A/N: Lily has a bit of a rough time on a day that dredges up old memories of a painful past, Severus does his best to be there for her, but it isn't all smooth sailing for either of them. On a bright note, Lily finishes work on her charm at last.
Chapter 11 Adding Fuel to Fire
To be completely honest, Severus found that his new dynamic with Lily hadn't changed all that much from the old one. Sure, there were a lot more kisses now, and there were plenty of gentle touches here and there—not that that wasn't a staple of their previous platonic relationship; but now that they were officially an item, he didn't really feel all that closer to Lily now than before their change in relation. To Severus, and to Lily as well, that spoke to the strength of their platonic bond they'd forged, which their dabble into romance only enforced between each other. Despite seemingly minimal change in their relation, delving into romance was newfound territory for Severus. Previously, his love life—if you could call it that, lasted one night at a time and was over come sunrise; so, a long-term commitment, even if it was with Lily, was still treading in uncharted waters for him. Severus grew to appreciate their mutual decision to take things slowly more and more with each passing day, for his fear of mucking things up if they'd gone too fast was almost always present somewhere in his thoughts. Thankfully for both their sakes, their willingness to take their time and slowly wade into their sea of romance meant some of that pressure was lifted from their shoulders.
Another novel experience for Severus beyond that was coming to grips with Lily's brand of love, although this came as perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the lot. Severus learned quite some time ago that Lily's love language was touch, and learned that there was very little change from Lily's platonic and romantic love. What'd previously been limited to hugs, now included much more kisses and cuddling, oft-initiated by Lily, though Severus found that he didn't mind that one bit. Severus hadn't had much experience in the love department, and pretty much all of it consisted of one-night stands in which very little love and care was involved, almost entirely passion and lust. He soaked it all up like a sponge, relishing in her love and doing his utmost to return it. Though he wasn't as used to accepting and giving physical love as she was, he strived to be as attuned to her thoughts, wants and needs as possible. Naturally, the mind arts were off limits, so he had to rely on his veritable discernment talents to try and grow as close to her in mind as possible. Their wealth of experience as friends meant Severus knew almost all of what made Lily tick and vice versa.
On a cool, fall evening, Severus and Lily were out on the grounds supervising the elder flock as they fed. The juniors had just returned to the stables, and were currently being fed by the rangers in their pens, leaving Severus with the honor of feeding the six senior birds. Lily was there with him, and for the first time ever she'd asked to have a try at feeding the birds. While Severus was very comfortable with feeding them by hand, Lily instead opted to use magic to levitate the slabs of meat into the air for the birds to eat. Even so, she never ventured that far from his side, if anything, she was moulded even closer into his side than was strictly necessary. The rational part of Severus reasoned that being surrounded by six, powerful birds was reason enough for anyone to be frightened, even Lily; but another part of him thought their newfound closeness was for an entirely different reason. While feeding the flock usually was reason enough for Severus to smile, seeing Lily do it, and the joy she took in feeding the birds made him smile all the more brighter.
After they finished feeding the flock they both headed back to the truck and set off, not for the farmhouse, but for a nearby hilltop where they'd take their dinner. Their five-minute drive through the firs carried on in silence, only the hum of the engine and the distant squawks of the elder birds could be heard. Arriving, they disembarked and Severus called for Poesy, who duly popped into existence, and tasked her with bringing their dinner to them. After stepping out of the car, Severus led Lily to a little clearing at the top of the hill whereupon he removed a small object from his pocket. Severus set the tiny object down on the grass and cautioned Lily to take a few steps back. He then knelt down beside it and tapped it once with his wand tip, whispering; 'Engorgio', expanding it to reveal a small picnic table. Poesy popped into existence next to Severus then and handed him a picnic basket containing their dinner. Lily and Severus gathered around the basket as the latter popped it open, inhaling a deep whiff of their fare within.
"Poesy's really outdone herself this time," Lily said dreamily, inhaling yet another whiff of the food. Severus chuckled and reached into the basket to draw out their meal. A sirloin steak cooked medium rare, baked potatoes and a salad made up the centerpiece of their meal, along with a bottle of wine. He whipped out his wand and conjured a couple of goblets for them, and then poured out two gobletfuls for himself and Lily.
