"Lily." The door of the room opened with a bang, causing Lily to sit upright in her bed, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"Yes," she muttered sleepily to her sister.

"Mum wants…" Petunia moved towards the bed, when she had reached the footboard she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "You – you shameless…"

It took Lily a moment to understand what had upset Petunia to such a degree. Then she felt the lump beside her in the bed, and the events of the previous night came flashing back to her. A quick glance assured her that Severus was still soundly asleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his pyjama bottoms wadded up in a ball at the foot of the bed. She vaguely recollected him rolling from the bed in the middle of the night to drowsily remove them. Lily gave an internal moan.

Petunia's eyes had not made it as far as the maroon material. Instead they seemed fixated on the swath if black hair that was just peaking out from above the comforter. Lily frantically prayed her sister wouldn't see the pyjama trousers. The thought seemed to fly through the air and land promptly in Petunia's mind, because her eyes almost instantly fell on the bottoms. Her eyes grew so wide Lily was convinced that they would pop out of her head. Petunia took several staggering steps backwards and then fled the room.

This was not good. Clearly Tuney thought her sister and Severus had done something inappropriate last night. Lily sighed and clambered from the bed. There was no doubt in her mind where Tuney was headed and she supposed she should go do some damage control. Quickly, she grabbed her dressing gown from the pouf and threw it over her shoulders. Then she crossed back to the bed and ran a hand lightly over Severus' hair. Even in sleep his face was deeply etched with pain.

Lily shook her head and then sped from the room and headed down the hall to her mother's room. Sure enough, there was her sister, relaying what she had just seen to Violet. Lily was hardly surprised to hear her sister's description of what she had seen in the room. To hear Petunia tell it Severus had been naked and he and Lily had been only seconds away from having sex when she had entered the room.

Deciding that her mother had already heard more than enough Lily entered the room. "Mum, can I talk to you?"

Violet's head turned in her younger daughter's direction. "Yes, I think that would be wise."

Lily felt two sets of eyes boring into her expectantly. She had no desire to tell her mother what had happened to Sev in front of Petunia. She searched for a tactful way to tell Tuney to leave, but failed and settled for a bit of Severus' trademarked bluntness. "Can we talk alone, please?"

Petunia looked hopefully at her mother, as if expecting Violet to tell her she could stay. The shock was apparent on her face when instead Violet looked at her and said, "Petunia could you please leave Lily and I to speak in private?"

Petunia's mouth opened in protest, but a pointed look from her mother caused her to give a huff and storm from the room. As she brushed past Lily she gave her sister a punishing glare and hissed "slut," under her breath.

Lily bit back her retort, wincing as the door slammed shut. It seemed that the whole house shook from the violence of the action. Lily hoped the noise wouldn't wake Severus, she would like to have everything settled before he rose.

"So, may I ask what is going on?" questioned Violet.

Lily closed the door before crossing the room and sitting down on the bed next to her mother. She sighed, wondering where to begin. Perhaps Violet sensed her reluctance because she gently placed her left hand over her daughter's right one. "I find it is always best to begin at the beginning…"

Taking a deep breath, Lily told how she had been woken the night before by a knock on her window, how it had been Severus, looking beyond horrid. This led Violet to ask how many times Severus had crawled into Lily's room in such a manner. Lily assured her it was only the second time, as it was something he only did in the most extreme of situations.

"And what was so dire this time?" Lily could see the apprehension in her mother's eyes as she asked the question.

"His father threw him out, for good this time."

Violet heaved a deep sigh and shook her head. "You're certain?"

"Yes. Apparently Sev's mother told his father he'd come of age. Sev says in the hopes that Mr. Snape would leave him be. Instead, Mr. Snape said if Severus was of age he could support himself."

"And his mother did nothing?"

"Sev says she's trying to persuade Mr. Snape to let him come back but he doesn't seem to think it's likely to happen."

"And what does Severus plan to do at this point?"

"Well, Mrs. Snape wanted him to go and stay with one of his pure-blood friends."

"Those Death Eater people?"

"Yes."

"And what does Severus want to do?"

"I honestly don't think he has a plan. It's part of the reason he came here, to see if I had any ideas."

"And you didn't wake me because?"

