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Chapter Thirty-Five

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Eileen, despite Severus's insistence she not, gave him money for new robes and various other school supplies. He had his own money and didn't see the point in taking away needed income from his family, especially his sisters, when it wasn't necessary. His parents would not be accompanying him that summer, for his dad had a bad case of the flu and his mum didn't want to take the girls to London by herself, so Severus would go with Lily and Rose, which was just fine by him. Taking the money his mother had given him, he placed it in his top dresser drawer before leaving; he would find away to slip it back into his mother's purse at some point.

"Severus, can you pick up some pumpkin juice while you're at the alley? We're out, and you know how much your father likes it," Eileen called out to his son as he reached the front door.

The young-in-bodied teen turned to his mother who had just placed Julia in her playpen. "Sure, Mum. Anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"Okay, see you in a few hours."

"Have fun."

Reaching Lily's home, he was quickly greeted by a warm hug and kiss from his girlfriend. "Mum's just finishing getting ready," Lily said, leading Severus into the living room.

His eyes turned to the corner of the room where the piano rested. Petunia, it seemed, was sitting on the bench, along with her boyfriend, who she seemed to be giving a lesson to.

"He's really good for her," Lily said with a smile as she watched Alex carefully fingering the black and white keys. "He's brought out a side of her I didn't even know existed. You know she's planning on applying to the Royal Academy of Music?"

"Really?"

Severus had known Petunia had played the piano, and was, until her accident, an amazing dancer, but in his past reality—or was it future?—She had been nothing more than a housewife, and a rather unpleasant one at that. Was it marrying Dursley that had caused her to give up on her dreams, or perhaps it was having her whale of a son? They were questions he knew he would never have an answer to, but he supposed ultimately it didn't matter.

Petunia clapped at her boyfriend's success at completing the piece, and Alex took slight bow. "Thank you, thank you, and for my next feat I will snog my girlfriend senseless," he said, and he took her into his arms and kissed her.

Lily snorted, while Severus just smirked.

"Stop that!"

Rose's voice rang from the bottom of the stairs, her face pulled into scowl. She liked Alex; he was a good kid, and he made Petunia happy, but he and her daughter and been becoming physically closer than she felt comfortable with. She had caught the boy with his hand up her daughter's shirt just the other day, and this worried her tremendously. What else had they been up to when she wasn't at home?

The couple pulled apart, though they didn't look the slightest ashamed of their actions.

Rose just sighed as she grabbed her purse and jumper from the hall closet. "Please behave yourselves while I'm out."

"Really, Mother," Petunia huffed, "I'm not a child."

This was something Rose was becoming fully aware of. Both of her girls were dating, kissing boys, and becoming young women much, much too quickly.

XXX

The drive to London had been uneventful. Lily had fallen asleep, her head rested on Severus's shoulder, and, of course, he didn't mind at all, and he took the opportunity to smell her strawberry-scented hair and kiss the top of her head on several occasions. Once they arrived, they quickly headed into the Leaky Cauldron, past the brick barrier, and into Diagon alley. Their first stop was Gringotts.

Rose wasted no time in exchanging her Muggle money for wizarding Galleons, and quickly hightailing it out of the goblin-run back. Apparently, the small, unpleasant creatures gave her the creeps, and Severus couldn't say he blamed her. They definitely took some getting used to. Lily opted to go down with Severus to his vaults, and she actually enjoyed the rollercoaster ride that accompanied it.

"You know, my parents took Tuney and me to Pleasure Beach in Blackpool a few years ago; they have a huge rollercoaster right on the coast. Maybe next summer you and I could go."

Severus couldn't help but laugh at how excited she looked at the idea. Sometimes it was difficult to remember that she was only thirteen years old.

"Sure, that sounds like fun."

Severus had seen very little of his old school mates-turned-Death Eaters; Malfoy had graduated, and although he had seen them around, his former roommates, Mulciber and Rosier, hadn't said a word to him. He had caught them glancing at him on occasion, usually in class, or if they passed in the halls. Their expressions were mostly curious, probably wondering why someone who had repeatedly defended the Slytherin house was openly dating a Muggle-born.

Sirius had mentioned them a few times, briefly. They were his roommates, yet they rarely spoke. He, of course, didn't like them at all, and he had often made comments about them being "just like his family."

As Severus exited Gringotts, his fingers intertwined between those of his Muggle-born girlfriend, they glanced around for Lily's mother, who for some reason was nowhere in sight.

"Well, look what we have here," Rosier sneered as he pushed himself off the pillar he had been leaning against. "It's the genius boy and his pet Mudblood".

A low growl escaped Severus's throat, his eyes narrowed to near slits as his face contorted into a look of pure hate. Lily simply blinked in shock. She knew that word, although she had never been called it directly, at least not up until that moment, for it was considered rather taboo and wasn't something one said in civilized conversation. Of course, this was Rosier, and he was extremely far left from anything remotely civilized.

