Chapter 7: Severus

Darkness and dirt. That was all he could see. All he could taste. Darkness and dirt.

There was one point where he was positive he had been spewing up some desperate, automatic apologies in an attempt to save his own skin, but they were proven ineffective, and to be honest, it was all a bit of a blur. Plus it was hard to talk with dirt in your nostrils and an overwhelming pressure that threatened to split your skull in two. All Severus could focus on was bucking underneath the strength that pinned him so he could wriggle free, but wasn't he supposed to-

Concentrate, Severus! It's not good enough!

As suddenly as it had come, the pressure released and he lay quite still, not daring to move until he heard the heavy footfalls fade away into the distance. Only after he heard the heavy bang of the front door did he begin to stir. He scrambled to his feet, brushing off the filth that clung to his clothes and spat twice into the ground to rid himself of the gritty taste of mud that still coated his tongue, wiping his mouth mechanically on the back of his sleeve.

Severus sniffed and gazed into the enclosing darkness of the wood. His thoughts returned to the day he had with Lily and he wondered how it could be possible to enjoy himself so much one moment and the next he was here, face down in the dirt with the familiar feeling of pain as his only verification that he wasn't already dead.

Sentirenon. Sentirenon. Sentirenon- he chided himself silently. Sentirenon! Damn it all to hell!

Loud and desperate sobs drifted towards him from somewhere upwind, and he remembered his mother. She was on her knees, hugging herself tightly as she attempted to compose herself from...recent events. One glance in her direction told him all he needed to know. She wouldn't quiet down until he was there. She needed to cheat herself. She needed to believe that her son was unharmed. That he was unharmed.

He dutifully walked over and knelt down in front of her, waiting patiently. Eileen's head snapped up to peer at her son's face, her eyes wet and frantic. She grabbed hold of his shoulders urgently.

"Did you do it Sev? Did it work?" She whispered breathlessly.

Severus looked back at her, a mixture of anger and sadness in his eyes. With the slightest of movements he shook his head. He watched as her eyes widened and her mouth rounded into a silent 'oh' of realization. He watched her as her spirit crumpled into bitter disappointment at the shame of his failure. Her eyes shone bright and somber, and before he knew it she had her arms around him, holding him tightly against her heaving chest, tears sprinkling into his hair.

"Oh Sev-" she sobbed, clutching him harder, her fist twisting into the loose fabric of his jacket so tight he almost choked. "I'm s-so sorry. Y-your Da...he doesn't know what he's doin' when he's been drinkin'. He ain't hiself."

Severus squirmed uncomfortably in her grasp until her grip loosened and he was once again staring into her eyes. Those deep brown eyes fogged over with desperation and panic. "I know" he stated, if only to give her the solace she so desperately needed. Eileen's face washed over with relief and she let out a long shaky breath as she got to her feet.

"Come on then, Sev. Let's get you some supper."

Eileen wrapped a bony arm around his shoulder as she escorted him back into the house. Her touch felt comforting, even though Severus suspected it had more to do with keeping herself steady on her feet than it had to do with showing him some affection. She was still shaking under her weight from the disbursement of adrenaline that was, undoubtedly, still coursing through her system, and the extra support would be a welcome commodity in her fragile state.

The door clicked shut behind them and Eileen sighed heavily at the scene that was set before her, her hands parked high against her hips. The house was in upset from Tobias's frantic search for the boy, and with the limited space it didn't take long for the house to appear in dismay. The clothesline had snapped from the wall, spilling a long line of freshly laundered clothing into a messy heap on the floor. The room was slowly filling with smoke as the pan on the stove overheated with the neglect of a raving mother. Several chairs lay abandoned on their sides, creating a coincidental obstacle course in the kitchen. But so was the norm when Tobias Snape entered the equation.

Eileen took a deep breath and set to work, righting the chairs and turning off the stove, waving away the smoke with a stiff hand. She cracked the little window open to free some of the lingering smog and let loose the evening chill as it drifted into the chaos. Severus bent over and began to collect the articles of clothing scattered about the floor when he heard a sharp gasp come from the sink. He twisted around to stare at his mother's back, her hands were clutching the edge of the countertop so tight her knuckles were white, and though he couldn't see her face, her shoulders shook with the silent tears he knew were there. A loud snort tore from Tobias's throat as he shifted his position sleepily on the sofa, where he would remain until morning.

