A/N: Evening all! I don't know about you guys but I've had a crap week so far. In an attemt to make it better (and encourage friday to be the sweetheart it sometimes is) you get a bonus chapter...right now...because I just got home. :p

I love being ahead on chapters again. :D

It was three days of plotting the murder of Jethro Park the wannabe magician, and avoiding Gary Bauers who seemed to be popping up everywhere, before the Evans family had returned to Cokeworth.

A good thing too, for his past life was attempting to haunt him in the form of vivid nightmares. They were getting worse and he was developing a plan to get his hands on the ingredients for a brew of dreamless sleep…until Penny Evans came into the butcher's shop that morning.

She stopped dead when she noticed Severus. She then looked as though she was deciding whether or not to just get what she came in for or perhaps walk back out.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans, what can I help you with?" He tried.

She decided on the latter, likely coming to the conclusion that whatever she wanted could wait until Park's shift.

The only other customer in the shop, Mrs. Cambry, watched the strange scene curiously.

After work, Severus couldn't have made better time if he had apparated to Firewood.

"Sev!"

Lily greeted him with a hug, and for a moment he felt the weight he was unaware of on his shoulders lift away.

"Where did you go this time?" He asked.

She groaned in annoyance. "Frankfurt."

"That must have been...exciting?"

She pulled away with a grimace. "I guess…"

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I didn't exactly want to just pack up and go to Germany for a few days..."

He smirked. "Miss me that much?"

"He's being unreasonable!" She threw up her arms in an exaggerated manner. "Mum and Tuney were excited about going, which was fine and all, but apparently that means I have to go too? I wanted to stay here! I mean, I've been doing okay at occlumency and we have potions to brew and I wanted to write Mary and Marlene and Alice and-"

"Lily?" He stopped her rant.

She paused and looked at him.

"Why are you so upset? It was just one of your father's conferences, right?"

"That's my point! He made me go with them so I couldn't hang out with you...Even after I told him that I was the one who talked you into staying out late that night with the others, not the other way around. He's also overreacting because we just found out that Tuney fancies a boy from University." Her face started turning bright red. "We've always been best friends, Sev, but that doesn't mean my father sees it that way. Now he thinks we're snogging at every opportunity."

Severus made a noncommittal sound at the disappointing irony.

"And after Elanor Kennewick showed up at our house he's convinced that you are a bad influence and is doing everything in his power, short of condemning me to the property, to keep me away from you."

"Lucky for me, my best friend is an extremely stubborn Gryffindor."

She hugged him again and her laugh was muffled by his shirt.

His heartbeat began increasing speed and it was making him self-conscious. "So...Aside from not wanting to be there, how was Frankfurt?"

"Really beautiful, actually."

"Oh, good…"

"Anyway." She released him and returned to the floor where she had half of their potion things from his trunk spread around. "What did I miss?"

He sat and joined her. "Well...My father hasn't been home since Saturday night..."

She blinked. "He took the potion?"

Severus nodded.

"...Should we be celebrating or mourning his absence?"

"Too early to tell...my mother is very distressed. I think she's handling it alright since that first day...at least she's not panicking anymore, just generally flustered."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

He exhaled heavily. "Da blew up during supper, called Mum a liar and told me what a poor excuse of a son I am. Then he just...left."

She took his hands in hers. "Oh, Sev, that's kind of terrible...Do you think he'll come back?"

"I don't know, is there a timeframe for these things to happen in?"

"Afraid not...Well, if he has any sense, he'll realize he is mistaken. I don't know your mum all that well, but anyone who thinks you're not extraordinary is a blind fool."

He raised an eyebrow. "Even your father?"

"Especially my father. But that just proves I'm right!" She concluded with another flourish. "He's going mad!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her dramatic display.

For the rest of the evening they caught up on the mundane details as he taught her to brew his crucio potion for their little werewolf. She dubbed it 'Moon-lightener' and Severus agreed that there were potions with worse names.

Lily had letters for her friends that she had written while in Germany asked if he'd owl them for her next time they met up. Of course he would, Amun was all too happy to have something to do besides fly around Cokeworth at night and put a dent in the mouse population.

She told him all about how Tuney was annoying the entire trip and how her mother kept trying to have a chat with her about boys.

He shared his Kennewick encounter, his growing distaste for his coworker and his suspicion that Gary Bauers was stalking him.

At the conclusion of their evening he accompanied her to her street as he always did. Not willing to risk another chihuahua encounter anytime soon, they exchanged one last goodnight hug on the corner.

Severus felt infinitely lighter on his walk home. He was certain, no matter what happened, everything would be okay as long as he had Lily in his life.