A/N: Apologies for the longer wait and the shorter chapter. Enjoy some nice fluff.

Xxxx

The bright glow caused him to stir from the light sleep he had drifted off in. As he shifted there was an ache in his back from sleeping so rigidly in the hardly cushioned chair. He was half convinced that the item poking him just above his kidney was a spring. The piece of furniture could hardly be considered worth sitting in, let alone what he had used it for.

His eyes focused then on what had woken him and he saw the fluttering of a bird in front of him. It was one he had never seen before and couldn't comprehend who it could be from. He hadn't been the recipient of many of these apparitions, but Dumbledore cast the only bird he could recall. The phoenix had an elegance to its movement, even the feathers of its wings. But, this one, whatever it was, moved more rhythmically, beating the air with a purpose rather than out of whim.

A voice came from it suddenly, Lily's voice, answering his questions. She spoke three simple words "How is he?" Yet, Severus just stared ahead as the patronus faded to mist before dissipating entirely. He'd seen her patronus only once, on the battlefield. He remembered with a snarl how revolting the display had been, how her doe cuddled up beside James' stag. The two of them seeming to forget the importance of the task at hand. Instead they'd been too wrapped up in their newfound love. It was an irritating display of self-importance. It was a bloody war. He could have killed them then and there, had he truly been on the Dark Lord's side at the time. All he focused on now however, was the sudden change in species.

He stretched his arm outwards so that the intricately engraved, blackthorn wand found it's way into his hand. His movements were slow. Severus was afraid the slightest amount of noise would wake Harry and it had taken far too long for the boy to drift into sleep to begin with.

The tip of his wand moved gradually in the air in front of him. A happy memory came to his mind easily, despite his lack of them. In seconds the pale blue light seeped from the dragon heartstring of his wand. Ordinarily, the vapor would have clung low to the dungeon floor, taking the shape of a doe. Instead it hung in front of him in seeming decisiveness. Severus watched in disbelief as it too took the form a falcon.

Patronuses were fairly knew to him. He had fallen into the standard that death eaters couldn't produce them, having no happy memories. What was there for him to choose from? A father that beat him on an almost daily basis? A mother that avoided her eyes, pretending that nothing had happened? Severus had been free from that sadistic man for several years now, yet the pounding of flesh against flesh still haunted his memories. It was a sound that had been drilled into him

He simply hadn't seen any way a patronus, a literal light in the dark, could be formed with so little to draw from. The memory not only had to be happy, but powerful. The memory of any semblance of happiness came only with the prophecy. Dread had struck him, invading every fiber of his being when he realized just who the Dark Lord was seeking. He could never forget the way fear had paralyzed his lungs, causing him to force out every breath. The way he had clenched his teeth in an effort to stay calm in front of the Dark Lord himself. Had Severus fallen to his knees at the man's feet, begging for her life to be spared then and there, his own would have ended soon enough.

He'd only asked that question when he was sure he could be in control of his thoughts. The words had been carefully planned, uttered slowly to prevent the fear from taking control again. And Lord Voldemort had laughed at him anyway. Most importantly, and even more shocking, he had agreed.

The event caused Lily to reenter his memory. All thoughts of her had been pushed out after their friendship had been severed. He couldn't bare to remember what he had lost. But, turning to Dumbledore, receiving the assurance that her family would be protected, had been enough to spark the necessary joy that a patronus needed. As a result, the short duration of which he had been able to perform one, it had always been a doe.

The fierceness of the falcon was in stark contrast to that of the gentle and protective deer. It was a predator rather than prey. Severus wasn't sure which one of them the bird resembled more. Lily had always been a force to be reckoned with, and he supposed he had too. It was no surprise that such opinionated people should butt heads as much as they had. Lily carried a fierce love for her son and a desire to protect him, as any parent would. She fought to eliminate the threat The Dark Lord provided. His reasons differed only in that he wasn't Harry's family. However, that didn't change the fact that Severus had changed sides of the war to keep them safe or that he so staunchly worked towards the Dark Lord's defeat.

His thoughts stilled and he found his thumb still running up and down against the fine details that adorned the bottom few inches of his wand. The falcon still waited patiently for any direction, Severus' recollections having provided enough happiness to sustain the animal. His late response consisted of only two words - "He's fine" – before the falcon was gone again.

Xxxx

Lily pushed the door inwards. She took no care to mute her steps as her feet clacked against the ground. There was a slight shuffle in response and she halted. A soft, flickering light radiated from a distant corner, casting elongated shadows against the dungeon walls. She remained rooted to the spot as her eyes adjusted against the dark room.

