The Good Heart of the Evans Family

'Sev is here!' Lily yelled down the hallway as she opened the door for him. 'You look like a ghost covered in all that snow.'

Severus had been using his school uniform coat for any winter he had gone through while attending Hogwarts. 'And here I am thinking that most people just called me a bat.'

Lily looked at him observingly. 'It's true, you do look a little bit like a bat. Aren't you freezing?'

'Living down in the Slytherin dungeons,' he said as he took his boats and coat off, 'has made me immune to any feelings, I can assure you.'

'So it's safe to assume you won't be needing any of Petunia's hot chocolate to warm you up then,' Lily said with wiggling eyebrows.

Severus looked at her with a stern face. 'Don't you dare deny me hot chocolate when you know how much I love it.'

'Ohhh getting feisty are we?' Lily teased him. 'Tuney, better grab the biggest mug we have 'cause Sev is ready to dunk himself in chocolate.'

A muffled 'sure' came from the kitchen.

Although the house must've been roughly the same size he lived in, it had a certain warm, cozy feeling to it that his own household severely lacked. An L-shaped sofa cornered the living area around a smoldering fireplace. Erwin and Arnica were already sitting there with mugs in their hands.

'Good to see you, Severus,' said Arnica. 'Come and join us.'

'We were just talking about how we think Petunia is throwing her life away by going to London for some silly typing course,' Lily said loudly enough for Petunia to hear.
'Lily, there's no need to be rude about it,' said Erwin.

Petunia came back with three mugs that she was holding awkwardly in her hands. The largest one, she handed over to Severus, who gladly accepted it.

Petunia, forced to sit next to Severus as it was the only spot left, had a sour complexion on her face. 'How often do I have to repeat myself and tell you that it's my own decision on what I want to do with my life, Lily.'

'At least a dozen more until my tears will drown your creative spirit,' Lily snapped back.

Severus got a smug look on his face. Part of the reason why he enjoyed visiting the Evanses so much was because of Lily and Petunia's consistent bickering. There was never a dull moment in their home.

'At least it hasn't got anything to do with that hocus pocus stuff of yours,' Petunia snapped back.

'At least my hocus pocus stuff will keep me from turning into a boring twit,' Lily said mirroring her sister.

Severus took a sip from his delicious hot chocolate and looked over to Erwin and Arnica. They both had a look on their face that said that they had given up on their daughters bickering a long time ago.

'At least my boyfriend doesn't look like Ozzy Osbourne,' Petunia said in an attempt to insult Severus.

'Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment Petunia,' Severus said calmly as he warmed his hands on his mug.

'Well at least my boyfriend doesn't look like a hairy beluga,' Lily bickered back.

Severus nearly spat out some of his hot chocolate at the mention of "boyfriend".

'I'm not your boyfriend, Lily,' he said carefully.

'You're not Ozzy Osbourne either,' she responded.

'And Vernon's not a hairy beluga,' Petunia said with her nose up in the air. 'Who cares if he's a bit bigger. At least he's normal like the rest of us.'

Petunia's emphasis on the word "normal" seemed to make Lily cringe. 'Too bad we're not a normal family then, are we?'

'Okay girls that's enough!' Arnica said sharply. 'Severus, would you like to stay for dinner?'

He had already expected Arnica to invite him for dinner. It was a thing she did ever since the first day he had set foot over their threshold. 'I don't have much of a choice on that matter, do I?'

'That's right, you don't. Girls, both of you are coming to help me. Boys, do whatever.'

Lily mumbled a 'sorry about that' under her breath as she got up and left to help her mother out in the kitchen.

'Care to go outside with me, Severus?' Erwin asked.

'Sure, I'll go grab my cloak.'

A moment later, both men were standing in the backyard, looking up at the clear night sky.

'Would you like a cigarette?' Erwin asked as he held out a pack.

Severus took one and muttered a thank you. With a snap of his fingers he lit it up and Erwin looked at him in awe. 'Could you do that to mine as well?'

Severus snapped his fingers in front of Erwin's cigarette after he dangled it between his lips. 'Fascinating.'