Severus shifted his gaze over to the table, unsure of what else to do. His eyes took in the overturned glass that marked his usual spot and watched, transfixed, as the amber pool of liquid coating the wood like molten glass flowed in a steady drip to the ground. Juice. All he could hear was the steady plink...plink...plink of the droplets as they crashed against the floorboards. Still Tobias slept.

They ate in uncomfortable silence. It was lucky that Eileen had not gotten around to putting the grits in the pot before Tobias had come home, otherwise they wouldn't be eating at all tonight. Severus poked at his supper, eating slowly as he sulked in misery, wishing there was something he could put on the grits to take away the blandness of it. He found himself wishing that his mother had had her little meltdown while she was cooking them. That way at least her tears may have added some much needed flavor to the otherwise tasteless dish. He grabbed his cup and took a deep swig of water to help wash down the last few bites.

Severus knew better than to say anything about it. He was meant to just accept what he got and be grateful for it. He knew it wasn't his mother's fault. She was trying her best given the circumstances, and Severus appreciated her for it-

Some apple juice would have been nice though…

Severus pushed himself away from the table, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as he got up, winning him an angry glare of warning from his mother. It didn't matter anyway, once Tobias passed out from drinking nothing would wake him. Not for hours at the very least. He matched her glare momentarily before it quickly turned into a downcast look of guilty apology. His momentary lapse of noisy indifference returned to his careful demeanor of silent restraint as he crept silkily into the kitchen, dishes in hand.

When he returned he nodded his head towards the attic. An indication that meant he was headed for bed. Eileen nodded once in acknowledgement and mimicked the gesture. In their thoroughly practiced game of charades that roughly translated as: 'Go on then.' Severus could practically hear the words as her voice echoed around in his brain. Without any further exchange he stealthily disappeared up the narrow staircase and out of sight.

In the privacy of his room, Severus stepped out of his shoes and kicked moodily at the old mattress, sending a puff of dust billowing into the air above where he had struck. He shrugged out of his oversized jacket and whipped it, several times, against his bed in frustration, one sleeve clasped tightly in his fist before he relented and hurled it into a corner of the room. He was breathing heavily, his fists quaking at his sides. It wasn't like him to lose control of his emotions like this, but in truth it did make him feel better, if only just.

With more maintained control than he felt, he continued to undress until he was prepared to crawl beneath his single thinning blanket and wait while sleep claimed him. There, on his back staring at the usual blemishes on the ceiling, he recalled his humiliation, and felt the shame burn hot on his cheeks.

Ashamed that he couldn't conjure Sentirenon like he had been practicing. Ashamed that he had been reduced to a blubbering, pleading speck of patheticness at his father's feet. Ashamed that he could do absolutely nothing for his mother in her time of need. Ashamed that she felt this way in the first place, like it was somehow his fault. It was always his fault. Ashamed at the childish way he had reacted to the night's events and at his sudden loss of temper.

His hand drifted up to his face to delicately test the spot where his cheek met the ground, flinching at the unexpected tenderness beneath his touch. His final thought as he drifted off to sleep was of how glad he was that nobody was there to witness it. That, at the very least, he counted as a blessing. Perhaps luck hadn't abandoned him just yet…

Trapped. He was trapped in a room of darkness. The kind of darkness that seeped beneath your skin and swallowed you from the inside out, a darkness that left you feeling as cold as you were lonely.

In the distance he heard the distinct sounds of distress. But, he didn't just hear it, he could feel it. Like it was when he could reach into someone's head and just know things. The pages that were once empty filling up before your eyes in a secret language of pictures, and of images, and feelings, ready to be read by those with the knowledge to break them. In this same way, he just knew.

It began weak and faint, like it had traveled a long distance to meet his ear. A garbled cry for help that came in consistent mews and squeaks of anguish. If only he could get to it, he knew he could help. He knew that the infection of magic currently crackling through his veins would be powerful enough. A sense of urgency took him. Shook him. If only he could-

"Come on, boy. Show yer Ma what kinda man you really are."

Fear clenched in his chest, and tightened against his throat. It couldn't be. No, not-

Tobias Snape stepped fluidly from shadow, his face aglow in unnatural light from within the darkness. His mouth stretched wide, in an impossible grin, one that showed all his teeth and more. His cruel, empty eyes of black and void were burrowing themselves deep within his stomach like worms. Digging. Writhing. Rotting.

