His hands shook terribly as he approached her. Lily lay asleep in the hospital wing, pale and painfully thin from her recent bout of illness. She was better now, thank Merlin, but still too weak to resume normal life at Hogwarts. Severus liked to think that he had played a special part in her recovery by sitting at her bedside every spare minute and willing her to be well again.
He reached out to her and paused, his fingers trembling. What if she woke, or Madam Pomfrey came bustling back into the room? How would he explain himself? But there was no real cause for worry. Madam Pomfrey had been called away to the potions classroom (something to do with a Swelling Solution gone horribly awry) and Lily's slumber was a deep one. Steeling himself, he laid a gentle hand on the part of her he loved the most.
Lily's hair had always been a source of fascination for Severus. Long and sleek, he loved to watch it shimmer slightly in the dim candlelight of the Great Hall. Many times he had reached out to touch it only to pull back, horrified at what he had almost done. Stroking it now, it felt like silk gliding beneath his fingertips. He leaned forwards to inhale the soft smell of shampoo and the scent that was specifically Lily's, but at that moment the door swung open, admitting Madam Pomfrey and a sobbing, eight foot tall second year. Severus jerked backwards and fell off his chair with a gentle thump.