It's good to be back, folks!

So as per usual, thank you all for the lovely reviews. You know I appreciate you.

A few of you have weighed in on the last chapter and many of you expressed opinions that Severus's actions are nothing like his father's. And you're right, ultimately Severus is not acting from a place of malice or cruelty, but concern and loyalty to his loved ones. However, canon Snape sacrificed a lot of his morals all in the name of power and respect. Perhaps he didn't do the depraved things his fellow Death Eaters did, but if you honestly think he didn't ever brew a deadly potion or two, or deliberately turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocent people, then you are far too optimistic. Watching a murder isn't much better than committing it yourself; Snape would have the power to try and prevent it, he chose not to either out of fear of selfishness. It isn't much different than Tobias turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering he caused his own family. It may even be worse, because Severus knows first hand the feeling of pain and helplessness and fear and still stood by while others were subjected to it, all for his own goals.

Of course here, canon Snape will never come to pass because he has help for his bitterness and struggle, but Lily is right in saying that originally, if things hadn't changed, he was going down a path set to cause pain for others.

Hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's a doozy!

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Fifty-Eight: A Dark Reunion

Mulciber fidgeted nervously in his seat, picking self-consciously at the slivers of wood sticking up from armrests of the aged chair.

"What do you think the Dark Lord wants?" he asked fearfully to his companion.

Avery shrugged arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the decaying mantelpiece over the hearth.

"Rookwood didn't say," he answered with little concern.

"Well it must be important if he's asked to speak with us specifically," Mulciber fretted, "He's never spoken to either of us personally before. It was always Malfoy or the Lestranges that relayed his messages. So what could this meeting be about?"

"Perhaps it is to address your severe disloyalty," Avery stated snidely, "You made quite the spectacle of yourself on trial just to save your own skin. I doubt he's pleased about that."

"They were going to give me the Kiss for sure," Mulciber whimpered, "There's no mercy for those who use Unforgivables. What else could I have done."

"You could have stood up for our cause like a real wizard," Avery snapped, coming to tower over Mulciber.

"Stop your sniveling," Avery hissed, "You're a disgrace to the Knights of Walpurgis. If you didn't have the guts to serve time for an Unforgivable, then you shouldn't have cast one. You lack even the bravery to own up to your actions; I'm proud of what I cast. You're just a coward with no conviction."

"I'm just a teenager," Mulciber said feebly.

Avery snacked him on the top of the head, "You're almost a man! You have been blessed with the glorious opportunity to serve our Lord and you threw it away to save yourself. The Dark Mark would be squandered on a wretch like you."

Mulciber continued to sniffle, "How can you be so cruel. We're supposed to be friends."

Avery scoffed, "Who needs friends when power is all that matters? Friends are a weakness; they stand in the way of ambition and glory. I don't need useless sentiments like friends. Not if it will cost me all that I deserve. I don't need anyone so long as I serve the Dark Lord."

"Well said," came a high, cold voice from across the room.

Voldemort stood in the dilapidated doorway, face masked in shadows caused by a moth eaten tapestry hanging sideways down the wall from its one remaining nail. Besides him stood the hulking form of Walden Macnair.

Avery straightened himself immediately while Mulciber scrambled out of his chair with haste.

"M-Master," Mulciber croaked.

"My Lord," Avery greeted, bowing.

Voldemort raised a hand, "No need to be so formal."

He turned to Macnair, "Leave us."

Macnair sneered at Mulciber and Avery—the latter of which retuned it threefold—before departing into the darkness of the house.

"I trust you have been well," Voldemort asked casually, gliding into the room with graceful, serpentine movement.

"In perfect shape, my Lord," Avery assured.

"You'll have to forgive me for the poor accommodations," Voldemort said, gesturing to the ramshackle walls surrounding them, "We need our safe houses to remain inconspicuous so as not to draw the Ministry's attention. They'd never suspect I'd conceal my," he patted Avery's cheek, "loyal followers in such squalor."

"This has been more than enough," Avery stated, "We would willingly do with far less if it was for the good of the cause."

"Of course you would," Voldemort smiled, but it lacked the warmth his tone imitated.

"But what's this?" Voldemort swopped down upon Mulciber, circling, "Why do you cower from me, Magus? Are we not friends?"

