Chapter 36: A Most Insufferable Affair
October was a wonderful month. The temperature steadied itself into a sensible range, the excited anticipation of Hallowe'en began its round amongst the student population. So much to love about the month, yet Severus could not be less delightful. His mood soured noticeably by the day without a word of reason as to why.
Perhaps it was simply an illusion as the jubilation of their engagement wore off. He was simply being restored to his default mood, which seemed to centre on brooding. He would snap out of it whenever she approached, whenever he knew her eyes lingered upon him, but the moment he thought she was not watching, he withdrew once more.
Perhaps it was the season. He had seemed to be in higher spirits in the summer. Lily supposed anyone would be angsty if they were forced to endure the harsh Scottish winter in robes worn so thin they could barely keep out a breeze. She wished he would just let her father get him a new set along with her own. She didn't really need a new robe, her old set was already three years old, but she hadn't grown an inch since her sudden spurt at thirteen. Her father however had insisted since she was graduating this year that she do so in the best possible fashion.
Severus remained prideful and stubborn. He insisted it was his final year at school and therefore his final year in this set of robes. He's endured them for six, there was no point in splurging on the last.
With the morning post however, Lily received a letter that knew she would only make Sev's mood even worse. A screech owl fluttered through with a muggle letter clamped in its solid beak, landing bodily in front of her, tipping over her goblet of pumpkin juice with its motion. That was the omen to which Petunia's letter arrived with.
"No…" Lily groaned as she dabbed at her pumpkin juice stains. "This is the worst."
"Tell me how you really feel," Mary quipped jokingly as she glanced over from her plate.
Lily sighed and waved before her this primly embossed lightly perfumed paper. "An invitation. To my sister's wedding. And its next month!"
"This is that insufferable twit of a sister you keep telling us about?" Marlene asked from across the table.
The red headed girl sighed, "One and the same." She stowed away that garish invitation and drew out the second piece of paper within that envelope and groaned even louder. "And she wants me to go on a dinner date with her and her fiancé."
Mary returned to her breakfast of toast and kippers. "That doesn't sound so bad."
"With Severus," Lily sighed, feeling a tingle of apprehension press upon the back of her skull. "She hates Sev. They never got on."
"Alright, that might get messy," the chubby muggle girl conceded with a wince.
"I like her better already," Marlene snarked uncharitably. Lily had always thought Sev would be the one to throw a tantrum over Marlene, not the other way around.
With great effort she ignored her best friend's jibes and turned to her far more level-headed friend. Since their talk, Mary hadn't said one worried word more about the issue, even going so far as to become the most supportive of those at her side. "She's absolutely awful. Always has been to him, especially to him."
Mary smiled a sympathetic smile as she chewed through her bite of toast before answering. "You said your sister moved out last year right? She hasn't seen him for a while, perhaps things would mellow between them? He certainly has mellowed."
"That doesn't mean he'll want to see her again," Lily sighed, already imagining the scene that would erupt. "She never lets up an opportunity to lash out with an awful comment. I don't expect he'll have forgotten it." She could never let him pass without a scathing barb about his looks or his poverty, constantly pushing every one of his buttons.
Her muggle-born friend smiled sympathetically. "When is this supposed to be?"
Lily glanced over the letter again. "A weekend at my convenience," she answered. "Huh, imagine that. Petunia's never offered me convenience before."
"Times-a-changing," Mary chirped as she returned to her breakfast.
"Come again?" Lily could only blink dumbly at that oddly calm boy.
"I said I'll come to dinner with you to meet Petunia and her fiancé," Sev restated, his words no less baffling then they had been the first time around.
Who are you and what have you done to Severus?
That was the thought that passed through Lily's head when she took that letter nervously to Severus during their study period in preparation of a long, hard fight, only to have him accept without any struggle.
"I expect the weekend of our utmost convenience would be the one after the coming one. It gives us time to go through the bureaucracy of arranging personal leave as well as having the full moon pass for the month leaving us free of the need to spend the away day scratching our heads over that blasted potion," Sev continued, not at all concerned by how disturbingly reasonable he was being. "We'll be back before our duties for the Hallowe'en feast. I would be questioning the prefect body's capabilities if they cannot handle things without us for two days."
"Hold up. Hold up." Lily waved her hands about as she could waft away the confusion. "You're saying you're alright with coming with me to dinner with Petunia? You are, right? Just clarifying."
That baffling boy frowned. "Do you not want to?"
