A/N: So here we have Chapter 3, Severus and Lily are leaving Hogwarts for the final time as students. I'm planning on having a few Cokeworth-centric chapters coming up in the near future and Marlene for the time being will be a recurring character. I'm not 100% set on her characterization just yet but I've got some ideas I intend to bring forward and borrowing a few ideas from previous fanon iterations of the character. All in all, not much action in this chapter but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless. There will definitely be more interesting developments in the next few chapters before Severus and Lily leave for America.

Chapter 3 Welcome Home Severus

The very next morning, under a blanket of low hanging grey clouds that threatened to release a deluge of rain or snow, or quite possibly both; Severus, Lily and the rest of the homeward bound students boarded the Scarlet Locomotive that was the Hogwarts Express. Thankfully, the train wasn't too crowded, with only just about half of the student cohort using the engine to return to London. Some opted to remain at the castle over the break, others would floo or apparate home from Hogsmeade, a few parents had even made the trip themselves to the quiet Scottish town to pick up their children. It had been raining earlier in the day, leading to a thin veneer of sleet being laid across the platform's surface, said sleet had already claimed three or four unfortunate first years who had fallen on their rears thanks to the ice. Severus and Lily, and everyone else for that matter, carefully skirted the patch that claimed their younger classmates and boarded the penultimate carriage of the train.

"Come on Sev, let's go find Marlene!" Lily said cheerily, tugging his wrist insistently as they walked along the train carriage corridor.

Severus scowled and rolled his eyes at the mention of Lily's brash and bold Gryffindor friend, her best friend if he wasn't mistaken. "Seriously Lily? McKinnon? She's terrible! How can you be friends with her?"

"She's not that bad Sev. She's actually a really nice person if you took the time to get to know her," Lily replied, pouting. "She never talks bad about you to me and is rather indifferent to my friendship with you, I think you may be able to get along with her if you open up, like you've done with me!"

"Really? What makes you say that? And just because she doesn't make fun of me to you doesn't mean I haven't seen her laugh when Potter and his mates pull a prank on me. She was laughing her arse off when they turned my hair pink and gave me purple pimples!"

"And I whacked her over the arm for it and told her never to laugh about you in my presence ever again," Lily returned sharply. She leaned back against the wall of the carriage and folded her arms across her chest as she asked; "have you seen her laugh at you since then?"

"No."

"See? Besides…I want my two best friends to get along. She'll be staying over with us for the first week of the holiday anyways, so I don't want you two to fight and at least be cordial with each other."

"She's staying over with us? Since when?" Severus blurted out angrily, his eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets in shock. "What do you mean she'll be staying over? I thought it would be just us this holiday!"

Lily huffed and rolled her eyes tiredly at her best friend's outburst. "Well Severus, if you'd paid attention to our conversation at all from last week then you'd recall that I've told you so already. So for the first week of the break, she'll be staying with us. In my room of course but under the same roof nonetheless."

For a few moments, Severus leaned back against the opposite wall, numerous expressions flittering across his face as he recalled their conversation in which Lily indeed did say that she'd be staying over with them.

"You're right. I—I'd forgotten, sorry," Severus said sheepishly, his expression bearing a somewhat ashamed look. "For your sake, I'll try to get along with her Lily, but one snide comment, or one comment about my clothes or my hair and I swear I'll—"

"Then you won't do a damn thing Sev. I'll kick her out myself. You're family now, my family. So if she slights you, it's a slight against me. You're my family in all but name Sev…" she paused, letting her voice trail off into silence as a slight smirk curled her lip, "Actually Sev…in some respects you're practically my brother now so—"

"Eughh! Lily that's gross! Don't say that again!" Severus exclaimed.

"Say what again? That you're my brother?" Lily asked, leaning forward slightly as a devious gleam made itself known in her eyes.

"Yes! Do you honestly see me as your brother?"