"N-no, my Lord," Stuttered Mulciber, "I mean yes! Yes, of course."

"Then why do you cower so?" Voldemort asked, "Could it be because of how you failed me at the trial? How you…betrayed me?"

Mulciber looked ready to wet himself with fright.

"Please, my Lord," he begged, "I did not mean to disrespect you. I-I'm a lowly ranked follower. Hardly a Death Eater. The ministry wouldn't think twice about sending me to Azkaban and I had no reason to believe I would be rescued, useless as I am to you."

Avery made a noise of disgust, appalled by Mulciber's pathetic cowardice.

"Yes, you are lowly," Voldemort mused, taking Mulciber by the chin to look him over, "One of my lowest ranked Death Eaters. Why should I keep you around?"

Mulciber began to quake.

"Because you are still of use to me," Voldemort answered his own question, "Your failures do not mean you lack worth. You can serve me well…despite your mistakes."

Avery looked like he wanted to protest, but knew better than to question his Master.

Mulciber fell to his knees.

"You are merciful, Master," he groveled, clutching the hem of Voldemort's robes and kissing it, "Truly merciful."

"Indeed I am," Voldemort agreed, "Now rise, Magus. I have a task for you two."

"We are at your disposal, my Lord," Avery swore passionately.

Voldemort regarded Avery with an approving glance.

"Yes," he said, "You are."

{page break}

When the trio landed where Voldemort had apparated them to, Avery and Mulciber were met by the roaring of waves and the howling of wind.

Avery nearly slipped on the wet, slippery ground as he looked wildly about him. They stood upon a ledge of rocks jutting up from the middle of the water, a churning ocean surrounding them on all sides, miles out from shore. The salty spray both wetted and dried out his lips as the waves splashed up at them with great crashes of force, as if consciously trying to dislodged them from their precarious perch.

Mulciber whipped around in fear, practically on all fours to avoid falling off, "Master, where are we?"

"Almost to our destination," Voldemort answered cryptically, "This is as close as we can get through conventional means."

"Close as we can get to where?" Avery found himself asking.

"There," Voldemort pointed to a large mountainous structure far off in the distance. It rose up from the ocean like a dark goliath, all sharp edges and hard angles created by the relentlessly pounding of the sea. It had most likely once connected to the inland and shore, but rises waters over the centuries had engulf the path.

It was quite a ways off, and they were stranded out in the middle of the raging waters.

"My Lord," Avery started hesitantly, "If we cannot apparate in…how will we get there?"

Voldemort did not reply, instead opting to grab Avery's arm in a vice-like grip.

"My Lord?" Before Avery could ask anything further, he was suddenly wrenched into the air, clear off the ledge.

Mulciber screamed as the ground flew out from under him.

Avery was stunned. Staring at his feet hovering several feet above the rushing water, he dangled in the air like a puppet by its strings.

"How is this possible?" he gasped.

Turning his head upwards, he stared in shocked wondered at his Master, faced washed in pure amazement. The Dark Lord could fly without a broom!

The group sailed towards the mountain at alarming speed, the wind whipping past them and salt water pelting them in the face. Just when it seemed they would crash right into the rocks, Voldemort drew up to a sharp stop.

"We're here," he said, dropping his passengers unceremoniously at the mouth of a cave, "Follow me."

Pulling themselves up from a crumpled heap on the floor, the pair of former students walked hurriedly after Voldemort into the cave.

They had only been walking for a few minutes when they reached a large wall, seemingly a dead end.

"What now, my Lord?" Avery asked curiously.

He didn't receive a response, but rather he was grabbed roughly by the hand.

"Wha—?" Avery asked, only to hiss in pain as Voldemort drew his wand sharply across Avery's palm, blood spouting from the wound almost instantly.

Mulciber quivered fearfully, shying away from Voldemort, lest the same be done to him.

"My Lord, what are you doing?" Avery asked. He attempted to cradle his hand to his chest, only for Voldemort to jerk it back.

"For the entrance," was Voldemort's only explanation. Dragging Avery forward, Voldemort slapped the boy's hand onto the cave wall.

As soon as the blood touched the cold stone, the wall began to rumble and shake. It shifted and scraped against itself as a doorway opened up, revealing a large, cavernous tunnel.

"This way," Voldemort order, dropping Avery's hand like it was rubbish.