"I don't want to. Nobody should really want to. But I have to," Lily pouted.
"And my answer is the same," Severus answered, "because I assume you wouldn't have taken no for an answer."
"No." Lily felt a little stirring of guilt over her childish pout.
That boy gave a nod of agreement and returned to his Transfigurations homework. Since his return to her life Severus had changed noticeably in demeanour and mannerism, calmer and far more mature, sometimes disturbingly so. He was almost unrecognisable in moments like this when he defies all her expectations, all cool logic and detached, willing to endure the prospect of unpleasantness.
It made her feel like a child.
She pouted again as she stared down at her parchment and her patchy attempt at her homework. By comparison, Severus had already the word length comprised and was just going over with an editing spell. He was always the smarter and more hardworking of the two, but coupled with his inexplicably heightened maturity, Lily was beginning to wonder exactly what she brought to this relationship. It was ridiculously galling to think the only thing she had was being something pretty to look at.
"Do you think I'm childish, Sev?" She muttered to that deeply concentrating boy.
He replied without an upwards glance, "You'll grow out of it."
Lily tried her best not to take too much offence to his immediate and unsoftened response. "Why are you even marrying me if you thought so?" she muttered. "Are you really just marrying me because I'm pretty?"
His eyes darted upwards, wide and surprised. "Where in Merlin's name did that come from?"
She sighed quite loudly, eliciting some frowning glances from the Ravenclaws sitting further down the study table. As the head boy and girl, they weren't really setting much of an example in the study hall. "Sorry. Don't mind me. I'm being silly."
He set his homework aside, fixing his dark eyes upon her. "It's not like I wouldn't understand if you are having second thoughts, Lily."
"I'm not…" She grimaced as those Ravenclaws glared again. "How about we take this downstairs?"
He did not need further prompting as he put away his textbooks. His homework was the last to be stowed as he cast a quick drying charm over the fresh ink. Lily's homework didn't need the assistance as it had been a good solid fifteen minutes since she wrote anything upon the page.
In the darkened cosiness of the first-floor alcove their conversation continued once again, this time with a hint of distinct skittishness from her Slytherin fiancé. "Tell me what's on your mind," Severus commanded. At least she still had him beat in the art of small talk.
Lily sighed as she sunk down against the wall. "I'm feeling very childish. I spent all morning whining about having to go see Petunia again, and she's not been nearly half as awful to me as she has been to you."
"I'd worry if you actually enjoyed her company," he grumbled as he sat down close beside her.
"Like I said, childish," she mumbled as she leaned against his warm chest, ignoring the scratchiness of his thin frayed robes as she stretched against him. She could feel his heartbeat powerfully through his thin chest, a reminder for her to behave. "I just sometimes can't believe how much you've changed, Sev. I just… sort of feel like I've got to catch up."
"Don't be in a hurry to grow up," Sev muttered in her ear, his hand stroked down the length of her hair. She watched her own fiery strands trickle through his dextrous fingers. "I'll wait for you."
Lily could not help but roll her eyes. "You're older than me by less than a month. Don't make it sound like a decade."
She could feel a short sharp exhale of breath tickle her left ear, his equivalent of a bark of laughter. She took his hands and brought them about to envelope her, feeling his heart speed up and his body warm. With a sigh, the Gryffindor girl desisted, slipping out of his arms to give him a reprieve. "I suppose this is another difference between your maturity and mine."
Severus appeared to shake himself as he regained his composure. "I assure you this is absolutely a symptom of teenaged hormones. There is nothing overly mature about this."
"I meant your… willingness to keep your composure," she replied with a smile, widening with cheek. "Merlin knows you try harder than you have to."
She could feel his black eyes glaring unamused but unseen in the shadows of the alcove. "It's only difficult when you insist on making it so."
"I won't tell my dad," Lily said with a grin and a wink, only half-joking.
"And that is exactly what I mean," he muttered as he turned away, his face colouring visibly even in this lowered light. "A promise I make is a promise I keep. Stop testing me."
The Gryffindor girl let out an over dramatic sigh. "I still can't believe you took my dad's side on this. You must really want to get on his good side."
"I would prefer to stay on good terms with my future father in law, yes," Sev muttered, glancing away. "And I would personally prefer it too. I don't like the idea of… I don't want you to be too young."
"Excuse me?" Her ginger eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"You're too young," he growled again, defiantly. "You'd make me feel utterly immoral."