"Merlin no!" Lily laughed, the corners of her almond-shaped eyes crinkling with mirth. "We're totally not siblings Sev, I was just having a go at you, you knucklehead!"

"Good! Because the thought of you as my sister repulses me!" Severus replied vehemently.

"It's good to hear you're of exactly the same opinion as me then," Lily said, smiling.

"Come on, let's go find Marlene, I'm sure she's been waiting quite some time for us as it is."

Severus sighed loudly, rolled his eyes, even huffed like a child, but none of that dissuaded Lily from grasping his wrist and tugging him along the corridor in search of her second best friend. Green eyes peered into each and every compartment in the carriage, but to Lily's dismay, she still hadn't found her roommate. When they reached the second last compartment however, they spotted the girl leaning against the window sill, her leg stretched out lazily along the bench as she idly perused a book in her lap. "Marley!" Lily shouted, rapping her knuckles on the door as they pulled to a stop.

The blonde girl leapt to her feet quickly, her hazel eyes widening as she spotted the beaming face of her best friend through the glass of the door. "Lil's!" She exclaimed, as she clambered to her feet and undid the lock on the door.

As the door to the compartment swung open, granting Lily and Severus admittance, the former squealed with delight and with a shout of "Marley!" she embraced her friend.

"Lily!" Marlene exclaimed in return, eagerly hugging her friend back.

Severus awkwardly stood off to the side, glancing away from the two hugging girls and instead occupied himself with bringing his and Lily's trunks into the compartment as well as her owl carrier for her brown eagle owl Hunter. He set the two trunks beneath their bench, and Lily's carrier on the opposite bench, but even then, Lily and Marlene had yet to separate from their eager hug.

"Are you two quite done yet?" he asked snidely as he slammed the door shut and cast a locking charm on the handle.

"Well excuse me Sev, I was only greeting one of my best friends over here!" Lily sniped back.

"I just think you ought to sit down. The train shall be moving soon so unless you want to fall on your arse and drag McKinnon down with you, I highly recommend that you take your seat."

"Spoilsport!"

"Dunderhead!"

"Buzz-kill!"

"Nincompoop!"

"Honestly you two, will you both shut it?" Marlene barked, preventing the insult that was on the tip of Lily's tongue from escaping her. "You two argue like my nan and grandad, you're insufferable!"

"Like your grandparents?" Lily asked confusedly.

"Yes! You argue like you're some old married couple!" Marlene growled angrily as she sank down onto her bench.

"No we don't!" Severus and Lily blurted out as one, their voices overlaying one another's perfectly.

Two matching blushes on both their cheeks as they slowly turned in their seats to face one another, only to spot a faint tinge of red on both of their cheeks. Lily gulped and quickly looked away, her eyes feigning excessive interest in the trees outside the window whilst Severus twiddled his thumbs and looked down at his feet. An uncomfortable silence settled into the air as Severus fished a book out of his back to get some reading done and Lily still hadn't averted her eyes from the trees beyond, in the end though, it was the ever talkative Marlene who broke the silence between them. For once though, it seemed she wasn't intent on ribbing Lily.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the year Lil's?" Marlene asked as she swiveled sideways and kicked her legs up onto the bench.

"After the hols?" Lily asked, finally looking away from the scenery and meeting the curious, yet insistent hazel gaze of her friend.

"Duh, of course!" Marlene laughed, rolling her eyes. "What, did you think I meant just the holidays? No I meant what the hell do you plan on doing for the next six months?"

"Well…Sev and I just planned on staying at home really—staying in Cokeworth I mean, and spending time with family and keeping up with our studies. Nothing much really to be honest."

"And you Snape? What do you plan on doing?" Marlene asked, directing her gaze to the boy across from her.

Severus calmly shut his book and dumped it back into his backpack. "Like Lily said. I'll be earning my keep, helping as much as I can, and keeping up with my studies."

"Yeah speaking of, why are you staying with the Evanses? Don't you have your own family to return to?"