So far away from the cave entrance, it was incredibly hard to see within the tunnel, and yet Voldemort moved down the path with practiced ease while his followers stumbled behind him like newborn calves learning to walk.

After a long trek in the dark, the cave finally opened up to a bit of light as they came to a cliff, but it was a far cry from the sunlight Avery hoped for.

Before them was a large, placid pool of water, a lake if there ever was one. But this lake did not sit by a scenic field adjacent to a quaint country village. It was a pool blacker than coal, fathomless and glimmering like a great void.

In the very center of the lake sat a small island with a pedestal on it and it was from this object that the eerie glow decorating the cave walls came from.

"Welcome," Voldemort said, "To your new abode."

Avery looked questioningly at Voldemort.

"Here?" he asked.

"Here," Voldemort replied, "I have tasked you with the very important job of guarding something most precious to me."

"B-but how can we stay here?" Mulciber questioned, "There's no beds, no light…what will we eat?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Voldemort answered, "I dare say that will not concern you for much longer."

"What do you mean—" a dark streak of light hit Mulciber squarely in the chest, his final words dying on his tongue. A strange hollow look came over his features as he fell off the edge of the cliff and plummeted into the waters below.

"Magus?!" Avery cried out in alarm. He turned to Voldemort in bewilderment, "I don't understand."

"Don't you recall?" Voldemort asked, "You said it yourself: You're at my disposal."

"But," Avery looked down to the water; several things were twisting and writhing around in the darkness where Mulciber just fell, "Y-you said you needed us."

"And I do," Voldemort said smoothly, "But I never said I needed you alive. In fact, you'll be far more of use to me as the opposite. This is a permanent assignment I am giving you."

"It doesn't make sense," Avery floundered, "Mulciber…h-he was worthless to you. A coward. Even I could see he didn't deserve to serve you, but what about me? I've been a loyal servant. I took the charges against me with pride, all in your name!"

"That you did," Voldemort agreed, "But you were caught and though there was little information they could truly get from someone so far down in the ranks, you still created…loose ends that must be taken care of," he pointed his wand at Avery's chest, "You're that loose end, I'm afraid. You're rash…impulsive….too much of a liability. After all, what good is a soldier who acts without his captain's orders?"

Avery went for his wand, only for Voldemort to chuckle.

"You let your guard down far too easily," Voldemort chided, holding up Avery's wand.

Avery glowered at his Master, hands balled into fists.

Voldemort laughed, cold and uncaring, "Going to fight me with your bare hands? I doubt that will work."

Avery growled, taking a step forward. However, he only made it a few steps before stumbling to a stop, swaying slightly. Raising a hand to his face to rub his eyes, he pulled it back in alarm when he smeared a sticky, metallic-smelling substance across his face.

Voldemort cut his hand deeper than expected. Deliberately.

"How much blood loss can someone stand before they're too weak to fight back," Voldemort mocked, "Not much at all, it would seem."

Avery gulped, "Y-you'll never get away with this," he bluffed, "When my father finds out what happened to me—"

"Your father is nothing an imperio cannot fix," Voldemort informed him, "The same for Mulciber's. Even without their own minds, they'll still serve me well. Now," he aimed his wand at Avery, "Farewell, Calix."

Avery did not recognize the curse his master uttered and he would never find out, as it was the last thing he ever heard as he tumbled backwards off the ledge and into the icy waters below…

{page break}

The Welcoming Feast proved to be a solemn affair for Lily. Severus never returned to their compartment after the argument, nor did he ride a carriage up to the castle with Lily and their friends. He tucked himself into a carriage of shy second years, not giving Lily's carriage a single glance, and burying his nose in a book almost immediately.

When Mary and the others inquired as to the sudden frosty exchange between the pair, Lily had no answers. She knew why things were tense; she'd caused them. However, the details were not solely hers to share. Severus father not a subject to openly discuss without Severus present, nor did she wish to reveal she had used it as a weapon in a battle of words against Severus. They would all be quite cross with her, rightfully so, but Lily didn't want to be berated just yet.

And how could Severus start working on that spell again? That was one of the burning questions that kept the spark of anger warring with the guilt Lily felt. Severus was the one who did wrong first, right? He knew how she felt about that spell, about Legilimency too and yet he still sought both subjects out. Behind her back no less! Did he expect her to be touched that he'd been experimenting on helpless muggle for her? She didn't want such terrible misdeeds done in her name!