"Thank you," Lily murmured, accepting her glass and draining more than half of it in a swift swig.
Severus raised his brow in surprise, but didn't say anything more on it. As he arranged their meal on the table, he briefly noted Lily drinking the remaining half of her glass in a single gulp, and then discreetly helping herself to some more. He ignored it for the time being, and set to work cutting apart their steak. A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, kicking up the fallen bristles of the surrounding firs and pines and gusting through their hair. Severus had taken to wearing his hair out of his face more, oftentimes tying it back in a neat ponytail like he was at present. Lily, too, often wore her hair out of her face, she also commonly wore it in a ponytail, or if she had the time, tied it back in a low-hanging chignon.
They each served one another their helpings of steak, potatoes and salad, and then tucked into their meal.
"Mmm…this is really good, Sev," Lily said appreciatively, as she swallowed a bite of steak. She dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin, then took another swig from her goblet.
"I'm glad you like it, I'll be sure to pass on your approval to her," Severus replied. He took a bite of his potatoes, chewed, swallowed.
"So how has your project been going? Any progress I should know about?"
Lily couldn't suppress a faint smile at that. "It's been going very well, Severus, thanks for asking. I'm just about ready to move into practical trials as it is," she replied.
"Really?"
"Mhmm," Lily nodded. "I possibly could've started today…but I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for it. Tomorrow though…I think I'll begin practical testing and see what improvements I can make."
"So, the spell is stable then?"
"It is," Lily said proudly, wearing a small smile. She took another swig of wine, draining her second gobletful already this evening. "I won't blow myself up, the spell is perfectly harmless if that's what you're afraid of…I've managed to weave the various threads together, what remains now is to see if it actually works as intended."
"So, you'll need someone to cast fire then," Severus said flatly.
"Why, are you volunteering your efforts?" Lily asked, throwing in a teasing wink for good measure.
Even though he was used to her antics, he still rolled his eyes nonetheless. "If need be, though I doubt that casting a simple incendio charm is beyond your capabilities."
Lily snorted, but as she waved her hand, she accidentally knocked her third goblet of wine over and spilled its crimson contents all over the table and on her dress. "Fuck," she muttered angrily.
Severus made to help, but she raised her hand. "It's fine Sev, I've got it, it's my mess—evanesco—see? Fine."
Severus nodded warily, his dark eyes darting down to her goblet, which she was already filling with another glass, her third, considering she hadn't drank a drop of the prior one, and he was still on his first.
"I think you'd better stop there, Lily, maybe three is enough for—"
"Oh, tosh Severus, I'm not a lightweight," Lily said flippantly, as she set the now-empty wine bottle down between them. "Three is hardly too many, but in any case, it seems as though we're out of it for now."
"And what a good thing that is," Severus muttered under his breath. Across from him, Lily narrowed her eyes in mild suspicion.
"Anyways…I feel as though I'm ready to…to actually cast the charm tomorrow, to ensure that all its constituents are properly bonded and that it won't fizzle out. After that…once I'm sure that I won't blow myself up, I'll begin trialing it for real."
"You mean on actual fiendfyre?" Severus asked curiously.
Lily nodded, her jaw clenched and her eyes hardened like emeralds from their previously-glazed look. "Exactly." She turned to stare at him then. "I trust you're able to cast it?"
Severus blinked slowly, but gave a tentative nod. "I've never actually cast it before, but I'd…I'd learned how to, back when I was a student."
Lily gave a tight-lipped nod, but mercifully, spared Severus her less-than-favorable judgement.
"So, once this charm of yours is crafted, and you've ascertained that it works well…what's next for you?"
Lily ignored him for a moment, cutting into her steak and then setting down her utensils when she was done. "I'll sell the patent to MACUSA, have it be a publicly learnable charm, and I'll hopefully make a boatload of galleons from it."
"How many galleons would you estimate?"
Lily shrugged. "Something like this…perhaps a few thousand, but I'm not too sure, to be honest. It depends, I guess, and I'll have to do my research to find out which ministry would be willing to pay the most for the patent."
