"Hey Mum," Harry asked, turning his gaze to the red headed witch in front of him, "where's Uncle Sev?"
"Sev's going to be staying here with Ellie until she's fully recovered, champ," James winked at his son and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Immediately a mammoth sized grin stretched across Harry's face and he snickered gleefully.
"Is Ellie gonna be Uncle Sev's girlfriend, Dad?" He creased up, guffawing, "imagine Uncle Sev with a girlfriend! Do you think I could be his wingman? Do you think they'd get married? Do you think I can-"
"Whatever you were about to say Mr Potter, I suspect it would be highly inappropriate and most definitely better kept within your smug little head, now, don't you think?" Snape's silky voice cut through the air behind them, making Harry jump and spin around guiltily.
"Sorry, Uncle Sev, didn't see you there," he mumbled, peering intently at the floor.
Harry saw Voldemo-Tom's, mouth twitch out from the corner of his eye, from where he had been watching their exchange from the other side of the hall, a smirk playing across his features. James was already doubled over laughing, avoiding a hard smack aimed at him from Lily, who looked a cross between exasperated, and amused.
"Obviously," Severus said dryly, rolling his eyes. "Buck up Potter, you're incessant laughing is giving me a headache," he glared at James, who grinned back brazenly.
"Little touchy, Sevs?" He wrapped an arm around the taller wizard's shoulder, who shrugged him off irritably. "Wasn't a certain, aaaaaaaattractive young witch pleased to be tended to by such a good looking, dark, mysterious Healer?"
Harry giggled, and then coughed loudly when his mother shot him a look, her own lips twitching.
"No." Snape clenched his teeth.
James was momentarily bewildered.
"What?"
"No, she was not pleased to see me," Snape bit out, "and if you're going to be a prat about it Potter, then it was really nice talking to you, and living with you, but I quite frankly do not care to spend the rest of my life living around an idiotic, arrogant, Gryffindor prat, so if you will excuse me, I will be departing now, and finding my own residence elsewhere."
James stood there with his mouth hanging open, shocked.
"You're moving in with Ellie, Sev!" Sirius bounded over, clapping Snape on the shoulder, "brilliant news! Congratulations!"
"Get off me dog," Severus hissed. "No, I will not be moving in with Ellie, because Ellie does not care to see me, or speak to me, or want anything at all to do with me! I meant move into my own place, alone, without any of you interfering, exuberant, painfully loud, annoying imbeciles!" He shouted.
Everyone froze, eyes wide, not daring to say a word. Snape was breathing heavily, anger, and hurt, clear in his eyes.
"Now, as touching and amusing as this all is," Tom Riddle's voice purred from the sidelines, "you are all still in my house, and invading my hospitality, when I have asked you all kindly to leave. Now, assuming from this sudden outburst that nobody is to be staying with the young Miss Eleanor, none of you have any further business here, so if you prefer to stay bodily intact, you will all graciously remove yourselves from this building immediately." His voice changed to a venomous hiss towards the end. "Apart from Harry, who is welcome to reside here as often as he wishes."
"Love to stay, Tommy, but this bit of family drama is too hilarious to miss out on," Harry quipped, grinning. There was an intake of breath from the others.
"Call me Tommy one more time and you'll be staying here in pieces, Potter," the Dark Lord smirked. "Now go."
"Wait," Severus ground out, "Ellie is going to be taken care of? She is going to be looked after properly?"
Tom rolled his eyes.
"Of course, don't worry yourself so, Severus, your young witch will be back in your arms very soon, have no fear." His tone taunted Snape, who stiffened. "If I have to ask you all again, you will each be losing your most favourite body part, and yours Black, will be the most unpleasant, so I would start getting used to the fact that it'd be wise to find a partner who is also infertile."
Sirius winced, and paled, and rushed to the Floo, with a hasty 'goodbye, thanks!' called over his shoulder.
Tom laughed softly.