"He asked me not to. I think he needed time to adjust to the idea of what had happened."

"I don't know what is wrong with these people." Violet muttered to herself before looking her daughter in the eye. "Just how did Mr. Snape break this news to Sev?"

"He didn't. Mrs. Snape told him, he didn't see his father at all."

"So he's alright then, not hurt in anyway?"

Lily hesitated and Violet's eyes hardened.

"I think his foot might be broken." Lily's voice was soft as she replied.

Violet stood up abruptly, towering over her still seated daughter. "For heaven's sake, Lily Cecilia you should have woken me up, whether he wanted you to or not!" Violet bustled over to the wardrobe and began pulling clothes out of it. She didn't bother to look back as she tossed instructions at Lily over her shoulder. "I want you to go downstairs and ring Cris, ask him to come over immediately."

Lily rose from the bed and crossed to the door. "Mum, you're not going to make Sev leave, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Then why do you need to talk to Cris?"

"I just want to discuss some particulars with him."

"Such as?"

"The legalities of keeping Severus here."

"But he's of age."

"That's the wizarding world, not the nonmagical one, and at this moment the nonmagical one is where you are both living."

Lily nodded and left the room. Before heading downstairs she looked in her room. Severus had kicked the covers off of him, revealing a foot and ankle swollen to nearly twice their normal size. She winced in sympathetic pain as she crossed the room and draped the sheet lightly over him. Her gaze lingered momentarily on the white clad bottom before her. Her knuckles briefly touched the cotton as she pulled the sheet up. There was a lump gathering in her throat.

Deciding it would be dangerous to stay, she hurried to the lounge and rang the Hall house. Surprisingly, it was Crispin himself who answered. Lily quickly relayed the previous night's events to him along with her mother's request he come over as soon as possible. There was a long beat of silence before Cris assured her in a deadly serious voice that he was on his way.

Lily then returned upstairs to her mother's room, only to find it empty. It took only a few moments to locate Violet. She was standing in the guest room, looking contemplatively at the poorly painted walls.

"Mum, Cris says that he'll be here with in the half hour."

"Good. What do you think about redoing this room?"

"It needs it," stated Lily staring at the peeling wallpaper. "Steve did a horrible job didn't he?"

"Hmmm…What's Severus' favourite colour?"

"Green."

"Green's a nice colour."

"Yes, it is."

"Well then, green it is."

"Sev wouldn't want you to redo the room for him."

"He'll adjust, if he's to live here I don't want him to feel as if he's a perpetual guest. Besides, I think he deserves a nice room all his own."

Lily nodded and smiled at her mother. "Mum, are you alright about Sev and I?"

Violet smiled gently at her daughter. "Yes. I think you two suite each other quite well."

Lily could feel herself blushing and fought down a giggle. "Really?"

"Definitely. You even each other out nicely. I'm certain you'll be very happy for a long time to come."

"I think so too."

"Lily, you do understand if Severus is to live here then there will be rules, expectations I have regarding your behaviour."

"Such as?"

"There will be no more sharing of beds."

Lily was about to reply when she heard an exclamation of pain coming from her bedroom. Both she and Violet rushed from the room. When Lily threw open the door to the room she saw Sev collapsed on the floor, rocking back and forth while clutching his foot, which looked worse than it had only minutes earlier.

Lily felt a body brush by her as Violet bustled through the door. The woman dropped to the floor by the rocking figure and gently pried his fingers away from the bruised and swollen foot. "Severus, look at you."

The black eyes rose to meet hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. What we do have to do now is get you to a doctor."

"I don't want to be a bother."

"So you intend to live with a broken foot do you?"

He looked confused. "No…I – I'll…"

"You'll go to the doctor." Severus opened his mouth, clearly meaning to protest. "Severus Snape, there will be no arguments. You can go to the doctor or hospital. It's your decision but you are going to one of the two."

Fear flooded Severus' face and he shook his head violently. "Not the hospital. If I go to hospital they'll ring my house and my father…Please, Violet, I think I can fix it myself."

"Severus!" The boy recoiled slightly at Violet's angry tone of voice. Violet's features instantly gentled when she saw his reaction and she ran a soothing hand along his cheek. "Sev, you'll make me feel better if you go to a doctor."

