Chapter Ten: Lily's Dome.

Snape managed to collect himself after the excitement of gaining the upper hand on Potter, but rued the fact that he had never achieved such a triumph in life and at Hogwarts. This, however, almost made up for the hardships which he had suffered throughout life.

Lily bore Snape no hard will. This much he knew. He wanted to find her, to really talk, without fear that Potter was going to jump out of the shadows and launch an attack on him. Smiling sardonically, Snape remembered that his curse was strong enough to keep Potter incapacitated for a long while yet. Snape didn't need to be overly concerned about Sirius Black, either; He would never act without James. Sirius could fight Death Eaters to, well, the death, but had always childishly sought safety in numbers.

Hoping that he would find Lily before Black found Potter (and Black would start to search for Potter before long), Snape began to run. He knew not where he was going, but this time he at least had a distinct purpose.

He abruptly remembered that last time when he had seen Lily disappear into the water, and doubled back. The trees did not whisper this time, but were making shhhhhhhhhhh noises. The leaves rustled with keen anticipation, and the air crackled with magical energy. Snape stumbled in an uncharacteristically awkward manner at the bank, and fell into the water which he had been planning to dive into.

He hit the water hard, and at first nothing seemed to happen. Snape had not felt the overwhelming sensation of being covered in water since he had been alive, and even then, he had never really been accustomed to swimming. Now it flooded him, working its way into his black, glittering eyes and spluttering mouth. His hair clung to his face in long pieces as he treaded water.

Snape was just beginning to feel angry, when he was overcome by a pulling sensation. Snape felt distressed, as this reminded him irrevocably of the process of dying, and of having his eternal soul being pulled from his body. He felt as though he would be torn into further segments. This must be what it feels like to make a Horcrux, he thought in a fit of irrational panic.

He blacked out.

When he woke, it took a few seconds for his eyes to focus. Initially, everything looked as though it were shimmery. With growing horror and embarrassment, he realised that the shape above him was speedily forming itself into the distinctive features of Lily.

'What happened to me?' were the first groggy words to come out of his mouth. He was tired, and tried to sit up.

'You used my Tornado Transporter,' replied Lily, 'and must have been in frenzy for some reason.' Lines of worry pierced her pale forehead.

'I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to find you, and thought of this, and I jumped, well, not jumped, but-'

Lily was smiling faintly, and sadly.

'It's been a long time since you were this tongue-tied,' she mused.

Snape reddened.

'Why did it have to be such a long time? I wanted your forgiveness all those years ago as much as I want it now. What happened to me just then?'

Snape's thoughts were disjointed, and feared that soon enough he would not be making any sense to Lily. His plan of approaching her with a cool and calmly detached disposition had quite conspicuously failed.

Ignoring Snape's first question, Lily gave a humourless smile.

'You must have had a bad reaction when you used the magic I had harnessed for myself. I created it so I could be taken to a private place. Nobody can enter my dome unless they find the exact position of my Tornado Transporter. Others, like you, have seen me jump into the water and disappear, but just like most of the magic and widespread surroundings in the Fountain, my actions generally went unnoticed. I don't complain, though. Sometimes I enjoy my own company. It's just that my own swirling emotions have, over time, been caught as if in a trap by the Transporter, and this is what must have started to consume your energy force.'

Snape didn't answer Lily, but took a look around him. He made an effort to absorb into his sharp memory every inch of Lily's private place. Her Dome. He beheld a cave, with a million glittering crystals covering the walls. Fairies were fluttering around, and casting their flickering light over the rock. Some water was pooling in a small lagoon in the cave. In that moment, he truly appreciated the beauty of the dark, quiet place. It had a sort of mystical aura that made it highly appropriate for use as a private place.

Staring around for another minute, Snape grew conscious of the fact that he had obviously invaded Lily's solace.

He glanced surreptitiously at Lily, who was gazing at a remarkably bright green stone on the wall next to her. She did not seem annoyed by Snape's presence, but then again, she wasn't giving anything away, either.

'Sorry.' He gestured to himself, and felt instantly foolish, though he kept his face impassive.

Lily looked up from her reverie.

'No. There is nothing to forgive.'

Snape saw another opening.

'Please, Lily. Tell me what went wrong. You forgave Wormtail, and you are infinitely good and moral and kind, that I understand. Did you think that I was so evil that I was beyond help?'

He released his sentences in rapid succession, one after another. It was time for him to learn everything.

Lily fixed her eyes on Snape, and they began to swim with tears. The green of her eyes sparkled with sorrow, and they matched perfectly the green crystal on the stone wall.

'No, you weren't incurably bad,' she finally replied in a small voice. 'I was, and still am.'