So I bet you guys thought this day was never coming but here it is, a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please note that this chapter has not been Betaed so any mistakes are my own.


Severus awoke Wednesday morning to find a pair of eyes staring at him intently.

"What?" he snapped, more than a little disconcerted by the sight.

The boy on the opposite bed seemed nonplussed by Severus' less than pleasant early morning demeanour because he didn't hesitate in the least before he began speaking. "Severus, you know I consider you to be a friend –"

Severus sat up in bed, already not liking where this conversation was going. "But?" he prodded, trying to ready himself for whatever came after.

"But nothing, I consider you to be a friend and so I wanted to warn you."

"About what, Vincent?"

"Marius..."

Severus immediately cut Mulciber off. "Marius has already made it abundantly clear he's not happy about Lily and I being together but that's really none of his business."

"He's not the only one who's not happy." Vincent supplied ominously.

Severus looked at his roommate questioningly and Mulciber hurried on, "I've been trying to think of a way to tell you this for a while."

"Just be direct," Severus answered.

There was a brief pause before Vincent began to speak again. "I'm not sure if you know this or not, but the Dark Lord used the Avery's manor as his base this summer."

Severus shook his head in response, not sure what sort of response Mulciber was thinking he should have at having been kept so completely out of the loop. Vincent gave nothing away; he merely took a deep breath in before continuing on. "It meant all the meetings were held there. Of course, I wasn't allowed in so I don't know exactly what was discussed but I heard plenty just the same and frankly, people are beginning to talk about you and not in a good way."

Severus' stomach rolled though he wasn't sure if it was in terror or anticipation, outwardly he betrayed nothing. "Is that so?"

"Yes, several members of the fellowship are wondering why you're so enamoured of a mudblood. There was talk that you might no longer be as dedicated to the Dark Lord's principals as you once were."

"And people came to this conclusion based on the woman I choose to date?" Severus rose from his bed and began to sift through his trunk for clothes before looking up and casually asking, "Tell me, out of curiosity, who would these people have me date?"

"I believe several pure-blood girls were mentioned as prospective partners for you."

Severus laughed derisively. "I bet that went down well with the girls in question."

"If the Dark Lord commands it..."

"The Dark Lord believes in keeping the blood lines pure. Unfortunately, it's a little late for that in my case."

"Still, it would be better for you if you found a half-blood like yourself, one who's not to far removed from their pure-blood roots."

Severus sighed. "Vincent, I appreciate the advice, but as I have said in the past, Lucius knows about my relationship and he's never cautioned me against it, nor has it ever been implied much less stated explicitly that the Dark Lord wishes me to end it. As a matter of fact, I've been asked to recruit Lily. I hardly think that would be the case if the Dark Lord disapproved of her or our relationship.

Mulciber looked at him for a long moment, conflict brewing in his eyes. "I'm not sure the Dark Lord is as in favour of your relationship as you think. I really feel it would be best if you let Evans go and found someone else before you get yourself in a hole so deep there's no getting out." Severus started to reply but Vincent quickly cut him off, "just think about it. I'd hate to see you throw your future away or get into trouble over someone the group found less than ideal."

Having said his piece, Mulciber walked out of the room, leaving Severus to brood about what he had been told. He supposed the fact that his reputation was starting to plummet with the Death Eaters was a good thing. It just annoyed the hell out of him that it was because of Lily and not general discontent with his recent actions. Perhaps, he and Lily shouldn't have been so open about their relationship until he was free.

The more Severus thought about what Vincent had said, the worse his mood became. Even if he was still on track to become a Death Eater he couldn't see why it mattered in the least who he was dating. Why did following the Dark Lord mean that everyone in the group felt they had the right to manage every aspect of each other's lives? Avery was especially annoying with his opinions. Severus had come within a hair's breadth of resurrecting his Sectumsempra spell yesterday when Avery had made a disgusting sexual remark about muggleborns.

It took Severus most of the morning to simmer back down. In order to attempt to keep his temper on an even keel, he decided to skip lunch, where Avery would most assuredly be, and go to the library to do some research. The hour of solitude did the trick and he was in a better mood by the time he reached the Defense classroom.

Thankfully, the room was deserted. For the first time in years, Severus made his way to a desk at the front of the room. Historically speaking the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors were lack lustre at best and abysmal at worst. Of course, if the rumours were true and the position was cursed it must be difficult to find qualified candidates. However, this year's professor was a pleasant departure from the status quo. There was no doubt Hector Grinspun knew his subject well and was determined to impart all his vast knowledge to his students before he inevitably left at the end of the year.

Severus was of two minds about this development. Part of him was grateful for the extra knowledge since he suspected he was going to need every bit of it in the future. Another part would have preferred to have a more lax professor, one who wasn't intent on adding to the mountain of homework that seemed to already be an inescapable part of their N.E.W.T. year.

Usually he had no problem keeping up with schoolwork and indeed was often finished before his classmates even began to think of doing their homework, but at the moment it was an irritation, yet another stress to add to the growing pile of worries in his life. He almost found himself longing for an earlier year when the biggest hassle in his life had been how to keep Potter away from Lily.

That was a problem that was still present. Despite Lily's insistence that Potter had given up on the dream of winning her for his own, Severus knew differently. The other man still trailed Lily where ever she went, the only difference was he now tried to be at least slightly subtle about his desires. Severus knew Lily was completely committed to him but it still grated to see Potter constantly watching her and waiting for the opportunity to break them up.

Severus believed he had successfully managed to hide his suspicions and annoyance about the Potter situation from Lily. In fact, he was quite convinced he'd succeeded in keeping all his concerns from her. He hadn't mentioned his anxieties about his mother's future or Violet's health, nor had he told her what many members of his house were saying about the two of them.

He honestly wanted to tell her everything, to share all his apprehensions but refrained because he could tell Lily was already upset about something beyond her mother's illness and he didn't want to add to her worries. He couldn't quite put his finger on what the problem was despite having spent many hours pondering the problem. He supposed the mature thing would be to ask outright but he was starting to get the sneaking suspicion he had done something to upset her. Since he really didn't think he could handle a row right now he kept quiet and hoped the problem would somehow sort its self out.

"Where were you today?" Lily asked, pulling him from his musings as she slid into the seat next to him.

"When?"

"At lunch – where were you?"

"In the library. Why?"

"I thought you were going to meet me."

Severus immediately remembered his promise from yesterday. "Shite! I'm sorry, Lil. I got caught up in something and forgot."