(HPHP)
"Harry, what were you thinking, calling Voldemort 'Tommy'?!" Lily exclaimed as soon as they'd all piled back through the Floo into the Potter's lounge.
"Yeah, don't antagonise him, mate, he's a bloody maniac," Sirius frowned, wincing and shaking his head. James grinned and clasped a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Padfoot, I'm sure he's all talk," he winked.
Sirius shuddered, "I don't intend to find out."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Maybe it'd be an improvement Sirius," she smiled sweetly.
"Why you little-" Sirius took a threatening step towards the witch who shrieked and ducked behind the armchair, laughing.
"Hey, what does my wife know about how my best friend would look without his knackers?" James winked, grinning mischievously as he grabbed Lily from behind, pinning her to his chest.
"A lot more than you'd like, darling," she teased.
James started tickling her ribs, making her squeal.
"Ha," Sirius laughed loudly, "like I'd show off my big, manly parts to a mudblood."
"Oy!" Lily and James both shouted in indignation.
"Enough talk about your tiny manly parts, Padfoot," James shook his head, "they're so small they're barely worth all this talk-"
"Excuse me!?"
"-, and Harry doesn't want to hear all this, look, you're mentally scarring my poor son here, look at him."
They all looked at Harry, who was lying across the sofa, laughing.
"You've made him go loopy," James said sadly.
"That's your bloodlines, Prongs," Sirius sniggered.
"Severus is being rather quiet on all this, any excuse to insult Padfoot and it's done," James looked at the dark wizard who was slumped in a high wooden chair by the fireplace, which someone had lit with a blue flame. He stood abruptly and strode from the room.
Lily and James exchanged glances.
"I'll go," Lily said quietly, slipping out the room after Snape.
"Sev?" She called softly, closing the kitchen door behind her wandlessly.
"Go away."
"No," she flicked her wand at the stove, which sparked to life, casting a warm glow on the soft blue walls and honey soaked table, and sent the kettle zooming over to the flames. Mugs soared out the cupboard next, clinking together merrily, and skidded along the worktop to the tea and coffee jars, where spoons started cheerfully dumping in spoonful after spoonful of sugar.
The familiar sounds were homely, and filled Lily with a sense of quiet she hadn't felt since that night with the Snatchers.
She set a steaming cup of coffee down next to Severus, and pulled out a chair which he sank into grudgingly,
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked gently.
"What is there to talk about?"
Lily just looked at him.
"Merlin's beard, Lils, it's just a girl, I don't give a fuck what she thinks about me," he snapped. She flinched at his tone.
"Look, I know that what she's done has upset you, but maybe if you give her a few-"
"Didn't you hear me? Are you hard of hearing suddenly? I said I didn't care."
"We both know that that isn't true," Lily replied quietly.
"It is."
"Sev, she's just been through quite a traumatic experience, her family were killed, that man, Jay, he was horrible to her, can you blame her that she doesn't want to have another romant-"
"What, you think I'd hurt her too? You think that because my father was a dick to my mother that I'll be the same?" Severus demanded, livid, turning to face her with fury in his eyes.
"No! No, Sev of course not, you know that's not what I mean!" She said angrily, "I'm just saying that she probably doesn't want to be involved with anything at the moment, but give her time and I'm sure she'll come round. She needs you to be her friend at the moment, that's what she needs."
"She said she didn't want to even see me."
"Perhaps she wasn't thinking straight?"
"What, now she's mentally deficient?" He snapped.
"You know that's not what I said, stop twisting everything I say!"
"Then stop butting into my private life," he sneered, "you think you can save everything, don't you? You think you can help everyone? Just because your life is perfect, doesn't mean everyone else wants theirs to be. Doesn't mean everyone else wants to aspire to be just like you. Some people are perfectly happy on their own. Without a girlfriend, or a wife...or kids. Alone. That's how I'm meant to be," his voice broke.
"Oh Sev," Lily whispered, "you know that isn't true."
