N/A This work was originally written in Spanish. English is not my native language, and no one has corrected it, so please excuse me for any possible translation mistakes you find. My only intention is that more readers can enjoy it. Thank you.

. . . . . . . . .

Try

It was the last days of fourth year.

They were sitting in the shade of the beech a foot away, looking at the calm waters of the Lake, which shimmered in the sun.

Sev seemed a bit more taciturn than usual, though he did smile when Lily laughed at the giant squid's occasional surfacing.

They chatted about anything with long silences. Until he ended up infecting her with his mood and she began to feel nostalgic at the prospect of returning home, to the muggle life, without magic.

It comforted her to think that they would continue to see each other at the park and the river like every summer, and in order to feel him closer, she snuggled up to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. It wasn't a new gesture between them, but this time she felt him slightly stiffen and his breathing deepen.

She instinctively put her arm around his friend's shoulders, she had sensed for a while that he was worried, and questioned him sweetly. "Something's wrong, Sev… tell me."

He sighed deeply looking into the distance. She thought he was going to speak but he didn't say anything. He turned slowly to her and gave her the deep look that despite knowing so well, still seemed to her like an enigma. After a few long seconds he lowered his eyes to her lips as he moved closer…

He was going to kiss her...

It was not a gesture of rejection, but rather one of great surprise and nervousness. When their lips were two inches apart, Lily laughed, sitting up, covering her mouth with her hand and withdrawing her arm from around him. He turned sharply again, hands covering his cheeks, elbows on knees, staring at the floor.

Lily quickly put the pieces together in her mind, finally understanding the mystery of Sev's gaze, which had not changed since the day they met back there in Cokeworth's park, and which she still did not suspect that she would not see again for a long time.

She was overwhelmed by the realization of how long, years, he must have waited for this moment, how long it had taken him to make the move. And far from feeling sorry for him, she admired him.

For having always been by her side without compromising her, silently telling her everything he felt, waiting patiently for some sign from her part which never came.

How had she been so blind? She was furious with herself for never having thought about him that way. She could then have discouraged him much sooner, concealing the affection she felt and that she so naturally showed him, keeping her distance in a certain way.

Or maybe just the opposite... it wasn't such a far-fetched idea if she thought about it. She had always considered him his soulmate, his accomplice, his perfect friend. Somehow, she had already chosen him.

She looked at him with new eyes, rediscovering him. He was no longer that child, she could glimpse the man he was becoming. The hard but noble features, the lean but wiry body when she hugged him, the deeper but always silky voice when he spoke to her.

She now wished she had known the taste of the kiss that never came, and she sensed that if she had let herself go, she would have given in to him.

But the magic was lost. Sev had recovered a long time ago, he was looking into the distance again with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped, in complete silence. She had offended him and she had no idea how to fix it. She wished she had a time-turner to turn back those brief minutes.

She was so inexperienced in the love game, she did not understand that perhaps he was giving her space to rectify her rejection, and instead of giving him what he had offered her, now that she also wanted it, she only got a babble, "Sev, I'm sorry, I..."

He, still not moving, cut her off gently, but there was a hint of disappointment in his voice. "You have nothing to apologize for, Lily. Excuse me."

And getting up nimbly he held out his hand to help her up, while he told her in a much more casual tone. "Let's go inside, it's almost dinner time, today I'm starving..."

As if nothing had happened.