked, shifting the large pile of books she was carrying.
Sirius looked up in surprise. "You don't know? Lily's going out on a date with Snape."
Mary dropped the entire stack.
"Oh no," she whispered, dropping into the chair Lily had occupied. Her head fell onto the table. "Why did I have to make that stupid promise? Why? She's going to be raped and there's not a single thing I can do about it...." She was repeatedly raising her head and letting it crash down on the table.
"What promise?" Peter questioned.
"The one I made to Lily over the summer," she moaned. "I said I wouldn't do anything if she ever started going out, like follow them around or eavesdrop or try to make them break up."
"Why did you tell her that?" Sirius exploded.
"Because I didn't want to be overprotective and get on her nerves like Anetka and Nicki were." Her head fell again.
"Oh, Mary...." Remus said sadly, shaking his head.
"How was I supposed to know she was going to choose Snape?" Mary yelled, raising her head. "I thought she would choose someone sensible, like you" -she waved her hand at James- "or - God, anyone else!"
"We know, Mary, we know!" Sirius cried, bringing his fist down on the table.
Later, Sirius, James, and David were finally alone in their dorm.
"You okay?" Sirius asked, plopping down on James's bed beside David.
James had completely forgotten about dinner. After a few seconds, he nodded in answer to Sirius's question. "I've changed my mind. I'm not going to ask Lily out."
"Oh, go on, James," said David softly.
"No," said James with sudden determination. "She picked Snape, okay? If she's happy, I don't want to ruin it."
"What are you talking about?" Sirius cried. "It's one date, by tomorrow she's going to realize what an idiot he is, and you'll be able to ask her out! There's nothing to ruin!"
"Look, let's just see what happens, okay?" David cut in. "We don't even know what's going to happen yet. So...let's just wait until tomorrow night. Then we can jump to conclusions. Okay?"
The next day, when everyone headed off to Hogsmeade, Lily and Rose stayed behind. At 5:00, Lily decided to get ready. Rose lay on her stomach on her bed, watching her.
Lily had chosen to wear a black skirt that came just above her knees, covered with silver dust, and the matching shirt (also covered in glitter) had elbow-length sleeves. She had pinned two locks of hair back on either side of her head back with two silver pins, and was now turning slowly in front of the mirror. Finally, she faced her sister.
"What do you think?"
Rose smiled. "Beautiful."
"Thanks." She hesitated, and then admitted, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Going on a date?"
"No!" Lily laughed nervously. "Well, yes - in a way. I mean, going on a date with Severus - that whole concept. Our best friends' worst enemy. Remember how we met them? When they were fighting with him! Who knew five years later I would be dating him?"
Rose smiled weakly.
"You think I'm making a wrong choice." Lily's voice dropped to a whisper.
"No," Rose said slowly. "You're giving him a chance - that's never a wrong choice, unless it's dangerous. Only what you do afterwards can be a wrong choice. But then only you will know whether or not it's a wrong choice. No one else. Remember that."
Lily looked at her sister silently for a moment, and then sat down next to her. "You're the best sister in the world, you know that?"
She blushed. Lily stood up, and then gasped. "Rose!"
She sat up. "What?"
"Anetka and Nicki!"
Rose's eyes widened. "Oh, no!"
"What am I going to tell them?"
"Er…just say you went on a date. You don't have to say with whom, but if you go on one again, I think you better tell them."
"Yeah...." Lily was trying to think of her parents' reactions. Nicki would be shocked - he had been a Gryffindor. Anetka - she would just be surprised, and would listen to anything Nicki said, since he was the expert on all things Hogwarts.
Lily was in trouble.
"Okay." Rose blew out her breath. "Don't worry about it tonight. Go and have a good time."
Lily and Rose walked out of Hogwarts and to the carriages that continued to go to and from the village. They were silent on the way to Hogsmeade - Lily thinking about what her evening would be like, Rose thinking about how this could have happened.
As they pulled in, Lily said abruptly, "Make sure the boys don't follow us."
"I will," Rose replied distantly. When Lily gave her a quizzical look, she added, "Have a good time. When do you think you'll be back?"
Lily paused, her hand on the door. "Er…before eleven.'
"Eleven?" Rose echoed.