"But it's Saturday, no one will be open."

"I'm certain Lionel will see you if I ring him."

Severus looked searchingly at Violet and then at Lily before nodding reluctantly. "Okay."

"Good, let's get you back on the bed." Violet wrapped her arms around him. Lily rushed over and together the two of them heaved Severus back onto the bed. "Can I ask what happened to your bottoms?" Violet asked with a look at Severus' pants.

Severus flushed a deep shade of crimson. "My foot kept getting caught so I took them off."

Violet nodded, apparently satisfied by the answer. "Lily, I want you to go down and get a bag of ice."

Lily gave her boyfriend a tentative smile and hurried away.

Severus watched her walk away and was so embarrassed by his state of undress he hardly registered what Violet said to him next. "I'm sorry, Violet, I missed that."

"I asked where your dressing gown was."

"In my trunk." Severus waved a hand towards the trunk. His foot was throbbing horrifically and it was becoming harder to focus. It hadn't been so bad only moments before, which was why he'd tried to get out of the bed. Looking down he could see the swelling was so bad his toes were no longer visible, but at least he was able to move the small one. There was little doubt in his mind that the toes were not what were broken. He tried to arch his sole but pain shot up his leg and he barely suppressed a yell.

Violet continued to rummage through the trunk, piling clothes and books up beside her. Severus was overwhelmingly grateful to whatever being had caused Vincent to think twice about slipping one of his mags into Severus' trunk as he had threatened to do. It would have been a task explaining that to Violet. He imagined he was in enough trouble for sleeping in Lily's bed in nothing more than a pair of underpants and a pyjama top.

Severus took a deep breath in, trying to breath through the pain in his foot, before clearing his throat. "Vi…"

"Yes, dear," Violet stated as she victoriously produced the dressing gown.

He watched as she crossed to the bed, waiting until she was there to continue. "Nothing happened between Lily and I last night."

"I know that, Severus."

"Do you?"

Violet laughed. "Of course, I trust you. But I think it would be prudent if you and Lily slept in separate beds for the foreseeable future."

"Certainly."

Violet gently draped the dressing gown over him, careful to keep the fabric away from his foot.

"Let's take a look at you then," she stated as she pulled the pouf up to the bed.

"I'm sorry to be such a bother."

"I told you, Sev, you're not a bother."

He would have responded but Violet placed a finger on his large toe. "Can you feel that?"

Blinding pain raced up his leg and he nodded, biting his lip to keep from crying like a baby. Shaking her head, she examined the swollen area. "You've really done a job on yourself this time."

"I know," he managed to croak just as Lily entered the room.

"Here," she said holding out a cloth wrapped package.

Violet took the bundle and gently placed it on the worst of the swelling. Despite her gentleness Severus winced from the pain the pressure caused. Once assured the ice was doing its work, Violet turned to her daughter. "Lily, why don't you go to the lav and get dressed. Then you can hold the ice pack on Severus' foot while I ring Lionel."

Lily had begun moving before her mother had event finished the request. With her arms full of clothing she rushed from the room. Severus waited until he was certain that she was gone before gruffly saying to Violet, "There's money in my trunk."

"And why do I need to know that?" She asked curiously.

"Expenses."

Violet shook her head in apparent exasperation. "I don't want your money, Severus."

"But…"

"No buts. You keep your money. We'll talk about all the rest when we get back from the doctor's. For now, just know you can stay here for as long as you need or want."

Severus ducked his head so that Violet wouldn't see the gathering dampness in his eyes. He wanted to protest but it felt so good to know he wasn't homeless he could only drift on the sensation for awhile. He hadn't completely adjusted to the idea by the time Lily whirled back into the room. Violet rose from her place on the pouf and before leaving the room told Lily to hold the ice pack where it was for another ten minutes.

After her mother left, Lily and Severus sat in silence for what felt like lifetimes. It was Lily who finally broke the awkwardness. "Did mum tell you, you're going to stay with us?"

Severus nodded, unable to speak, though whether from emotion, embarrassment or pain he couldn't tell.

It appeared Lily reached her own conclusions. "It's going to be fine, Sev. Everything will be perfect now, you'll see."