"Mmm hmm."

"I'm sorry, truly." God, he hated it when she was mad at him. He could only hope he sounded contrite enough that she would forgive him.

Lily looked at him long and hard for a moment before giving him the smallest smile possible and saying, "I'll forgive you this time."

"Thank you," he whispered as Professor Grinspun swooped into the room.

Severus was soon caught up in the lesson, his mind turning as he processed the information he was being told. Even after the professor had finished and dismissed the class, Severus continued to write furiously.

It wasn't until Lily cleared her throat that he paused and looked up from his parchment.

"Are you going to go to dinner?"

Severus glanced down at the parchment. Whatever thought he had been committing to the paper had been forgotten with one look at Lily. "Yes." He rolled the parchment up and stuffed it into his bag. "Just let me take my bag back to my room. I'll meet you in the Hall in a trice."

Since she didn't respond Severus took that as a yes and was headed toward the door when she called out his name. He turned and looked at her questioningly.

"I – will you eat with me tonight?"

One look at her anxious expression was all it took for him to nod and say, "Of course, if that's what you want – and you think no one will have a problem with me sitting at the Gryffindor table." He added hastily knowing that if Black or Potter pushed him today it would not end well for any of them.

"I was actually thinking of getting some food from the kitchens and eating somewhere more private."

"That sounds good. Why don't you get the food and we'll meet in the empty classroom in the potions corridor. Sound alright?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Come on then, I'll walk you downstairs."

Lily smiled and crossed to his side. They hadn't gone very far when they were waylaid by the newest Ravenclaw prefect, whose name Severus couldn't remember. He waited patiently until it became obvious to him the girl had approximately a dozen questions not one of which could be answered with a quick yes or no. Finally, he interrupted, "I'm sorry. Lily, I'm going to take my bag to my room and I'll meet you by the kitchens if that's fine with you."

"Alright, I shouldn't be too much longer here." Lily replied with a pointed look at the girl standing opposite her, but Severus doubted she had seen since she was back to staring at her piece of parchment.

He wanted to kiss Lily goodbye but knew it was inappropriate to do so while she was dealing with official Head Girl business so he settled for running his hand gently down her back before heading downstairs.

Lily still wasn't at the kitchen by the time he arrived and Severus wondered if he should go in and get food for them but quickly decided it was better to wait since he wasn't sure what she would be in the mood for. He had noticed her appetite had been rather tricky since they'd learned about Violet's illness. So, he leaned up against the wall and pulled out a book and began reading. He'd read twenty pages before the sound of footsteps made him look up.

Lily was hurrying down the hall, her bag still slung over her shoulder. "Sorry, I really didn't think it would take that long or I would have told Aioffe we'd talk later."

"It's fine, I had a book." Severus assured her as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"You didn't have to wait for me to get the food."

"I wasn't sure what you'd want."

"Anything's fine really." She answered as she tickled the picture.

Severus chose not to comment as he followed her through the open picture frame and into mass chaos. House elves were running everywhere, their arms laden with food and drink and Merlin only knew what else. It was a moment before any of them seemed to notice the two students standing in their midst. Once they did, Lily and Severus were bombarded with food and drinks. It took quite a while before Lily was able to convince the elves they didn't need two of every type of food and drink. Even with Lily's persuasion they still left with a feast big enough for twenty.

Severus lugged the basket down the hallways to the empty classroom, Lily following behind him without a word. When they reached the room, Severus hefted the basket on to an empty table and turned to face Lily. She looked distracted, worried and a little scared. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled his wand from his pocket and transfigured the stone floor into grass.

Lily looked up at him in shock. "Sev?"

He simply smiled at her and asked, "What else would you like, trees, flowers?"

"You decide."

With a flick of his wrist he transfigured a chair into a tall oak tree and because he couldn't resist, he turned his book into a cluster of forget-me-nots. "There, that's better, more homey."

"You forgot to do a blanket again," Lily pointed out.

"I thought I'd leave that to you."

She rummaged through her bag and produced a book that soon became a bright yellow blanket, which she settled down on to with a sigh.

They ate most of the meal in silence, not their usual companionable silence but a tight, tense one. After an hour, Severus couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you alright, Lil?"

"I suppose. I'm just worried about Mum and..." Her voice cracked and she looked away.

"Oh, angel, I'm sorry, I wish I could fix this for you."

Lily hastily wiped a tear away. "I know. I wish I could stop thinking about it. Could you – could you maybe help me stop thinking about it, just for a little while?"

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Kiss me, please."

Severus didn't have to be asked twice. He very gently cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. Lily deepened the kiss almost instantly. It wasn't long before they were lying on the ground side by side, still locked together. Severus shifted a bit, he didn't want Lily to feel just how aroused he was and yet he also didn't want to break the contact between them.

Suddenly, Lily pulled away and sat up, leaving him slightly confused. He moved to pull her back again but was stopped by a hand on his chest. She stared at him, chewing on her bottom lip the way she did whenever she wanted to ask him something that would potentially upset him. Severus knew he had two options, either he could wait until she got over her anxiety and asked whatever it was she wanted to know or he could cut to the chase and ask her what it was that had her so curious she felt the need to stop him mid snog. He chose the latter course of action. "Lil – Lily, just ask."

She rose to her feet and paced for a moment before turning back to face him. He stood slowly and walked towards her tentatively. He was almost at her side when Lily opened her mouth as if to speak, then shook her head and quickly shut it again. Apparently this was going to take a little more persuasion, Severus took a few more steps until he was standing in front of her, then, unable to help himself, he leaned down and kissed her gently, murmuring against her lips "I promise, I won't mind."

Lily took a deep breath in and suddenly blurted out, "does it hurt?"

Severus pulled back to look at her face, genuinely puzzled by the question. "Does what hurt?"

"Having a – being hard?" Lily asked in a barely audible whisper.

"No, why would you think that?"

"You sort of keep shifting away from me."

"I didn't want to…" He had to pause a moment to collect his thoughts so he didn't muck this up and say the completely wrong thing. "I thought after the conversation we had this summer feeling me aroused might bother you." Or scare her even more than she apparently already was.

"Sev, I didn't – it doesn't – bloody hell," she muttered under her breath before asking in a rush, "canIseeit?"

Severus felt his eyes grow wide and was fairly certain he had lost the power of speech because it was moment before he could find the voice to ask, "You want to see me, there?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely," answered Lily so firmly he knew she'd been wanting to ask him this very question for quite some time.

