Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Severus wasn't quite sure how he had done it, but somehow, Voldemort had procured the rest of their summer term assignments and lessons to be sent directly to their new, temporary residence.
It had been simple enough for Severus to use a forging spell and mail a letter to Lily's family that claimed the programme at the castle had been extended.
Lily didn't much care what Severus told her family as she began her lengthy recovery in the shabby little flat Voldemort had secured for the couple in Knockturn Alley.
Their surroundings were less than ideal, but they were together and that was more than enough to satisfy Severus.
He cast daily cleaning spells over their living areas to keep Lily as comfortable and happy as possible, though she had other concerns on her mind.
Her tongue and eyes that had been replaced by the Dark Lord were exact replicas of the ones she had lost.
Although Lily had received Voldemort's cure instantly, it startled her and Severus she had to relearn how to use her gifts.
He kept the windows of their flat closed to block out the sun's intrusive brightness.
Each day, Lily was able to tolerate the light more and more, but the process to adjust her new eyes proved to be slow.
Her speech did not instantly return either.
While Severus had no experience teaching anything to anyone, he found himself acting as Lily's speech therapist.
Each afternoon, they carefully practiced pronunciations and the linguistics of English.
A fortnight after the incident, Lily had progressed to being capable of small conversations, though their were still instances when her untrained tongue would cause her to slur her speech.
Each time Severus heard an error, he was careful to correct her with attentive patience.
Sometimes he placed Lily's fingers on his throat or in his mouth to let her follow the movements he made to speak properly.
As she squinted at him through her new, emerald eyes, beyond the studious concentration in her gaze, Severus could clearly see the fond gratitude that shone from within her heart.
Other young men his age may have detested being cooped up in that small, damask flat but Severus had never been happier.
He spent every waking second next to Lily.
Although they slept in separate bedrooms, Severus often woke and crept down the short hallway to poke his head into her room and verify she was not in need of assistance.
Lily usually rested with a frown on her fair face, but Severus sighed in relief each time he found her asleep.
He realized slumber would be a wonderful catalyst for her recovery.
One night, after waking from a nightmare in which the grotesque scene of Lily's assault had played through his mind once more, Severus leapt from his bed with a dry gasp and padded down the hallway.
He carefully opened her bedroom door a crack, careful not to wake her with the noise from its squeak.
To his surprise, she met his gaze as he peered into her room.
"Hey, Sev." She smiled as she reached towards him, "Come in, won't you?"
Severus's black eyes widened as Lily held her arm outstretched, hopeful he would comply with her request.
Hesitantly, Severus swept through the doorway and walked over to politely sit on the edge of Lily's bed.
"Can't sleep?" She asked.
"...Not peacefully." Severus admitted in his low drawl.
His pulse raced as Lily grasped his hand.
They sat in silence for a long moment while they stared at each other before Severus crumbled under the intensity of her emerald gaze.
He cleared his throat as he looked towards the crack of moonlight that streamed in through her bedroom window.
"I should let you rest, your sleep is vital to your health." Severus whispered as he moved to stand.
"No, Sev, please!" Lily cried as she clutched his hand and pulled him back down.
Severus frowned as he obediently resumed his seat.
"I…..I've been hoping……to talk to you." Lily said very slowly as she guided her tongue through the words.
Severus frowned at her in disapproval as he began, "It's not good for you to overexert your-"
"-This is…..important….Sev." Lily managed to say.
Severus quieted himself when he heard the firm solemnity of her statement.
He regarded her with a frown as she took a deep breath and revealed, "James and I-"
Severus couldn't bear to hear the details.
He closed his eyes as he held her hand and nodded, "Lily, you don't have to explain it to me, really…..You're free to choose what you want and-"
"-And I…….choose you." Her words came after a thick swallow.
Severus opened his eyes to stare into her face as she frowned and continued, "I already chose you, years ago that day on the riverbank…….I stand by my decision now and forever……I heard Voldemort that night….I heard what he said…..and he's right…..I love you more than anyone could possibly love you in this world or the next….Severus Snape…….I choose you as my mate then, now, and forever."
Severus's black eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
The words from his beloved's lips seemed too good to be true, but as he thought back, he dared to allow himself hope.
He did not possess enough foolish naivety to throw his heart down a tunnel of joy without seeing his paranoid musings satisfied first.
"What about Potter?" He asked coldly, "You dated him, Lily, not me…….You abandoned me for my worst nemesis, what gesture of love was that?"