Severus leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes before nodding. "I know." His hand slowly crept along the coverlet, finally finding hers, her fingers felt cool and moist in his. "If I got you into trouble, Lil then I'm sorry."

"You mean about last night?"

"Yes. I should have…I didn't mean to take the bottoms off. It's just…"

"Your foot hurt."

"No, I hate sleeping in bottoms."

"What do you usually sleep in?"

"Nightshirt." He blushed a little as he said it.

"You could have slept in one last night." He didn't respond, so Lily continued on, "anyway, mum wasn't angry, though she did say we weren't allowed to sleep in the same bed anymore."

"Yes, she told me that also."

"On the up side, I think we shocked the hell out of Petunia." He could hear the laughter in her voice as she spoke.

Severus couldn't help but chuckle. "It was all worth it then…So, what did Violet say?"

"About us?"

Severus nodded, eyes still closed. He didn't know why, but ever since he was a little boy he found keeping his eyes shut helped him manage the pain.

"Truthfully, she didn't say much when I told her last night. I think she already suspected."

"Well, I did kiss you in front of her."

"No, mum's thought we would end up together for a long time. She did tell me this morning she thought we complimented each other well and she was sure we would be happy for a long time to come."

At long last, Severus opened his eyes and looked at her. "I hope so."

The statement was spoken with such fervour that Lily was slightly startled. Still she smile and affirmed the wish before leaning in to kiss him. Severus' hand twined in her hair and when she made to move away he pulled her back in and kissed her with an intensity that took her breath away. She shivered and let go of the ice, wrapping her arms around his neck. This time he was the one that shivered, shifting his body to be able to pull her closer. The ice slid from his foot and landed on the floor with a thunk, but neither cared.

"You two are disgusting." Came a hiss from the doorway.

Lily pulled away from Severus rapidly, while his hands reluctantly freed themselves from the silkiness of her hair and they both looked towards the speaker. Petunia gave a grimace, muttered something unintelligible under her breath and stalked away.

"She's going to be thrilled when she finds out you're staying."

"Maybe I shouldn't." Lily looked at him disbelievingly. He wasn't sure how to tell her how hard it would be for him to stay here. Even ignoring the fact that Petunia would undoubtedly make his life miserable there was the expense to Violet and Lily's constant presence. He shifted once again, hoping she wouldn't notice the swelling that had grown while they had kissed. Her next words convinced him that his physical state was the furthest thing from his girlfriend's mind.

"And where else would you go to?"

"I don't know. I could get a job, my own flat…" He shrugged half-heartedly.

"What about school?"

"I'm of age. I don't really need to…Besides, I can't – It wouldn't be feasible to go back would it?"

"Did you hit your head or something last night?"

"No."

"Sev, how could you even contemplate not finishing school?"

"It's my only option, Lil."

"No, it's not!" Before he could get a word in edge wise Lily rushed on, "you can stay here. Let us take care of you. Finish school, like you're meant to. Sev, you're brilliant, probably a genius, don't throw that away because of your father."

"How can I ask Vi to support me? It's not right, angel and you know it."

"So, instead you'll throw away your future? Severus this has to be the single stupidest thing you have ever thought about doing in your entire life."

"Lil, please, I'm just trying to be…"

"What you're being is stupid!"

"No, I'm being practical. You're wilfully…"

"Wow, I came up here expecting to find two lovebirds and instead I find you having a go at each other." Cris smiled and sauntered into the room. "I expect better of you both."

"I was happy until Sev said he was quitting school to get a job and a flat. Cris, tell him he's being stupid." Lily sounded as if she was ready to sob and Severus knew she really was quite angry.

Crispin looked sadly at the boy in the bed and shook his head sadly while giving Lily a hug. "I hate to say it mate, but it does seem like you're being a little dense."

"Why can't either of you understand if I let Violet support me then…"

"You'll be indebted to someone? Severus, come on, it's your pride that won't let you accept. Don't pretend it's anything else."

"Well, when pride is all you have left…"

"Sev, that's not all you have." Crispin's voice was soft as he spoke.

Severus looked doubtfully at Cris, as if daring him to list anything else he might possess. Crispin seemed more than willing to oblige because he smiled and sat down in the spot Lily had so recently vacated. "You have us, your family. We all care about you and your well-being, your happiness. Just like we all know you have a very bright future ahead of you. Don't throw that away because of a silly little thing like pride."