"Marley!" Lily hissed, her emerald eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at the nonchalant girl. "Don't ask that! You—you can't ask that!"

"Why?" Marlene retorted. "It's a legitimate question. I genuinely want to know why your family would adopt Snape of all people. I mean…I get you're childhood friends, you've only mentioned it a few hundred times already, but Snape? Really?"

"Marlene don't push it," Lily growled lowly. For a moment, her gaze flickered to Severus, her emerald eyes softening almost as if she were begging her best friend to stay silent, to not explode at her other best friend's harsh, pointed questions. "Sev doesn't want to talk about it," she added, now staring back at her friend.

"Really? Well if Sev doesn't want to talk about it, why don't we wait to hear it from—"

"Shut it McKinnon," Severus growled, his black eyes narrowed into angry slits. "What do you know about a dysfunctional family? What do you know about growing up without a mother even being there and a father that wishes you were gone or better yet—dead! Do you know anything about what it's like to live like that? Day in and day out for eleven fucking years? No? Well I didn't think so! So why don't you shut your gob and shut up about things you know nothing about!"

Severus was seething, practically shaking and convulsing with anger as he balled his fists up so tightly his knuckles were chalk-white. He wasn't angry at Marlene, well—he was a bit, but the bulk of his rage was directed at the memories her words had brought about. His vision began blurring, white flooding his gaze as that sense of dread and despair he felt every time he boarded this stupid crimson train came flooding back to him. He had a hard time seeing now, his vision whited out with anger as rage and fear swelled within him. Rage reserved for his father, for his role in his mother's death, for tearing him apart piece by piece and leaving him broken in the aftermath, with not a soul in sight to fix him except for Lily. The fear was for himself, and he hated himself for it, the fact he was too afraid to stand up to his father, he never stood up to him. He couldn't deal with Tobias, he was a bloody coward—his father had called him a coward plenty of times, and he was right wasn't he? Not once did Severus have the courage to strike his father, like his father had done to him, he couldn't even save his mother. She'd died and he'd done nothing but snivel. His chest tightened, and his breathing quickened, his lungs—they hurt, no they burned. An all consuming fire roared up burning him away, and now he was choking, choking on air. To his shock, his eyes began to water…No! I will not cry in front of her!

"Sev…" and there came the voice of an angel, a godsend that gave pause to his rapidly beating heart, perhaps even causing it to skip a beat or two. His vision began to clear, no longed blinded by white hot rage or anger, he could actually see now. See his shaking hands, his trembling arms—his trembling body actually. "Just breathe Severus, just breathe. Calm down. You're not going back to your father, just relax. You're alright."

Her hand reached for his, gently she pried his fist apart and grasped his fingers with her own; she squeezed, and that was like a breath of fresh air. He shut his eyes then, trying to shut out the world, to shut everything away into a box and just breathe, to do as Lily said. His lungs no longer burned, and to his relief, air flowed freely from his mouth to his lungs, and back again. He felt…alright, and it was only brought about by a few murmured words and a touch. Only you Lily. Only you do these things to me. Thank you. He reopened his eyes then, seeing Marlene for a moment looking utterly ashamed and staring down at her hands, before turning away and locking gazes with the eyes he loved so dearly. There wasn't pity in her gaze, only serenity and calm, and that was just what he needed, a balm, a sense of calm that settled within his chest and displaced the anger, for whilst those emotions of fear, anger and rage were always prevalent in Severus' heart, they could not stand up to the feeling of bliss that only Lily could instill within him. In spite of himself, in spite of the fact that he was hurting, like he was being torn apart at his tattered seams just moments ago by the brutish hands of his father, he now felt like smiling. Only you Lily. What would I do without you?

"Better Severus?" Lily asked, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. Just like him, her eyes shimmered, but the tears that welled refused to take the final plunge, out of respect for him and his dignity—he appreciated that.

"Much."

