This drabble story is written for THC/The Houses Competition (Round 6 - Spring Awakens).
House: Slytherin
Class: Transfiguration
Prompts: [Image] On Discord; [Object] Backpack
Link/Title: Reminiscence
Word Count: 996
Betas: Hucklebarry, Butterflies765, and VanillaAshes
Note: A continuation of "Betrayal of a Lost Love," this is a Muggle!AU where Lily is a former MI6 agent who is supposedly dead. Severus, another MI6 agent who turned into a criminal, is her former partner and love interest. None of the Marauders know each other in this universe, and the only one truly relevant to this story is Remus Lupin, who is Severus's best friend. The story takes place in 2018, and it can stand alone.
"Where have you taken me, Severus? At least let me take off my blindfold!" Lily giggled.
Severus had arrived in Paris after not having seen Lily for twenty-eight years. They had separated after Lily had framed him for a treasonous crime against the British. This had been to allow her previous organization — the Legion of Death — to continue to run in the dark. Because of this framing, Severus had formed a criminal empire to protect his son, Harry, who had been left with his best friend, Remus Lupin. After reuniting with Harry on the very day he had started working for MI5, Severus had managed to form a solid bond with his son, who didn't know at this point that the criminal was his father.
For the next three days, the lovers spent time together, slowly rekindling what they once had. Severus began by taking Lily to their favorite restaurant in Montmartre, a place where the former agents would eat while they weren't working on missions. Lily then brought him up the Eiffel Tower, upon which they had a remarkably clichéd romantic dinner. Finally, the lovers left for the country fields after packing their bags and heading to Nancy.
As Lily grew impatient at the surprise awaiting her, Severus felt anticipation for what his lover would think. When they had first gotten together, there had been no time for outings, but now, they had more time than ever.
Severus had a backpack which contained his and Lily's lunch as well as a picnic blanket. It consisted of little sandwiches along with two bottles of Kronenbourg beer.
Lily's voice pulled Severus back to the present.
"Sev! Are you going to take off the blindfold or not?"
Laughing, Severus bent down and whispered in his lover's ear, "Patience, Lily. Just a little farther."
Keeping gentle hands on Lily's shoulders, Severus took in their surroundings. They were in a large, hundred-acre green field. It was a pristine image, perfect for a place to reminisce about what could have been.
In looking for a place to sit, Severus spotted a particularly large and overarching tree with pink flower bushes scattering the area. Grinning widely, the criminal steered his lover in that direction and led her there.
"Stand there and do not move," Severus instructed.
"Are you my father, or are you my partner?" asked Lily indignantly, but her tone was lighthearted.
Severus chose to ignore Lily, setting his backpack down and taking out the checkered picnic blanket before laying it out.
Once the meal was set up and everything was in its proper place, Severus smirked wider than the Cheshire Cat as he bounded back to Lily's side, taking off her blindfold.
As Severus returned to his side of the blanket, he beamed as his lover's green eyes widened, becoming clearer than the Caribbean Sea.
"Oh, my. Since when have you become such a romantic?" Lily looked up, her face splitting into a grin.
All Severus responded with was a small smile as he gestured for Lily to sit down.
"I bought the sandwiches from a cafe near our hotel," Severus explained as he passed Lily a beer bottle. "As for the beer, it was the best I could find. I know you liked this back when we did missions in Paris, so I tried to find some."
"After all these years…" Lily murmured mostly to herself, taking one of the sandwiches and nibbling on it.
"I never forgot," supplied the former Secret Service agent. After all, how could he? Lily was his best friend, the love of his life, and the mother of his child.
"So how have you been bonding with our son?" asked the other former Secret Service agent conversationally. A blissful smile formed on her features at the first sip of her beer.
"To put it simply, by catching criminals," Severus replied.
"While being one?" quipped Lily with a knowing chuckle.
"Yes, while being one. I made a deal with the deputy general, Minerva McGonagall," said the criminal smugly.
"She's the deputy general?" asked Lily with great surprise, most likely remembering the fact that Minerva had been her and Severus's mission supervisor back in MI6. When Severus had made the deal with her by providing a list of criminals working for the Legion, he had greatly enjoyed her irritation at him for the fact he had complete leverage, even if it had been for a day.
"I dare say Minerva's previous job was more eventful than her current one. I work with a secret team of MI5 agents that Harry's part of, eliminating Legion one member at a time."
"So that's why they were disappearing," said Lily with a smirk. However, Severus frowned slightly, reminded of why he was here, talking about his life of crime. His lover noticed, for a look of concern made itself known. "What's wrong, Severus? Sev?" she repeated when Severus gave no response.
"I…I know you had no other choice," began Severus, treading on thin ice, "but why? After all we had been through?"
Lily's expression turned somber. "It's not that simple, Sev. Maybe I'll tell you one day, but not now." She continued eating her sandwiches, but Severus knew he hurt her by bringing up her betrayal. Exhaling, the criminal put his sandwich down and stood up, walking to one of the flower bushes, picking out the largest pink-and-white flower from the bunch. He went back to Lily and sat beside her, slinging an arm around her shoulders and bringing her close to him. He slid the flower behind her right ear, and he pressed a tender kiss to her cheek.
"Lily, I will always love you. Though it may take some time to fully reconcile, that will never diminish how much I care."
Lily leaned into Severus, smiling.
"Thank you, my love. You really are the best thing that has ever happened to me."
The criminal rubbed his lover's shoulder affectionately.
"I'm glad, Lily. I'm so glad."