A little hesitantly, because he was so nervous, Severus shifted his uniform and pants so he was now exposed to the dim light and Lily's wide eyed gaze.

"Oh," she breathed in wonder.

He kept his eyes carefully trained on her face, trying to gauge her reaction.

"It is large, isn't it?"

"I don't think it is, not particularly."

There was a pause that seemed to last forever before she looked him in the eye and said, "you know, seeing it like this it seems…"

"Yes," he prodded.

"Less intimidating somehow. I mean, I still think it's big but not too big."

Severus felt relief flood through him. Secretly he'd been afraid Lily was so frightened by his size it would be years before they made love, and while he was willing to wait, decades if necessary, he'd honestly rather hoped that wouldn't be the case.

He started to shift his clothes back into their proper place when Lily stopped him by whispering, "don't," and leaned in to kiss him, her hand grasping his to stop its movement. It felt odd to be so exposed but he quickly forgot it and immersed himself in the kiss. That was until Lily gingerly slid her finger up his length.

He gasped in shock and pulled back. "What…?"

Lily smiled at him a little mischievously. "I wanted to feel it. Do you want me not to?"

All he could do was shake his head in response.

"Good." Lily murmured, pulling his head back down to hers.

Severus was becoming more and more certain he wouldn't be able to leave this classroom without some alone time. He wasn't sure how he would explain that to Lily since he certainly didn't fancy telling her she had to walk back to her common room alone so he could stay here to have a wank. Of course, if she kept dancing her fingers over him like this then the amount of time he would need to be alone would be pretty small.

He wasn't sure if he became more or less frustrated when Lily's hand moved away and she leaned away from him. His uncertainty fled a second later when Lily blushingly asked him, "What do I do?"

"About what?"

"How do I – help you?"

Severus was confused. What exactly was she asking him? "I don't understand," he admitted.

Lily turned completely red, he could see even her scalp was blushing and he had to lean forward to hear her whisper. "How do I help you finish?"

He swallowed hard and tried to concentrate on breathing so he didn't do something stupid like pass out. "You don't have to do anything. I can – take care of it myself."

There was a pause and then Lily lifted her eyes to his. "I want to."

Severus felt himself get dizzy for a second and then he focused. If he acted weird about this then there was the possibility he would frighten Lily and that was the last thing he wanted. He paused for a moment trying to think how best to explain it to her but in the end he decided the best thing was just to show her. Very carefully and tenderly he took her hand in his and began to move it.

Lily changed her angle so she could watch their hands moving. It was the most erotic moment of Severus' life and he knew it would be over quickly. He watched her for a moment more and then turned her head towards him and kissed her. Lily's pace faltered for an instant but she found her rhythm again very quickly. Time seemed to simultaneously speed up and slow down until Severus couldn't tell if they'd been doing this for mere minutes or for days.

He could feel the pleasure building inside him and wordlessly summoned a scarf from his bag. Then, batting Lily's hand away, he deftly stroked himself a few more times and came into the soft wool fabric, not once had she taken her eyes from him.

"I could have done that," she whispered.

Severus shrugged, put his clothes back in place, balled up the scarf and stuffed it back into his bag. "It's messy."

"Didn't look like it to me."

He smiled and kissed her gently before replying. "I've had practice."

Lily nodded, the look on her face a mixture of determination and pleasure and Severus knew this wasn't the last time they were going to do this. The idea was enough to make him feel a little light headed again. He carefully pushed the thought to the back of his mind, if he didn't, they would never leave this room. Lily was still watching him intently as he pulled out his watch and glanced at the time.

"I should walk you back now."

Lily sighed before picking up her bag. They were almost out of the door when she turned and looked up at him shyly. "Was it good at least?"

Severus ran his hand over her hair and smiled at her tenderly. "It was amazing."

She gave him a satisfied smile and then led them out of the classroom.

It wasn't until they were almost at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room that he said anything. "Lil –" she stopped and turned to look at him. "Thank you, for earlier. I feel – I was supposed to be distracting you, making you feel better and somehow it became about me. I really didn't intend for that to be the case."

"Don't worry, I was definitely distracted and making you feel good makes me feel good so..."

"Okay, well then – I suppose I should get back to my common room." He said hesitantly but he made no movement away from her. She looked miserable again and he didn't want to let her go.

"I wish we could stay the night together," she said as if his thoughts had flown through the air and come out her mouth.

In that moment, Severus wished he had listened to her and they had stayed back in Cokeworth then he could bundle her up on the couch and hold her for as long as she needed. Even now he was half tempted to tell her to run and get a change of clothes and they would apparate to Spinner's End from the forest. He might have done it if a voice hadn't echoed from behind him. "It's after curfew, Snape."

Severus looked back over his shoulder and was hardly surprised to see James Potter standing there, staring at him smugly. "Not for another fifteen minutes, Potter."

"I'd like to see you make it back to your common room in fifteen minutes. Maybe I'll tag along just to make sure."

Before Severus could respond, Lily snapped, "Can you two give it a rest for tonight? James, I'd like to speak to Severus privately."

James hesitated but a glare from Lily sent him scurrying through the portrait hole. Lily waited until it was closed before looking up at him and asking, "Are you going to class tomorrow?"

"Are you?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't think I could concentrate. Do you think – would you be willing to skive with me?"

"Yes, absolutely. Where do you want to meet?"

"Here?"

"Alright. What time?"

"I don't know, early. It's not as if I'm going to get any sleep tonight."

"Lil, everything is going to be fine, you'll see."

"I wish I was as sure of that as you seem to be."

"Violet's the strongest person I've ever met, she'll fight it tooth and nail. It won't do anyone any good if you get so stressed you make yourself ill."

"You're right."

He smiled at her and ran a comforting hand over her shoulder. "I should go before Potter comes back out here and follows me just so he can catch me out after curfew."

"Don't worry, I won't let him. I'll permanently stick him to a chair if I have to. But you should go before a professor catches you."

"I'll see you in the morning." Severus gave her a quick kiss and hurried down the hall.

Lily watched until he turned the corner and she couldn't see him anymore, then she turned and climbed through the portrait hole. The first thing she saw was James loafing suspiciously close to the entrance. "Don't even think about it," she shot at him.

"Think about what?" asked James with false innocence.

"Going after Sev."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"You know, Potter there are times when you're a really crap liar. I mean it; I'm in no mood for your foolishness tonight. If you go after him, I'll go straight to Dumbledore and tell him you're using your position to bully other students."