"I'm glad. You won't ever have to go back there okay? You're family now so that place will never be your home again," she said soothingly.

She withdrew her fingers from their clasp and Severus practically mourned the loss, since although he felt much better, that heat—not burning like that all too familiar feeling of rage that threatened to burn him away from the inside out—but a gentle warmth, like that of a crackling fireplace on Christmas Eve was now gone. Instead, Lily had turned her attention from one best friend to the other. "Not a word of what you just heard leaves this compartment, Marley. Not a single word."

Marlene bobbed her head up and down quickly. Lily could tell she wasn't joshing, she wasn't having a go at her. She was deadly serious. "I perfectly understand Lily, I'll—"

"No you don't understand," Severus interrupted quietly. "You don't know what it's like. So Merlin help you if you ever tell anyone, I will find out and I will make you pay for—"

"Severus! You can't just threaten her!" Lily hissed, glaring at him in turn.

She huffed a sigh and turned back to Marlene who had been watching the exchange with widened hazel eyes and a gobsmacked expression that spoke volumes of the confusion she felt coursing through her veins. "But he's not entirely wrong Marlene, Severus has only ever told a few people this before. So you can't tell a soul. Promise to me on your honor as a Gryffindor that none of what you heard or hear will ever be repeated to anyone."

"I swear on my honor as a Gryffindor to tell no one," Marlene said solemnly, eager to get off the hook. "Not a word, my lips are sealed," she reassured, miming her lips zipping shut.

"Thanks Mar," Lily said gratefully whilst Severus just settled for a curt nod.

The train began moving shortly after, the whine of the whistle and the whirring of the wheels an ever familiar sound that Severus had grown to dread in years past. Not this time however, he was going home, but to a new home with the Evanses and not Tobias. As the train began to pick up speed, Marlene and Lily got to chatting about their plans for the next week or so whilst Severus occupied himself with reading one of his potions books. He stayed out of their conversation for the most part, understanding that Lily would want to spend more time with her other best friend given the fact that she'd see very little of her in the coming months, or years even. He paid little mind to their conversation as he scribbled away in the journal, making a few alterations to a recipe in front of him. Honestly, they're potion masters! How can they not see that by powdering instead of dicing the Bicorn horn it will increase the reactivity! The trolley lady eventually came around and Lily purchased a few candies and sweets for the lot of them to share. Severus consumed a lone chocolate frog, for which he slipped Lily a few knuts to pay off his debt before returning to his book.

A little while later, as the train sped southwards towards London, Lily's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Sev! Oi Sev I asked you a question! Are you even listening to me?"

Severus blinked, then slowly shut his book and pulled his gaze upwards to meet Lily's. "Pardon Lily? I was just lost in thought a bit there."

"I can see that," she remarked lightly, her gaze flickering to the potions book in his hands. "Made any alterations so far?"

Severus' lips curled upwards into a smile. "Of course. Too many if you ask me. Honestly, some people can be such dunderheads, even Potion Masters couldn't even see some of these recipes aren't perfect!"

"Mind if I take a look?" Marlene asked.

Severus' eyes snapped to hers. "You? What do you know about potions?" He asked snidely.

"Quite a bit actually. My Aunt is the potions master of Ilvermorny so you're going to be learning from her. That and my family runs a potion business. If it weren't for Lily here, I'd be the top in Gryffindor for our year you know," she sniped back.

"Come on Snape, just let me have a look. It's not like I'm gonna destroy your book or anything."

Severus eyed her warily, but eventually nodded and handed his book over to her. "Be careful with it…the binding is frayed…and fragile."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "I'm not blind Snape, I see that a gust of wind could blow this thing to smithereens so I'll be careful with it."

Severus shot her one more sneer before turning back to Lily. "What did you want to ask Lily?"

"I just wanted to know what you want to do over the break? Marley and I were thinking of heading to the cinema and heading into Manchester a few days to get some shopping done with Mum. I don't want to leave you out, so what do you want to do?"