Lily cast her gaze towards the Slytherin table. The Feast was nearing its end and Severus still had not looked her way once. Thankfully he'd chosen to sit alone near the end of the table isolated away from Rosier and his friends, but that didn't do much to improve Lily's mood when he continued to give her the cold shoulder. Being ignored was making it significantly difficult for Lily to let go of her anger.

Lily cursed her temper, digging angrily into the remains of her scalloped potatoes. She was well and truly upset with what Severus had been doing—furious even that he could justify such actions—but ultimately she knew she'd been the one to strike a low blow. His father should never have been brought up and she couldn't blame Severus for being upset that she had compared them to each other.

Still, try as she might to shake the ill temper from herself, it kept springing back up with a vengeance. Those notes in Severus's journal kept popping into her mind, the cold, unfeeling descriptions of Severus test subjects flitting across her thoughts. And he kept secrets from her!

…Still not as bad as what she said, though was it? Or maybe they were tied in atrocity. Yes, that sounded the most accurate. But even with her own faults so clear, part of Lily just wanted to stay mad. It rather felt like when her monthly would come around and she'd start to feel irritable over every little thing. Sure, she had control over herself to not fly off the handle, but she'd simmer in irritation unbeknownst to her family for several days over nonsensical things. She always knew there was little sense in being upset at someone for flipping a page too loudly or clearing his or her throat too often, but it didn't change how irked she felt about it and how impossible it was to force the irrational feeling away.

So here she was now, angry and frustrated when she knew she should apologize.

Lily sighed, though it came out more as a groan; she just couldn't help being mad! Why did Severus have to dredge up that spell? Hadn't they agreed it was a little too dangerous to brandy about? It was too dangerous to have around because who knows who might get a hold of it next. Severus seemed confident that remodeling the spell to something different that only he knew would be the answer, but he'd thought the spell was safe and secure last time too, hadn't he? Yet it still wound up in Avery's hands.

Then there was the Legilimency. Severus was well aware why she took issue with someone rooting about in a person's head. No part of a person's body, not even their brain, should ever be considered an open invitation for someone else to do as they please. Severus could argue all he wanted that he had good intentions, but the muggle saying goes 'the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions.' Not that Lily was really the religious sort, but the point still stood: taking away someone else's free will was cruel and doing so for the 'greater good' wasn't exactly what she would call ethical. You were literally forcing someone to expose their most private thoughts.

It was why Lily had no plans to tell Mary the nature of her argument with Severus. Mad as she was at him, Lily did not wish to see Severus lose any friends after having been so lonely most of his life. Telling Mary—someone who's mind was compromised by the imperio—that Severus was dabbling in mind intrusive magic would not go over well. The others might become wary of him too, and Lily would hate to see Severus lose all the people he had come to trust.

Maybe Simone would be best for getting through to him, Lily reasoned. Simone tended to do a fine job of slapping sense into people for making ridiculous choices. Her eyes scanned the Slytherin table, spying Simone among a group of third years. The dark skinned girl appeared to be casting furtive glances down the table at Severus, probably perturbed by his suddenly bad mood.

Lily was pulled from her thoughts by Dumbledore beginning his closing statements for the end of the feast. He did his usual spiel about unity and light finding a way in the darkness, but Lily tuned most of it out, her eyes firmly on Severus.

She had hoped she could snag him before they all parted ways for the night, but was dismayed when the moment the students were dismissed, Severus darted from the Great Hall like a dementor was after him, not once looking Lily's way.

Lily dourly made her way back to the dorms in a funk. She didn't want things to be so stressed between her and Sev, really she didn't. Not when they'd become so close; they'd been on tentative, shaky ground with each other regarding their blossoming feelings and the last thing Lily wanted was for Severus to retroactively undo all the progress they'd made towards something more.

They'd had differences of opinion before, but normally they'd make up rather quickly, Severus seeking her out to make amends.

Now that she thought about it, this was the first time Severus had ever stormed off in a huff and resolved not to talk with her. Normally she gave the cold shoulder.

Maybe she should go to Sev's dorm and ask for him…

"Hey Evans," James called out to her suddenly, "Wait up."