James wavered for a moment and then muttered, "Fine."

Lily crossed her arms and stared pointedly at the stairs to the boy's dorm. James finally sighed and shuffled up them, throwing the occasional glance over his shoulder but Lily didn't move a centimetre until he had disappeared from view.

Knowing James would have no qualms about sneaking back down once he thought she had gone upstairs Lily dropped into a chair in front of the fire and soon became hypnotized by the flickering flames.

"Lily." She jumped, startled out of her reverie. Looking up, she saw Remus gazing down at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure, because you look upset and you're sitting here alone in the dark."

"Yes, I was just waiting to make certain James wouldn't try to follow Severus back to his dorm and make trouble. Severus was late in leaving tonight and James implied he'd turn Sev in for being out after curfew," she added by way of explanation.

Remus laughed and sat down in the chair opposite her. "You know James too well. Though in all fairness, Sirius seemed to be more bent on the idea than James."

Lily looked towards the stairs half expecting to see James and Sirius trying to sneak past her.

Remus chuckled lowly. "Don't worry, I talked them out of doing anything stupid."

"Thanks, Rem. I'm not at all in the mood for dealing with their brand of fun tonight."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Remus leaned forward and asked, "seriously, Lily how are you doing? I know you must be a little concerned about your mother's surgery tomorrow."

"I am worried. Everyone keeps telling me not to be, that Mum will be fine but I can't seem to stop fretting." She paused and glanced around the room. "I don't even want to be here, it's the first time I've felt like that since first year. I wanted to stay home but Mum insisted I come back and everyone seemed to think it would just make her upset if we didn't do what she wanted. So here I am." She waved her hand dismissively at the common room.

Remus hesitated for a second before speaking. "They were probably right. If this is what she wanted then it is most likely for the best."

"Is it? – Never mind, you wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't? Don't you think I wanted to stay home and take care of my mother –" Remus glanced around and even though there was no else in the room, he dropped his voice to a whisper, "and my sister? Hell, I don't know what I'm doing here most of the time. It's not as if anyone is going to give me a job if I tell them what I am and how many full moons do you think I can miss work before someone figures it out and I get the sack or have to quit? I'll probably spend the rest of my life going from one shop assistant position to the next. But I get on the train every year because it makes my parents happy to think I'll get to live a normal life. Sometimes, our decisions are not about what makes us happy but about what makes the people we love happy and I'm guessing you being here makes your mother happy."

"I'm sorry, Remus. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"You didn't. I'm just pointing out I do know what it's like to want to be somewhere else."

There was a beat of silence and then they both began to speak simultaneously. They both stopped and laughed.

"What were you saying?" Lily inquired.

"I was asking what the plan is for tomorrow."

Lily quickly told him about the details of her mother's surgery and how Frank was going to come and tell her and Severus how it had gone.

"Well, at least you'll have news quickly. That has to be a comfort, better than waiting a day or two for an owl anyway."

"There's no way I could have come back if I had to wait for the post to bring news. I wouldn't have cared what Mum wanted."

Remus nodded to show he understood.

"How are your mother and Nan?" asked Lily, suddenly aware that Remus had no option but to wait for the post for news of his family.

Remus sighed. "Mam's still not thrilled about the fact she had to move house. I don't think she'll ever be resigned to it and she's still refusing to sell the property in Bishop's Castle, she's convinced I'll need it someday, probably rightly, but I'm told she's safe and that's what's important."

"And Nan?"

A smile flitted across Remus' lips. "She's going to Mam next week."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"How did you work that one?"

"I didn't. Dumbledore told Mam he felt Nan would be much safer with her given the amount of protection Mam has than with Mrs. Gramercy who has none and Mam agreed. Besides, Nan was going to have to leave soon anyway." Remus leaned forward in his chair, eyes sparkling with excitement. "She did magic the day before I left to come back to school."

"Really?"

"Yes, touched a rose and made it bloom! Luckily Mrs. Gramercy was distracted but once Mam saw that I think she knew she didn't have a choice anymore, she has to take Nan."

"Your mother was there?"

Remus was beaming as he nodded his head. "She started going to see Nan two days after the funeral."

"You never mentioned that."

"I didn't know until that day. I popped by unexpectedly and there was Mam, with Nan in her lap. I wish Dad could have been there, he'd have been so happy." Remus said wistfully.

"Does Nan know your Mum is her mother?"

Remus nodded again, happiness practically radiating from him.

"So does this mean you can tell people about her now?"

"I think – Mam and I decided it might be better to wait until she and Nan have settled in and are used to living together. But this is a step in the right direction."

"I'm really happy, for all of you."

"Thank you. It just goes to show everything can get better, you just have to keep faith. Everything is going to work out for your family. I know things might seem crap right now but I think you have to focus on the good things."

"Is that what you do?"

"Mostly, I mean, I still miss Dad and I know I probably will for the rest of my life and I'm always going to be what I am but I have Mam and Nan and a wonderful girlfriend and great friends so overall I don't think things look so bad."

"So I just have to think of positives then." Remus nodded and looked at her expectantly. Lily thought for a moment and then said, "Well, they caught Mum's cancer early."

"The sooner they catch it the better it is, at least according to what I read."

"You've been reading up on cancer?"

"Dad bought lots of healing books after I was bit, hoping to find a cure so I had a look in them."

"What did you find?" She asked eagerly, leaning forward in her chair.

"Not much, actually muggles seem to have the edge in the case of this particular disease."

Lily sighed and slumped back into the seat. Remus waited a moment and then urged her, "Tell me more good things."

"Petunia's not engaged to that idiot Dursley anymore. I'm going to be an auntie. I..."

"Wait! Are you saying Petunia's fiancé left her while she's pregnant?"

"No, Cris and his wife are having a baby so technically I'm not an auntie but we all think of Cris as family so –"

"So, you're going to be an aunt. Anything else? How's Severus' situation going?

"We think he'll be out soon."

"That's definitely good news."

"Yeah."

"See the good things outweigh the bad just remember that when you start to feel sad."

"You're right. Do me a favour and keep reminding me of that. With you and Severus both constantly telling me everything will be alright I might just get through this."

"I can do that. I owe you and Severus anyway."

Lily was genuinely confused by his statement. "Rem, you don't owe either of us for anything."

"Of course I do. I owe you for not letting me give up on Brina or on getting Mam to keep Nan and I certainly owe Severus for not getting me expelled over the whole James and Sirius escapade. I'll owe him forever for that one."