"A rather nice one……I'd say…….considering it's saved your life thus far." Lily remarked after she cleared her throat and placed a hand on her jaw to speak again.
Severus narrowed his eyes as she confirmed what he had heard from the sirens, "I had to find a victim, Sev…...and I suppose it was selfish of me not to readily accept my fate, but I really was hoping to save his life somehow…..I'm no killer……Anyway, when I spent more time around James, my…..um, my…"
"The sirens?" Severus prompted her.
"Thank you…..yes…..the sirens……my facade with James meant they'd leave you alone. I knew you wouldn't try to come close to me either…..at my request….which gave you a double layer of protection against their…..their…." She gasped as she struggled for words.
"Evil?" Severus asked.
"...Targeting." Lily sighed, "I suppose I'll have no choice but to face my own end…..I cannot take the life of another……not in cold, cruel blood. I can't do it, Sev!...And I won't! I would rather face my own grave than live and know what I'd done!"
He grasped her hand and rubbed the back of her knuckles as he asked, "Lily?...What exactly does that mean? I've read a bit about sirens, but I've never seen anything of the sort mentioned."
"If you're born with siren heritage," Lily began as she sighed once more, "...And my sister was not, by the way…..Lucky Tuney!...You have to……You have to 'join the ocean' by choosing a victim and taking their life to 'assume your place' next to the other sirens."
Severus frowned.
Lily mirrored his expression as she went on, "That's why they shunned me in third year at Dersdunsen. Fishermen, sailing wizards, people who live by the water, they all know the creatures below the surface……..and sirens are more heartless than the meanest sharks."
"You're not heartless, Lily." Severus frowned.
"No, I'm not." She said as she drew a deep breath, "I'm not at all……and my kindness will be my end, I suppose. They haven't mentioned how, when, or what I can expect, but I've heard it time and time again…." Her emerald eyes flashed with seriousness as she met Severus's gaze and declared, "If I do not choose a victim soon, the sea…..or the sirens…..however this works…..will take my life instead."
Severus's dark eyes widened in horror as he gazed at Lily and asked, "And there is no other way?"
"No." Lily said with a bitter laugh as she shook her head, "No, Sev, there is no other way."
A contemplative silence settled between them before Severus nodded and replied, "Very well…….we'll have to find you a suitable victim then."
"Sev………." Lily frowned, "I won't take an innocent person's life! Have you not listened to what I've just said?!"
"The Dark Lord is hardly innocent, Lily." Severus replied.
Her eyes widened as an incredulous stare marred her face at his suggestion.
"Have……Have you gone mad?" She blinked, "You…….You want me to kill Voldemort?!"
"To eliminate the Dark Lord and save yourself, I think that turn of events would be ideal to our situation." Severus replied, "Don't you?"
"I……." Lily scoffed, "I can't kill him! I…..He….He's the greatest wizard of all time!"
"The more time I spend around him, the less I believe that." Severus quipped. He frowned as he spoke, "Besides, you're a siren, or you will be……you would be then, if you can manage it….I could see it in his gaze when the ship was destroyed, Lily….He was frightened and overpowered in the midst of all your-."
"-Don't say 'friends', please." Lily requested as she crossed her arms.
"The sirens unnerved him." Severus concluded, "If we are clever enough, we may be able to end the war and simultaneously save your life."
A silent pout danced across Lily's lips as Severus gripped her hands and asked, "Do you trust me?"
He expected an answer, a smile, anything but what Lily gave him in return.
Instead of wasting her time with sweet words, as the overwhelming urge to possess Severus and keep him all to herself overcame her again, Lily gave into her instincts at last after years of painful repression.
She used what strength she had to sit up in bed and press her lips against Severus's in a deep, meaningful kiss.
He groaned against her as his starving soul readily welcomed the ample affection from his flower, but their sentiment didn't end with a simple kiss.
Their tongues snaked forward to explore one another's mouths while Lily pulled Severus down on top of her in the bed.
The sheets rustled.
Their limbs moved.
A short while later, their clothes lay carelessly discarded on the floor while Severus lay on top of Lily.
He gazed down into her half-lidded emerald eyes as he marveled at his beloved while he watched her breasts bounce, complemented by the gorgeous fan of crimson hair spread behind her head on the pillow.
As they made love for the first time, Severus resisted the urge to die from ecstasy while Lily tried to memorize each pump of her newly claimed mate's hips, hoping to relive the bliss of that moment later.
While they lay in each other's arms afterwards as their sweat-slicked bodies slipped against one another, neither understood that Voldemort's prediction had already partially come true.