Lily groaned, last thing she needed right now was Marauder shenanigans, "What do you want, James?"

James held his hands up, "Woah, what's will the hostility? I just wanted to ask how your holiday was."

Lily sighed, fixing her expression to one a little less unfriendly, "My holiday was great, James. And yours?"

James smiled, "It was great. Fantastic even. Spent some quality time with Jess. Romantic stuff, like dinner and candles. The works, you know?"

Lily couldn't help feeling a tinge of jealousy. She and Severus should be doing things like that, "That sounds lovely, James," she bit out, cringing at how unconvincing she sounded.

Something flashed across James' face for second—glee, perhaps—before he adopted a look of concern.

"You seemed a little glum at dinner," James stated, "Something happen between you and Snape?"

Lily was a little taken aback that James could be so astute, more so that he actually chose to refer to Severus by his surname instead of 'Snivellous'.

"I'm alright," Lily assured, "Just had a little disagreement is all."

"I'm sorry to hear that," James said.

Lily snorted, "Please, you've never liked Sev. You must be overjoyed at the thought of us possibly fighting."

James shook his head, "No really. I'm sorry you two fought. I know how much he means to you."

Lily side-eyed James suspiciously, he wasn't normally this mature, "Well…that's very kind of you…Goodnight."

"Actually," James called, "I was wondering if you could help me out with something."

Lily rolled her eyes, of course he needed a favor, "So you didn't just want to ask me how I've been."

"No I did," James claimed, "But look…there's this flower, right? It grows right outside the greenhouse and only in the snow, not one of Sprout's flowers. I know Jess absolutely adores it. It's like a purple winter rose or something."

"I think I know which flower you're talking about," Lily said, recalling the plant from when it sprouted up previous years.

"Great," James said excitedly, "I need you to come with me to get it."

"What?" Lily asked in confusion, "Right now?"

James smiled, "Of course! I'm not allowed outside after curfew, but Prefects are. You could just say you were escorting me back to the dorms if we got caught."

"Why don't you pick it in the morning?" Lily asked.

"Because it has to be tonight," James insisted, "I want it as a gift for Jess, for our first night back together at Hogwarts since the holidays."

"But you saw her during the holidays," Lily pointed out.

"Please, Lily?" James begged, "It would really mean a lot to me."

"…"

"I'm going out there with or without you and if I get caught, that's points loss for Gryffindor on the first night of the new term," James wheedled, "Doesn't look good on us, does it."

"Fine," Lily said in exasperation, "Let's get this over with."

James beamed, "Thanks Lily. Jess will be thrilled."

"Whatever," Lily stormed down the hallways, eager to get this down and put this whole crummy day behind her.

James followed merrily, a spring in his step.

"So…pretty romantic of me, huh? Risking detention for my girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Lily griped, not even bothering to hide her irritation this time, "Real romantic."

She missed the triumphant look on James face at her mood.

{page break}

'Well isn't this familiar,' Severus thought.

Settling down outside the portrait hole, he waited for the third year he sent in with a message to return with Lily.

"Why is it always me begging outside the door?" Severus wondered aloud.

After quickly leaving the Great Hall, Severus fully intended to go to bed quite anger and righteously so for once. There was a bit of satisfaction in knowing that regardless of how his research started the fight, Lily was ultimately the one who had crossed a line for once. The more common routine was Lily being unreasonable, Severus getting mad, and then he'd be the one saying something he shouldn't and Lily would leave. This was the first time he'd ever felt truly the wronged party in an argument.

Still, as Severus stared at the canopy of his bed, he could not find peace. He kept replaying the argument in his head, reevaluating his words, Lily's words, generally just the whole conversation. Things could have turned out so differently if they weren't so quick to anger.

He kept thinking of Lily, how upset she'd been.

What if she was crying?

With a sigh, Severus gave up on sleeping his bad mood off and begrudgingly made his way to the Gryffindor tower.

'I'm not apologizing,' Severus had told himself the whole way there, 'I'm just going to suggest we talk about this rationally. She's the one who needs to apologize.'

And so here he sat, waiting on Lily to get over her high and mighty attitude of 'rightness' and come talk things out reasonably. Really, she was lucky he even bothered to speak with her after what she said.