Severus just shrugged. "I'll need to make sure all my stuff was brought over from Spinner's End first of all," he replied. "After that, I guess I'll just try to earn my keep, help around the house and such. I know your mum said she had some work to do in the back garden over the summer so perhaps she'll need help there. Other than that I'm not too sure."

"You can't work all the holiday though Sev!" Lily insisted. "You've got to come to the movies with us at the very least okay? I know you don't like shopping so there's no point trying to convince you to come with Marley and me when we go to Manchester but you've got to at least come to the cinema. Please?"

Severus huffed a sigh, and rolled his eyes, muttering; "you and your bloody obsession with movies," under his breath. "What movie did you want to see?" Severus said resignedly.

Lily eyes lit up and she beamed at him, beyond pleased that she'd convinced Severus to come. "There's this new one. A Bruce Lee movie called Enter the Dragon! Supposedly it's really good. I haven't heard much about it but dad said he saw it a few weeks ago when he wrote me and recommends that I go see it when I'm back, so I figured you might want to see it with me!"

"What's it about?" Severus asked.

Her brows knitted as a light laugh spilled past her lips. "What do you think Severus? It's a bloody Bruce Lee movie!"

"How am I supposed to know who that is?"

Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Honestly Sev. Educate yourself will you? You definitely need a crash course in muggle culture."

Hunter hooted in agreement from his cage.

"Shut it you damn bird," Severus growled.

Lily merely laughed, the smile tugging at her lips vanishing the scowl that had spread across his face. Merlin he'd give anything just to see her smile.

A few hours later the Scarlet Engine pulled in to King's Cross, and as per their custom, Severus, Lily and by proxy, Marlene waited behind until most of their fellow travelers disembarked before heading onto the platform themselves. They always liked to wait for the crowds to disperse in order to avoid any unsavory fellow classmates as well as to avoid the mess of large crowds in general. Marlene waited patiently with them and when the sounds of footsteps and loud chattering students outside their compartment abated, they finally took their leave. The three of them grabbed their trunks, with Lily taking her owl cage too and headed off the train. To their expectation, the platform was mostly empty so the three of them pushed their carts towards the barrier that would take them to the Muggle side of King's Cross station. They passed through the solid brick wall, line-a-stern and entered the far busier side of the station, the platform was positively teeming with commuting Muggles. The trio of fourteen year olds glanced around, heads swinging left and right and up and down, after a few moments of searching, a head of red hair caught their eye at the far end of the platform.

"Lily! Severus! Marlene! Over here!" Rang the sonorous voice of one Violet Evans as she waved her hand into the air.

Violet Evans usually stood out in a crowd wherever she went. An American by birth but thoroughly British born and raised, her accent which was a unique blend between a Brummie(by adoption) and a Bostonian(by birth) lingo always had her standing out amongst a sea of British voices. If her voice didn't nab and keep hold of your attention, her looks certainly did. Pillowy dark cherry red hair that her youngest daughter inherited along with a swan-like neck and high cheekbones that her oldest daughter possessed lent her a subtle kind of beauty that made her stand out in a crowd. Her eyes were a dark brown, nearly as dark as Severus', but infused with specks of green of the very same shade that made up Lily's. She was tall too, not quite as tall as Mark Evans but pretty close, both of her daughters inheriting her height, especially Petunia.

"Mummy!" Lily yelled, pushing past Severus and Lily and weaving her cart through a crowd of commuters to reach Violet.

Severus and Marlene quickly followed in Lily's wake, taking advantage of the path she'd blazed through a sea of suited men.

Lily reached Violet first, of course she did. Shoving her cart to the side she gave her mother a firm hug. "Oh darling, I've missed you so much!" Violet crooned, hugging her youngest daughter with fervor.

"I've missed you too mum," Lily replied, her words enveloped by thick waves of Auburn. "Where's dad and Petunia?" She asked.