"You're one month older than me!" She tried her best to maintain a visage of outrage but the ridiculousness sent her into a fit of giggles.
Severus however, continued to look completely unamused. "Then we are both too young. Too rash and too foolish."
"Head over heart," Lily sighed. She reached her arms about her fiancé's torso, feeling him squirm uncomfortably under her touch, but this time she would not draw away. Sev was a distant soul but with no less warm a heart. A warmth he showed few and sparingly. However she was a girl who needed closeness and touch, no matter how deeply she loved and knew that she was loved. "I knew what I signed on for," she murmured into his warm fluttering chest. "I hope you did as well."
Though he had accepted the situation without any struggle, the prospect of spending the weekend with Petunia had soured Snape's mood dramatically. It was doubly worse that it was only two days before Hallowe'en. He kept trying to tell himself things were different now, that he needn't feel that weight so keenly anymore. His head could not win over his heart on this regard.
The guilt pecked again at the fringes of his mind, wearing down the calm he had built for himself. The anniversary of his greatest folly, and his insidious self-loathing peaked its head, refusing to let him forget it. This weekend was going to be miserable already without the need to spend it with a viper like Petunia.
He hadn't seen the harpy since he and Lily first parted ways. To her it would have only been two years, but for Snape it had been well over twenty. Despite that, he did not hold out much hope for the woman improving with time. One peak into that Potter boy's mind was enough to tell him the worst about that woman, how her twisted bitterness allowed her to treat her sister's only son. A son he had treated no better. Another nugget of guilt to Snape's heaving pile.
That was one confession he did not relish revealing to Lily again. One truth he did not wish to share. She had been quite annoyed with him from the assumption that he was merely apathetic to her child, when reality was that he was near antagonistic. Another terrible truth about him that she would need to know, one day. Another sin he would need to pay for. Was it more selfish of him to lay the burden of forgiveness upon Lily's kind heart? Or would it be fouler to hide his worst away?
It was in this dark guilt-ridden mood that James Potter had disturbed him in, collecting the Wolfsbane potion for the final time this moon cycle. James had taken the responsibility of collecting the potion solely upon himself of late, and until today Lily had been present as their in-between but, needing to undertake her patrol-work this evening. He could feel her through his ring, making her round on the floor above, her route never levelling to the floor his lab stood on.
She had been trying her hand at the final steps of the brew, proving herself once again an extremely capable student. She would have been easily his equal had they been of the same age and experience. A truth he could not reassure her with when she bemoaned his extensive abilities beyond her own.
"Thanks, Snape. That's all the doses," That bespectacled Dementor in boy's clothing chirped cheerily.
Snape waved him off without an upwards glance as he set about on clean up. He had hoped that feckless boy would take the hint and scuttle off and leave him in peace. He really was becoming an optimist.
"So…" the boy began, causing the potioneer to bristle at the sound of his mentally abrasive voice. "You and Lily are getting married?"
Snape took that moment to revel in his victory. "Humbling, isn't it, Potter?"
The boy, however, only offered a muted smiled. "I'm happy for you two. Good luck for the future."
That, however, stroked Snape in every wrong way. "Don't think me taken by your false well-wishes, Potter. I still remember you coveted her, and the lengths you were willing to go to turn her head."
"Okay, yes, I get it. I was abhorrent towards you," Potter mumbled as he stowed that small vial in his pocket. "And you'll never let me forget about it. But honestly, back then we were both shitty to each other. And I'm sorry for my part."
Snape's eyes narrowed as he turned his eyes to his scouring equipment, content to leave their conversation at that. When that bespectacled fop did not move from his spot, the potioneer snapped at him. "Leave!" he commanded with a gnashing glare, no uncertainty to his tone.
"Right. I will," Potter assured with raised placating palms. "But I kind of hope we can have another opportunity to talk. I don't want this to go on."
"Pity. I have no intention of making good," Snape hissed with a distasteful curl of his lips.
The boy shrugged. "We're not killing each other anymore. This is a promising start."
"Congratulations on growing up. Now get out of my face."
Those hazel eyes narrowed along with his patience. "How about you get off your high horse? It wasn't that long ago when you were a dick and a half as well. I flippin' didn't believe you when you changed sides. And believe me when I say you earned that mistrust."
"Tell you whatever you need to sleep better at night," Snape glowered.