"Don't be silly, you're our friend, we're happy to help you."

"That goes both ways."

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to sit with you until you're ready to go up?" asked Remus.

"You don't have to."

"I know. I'd be happy to and you're honestly not keeping me from anything. Brina's gone to bed, James and Sirius are talking Quidditch tactics and all my schoolwork is done. I actually came down here looking for something to do."

"You're not interested in joining James and Sirius' discussion?"

"Not on the team so I have no insight to offer. They never take my advice anyway."

"What were you planning on doing when you came down here?"

"Well, I've been playing a pretty good game of chess."

"With who?"

"Myself." Remus chuckled at Lily's bemused expression. "When you're an only child or there's a fifteen year age gap between you and your sibling you learn to do all kinds of things by yourself. I could reset the board and we could play a round."

"No, I'm not a good chess player. Cris is the family chess player though Sev isn't bad, you could always ask him for a match."

"I think it would be a little difficult to get into each other's common rooms to play. So, no chess. What else would you suggest, maybe some exploding snap?"

"Could you – when I – my dad – could just tell me a story?"

"About what?"

"A time you were happy, a happy family story."

Remus thought for a moment and then began to tell her a story about a trip he and his parents had taken to the sea side years before. There was something about Remus' voice, calm, gentle and soothing that made her eyelids start to feel heavy. Lily shifted until she was curled up in the chair and gave herself over to the tale.

Lily woke the next morning still in the common room. The dim early morning sunlight was streaming through the windows onto the couch where she laying, a cloak wrapped tightly around her. She rolled over and saw Remus curled up in a tight ball in the chair, fast asleep. She eased herself off the sofa and tip-toed over to the chair and began to gently lower the fabric onto the sleeping boy.

The moment the weight settled on him, Remus' eyes flickered open. He smiled at her sleepily. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you for moving me and for the cloak."

"No problem, I figured you'd be more comfortable on the sofa since getting you up the stairs wasn't option."

"You know, you could have gone up to bed and been comfortable yourself."

Remus rose from the chair and stretched languidly. "I was fine. I can pretty much sleep anywhere at any time, side effect of my issue."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that, being stronger than I look, and holding liquor really, really well are the only three benefits of my furry little problem. Listen, I'm going to go get ready for the day. Brina and I can wait for you so you don't have to walk down alone."

"Thanks, but Sev is going to meet me."

"Okay, well, I'll see you in History of Magic then."

"I'm not going to class today, there's no way I'd be able to concentrate."

Remus frowned and glanced up the stairs. "Do you want someone to stay with you?"

"Sev's going to skive with me."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything. And when you have news of your mother..."

"I'll definitely tell you." Lily impulsively threw her arms around him and hugged tightly. "You're a really good friend, you know that, right?"

Remus didn't respond, though he did hug her back tightly before bounding up the stairs.

Lily slowly made her way up to her dorm room. She released a grateful breath when she saw all her roommates where still asleep. She dressed as quietly and quickly as possible and slipped out of the room just as Alice was starting to stir. Thankfully, the common room was still deserted so she didn't need to answer any questions about why she wasn't in her school uniform.

When she opened the portrait, Lily saw Severus sitting on the floor, seemingly engrossed in a book. Unlike her, he was dressed in his uniform. She wondered if he had even really gone back to his room or if he had doubled back and actually spent the night sitting in this spot. A closer look revealed that his robes looked neatly pressed so there was no way he'd worn them for any length of time.

"Did you change your mind about going to class today?"

Severus looked up and smiled at her. 'No, but I thought it would be less conspicuous than walking through the castle in muggle clothes."

"Do you think I should go and change?' Lily asked looking down at her jeans and shirt, suddenly unsure if wearing them was the best idea.

Severus paused to consider. "Not necessarily, you could just wear my cloak." He began to rummage through his bag.

"No, I don't want to wear it all day. I'll go and change, won't be but a moment. Don't move an inch!" Before Severus could respond Lily hurried back the way she'd just come. She didn't know what she had been thinking. Of course it was smarter to wear her uniform, anything else was just asking to get caught skiving. She didn't know what she was about today. The room was still quiet when she entered though Alice's bed was now empty. Lily changed and was back downstairs and through the portrait hole in record time.

"Better?"

"You were fine before. Here."

Lily took the napkin wrapped bundled from his hand. "What is this?"

"Toast."

"I don't think I could eat a bite."

"Try at least."

"Did you eat?"

Severus produced another napkin wrapped bundle for her to see. "Well then, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Lily's curiosity was piqued and only continued to grow as they made their way past what Lily thought were many good hiding places, but Severus' pace never slackened. She was completely surprised when they exited the castle and headed towards the forest.

"Sev, you can't really be thinking of going in to the forest?"

"Why not? We've been before and it's not as if we're going in far."

She hesitated slightly, but he was right, they had been in here before and they were fine those times. As if to quell her indecision, Severus took her hand in his and whispered. "I thought it was the place we were least likely to get caught and could have the most peace and quiet but if you want me to find someplace else I will."

"No, it's fine. Lead the way."

He didn't let go of her hand until they reached a clearing Lily recognized from the end of last year. "Is this alright?" he asked her.

"Perfect. I can't believe you knew how to find this spot." When she saw the look on his face she laughed. "Never mind, I can believe it. So what else do you have planned?"

He reached into his bag, pulled out a book and held it out to her. "Sorry, it's not a great plan but I couldn't think of anything else. If there's something else you want to do, we can."

Lily wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to focus on reading today but she took the book from his hand anyway, curious to see what he had brought. "Sense and Sensibility."

"It's your favourite, right?"

"Yes." She smiled and then looked up at him a little shyly.

"What?"

"Did I ever tell you why?"

"No."

"It's because somehow, Colonel Brandon always reminded me of you."

"Really?"

"Yes, I don't know why, it's just something I've pictured since the first time I read it."

"Does that make you Maryanne?"

Lily thought a moment and laughed. "I guess I must be, but we better stop the comparison there because I don't want to picture Petunia as Elinor."

"Agreed."

"And what did you bring?"

"Great Expectations."

"Again? I've lost count of how many times you've read that one. Please don't say you picture me as Estella."

"Why not?"

"She was horrid to poor Pip. I wasn't that horrid to you, was I?"

"No, though I do suppose I see myself as Pip a little bit. Poor, determined to do better, cocks it up badly from time to time and in love with the same woman for an age." Severus' voice dropped and he brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. "Besides, Pip and Estella are together in the end."