"Please-"

"Do it, Sev! Do it! You needs toughenin' up!" Tobias spat. His grin continued to grow wider, contorting his face even further.

"No, I-"

"Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, DO IT, DO IT!"

A final cry of pain pierced the atmosphere, swallowing all other noise and sucking it all in with it, as nothing but quiet remained. It was horrible, loud and alien, and it ended with a wet sounding gurgle that etched itself into your brain as one you would never forget, and hoped to never hear again.

He glanced down and found he was clutching a garden stone in his hand. His fingers clenched tightly against it. He tried to loosen his hold, tried to will his fingers to let go, but they remained frigid, frozen in a solid, icy grip. The stone was dripping...plink-plink-plink. Beads of ruby falling from it's side and out of sight.

"But, I didn't- I never-"

The silence split as the creature that was Tobias Snape began to laugh maniacally. A cruel, cold, deranged laugh that mocked and terrorized anyone who heard it. A laugh that struck fear into the hearts of the kindest, bravest souls and left them shaking in puddles of sweat and piss. This was what hell sounded like. Evil. Pure, unadulterated evil.

"Tha's my boy."

He tore his eyes away from the creature and back to the garden stone in his hand that was no longer there. Instead his fingers were gripping something wet and slimy and he was positive that should he grip any harder his fingers would slip right through it like a ball of jello. He stared into the green iris that stared back at him, the pupil dilating with the recognition of stolen attention.

Severus withdrew his hand in alarm and disgust, waving it through the air as though to rid himself of the unpleasant sensation still gracing his fingertips. The eye rolled across the floor with a thick squelching sound, stopping with the vivid green iris still fixated on him. Unblinking. Unwavering. Unforgiving.

Panic seized him and he squirmed uncomfortably to his feet. Eyes. Thousands of them. All staring accusingly. All of them penetrating him with the unholy persecution of injustice. Rows and rows of them, all fiercely green, stacked and towering over him. They knew. They could see. They could see right through him. They knew all. Would tell all. A dark room replaced by a room of the all seeing eye. He had been seen, and there was nowhere he could hide-

Severus woke with a gasp, his blanket tangled around his waist which had wrapped itself firmly against his body. His skin had wept pearls of sweat as he slept and when he rose from his position on his back he left a damp watermark on his pillow. Already the details of the nightmare had begun to fade around the edges, but what he could remember still had him in a state of terrified unease.

He dropped his face into his hands and tried to rub the rest of the dream away, wiping away the lingering sweat on his forehead. He got up from the mattress, peeling the blanket away from his thighs and stomach with some difficulty. He hadn't had a dream like that in awhile. They usually got bad on the nights he had confrontations with his father, but they decided not to plague him the last few incidents and Severus was beginning to think, perhaps, it had just been a phase. He was disappointed to discover otherwise.

He desperately needed to get freshened up. He was uncomfortably wet and sticky and a sour smell was still hanging heavy in the air from the perspiration he accumulated on his dream venture. He could not meet Lily like this, such a proposition was simply out of the question. It embarrassed him to even think it was a possibility.

He swept down the stairs as carefully as he could before anyone had a chance to really see him. He slipped into the tiny bathroom, locking the door quietly behind him, and flicked on the shower. He sighed heavily as he looked at the diminishing bar of soap on the sill. Tobias didn't like how expensive shampoo was, thought it was a luxury that most could do without-

"Ain't nothin' a bar of soap couldn' handle. I won' have ya prancin' about like some sissy smellin' like parfume when a bar o' soap is all ya need. Filthy excuse partin' a man with 'is hard earned payin. It's all the same shit."

Severus stepped beneath the steady stream of water and grabbed up the bar of soap. His hair was soaked through from the nightmare, and with no shampoo he had no choice but to use the bar and attempt to scrub his hair with it. He tended to avoid washing it. When he felt he couldn't put it off much longer, (like last night for example), he would give in, but the after effect of the soap in his hair made it feel thicker and greasier than before. The suds coated his scalp and were hard to rinse away. At least it smelled better.