"You think it's too late? How about ten? You can organize a search party for me after ten."
"That's fine." She started to breathe again.
As they stepped out, James, David, Sirius, Remus, Mary, and Peter, who were waiting by the side of the road, moved forward.
"Hey," Sirius said. James stared. If I had only asked a day earlier, she could be here for me...
"You look nice," Remus offered.
"Thanks," she said, flashing him a smile. "Mary, what time is it?"
"Erm...5:26."
"Perfect." Lily glanced around at all her friends, waiting anxiously for them to say something, but they didn't. "Well...I think I'll be going now. See you later." Without waiting for a response, she headed off towards the Three Broomsticks.
It was very crowded. Lily entered rather uncertainly, trying to find Severus. She finally spotted him sitting at a table for two. There were two bottles of butterbeer before him; one untouched before the vacant chair, the other a quarter empty. Relieved that he had shown up, Lily approached him.
"Hi."
He looked up, and then smiled. "Hi. I got you a butterbeer."
"Thanks," she said, reaching for it.
"You're going to have to drink it as you walk," he added, standing up. "I have a table booked for 5:45."
"Okay."
They walked down the streets in silence - a rather awkward silence at that. Lily had never been in this part of Hogsmeade before. It was where most people lived and where the regular shops where. It appeared Madam Malkin's was a chain store, as was Quality Quidditch Supplies. Finally Severus spoke.
"I'm thinking your friends weren't pleased when they learned you had accepted my offer."
Lily smiled as she glanced at him. "No, they weren't. I don't think they're speaking to me anymore."
"Oh?" he laughed.
"No – it won't last long though. We've been friends for four years now."
"This is it," Severus said, stopping if in front of a large, smart restaurant. In large, gold and silver letters it spelled out Josephine's Cauldron. "Ever been here before?" he asked as he held the door open for her to pass.
Lily shook her head shyly. A waiter led them to a booth, where they took their seats across from each other. After placing their orders, Severus began the conversation. It wasn't exactly the best way to break the ice, but it would clear up any doubts she still had.
"Black said last year that you were Muggle-born, and I thought that was a bit strange, because I thought I saw your parents come through the barrier once or twice."
Lily flinched slightly. "Oh. Well, I am a technical Muggle-born. That is, my biological parents were Muggles, so I and two of my sisters are Muggle-born. Not Mary, the one you know, but the oldest one." Lily pushed her hair back. It was so difficult to explain. "My older sister is a Muggle, and she, my younger sister Rose, and I are blood relatives. My mother died giving birth to Rose, and my father couldn't take care of all three of us, so he let the people I now call my parents adopt us - who are a witch and a wizard. A few months later they had my youngest sister, Mary."
Severus nodded. "That's complicated."
That was his only comment? "Yeah..."
He continued, "It's strange, my story is a bit like yours."
She choked on her water. "You're a Muggle-born?"
"Oh no," he said hastily. Too hastily. Lily's eyes flickered downward. "No - not like that-" -he thought fast- "it's just, I'm not a Muggle-born or adopted."
"Oh." Lily accepted it.
"See - my mother died a few days after I was born, and my father ran off."
"My father did not 'run off',' " Lily corrected.
"No - that's not what I meant-" It was obvious he was losing fast. He decided to go for the honest approach. "Look, I really didn't mean it to sound like that. Really."
Lily considered this. "It's all right. I'm just a bit sensitive about the subject. So, if you weren't adopted, what happened to you?"
He shrugged. "My uncle took me in - that is, my father's brother."
Lily studied him. "Do you like him much?"
Severus shrugged again. "He didn't like me, I didn't like him. He let me sleep in his house and told the house-elves to feed me. That is the extent of his looking after me. I probably only saw him a dozen times growing up."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not."
Lily couldn't help but laugh. "So, who took care of you when you were a baby?"
"No one, really. Well - the house-elves had a large part in it. My uncle's fairly wealthy, and since I had free rein on the house, they were the only ones to keep me from becoming a spoiled brat."
"They did a pretty good job." Lily said without thinking. He raised his eyebrows.
"How can you tell?"
"Well...." She could feel her cheeks burning. "You don't seem like the spoiled type."
"Thank you, I suppose."
"But what did you do all day? If your uncle ignored you, and you were left by yourself...."