"After loads of heartbreak."

"It probably makes them appreciate each other more."

"Probably." Lily raised herself up on her toes and brushed her lips against his. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Being you, spending the day with me when I know you'd rather be in class."

"Lil, I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing."

She smiled and gave him a hug. "So we're reading then."

"Only if you want to."

"Did you bring a blanket this time?"

"I brought a cloak."

"Good enough."

Severus spread the cloak on the ground in front of the tree they had sat under the previous spring. Lily sat and held her hand out to him and once he had joined her, she curled up on her side, her head in his lap. While she still wasn't sure she would be able to concentrate, Lily opened the book and tried to focus.

"Don't forget this." Severus placed the napkin wrapped toast by her side. She had thought he had forgotten about it and was about to protest she wasn't hungry when he said, "Please Lil, you have to eat. I promised Vi I would take care of you and if you don't eat I'm breaking that promise."

She knew it would be pointless to argue with him so she slowly tore off bits of toast and ate them while she flipped to her favourite part of the book. Lily found the next several hours to be relaxed and comforting, and though her attention occasionally wandered from the book to wondering about her mother, she soon found the rustle of the trees and the singing of the birds, the sound of a page turning and Severus' hand running almost unconsciously over her hair kept her from becoming too worried.

She was honestly startled, when Severus sighed and closed his book. "It's almost noon. Frank should be here soon."

Lily's stomach rolled and all the worry welled up inside of her, threatening to overwhelm her. She hardly moved when Severus stood. "Angel."

"I'm scared."

She waited for him to say it would all be fine, but Severus dropped to his knees in front of her, took her hands in his, looked deep in to her eyes and said, "Me too."

"Truly?"

"Truly, but it'll be better if we go hear what Frank has to say. Anything's better than not knowing."

"You're right. I just..." Lily stopped herself, nothing was going to be solved by saying she wished this wasn't happening. So she braced herself, gave Severus' hands a squeeze and stood. "Let's go hear what Frank has to say then."

Severus gave her a tight smile before clambering to his feet and sweeping the cloak off the ground. They walked back to the castle at a brisk pace and Lily felt a small surge of annoyance when Severus dropped her hand as the passed through the entrance but her anxiety was too high to want to bother having a go at him for his peculiar behaviour at this moment. Alice was standing in the corridor looking hopeful when they reached the gargoyle. Lily couldn't bring herself to say anything to her friend, she simply took a calming breath, whispered the password and started up the stairs to the office proper, reassured by the sound of Severus' footsteps behind her.

Frank stood in the middle of the office, next to Dumbledore's desk. Lily convulsively grabbed Severus' arm, squeezing it tightly.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Snape, would you care to take a seat?" Professor Dumbledore said kindly, waving his hand at the two armchairs in front of him.

Lily and Severus both sat and looked expectantly at the man standing before him. To Lily it seemed that each second that passed without a word was a lifetime, next to her, Severus sat silently, though his hand was twitching, a sure sign he was nervous. Lily had rather hoped he would take the lead in the conversation but it appeared he was going to leave that up to her. Unable to take another second of silence, Lily asked, "How is she?"

"Crispin said to tell you your mother is fine. Everything went routinely with the surgery and Mrs. Evans is now resting comfortably. She will be in hospital overnight but he told me to assure you this is standard with this type of operation."

Lily could feel Severus letting out a deep breath of relief and found herself doing the same. Frank continued on seemingly oblivious to her reaction. "Margaret said to tell you she will send a letter as soon as possible with all the details about the surgery and follow up care."

"Did you talk to May?" Severus asked.

"Briefly, on the telephone. Amazing devices, almost as good as the floo network. Anyway, she sounded very positive about the results of the day. She wanted me to tell you, Alex will be staying in Bloom Street for as long as needed to help out, so you're not to worry about them not having help. And it seems that a friend of your father's, a Dr. Archer, will be coming by daily to ensure your mother is healing properly." Frank gave them both reassuring smiles.

Lily stood and walked over to him. "Thank you so much for doing this for me, Frank."

"It was no trouble at all; I hope your mother will be well soon and if you need anything else at all please don't hesitate to send me an owl."

Lily smiled and gave him a quick hug before turning to the headmaster. "Professor, Alice was wondering if it would alright with you if she and Frank had a moment together before he leaves?"

"Yes, I think we can arrange that." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled merrily at them. "Why don't I walk you and Mr. Snape down, then I can show her up myself."

Dumbledore moved towards the archway leading to the staircase. Lily waited while Severus walked over to Frank and shook his hand. "Thank you, Frank, we appreciate you helping us out like this."

"It really isn't a problem." Frank answered reassuringly and though he dropped his voice Lily still heard him whisper. "I truly did give you my support for Head Boy."

"Don't worry about it, Frank. It's probably better this way."

"I hope the rest of the year goes more smoothly for the two of you."

"I'm sure it will." Severus gave the man a nod. Lily could feel his hand resting lightly on her back as they joined the Headmaster and exited the room.

If Dumbledore had heard Frank and Severus' conversation he made no indication of it as they followed him down the stairs. Before they exited the door, he paused and looked at them both. "Miss Evans, if it becomes necessary for you to go home at any point during the term please let me know and I will make the arrangements."

"Thank you, Headmaster."

"The same goes for you, Mr. Snape. I know you are a great comfort to Miss Evans."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"It is a thing to be treasured, to have a friend you can count on in all things, Miss Evans."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, it is."

"And it is the mark of a strong character that you can be such a good friend, Mr. Snape."

Lily could tell Severus was thrown by the compliment though he said nothing but "Thank you, sir." She couldn't help but note the surprise in his voice.

Dumbledore said nothing further to them. He simply pushed open the door and urged Alice to go up and see Frank before suddenly remembering he needed to see Hagrid about something and bustling off down the hall.

"That was nice of him." Severus said.

"Letting Alice and Frank have time alone or what he said to you?"

Severus took a breath in and when he released it he said, "Both, really."

"Maybe he's not as biased against you as you think."

"Maybe."

Lily gave him a half-hearted smile and then leaned up against the stone wall, letting out a deep breath.

"How are you?" Severus inquired, leaning against the wall next to her.

"Fine, I think. Still frustrated I'm here and not there."

"I understand that."

"You still think we did the right thing though, coming back here, especially since the surgery went so well."

Severus shrugged. "It was what Violet wanted. Look, if things get too bad or you find you can't stay anymore let me know. Otherwise, just let me know what you need and I'll do it for you or get it for you, whatever it is."