After cleansing himself as thoroughly as he dared, he flicked off the water and stepped from the tiny stall, leaving behind as little trace as possible. His father probably wasn't awake yet so he still had time to sneak out of the house before Tobias stumbled in for work. Severus decided that today he wouldn't wait in the attic for him to leave. He was still angry with Eileen over the events of last night, and guilty over Sentirenon. He didn't want to get caught up in another defense lesson. His mind made up, he finished dressing and combing out his hair with his fingers as best he could before slinking out of the house into the crisp morning air.

It was still early. Too early to meet Lily. She probably wasn't even awake yet. He thought he might walk into town and try to earn some spare change carrying bags or shining shoes. Yes, that was the best option if he wanted to kill time. The walk would wake him up and allow for the rest of the town to do the same before he arrived. He didn't want to appear too eager to meet Lily, even though he was. Stuffing his hands comfortably inside his pockets, he walked tenaciously towards town.

The morning had flown by, what with the walk and the prospect of putting in some good and honest work. Severus strolled back the way he had come, keeping to the cluster of trees whenever he could, a brown paper bag crinkling happily in the crook of one arm. It had been a good morning. He was able to help several people carry their parcels to their vehicles and most of them even gave him a little something. It wasn't always money, but who was Severus to deny gratification when it was so generously offered to him?

He was even able to shine one gentleman's shoes for him and since neither he or the man seemed to be in any sort of hurry, Severus went over them very thoroughly indeed. He was shocked when the man paid him almost four times what he normally earned. He tried to return some of it, insisting the man had made a mistake and paid him too much. The gentleman in the handsome green suit waved a hand dismissively and insisted he keep it all, it had been the best job anyone had ever done polishing his shoes. He parted with a low chuckle and a jaunty wave of his arm, leaving Severus, money in-hand, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

He walked to the local grocery market, his morning earnings jingling happily in his pockets. He decided to pick up a few things for the night's supper. Potatoes, fresh baked rolls, and beef. He was able to obtain some cheaper cuts of meat from the market butcher who willingly sold him some leftover trimmings from the morning prep. He also picked up a small jar of salt and another bar of soap. Satisfied with his array of goods he turned to leave when he saw a beautiful display of freshly cut flowers that stopped him in his tracks.

It would be nice to be able to give something back to Lily for all she had done. For Pine Peak, and for the consistent flow of snack foods she always seemed to have with her. This could be his way of saying thank-you. A large, burly man with a good-natured face and a pinstripe apron saw him contemplating the flowers and approached him.

As Severus walked, the single golden lily poked out from the top of the bag. The man had been very kind. He explained to Severus that yellow was the color of friendship (after Severus stammered out he hadn't any girlfriend). He thought that Lily would appreciate her namesake most. He almost didn't buy it. He hadn't enough money, but the man took what remained of Severus' earnings and sold it to him anyway when he told the man her name was Lily. His only condition was to come back and tell him how things went the next time he was in town, to which Severus enthusiastically agreed.

But now, as he slowly grew closer and closer to Pine Peak he was having second thoughts. What if she thought it was some big, romantic gesture and rejected the gift with disgust? Would she still want to hang around with him if she knew he was interested in being more than just friends? Would he lose the best thing to happen to him because of some stupid flower? His throat tightened and butterflies erupted in his stomach. Now the idea of giving Lily a lily seemed more cheesy than it did clever, and he wished he never bought the damn thing.

He approached the clearing, and spotted a spark of vibrant red hair that had his heart doing flip flops against his chest. He quickly parked the bag in the shade behind one of the larger trees and stuffed the flower further down and out of sight. Nervously he greeted Lily with the palm of his hand and forced a smile that probably looked entirely too fake.

"Wotcher!" he waved a little too cheerily. Lily gave him an odd look that he couldn't quite identify.

"Um, hey Sev" she replied cautiously as she looked him up and down, her eyes lingering on his face. "Are you...are you alright?"

"Yes! Fine!" he squeaked his smile widening as he puffed out his chest. Lily looked less than convinced and her expression was that of confusion mixed with worry.

"Well then...great," she said, returning a small lopsided smile. "Should we sit down then?" Lily started walking towards the shelter and immediately Severus intercepted her, his hands against both shoulders, pinning her arms to her sides as he whisked her back around.

"Yes, of course! Let's sit by the river today shall we?" he forced laughter as he pushed Lily down the path and towards the stream.

"Sure…" Lily supplied slowly, the worry bleeding into her voice as she allowed herself to be steered up the path. "Severus, what's going on? What's got into you? Are you sure you're alright?" Severus sighed deep as they cleared the woods and shook himself internally while releasing his hold on Lily's shoulders.