"Take. It. Back," Severus hissed, his free hand balled into an angry fist.

Rosier and Mulciber just laughed, as they positioned themselves so they were now on either side of Severus and Lily. Lily's grip on her boyfriend's hand tightened, and her young face couldn't hide the fear that was now visible in her normally peaceful eyes.

"Sev, let's just go," she whispered, tugging on his hand.

"No! They are going to apologize for calling you that!"

Again, they laughed. "Yeah, right," Rosier scoffed. "Actually, we're going to teach you and your little Mudblood slut here a lesson."

"That's right," Mulciber added in. "Give you a demonstration of real Pureblood power."

The two Slytherins had reached for their wands, but they were no match for the former spy, and before they could even pull them from their pockets, they flew out of their robes and into Severus's waiting hand.

"I believe your so-called power isn't quite up to par." And with another flick of his wrist, the Ravenclaw sent two Bat-Bogey Hexes at their incredibly surprised faces.

A very Slytherin smirk pulled at his lips as he watched the future Death Eaters run screaming down the alley, attempting to dodge their own boogers. He then tossed their wands next to the pillar that they had earlier been loitering around.

His gaze turned to Lily, who was giving him the oddest look; it appeared to be a cross between annoyance and pride.

"That was…quite impressive."

"Thank you." He smiled with pride.

"But don't you think it was kind of dangerous taking them on like that? They won't take that humiliation with a grain of salt, Severus. They'll want revenge."

This was, of course, very true; plus they were Slytherins, so they wouldn't be brazen about any type of retributions. They would be calculating and careful, and then when they finally decided on the ultimate vengeance, they would strike. Not that Severus thought himself incapable of dealing with anything those two idiots dished out; he simply didn't want to waste his time and energy on them. He had done that enough for in one lifetime.

"Don't worry, Lily," he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "They won't hurt me." He then brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed the tips of her fingers.

"There you two are." Rose quickly strode toward her daughter and Severus. "Sorry I wasn't here when you got out, but -" she took a quick glance at one of the goblins that was guarding the entrance to the bank - "it kept staring at me."

Severus seriously doubted any goblin would care to have a staring contest with a Muggle women; it was obvious Rose's paranoia was getting to her.

"It's okay, Rose. How about we head to Flourish and Blotts first?"

She nodded in agreement, and the three of them headed down the alley.

The rest of their trip to Diagon Alley went by without further incident, and in fact, their shopping was done so quickly they had time for a nice lunch in Muggle London before heading home.

XXX

Severus stared blankly at front page of the Daily Prophet. He knew this was coming, but he had been so caught up in, well, his life, that he hadn't thought about it. He had been trying, desperately, to forget the future that was to come, and although potions could keep the nightmares at bay, nothing could stop the memories. Voldemort's mark hung high above the darkened sky, images of what was left of a small cottage smoldering below. Aurors dressed in Muggle police clothes were pictured as they questioned the victims' neighbors. The official story to the Muggle world was that there had been a gas leak, which caught the small home on fire, killing two adults and three small children. The actual story of a Death Eater attack was, of course, front page news.

"Don't worry, Severus." He looked up to see his mother, and she looked worried, but he could tell she was trying to hide it. "They won't bother us."

He knew they could; they didn't discriminate. The Dark Lord hated Muggles and blood-traitors equally. He knew Voldemort had no vengeance against his family at that point in time, but that didn't mean much. He knew all too well how unpredictable his former master could be. Severus sighed, absent-mindedly touching the place on his neck where Nagini had sunk her poisonous razor-sharp fangs into his tender skin. Shaking his head at the memory, he stood from the table. He would have to see about adding wards to the house.

XXX

Severus settled into a compartment with Lily at the very back of the train; he then very discreetly placed a Notice-Me-Not spell around the compartment. He didn't feel like being around people at the moment, well, except for his Lily. He always needed her.

Lily sighed, tossing the copy of the Prophet on the seat besides her. "I can't believe they killed that family. And for what? To show they're big, bad, super-powered wizards? They're cowards. Preying on the defenseless."

Lily was spot-on in her assessment; it was a demonstration of Pureblood power. And yes, they were cowards, doing their dirty work in the dead of night in dark robes and masks. And he had been one of them. Desperate to belong, for approval, acceptance, and what had it brought him? Nothing but pain, misery, and ultimately death.

Severus didn't reply, but took Lily into her arms and held her. He nuzzled his nose into her sweet-smelling hair, placing a kiss on her neck. "I love you." His voice was slightly strained, the fear of once again losing his love pulling at his mind.

"I love you, too, Sev. Always."

A/N: Okay, folks, the action's about to pick up. Next up: Dumbledore speaks about the attack during the opening feast and then with Severus later in private. Someone else discovers Remus's secret, and, of course, Potter gets into a bit of mischief.