Lily turned her head to face him and smiled sadly. "Thank you Sev, but there's nothing you can do unless you've found the cure for cancer."

"No, I haven't, but I'll get us home if it comes to that."

"You know, I don't know how I would handle this if you weren't here."

"I'm glad you don't have to find out." He draped an arm around her and pulled her tight to him. "For now let's focus on the fact that the surgery went so well."

"But Frank said something about follow up care."

"There's always follow up care."

"Sev, she's going to have to have chemotherapy."

"I know."

"She's going to be really sick and I'll be here. Doing what? Reviewing everything I've learned for the past six years?"

"I know it feels pointless but we should start learning some new information soon and I've already checked out several books on diseases from the library to see if there's anything that could help."

"I knew you'd do something like that." Lily turned and started down the corridor, not sure where she was going really. She was just restless now and needed to move. "What did you find?"

"Nothing particularly useful I must admit. This seems to be a disease no one's figured out how to cure. There is some theoretical information that looks promising."

"Theoretical?"

"Everything starts out as a theory, Lil. Then you take the theory, expand on it, test it and if you're lucky you get the results you want, if not, you go back to the potion's room."

"If you're working on it, I feel better already."

"Please don't get your hopes too high. I've only just started studying cancer and it could be quite a while before I have any theories let alone results."

"I know. I do, but this way I feel like at least someone's doing something and if that someone is you, so much the better."

"Lil..."

"I promise no unreal expectations just do your best."

He sighed. "I will. So, what now?"

"I don't know."

"We could go to class."

"I don't really want to but you can if you want."

Severus thought for a second before shaking his head. "No, might as well miss the whole day at this point. Do you want to go back to the clearing?"

"No, I think I'm done reading for the day. Let's just go for a walk or something."

"Alright."

They spent the rest of the afternoon aimlessly wandering the grounds and talking about everything but her mother's illness. Every time she started to drift towards the subject of cancer, Severus skilfully turned the conversation in another direction. By the time they returned to the castle for dinner they had discussed everything from when May and Alex would possibly get married to what Cris would name his child to who they could possibly set Petunia up with, though Severus wasn't especially keen on that subject. While Lily was still worried about her mother, her anxiety level had dropped considerably and she had even found herself laughing at the look on Severus' face when she had suggested Sirius Black as a prospective boyfriend for Petunia.

She was still giggling when they entered the Great Hall though the laughter turned to a sigh when Severus turned to the Slytherin table with no more than a hasty, "I'll talk you later."

She walked distractedly to her own house table. After a whispered conversation with Remus, Sabrina and Alice about her mother she lapsed into silence, trying to figure out why Severus was so unwilling to have any physical contact in public, and if she should talk to him about it or just start initiating contact and see if he followed her lead. Lily was so exhausted she still wasn't sure what her answer was when she fell into bed that night.

Lily woke up far later than usual the next morning but feeling well rested and more content then she had been in a fortnight. She instantly resolved she wouldn't say anything to Severus about his behaviour. What she was going to do was go down to the Great Hall, take his hand and walk with him to double potions.

At least that was her intention, but when she reached the common room she saw Sirius was lurking at the foot of the stairs.

"Lily, can I talk to you a moment?"

"Sirius, nothing you say or do is going to get you out of detention this year."

"I know, this isn't about that."

"What then?"

Sirius took a deep breath, and cast a glance over his shoulder to where James was engaged in an animated discussion with Remus and Peter. Lily was almost certain she saw Remus shake his head slightly but she couldn't be sure.

"Can we just –" Sirius waved at a spot a little further away and Lily nodded and followed him.

"What is this all about?"

There was a long pause and Lily was half temped to just walk away when Sirius blurted out, "look I know you and Snape probably cooked up this boyfriend/girlfriend idea between you to punish James for last year, but I promise you, I was behind the whole thing. So could you please let it drop? James has got the message and he's miserable. Besides, you and Snape aren't really fooling anyone."

Lily was stunned by what Sirius had just said and it took her a moment to find her voice, though the anger and frustration she felt was unmistakable when she did. "Excuse me? I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Black. Severus and I did not cook up any sort of plan between us to punish James nor are we trying to fool anyone."

"Please, Evans, you two aren't remotely believable as a couple, you don't hold hands, you don't kiss, you don't – you know." Sirius made what Lily considered to be a completely crude hand gesture here.

"And you know this how?"

"I haven't seen anything. No one has seen anything. Come on, Lily, the game's up. Can't you forgive James already and take him back?"

"No – because – I – have – a – boyfriend." She said each word slowly, in part in the hopes that they would sink into Black's thick skull and in part in the effort to keep her temper in check. Is this really what people thought, that she and Severus were lying, putting on some kind of show in the attempt to punish someone else? The whole idea was revolting and she wanted to quash it, quickly. "And I promise you, my boyfriend and I do plenty of snogging. Is there anything about that statement you don't understand?"

Sirius scoffed, "Sure and I'm the Minister of Magic. I'm afraid the proof is in the pudding." He smiled at her and leaned towards her. "I'll believe it when I see it and we both know that's never going to happen."

Lily's hand curled around the wand in her pocket, for once she understood why Severus was always so antagonistic towards Sirius Black because at that moment she wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off his face. "Is that so? Fine, if it's proof you want..."

Without another word she spun around and strode across the common room. Behind her she could hear James asking, "What the hell did you do, Padfoot?"

She didn't bother to wait to hear what Black's reply would be and she really didn't care what it was. She pushed her way through the portrait hole with a bang, leaving the Pink Lady sputtering behind her. Seconds later she heard the portrait swing open again and James called out her name. Lily didn't slow her pace in the least. Of all the people she wanted to talk to right now James Potter was right at the bottom of the list, along with the git he called his best friend, a best friend that was excitedly relaying the details of their conversation to James.

"Anyway, I told her there was no evidence she and Snape are a couple."

"What did she say?" James asked eagerly.

"James, I thought you decided..."

"I was wrong, Moony, we were all wrong."

"Prongs."

"Shh, let Padfoot finish. Go on, Sirius."

That was it! Lily had officially had enough! They wanted proof, she would give them proof, a whole passionate lot of it! She picked up her pace, determined to get to Severus quickly and put an end to Black's stupid, half-baked theories.

The whole way through the castle, people were quick to move out of her way and for once, no one stopped her with questions or shouted out greetings and she was grateful. By the time she reached the dungeons, Lily had a stitch in her side, was slightly short of breath and almost overwhelmingly annoyed at her boyfriend and his wariness of public displays of affection.