When the portrait hole swung open, Severus got to his feet, expecting the wall of stubbornness that was Lily Evans to come out and apologize while still berating him. However, instead of a contrite yet defiant Lily, it was Mary standing in the portrait hole.

"Severus," Mary said, confusion clear in her eyes, "Someone told me you were out here. What are you doing?"

"I'm here for Lily," Severus explained, "I was hoping she and I could have a talk. Clear the air, you know?"

Mary nodded, "Ah that makes sense. Unfortunately she isn't here right now."

"She isn't?" Severus cocked an eyebrow, "Is she on patrol?"

"Not exactly," Mary said, "From what I understand, Potter wanted her help with something, practically begged for her assistance, so she left with him."

"She's with Potter?" Severus repeated, a frowning overtaking his face.

"Yeah," Mary said, "Something about picking flowers, I think. I didn't really catch the gist of it, just what Black said."

"Flowers?" Severus parroted, gritting his teeth. That Potter was a clever one; luring Lily out under such a pretense. Picking flowers out in the moonlight was romantic enough as it is, but given the snowy weather, there was only one type of flower Severus could see them looking for, and it was a truly beautiful one. Surely Lily would be able to see what an obvious ploy it was, no matter what reason Potter gave for wanting it.

Or…was that it entirely? Did Lily know it was an attempt to get her alone and go willingly, just to spite him? Was she so mad about the research that she would willingly fall into his most hated enemy's arms just to rub salt in the wounds? He'd like to say he didn't think Lily capable of such cruelty, but he also never thought she'd compare him to his father, or mock him for his circumstances.

"I'd wash my pants if I were you," she'd said by the lake during their falling out. She'd deliberately attacked his poverty then, knowing full well his clothes were dirty not due to a lack of cleanliness, but due to being years old and bought second hand. She knew he couldn't afford to care better for himself or his belongings, much less his clothes and still she'd lashed out at one of the elements of his life that he'd felt the most shame.

And now she'd run off with Potter, a boy who fancied her. Considering how close Severus and she had become recently, she must know how that would make him feel.

"Severus?" Mary prodded, drawing Severus from his thoughts, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Severus said unconvincingly, leaning against the wall, "Just…tired is all," he slid down the wall with a sigh, "Didn't have the best ride in."

"Yeah, I heard about the fight," Mary said, sitting next to Severus, "Did you two get into an argument?"

"You could say that," Severus replied, "We had a difference of opinion."

"What about?" Mary asked.

Severus shook his head, "It's complicated…or maybe its not…I'm not sure anymore. It's just," he searched for the right words, not really willing to go into details in case Mary decided to get mad about it too, "Avery's out there and he's coming for us. I'm sure of it. And if it isn't him, then it will be someone else. Shouldn't that mean we should take every available opportunity to defend ourselves?"

Severus sighed again, "And yet Lily seems to think that pulling out all the stops would just be stooping to their level…that I'd be no better than them."

"That's not true," Mary said.

"Yeah," Severus agreed noncommittally.

"I mean it," Mary said more forcibly, turning to look at him, "Severus, you are nothing like those guys. You helped people, you helped me."

"I helped Lily too," Severus pointed out, "But that doesn't change how she feels about certain magic."

"Well it changes how I feel," Mary declared, "Listen, Sev. Mulciber's out there and I'm scared," she reached over, taking Severus's hand, "I'm scared and I don't know what to do anymore. If you have some way of protecting us from the likes of him, I'm all for taking it."

Mary looked Severus over contemplatively, "You're thinking of using that spell, aren't you?"

Severus blinked, "How did you—?"

Mary shrugged, "You said Lily is against you using certain magic to protect us. That was a pretty strong spell you made back then. I figured if you were going to start upping your defenses, might as well start with what you know."

"And you're okay with that?" Severus inquired.

Mary huffed, "After what Mulciber did I'm okay with anything you can do to him."

"There's more to it than that," Severus admitting, venturing on unsteady ground with what he was about to say next, "I'm working on Legilimency…the power to enter someone's mind—just to ensure Rosier isn't planning something," he added hastily, "Who knows what he might try and do?"

Mary didn't say anything, just sat thinking it over.

"Mary?" Severus asked after a few minutes of silence, "How do you…feel about that?"

Slowly, Mary turned to look at Severus.

