Author's Note: This chapter is now fully edited. A special thank you to my grammar editor Fainting Fancies. 122509

Chapter 4 – A Short Interruption

"I mustn't be seen. Severus, where can we hide?" Lily was panicking.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Snape whispered back.

"You're dead, Sev. Don't you remember? You just committed suicide."

"But, I'm still alive."

"Yes, but, just for now, come on. Where should we go?"

"The potions cupboard. Here, it's my private stores. I keep it locked, they can't get in." Hurriedly, Snape opened the lock and pulled Lily in with him, closing the door behind them.

The sound came from far away. Severus and Lily could hear voices coming from near the dungeon steps.

"Oh, Minerva, it's so sad. I had no idea he was that depressed. He always seemed so, well, you know … strong." Pomona Sprout's voice carried through the cavernous potions classroom.

"I had no idea either, Pomona. He was very difficult to understand," the headmaster muttered, her shoes making little shuffling noises on the stones.

"Hagrid found his clothes piled right by the lake. Professor Snape even took the time to fold them. Even his cloak. Oh, why, Minerva? He was a hero to all of us."

"Well, goodness knows. People can do strange things sometimes, but maybe he left a note. Come along now, let's do a search. I wouldn't want a student to come upon it."

Lily and Severus could hear more shuffling, and then the sounds grew dim. Perhaps they had moved toward the bedroom.

"Oh NO! Sev!" Lily whispered loudly.

"Quiet," Severus murmured his voice barely audible. "They're coming back."

"But our cups. The tea. There are two cups!"

The shuffling got louder as the two women entered Snape's office.

"Look, there's a fresh piece of parchment," Pomona exclaimed, "with some writing on it."

Lily and Severus could hear some movements before they heard McGonagall's pinched voice. "It's just straight lines. Nothing else."

Inside their protective hiding place, Severus moved slightly, his arms rubbing Lily's back as he embraced her. There was very little room in the compact space, and they dared not move away from each other.

"Minerva, do you think the giant squid may have found him?" Pomona said sadly, her voice shaking. "I know he wasn't … a pleasant man, but …" Pomona could not continue.

At the sound of Pomona's comment, Severus snorted. Lily slapped her hand lightly over Snape's mouth and opened her eyes wide, cautiously lifting her finger across her lips, trying to get Severus to understand the need for silence.

Beyond in the office, Minerva glanced toward the potions cupboard, her eyes narrowing, and her thin lips compressing in thought.

"Look, Minerva," Pomona said, her voice rising in excitement. "It looks like he was drinking tea." The woman went over to the teapot only to discover that the container was still warm. With wide eyes at her discovery, she noticed something else. "Minerva! Look, there are two cups. Do you think Professor Snape had a visitor?"

Minerva looked from the cupboard to the cups, before answering slowly, "No, that couldn't be. He's never had any friends that I know of. No living relatives either. He's very much a solitary man."

"Maybe that's why he … did it. Maybe he was lonely," Pomona said sadly.

In the cupboard, Snape looked down at the top of Lily's head leaning gently against his chest. The dark red hair appeared almost black in the dim gloominess of the enclosed space. The Potions master had never felt so hopeful. Slowly, Severus moved his hand to Lily's cheek and stroked it with the utmost tenderness. She looked up into his eyes, the dim light glinting off of his black orbs. Lily opened her mouth slightly and licked her lips. Unhurriedly, he leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead, the curtains of raven, black hair covering their faces and snuffing out the remaining light.

Suddenly, Lily lifted her hand and grasped the back of Snape's head bringing him closer. She stopped just as his lips brushed hers. It had the desired effect. Severus could stand it no longer, pressing his mouth down onto hers hungrily, his tongue moving between her lips and into her mouth as he thrust aggressively between her teeth.

A soft moan escaped from his throat and both of them froze, their hearts pounding wildly. Panting, they gazed at each other, their lips still sealed together like glue.