"You mean you'd be willing to explore overseas options?" Severus leaned forward slightly, his elbows coming to rest on the table.
Lily cocked her head to the side slightly, an odd frown creasing her brows. "Well, of course," she said, as if it were obvious. "I mean…I should try to broaden my options, so why should I settle for selling my charm to MACUSA, for instance, if the ministry back home is willing to pay more for it?"
"I wouldn't be surprised it that were true," Severus replied sagely. "Think about it…England was supposedly ravaged by scourges of fiendfyre during the war, right?" Lily flinched slightly at the mention of those flames, "So, a country that's been harmed more significantly by them…would likely be willing to pay a higher price for it."
"I…yeah, that's what I was thinking too," Lily murmured softly, her voice tinged with sadness, sadness that Severus didn't fail to pick up on.
"Lily, are you al—"
"—I'm fine," she said swiftly, though she brought a napkin to dab at her eyes. It didn't take a genius to know what for.
"If you're not feeling alright, perhaps we'd better pack up and—"
"I said I'm fine, now drop it," she snapped.
Severus visibly stiffened at the vitriol in her tone, and despite the temptation to snap back at her, he exhaled a deep breath and let the matter drop.
Severus didn't say a word on it afterwards, and returned his attention to his meal in peace. Lily finished her third goblet just about when Severus finished his first, her longing stares she gave her empty goblet went totally unnoticed to Severus. They finished their meal a short while later, Lily making short work of her steak, salad and potatoes after having run out of wine. They wordlessly gathered up their empty dishes and plates and put them back in the picnic basket. Severus then shrunk down their table and stuffed it in his pocket. When they apparated back to the farmhouse, Lily quickly ducked inside without so much as a word. Severus, meanwhile, asked for Poesy to put away the remnants of their meal and remained out on the porch for a while longer. He sunk down onto one of the benches and let his head fall into his hands. He remained that way for a long time, staring out into the trees as the sun slowly sunk lower and lower towards the horizon. The stillness of the evening air seemed to calm him, and his deep breaths and breathing exercises certainly helped do so as well. He fell into a solemn trance, watching the firs and pines swing as the odd, gentle gust blew through them, all the while his mind was set adrift to ponder Lily and her unusual snappishness.
Eventually though, the chill of the evening grew too much for him and eventually decided to pack it in. He headed towards his liquor cabinet, but hesitated upon reaching for the handle. Gritting his teeth, he turned away from the cabinet and headed up the stairs towards his room. After a nice warm shower, Severus stepped out of the bath, dressed in his nightclothes and headed back to his room, as he walked along the upper hall though, he heard a faint noise coming from one of the guest bedrooms, Lily's room. Severus silently crept across the hall to her door, careful to cast a sound-muffling charm on his slippers, as he then pressed his ears against the door. The sound of barely audible sniffles met his ears, prompting Severus to raise his hand to the door and knock. Instantly, the sniffles from inside the room ceased, and a croaky, hoarse voice said to come in. Severus didn't need any further prompting and depressed the handle, stepping into the room. Lily was sat in the middle of her bed still wearing her dress from their dinner, a photo album propped open on her lap. She was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief as Severus stepped into the room, but she quickly looked up and met his gaze, her eyes filled with tears and her lip quivering.
"S-Sev," she whispered, unable to say anything else.
The man crossed the room quickly, shucking off his slippers and moving to sit on the bed. Lily dropped the album to her side and shuffled across the bed to meet him, embracing him hungrily as tears continued to spill out of her eyes. Severus didn't speak, he just silently hugged Lily and wound his arms around her back, rubbing up and down gently—avoiding the straps of her dress, as she spilled silent tears onto his shoulder. He didn't attempt to pry, nor did he attempt to pull away, but his sweet assurances murmured into her ear served as perhaps the best comfort of all to Lily. He eventually pulled back slightly and held her arms, his dark, but softened gaze peering earnestly at her face.
"Are you alright?"