"Just because you… grew out of your rough spots first doesn't mean my efforts are worthless! I get that we'll never be friends, but Lily's my friend and I'd rather not be at loggerheads with her husband!" That was the first time anyone had directly referred to Snape as Lily's husband. Yet it came from the lips of a man who had once taken that very role.
A knowledge that turned bitter any relish of his victory.
He hated that man, that boy. Everything that cretin had done to him. Every victory he took in that life that is no more.
And most of all, he hated the knowledge that Potter had provided better for Lily than Snape possibly could.
"You mock me with that very word," Snape hissed to the boy's confusion. He knew logically that it hadn't been meant the way it twisted in his mind. But logic could never overcome the hate he had for this boy before him. This boy who reminded him of every failure of his life, of every humiliation wrought upon him by him and his privileged friends. Who Lily had married in a life no longer, and who had been able to live up to her love.
"Wait…" Potter frowned behind the thick panes of his glasses. "Do you think I'm still after her or something?"
Snape did not answer, was unable to answer through his sudden uncontrollable bitterness.
"I'm not. I swear that I'm not." He continued. "Marlene is my girlfriend and I'm not going to betray what we have. She'd kick my arse."
With a glower, Snape turned away. His logical mind assured him of the earnest of those words, but his spite wished the boy to cease. He felt petty, he should not feel petty. He did not deserve to feel petty. This was the boy who tormented him, after all. The boy who assaulted him and stripped him of his dignity.
Too many years of antagonism. Too deep ran his hatred. Not even the passage of two decades past this boy's death had cured Snape of this seething anger. This contempt he had for this boy whose life was handed to him on a silver platter. The boy who could have had any woman he wanted, but chose to pursue a course that would fracture a seven-year friendship and take the only good thing Snape had in his life.
But most of that fault laid squarely with Snape. That much was certain to him now. Now he knew that Lily's ultimatum had never been final, it had always hinged upon his own choice. That there had always been a path for him by Lily's side, had he not been so foolish and selfish to see it.
The animosity he had for Potter, the grudges they held towards one another, the core reason for it all had been removed. But even with that regret subverted, and mountains of shattered pride behind them. Snape could not find it in him to let it go. He knew the fault was his own, but his hatred for this one boy, this boy who made his emotions flare and hatred seethe, it refused to abate.
Though his mind told him the war was over and won, his heart would not let go.
"I get that we'll never be friends," that infuriating boy continued heatedly, "but I don't want to be enemies. But don't let the bad blood between us affect her. I'm dating her best friend, after all. We both want to continue to be in her life."
Rage bubbled forth from the once-jilted Professor. "And had it been the other way around? Would I had been given the same courtesy?"
"Of course!" Potter answered, to which Snape scoffed. The advantage of knowing the alternate path meant he knew exactly how far that courtesy extended. For Snape had never been part of Lily's life again.
But again, that had been his own doing.
"It was never my call to make, whether or not you're in Lily's life," Snape muttered, hating ever concession he made. "Whatever friendship you have with her is… you needn't bother me with it."
He hated the idea of Lily associating with this boy. His tormenter. His most hated nemesis. And her husband, once upon a time. But Snape was already taking a large part of her life away from her, he could not bear to take more.
Potter shrugged. "Well obviously. She'd probably not be too amused if you told her who she can and cannot see," he muttered, a sentiment Snape could get behind. The bespectacled boy ran his fingers through his hair in an agitated motion. "But… She's a soft-hearted girl. You know what I mean right? I mean you'd have to, you've known her for longer than I have. How the heck do you think she feels each time we spite each other? You think it's not going to gnaw at her that her friends are at odds with her husband?"
Snape hated that boy but he could not deny the truth of his words. He was able to see so clearly the barbs upon Lily's heart, knew so well how much his antagonism with her friends would hurt her. He knew this, but had made no effort on her behalf to repair this.
And to be told so clearly so by this reckless preening self-serving boy. This boy who had his chance with her in another life. A life ended short for the both of them.
He would never know of the second chance Snape took from him.
"This changes nothing between us, Potter," Snape growled, tasting bitterness of the concession he was to give. "But I will not have Lily pay for our history. I'll temper my hostility. I expect courtesy in return."
A muted smile edged upon Potter's lips. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for." He stretched his hand out to seal their truce. Snape suppressed his sigh but glowered openly as he took the offered hand.
Making peace with the trauma that two lives could not erase.