"Well, we'll just have to tell the authorities there's nothing here. I'm sure we'll find no body; the merpeople would have disposed of the remains. I just can't believe it," Minerva continued. "After all the dangers and troubles he's lived through, to waste his life like this."

More shuffling ensued as the women moved away, the sounds diminishing to nothingness as the silence returned.

Moving apart slightly, Snape stared down at Lily. He said nothing, but his eyes told her everything she needed to know. They were filled with lust and longing.

"I think the coast is clear," Lily whispered. "But we really should get out of here. Maybe we should go to my apartment in London. We could talk there. No one would disturb us."

"I certainly do not want us to be disturbed," Severus breathed in her ear, reluctant to release her from his arms, but she tenderly pushed him away.

"Okay, my friend. Come on. I think we can sneak out now. Let's get down to the main gate. We can Apparate from there. I have so much more to tell you."

Xxxxxxxx

It was already late morning when they Apparated into Lily's parlor with a loud crack. Lily moved away from him, anxious to start a fire in the grate, but Severus held on to her hand tightly and then pulled her back into his arms. For a few moments he stared down into her green eyes, his heart beating faster and faster as his mind struggled with the vision before him. The sun was streaming in the long south-facing windows and highlighting her dark red waves of hair with a shimmering gold.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why did you wait so long?"

"I couldn't show myself. Dumbledore warned me that it was too dangerous."

"Dumbledore is gone. Why didn't you come to me after the war? It's been four years." Severus's voice crackled with the pain.

Lily returned his gaze bravely but said nothing, her bottom lip quivering as her eyes filled with tears. "I told you. I was afraid. Severus, I'm not the girl you remembered. I'm not the innocent beauty that you put on a pedestal."

"I don't care …"

"No, Severus." The tears leapt down her cheeks as if racing each other down to her chin. Severus took his finger and gently wiped them away. She blinked and looked down. "I thought you'd be disappointed."

He shook his head slowly and leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned away, the imagined fear overwhelming her.

Reluctantly, he released her, but he did not move away. He simply raised his eyebrows and replied gently, "How could I be? I love you Lily … always."

"Don't, please. You have to give this some thought." She turned away and quickly lit a fire in the grate, wiping at her eyes. Without looking at him, she moved off toward the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder, "Why don't you relax and get warm by the fire? I can get us something to eat. Do you feel hungry? You were mighty sick this morning." Her voice had trailed off as the door closed behind her. In an instant, it opened up again, and her face peeped out, now displaying a big grin, but Severus could see that her eyes were still red.

"I am in need of nourishment," he replied.

The dimple appeared in her cheek, and she laughed. "I guess that means yes. I don't have much, but how about some eggs and sausages? And maybe some of your favorite burned toast? I remember you love it almost charred."

"Hmmm, yes. How do you remember things like that? We haven't had breakfast together since … since your mother …" He stopped, the vivid memory warming his soul. Her mother had taken him in so many times when he had feared to go home, his parents in some dreadful fight.

"And you were so funny. You used to make her laugh so with your strange comments and your dry sense of humor." Lily's voice floated out to him from the kitchen. "She's gone now, of course."

Severus closed his eyes. Yes, he thought, they're all dead – his parents as well as hers. The only one left was Petunia, that miserable hag. But then his mood shifted as he recalled that Lily was alive. She was just in the other room making breakfast for him. Despite himself, he smiled broadly as the smell of the sausages wafted into the living room. Unable to stay away from her, he opened the kitchen door just as she was using her wand to dispense butter on the toast.

"Come on and sit down. Here," she indicated to a seat covered in magazines.

The kitchen was extremely small, and the clutter made it appear absolutely miniscule. There were pots and pans stacked on the counter, but Severus could see that everything appeared reasonably clean. Not to his standards, of course, but tolerable.

He stared down at the pile of periodicals and raised an eyebrow. "I see you do not have regular visitors."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me get rid of those for you." Promptly, she lifted the stack and plopped it right down on the floor next to the chair. Rolling up her sleeves, she grinned up at him and waived her arm over the now empty seat. "Petunia was always the neat one. I suppose I could file these away somewhere."