Lily let out a noise halfway between a sob and a laugh, but shook her head. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts, for she let her gaze drift to the open album, the page showing a series of photos all of Lily, though some with other men and women Severus recognized. There was one with Lily holding a baby Harry in her arms, Potter stood attentively at her side, and Black and McKinnon stood on her other side as well. Another photo depicted just Lily and McKinnon, the latter rocking Harry and the former looking on in wonder. A third photo showed Lily and Lupin standing together, with a section cut out which Severus supposed included Pettigrew. Lily's gaze lingered on the first two photos though, her fingers grazing the page reverentially, tracing over the laughing, smiling outline of her old friend. All of a sudden, the source of Lily's distress became crystal clear to Severus, and he wasted no time trying to deliver her comfort in the only way he knew how. Today was the anniversary of her death, and until that moment he hadn't even remembered it. He silently chastised himself for deciding to have a date on the day Lily's best friend passed, albeit not knowingly.
When Severus' arms wound around Lily again, she buried her cold, sniffling nose in his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him in turn. Her silent tears continued to wet the fabric of his pyjamas, but Severus didn't care, only seeking to comfort Lily in the best way possible and give her a shoulder to cry on as she exorcised her misery. As her sorrows abated, Lily slackened her grip on Severus and began to draw away. Though her tears had since stopped flowing, her usually-pale cheeks were red and blotchy, and her vibrant, green eyes were tinged with red. Severus reached for her hand and rubbed her palm in circles as she reached for a handkerchief and tried to wipe away the last remnants of her tears. When she'd finished, she sent her handkerchief soaring through the air to land on her bedside table and expelled a heavy sigh—totally unlike her fond and exasperated sighs for there was real weight behind it.
"I'm sorry Severus," she murmured at last, her voice quiet and subdued. "It's…I didn't mean to put this all on you."
"Don't worry about that," Severus said kindly. Seeing that she'd calmed down some, he added; "If you need anything, I'll just be in my room—"
"—Wait Sev," Lily said quickly, reaching out for his hand and grasping it. "Please…can you stay? I don't—I don't want to be alone tonight…"
Severus paused, his gaze drifting to the bed upon which they sat. Sensing his hesitation, Lily quickly said; "I don't…we don't have to do anything."
Severus blinked slowly, then looked back towards Lily with his features slackened. He heaved a resigned sigh. "Alright. We can do that."
Lily's lips curled into a ghost of a smile, the most she could offer him at the moment, Severus supposed, and then made to stand. "I'll—erm, I'll be in the bathroom getting ready," she said awkwardly, jerking her head at the door to said bathroom.
"I'll be back, I need to fetch something," he replied.
Lily nodded, and then summoned her nightclothes into her palm with an outstretched hand. Severus returned to Lily's bedroom a few minutes later, holding a novel in one hand, and a calming draught in another. In recent years, he'd taken up reading Muggle novels, specifically, sci-fi, thrillers, and dramas. The most recent of which tickled his fancy being a sci-fi novel named Contact, written by Carl Sagan. He quietly ducked back into Lily's room and shucked off his slippers at the end of the bed. Judging by a wealth of Lily's belongings on one bedside table, and the barren state of the other, it didn't take long for Severus to realize which side of the bed Lily usually slept on. He set the calming draught down on Lily's bedside table, and then sat up against the headboard, his novel propped open in his lap. Severus found it was quite difficult to concentrate on his reading with the spray of water and quiet humming coming from the bathroom. He'd only managed to make a few pages' progress when the spray abruptly switched off and the humming ceased. A few minutes later the door edged open and Lily came out, her hair still wrapped up above her head in a towel, and wearing an—oh, a nightgown. As far as nightgowns went, it finely straddled the line between conservative and racy—made of non-sheer fabric to not betray her undergarments, but only falling to her mid-thigh.
"I prefer to dry my hair this way," she rambled as she set aside her clothes to be washed in a hamper. "I assume you like to use magic?"
Severus nodded numbly, swallowing the frog in his throat and then setting his book to the side. Even though Lily was quite literally just stepping out of the bathroom, she was still incredibly beautiful in Severus' eyes. The rosy tinge of her cheeks, probably from the heat of the shower, looked quite demure to Severus, perhaps even so far as coquettish, especially when combined with her chosen attire for the evening.