"Your father is preparing a Barbecue, and Petunia decided to stay behind to help him," Violet replied, taking a step back from her daughter. "Besides, we've got all of your and Severus' favorites on the menu tonight. And Marlene's favorites too."

"Thanks Mum!" Lily chirped happily, "speaking of, how are Tuney and Dad?"

"They're just great Darling. Petunia's still growing—" Lily rolled her eyes, of course, "and Dad's recently got a promotion! Although I'll let them tell you all about how they've been themselves when we reach home."

Severus and Marlene caught up to Lily and pulled to a stop just as she stepped back from her mother.

"Severus," Violet said, beaming at her son in all but name, "Marlene," she added, smiling at Lily's other best friend. "You didn't think I'd forget about you two, did you?"

"Never Missus Evans," Marlene grinned, leaping forward to embrace the Evans matriarch in turn.

"It's nice to see you too Marlene, Lily's been looking forward to having you over for quite some time now," Violet smiled.

"Me too Missus Evans," Marlene replied as she took a step back from Violet.

"It's just Violet dear," she said, smiling fondly at the girl. "And that goes for you too Severus, no more Missus Evans or Ma'am or any of that okay? We're family now, so Mum or Violet will do," she added, giving Severus a fond look.

"Alright…Violet. I guess I can get used to that," he said sheepishly.

The Evans matriarch's grin broadened. "Come here Severus, you didn't think you'd get away without a hug did you?"

"I've known better than to expect miracles," Severus replied swiftly, a small grin pulling at the corners of his lips in spite of his tone.

Violet laughed and brought the skinny boy into a tender hug. Severus would never admit this to anyone, not even himself let alone Lily or Violet, but he secretly craved Violet Evans' matronly hugs. Severus' mother Eileen had passed away over two years ago, a few months into his Hogwarts journey as a first year. Ever since then, he'd lacked a mother figure at home, and he'd have to put up with Tobias' drunken rampages and be at his beck and call for three out of twelve months a year. How the oaf survived without him, Severus never knew. All he knew was that over the last two summers, the house had been in shambles when he returned from Hogwarts at the end of term. Loathe as he was to admit it, Violet Evans was everything he wanted in a mother, kind, yet strict, but most important of all, she had taken up the slack in Eileen's passing and took up a role in his heart that sorely needed filling. Now though…now she was his mother in all but name, and while his pride would never let him admit it, internally he was swelling with joy. Eileen Snape was a harsh woman and did her best to prepare her son for the harsh realities of the real world; she instilled the ever important lesson within him that life isn't fair. Violet Evans on the other hand…he couldn't tell you how many times he wished his mother would act more like the mum of his best friend, let alone wish that he had a mother at all over the past few years. After what seemed like an eternity of basking in her motherly tenderness, Severus pulled away from Violet, not quite able to keep a small smile off his face.

"You're much too thin Severus, you're practically a bag of bones!" Violet remarked as she stepped back from their hug. "Have you been eating enough?"

"I have been," Severus replied simply.

"Have you though? I think I'd beg to differ Severus," she chided.

"Anyways, we'll soon rectify that won't we Lily?"

"Yep! Mum's right Sev, you really are way too skinny."

"I am not!" Severus retorted. "I eat enough." You're supposed to back me up, not take your Mum's side, traitor!

"Not by our standards you don't these next few months we're gonna fatten you up alright!"

Severus snorted and rolled his eyes, but deep down, he couldn't wait. Both Mark and Violet Evans were excellent cooks, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, so was Petunia. If Mark was cooking tonight, then that could only mean something delicious was on the menu.

"Alright children, we had best get going now before the roads get busy. Rush hour should be starting soon so everybody follow me," Violet ordered as she led the way off the platform.

