Severus leaned against the wall across from where some of the seventh year Gryffindors had their first NEWT level Charms lesson. He watched as James Potter and Lily walked out of the classroom, hands clasped, her head on his shoulder, talking softly about something. He watched her reach up and brush some dust off of Potter's robe and then giggle when he whispered something in her ear.
Raleigh hadn't lied. They were together. The loathsome, arrogant Quidditch star and...Lily. It must have happened since the start of term feast, because they hadn't been together then.
He watched them laughing, loitering outside the classroom, and then Lily's emerald eyes snapped up and met his gaze. He saw a mixture of emotions—sorrow, anger, disappointment, surprise, disgust. It was the last that caused the pain. Lily was looking at him with disgust. Then she dropped her gaze and returned her eyes to Potter, a beautiful smile spreading across her face. They were soon joined by dumb jock number two, Sirius Black, and continued down the corridor.
Severus almost didn't notice his girlfriend and Remus Lupin exiting the same classroom, his mind was so focused on the cataclysmic truth he had just witnessed. It barely registered that Raleigh was straightening Lupin's tie and blushing prettily as the sandy-haired young man thanked her with soft kiss on the cheek.
He sort of half noticed when she waved him over.
"I'll see you a bit later," Severus said brusquely, ignoring the hand Raleigh held out to him. He failed to see the disappointment in her eyes, so very different from the same emotion previously displayed by Lily Evans. He missed the way Remus glared at his departing back, missed the jerky movement in which the suspected werewolf almost grabbed Raleigh's outstretched hand and then thought better of it.
Severus followed after Lily at a distance, his eyes never leaving the head of shiny red hair a few yards in front of him. His hatred for Potter and Black had never burned so fiercely, and at the same time he was sure he had never longed for Lily quite so deeply.
They finally stopped just outside the entrance to the Great Hall. Black pecked a quick kiss on Lily's cheek and disappeared inside. Lily and Potter lingered, and it wasn't until Severus saw her full pink lips kissing James Potter that he truly lost it.
He turned and ran back up the corridor, his heart pounding furiously. His breath still hadn't caught up with him when he found Raleigh and Lupin, slowly making their way down a nearby staircase in the direction of the library.
"So, I'll see you later? We can make up a study schedule if you want," he heard Lupin say softly. Severus watched his girlfriend nod in return, and this time he didn't miss the hint of a spark in her eyes.
"Raleigh!" he called, the force of his anger growing with each step.
"Sev!" she said brightly. "I wasn't sure where you'd gone off to. Remus was walking me to the library."
Severus grabbed her hand. "We need to go be alone," he said through clenched teeth.
"Sure, okay. Is everything all right?"
He didn't answer, but he knew Raleigh wasn't stupid. She knew that the truth about Potter and Lily would upset him. She said good-bye to Lupin and squeezed Severus' hand. He dragged her along into an empty hallway and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Can we please go away from here?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper. He felt like he might be close to tears, and that was not something he would allow. "Raleigh, can you take us to Spinner's End? I just want to go be alone."
Her large gray eyes blinked once and then they were standing in his dingy bedroom at home, the heat from the apparition already fading to a memory. The house was quiet, empty. His parents were now deceased, one right after the other over the summer. Raleigh had visited him here almost every day, but he had seen none of Lily Evans. She hadn't even stopped by to express condolences, not that it was much of a loss.
The thought only made him angrier. He grabbed Raleigh by the shoulders and shoved her roughly against the wall of his room, ravishing her lips with his own, ignoring her protests. It helped to feel his fingers gripping her flesh so hard it was certain to bruise. It helped to feel her struggling against him. His power over her was intoxicating, and it was so nice to feel power over someone.
"Severus, stop!"
Her shriek finally got through the fog in his brain, and when he loosened his hold the knee to his groin cleared away the remaining mist. Raleigh was crying. She slid down the wall into a balled up position, holding her arms around her legs, and she cried.
He stepped backwards and slumped to the floor, leaning against the side of his bed.
"I'm sorry," he croaked. "I'm sorry."
The fury had dimmed, and it began to dawn on him that hurting Raleigh had fed the fire.
"I could've just burned you to a crisp," she said shakily. "Or thrown you clear across the room with my phoenix strength. But you needed to know you were hurting me."
She had gotten up and was wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. For some reason, she didn't look angry, just a little sad. She sidled up next to him and curled herself against his body.
"Lily really means that much to you? Or do you just hate James that much?"