"He had a library. And a Quidditch field, and a pool."
At once Lily was interested. "You like to read?"
"Yes. I was still a toddler when the head elf, Zephy, taught me to read and write. He's brighter than most house-elves." Severus didn't add that Zephy was the only thing that had ever come close to family for him. "So I usually spent my time trying to read the entire library." He hesitated, and then continued, "My family is all from Slytherin, so most of the books were about the Dark Arts. I blame them for my being in Slytherin."
Lily laughed.
"Well, what about your sister? What is she like?"
"She..." Lily searched for something nice to say about her sister. "She has really pretty eyes." Well, that was conceited. Petunia's eyes were just like hers. "Petunia's a blond - really tall." That was all she could think of. "So, is your uncle going to be angry that you're going out with a Gryffindor?"
He didn't blink. "My uncle died last year."
Lily dropped her fork with a clatter. "Oh, Severus, I'm so sorry."
"I'm not," he repeated. This time, Lily didn't laugh.
"What happened to you now?"
"He left basically everything to me, since he obviously couldn't think of anyone else. I get it all when I turn seventeen. Until then, everything is in the hands of Zephy. Or that's what the papers say." He smiled slightly. "Unofficially, I'm the master. The house-elves do as I say. No questions asked."
Their evening continued in the same manner, without any further awkward moments. Lily was surprised by how good a time she had. Halfway through their meal a party of twenty-five arrived, all of them having extremely large noses. Severus and Lily, in a whisper, concocted all of their life stories and futures. She couldn't breathe, she was laughing so hard.
Severus paid the bill and they left, struggling not to grin as they passed the Beak Tribe.
Night had fallen suddenly. Severus glanced at her as they took a few steps away from Josephine's Cauldron. "Do you want to go for a walk before going back to the school?"
"All right." Why not?
They started down a more secluded street. Everyone was either already at Hogwarts or at home. The moon, even though it was a mere crescent, was bright. Severus was delighted. Things couldn't have been more perfect.
After a few minutes Severus took Lily's hand, half expecting her to discreetly pull away, but she didn't. He thought about interlacing fingers, but decided against it. He shouldn't rush things.
Lily's heart was racing. What was she doing, holding hands with Severus Snape? What would her friends do if they could see her now? The answers came to her almost instantly. The boys - all of them - would be disgusted. Mary would faint. Rose - Lily slowed her thinking, trying to discern the opinion that mattered the most to her. Suddenly, her sister's voice filled her head just as though she was really talking to her.
Does it bother you? No, not really.
Then you like it? I suppose...
And it's not hurting you. So don't worry about it.
The couple had walked all the way to the edge of the village, behind the last house, where there was a bench. Severus had found it earlier that day, when he was planning out the entire evening. Now they sat down next to each other.
Lily's heart was really pounding now. She had never expected to find herself in this situation.
Severus leaned back, carefully setting his arm around her shoulders. "So...are you having a good time?" She nodded, unable to speak. He smiled, fingering a lock of her red hair. "It's not over yet." They were incredibly close - her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Severus leaned forward slightly, and their lips touched.
It was only for an instant - then they broke apart. Severus was in shock. He hadn't planned to actually kiss her tonight; he wanted to take it slow, inch-by-inch. But it happened – and it left his mind reeling. "What was that?"
Lily was just as much in shock. She stared at him, her lips slightly parted. "I don't know," she said breathlessly. "But I think I liked it."
Severus couldn't help but smile. They kissed again, and this time it was longer. Lily forgot about houses. She forgot about her friends.
Much later, they were walking back to Hogwarts, holding hands again, but this time with interlaced fingers. Lily wasn't nervous anymore.
When they reached the end of the street, in front of the carriages, they stopped. Severus had been pondering on whether or not to ask her something, and now he decided to take the risk and go for it.
"Lily...tomorrow your friends will interrogate you about what happened between us, right?" She nodded, frowning slightly at the thought. "Do you want to tell them that we are a couple?"
She caught her breath. This wasn't "just a date" he was asking her - it was something much more permanent. The entire school would be against them, not to mention her best friends. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin...could they even last together?