'It was Lily who taught me how to do that,' Severus said, trying to strike a conversation.

'Lily smokes?' Erwin asked.

Severus could hear by the tone of voice he had entered a danger zone. 'She does it to light fires underneath cauldrons,' he said quickly. 'But Erwin,' Severus said to turn the conversation, 'Lily and I are not together if that is what you were wondering.'

'Thinking about Lily dating boys is the last thing I want to have on my mind right now.' Erwin blew some smoke from his lungs and watched it vaporize in the cold air. 'There's something else that I wanted to talk to you about.'

Severus hoped that it wasn't going to be a conversation about his family. He's had a few of those before with them, and every time it had been an uncomfortable situation.

'I want to talk to you about the war you mentioned.'

Apparently, it could be worse. 'What is it that you want to know?'

'I know that there is something going on in your world, Severus. I may not be a part of it, but I can sense it.'

Severus flicked some ash off his cigarette onto the ground. 'I think the reason why Lily hadn't told you anything is because it's her way of trying to protect her family.'

'Sometimes I wished Lily would understand that it is my job as her father to do that.'

Severus nodded in agreement. 'Too bad she's a stubborn Gryffindor.'

That made Erwin laugh. 'Bloody stubborn she is, just like her father. But on a more serious note here Severus, people from all over the country have been disappearing in mysterious ways lately. I can't help but link it to your world.'

'You are right to believe that. There is a darkness slowly creeping in to our world.'

'Severus,' Erwin looked him in the eye. Erwin's eyes were the same as Lily's and it was slightly discomforting. 'Is Lily in danger out there?'

Severus nodded. 'I'm afraid so.'

'It's because she doesn't come from a magical family, isn't it?'

Now it was Severus's turn to look the man in the eye. 'How come you know about that?'

'Please don't take me for a fool Severus. I've fought in a war before, right there on the frontline. They always go after the things they don't understand and Lily is such a case.'

Speaking with a man about warfare, even if it was about warfare in the muggle way, was a strange sensation. Both had stood on the frontline and faced their enemies. Not that Erwin could possibly understand what Severus had gone through already, but in a way, it was comforting that there was a man beside him who knew how it felt.

'I'm afraid that Lily won't be safe outside of Hogwarts,' Severus said in all honesty.

'I know she won't be,' Erwin responded. 'That's why I'm so glad she has you.'

Severus wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. Lily had died before because of him, for her father to trust him this much was a bit overwhelming.

'I'll do whatever I can,' Severus answered softly. 'I promise.'

Erwin smiled at him, the same way Lily could smile at him if she was pleased about something. 'Care to go back inside?'

They tossed their defused cigarette buds in the litterbin. 'Oh, and Severus, don't mention a thing about the war to Arnica or she'll try to pull Lily out of Hogwarts first thing tomorrow.'

'I can keep a secret,' said Severus.

They made their way back inside and helped to set the table. Severus was glad that it all came back so naturally to him. It was as if his last visit with the Evanses had only been last week, rather than decades.

'Would your mother like to come over for Christmas perhaps?' Arnica asked Severus as they just started to dine.

'I'll ask her, but I don't think she'll like it.'

'How come?'

'When there are too many people around talking and she's trying to follow it can be quite exhausting, her being deaf and all. But I'll ask her before I jump to any conclusions.'

'Really?' Petunia said sardonically. 'Can't we have a Christmas with just the family? You know, without any more weird magicians?'

'I didn't know you and Vernon were already married,' Lily said flatly.

'And Severus here is already practically family,' Erwin added. 'Having one more around isn't going to make that big of a difference.'

Severus felt his insides grow fuzzy at the mentioning of him already being a part of family.

'Fine,' Petunia sighed. 'Sorry, Severus.'

'You know what Petunia,' Severus said as he helped himself to some salad. 'Just for you I will put on a show and start pulling rabbits out of a top hat. How does that sound?'

Everyone but Petunia had to laugh about that. 'You're a wizard, not a magician. I get it.' She said while rolling her eyes.

Sitting here with Lily and her family at the dinner table, it felt like being home.