Severus could feel himself wavering. He didn't want to leave school. Didn't want to get some wretched job where he would barely get by, one that wouldn't allow him to support Lily in the style she deserved. Instantly a picture of him and Lily living in Spinner's End, destitute and fighting, just like Eileen and Tobias, flickered through his brain.

"But what about money? Violet will have to pay to feed me and her bills will go up and…"

"She already knows all of that. She doesn't care," Lily said.

"Don't you fret about mum. She's well provided for. And if things get a little tight, well then, I'll be more than happy to help out."

Severus sat upright on the bed. "Cris, I can't."

"Enough, Severus. If you want to look at mum and tell her you plan on not finishing school you are welcome to try, but, you know and I know, that come September your arse will be on that train so accept that. Let mum and I worry about money and the mundanities of life. You just concentrate on enjoying your summer."

Severus opened his mouth to respond, though he honestly didn't have the slightest idea what he was about to say. Before he could get even one word out Lily sealed his doom when she said, "Sev, if you don't go back to Hogwarts then I'm not going either."

Instantly, his mouth snapped shut and his eyes widened.

Cris gave a chuckle. "Guess that settles that. So, mum says I'm to help you dress and get to the car so you can go to Dr. Archer's and get that foot looked at." For the first time Cris' blue eyes looked at Severus' injury. "Doesn't look good does it?"

"No," Lily affirmed as she picked up a pair of trousers and a shirt from one of the piles on the floor.

"Don't you own any shorts?" Cris asked taking the trousers from Lily.

"No."

"Hmm, guess we can cut these off. Have you got scissors, Lil?"

Severus reached out a hand and snatched the trousers away. "Are you mad? You can't cut up all my trousers I'll look like a git."

"Sev, you can't fit trousers over a cast."

"You don't even know I need one. I wish everyone would just let me heal it myself and be done with."

"You're sure you know the spell?" Lily asked apprehensively.

"Pretty sure."

"Then I say it's a no go. Anyway, you being hurt is probably the only thing keeping mum from going to Spinner's End and screaming her head off at your parents," stated Cris vehemently.

"Fine, I'll go to the doctor. I don't like it, but I'll go. But, cutting my trousers up is completely out of the question."

Cris laughed. "Well, thank you for that gracious acquiescence. Lily, if you could give us a few minutes I'll help out Sev. Maybe you could go tell mum we'll be down soon."

"Of course." Lily smiled and quickly kissed Severus before breezing out of the door.

Cris pulled the trousers away from Severus and looked critically at the ankle. "Think you can stand?"

Severus sighed. "Not sure."

"That could make getting you down the stairs problematic."

"Oh sod it." Severus took a deep breath in, closed his eyes and swung his legs off the bed in preparation to stand.

"Hold on. Don't stand until I get these on and pulled up at least part of the way."

"Cris, I can still use my arms and am completely capable of dressing myself. Just stand next to me so I can hold onto you to stand."

Crispin looked critical but with a nod acquiesced. Severus slowly squirmed into the trousers, finding it was difficult to pull them over the swelling in his foot.

"Think you're going to have to cut them after all, mate."

"Cris…"

"How about on the seam? Then mum could fix them later."

"Okay." Severus agreed reluctantly.

"Now you're showing the common sense we all admire in you." Cris turned and after several minutes of rummaging on Lily's desk returned with a pair of nail scissors. "Give me your leg." Slowly and carefully Cris cut up the inside of the trousers.

Once Severus was suitably dressed, sans shoe or sock on his right foot, Cris helped him hobble down the stairs and out to the car. Severus wasn't horribly surprised when Cris and Lily joined him and Violet in the automobile. The whole way to the office, Violet and Crispin carried on an intense conversation in the front seat. It seemed that Honoria would be up in a few weeks and Cris was anxious for Violet to meet her. Severus noted Violet didn't seem particularly enthused about the idea of meeting Crispin's girlfriend. Suddenly he felt much more comfortable about his relationship with Lily; at least he had the support of her family.