"Do it," she said, her eyes hard, "Those bastards lost the right to privacy when I lost the right to mine."

"I mean it, Severus," Mary continued, squeezing Severus's hand, "If you think that can keep us safe, do what you have to."

Severus smiled a little, relieved, "At least someone sees my side of things."

"Lily will come around. She's been your friend for forever, after all," Mary put her head on Severus's shoulder leaning into him, "You're really something Severus. Looking out for us, standing up to those two, and now you're fighting to keep us safe."

"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt," Severus admitted.

"I'm glad you're here for us," Mary said fondly. She paused, looking away, "Listen Sev…there's something I've been meaning to give you for a while now."

"Oh?" Severus asked.

"Think of it as a late Christmas gift," Mary went on, "It's what I wanted to give you in place of that silly book."

"The book was much appreciated," Severus said, becoming confused. He couldn't help notice that Mary was still holding his hand.

"But it's not what I wanted to give you," Mary insisted, "I've been thinking about this a lot and…"

Severus flinched at the unexpected touch of Mary's hand upon his cheek, drawing him towards her. Before he could question what she was doing, Mary leaned in and pressed her lips to his.

...I should start running now, shouldn't I?

For the record this twist was planned out from the beginning. I wonder if any of you picked up the small hints of Mary's interest in him, like her sudden change to using makeup and caring about his opinion on it.

Never fear people, I am a devoted Snily fan. But what is romance without a little drama, eh?

So here's a little look into both Sev and Lily's heads. You'll notice they can be quite hypocritical and narrow minded, as impulsive teenagers are.

Lily is unable to see past the damage caused by Severus spell and mainly, is acting out of fear. It's hard to get over seeing someone nearly bleed out in front of you. Much like a child scarred by the horror of accidentally shooting a friend while playing with their parent's gun, Lily is frightened by the spell that caused the harm, even though it wasn't she who fired it. The very thought of the spell instantly sends her back to that day, watching the life leaking out of her best friend.

So naturally she is going to be very biased against the use of it, no matter how useful it could be for protecting them both. She's also digging her heels in, in true Gryffindor fashion, at the idea of using dark magic to fight dark wizards. Because people like Dumbledore are light and are so powerful, she is fully convinced there are light magic spells that can trump over darkness, completely oblivious to the fact that Dumbledore is so powerful in part due to his willingness to use dark spells when the occasion calls for it. But of course that fault lies with Dumbledore for leading people to believe he is above using dark magic.

Lily's also thoroughly against toying with someone's mind because of her own traumatic experience with someone toying with her body. For many sexual assault victims, the mind is an escape; a place to retreat to that even your attacker will never have access to. In a way, it represents the one last fortress of your body when all others have fallen. So to Lily, the mind is a very sacred thing. Not that she is calm enough to explain it to Severus during the heat of the moment.

Severus is very single minded here. He's too hurt to make excuses for Lily, despite the fact that he is himself guilty of lashing out at someone when angry. Heck, he even thinks about what Lily said to him at the lake, a low blow he thought she would never strike, but he's too blinded by his own hurt feelings right now to think about how he had literally done the same to her that day. Normally he'd be far more level headed, but with all the stress of his mother, his father, and now the argument, he is sort of at an emotional overload and too exhausted to sort out his thoughts.

Keep in mind that canon Snape tended to have tunnel vision when upset fixating majorly on how he was wronged and how someone needs to be at fault for it. His single mindedness in wanting revenge against Sirius in the third book is a good example of how focused he can be on one thing to the point of tuning out all reason (not saying he was wrong for hating Sirius, but he WAS more concerned about getting back at the guy than the fact that this believed murderer was possibly endangering Harry and his friends; he didn't want to catch Sirius to save anyone at that moment, he just wanted to settle an old score and we all know it).

Anyone sad to see Avery and Mulciber go? I'm not. This was also planned for the start. I couldn't imagine a more fitting use for them after they had failed Voldy. He's a cold, calculating man who utilizing everything at his disposal. Throwing away his followers would be foolish, and something he only stated doing near the end of the second war out of desperation and rage over losing control of the situation with his Horcruxes. He strikes me as someone who would want to ensure his followers aren't free of servitude even in death, so that's how I imagine he acquired some of the inferi in the lake, by using his own men.

Please leave a review. Much Obliged :)