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The only relief that came at the end of Severus Snape's sixth year at Hogwarts was the knowledge that he would spend another summer with Lily at last, although not in the way he would have hoped.
Several students had signed up for the newly offered summer course, including a large number of sixth years from Gryffindor and Slytherin.
To Severus's dismay, as the regular academic term ended and the summer session began, all four of the Marauders stayed put in the castle instead of boarding the train to return home.
Despite the other students who continued on in the summer term, Severus found there was much less of a buffer between himself and his enemies.
Lily made it worthwhile to endure their taunts.
She ate her meals with James and his cronies, but whenever Severus's foes' eyes turned upon him, the Marauders quickly looked away at Lily's urging.
Without the throngs of the castle's usual population around to blind him to such blatant observations, Severus took on a more scrutinizing approach to his observation of James and Lily.
He learned that Lily never offered James any affection at all, it was always James who initiated a kiss or an embrace.
Severus also found during those moments that her face never lit up, not as he had seen it do during their own kisses or even during the many witty conversations they had shared over the years.
By the end of summer school's first week, Severus had determined Lily wasn't really dating James Potter after all, she was…...pretending to…...but why, Severus couldn't imagine.
What reason did she have to feign sentiment for his arch nemesis?
While the rest of Hogwarts' summer students sat on the lawn one evening before bedtime arrived, Severus silently slunk away and hid in the shadows of a nearby tree to watch Lily closely.
She straggled behind the rest of their classmates as McGonagall called everyone to come inside and go to bed.
Quietly, under the cover offered by the castle's many nooks and crannies, Severus followed Lily all the way to Gryffindor Tower.
He stood outside and waited once the Fat Lady's portrait closed.
His mind raced as he thought of a way to observe his flower from a closer distance.
Should he attempt to scale the castle wall and check on Lily through the window?
Should he just stand there and wait patiently until morning came?
Too anxious from his own brooding to sleep, Severus hid from the Fat Lady while he turned his dilemma over in his mind.
He had withdrawn so deeply into his thoughts that it startled him when the large portrait suddenly swung open again.
Severus's dark eyes narrowed to slits as he watched Lily step silently out into the hallway with her night robe trailing behind her.
She glided down the staircases with such grace Severus wondered if she were under some kind of enchanted trance, but as she stopped at the bottom and held her face in her hands, he frowned in realization that she chose her walk, wherever she intended to go.
It took a great amount of skill for Severus to follow Lily all the way down the staircase and out of the castle, but between dodging his father and the Marauders, he had become rather talented at the art of stealth.
It baffled him to guess where she headed as she stumbled out of the castle, down the hillside, and all the way to the edge of the Black Lake.
Severus kept himself concealed as he watched her halt next to the water.
The night breeze rustled her long, red hair as she threw her shoulders back and straightened her spine.
Severus's eyes widened as Lily's hands moved to unfasten her robe.
Once he understood what she would do next, he respectfully averted his eyes.
Severus ignored his teenage urges and acted as a gentleman, a considerate gesture which James and his friends would never have managed to perform.
Lily was too busy with her goal of entering the water to notice or care.
One foot at a time, she submerged herself into the dark depths of the lake and walked out into the body of water as if it were a street she traipsed across.
Severus glanced up when he heard subtle splashing, not to spy on her naked form, but to discover where she had gone and why.
He found himself left with few answers as he managed to catch one last glimpse of Lily's crimson hair before she disappeared below the surface.
His dark eyes narrowed as he watched the water still alarmingly quickly, as if the Black Lake itself sought to welcome his darling flower into its mysterious void.
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Night after night, Severus saw the same event happen over and over.
Lily emerged from Gryffindor Tower after the portrait swung open, walked down to the Black Lake, and entered its waters without hardly making a sound.
Severus noticed she never looked tired the next day, but that was hardly enough evidence for him.
The miserable frown on her face bespoke of her plight, whatever it was.
Desperate to gain a better understanding of her nightly excursions, Severus sought to gain a bit of Gillyweed in order to follow his beloved into the water….or wherever she went beneath its surface.
Gillyweed was not a common herb.
Severus had the option to grow the plant himself, of course, but the process would take months.
Knowing he had a few mere weeks before the conclusion of the brief summer term, he wrote to his friend Lucius Malfoy and asked for help.
Wealthy wizards were usually the best to reach out to, Severus had already discovered that in his young life.
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"I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea where to find any Gillyweed, Severus." Lucius frowned as he sat across from his friend.
As Severus stared at his comrade while they chatted at a table in one of Knockturn Alley's most notorious taverns, Lucius shrugged and gestured with his hand, "I'm certain, however, that the Dark Lord would be more than willing to help you."
"...In exchange for a favour, of course." Severus shrewdly surmised.
"Well…." Lucius smiled, "What are we anyway, but humble servants you and I, am I right? I'm actually rather relieved by the convenience of our meeting today. I have reason to believe the Dark Lord will contact you soon about a very….important……assignment."
"An important assignment?" Severus frowned, "May I ask-"
"-Severus, I assure you, that's all I know." Lucius said quickly as he raised his hand in defence.
They each took a drink from their goblets, both vessels filled with absinthe.
Lucius seemed to enjoy the taste while Severus tried not to visibly cringe as he swallowed.