The road outside of the doctor's office was remarkably free of any other cars. This meant Severus only had to limp a few feet to make it to the door for which he was grateful. The pain was quickly becoming unbearable and he didn't think he would have made it much further. Like the road outside, the waiting room was deserted. Violet bustled ahead of the children and yelled "Lionel!" down the hall.

"Come on back, Violet."

For the first time, everything slid into place in Severus' mind. Lionel Archer had been Daniel Evans' best friend from the time they were small boys. Severus had only met the man on a few occasions, most of the time Archer had seemed rather distant. But Severus was starting to wonder if he was overly sensitive to people's reactions to him. Severus took in a deep breath and prepared to move down the hall. It was fairly narrow and there was no way his friends would be able to help him.

Before he had managed to take more than half of a faltering step Violet called, "I honestly don't think that he should walk that far Lionel."

A dark haired man immediately appeared at the end of the hall. Even as he walked towards them, Severus could tell that Dr. Archer was an efficient and deliberate man, traits Severus held in high regard. Before the doctor had even emerged from the hall his eyes had taken in the injured appendage. "How much walking have you done on that foot?" he asked brusquely as he wheeled a chair over and motioned Severus in.

"I walked from the play park at the river to the Evans' house last night and then down the stairs and into the office today."

"You walked down stairs on that?"

"And he climbed," Lily threw in as they made their way down the hall.

"Climbed?" The doctor's voice was terse.

"Yes, up the ivy."

Lionel shot Violet a puzzled look. She shook her head and gave him a little smile. From the twitch of his mouth Severus knew that the older man was fighting it hard not to smile. Instead, he gave a tiny shake of his head and motioned the three other people towards the door of an exam room. "Why don't the three of you wait here while…"

"Now, Lionel, I really think Severus is going to need an x-ray, don't you?"

"Yes and I'll make certain he gets one."

"Wouldn't it have been better to do that before we came here? It seems to me all this movement can't be good for his foot."

"Sometimes I wonder why you didn't become a doctor, Vi." Violet blushed at the obvious compliment. "But it just so happens that Dr. Moore and I have acquired a new toy recently."

"Don't tell me that you bought a…"

"I most certainly did. I think it will save time to x-ray patients right here. So I am going to take Mr. Snape off to be our inaugural patient and I'll leave you to fill out as much of this paperwork as possible." With that Dr. Archer handed Violet a clipboard and wheeled Severus down the hall to a dim room with a huge table in the middle of it.

Right away, a woman, who must have been in her very early thirties, strode up. "Severus, this is Dr. Moore. Catriona, this Severus Snape, my best friend Daniel's daughter's best friend."

The other doctor let out a bright laugh. "Well, that's a mouthful."

Dr. Archer chuckled in return. "I guess it is. I think it's safe to say we need a complete work up on his ankle and foot."

The female looked critically at Severus' ankle before nodding in agreement.

"Then I'll leave you to it." Lionel gave them a brief nod and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The remaining doctor helped Severus out of the chair and onto the cold table. "Nice work," she said with a nod towards his foot.

"Thanks" he replied dryly.

"Don't worry, I've seen worse. Before we start, I have a couple of quick questions for you."

"Okay."

"Any medical conditions? Heart troubles?"

"No."

"Any metal plates?"

"None that I know of."

"Alright. I'm going to drape this over you…" She picked up a heavy blue blanket and draped it over his lap. "…since I'm guessing you might like to have children one of these days."

Severus considered the question to be completely inappropriate and merely looked at her. Dr. Moore seemed nonplussed at his lack of a response and continued on, "now, I'm going to position your ankle. It'll probably hurt but I need you to hold as still as possible. When I tell you to, I want you to take a deep breath in and hold it. I'll let you know when you can take a breath again. Any questions?"

Severus shook his head no. He was proud of the fact that he didn't wince as she contorted his ankle in ways he wasn't sure it would have been able to under normal circumstances. What with the pain and all the breath holding he was certain he was only moments away from losing consciousness when Dr. Moore came out from behind a glass divider to help him back into the wheelchair.

Dr. Moore wheeled him back into the exam room where Violet peppered her with questions. It seemed Dr. Moore was a recent addition to the practice and Mrs. Evans had not met the new associate previously. Dr. Moore's answers were precise if vague, in the end Violet shook her hand and welcomed her to Cokeworth before resuming her place in the grey plastic seat.