Both. Severus knew that it was both. He didn't answer, merely snuggled her closer to him, trying fiercely to stop his tears from falling. A few quick blinks and he had it under control, enough to tell her once again that he was sorry.
Raleigh crawled into his lap, looping her arms around his neck and running gentle fingers through his hair. She left a trail of soft kisses from the corner of his mouth to his ear, soothing the despair. "I know," she whispered. "I know how much it hurts to love someone who would rather be with someone else."
"How can you be friends with them, Raleigh? How?"
"James and Sirius are my teammates, my Housemates. They are a lot like me. We get along. But that isn't what bothers you. You're okay with them having a good time with me. It's them having fun with Lily that makes you so jealous. Lily has always meant more to you than I do."
Severus scowled. "And yet you accept that."
Raleigh leaned back to look him right in the eyes. "I choose to be here, with you. As often and as long as I can. Because Lily turned her back on you. She's not going to choose you. Let her go, Severus. Let me be enough, because I'm here."
He reached up to stroke her cheek and she closed her eyes. He felt the warmth of her hands on his shoulders, and it excited him, knowing how he made her feel. How easy it was for her to love him, touch him. There was no disgust. He ran his tongue up the length of her neck, listening to the quiet gasp of her breath and feeling the arch of her body. The warmth on his shoulders intensified, as her hands clutched the fabric of his shirt.
He tugged at the knot of her tie, pulling her mouth to his as he slid the gold and scarlet fabric from around her neck. Her tongue invaded his mouth, and he pulled her into a standing position, his fingers racing to unbutton her shirt. When he was at last able to slip it off, he let his hands linger on the smooth skin of her shoulders and torso, growling pleasantly when she simply reached up and ripped his own shirt apart, not bothering with buttons.
He pressed his face against her collarbone and smiled…smiled.
Raleigh would chase Lily Evans out of his mind like a lion hunting prey, only her roars would be the now familiar gasps, moans, and shouts of his name, and her claws would be hands as hot as coals. And when she had finally finished off her kill, she would purr, and her silvery mane would tangle in his fingers, and they would stretch out like sleepy kittens in the sun.
At Raleigh's suggestion, Georgie followed Ariana down the hall to the bedroom for some get-to-know-each-other time while Ariana unpacked from her visit to the Weasleys. As she watched the taller blond girl stop and converse with a painting on the wall, she thought back on her foray into Severus' mind.
Georgie had been surprised to find the pretty red-headed girl Lily in her cousin's memories. From the way he looked at his wife, it seemed so improbable that there had ever been anyone else, especially someone who he had loved to the point of pain. Georgie had felt that pain, his pain of never having her while she lived, and his pain of knowing she was dead, and that he was to blame.
Yes, her cousin had quite a few unexpected layers. He had been the first in several years to breach her mental defenses, and it was most likely because she had been playing the piano right beforehand, and when she was playing she had to let down all the walls. For Georgie, her talent lay in her emotions, and to mine deep enough for them to influence her music, she had to open her mind.
Still, she was practiced enough to force him out pretty quickly and then turn the strength of the push back on him. She had seen the surprise in his eyes, and she wondered if it was only a matter of moments before Severus decided to kick her out of Hogwarts, out of the magical place that took everything she had ever known to the next level.
Denny had made her go eventually. Two years of practicing under his tutelage, and then he had told her to go away and stay away. Georgie was sure it was because she had gotten too strong, strong enough to break through his barriers and to keep him out of her own. Seven years old and she had bested an old man. Of course, that was back when mental gymnastics was all she knew. She had put so much effort into furious mental training that she had never before associated with magic. That and intense practice at her instrument – that had been her life. But now there was more, so much more.
Georgie smiled.
She had always been good at besting people. Ambition did that to a person.
And this was certainly an interesting family. Surprise relatives, surprise lovers. Easy to use. Georgie had loved the way she had made her cousin Ariana shiver with one look. She'd have to be on her best behavior for a few weeks, keep the blond girl off track.
"Want to play a game?" she asked sweetly, once she and her cousin were alone in the bedroom. Ariana seemed to instantly warm up, smiling at the younger girl while she began to unpack the bag she had with her.
"I love games, but once I'm done here I have to go see the Headmaster. Why don't you come along? I'm sure he'll want to meet you. Maybe take some of the heat off me," she muttered.
"What's he like?" Georgie asked.
"He's the greatest wizard who ever lived. You'll like him. Everyone does."