"It is," he said brokenly. "Who would want me? I'm not exactly handsome, am I? I, I always make a fool of myself around her, I never know what to say. I'm not funny, I can be rude, horrible, I'm cynical. My nose. Why on earth would she want me? Why would anyone-"
"Stop," Lily took his face firmly in her hands, staring into his dark eyes, brimming with an ocean of pain unfathomable to any who had never been in a love that is broken, or not received. "You are one of the kindest, most caring people I know. Harry adores you. You're like a second father to him. James loves you, you're his best friend. You're strong, and tall, and a gentleman, those things are all very attractive, Sev," she winked at him. "You have so many friends, and you already have a family. We're your family. And we may be exuberant, excitable prats, or whatever you called us, but we're all here for you. So buck up, and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Tomorrow, we'll go visit her again, and if she's still not up for it, then I guess James and me will be your wingmen."
Snape snorted, a disgusting wet sound which made them both laugh.
"Great, then I'll have even less of a chance than normal," he said dryly, rubbing his face tiredly with his hands, stained methylene blue from potions.
"Shut up," she rolled her eyes. "Now drink up, I know just the cure for heartache," she said positively, leaping to her feet.
"What?" Severus wrinkled his nose, eyeing her disdainfully. "I'm not throwing another slumber party for Harry and Co. ever again. That wasn't fun. That ended in disaster. And heartache. That was the cause of my heartache."
"Don't be so dramatic," she rolled her eyes again. "You're just taking Harry flying."
"Can I have his broom this time? I don't want to pick him up from the kitchen floor again."
"Nope, because then we'd be picking you up from a ditch in Timbuktu," she winked.
"Fine," Snape sighed, "if I must. Anything to keep the little brat happy," he smirked as Lily sprayed him with soapy water from where the cups were washing themselves in the sink.
"You like Quidditch really," she said, smirking, "you just don't want to admit it."
Severus glowered at her mildly.
"Like is a strong word, Lils."
She shook her head at him, "just go. Please entertain my husband and son for me while I try to cook some dinner, oh, and send in Sirius to help me!"
"I'm not helping! I've got a bad arm!" A voice yelled from the lounge.
"It'll get worse if you don't get your ass here now, Black!" Lily yelled back.
There was a muttered response which sounded a bit like, 'stupid, demanding witch', followed by a thump and a muffled 'ow'.
Lily smirked.
A sheepish Sirius appeared in the doorway, carefully opening the door and ducking strangely, as if to avoid any hexes being thrown his way.
"Anything I can do, Lils? Peeling potaters or anything? I'm all yours." He rubbed his backside with a pained expression on his face.
"Bit sore, Padfoot" Lily asked innocently.
"James didn't take kindly to me calling you stupid, says that's his job," he shook his head, "I tell you, its getting a bit domestic in here, he said it'll be my balls next."
Lily and Severus cracked up laughing.
"That's right, Padfoot!" James called from the sitting room, "just keep your language civil about my wife."
"Why does everyone want to castrate me today? What's wrong with my nuts?" Sirius complained.
"They're disgusting," Harry shouted, laughing. They could hear him thundering upstairs to get his broom.
"Enough of your cheek, squirt," his Godfather shouted back. "At least I have nuts!"
"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed. "Can we please move on from your knackers!"
"With pleasure," he replied darkly. "If anyone mentions my balls anymore, unless it's to compliment them, I'll hex them."
"I don't know what's more scary, Black with a wand, or Black with no balls," Severus snickered.
Sirius glared at him.
The doorbell made them all stop.
"Who ever rings the doorbell...?" Lily asked, puzzled, worry creasing her forehead.
Severus was on his feet, halfway across the kitchen, wand out, when James's voice made him pause.
"Lily?" His tone was strangled, like he had something in his throat, "your sister is here."
Hi everyone, a new chapter! Obviously I haven't written in a while, so I hope I got the characters right, and I hope you leave a review, particularly on what you think I should do about the Severus/Ellie situation. Personally, I ship them! What do you all think?
Cheers :)