"I'm sure," he stated calmer than before. "Sorry, I- I didn't sleep well last night." He offered. He shot her one of his awkward half smiles and parked himself beneath a thicket of trees on the bank, Lily following suit. She sat across from him, folding her legs in front of her and looking down into her lap. She was nibbling on her bottom lip and her mouth kept opening and closing as though she were wanting to say something to him.

"Can I ask you something?" she finally blurted.

Severus nodded, holding his breath and hoping against hope that she wasn't about to question why he wanted to sit by the river this afternoon, or further pry into the reason behind his earlier behavior. The silence was starting to weigh on him as she tried to find the words and he unbuttoned his long coat and folded it neatly to the side to prevent the inevitable warmth that would come flooding to his face. Lily took a deep breath.

"There's this...project I'm working on," she began. "Problem is that I want- no- I think I need to use magic to do it." Her hands fidgeted nervously in her lap and she refused to look him in the eye. "Will it get me in trouble if I do it? What happens if you get caught? Will I be expelled? Will I have to stay here and pretend like I don't know I'm different or that there's this whole other world hidden right under our nose?" She looked at him then, her eyes wide and pleading. Severus released the breath he had been holding, relieved at the change in subject.

"Expulsion is a possibility," he replied carefully. "When you go to school you get a trace on you and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters."

"But I have done magic outside school!" Lily almost shouted.

"We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven-" he eyed her earnestly and nodded, "-and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."

He thought she looked visibly relieved as she picked up a fallen twig and started twirling it about in contemplative silence. A subtle smile graced her lips thoughtfully as though she were remembering something. With that, she tossed the twig aside and leaned in towards him, almost conspiratorially.

"It is real, isn't it?" she whispered "It's not a joke?" she leaned back and worried her bottom lip again as her eyes bore into him anxiously. She sighed and looked away as though she were struggling with herself in a heated, internal debate. "Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts." Her troubled eyes met his once again. "It is real, isn't it?"

"It's real for us, not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me." He smiled at her reassuringly.

"Really?" She looked at him as though she were searching for any indication that he wasn't just stringing her along in some sick, twisted joke. Any clue at all that told her he was lying to her.

"Definitely," he replied confidently.

"And will it really come by owl?" Lily questioned, cocking an eyebrow at him skeptically. She looked so mischievous with a faint smile teasing the corner of her mouth, like she was prepared to strike him if he dared contradict himself.

"Normally, but you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."

She frowned thoughtfully, her brow furrowing. "Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?"

Severus hesitated. He thought about the experiences he had with Muggles in the past. Unfortunately, they weighed more on the negative side than the positive. His father was a Muggle... The neighborhood kids were Muggles too, and he spent far too much time hiding from them and their cruel jokes and games that were often at his expense. Even Lily's sister seemed downright unpleasant to be around, his casual encounter with her had grated on his nerves almost instantly. However, they weren't all bad… He thought about the large, friendly man with the flowers, and of the gentleman in the green suit-

"No, it doesn't make any difference." He said as he drank in the sight of her.

"Good," she said giggling with relief. She flopped herself over onto her back with her hands behind her head and stared into the canopy above, the shadows off the leaves casting interesting shadows on her face. Severus thought she looked even prettier now, if it was possible, with the ghosts of green shadow illuminating her skin and her dark red hair spread out like a halo around her. He tore his eyes away with some difficulty-

"You've got loads of magic, I saw that. All the time I was watching you…" he trailed off, recognizing his mistake as the words tumbled out of his mouth.

Way to go Sev... How could you say that? Careless!

He flushed, his shoulders slumping in like he was trying to disappear on the spot. He hoped that she hadn't been listening, or if she had she didn't take it the wrong way. He was really starting to enjoy her company.

"How are things at your house?" Lily asked suddenly. It was clear that she was trying to act casual about it, but the spontaneity of the question paired with the slight strain in her voice made it clear that she cared a great deal more than she was letting on. Does she know something? But, that couldn't be possible, could it? He was probably just being paranoid.

"Fine." he stated flatly.

"They're not arguing anymore?"

"Oh yes, they're arguing," Severus picked up a handful of leaves and began ripping them apart distractedly. He didn't like where this was going. As though realizing he may have said too much he added hastily, "But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."