Once the doctor had left ,Violet turned her attention to Severus. "There were a few questions here I couldn't answer."

"Alright."

"Do you have allergies to any medications?"

"Not that I know of."

"Did you have chickenpox as a child? Lily was unsure."

Severus looked towards the red head and she shrugged apologetically. He had to wonder if chickenpox was the same as dragon pox because he'd certainly had those. He decided it would most likely be difficult to ascertain if they were one and the same and so muttered, "I don't know."

"I take it you had all the standard vaccinations?"

"You mean shots?"

"Yes, for measles for example."

"I – I'm not…I would think not."

"Are you telling me you've never been vaccinated against anything?"

"I suppose I might have been, but if I was, no one ever saw fit to tell me."

Violet pursed her lips tightly together and for one moment it became obvious that she was Petunia's mother. "Have you ever had a tetanus shot?"

"No, I don't think so."

Even Crispin and Lily looked appalled now. He couldn't bare the idea they would think worse of his mum than they already did or that his gram had somehow neglected him and so quickly threw out. "I did have some sort of shot when I was four or five and I cut my hand on a rusty can."

He could almost feel Violet's relief when he said those words. "Have you had any shots since then?"

"No, I haven't been to a muggle doctor since Gram passed away."

"And the magical doctors…"

"Healers, mum," Lily interjected.

"Fine, the healers haven't given you anything since?"

Severus squirmed a little unconsciously, causing the throbbing in his foot to grow slightly. "I haven't been to one." He said it so softly he wasn't sure anyone had heard him.

Sure enough, Violet responded by saying, "I'm sorry dear I didn't catch that."

"I've never been to a healer."

The room became still instantly. For reasons he couldn't understand the air was tight with tension. The relief he felt when Dr. Archer re-entered the room was almost laughable. The doctor seemed to be unaware of the strain pervading the room, all his attention was focused on the papers in his hand. He swiftly crossed over to the counter and put the papers down, then he pulled a plastic packet from his pocket, filled a small paper cup and handed them both to Severus.

"I want you to take those." Violet began to speak but he cut her off before she got more than half a syllable out. "It's a high dosage of aspirin. It should help with the pain but if you need something stronger then I will be happy to give you a prescription."

He then crossed back to the counter, grabbed a large piece of film and thrust it into a light box hanging on the wall. As he walked to the light switch he smiled at Severus and asked, "do you play much football?"

Severus was stunned and Lily had to poke him lightly in the back before he could find it in himself to respond. "I'm sorry?"

"I asked how much football you play."

Severus really couldn't see what this had to do with anything but answered anyway. "Not a lot. Why?"

Lionel smiled and flicked off the overhead light. The harsh, yellow light was promptly replaced by a soft white one shining through the film of an x-ray. "You kick like a footballer," the doctor replied.

Dr. Archer pulled a pen from his breast pocket and pointed towards the shadows of the ankle on the wall. "Which is why you broke your ankle and not your toes or foot."

"But look at how swollen his foot is." Lily protested.

Dr. Archer switched the light back on before looking at the assembled group. "That is because there are multiple contusions to the foot and several of the toes."

"And what does that mean exactly?" Crispin questioned.

They all looked a little startled when Violet answered, "Contusion is a fancy word for a bruise."

"That's basically correct, though in this case most of the bruising is in the deep tissues so it is unlikely you will see any black and blue marks. These will of course go away on their own with time. Your ankle in an entirely different story." He crossed to the cupboard and began to pull out supplies, piling them on the counter in front of him. "I'm afraid you will be spending the next six weeks in a cast."

Severus could hardly suppress his groan. "Will I be able to walk?"

The idea of spending six weeks in bed was completely unappealing.

"Yes, you'll have to use crutches but you should get around just find once you have the hang of those."

Severus wanted to beg Violet to let him try and heal himself or ring his mum. But she looked as determined as he had ever seen her and he knew there was no point in arguing. Not that he had time to even suggest the idea because before he knew it the doctor was wrapping his lower leg in wet bandages. While Dr. Archer completed his task he and Violet talked about the various happenings in their lives. The news that Severus was now living with the Evanses produced only the slightest of reactions. In less time then he would have thought it possible the bottom of Severus' leg was encased in white goo and Dr. Archer was standing at the sink washing his hands off.