The weekend came with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. On the one hand Lily always looked forward to her return home, especially now fully qualified in apparition and needn't suffer through travel time by train. Though her father rarely saw eye to eye now days, she still loved him dearly, and with his support of her engagement with Severus their worlds realigned again. On the other hand, she did not look forward to seeing Petunia, or the man she was about to marry. What was his name? Vernon? If he was anything like her sister, Lily already knew they would not get on.
The letter had already somewhat set the tone of their meeting, stating that they wished to get this 'freakish business' out of the way. Whatever this was about, it did not seem reconciliation was on the menu.
But naively, she could not help but hope. Hope that there was a path forward for the them both. Though they were now constantly at loggerheads, they hadn't always been so. As children they had been inseparable, as close as two sisters could be, before magic and jealousy had torn them apart.
Lily was prepared to work for it, but in this plan lay a problem. Severus had never got on with Petunia. Lily could deal with a lot from her sister, but historically Sev had never been very good at turning the other cheek.
She paced back and forth before Sev's room now, housed still in the guest room that had once been Petunia's bedroom. She had already spent an hour getting ready, doing up her hair, powdering the freckles from her nose and painting her lips into a slightly darker pink. The dress she picked was a slim-fitting semi-formal one piece dress. She knew her sister would comment if she didn't make at least an effort.
That went doubly so for Sev, and she hoped the effort hadn't sent him escaping for school ground. She hoped he wasn't still troubled because her father had purchased a suit for him. Her father had it tailored not long after finding out about their engagement, having it crafted from the measurements Lily had procured from Madam Gladrags. It was honestly optimistic of her father to think that his youngest daughter would be having a muggle wedding. On further thought, did he even know how to put on a suit? The muggle clothing he had experience with weren't exactly exemplary specimens of this category.
"Sev?" she called through the door with a light knock to the wooden panel. "How's everything going?" From beyond the door she could barely hear movement, worrying her suspicions. "I'm coming in alright?"
"Hold on!" His voice suddenly sounded, just as she yanked open the door. For a moment, Lily feared she barged in on him half-decent again, but it turned out his embarrassment was not due to that. Severus stood, clad in a formal, and very muggle black dinner jacket and slacks, glowering with embarrassment having been caught in front of the mirror, testing his hair in a ponytail.
"Oh, my goodness!" Lily giggled to his further glowing displeasure.
Without another word he tore the cord from his hair and proceeded to shake the strands back into their messy state.
"No stop." Lily glided to his side and collected his hair back into that bundle. "You looked very elegant!" His glare bespoke his disbelief. "No, seriously you do."
Severus conceded to her ministrations, seating himself in front of the vanity mirror and scowling into his reflection. He muttered something under his breath that she didn't catch. "Come again?" She beckoned as she re-tied his hair, adjusting the tightness of the band at the base of the bundle.
"I said it makes my nose too obvious," he grumbled aloud, sending Lily into another fit of giggles.
"What this one?" She leaned over him and planted a kiss upon the bridge of his long and prominent nose. That brought a smile to his dour reflection.
Taking the bundle of his hair, Lily split it in two, leaving thick strands sitting in equal portions on either side of his head.
"What are you doing?" He frowned as she set aside the remaining hair together in a loose bundle, tying it as low as possible upon the base of his neck.
"Styling," she replied as she separated the strands to give the loose hair a casual messy look about it. A sigh escaped Severus' thin downturned lips but not a word of complaint passed them. "Try not to enjoy this too much," she whispered into his ear, causing the corners of his frowning lips to lift ever so slightly.
Her fingers trailed from his hairline to trace the contour of his temple, and down the sharp turn of his cheekbone. He closed his eyes as he leaned in to her touch. She obliged him, bringing her fingers softly down his narrow jawline, tracing the smooth ridge of his angled chin.
"Have you ever thought about growing a beard?" she asked suddenly, jolting Severus out of his contentment. "I'm just curious about how you'd look with some scruff," she muttered in explanation to his narrowing eyes.
"No facial hair," he told her sternly, turning away with a self-conscious grimace. "I do not permit it in my laboratory. Or long sweeping sleeves. They get filthy and contaminate the workstation."
Ever the pragmatic. Such a spoilsport. "I'll bet you can't even grow one anyway," Lily quipped with a cheek filled grin. But his glowering flush told her she hit a little too close to the mark.
She threw her arms about his shoulders, her hands crossing about his chest. She pressed her cheek to his, preventing him from turning away from the mirror. "Clean and smooth is nice as well. You don't need a beard."
