A/N: I'm so happy there is still interest out there for this story! I was worried it had been too long for anyone to remember.I really appreciate everyone's feedback. I hope you enjoy this new installment!

Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches

Chapter Fourteen: Questions and Answers

After a quick dinner, Lily's parents left Lily and Severus at home to get a Christmas tree. Lily knocked on Petunia's door, which was slightly ajar. Warm lamplight spilled through the gap, illuminating the dark hallway. She didn't wait for a response. She pushed the door open, just in time to see Severus straighten from the contents of his luggage.

"Organizing your things?" she asked the obvious.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I really detest the fact I have to sleep in your sister's room," he scowled.

With hands clasped behind her back, she approached him on light feet. "That's a pity," she said, "because I've always thought pink to be a very flattering color on you."

Severus half-grinned, in spite of himself. "Who knows, I may take her comforter and fashion a new school robe out of it."

"You'll undoubtedly be the talk of the school," she grinned, enjoying the easy back-and-forth between them.

An awkward silence settled between them. Both were keenly aware they were alone in the house, just the two of them. In a sudden burst of energy, Lily bounded past Severus and leaped onto Petunia's bed, bouncing comfortably on the soft mattress.

"Take a seat," she beckoned with an outstretched hand. "I have something I want to ask you."

Severus gulped, his insides suddenly engulfed by trepidation. Uneasily, he sat on the edge of the bed.

"What do you want to ask me?" he inquired nervously.

Lily seemed shy all of a sudden. She looked down at her hands, a dull blush coloring her cheeks.

"Since I don't know how much privacy we're going to have while away from school, I thought to jump right in and ask something that's been on my mind for awhile. Or, ever since you kissed me, that is."

"Go on," he encouraged, staring at her intently.

Lily inhaled deeply, seeming to draw courage and strength from it, and looked up into his face with soft eyes.

"What do you fancy about me?"

The question was open and vulnerable, like an exposed heart. Severus froze. How was he supposed to quantify his feelings for Lily? She inspired emotions in him he barely understood himself. How could he tell her, this early on, that she meant everything to him? He wanted to be the suave charmer, but he had spent the better parts of his childhood and adolescence concealing what now was meant to be openly known.

"That's a very tough question for me to answer," Severs replied honestly.

"Why, because you don't know what you fancy about me?"Lily prodded.

"No," he said, a little defensively. "I know exactly why I fancy you. You're just asking me to talk about something I've never told anyone about before."

"Not anyone?" Lily seemed shocked.

Severus shook his head.

"Then... how long have you fancied me?" she asked hesitantly.

Another loaded question. He was afraid if he revealed the extent of his feelings, he would find his far more serious and genuine than hers.

"Guess," he said.

"What?" she was taken aback.

"Guess, and I'll tell you if you're hot or cold," he explained.

"Alright," Lily rubbed her chin, "The summer before our fourth year."

"Cold," he said.

Lily raised a brow. "Fifth year?"

"Ice cold," he said.

Lily raised both her eyebrows this time. "Really now? How about... third year?"

"Slightly warmer."

She took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "First year."

"Warmer," he said. "Keep going."

"You fancied me before we went to Hogwarts?" she asked, bewildered. "When exactly did you start to fancy me?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise that you'll share when you started to fancy me," he breathed nervously.

"Promise," she declared with a confident nod of her head.

Severus took a deep, shaky breath. "Well," he began, " it all began the day I first saw you. At the park. You didn't even know I existed then. You see, there was never a before to me caring for you. I always have. It's as natural a part of me as our friendship."

Lily sat cross-legged, staring at him with her lips slightly parted in a look of awe and wonderment. Severus shifted uncomfortably on the bed, hating the feeling of intense vulnerability that washed over him. His face was the color of a ripe tomato.

"Well, co'mon," he urged impatiently. "Out with it! I bared my soul, now it's time for you to bare yours."

"I just can't believe I never knew," she disregarded him, that look of awe still in her eyes. "I never suspected a thing, not once."

Severus shrugged, not sure how to respond. "I suppose I hide things rather well."

"It all makes sense now," she said. "Why you chased away every boy who fancied me... It partly explains why you hate James Potter so much and insist on him staying away from me... Why did you never tell me? It must've been torture for you."

She had no idea.

"Like I'm honestly supposedly to believe that a girl like you would fancy a boy like me?" he lightly scoffed. "You're popular, I'm not. You're beautiful, whereas there is absolutely nothing special about me."

Lily flushed when he called her beautiful, her insides slowly melting. She regarded her clasped hands for a moment before speaking.

"You know when I started fancying you?" she said. "It was that summer before fourth year. Remember that day by the river when I wore that two-piece bathing suit? I wore that for you. I wanted you to think I was beautiful. I thought you might've felt the same way, so I waited for you."

Severus stared into her almond-shaped eyes, completely stunned.

"And you know what I fancy about you?" she continued, inching closer. "You're intelligent, clever, and you have your own brand of sarcastic charisma. And, as far as your looks go..." She reached out a hand and traced his brow. "Your eyebrows are fantastic. They arch above your eyes in a way that suggests you're far more confident and spunky than you let on. And your nose..." she trailed her finger down the bridge of his hooked nose. "It's sharp and distinctive. It makes your face interesting to look at." Finally, her finger found his lips and proceeded to languidly trace his thin mouth.

Severus's entire body throbbed. Anxiety was replaced by desire. He kissed the tip of her finger, his lips moist against her flesh.

"You know," she said, "I would've kissed you that day by the river, if Petunia hadn't interrupted us."

Severus glanced around the bedroom. "Well, Petunia isn't here to interrupt us now."

They leaned towards each other, staring intently into each other's eyes. Their lips touched chastely. Severus rubbed his nose against hers, shifting the direction of his head to claim her lips again. Lily gripped the front of his shirt, and Severus drove his hands through her hair. He alternated between kissing her upper and lower lip, his mind racing all the while. He had no clue what he was doing, he was simply trying to follow instinct. Lily opened her mouth and slid her tongue along the seam his lips created. Their tongues tentatively touched. Both Severus and Lily shivered and kissed more deeply in response, their breaths growing labored and ragged.

There were so many things Severus wanted to do to her, in that moment... but the sound of a door opening and closing downstairs and a hollered, "We're home!" made them yank apart. Lily's eyes were wide, her face pink, and her hands covering her mouth. Severus's chest was heaving, as he struggled to regulate his breathing.

"What're you two doing up there?" Mrs. Evans called from downstairs.

Lily leapt off the bed. "Coming, mum!" she called. "I was just helping Severus unload his trunk."

At the open doorway, Lily looked back at Severus, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed. He quickly crossed his legs.

"Aren't you coming down, Sev?" she asked.

"I'm going to need a minute," he replied in a strained voice.

She glanced at him curiously before bounding out the door and down the hallway. Severus exhaled a shuddering breath.

God, this Christmas was going to be torture.