"You have the Dark Mark." Lucius reminded him with a confident smile, "You're one of us, Severus, he'll contact you when the time is right."
As Severus stared into Lucius's pale face, his dark eyes filled with doubt.
His decision to join Voldemort had only pushed Lily further away.
Severus Snape already regretted the evil tattoo on his arm.
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While he waited for his dark master to make contact, Severus kept his mind on his summer studies and his eyes on Lily.
Despite the vibrant beauty of the season, his flower seemed to wither from melancholy.
Night after night, Severus escaped his dormitory and watched as Lily walked out of the castle towards the Black Lake.
He wanted to respect her privacy, truly he did, but on the evening that he saw James Potter run after her with an evil snarl, Severus could not stop himself from following protectively to hide in the shadows, within earshot of them both.
"Come on, Evans!" James called angrily, "If you'll hurry out of bed to come out here, surely you can crawl into mine! Who goes for a swim every single night?!"
Severus narrowed his eyes at his enemy's ignorance.
"I already told you to leave me alone, James!" Lily called over her shoulder, "And I didn't mean just after hours!"
"What are you saying, Evans?" James asked as he stopped abruptly.
Severus watched Lily end her hasty jog.
Her red hair blew in the evening wind as she turned to stare at James with an irritated scowl on her fair face as she spat, "I'm saying I want you…..to leave….me….alone."
Severus smirked as he watched James sneer in offense as Lily went on, "You and I are finished. Now go," She nodded towards the castle, "Go back to bed….Go find some poor girl who'll be a bit more receptive to your seduction attempts, James. I have no time for them!"
"You're making me very angry, Lily." James glowered warningly as he raised his chin.
For a second, Severus thought he detected the hint of a threat in his nemesis's tone.
Silently, he moved his hand towards the pocket that held his wand as he prepared to spring forth from the darkness and defend his flower.
He had nearly forgotten Lily needed no defending.
"Not nearly as angry as you've made me, I'm sure." She scoffed.
James and Lily glared at each other for several tense seconds before Lily nodded and said, "Given what happened in fifth year, I expect you'll have the sense not to anger me any further."
"I love you, Lily." James breathed.
Severus's stomach churned as he listened to his foe lie through his teeth.
"Goodnight, James……and goodbye." Lily frowned.
From his position in the darkness, Severus watched James Potter walk away with his heart broken and his ego bruised.
As soon as he had stalked back into the castle, Lily turned around and continued on her decided path.
Severus followed her silently until she reached the edge of the Black Lake.
The bright moonlight beamed down on the dark water while Lily came to stand in front of it.
Severus placed his palm on a nearby rock to steady himself as he watched her lift her hands and unfasten her school robes.
He knew he should look away, and he usually did…….yet Severus found it strange Lily had neglected to change into her nightclothes that evening.
Regardless, his curiosity about what she wore vanished as she let her robes crumple to the ground.
His dark eyes widened as she slowly unbuttoned her cardigan and slipped it off as well, only to let it fall to the grass.
Her striped Gryffindor tie came next.
Severus's throat went dry as she tossed it carelessly aside and raised her fingers to slowly undo the buttons of-
As he gaped at Lily with his heart pounding, Severus lost his balance and stumbled forward.
He tripped over his own feet before he caught himself on his hands and quickly straightened his spine.
In one quick snap, he turned his head to look over in Lily's direction.
She had heard him, he knew it.
He hadn't meant to stare, he had been concerned about James, then she had started undressing and-
Lily slowly turned to look at him but once she faced Severus, he gasped quietly.
Her red hair seemed to have grown even longer in those few moments.
From her face, her emerald eyes burned with an unnaturally bright glow as she stared plainly at him.
"Lily……" Severus began as he swallowed thickly, "I-I'm sorry….I didn't mean to spy on you, I……I was worried about Potter and-"
Severus watched her raise her hands again as he spoke.
His mouth fell open as her fingers resumed their work and shamelessly unfastened the buttons of her shirt.
Lily kept her glowing eyes focused directly on Severus as she slipped off her white uniform top and let it flutter to the ground.
Severus blinked as she declined to stop.
Her grey uniform skirt came next, then her black socks, which she rolled down from the knees.
He knew his pounding heart would explode as Lily faced him clad only in her knickers while her hands reached behind her to unfasten her bra.
Severus let out an audible gasp as she tossed the lacey garment to the ground.
The action sent her full breasts tumbling into his open view before she calmly pulled her panties down and stepped out of them.
His chest heaved as he sighed in reverent awe while Lily proudly showed him her bare body, for whatever reason, as she gazed at him under the moonlight.
From her veil of gorgeous, crimson hair to the supple, lithe curves of her creamy skin, Severus was enraptured by his flower.
"Lily………" He breathed.
For reasons he could not explain, he reached one hand out towards his darling.
She blinked at his gesture and took a contemplative step forward, as if she considered reaching back, but to Severus's dismay, she frowned suddenly.
Before he could stop her, she turned and walked straight into the Black Lake.
Knowing in baneful frustration he would only be able to follow her so far, Severus sat on the grass and waited patiently for her to return.
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The morning sun burned into his dark eyes as he blinked them open hours later, just in time to see Lily run up the hill, dressed again in her school uniform as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened during the night.
Before she disappeared through the castle's stone door though, Severus noticed she had failed to use a drying spell in her hurry.
Her red hair was sopping wet.