His thin lips twitched upwards into a tight grimace. "If you've seen my attempts at a beard you'd be glad I don't grow one easily. It comes up patchy and uneven. I wind up looking like a half-plucked cockerel."
Laughter burst forth from Lily's lips before she could stop herself. She clamped her hands across her lips mid gasp, fearing she might have upset his delicate esteem. To her relief, and surprise, he actually looked rather pleased with himself.
"Look who's learned to not take himself so seriously." Lily giggled as she tightened her embrace about his shoulder, squeezing him tight.
"One last question if I may," he muttered in her ear. Lily leaned back as he procured a length of silken tie, still twisted about in a strange knot as if attempts had been made and met with failure. "For the life of me I have no notion what this is for apart from strangling myself."
This would be the most uncomfortable thing Snape had ever done. Not soul crushingly awful as some of the atrocities he had committed under his own delusion, and later in service to the light, but not far down that ladder.
The dinner was in London, not an easy venue to attend by travel from the Midlands let alone the Scottish highlands. Trust Petunia to elect a meeting point to her own convenience to the detriment of all else. Though it was but a simple affair for Lily and him to Apparate down to the city, but not to her father, Mr Evans.
Lily had offered to side-along Apparate her dad down to London with them but he had told his daughter rather solemnly that this dinner was about repairing their bond as sisters, and he would rather not impose himself as a barrier to their communication. Lily later told him that it was far more likely her father chose to stay home to watch his space stories.
Snape privately thought his declining of the invitation could be a good thing. The seemingly young wizard had firsthand experience what side-along Apparition felt like and didn't think a man of muggle-sensibilities would appreciate the sensation.
The moment he entered that muggle restaurant, however, he began regretting the lack of authoritarian barrier between him and that harpy of a woman, Petunia. He hadn't seen that woman in well over twenty years, blissfully losing contact with her at approximately the same time he fell out with Lily. Yet even with that many years as a buffer, one glance at her thin horse-like face was enough to dredge up prickly memories of childhood association.
As he and Lily approached, that vile woman turned her reproachful notice upon their entrance. "Couldn't even be bothered to turn up on time, could you?" Were the first words of greeting from off her acid tongue. Any hope of setting a civil reconciliatory tone dashed before they even found their seats.
"Now, Petunia. Traffic can get cluttered at this time of the afternoon," the unfeasibly large man sitting beside her said in a surprisingly reasonable tone. "Vernon Dursley." He introduced himself with an offer of his gigantic mitt of a hand.
"Snape," he offered as he took it in a single firm shake, Dursley's small beady eyes glancing over Snape's continence, lingering judgementally on his long-bundled hair. He didn't offer his first name, and the rotund man did not ask. He never offered a handshake to Lily.
"You can tell a lot about a man from a single handshake," Dursley declared as he settled his frame into his squeakily protesting seat. "Like yours are covered in calluses. You dress smartly but I can tell you are a working man. Not the kind one would expect to own a car that can bring its occupants to dinner on time."
Snape could already tell he was going to hate this man.
"We're both still students," Lily quickly cut between them, no doubt sensing her fiancé's delicate patience strain.
The massive man's eyebrows darted upwards as Petunia's lips pursed as if in disapproval. It was as if they were chastising a faux pau that Snape wasn't aware of. Or Lily by the look of muted confusion upon her face.
Petunia however, supplied the reason with great disdainful relish. "Don't disrupt the men while they're talking Lily. That is ill cultured of you."
Snape felt annoyance twist in his heart. He had forgotten about the male-centric muggle culture of this period in time. If he was going to be forced to make small talk with that grating man he had hoped for some assistance from Lily. Small talk wasn't his forte in the best of times.
That galling moment was thankfully saved by the waiter taking their orders. Dursley heartily and very vocally expressed loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear that he would be picking up the cheque. The preening arrogance that reminded Snape so much of that hated Potter, perhaps it wasn't blood alone that imprinted upon his son.
"So, Snape," the man continued as if Lily wasn't there. "Petunia tells me the both of you are people of… peculiar… culture."
"Indeed. One could see it that way," Snape answered cautiously, wondering exactly how much of their secret society Petunia had revealed to this blustering exhibitionist man, and how much of a violation of the Statute of Secrecy this could potentially become. He remembered seeing this man in the memories of the Potter child; Petunia had indeed married this walrus and together they became his unwilling foster carers. Neglectful, near abusive foster carers. By which approximation meant knowledge of their world had been kept in reasonable cover and care.