"Unfortunately, you are going to have to sit still for awhile while that dries. In the mean time I will see if I can locate a pair of crutches for you."

Lionel was at the point of exiting when Cris asked, "Dr. Archer may I use your phone? I want to ring the house and make certain May hasn't phoned to say she missed her flight or anything."

"Certainly, if you come with me I'll show you where it is," answered the doctor, waving Crispin through the doorway.

The door had barely closed when Violet stood up and stated, "if you will both excuse me, I'm going to pop to the loo."

Severus and Lily both muttered a response and watched the elder woman leave the room. Severus sat in awkward silence for a moment wondering if Lily was still angry at him and if he should speak to her or just let things be. It was a great relief to him when Lily spoke.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine, I suppose."

Lily moved to settle behind him on the examination table. "Does it hurt?"

"A little, but it's not as bad as it was." He gingerly leaned back against her. "I can't believe I have to spend almost my whole holiday in a cast."

"Guess it'll be awhile before you go around kicking your trunk again."

"Yes. I'm sorry, Lil. I know you had all sorts of plans for the summer and now…" he waved his hand towards the white plaster encasing his leg.

"It doesn't matter, we can still have fun."

"We won't be able to go to the Spot or on walks or…"

"We don't need to do any of that."

"What? That's what we…that's how we spend our time together."

"Because we could never spend time together any other way. Now we'll be living in the same house, we can read in the lounge and watch telly, go to the cinema. You'll see it'll be better than before."

"What about Petunia?"

"What about her?"

"Do you honestly think she's ever going to leave us alone? She'll be hanging over our shoulders every second of every day to make certain we don't do anything that she finds unsuitable."

"I'd like to see her try and keep me from kissing my boyfriend! Besides she'll leave us alone if she knows what's good for her."

Severus twisted around so that he was looking up into Lily's eyes. "That sounds slightly ominous."

"Well it pays to be best friends…" Lily broke off, smiled and kissed him gently before continuing. "I mean the girlfriend of the most talented student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Lil," he mumbled, looking back down at his feet.

"You know it's adorable when you blush like that."

He felt the colour on his cheeks deepen. "I'm glad you're proud of me."

"Most definitely," she whispered before bringing her lips down to his.

"If we don't stop I'm going to get the worst crick in my neck." Severus murmured after awhile.

Lily gave a little giggle and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I do have one question for you, something that's been nagging me since last night."

Severus wasn't in the mood to discuss what had happened at Spinner's End anymore and instinctively felt himself tense. "Go ahead."

"Why did you walk all the way to the house, I mean why not just apparate? Why not apparate into my room for that matter instead of climbing the ivy?"

"Lily, it's the height of rudeness to just apparate into someone's house. Not to mention most people have wards to protect against that sort of intrusion."

"Fair enough, but that wouldn't stop you from apparating from your street to mine."

Severus opened his mouth to respond and then just as swiftly shut it. He could feel Lily watching him intently. Just as he felt her surprise when his chest began to shake and the rumble began deep in his chest. She twisted her body so that she was peering around him and their gaze met. Her eyes looked perplexed and amused simultaneously and he couldn't hold the laughter back for another moment.

"Would you like to let me in on the joke?" she asked.

It was a moment before he could stop laughing long enough to answer. "I forgot."

"You couldn't have possibly forgotten what has amused you this much."

"No…" he shook his head and laughed harder. "I forgot I was allowed to apparate."

He saw the smile creeping in at the corners of her mouth and felt the chuckle forming in her chest. When the tinkling finally broke forth he found himself joining her.

"I can't believe it. Mr. I-Can't-Wait-To-Be-Of-Age-and-Practice-Magic forgot he was now allowed to do just that?"

Severus was laughing so hard tears were running down his cheeks and he could only nod in response.

"Oh that's rich!" Lily's laughter grew louder.

"Completely humiliating."

"I won't tell a soul."

"I'm holding you to that."

There was another round of laughter before they both settled down, caught their breaths and began a lively discussion on the myriad of ways they could get around Petunia's snooping.