When she had grown more used to the sight, she noticed that the flames providing the slight light in the room tickled the bottom of a cauldron. There was never a moment Severus stopped brewing, not even to care for himself. Her sight drifted from the potion to the main part of the room as Lily gave a laughing shake of the head. She could just make out what could only be described as a series of lumps. It rose and fell in a rhythmic movement and Lily realized that Severus had fallen asleep in one of the mismatched chairs.

She approached him, this time with lighter steps and little noise. The shuffle of movement came again and Lily found herself fighting a growing smile. Closer now, she could see the dark color of his clothes against a hideously faded, red fabric, something she was sure had come from Gryffindor. On top of him she could just make out the edges of baby blue, the color of Harry's pajamas. She bent carefully, kissing Harry gently so as not to wake him.

Several strands of her red hair escaped from the back of her shoulder, drifting in front of her at the movement. She hadn't realized this until Severus gave a gentle twitch, opening his eyes and brushing them away. Lily sent him a teasing, yet questioning gaze, one she wasn't sure he could see in the darkness. She scooped her arms slowly around Harry, lifting him into the air without waking him and settling him back in the empty cot he had been meant for.

Severus sat up, arching his back with a grimace. Surely the place he had chosen wasn't meant for sleep. "What time is it?" He whispered in confusion. The windowless quarters made it impossible to tell time by light alone.

"Nearly seven." She replied, equally quiet.

He stood with a final stretch and she led him away, into the bathroom. With her wand, she lit the lantern that was waiting for them and he squinted at the brightness as she undressed. She was anxious to rid herself of the scent of the evening. The smell of the decaying forest floor clung to her skin and filled the small room with an earthy scent. It wasn't one people tended to romanticize, but rather a reminder that death was inevitable, that it came for us all in the end.

To her surprise, he stripped as well. Her reasoning for bringing him here was for that of a chat, not for a bath of his own. A familiarity between them had been established in the last few months that made the act routine rather than uncomfortable. On days other than today – her mind still flooded with James – she was filled with a sense of relief, a longing for something to soothe the ache in her soul. The way Severus' hands grazed ever so slightly across her skin, awakening goosebumps, told her the words he seemed unable to say. In him, she had found comfort, a home.

"Why didn't you use the cot?"

Severus turned away from her, turning a series of knobs until hot water began spurting from the faucets. "He wouldn't sleep." The words were so matter of fact, not a tingle of surprise invaded them

"And you…did okay? He was good?" She felt a smile creeping back onto her lips as she slipped into the warm bath, the water level continuing to rise. She had seen a change in Harry too, one she was still trying to decide if she liked. It wasn't the closeness he felt towards Severus that bothered her, but that he seemed to have forgotten his own father.

"As good as I expect someone his age to be, yes." He sat beside her beneath the bubbles, his nose drifting closely to her shoulder and taking her in. "The scent of nature isn't a bad one." She didn't know if it was the herbologist in him, but he'd always held a sort of fascination with the outside world. The shrubbery was tamable, suggestive and the scent of such things caused a visible wave of relief to roll through him.

"When you've spent the night like I have we'll discuss this again."

He pulled back from her, turning off the knobs. "Fair enough. And Remus? How was he?" There was a slight spasm in the muscles of his nose at the mention of the wolf's name. The disdain he felt for the man was evident, even through his barriers, but Lily applauded the attempt.

She was quiet for a moment, debating how much detail he actually wanted, and how much his question was merely a shroud, a formality. "It's hard on him, the transformations. Harder than I remembered."

Instead of answering, Severus lifted his hand slowly from the water. In the absence of chatter, the only sound filling the room was that of the water droplets dripping off of him and into the pool below. He dragged a finger up the skin of her naked arm. His eyes followed the movement, seeming unable to acknowledge what she had said, to even look at her. "And you?" The topic of Remus lay already forgotten.

The simple question reawakened the tightness of her throat she'd fought against all night. The lump there prevented her from speaking and she stared into the space in front of them instead.

He gave a slight nod at her lack of response and sucked his lips inward in a sad smile. "I see."

She still found herself irked at her indecision. It felt wrong for her to be sitting here with another man, even if nothing was happening, when her husband had hardly gone cold. She couldn't get over the disappointment in herself over the fact and had no idea how to explain such a thing to Severus. Lily was grateful for the space he gave her, the restraint he showed and the fact that his hand dropped from her. She wasn't sure she could handle the touch of anyone right now.

He was the first to break the silence. "I was unaware that deer could fly."

"Yes." She croaked. "As was I." The palm of his hand came up again, only this time he rested it on the back of her neck. She shifted uncomfortably beneath it. His mouth opened before pausing and closing again as he decided what exactly to say to her. She turned, answering the question he seemed to be afraid to ask. "I can't admit yet."

The muscle in his jaw tensed momentarily, but he gave a single nod of his head.