"Oh yes, we can do magic," Lily chirped, not half as concerned about legal repercussions that came with her words. Petunia's eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips once again. A jealous harpy to the end, that woman.
Dursley, however, appeared surprisingly unconcerned. "Well go on then. Show me some magic."
"One doesn't just perform on command. There are protocols to heed," Snape muted the hiss within his voice. The Ministry office for the Improper Use of Magic would probably not appreciate showboating in the middle of a crowded muggle restaurant.
The bulky man sat back in his groaning chair, seemingly content to let things go. "At the very least you are a man of discretion. I can appreciate that if not your lifestyle choice."
Snape suppressed the urge to hex this man and said not a word as the waiter approached with refreshments for the table. White wine for the table to pair with Petunia's filet of bass, but two glasses for only she and her fiancé.
"Can't serve alcohol to minors. You understand, Lily," Petunia stated with a smug smile as if being ahead in age was a boasting achievement. "Vernon ordered you two something else instead. "Some kind of American beverage. The waiter said it was popular with children." Two glasses of alarmingly dark liquid were set upon the table, their fizzing state was setting off alarm bells within the potion master's mind.
Ignoring the obvious jibe, Lily brought hers up for a taste. There was something to be said about a Gryffindor sense of self-preservation. "Ooooh. I like how the bubbles feel." She grinned as she returned for another sip. "Try it Sev. It's like… a very light version of butter beer, but with herbs."
By that description alone, Snape knew he was going to hate it before the glass touched his lips and they turned down in revulsion. The bubbles played on his tongue in what he was certain was meant to be a whimsical texture, but it only served to irritate him as the sweetness of the offending liquid coated his mouth. "I prefer water," he muttered, offending his host's no doubt pre-set sensibilities.
"I'll take it if you don't want it," Lily chirped as she swiped Snape's glass from him and left him her one, already filled with conjured water. She was getting good at this wordless wandless business.
"Where on earth did that water come from?" The heavy man leaned into the sight, his heavy brows frowned with slow deliberation. Snape suppressed another sigh, it was like this man had already forgotten that magic was a thing.
Lily however obliged by touching her finger to the rim of Snape's glass, creating a webbing of frost around the vessel before the muggle man's beady eyes. She winked and pressed a finger to her lips as the large man's eyes widened in disturbed fascination, and Petunia's expression soured in jealous revulsion.
With a gentle touch to her wrist, Snape stopped her. "Caution before muggle eyes, Lily. There are laws."
Dursley quickly gathered his wits. "Those tricks are well and good, but do they make you employable? What kind of a job could you be setting yourself up for? A man employed is a man worth anything after all."
At the very least that sentiment was one Snape could get behind. "My career path likely lies within the field of potioneering." The muggle man could only stare blankly as if he had just speaking in tongues.
"It's like… a chemist," Lily supplied helpfully.
With a judgemental glare the massive man took a gulp of his wine. "A respectable career path provided you could actually make it. Speaking of the future is just as well as talking fantasy." Snape's eyes narrowed at the snide put down, feeling the insult twist his self-control. "While I myself am already well established within my employment. Junior Executive at Grunnings. The top producers of drills in all of London."
"It's a kind of tool, if your kind understands what tools are," Petunia supplied, intending in every way to sound condescending. "My Vernon's already so well established. And look how handsome he is. So robust, like a real man should be."
Now that was a jab at Snape's slight form if ever there was one. He suppressed the glower and sat simmering in silent hatred of this harpy woman. No doubt revelling over this rare victory over her sister.
"I'm glad you're happy, but don't for a moment think so little of Sev," Lily retorted with rising heat. "He's so much more than you give him credit for, or ever gave him credit for."
That unpleasant woman gave a sniff of derision. "At the very least he's now dressed like a human being, and not in mismatched rags that isn't fit for a dog bed."
"Excuse me?" Lily made as if to stand but Snape's hand flew from his lap to brace against her shoulder. His temper was stoked but at the very least his self-control did not shake. "His family is poor. You have no right!" Lily continued, albeit with restraint.
But her words only caused a look of smugness to touch the features of those two unpleasant people. "Poor? His father's a welfare leeching alcoholic. The very dregs of society."
Snape interjected before things could escalate any further. "In that we finally find agreement, Petunia. My father is filth. I do not plan to associate with him any further."