Lily seemed to think on her next words carefully. "Doesn't your dad like Magic?"

"He doesn't like anything much," Severus said darkly.

There was a brief silence as his words hung in the air. "Severus?" Lily's voice sounded timid and small yet, still, somehow forcefully concerned at the same time. He couldn't help but smile at how charming it sounded.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about the Dementors again."

"What d'you want to know about them for?" he asked, shocked when he remembered her initial reaction to them.

"If I use magic outside of school-" Lily began apprehensively.

"Cripes, they wouldn't give you to the Dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too-" He cut himself off, unsure of what word to use in the present list that had sprung to mind when he thought of her. Kind? Pure? Innocent? Good? None of them seemed quite right, so he shredded more leaves as he mentally pored over his internal dictionary of 'Words that Describe Lily,' uncomfortably aware of how hot his face felt.

There was a soft rustling sound from behind a nearby tree that caused him to jump to his feet, ready to do what needed doing should the occasion arise. The Muggle girl - Lily's sister - had stumbled out from behind the thick textured trunk and was attempting to right herself again as she found her footing. A hot flash of anger shot through him, how dare she invade his privacy like that? How much had she heard? How long had she been hiding?

"Tuney?!" Lily said with surprise. Lily's tone made it obvious that she was nowhere near as peeved as he was. As a matter of fact she even sounded, dare he say it, happy. But then come to think of it, she wasn't the one sharing uncomfortable little tidbits about her private life. That had been all him.

"Who's spying now!?" he shouted angrily. "What d'you want?" She better choose her next words carefully, because the anger he was feeling now about the obscene invasion of privacy made him feel like he could hex her into the next century.

Petunia looked startled and a little frightened of Severus's defensive stance and his furious tone. She regained her composure, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips into a tight line. Her hands perched themselves automatically into the narrow grooves of her hips. Severus wouldn't be surprised if the curves in her pelvis weren't worn down as a result of her hands almost constant presence there. She pointed a sharp finger at his chest which only caused his anger to rise.

"What is that you're wearing, anyway? You're mum's blouse?"

CRACK

Petunia screamed as an overhead branch snapped in two and fell right over top of her head, clipping her on the shoulder. She staggered backwards from the impact while Lily's screams of concern were echoing somewhere in the background. Petunia burst into tears. Whipping herself around, she fled. Lily rounded on Severus with a look of shocked outrage.

"Did you make that happen?" She accused hotly.

"No," he challenged insolently. On the outside he was bold, still on the defensive, but inside, his heart sank into his stomach and he was terrified.

"You did," she took a step back from him, as though afraid he was going to hex her next. She looked horrified and betrayed, and the thought of her being angry or afraid of him was more than he could stand.

No-

"You did! You hurt her!" Lily spat.

"No - no I didn't!"

He wanted to explain to her that she probably wasn't hurt. The branch had hardly grazed her. It could have been a lot worse. He didn't mean to make it happen. What about the stuff she did? What about the stuff she overheard while she was spying on them? Shouldn't he be the one feeling betrayed right now? He wanted to say so much more, to argue his point! This was hardly fair-

Lily took one last burning look at him before she whirled around and stormed off after her sister, leaving Severus behind to stare after her retreating back in mortified confusion. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't allow this to end. They had only been hanging around with each other for a few days, but regardless of the span of time, he felt he had grown too reliant on her now. She was his only happiness. A welcome retreat from the misery of his life. He needed her. She was already so ingrained into his soul he couldn't imagine not being her friend. What should he do? No matter the cost he had to fix this. He must fix it.

"Looks like that flower might come in handy after all…"

A/N: I know I know, I'm sorry this update took so long. You have to understand that Little Sev had just been through something truly traumatic. He needed time to lick his wounds before I took him out to play again. This was my longest chapter yet so I hope that makes up for it at least a little. Thank you all for reading!

** Some dialogue was taken directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in my favorite chapter "The Prince's Tale" so that doesn't belong to me, that all belongs to Miss JK Rowling. though I did add my own tidbits here and there. I don't make money etc etc. blah blah just for fun

Special shout out to plutoplex and BlackRoseDragon97 for the wedding congrats (aren't you both sweet!) and to lannistersdebt for the lovely review! If you all are still enjoying the story, let me hear it! I'm still working on getting myself out there haha
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter :)

*Minor Re-editing*