She marched into the potions room, dropped her satchel on the floor, leaned down, placed her hands on either side of Severus' face and planted her lips on his. Lily could tell Severus' brain was whirling and if she gave him any time at all to think his natural reserve would cause him to pull away, so she quickly teased his lips open with her tongue. She could almost feel his hesitation flowing away and he was soon returning her kiss with an enthusiasm that took her breath away and left her weak at the knees.

Lily quickly forgot there was anyone watching them and when Severus rose to his feet and pulled her tightly to him, his fingers deftly removing the bobble that held her hair up so he could run his hands through the locks, all her sense of restraint fell away. It was an amazing snog, as usual, one that was cut abruptly short by the sound of a clearing throat.

"Eh hmm, Mr. Snape, Miss Evans." Severus and Lily jumped apart guiltily at Professor Slughorn's words. "While I am quite happy to see the two of you so – enamoured of one another, I think there are better times and places for you to demonstrate your affection for one another."

"Yes, sir," mumbled Severus, turning a furious shade of scarlet.

"We're sorry, Professor Slughorn," Lily added.

"Very well, settle down everyone."

As the professor moved back to his table, chuckling to himself, Lily looked back over her shoulder to see her classmate's reaction. The first things she noticed was the bemused expression on Remus' face and the way Sabrina was biting her lip to keep from smiling. Lily had to stifle her own smile when she caught sight of Black, there was no other way to describe the look on his face other than utter shock. Her desire to laugh swiftly evaporated when she saw the sorrow in James' eyes.

Completely chastened, Lily slid into her seat and focused on the table in front of her.

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Severus whispered.

She swallowed hard before answering softly, "Later."

Lily could tell Severus wanted to respond but was held in check as Slughorn began to explain the day's lesson. Surprisingly Severus didn't say another word about what had happened, even when they began brewing and the sounds in the classroom could have easily covered any conversation they had. Lily didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing but it certainly was uncomfortable.

It was almost a relief when he turned to her and said, "What was that about?" as they exited the classroom.

"What was what about?"

"The kiss, Lily."

"Are you complaining that I kiss you now?"

"Of course not, I'm just wondering why you felt the overwhelming need to do it in front of the entire class."

Lily let out an exasperated huff before turning to face him. "What is wrong with you exactly?"

"Nothing, I'm just confused about why you snogged me at the particular time and in that particular place."

Black smirked as he passed them and Severus quickly steered them into the deserted classroom down the hall. Once they were inside, he closed the door and turned to face her.

"Would you like to tell me what I've done to make you so annoyed at me?"

"Do you really need me to tell you?"

"Clearly."

"Fine, this morning Sirius came to me and went on and on about how we can't really be a couple. How we've concocted this whole plan between us to punish James for what happened at the end of last year."

"What! Why the hell would he think that?"

"Maybe because we never kiss, you never even touch me."

"Yes, we do. I do! What about the other night?!"

"Fine, you kiss me, touch me in private, never in public."

It was Severus' turn to let out an exasperated breath. "I wasn't aware we had to have an epic snog in the middle of the Great Hall for the entire school to see."

"We don't!" Lily was back to being beyond frustrated. Why couldn't he just understand what she wanted?

He took another deep breath in and slowly let it out. Then he very calmly said, "Then what do you want, Lily?"

"I want you to act like we're a couple. I want you to hold my hand when we walk down the hall. I want…"

He swiftly cut her off. "I do that!"

"No, you don't."

Lily could see Severus searching his memory to find a time in the last week when he had held Lily's hand in public, when he'd kissed her or done anything to publicly show they were a couple. She watched as the realization that he'd done none of the things came over him and his face fell. Before Lily could respond, he crossed to the other side of the room, boosted himself up on a table and held out a hand to her. "I'm so sorry, I didn't – I'm sorry, please forgive me. I really didn't mean to upset you."

She sighed and walked over to the table, standing in between his legs. "I know that, I do. I've been trying not to let it trouble me. I do know you're more reserved at school but I hadn't thought that would trickle over into our relationship. And I admit it hurts, maybe more now than it would have at any other time."

Severus pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers. "Lily, I'm sorry if I hurt you, I promise it wasn't my intension. It's just that this, you, mean so much to me and there were so many times I doubted if we'd ever get here that I didn't want to –" he broke off, clearly searching for the words he wanted. "I didn't want to cheapen it, to make it feel like less than it is or worse like some unimportant school fling."

Lily smiled. "You think holding hands in public makes it look like we're having a fling?"

"Well, no. But in my observation couples that are extremely demonstrative in public don't have any staying power. Lily, I don't want that to be us. But, I also understand how you feel. I want people to know we're together and we're happy to be."

He was clearly having a hard time trying to express what he was feeling but Lily was grateful he was at least trying. Still, she couldn't bear to see him looking so confused and discouraged so she took his face in her hands and briefly pressed her lips to his. "Sev, I'm not asking for a full-on snog in public."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, "Didn't we just have one of those at the beginning of Potions?"

"Okay, I'm not asking for regular, full-on snogs in public. I just want some nice, semi-chaste kisses."

"Semi-chaste?"

"I'm afraid I don't know how to be completely chaste when I kiss you."

"I'm not sure I know how to do that either. Anything else?"

"Lots of hugs would be great and I'd like to hold your hand when we walk through the halls and if anyone thinks that means we're having a fling then so be it, because you know and I know that's not what's going on here. Do you think you can do that for me?"

He couldn't keep back the smile that came to his lips. "Of course, I can do that for you."

"Then how about you walk me to my next class?"

Severus jumped down from the table and took her bag off her shoulder, when she gave him a questioning look, he grinned and said, "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right." And then, taking her hand in his, he led her from the room.


A couple of quick notes. I am hopeful that updates will be coming more quickly than they have in the past. I am currently working on upcoming chapters. Please feel free to ask questions. I can't always answer because I don't want to give to much away but I love to get them and they help inspire me and occasionally the answers make it into future chapters.

If you weren't aware, I did do a big update on all past chapters. Most of the updates were on grammar, spelling, that sort of thing but there were some slight story changes. The most significant was to the Lupin's backstory which now more closely matches what has been posted on Pottermore. So if you haven't done a reread in awhile you might be confused.

Also, at some point I will be pulling down the two note "chapters" so that everything will once again sync up. It won't be super soon but please keep an eye out for it.