It was three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky. Severus was nowhere to be seen. Lily had not seen him at breakfast or at lunch, so she was starting to get worried. Now that he's become a little bit healthier and happier, she couldn't bear the thought of him going back to how he was five years ago. Panic was slowly surging up her throat as she was going down the stairs, approaching the dungeons. Cold, damp air was now circling in her lungs and the dark, unfriendly atmosphere soon took over her confidence.

"S-sev?" She called out to him.

"Over here."

The voice came from somewhere further in the corridor. She followed it and soon found herself standing in front of a rather shabby door that flew open the moment she looked at the handle. Severus' office.

And there he was, sitting at his table, crouched over something that looked like three bottles of the same transparent potion.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, not diverting his gaze from the mysterious liquid.

"For what?"

"Well, apparently..." He set the bottles aside and gave her a faint smile. "It has been quite a few hours since I started working on this project. And judging by the fact that you came downstairs looking for me, I reckon that I've missed a meal or two."

He looked at her with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry for making you worry. It was unintentional, I swear."

Lily came closer to him and peeked over his shoulder at the bottles. Before she even opened her mouth to ask, he was already answering her.

"These are my experimental recipes for Veritaserum. I might actually be on to a better recipe in general."

Her chin touched his shoulder. She felt a surge of strong affection coming from him, though his face remained completely calm and neutral. He continued explaining.

"There was this idea that came to my mind this morning. You know that Veritaserum, in lay terms, in a form of mild poison, a drug if I may say so, that i-is m-made out of - ..."

His voice trailed off when her lips touched his neck. She could feel him tense up.

"W-what are you doing?" He whispered and his cheeks suddenly turned bright red. He turned and was now piercing through her with whatever remained of his cold gaze. She met his eyes and looked deeply in them.

"Severus Snape, I..."

He raised a curious eyebrow at her, trying hard to remain collected and focused.

"I love you," she breathed out.

It caught him completely off-guard. His whole face froze, along with the raised eyebrow, and his cheeks became so red that it made her chuckle. She gently took his face in her palms. He was now staring at the floor, avoiding her eyes vehemently.

"You can't possibly... A-are you sure?"

She kissed his frowning forehead. "Never been surer. I love you, Snape."

Finally his eyes found hers again. He drew in a few breaths, opened his mouth to speak... But nothing came out. A few moments passed. She was waiting for him patiently, her eyes beckoning him to say it.

Say it, he thought. You fool, you coward, you Snivellus, say it.

"I... I c-can't say it," he whispered in frustration, hiding his face from her behind a curtain of black hair.

"That's okay. You don't have to. I've known for a long time, haven't I?"

She swept the hair from his eyes and kissed him. During that kiss, they heard something clatter on the floor. Something light and wooden.

"My wand," he said, tearing his lips from hers, looking at the floor.

All of a sudden, his face brightened up and his eyes glinted in realization.

"That's right. I can't say it... But I can show you."

Lily blinked in surprise. "How?"

He lifted his wand.

"Expecto Patronum."

A silver doe, bright as day, shot out of the tip of the wand, walking weightlessly through the room and its walls. Lily's mouth went wide open.

"But that's... That's my patronus!"

His lips twitched. "It is."

"How can you cast my patronus? That's impossible!"

"It is unlikely, yes, but not impossible. Now to the 'how' question..."

He picked a textbook from a shelf right above his head and gave it to Lily.

"Page 486. Read it."

Lily opened it and began to read aloud.

"A wizard's patronus may change due to many factors, such as a traumatic event or a strong emotional experience, a life-changing encounter or a strong bond to another person, in which case the patronus becomes identical with the patronus of the one they love."

She turned towards the doe, following it with her eyes wide. When she turned back to face him, her eyes were welling with tears.

"Severus... This is so much more than a couple of words."

"Is it?" he whispered.

She noticed how he was shrinking uncomfortably in the seat. With a gentle thud, she sat down on his lap, hugging him tightly. The she placed one hand on Severus' - the one holding the wand. A surge of love overpowered her senses. She could feel the love running through his body, affecting his magic and his heart beating furiously against his chest. She could feel the happy memory he was using through his wand. It was a memory of the encounter by the river, after he'd called her a witch, offending her accidentally. He'd thought he would never see her again but there she was, showing him kindness he didn't even know existed.

"Expecto Patronum," she said softly, her fingers wrapped around his. The doe now became so bright they could barely see anything in the room. Lily's heart was bursting with emotion. Still holding Severus close to her chest, she changed her usual happy memory to the very moment she was in right now and the doe grew so bright that it shone through the stone walls, through the ceiling and through the floor in all possible directions.

She could feel how his happy memory changed as well, matching the present moment, too. They were now sitting in each other's arms, thinking of the same present moment, casting the same patronus with the same wand. The magic around them grew so strong that they heard the walls crack.

He spoke so suddenly it startled her.

"I'm not stronger than the Dark Lord. But now I know who is."

"Who? Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore is a good guess... But no. It's us. Both of us, together."