The quartet walked through the station and out the exit towards the outdoor carpark. To Severus' disappointment, it was raining still and his threadbare cloak was doing a piss-poor job of keeping the cold from his bones. Thankfully, Violet had parked the Evanses Ford Station Wagon nearby so at the very least he wasn't exposed to it for long. Severus, Lily and Marlene all lugged their trunks into the back of the vehicle, with Lily putting her owl cage with Hunter inside on the front passenger seat. With all their luggage loaded and ready to go, Violet started the car and set off for home. Lily, being the shortest of her friends(albeit not by much) sat in the middle, also in a bid to preserve the tenuous peace that had been established between Marlene and Severus. There was a reason Marlene had been the friend she decided to invite over for the first week of the holiday and it had been since not once had she bad-mouthed Severus in front of her, unlike some other friends like Dorcas, Evelyn and Mary, all three of whom vehemently disapproved of her friendship with the Slytherin. Marlene on the other hand decided to stay out of those argument whenever they cropped up and on occasion, even took Lily's side in defending her best friend. All in all, her choice seemed to be paying off as Severus and Marlene both seemed just as invested in maintaining their cordial relationship for the time being.

Two and a half hours of driving and bathroom breaks later, Violet pulled the station wagon into the driveway of 16 Walnut Lane, Cokeworth. In Cokeworth, it wasn't raining, rather, it was snowing much to Severus' disappointment and Violet's too. The latter due to the hazardous driving conditions and the former due to his fraying robes. At Hogwarts at least he could cast warming charms on himself to keep warm, but here he would be forced to endure the brunt of the chill without his magic. Thankfully, they made it home without incident and were soon hauling their trunks out of the back of the car whilst Violet carried Hunter and his cage to the front door. At the very least, the snow fall was rather light, but even then the cold was chilling to Severus to the bone. Violet unlocked the door and the troupe entered the Evans house which was alive with sounds of a meowing cat, a crackling fire and the sounds of laughter ringing from the kitchen.

"We're home!" Lily called out, as they stepped into the foyer.

"Lily!" Rang the jovial voice of Mark Evans from further inside the house, the kitchen from the sounds of things. "Dinner will be ready in ten, just putting on the finishing touches!"

"Looking forward to it dad!" Lily hollered back, her voice amplified by the corridor it echoed down.

"Alright you lot. Upstairs now, get changed and into the shower. All your stuff has been laid out for you so you needn't worry about getting shampoos, towels, soap and the like," Violet ordered.

"Marlene, you can have Lily's and Petunia's bathroom. You'll find an extra towel set there."

Marlene smiled gratefully and nodded, "thank you Violet. I'll just get going now, then."

Violet smiled back. "It's no problem dear, none at all."

"Thanks! I've been dying to get out of these itchy robes! I'll see you guys back down here in a little bit." She left the foyer towards the staircase that lead to the second floor.

"Lily, you can use mine and dad's bathroom, and Severus your own room has a bathroom adjoined. I'm sure you remember that from before."

"My own room?" Severus asked, his brows knitting in confusion.

"Well of course Sev! You didn't think we'd ask you to stay on the couch or on the daybed would you?" Lily laughed.

"Well…I wouldn't have minded. Any place is better than that hovel so I'd take what I can get," he muttered back.

"Oh my dear boy you'll always have a room with us," Violet crooned, enveloping him in a hug so swiftly Severus barely had time to protest. A tiny yelp was hastily choked down as Violet's arms enveloped him in a hug so tight, he had trouble breathing, and Lily did too, for she was sniggering away. "You will never see that monster of a father again. I wanted to kill him when I heard of all the things he did to you, to your mother…so did Mark for that matter. The guest room is no longer a guest room, it's your room now Severus. This is your home."

Severus managed wiggle his way out of her grasp, and despite his cheeks that were flushed with embarrassment, he was grateful. "Thank you…Mis—uh, Violet. I'll just um…I'll just go and get showered and changed now," he said quietly taking a few steps back from her.