"Erm—I got you a calming draught," he said quietly, waving his hand over to her bedside table.
Lily, who had been eyeing herself in her vanity, turned around and cocked her head slightly. "Oh. Thank you."
She ruffled the towel on her head some more, and, deeming her hair to be dry enough, removed it and tossed it into the hamper. She then summoned the calming draught with a wave of her hand and downed it in a single gulp.
Lily swallowed the unfamiliar tasting liquid with a frown, then set the empty vial back down onto the table. "That wasn't a normal calming draught, was it?"
"It's been modified," Severus said neutrally.
"So, what is it?"
Severus regarded her with a dry look. "An infusion of a calming draught with a sobriety potion," he explained.
Lily arched a brow and placed her hands on her hips.
"I created it."
"Of course, you did," she said dryly.
Her green eyes fell to the quilt, and after doing a brief stretch of her back, Lily sank down onto the bed and sat against the headboard. Her eyes drifted to Severus, then past him to the small book he had on his bedside table. "What's that you've got there?"
"A book."
"I can see that," she scoffed. "I meant what book is it?"
"How about you see for yourself?" He reached over and grabbed the book, handing it to Lily.
Lily accepted the book with a grateful smile and flipped it to the back to read the blurb. They sat there in silence for a couple minutes, Severus watching Lily intently, and Lily poring over the blurb silently, though her lips mouthed the words. When she was done, she closed the cover and handed it back to Severus.
"Sounds kinda interesting, would you mind if I borrow it when you're done?"
Severus shook his head. "Be my guest."
Her grateful smile returned, but she quickly sobered after that, her features contorting with sorrow.
"Would you like to talk about it?" Severus offered, extending her an olive branch.
Lily didn't say anything yet, but she nodded as she trained her eyes on the quilt. What followed was a brief recount of her and Marlene's time together starting from their first year in Gryffindor, stretching all the way to her death as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The only reason Severus volunteered to listen to Lily was because Marlene was one of a handful of Lily's friends that didn't mind him. Sure, she never smiled at his presence, nor did she outwardly display any semblance of happiness to see him, but she treated him as a…normal human being, which was a lot more than what most of her fellow Gryffindors could claim. Severus was quite familiar with the early bits of Lily's story, her and Marlene's time in school and the like, but when she delved into their time together as part of the Order, Severus found himself listening far more intently. As she'd told him previously, Lily didn't fight as much as other Order members did, but when she was in the field and she was fighting for her life against Death Eaters, she always fought at the side of her best friend Marlene. And at the battle of Wolf Creek, it was her friend's decisiveness that saved her, at the cost of her own life, perishing to the terrible flames of Fiendfyre.
The calming draught she'd taken managed to suppress her sobs, but tears still pooled in her eyes as she recounted the last time she saw her old friend staring down certain death. Marlene was a hardened warrior, never once betraying fear in the numerous times she went to battle, but as she perished, Lily was certain that for the first and last time in her life Marlene knew true fear. Silent tears started flowing down her cheeks once more, but Severus pulled her close and let her weep for her old friend against his chest. He wasn't much good at comforting people, he'd hardly ever had to do so in the past save for when Lily came running to him crying about Petunia's treatment of her during their pre-Hogwarts days. When it came to calming his birds though, he was very much used to that, so he employed those skills in the here and now and did his best to lend her respite from her storm of emotion. When she'd stilled, Severus slowly extricated Lily from his grasp and moved to lie down face up on his side of the bed. Lily turned so that she laid on her back as well, her green eyes listless as they stared up at the ceiling. She then turned again so that she faced Severus, though this time there were a couple feet between them.
"Thank you," she said in a hoarse whisper, her features gentle, but resigned.
Severus could only muster a nod in reply, his lined face lightening slightly. All of a sudden, a crackle of thunder above them rattled the frame of their home, the walls and ceiling reverberating slightly. And in the blink of an eye, Severus' relaxed and peaceful expression morphed to one of shock, then terror, then anger.
"Fuck!" he shouted angrily, springing upright with his wand in his hand. "Stay, fucking here, do not move. Do not even think about leaving this house, understand?" he barked.
Lily's eyes bulged wide, stunned at the sudden change in Severus' demeanor, but she quickly nodded.
Severus drew his wand and apparated away to god-knows-where with an angry pop. Far above the house, the sky rippled with electricity as Margaret and Tobias flew in circles around one another, the two Thunderbirds launched jolt after jolt at one another, and though Frank flew just above them in a lazy of figure of eight, barking at the two of them to calm down, neither bird seemed to listen. Severus appeared on top of Scamander Hill, his nightshirt rippling in the gale. The two birds were locked in combat shooting jolts of lightning at one another, and though Frank was doing his best to calm them down, even he couldn't restrain two senior birds at once, not without help, and the other seniors were nowhere to be seen.
"MARGARET! TOBIAS! GET DOWN HERE, NOW!" Severus' magically-amplified voice shook the very earth and rippled through the air with untold strength as it screeched out across the grounds.
On the other side of the reserve in the house, Lily felt as though his voice was coming from the other side of the door, such was his volume. For a moment, both birds stilled in shock, even Frank did too. But Frank quickly recovered, and using Margaret's and Tobias' shock against them, he blasted Margaret with a jet of lightning. Severus drew his wand and pointed it skywards, aiming for the form of Tobias, and, chanting a powerful stunning curse, fired it directly into the air at him. Their lapse in guard had cost them, as both birds plummeted towards the earth unconscious, Margaret from Frank's thunderbolt, and Tobias from Severus' stunning curse. Frank caught Margaret with his talons while Severus slowed Tobias' fall with his wand. They both touched down on the grass, Frank hovering in-between them, before setting himself down too.
"Frank, please keep an eye on these two, hold them on a tight leash and keep them separated for now," Severus said calmly, his partner nodding in agreement.
He gave a resigned sigh and prodded at Tobias with his bare foot. "What am I to do with you," he grumbled.
Frank crowed and Severus lifted his gaze to his friend. "You think so?"
The thunderbird trilled and then gave a series of squawks.
"Well…alright, if you're sure about this."
Frank gave him a look as if to say, 'would you really doubt me?' Severus shrugged in response, and then gestured to the two unconscious Thunderbirds. "Do with them as you see fit, my friend, though please try to keep them separate."
Frank bobbed his head up and down, and dug in his talons to both birds' pelts. He fluffed out his three sets of wings and began beating them against the air, heaving himself airborne with his charges. Frank huffed and beat his wings harder, slowly rising higher into the air, and upon reaching sufficient altitude, flew westward back towards his nest. Severus brought a hand up to massage his hoarse throat, and then apparated right into his bathroom. He scrubbed his feet viciously in the shower stall, setting the shower-head at its most intense setting as he scrubbed away the dirt and mud, all the while muttering under his breath. His feet and ankles cleansed, he toweled them quickly and headed back to Lily's room. When he opened the door, Lily was sat up in bed against the headboard, her knees drawn to her chest and covered by a quilt. Her eyes glowed brightly betraying her concern and hesitancy, though said concern quickly shifted to warmth and relief that Severus was seemingly alright.
"Sev?" She whispered quietly. "Are you okay?"
Severus grunted, and from that alone Lily could tell he was completely knackered. His movements were slow and heavy.
"What happened?" Lily's face once again was a mask of concern.
Severus trudged into the room and unceremoniously flopped down on the bed, he switched his bedside lamp off and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "That, was a Thunderbird fight," he droned, sounding as fatigued as he looked. "And when Thunderbirds fight…it takes a lot out of you to break them up. Needless to say it's also important to stop any such brawls before they can spiral out of control." Severus breathed a heavy sigh, his lungs rattling as he dragged a tired palm over his tired face. "I just about stopped them just in time, before their…before they truly lost control of themselves."
"It took a lot out of you…" Lily murmured, though her voice trailed off when she realized the implication of his words. "You used dark magic, didn't you?"
Severus rolled onto his side to face her, his expression as dry as ever. "What, did you think your average, run-of-the-mill Stupefy would be enough to stun a Thunderbird? Of course not, they require…stronger stuff to subdue."
Lily huffed a sigh and reached for her bedside table, grabbing her wand and waving it once over Severus' supine form. "Yeah…you're definitely suffering from some fatigue alright," she muttered. "Nothing a good night's rest can't solve; you'll be fine in the morning."
Severus cracked open an eyelid and arched a corresponding brow. "Are you usually this terse with your patients?"
Lily arched a brow in turn and said; "During war, sometimes you have to do away with the niceties Severus, especially if some of my patients were being uncooperative." A huff passed her parted lips as she laid back down onto the mattress. "Just take it easy tomorrow with your magic and you'll be fine."
Severus huffed out a laugh and then rolled over onto his back again. "I just hope that'll be the end of it," he said, shutting his eyes. "G'night Lily."
"G'night Sev."
Lily reached over to tuck some of Severus' hair behind his ear, and then, kissed him softly on the lips. Severus was too tired to reciprocate, so Lily pulled away after letting her lips linger for a few seconds. She summoned the quilt into her outstretched palm and pulled it over his exhausted frame.
The light of Lily's bedside lamp illuminated Severus' sharp features considerably, casting long shadows over his face and neck. Though she intended to switch off her lamp and call it a night, she couldn't help but stop for a moment and stare as Severus shut his eyes and let his harsher features relax at rest. Though the lines on his face had gone, the stress going with it, he was still as sharp as ever, the warmth of her bedside lamp really bringing it out. Lily resisted the urge to reach across the divide and cup his jaw, but only just, she found herself smiling at the thought of it. With a wistful sigh, Lily snuggled in under the covers and closed her eyes. Thanks to the jeopardy of the evening, her miserable thoughts of her old friend on the anniversary of her death were all but gone.
Lily's assessment proved true the following morning, for the first time in years, Severus failed to wake in time for his morning conference with Frank. Lily apparated to the Ranger lodge early in the morning in his stead to post a notice for Wayne or Maryanne to meet with Frank to discuss the previous night's events. Lily then went on to have a productive morning, making final preparations for her first real test of her spell, writing a few letters to Harry and Azalea, and also cleaning up a little downstairs. All the while, Severus slept like a babe, sleeping the morning away and only waking at ten. When he did wake, the sun was high enough in the sky that the light coming through the window wasn't all that intense. Instead, it was the sound of movement downstairs that woke him, and woke him in a panic indeed when he realized just how late it was. A quick glance at his bedside clock told him it was five past the, but when he saw the note next to it written in Lily's tidy scrawl, his racing heart was put at peace. Apparently, she'd gone out of her way to inform the rangers of his late lie-in, and they'd settled the morning without incident. Severus breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got to his feet to get dressed and ready for the day.
A short while later, he ventured downstairs to find Lily in the sitting room, standing beside the coffee table and twirling her wand every which way. Little wisps of magic shot out of said wand in every direction, and Severus knew that right now, Lily was in the process of verifying the strength of her spell-knitting. She turned around with her wand raised, her eyes alight with delight, but when she saw him, she lowered her wand with a smile.
"You're up," she said happily.
"Don't let me stop you," Severus chuckled indulgently. "By all means, do continue."
Lily beamed and continued her work. Little wisps of bright-gold magic shooting out of the end of her wand, signifying the bonds holding the constituents of her new spell together. Severus was well aware of what she was doing, having made about seven or eight spells himself in the past. This was the final test any spell-crafter worth their salt should do before trialing the spell for real, and from the looks of things, everything appeared to be going well for Lily.
"I think it's time," Lily said with an air of finality. She stuffed her wand in her jean pocket and held out her hand to him expectantly.
Severus hesitated, his eyes drifting to the kitchen as his stomach gave a low rumble. Lily arched a brow at that, while Severus chuckled quietly. "I think I'd rather eat first," he said.
Lily gave a ready nod in reply and they both sauntered into the kitchen. Severus prepared a bowl of cereal and coffee for himself, quickly eating his fare while Lily monologued her plans for the day. Assuming her spell worked correctly and didn't blow up—which it should, then she'd move into practical testing of the spell's efficacy tomorrow, testing it on natural fires. Assuming normal fires could be extinguished, she'd then move on to try it out on actual fiendfyre. As Severus ate his cereal and drank his coffee, he listened intently to Lily, chipping in occasionally with his two cents.
"In any case Sev," Lily said, wearing a sunny smile. "I'm sure it'll work, and I know it'll be put to good use once it's out in the world."
"I'm sure," Severus said supportively.
Severus made quick work of the rest of his breakfast, and after finishing, he and Lily wandered outside. Severus was still a little slow on his feet, even with his coffee, so they walked at a slow pace to the back of the house where there was a large clearing for Lily to test her spell. A couple of thunderbirds were sat at the edge of the clearing, Beatrice and Ryan, Lily and Severus smiled at the two birds, who dipped their heads in return. As they approached the middle of the clearing, Severus reached for Lily's hand and drew her closer, her irises blown wide and sparkling as he pulled her against his body.
She let out a little gasp of surprise, bringing up her free hand to brace herself against his upper chest. "Sev, what're you—"
His lips on her's cut off whatever it was she intended to say, but she quickly overcame her surprise and returned his kiss. When he drew away, he was smiling, and Lily was too, beaming, more like. Her cheeks were flushed an adorable shade of red, and her chest heaved up and down too.
"What was that for?" she murmured breathily, staring wide-eyed at him.
Severus returned her surprise with a wry smile. "Think of it as giving some good luck, not that you'll need it," he chuckled.
Lily grinned back at him and reached into her jean pocket for her wand, drawing it and twirling it around with a flourish. Severus couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She paused and turned around to face him, a silent question on her face that Severus read perfectly well.
"You just reminded me of when we were children, before Hogwarts. When we…we used to pick up those sticks and pretend they were wands and that we were practicing spells," he said, numerous happy memories playing before his mind's eye.
"Oh, I remember that," Lily replied, fondness lacing her words. "That was great fun, wasn't it? Especially since neither of us needed wands to do magic even then."
Severus tilted his head forward a fraction in agreement.
"Alright," she breathed, clutching her wand tightly. "The moment of truth."
Severus backed away a few paces, moving to stand by the edge of the clearing.
Lily took a deep breath, shutting her eyes and pursing her lips together. She looked the epitome of concentration as she stilled her breathing and focused her magic. The air around her appeared to swirl, the grass kicking up as her magic flared forth, a faint, translucent aura roaring to life through the wind around her body. Lily opened her emerald eyes—crackling and alight with intensity, and then raised her wand, pointing it at the opposite side of the clearing.
"Exstinguere Tenebris Flammalia," she voiced clearly, confidently. Her eyes flashed with delight as she felt her magic manifest through her wand.
A great blast of air shot forth from her wand, rushing out across the clearing with such force and velocity it knocked over a dozen trees flat. The very earth seemed to shake as the invisible, but powerful spell blasted outwards in a wide-arcing cone from Lily's wand. Severus watched on with his eyes wide and his jaw agape. By his estimation the spell had performed perfectly, and if the physical results of said spell weren't proof enough, Lily's beaming smile when she turned around would've sealed the deal. When she turned around to face him, Severus never knew Lily could be quite so radiant.
"It worked," he whispered.
"Yes," Lily agreed, still smiling that beautiful smile of her's. "Yes, I think it has."
With all the exuberance and radiance of her nine-year-old-self, Lily bounded over to Severus and leapt into his arms. Her legs wrapped reflexively around Severus' waist and her arms around his neck as Severus steadied her lower back against him with his arms, taking care to hold her by her waist and not her arse. Silent tears of joy wetted his cheek, and for a long moment neither spoke a word.
"You've done wonderfully, Lily," Severus murmured softly, his words enveloped by her thick mane of hair. He carded his hand through said hair, Lily sighing happily and pressing even closer against him.
"Thank you, Sev." She unwound her legs from his waist, and then her arms from his neck, standing once more on terra firma. Though her tears of joy lent her a salty flavor, Severus enjoyed the feeling of her lips pressed against his all the same.
A/N2: So, a bit of good news for Severus and Lily, mainly the latter. In the next chapter, James returns with Harry and Azalea, and Severus and Lily's new relationship faces one of its first obstacles. Thank you all for reading!