Stepping over the pile, he sat down gingerly and looked at the titles of the publications. The top one was a medical journal entitled The Healing Wand. Near a pile of folded towels in the corner was another stack of magazines, but these were quite familiar to Severus. The neat stack of The Practical Potioneer stood almost two feet high and leaned against the adjoining cupboard.

With a flourish, Lily laid down an oversized oval serving platter directly in front of Severus. The serving dish was covered with a heaping display of scrambled eggs and sausages. Immediately to his left, she placed a stack of toast and a large teacup filled to the brim with steaming liquid. Lily sat down across from him with just a small mug of her own and an expectant look on her face.

"Lily, I can't eat all of this. Aren't you having any?" Severus asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. The portion size could have fed Hagrid for two days.

"I'm watching my weight. You go ahead. Dig in." She smiled sweetly and tilted her head. "I know you like sausages."

After a few small bites, Severus placed his fork back on the table, his appetite not quite what it used to be. Besides, he was much more interested in getting back to their earlier conversation.

"Lily, what happened after you got out of St. Mungo's? Where have you been? And why were you at the school last night?" His mind was working fast, trying to put the pieces together.

With a sigh, Lily took a big sip of tea before setting the mug back down and concentrating on the flower design adorning its sides. "Let's take this one step at a time. I was in hospital for over five months. After you treated me, I caught a bug of some sort. They said it was a dream weevil. I kept hallucinating things, thinking I could speak Russian or thinking I was a ballerina." Laughing, she looked up at him shyly. "Just think, me a ballerina."

"You had other talents, Lily," Severus said softly.

"Yes, well, after I was cured, just before my release, Dumbledore came to see me." Lily looked down at her mug again and traced the flower pattern with her finger. "He told me about Harry - about how he had placed him with Petunia. He described how everyone thought I was dead. As you can imagine, I was overjoyed to learn my son was alive, but Dumbledore then told me about his scar, and how mysterious it was that he had lived. In no uncertain terms, he told me it would be impossible for me to reveal myself to Harry. It was just too dangerous. He believed that Voldemort was still surviving somewhere just waiting for the right moment. If he would have discovered I was alive, I could have led him right to Harry."

"That blasted manipulator. How could he have been so cruel, keeping you from your son?"

"No, Severus. It was the right thing to do," she said softly. "But, I haven't spoken to Harry ever since. He doesn't know anything about me."

"Well, you must tell him. Now. He lives in London, here. Why don't you go see him?" Severus said adamantly.

Another sigh escaped Lily's lips, and once again a tear escaped down her cheek. "No," she said. "It's too late. We're … we're strangers, Sev. Don't you see? It's been more than 20 years. He doesn't need me. Why complicate things?"

Severus thought for a moment and then replied, "I cannot begin to fathom what it might be like for you, Lily, and since I have no children, I cannot know what it would be like to be a father. But I do know what it was like to be a son. My mother may not have won any prizes, but she did … care for me. I will only say this once, and then you may do as you wish, but I think you should reconsider. You are young yet, and there could be many happy years for you to get to know him. He and I have certainly had our differences, but I believe he would agree with me on this singular point."

"You sound just like Minerva." Lily smiled sadly but didn't look at him.

"I do not believe I have a Scottish accent," Severus replied softly, the corner of his lip twisting up slightly.

"Oh, Sev," she answered, her lower lip beginning to tremble once again. "I've missed you so." A sob escaped briefly before she tried disguising it with a cough.

Reaching over across the table, he grasped her hand. "That was supposed to be funny. I guess I'm not used to telling jokes."

"What are you saying?" she looked up at him, the smile returning. "That was incredibly funny! I just …" She fell silent, but looked at him intensely, the words failing to appear.

With infinite patience, Severus squeezed her hand gently and said, "Now, my love. Please, continue."