That statement actually seemed to impress that bitter woman's equally dislikeable fiancé. "Here, here. If society can be bettered, it's upon the backs of those that wish to do better than their predecessors."
"Employment as a street sweeper is already leaps and bounds above his father." Petunia could not help but get one last jibe in before she returned to her wine, so smugly satisfied.
Snape could feel Lily tense again, he could see her hands clench upon the tablecloth before her. She could hex those two without a wand or a word, but she would not fool those in Magical Law Enforcement.
"Lily," he murmured in warning as he slipped his hand into hers. He felt her calm as her fingers traced the form of his ring. But that brought Petunia's eye straight to the offending trinket.
"What is this? Jewellery on a man? I suppose this is another ridiculous trend from your ridiculous school?" she harped still riding the high from her victory of unpleasantness.
Lily however seemed to be quite pleased at the turn of the topic. "Magical engagement rings actually," she answered, as calm and casually as one would.
Immediately her sister's face lit up with outrage. As if this announcement was an affront to her very being. "I knew it! You could not let me be with my happiness!" She stood as if to draw her long thin figure up in a menacing way, towering over her with a neck too long to be completely natural. "You have to upstage me at every turn, you- you- you attention seeking freakof a… freak!"
"I didn't get engaged because of you!" Lily retorted just as hotly, but remained seated and uncowed.
"Now Petunia. You're making a scene," Dursley chastised lightly with a firm tug of her hand, drawing her almost forcibly back to her seat.
"But she does this every time. Every time she snatches the limelight away from me! Every time!"
"With what? Silver rings?" Dursley simpered in what must be to his mind in a loving manner. "Your ring is gold and diamonds my darling." He took her hand and held it to show off the gaudy piece of gem encrusted jewellery. "And your husband is this manly hunk of a model pillar of society. While she's marrying this… unmanly whip of an… unemployable spawn of an alcoholic. You have won in this regard, in this most important race in life."
Petunia calmed, an equally simpering smile spread across her lips. "Oh, my darling Vernon."
"THAT IS IT!" Lily slammed the table, startling everyone sitting at the table. "I have had it with you! Ever since we got here you have been nothing short of nasty! Severus is a wonderful man, and all you've been doing for the past half hour is mock him for his financial and family situation!" Snape laid a calming hand upon her back but it seemed nothing was going to stop this tirade. "Well I've got news for you Petunia! Your fiancé's fat!" And with that, she spun about and stormed out of the restaurant. Snape dropped his napkin and followed her out, not even sparing even a glance for their hosts, glowing purple with outrage.
In the autumn chill beyond the restaurant doors, Snape found Lily leaning heavily against the wall. Night had fallen but in the bustle of the city, darkness had a far weakened grip. Even without the streetlamps, the light from the establishments still open at this time was enough to bathe the streets in a golden glow and catch the shimmer of tears upon Lily's cheek.
Snape said not a word as he stripped off his dinner jacket and draped it about her shoulders. A grateful smile touched her painted lips as she tried to subtly wipe away her tears. "Look at me. It was you that got wronged but I'm the one crying."
"If I cried every time I got insulted…" Snape muttered, eliciting a watery smile from the emotional girl.
"This went about as badly as it possibly could have huh?" Lily asked, a rhetorical question Snape hoped because he could not find it in himself to answer. "I just wished… I don't know… I had hoped…" Her words trailed off, punctured by a hiccup. "She's not going to speak to me ever again, is she?"
With a gentle but firm hand, Snape lead her off the wall and into the warmth of his arms. He did not know how to alleviate her fears, he was unpractised in this arena of words. "…Do you want me to take you somewhere you haven't seen before?" He muttered in a low voice, hoping to lead her from her tears.
A smile touched her ruby lips, easily swayed by the thought of distraction. "…We really should go back though and try to fix this. I mean we ordered already. We can't saddle them with all that."
Snape's thin lips turned in a sneer, hidden in the deep shadows upon his face. "From the size of that man, I doubt our orders will go to waste."
A giggle burst forth as a hand swatted at him in amused chastisement.
A/N: Frequenters of Pottermore might have noticed this is the mirror of the Lily/James dinner with Petunia/Vernon except with a different conclusion.
A thank you to my Beta readers Sattwa100 and MrsNanna for your work on this chapter.
Next Update: Saturday 30th June 2018 AEDT.
Chapter 37: Tales of Dark Dreams
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe and do not seek to profit in any way, shape or form from this fan work.