"We're just doing what should have been done a long time ago Severus. I'm sorry you had to live with him for so long. He's not fit to be a father."

Severus gave a grim smile in return but nodded nonetheless. He then headed up the stairs and down the hall towards his room. He set his battered trunk down at the base of his bed and sifted through it for a set of clothes that was somewhat presentable. Finding a flannel shirt, some boxers, and a set of jeans that only had three holes in them, he then headed into his bathroom for a shower. He stripped off his school robes and stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over him. He sighed; but for once, it was a happy sigh, not one of longing or wistfulness. He had a home now. He had a family now. He had a father that wouldn't beat or abuse him, and a mother that would love and care for him, but above and beyond all that, he had Lily. Still had Lily. Despite two and a half years of Hogwarts tugging and pulling at the chords of their friendship, they'd persevered in spite of it and grown ever closer.

Lily's done so much for me…uprooted her life, given up her dreams…she's quite literally changed her life overnight for me…for me… For the first time in Severus Snape's miserable fourteen years, he felt like a winner—he felt like he mattered…he felt what it was like to be loved—to be valued, and to be cared for. He finally let himself feel and believe that he indeed did matter, he wasn't just a worthless, spineless, piece of shit Spinner's End Reject, but someone of value, someone worthy of love…and boy what a good feeling it was. He had finally escaped the shackles of his father, the Marauders, his housemates, and Hogwarts. All made possible by his red haired angel across the hall. he let the tears fall now, sobs sounding out and reverberating across the bathroom that were drowned out by the sounds of the shower. Here, he let himself go and cried, crying tears of happiness for once, since now…at long last, he, Severus Snape, was a winner. Little did he know, the girl of his thoughts stood on the other side of the door listening to his cries, her ear pressed up against the wood. Lily listened with keen interest as the sounds of his sniffles mingled with the cascading water of the shower head.

He's letting himself go…opening his heart…to me, to himself. Thank you Sev. Thank you. Let yourself feel. Let yourself feel it all, good and bad. I'll be with you every step of the way. I'll prove to you that you matter…that you're worthy of care…of love. I'll show you if it's the last thing I do Sev. And that's a promise.

Fifteen minutes later, Severus and Lily saw each other again at the bottom of the stairs, both dressed in a change of clothes and changed out of their stuffy robes. From the sounds of things, namely her signature chortle that Lily could recognize just about anywhere, Marlene was already in the dining room.

"Come on Sev," Lily said as she reached for his hand, "Let's head on in yeah?"

"Yeah. Let's do that," Severus replied, smiling.

To his surprise, Lily still hadn't released his hand, their fingers remained tightly wound around one another as they walked the length of the hall towards the dining room. Is she sweating? Why is her palm slick? As they entered the dining room, two beaming smiles emanating from the two eldest in the room reached them, even the usually sour and grouchy Petunia seemed rather neutral and wasn't sporting a sneer for once. Marlene too, despite her rather indifferent attitude she'd held towards Severus in school and for much of the time they'd known each other was smiling as well, granted, not as much as either Violet or Mark, but smiling nonetheless.

In the end it was Mark that spoke first; the Evans patriarch who despite his usually solemn expression had a massive smile on his face as he raised his glass to the sky. "Welcome home Severus," he said, smiling.

A/N2: Alright so time for my obligatory F1 A/N. Not to toot my own horn here but my top 3 Qualifying prediction was pretty damn accurate if I do say so myself. Leclerc on Pole, check. Verstappen P2, check. Narrowly missed out on the trifecta though with Bottas beating Sainz(who was my prediction) to P3. As is usual with most Monaco races, it was pretty boring but at least Seb, Pierre and Carlos picked up good points for all of their teams so I'm definitely a happy camper. Gutted for Charles and Bottas though, shit luck for both of them so that's too bad, hopefully things'll turn around in Baku. If any of you are still reading this and have no idea what I'm talking about, do yourself a favor and get into F1, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading!