A/N: I can only apologize for the long wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for at least some of it. With the introduction of Mary, she'll be somewhat of a recurring character over the next few chapters.

Chapter 20 Meetings with Mary

A few days later, Severus sent off the documents Mary requested. She responded later that evening asking if she could come by the reserve in three days' time to finish her survey work. Severus agreed, then informed Lily about it over their after-dinner drinks.

"So, she's coming in three days?" Lily asked eagerly.

"Yes," said Severus, nodding. "It'll be all business first and foremost, but after Mary and I are done talking shop, you're more than welcome to monopolize her time."

The brightness of her smile made a supernova look dull by comparison. She leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips against his. "Thank you Sev, I'd love that."

Severus grinned back and kissed her in turn. "How about this? After Mary comes in three days, you can pay up on your end of the deal and we can go fishing at the creek."

Lily smiled and nodded, knowing full well what she'd signed up for. "Sure, I'd love to go to the creek with—wait, fishing?! Why? You only said we'd go to the creek?!"

"You don't have to fish if you don't want to, but I'm gonna. You can just watch if that's what floats your boat," Severus said, the corner of his lips curled upwards in a small grin. He took a swig of his beer, then burped. "I know you don't like fishing all that much, but I love it. And even beyond the fishing stuff…the creek really is rather nice at this time of year."

Lily leaned back in her chair, her green eyes narrowed and calculating as she stared at Severus. "You're not joking about this, are you?"

Severus met her stare with one of equal measure. "I think you should know better than to ask that."

Lily snorted and rolled her eyes. "Fine, we can do that. How about next weekend?"

"That's just what I was going to suggest," said Severus, smiling, then adding; "Glad we're in agreement on that front. And I highly suggest you give fishing a try, Lily, I promise you that you'll enjoy it."

Lily gave a faint smile, but Severus couldn't tell if it was of agreement or skepticism. "Sure, Sev."

She sipped her ice tea, drumming her fingers on the table as she did, then set it down on the tablecloth as she expelled a contented sigh. "Has Mary mentioned me much during your floo calls?" she asked curiously.

Severus frowned and shook his head. "Once or twice, we mostly talk business and keep it to that," he said dismissively.

She squinted slightly, eyes narrowing as she peered closely at Severus' face, his tense jaw and his furrowed brows. Lily's expression of curiosity gave way to a small frown of her own, borne not out of frustration, like Severus, but from confusion. "Is there something bothering you?" she asked curiously.

Severus, who'd been staring long and hard at the floral tablecloth, his gaze listless and blank; lifted his gaze to Lily's concerned-frown. "No," he said plainly, shrugging.

"C'mon Severus, if you still think you can fool me, then—"

"—Drop it Lily, I don't want to discuss it," Severus said curtly, flashing her a dark glare that stilled her tongue.

"I don't even know what 'it' is," Lily mumbled, mostly to herself, but Severus still heard her.

Severus snorted softly and raised his wand. With a flick of his wand, he opened the dishwasher, and with a flick and twist, he levitated his glass over to the dishwasher and set it inside. "I think I'm going to retire for the evening," he announced, not saying a word more as he stood and left the room.

Lily silently watched him leave, then turned to stare into her mostly-empty glass of ice tea.

True to his word, Mary arrived three days later at a quarter past nine in the morning. Severus had long finished his morning rounds, had breakfast, and taken care of some paperwork before Mary's arrival via floo. Lily awaited her old friend's arrival by Severus' side, but after more than a couple stern reminders from Severus that business came first, Lily agreed to keep her distance until they were done for the day. When Mary stepped out of the floo, Lily noted that her friends looked rather frazzled and haggard, but then again, she supposed it was to be expected after four consecutive interstate floo jumps.

"Look at what the cat dragged in," Lily joked, chuckling good naturedly as Mary tried to get as much soot off her robes as possible.

Mary rolled her eyes and laughed witheringly. "I'd like to see you looking any better after four or five floo jumps in a row."

"Believe me, Mary. She doesn't look much better. I've seen it," Severus drawled, earning laughter from Mary, and a mock-affronted frown from Lily.

"I'll get out of your hair now, we'll chat later Mary, y'hear?"

Mary smiled and nodded. "Sure, Lils, see you in a while."

Lily smiled and then promptly left Severus' office.

For much of the morning, Severus and Mary toured the south west corner of the sanctuary where Severus intended to have the Phoenix enclosure located. He explained his plans to Mary, who jotted them down in her notebook and conducted some minor transfiguration work on the soil, altering it to match a more temperate climate that Mary and Severus had in mind. For the most part, it was all business between them, something Severus and Mary were both grateful for since they'd found that they didn't have much in common between them, other than a shared friendship with Lily, that is. While they mostly talked shop and kept things focused on terraforming, Severus could tell that there was something else on Mary's mind—she seemed a little distant and lost in thought at times. By the time it was half past eleven they'd just about concluded their business for the day and started heading back to the farmhouse. The first few minutes of their leisurely stroll were spent in silence.

"So…Lily informed me that you two reconnected via letter, is that right?" Mary asked, breaking the silence between them.

Severus took a moment to respond, but nodded. "More or less. It was after the war and just after Azalea's birth. We wrote about once or twice a month, but when she got a landline installed, we started chatting over the phone instead," he explained. "Why do you ask?"

Mary shrugged. "I hadn't spoken much with Lily after Harry's first birthday…I went underground for a while and got a job in the muggle world, y'see, I moved back in with my parents in Cork after graduating. With the magical world as it was…I wanted to get away, y'know? Kinda like you deciding to move out here and begin life anew."

Severus smiled. "I get the appeal, I really do. I didn't have a life waiting for me back in Britain, so packing my things and hightailing it out of there was an easy choice to make."

Mary smiled at his words. "If you want my endorsement…I definitely think it was the right thing to do, Severus. At least…compared to the future that awaited you had you chosen to stay behind in Britain. And if you're keen on hearing it…I really admire what you've done with, well, yourself and your life, Severus."

Severus cracked a wry grin at that. "You're not the only person who's said as much."

"Lily?"

He answered her question by way of a wider grin and a nod. Mary grinned back.

"So, how has she been by the way? More importantly, how have the two of you been?" she asked curiously.

"We've been doing all right," Severus said vaguely. "Taking things…at our own pace, and just seeing where things go from here."

"So, when are you gonna pop the question to her?" she asked with a grin.

Severus couldn't help but laugh at that. "Not for some time, I assure you. We…there's still some things to work out. And there's also the matter of her ex-husband, as well."

At the mention of James, Mary shuddered as a regretful look marred her pretty features.

"I—Lily told me you turned in Mulciber for me…" she whispered sadly. "I never got the opportunity to thank you for that until today…I also never had the chance to apologize for the things I said to you when—"

"—Water under the bridge," Severus said quietly, but firmly. Mary bit her lip and nodded, looking remorseful. "If you think I've been holding a grudge all this time, then you'll be sadly mistaken. People have done far worse to me than to merely laugh and mock my…misfortune."

Mary breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Even so, I am sorry for how I acted and behaved back then. I'm not sure if you remember…but the only one in our group…other than Lily herself, that is, who didn't act like a bitch where you were concerned was Marlene."

Severus nodded sullenly. "I was a piece of work back then—" he huffed a sigh, "—I still sorta am."

"Yeah, well…even so, you're the piece of work who's won Lily's heart," Mary chuckled. "And that isn't any mean feat, y'know?"

Severus merely shrugged his shoulders and expelled a quiet sigh. "I like to think our…companionship has been good for us both," he said softly. "I've changed a lot since my time at Hogwarts…and frankly, so has she. She's not the same girl I once loved from afar…"

"And you're not the same boy she once treasured more than life itself, too," Mary chimed in, smiling knowingly. "I'm glad that you're able to make her happy, Severus. I'm sure you've seen it, but the way she looks at you…smiles at you…it's beautiful to see."

Severus snorted, but couldn't quite suppress a small smile. "I think we should continue," he said. "I'm sure Lily is quite anxious to chat with you."

Sure enough, when they came within view of the farmhouse, Lily was out on the front porch sat on a bench with Harry and Azalea either side of her. She smiled as she saw Severus and Mary approaching, tapping Harry, then Azalea, on the shoulder and then pointing towards the advancing Severus and Mary. Harry's eyes widened as smiles bloomed on his and Azalea's faces, he leapt off the bench with a shriek of delight and pelted towards them as fast as his short legs could carry him.

"Uncle Sev!" he exclaimed, hugging the man's legs.

Severus, laughing, gently pried Harry off his legs and ushered him back to his mum. He then turned to Lily with a smile. "She's all yours," he said, gesturing to Mary.

Lily grinned, then opened her mouth to say something—

"Actually, I was hoping to speak with both of you," said Mary, casting Lily, then Severus, a pair of hopeful looks.

"Sure, that's fine with me," said Lily.

Severus merely shrugged his shoulders and the three of them entered the house.

After tasking Poesy to keep an eye on Harry and Azalea as they played—they'd both finished their English and Math for the day, Lily led Severus and Mary into the sitting room. The front door slammed shut as Harry and Azalea headed outside to play while under the watchful eye of Severus' house elf.

"I'll go put on a pot of tea," said Severus. "Why don't you two catch up?"

"That'd be great Sev, see you in a mo'," Lily said, smiling kindly at him.

As Severus left the room, Lily turned towards Mary, who was looking back at her expectantly.

"So," Lily began, clasping her hands together in her lap, then letting them fall to rest on her legs. "How'd your first day working with Sev, go?" Her eyes shone brightly with the prospect of gleaming some gossip.

"Really well, actually," she said, grinning with satisfaction. "I think we'll make good partners."

"That's good to hear," Lily replied. "So, what'd you discuss?"

"We went over Severus' criteria and his plans regarding the terraforming of the land," Mary replied. "And I got started on some basic soil work. That's always what needs to be transfigured first in order to facilitate a new habitat, or environment. The rest of it…you know, altering the topography of the land, or the fauna, is a little more complicated, but it all starts with the soil composition."

Lily nodded in understanding, seemingly grasping the basic principles of what Mary was saying. She never was all that good at Transfiguration, but even her basic understanding of the subject was enough to understand the gist of Mary's response. Severus returned to the living room then balancing a tray in his hands. On said tray was some cut fruit, an assortment of pastries and snacks, three cups and saucers, and a pot of what smelled like Oolong tea. Lily smiled appreciatively at Severus as he set the tray down. Lily distributed the cups and saucers while Severus did the same with the confections and fruit.

"So, what were you ladies talking about?" Severus asked curiously.

"Nothing much," Lily replied, coyly not meeting his searching gaze. "Just discussing how your's and Mary's morning had gone."

"Is that it?" Severus leaned forward in his seat slightly.

"Well, you were hardly gone from the room for more than a minute or two," Lily replied, tossing in a cheeky wink for good measure.

"That's true," Severus said acceptingly. "But knowing how you love to chit-chat, I'm still surprised nonetheless that you hadn't delved into more topics of conversation."

"We wanted to wait for you to come back before we did that, Severus," Mary supplied helpfully.

Sound logic.

Severus took a sip of his Oolong tea and Lily did the same. Mary watched both of them pensively. When they both set their cups down gently atop their saucers, Mary cleared her throat. A set of black eyes another of green snapped in her direction.

"Are you free sometime this weekend by any chance, Lily?" Mary asked tentatively.

Lily didn't answer her straight away. She pursed her lips together and leaned back into the couch.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"What you're asking I'll be free for," Lily said cheekily.

Mary threw her head back and laughed, Lily soon joining her with a few chuckles of her own. Their laughter soon died down, though, Mary sobered first and reached for her cup of tea for a sip, then took a bite of a scone.

"Just for lunch or dinner, Lily. A chance to catch up, y'know? I…there's been a lot that's happened in the years since we last spoke, so much to catch up on for you and I," Mary explained.

"Yeah," Lily murmured, nodding in agreement. "I'll call you and we can arrange a time over the weekend? I'm sure Harry and Azalea would love to come along, oh, and Sev you'd always be welcome to come too, if you—"

Severus raised his hand and Lily abruptly silenced herself. "It's fine, Lily. I think it'd be better for you and Mary to catch up on your own. Besides. We'll have our fishing trip this weekend on Saturday morning, don't forget that. I won't be able to get away from my reserve for longer than that," he pointed out. "Sunday I'll be fully booked…and Poesy can look after your kids for the afternoon or however long you'll be gone."

Lily had the good grace to look somewhat chagrined for her forgetfulness. She turned back to Mary and said; "In that case, how about Sunday?"

"I can swing that," Mary replied, smiling. "So…are either of you going to tell me how this happened?"

Severus averted his gaze quickly so Mary's brown eyes came to rest on Lily's impassive face. Lily blinked once, then cocked her head sideways just a couple degrees. "How what happened?" she asked blankly.

Mary rolled her eyes and gestured towards her and Severus. "You know…how the two of you got together!"

Lily bit her lip and tried to suppress a smile. She failed. And within seconds she was smiling as widely as Mary had ever seen. "Perhaps I'd better show you," she said softly. Without a word more, she stood to her feet and pulled her wand out of her sweatpants. "Expecto Patronum," her soft lilt causing shivers to run down Severus' spine.

A blindingly-bright Raven flew forth from the tip of Lily's willow wand, flying high to the ceiling and circling the room a couple times before coming to land by Lily's side on the coffee table. Mary's breath hitched as she watched the ghostly animal fly around the room, then land. Lily felt Severus' fingers entwine with her own, she cast him a soft smile and kissed him delicately on the cheek.

"Your turn, dear," she said.

As one hand reached into his jean pocket to draw his wand, the other reached up to his cheek to rub over the spot Lily's lips had just glanced over.

"Expecto Patronum." This time it was Lily's spine which tingled pleasantly as Severus' deep baritone met her ears.

On cue, his doe leapt forth from his rowan wand, making a few laps of the room before coming to rest at his side. Severus hastily tucked his wand away, shut his eyes, and reached down to stroke the side of his doe's face. He felt a sudden warmth permeate his body, like someone had just draped a warm blanket over him on a cold, winter's day. His gaze fell to the bottle-green eyes of his doe, then lifted to Lily's twinkling emeralds. Fueled by the soothing, delightful warmth coursing through the both of them, they turned as one towards Mary, who sat stock-still gawking back at them. Her brown eyes flittered from Lily's raven to Severus' doe and back again, then lifted to the smiling face of her old friend and the new love of her life.

"Wow," she said breathily. "My Patronus theory is a little bit rusty, so bear with me…but you have hers? And she has yours?"

"You've hit the nail on the head," Severus replied as his doe nuzzled her cheek into his open palm.

Mary's surprise was still evident on her face as he gaze drifted from the doe to the raven. "Lily…I remember…you were the first one to do it, right?"

The brilliant, white light of their two patroni blinked out of existence. Lily nodded in response. "Mine used to be a doe, but as you can see, that's no longer the case." She turned to face Severus and smiled. "As for this lump…well, he now has my doe. And I, his raven." She cheekily nudged him with her elbow.

"Guilty as charged," Severus chuckled, holding up his hands.

Mary grinned broadly at both of them. "That's brilliant," she said gushingly. "I've never managed a proper Patronus before, only a non-corporeal version."

"It's never too late to learn," Lily said helpfully, to which Mary nodded.

"Anyway, so we got talking about Patronuses one day, it was actually the day I dropped off Harry and Azalea with James at the Portkey terminal in New York. So I'd just come back here and Sev and I were chatting about Patronuses, and then I cast mine. I just about got the shock of my life when I did, for the first time ever it was a raven instead of a doe."

"And her raven had my eyes, black as night," Severus added, lovingly gazing at Lily, who smiled.

"Then Sev cast his Patronus, and sure enough, it was a doe, my doe. Just like how my Patronus is his raven." She paused, sighing happily as she held her hand up to her chest. "It's a reflection of what we feel in here, and was proof enough of the feelings we have of being real."

"Wow." Mary took another sip of her tea then set her empty cup down atop its saucer, leaning forward in her seat slightly as her eyes glimmered with undisguised interest. "So, that's how it began, huh? You found out you had each other's patronuses and…that was it?"

"More or less," Severus uttered quietly. "We talked about our past relationship as friends…discussed how we'd changed and the like, and what we expected of our impending future together as…more than friends."

"We were both very quick to agree that this wouldn't be some fling," Lily added quickly. "That if we were gonna give romance a try, that we wouldn't half-arse it and have it be something casual."

Severus nodded in agreement.

Mary leaned back in her seat slightly, her eyes flickering between the pair sat across from her. "So, how serious is this then?"

Before Lily could respond, Severus beat her to the punch. "At the risk of sounding presumptive, marriage would be our end goal."

"I figured as much," Mary replied, smiling.

"For the time being, we just want to take our time and ease ourselves into this," said Lily, Severus nodding in agreement.

"So, no plans for kids then?" Mary asked, her smile morphing into a small grin.

Beside Severus, Lily tensed a little bit. Mary noticed but Severus didn't appear to since his gaze was fixed on Mary.

"Maybe in time," Severus answered. "But nothing, yet. No."

Mary nodded sagely, her gaze flitting to Lily then back to Severus. "I understand. Gary and I feel much the same. Perhaps in a few years time when we've got some money saved away for our little nest egg," she replied.

Talk shifted towards the kids from there, with the central focus being on how Harry and Azalea had adapted to the massive changes in their lives over the past year or so. Just one year ago, Lily's marriage to James was in its final throes of passion, its death knell ringing loud and clear for all to hear. While Harry and Azalea, naturally, were reluctant to see their family split apart, they'd grown to value and appreciate their time in America with their Mum and Uncle Sev. Of course, they still missed their father immensely, this was only natural, but Severus managed to fill much of that void that James left behind, much to Lily's relief. Lily made sure to call Harry and Azalea back inside before Mary took her leave for the day. She was headed back to New Haven for dinner with Gary. With their hugs and goodbyes exchanged, Mary promised to stop by in three days' time to properly commence the terraforming process. With one last smile and wave, Mary departed via floo. Severus then rose to his feet, summoning his coat and boots before heading outdoors to begin his evening rounds. Meanwhile, Lily ushered her kids upstairs and asked Poesy to get started on dinner. If her timekeeping was half-way decent, she figured she'd have enough time to get Harry and Azalea showered and dressed well before Severus got back.

After her visit to Severus' Sanctuary on Monday, Mary came back two more times that week, once on Wednesday, and again on Friday. In her three trips to the reserve, she'd made remarkable progress, finishing the terraforming of the soil and she'd already begun altering the topography of the earth too, to make it more hilly, something the Phoenixes were bound to appreciate. Mary's progress was marked and astounding; she, together with her team, were almost half-done with the project in only the first week. When she departed the reserve for the last time that week, she promised that she'd back on Monday to continue the topography altering process. She figured she'd need another week and a half, two at most, to finish the terraforming process in its entirety. Then, assuming the land partitions Severus placed would hold, the entire habitat would be stable and ready for Phoenix habitation. Severus was surprised at the speed of her progress, since his initial estimates were that the entire process would take about a month, maybe more. Mary, on the other hand, figured she'd only need three weeks at most. Still, it was a pleasant surprise, so he wasn't about to complain that Mary was rushing her work especially since it'd turned out nicely so far.

Come early Saturday morning, Severus put any thoughts of his project out of his mind and turned his attention to his and Lily's upcoming fishing excursion. Thankfully, Janet was more than willing to watch over the kids while they'd be gone, so they'd have the entirety of Saturday morning wide open for their trip. After breakfast, Severus drove Harry and Azalea over to Wayne and Janet's place where they'd stay until just past lunch; Lily made sure to remind both of them to be on their best behavior and to not create any trouble for Janet. With Wayne on shift at the sanctuary that day, it'd be a tall order for Janet to look after four, young, rambunctious kids.

"You'll be on your best behavior for Missus Janet, won't you Harry? Azalea?"

"We'll be good mummy, we promise," Harry said fervently.

Azalea repeatedly bobbed her head up and down in agreement.

Lily smiled at the pair of them. "Good. Uncle Severus and I will pick you up at two, okay? Until then, have fun, and be nice!"

With her piece said, Lily unlocked the passenger-side door and stepped out, Severus doing the same from the driver-side. They then helped Harry and Azalea down, watching them as they scampered off towards Wayne and Janet Hollis' quaint, little house. Janet waved to them from the front porch, her wide smile broadening as Harry and Azalea ran across her driveway towards her.

"We'll come pick them up at two," Severus assured Janet, who nodded, then ushered Harry and Azalea in through the front door.

"Thank you so much for doing this! Sev and I would be more than happy to host Kelly and Bryce in the future if you'd like!" Lily said gratefully.

Janet grinned back at them. "I just might take you up on that offer soon, Lily!" she chuckled. "Go on. I've got it from here. Enjoy your fishing trip!"

"See you at two," said Severus. With a goodbye wave from Lily, and a grateful nod from Severus, they hopped back into the latter's truck and sped off towards the creek.

Once they'd navigated the tricky back roads from Wayne and Janet's house and pulled onto the main road, Lily started fiddling with the radio, moving through the stations before finally settling on one she liked.

"Have you considered buying a car of your own, Lily?" Severus asked softly, casting Lily a brief glance before turning his gaze back upon the road ahead.

Out of the corner of his vision he saw Lily shake her head. "Some time in the future, yeah. But not right now."

"Yes, I suppose you should take your formal driving test first, shouldn't you?" Severus surmised.

"Yeah, and I can't imagine MACUSA would be too happy if they found out I've been driving around using a forged license," Lily laughed.

Severus gave a brief chuckle too before sobering. "Have you given any thought as to when you want to take the test?"

He could almost hear the smile in her words as she spoke, never mind the fact that his eyes were glued to the road as he drove. "The thing is, Sev…I've already got an appointment. It's two weeks from now. After which…well, I'll no longer be breaking the law."

"And what car are you thinking of buying once you do have your license? Personally, I think those new Audis are rather neat."

"The ones with four-wheel-drive?" Lily asked inquisitively.

Severus' brows rose, almost receding into his hairline; Lily noticed it and giggled.

"Before you ask, yes, I have been keeping up with some recent automotive developments. Of course I'd want to be well informed before buying my first car, Sev. And I've always liked Audis, too. In any case, they'd be rather useful where we live with four-wheel-drive and all."

"Audis are known for their reliability and ruggedness," Severus acknowledged. "Another good choice might be a Honda or a Subaru, they make quality cars as well," he suggested, casting Lily a furtive, sidelong look.

Lily nodded, mulling over his suggestion in silence. "I'll consider it, Sev. I'm still far from a final decision."

Severus hummed in agreement, refocusing on the road as Lily went to fiddle with the radio again. She stopped turning the dial when she found a station playing The Wild Boys by Duran Duran; and Lily, to Severus' amusement, was soon bopping to the tune in her seat.

"You like these knuckleheads?" Severus laughed, glancing over at Lily in fond amusement.

Lily, judging by her enthusiastic bopping and lip-syncing, apparently hadn't heard him; so he turned down the volume a bit and repeated his question.

"They're good!" Lily protested. "Listen!"

Wild boys, never lose it

Wild boys, never chose this way

Wild boys, never close your eyes

Wild boys, always shine!

"It's all right, I guess…but not my thing, no," Severus admitted.

"Oh, it's better than that, Sev. This song's amazing!" Lily gushed, before reaching to the center console and turning up the volume once more.

Huffing a sigh and resigning himself to his fate, Severus depressed the accelerator a little more, hoping to get to the creek just a bit sooner. Thankfully, the next song on the station's playlist was something much more his speed, he always was a fan of The Police, and Walking on the Moon was one of his favorite songs that they'd recorded. Much less in your face than that Duran Duran nonsense Lily was enamored with.

With Severus driving a little faster they made good time, arriving at the creek just ten minutes later. Severus switched off the ignition as Lily hoped out of the cab, her boots landing on the frosty ground with a quiet crunch. Her green eyes swept over her surroundings, taking in her unfamiliar surroundings as Severus fetched his rods, tackle box and picnic basket from the back of his truck. Various firs, spruces, junipers and pines lined the small clearing they'd parked in; evergreen tries filled her vision as far as the eye could see. Aside from a handful of birches, there was hardly a barren tree in sight.

"Where are we?" Lily whispered aloud.

"This is Trout Creek," said Severus, who'd snuck up on her rather stealthily. "Here." He thrust a rod into Lily's hands. "Follow me. I'll take you to my favorite spot, the fish should be biting at this time of day."

Lily smiled, leaned up on her toes and kissed his cold, reddened cheek. Severus smiled back at her, took Lily's free hand in her own, and together they set off for the creek, hand-in-hand. Severus led Lily through the forest, following a well-beaten path through evergreens, seemingly in search of the sound of running water. A few moments later, Lily heard a faint sound in the distance, a tell-tale sloshing of flowing water.

On cue, Severus spoke.

"We're almost there, Lily."

Lily remained silent, her gaze darting through the woods in search of a possible stream or brook. Following their ears, they broke through the tree line a couple of minutes later, dappled sunlight shining down upon them through the leaves. Their ears appeared to be working just fine since before them laid a brook, stones and pebbles lined either side of the brook, with yet more forest and trees on the opposite bank. Severus set down his pail, tackle box and rod, Lily did the same with her rod and their picnic basket.

"So, this is it?" Lily asked, gesturing broadly at the open space before them.

Severus nodded. "It is. At this time of year there should be plenty of trout, maybe some pike, and if we're lucky…perhaps some bass as well."

Lily's green eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of bass, Severus noticed and smirked. He then knelt down on the pebbles and flipped open the lid of his tackle box. Lily peered down at him and tried to see what laid inside.

"What lures are we gonna use?"

"Give me a moment," Severus muttered as he sifted through the box. "Aha!"

Severus picked out two lures, both small, one a golden-yellowy color, and the other a sky-blue.

"Take your pick," he said, holding them out in the palm of his hand to Lily.

Lily hesitated for a moment, then reached for the gold and yellow-colored lure. No longer than an inch, with a little tuft at the tail-end, she affixed it to the end of her line, as Severus did the same with the blue lure.

"These should be good for trout and pike, but if we get lucky, they'll work for the bass that may or may not be here, too," Severus explained.

"Hopefully," said Lily. "Though if we don't catch any bass…perhaps we can swing by a supermarket and pick some up there! I'm sure you remember Sev, but my mum—"

"—her signature recipe," Severus finished for her, smiling at the memory. "Yes, I remember it very well, Lily. One of her finest dishes, in my opinion."

"The very best," Lily agreed with a grin.

Severus nodded and then turned towards the brook with his lure firmly affixed to the end of his line. He brought his rod back over his shoulder, and then cast, the line sailing through the air and plunking down into the water some forty feet away. Moments later, Lily cast her line too, her lure landing about thirty feet away.

"Aside from your upcoming driving test…have you given much thought as to what else you might want to do?" Severus asked, not taking his eyes off his lure as it bobbed up and down in the water.

Lily glanced over at him for a moment and shook her head. "No, not really, to be honest. I know that there's this movie coming out soon that Harry wants to see, so I'll probably take him to that when it releases, but I haven't got many ideas regarding us, Sev," Lily said honestly.

They both slowly started reeling in their lures, their casts having not yielded any bites.

"Speaking of movies, there's one releasing soon that I'd like to see," said Severus, smiling slightly at the thought.

"There is?" Lily's surprise was evident in her tone. After all, the man hadn't even owned a TV set before she'd bought one shortly after moving in. As if he could read her mind, Severus answered her.

"Just because I never got around to buying a TV doesn't mean I don't like Muggle films, Lily," Severus said chidingly. "I used to frequent the cinema in town fairly often in my earlier years. Once in a while, even in the company of a date."

"So, we could have our first movie date if we were to go?" Lily asked. Severus glanced over, and sure enough, the corners of Lily's lips were curled upwards in a subtle smirk.

He nodded in reply.

Moments later, Lily tapped his forearm just as he was preparing to cast his line again. Her smirk had widened into a broad grin, her green eyes alive and dancing with anticipation.

"Answer me this, Sev, and I'll rock your world tonight," she said huskily.

Severus swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

"How do I measure up to the dates you used to have?" Though she'd asked her question quietly, there was no mistaking the tension in her voice.

"No comparison," Severus uttered swiftly. "There's—no way, no one measured up to you. You are…truly one of a kind, Lily. At least to me." He hoped she picked up on his earnestness, for he was telling the truth.

Out of all the women he'd met in years past, there was no one like Lily, both inside and out. He still had to pinch himself from time to time to remind himself that he wasn't dreaming, that Lily, precious, beautiful, radiant Lily was by his side, all by her own volition. Her green eyes earnestly sought out his dark ones, her gaze darting over his face as she measured his words and his tone carefully. Her penetrating gaze soon softened, and a smile broke out over her features.

"You still know how to make a girl feel special, Sev."

Severus could only shrug his shoulders in response, before gripping his fishing rod a little tighter and turning back to face the stream for another cast. "Only you," he muttered under his breath, too quiet for Lily to hear, who gave no indication of whether or not she heard him.

With that, he cast his line again, with Lily following suit a few seconds later.

Alas, their second casts turned out much like their firsts, no bites, no tension on the line, nothing. Sighing frustratedly, Lily reeled her line in quickly, while Severus remained in much better spirits, still sporting a smile on his face.

"Patience," he chided her gently, seeing her despondent expression.

Echoing the same words Mister Whitehall and Mister Evans both had said to him when they'd both tried to teach Severus how to fish, needless to say with varying degrees of success. Naturally, Mister Whitehall was considerably more successful in that endeavor than Mister Evans was, but then again he had a lot more time on his hands too. Lily only nodded as way of reply before turning to face the stream once more. When Severus glanced over at her, he was pleasantly surprised to see her visibly less tense than she had been just moments ago. She heaved her rod over her shoulder and cast her line again, Severus doing the same a few seconds after her.

The two lures plopped down softly. Silence. Then—

"I've got something! I felt something on the line!"

Lily's jubilant voice snapped Severus out of his self-imposed stupor, glancing over at her excited face. Sure enough, Severus could see that there was plenty of tension on Lily's line. Her expression showed equal parts relief and delight, her arms almost trembling in excitement as she gripped her fishing rod all the more tightly.

"Steady now, steady," Severus said quickly. He made to reel in his own lure to assist Lily with her catch when suddenly, he felt a bit of tension on his line too. Severus glanced out over the stream to where his lure was, and sure enough, his lure was bobbing about erratically.

"Sev, Sev! What do I do?"

"Reel it in nice and slow," Severus cautioned. "I've got a fish on mine as well, I won't be able to help. you Just reel it in slowly, all right? Too fast and the hook could dislodge and you'll lose it."

Lily's eyes were narrowed in concentration as she stared at the bobbing end of her lure. She gave Severus a single nod in acknowledgement of his advice, not once taking her eyes off her line. Seeing that she was ready, Severus turned his attention back to his own lure and slowly reeled his fish in. From the tension he felt in the line, he gauged the fish to be somewhere between three and four pounds, bigger than a usual perch; but nothing gargantuan. Little by little, he hauled the fish in, as Lily struggled, but managed to do the same. Severus hoisted his first catch of the day out of the water. After a little over a minute of struggle, Severus successfully reeled his three-pound Perch in and hoisted it out of the water and into his hands. He carefully inspected the fish, and set about releasing the hook from its maw before levitating it out over the water with his wand and dropping it back into the stream. He didn't like the taste of Perch all that much.

As he released his catch, he heard a feral-sounding snarl; and the word that followed it was anything but civil, though softly uttered.

"Fuck."

He glanced over at Lily, only to see her stewing in cool anger, her rod hanging limply in her hand as the line went slack.

"You'll get it next time, Lily. Trust me," Severus said calmly. "Just relax and try again, you'll soon get the hang of it. I know you will."

Lily bit her tongue to prevent herself from lending voice to her skepticism, but the look she gave him conveyed her doubts all the same. Sighing, Lily pulled her rod back over her shoulder, checked her line, and cast again. Her next several casts yielded not a single bite, but as she occasionally glanced over at Severus to check up on his progress, to her shock he was getting fish on his line almost every other cast. Eventually, she let her rod fall limp to her side, giving Severus her full attention as she observed him cast, wait, reel, and repeat. She wasn't even aware that he was aware of her watching him, so when he spoke, she almost jumped out of her skin in surprise.

"So, you've decided to call it a day?" he asked quietly, sparing her a sidelong glance.

Though he couldn't see her properly, she flashed a lopsided grin. "Just observing your technique, is all. I could use some pointers."

"Well, all you have to do is ask," said Severus, now sporting a small grin himself. "But knowing you and your foolish, Gryffindor pride…asking for assistance might be quite the challenge, no?"

The perceived slight on her house's values wasn't enough to offset her humor. Her grin widened, and soon, the air was filled with peals of laughter.

"Don't go there, Severus. There's plenty of things I can say about Slytherin that you're bound to…shall we say, not appreciate."

"So you say," Severus teased. All of a sudden, he reeled in his lure far quicker than usual, then he set his rod down on the ground and turned to face Lily. "Pick up your rod."

Lily did as she was asked, before watching in wide-eyed surprise as Severus came closer to her, moving to stand behind her and gripping her fishing rod over her hands.

"Relax," he said, his lips by her ear. "You're all tense. It's no wonder you're hardly getting any bites as it is."

Lily nodded numbly as she attempted to slacken her grip on the rod.

"Better," said Severus, sounding just the slightest bit pleased. "Now. Cast your line and wait just a bit longer than you usually do."

Severus stepped back and to the side, giving Lily the space she needed to hoist her rod over her shoulder before casting her line into the creek. The moment the line hit the water, Severus was telling her to wait. She did.

"Let the current carry your lure about for a bit, see if you get a bite. Then, slowly, reel it in."

Lily nodded, waiting. Her eyes sparkled with cool preparedness as she eyed her lure intently, waiting for just the slightest disturbance of water indicating she had a fish on the line. Just as she was about to reel in her line, she saw her lure bob, and moments later, a twitch of tension on her line.

"I've got one! I've got one!"

Her voice radiated infectious joy and enthusiasm prompting Severus to drop his rod and come over to her. With Severus' careful coaching, Lily successfully reeled in her first catch of the day, her first of what would end up being six.

While her four trout and two perch paled in comparison to Severus' final tally of seventeen fish, she was rather proud of herself. According to Severus, she was even more successful than he was when he first went fishing with Mister Whitehall; he went home that day with a grand total of one fish to his name. Once they'd packed up their gear in Severus' truck, he asked Poesy to transport their catch back to the reserve. Most of it would be used as Thunderbird feed, but Lily was insistent that two bass and three of the trout be kept for themselves. Apparently, Severus and Lily weren't the only two in the family who loved bass, as Lily claimed it was Azalea's favorite fish as well. With that settled, they headed off to a nearby glade for their picnic.

A/N2: Up next, a continuation of Severus and Lily's fishing trip, Lily and Mary have their lunch-date, and Severus spends some bonding time with Harry and Azalea. I'll try to make sure the wait for the next chapter isn't nearly as long. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!