But then what Rose had said earlier that evening rushed back at her: "...only what you do afterwards can be a wrong choice. But then only you will know whether or not it's a wrong choice. No one else. Remember that." Then it hit Lily: it didn't matter what anyone thought, not the rest of the school, not Dumbledore, not her father, not even her sisters. Only her and Severus knew what they were doing was right or not. So was it right?
He was still waiting hopefully for her answer. She cocked her head. "Kiss me again." He obeyed, and it was during that kiss that Lily knew what her answer would be. She slowly reached up and wrapped her arms around her neck.
When they parted, he warned her, "Your friends aren't going to like it."
She grinned. "It doesn't matter."
Laughing, Severus whispered for the first of many times, "That's my girl." Lily flushed, but more from excitement than embarrassment.
After they parted in front of the Great Hall, Lily practically danced the way to Gryffindor Tower. She found the common room completely empty except for Rose, who was dressed in her nightgown and robe, sitting in a chair reading a book. She quickly looked up when Lily entered.
"Lily! You're finally back."
Lily glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's only 9:45."
"Well..." She closed the book and leaned forward on the table as Lily sat down across from her. "You look happy."
"I am."
"So you had a good time?"
"Incredible." Lily grinned.
"Well, aren't you going to tell me about it?"
Lily was smiling to herself, fingering the binding of Rose's book. "First we had dinner at a really nice restaurant. It was really fun. You can't understand how nice he can really be, Rose. Before this, all we knew about him was how he acted when he fought with the boys, and what is that? But he really can be nice." Rose nodded, seeing her point. "After that we decided to take a walk." She was slowly turning red as she thought about the next part. Her sister noticed.
"Lily, whatever happened you can tell me." Rose's green eyes stared directly into Lily's matching eyes.
"I know." She paused for a moment. "He took my hand as we went down the streets, until we came to a bench at the edge of Hogsmeade. Then he put his arm around my shoulders. And...we kissed. Twice. The first time was almost like an experiment, you know? The second..." Lily fell back in her seat, laughing giddily. "Oh, it's indescribable. Just...mind-blowing. I've never experienced anything like it. It was like...time froze, and it was just the two of us and what was happening right then, and no one and nothing else mattered."
Rose couldn't believe her ears. It was uncanny, really – and chilling. Lily saw her expression.
"What?"
"Nothing...just, I feel the same way when David kisses me."
Her eyes widened. "Wow. Oh, what did he tell you yesterday about your helping me go out with Severus?"
"Not much - just asked me why if I loved my sister so much, I would tell her to go out with a Slytherin, and Snape of all people. I explained to him all I told you was to give him a chance. He still wasn't convinced."
"Did you get into a fight?"
"No - in the end he gave up, saying he trusted me. But what happened with you and Severus after that?"
"Well, we started walking back to Hogwarts, holding hands again. When we got near the carriages, we stopped, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend."
Now Rose's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"Well...try to follow my thought process here, okay? At first I was thinking, 'Me? Severus's girlfriend? Everyone would go berserk.' But then I remembered what you told me, about how only I would know whether it was a right or wrong choice. And I thought about it, and...I said yes." She held her breath as she waited for her sister's reaction.
Rose was telling herself over and over that she trusted her, Lily was a clever girl, she knew what she was doing. And it was working. Slowly. Finally she said carefully, "I'm just going to say this: you do know what you're doing?"
Lily leaned forward across the table. "During the summer you told me that if I liked Severus Snape, there had to be a good reason. I do like him, and there is a good reason why. I don't know what it is yet, but there is a reason. Why else would I agree to date the Slytherin that our best friends have been fighting with for five years? Rose, you have to trust my judgment."
She sighed. "That's good enough for me. I trust you and your judgment. You and Severus have my blessing - though I think it's the only one you're going to get."
"Oooh, yeah, the boys aren't going to be happy about this, are they?"
"I think not."
"Oh dear..."
But what neither of them knew was that a small dark-haired girl sat on the steps of the staircase to their dorm, her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, an odd sort of lump in her throat. She had been waiting for Lily as long as Rose had. Now as her sisters started walking toward the steps, Mary stood up and disappeared silently through a door marked "Fourth Years" where she sat on her bed for several minutes without moving. She wasn't upset because Lily had chosen Severus as a boyfriend. She was upset because Lily was so sure about it.