It was hot outside. But cool inside. Lily Potter was sitting at her counter, feeling very much like a beached whale, and Remus Lupin was sweeping idly around the shelves. It wasn't clear who was watching out for who, but the small talk was tentatively friendly. So when Severus Snape entered the door, the bell ringing his entrance, the pair of them looked up, and were accordingly surprised to see him.
"Severus," she greeted. "I... I wasn't expecting to see you."
But Severus' eyes were fixed on the lycanthrope standing in the aisle, a broom in hand. There was a seething hatred that glowed in his dark, beady eyes, and Remus in return hid his face. He slipped into a side aisle, avoiding trouble, and kept up his sweeping.
"Severus," Lily called. The potions master's face snapped to her. She saw the stress visibly disappear. "What can I do for you today?"
"Err..." he quickly made his way to the counter, but stopped at the sight of her.
She was... well, quite frankly, she was huge.
He'd known she was well along. Hell, Narcissa was ready to pop. And the announcements hadn't been very far apart, but... Still...
There was a difference between knowing your hated enemy was shagging your lost love, and seeing her body swollen with his spawn.
But... she was so beautiful. The curve of the babe, clutched lovingly in her hands. Her face rosy and warm, blessed with motherhood.
"C-congratulations," he said, surprised the word came out.
She snorted. "Yeah, sure. I just want to be rid of the damned thing already." Her eye glanced over to where Lupin had disappeared, and then back to her 'customer'. She smirked at him. "How can I help you today?"
Oh, so much had changed. For one...
Severus glanced back at where the werewolf had gone, as well.
"Is there any way we can talk in private?" he whispered.
She rolled her eyes, but nodded to the back.
"I just left it to simmer..." she said to no one in particular, and led Severus through the swinging door.
It was cluttered with business – a number of potions were brewing everywhere, and the smell... Oh, there were smells of everything in here.
Severus had the thought that it wasn't right that a pregnant woman was working with fumes like these. And then, he reminded himself: this was Lily Evans we were talking about.
Potter, he corrected himself. Lily Potter. That was half the mess that had led him to return here.
"Look," he said quickly, "I'm sorry I keep bothering you like this. I don't want to be trouble, I really don't. I know you... you've got your own life, now." He couldn't help his eyes moving to the massive burden she'd brought on herself. "And I... I respect that. But..." He forced himself to say it. "But I need to talk to you about something. Something terribly important."
Some things never change, she thought wryly. But she reminded herself that his paranoia was occasionally right.
"What is it, Severus?" she asked kindly.
"I've been hearing..." he debated on how much to tell her. "...Rumours. And they're not very good."
Last times he'd come, they'd pretended there was no war. Hell, they'd pretended, just a little bit, that there was no ring on her finger. Why... she wasn't sure. Something about Severus did that to her. Even after all he'd done... She couldn't help but offer a little leeway to her oldest friend – the one who'd taught her that the world was full of magick. And power. And, of course, potion-making.
She tried not to show exactly how much that unnerved her. "What... kind of rumours?" Her hands immediately moved to her stomach.
He looked down at her blessed womb. Debating, and then...
"Can you keep a secret?"
She blinked.
"I mean, REALLY keep a secret. If I tell you this, you must tell no one. Lives are at stake."
She searched his eyes, but found only desperation. Severus Snape, who kept his cards to his chest. Who had eight kinds of sneers, but rarely a smile. He didn't wear his emotions on his sleeves, but here was, asking her for help.
"S-sure," she said, worried, unsure. "Sev, what is it?" He glanced back to the door. "Sev, what's happened? Are you in trouble?"
But he didn't answer. His eyes were sweeping the shop. On a cue she couldn't see, he locked the door, and cast a silencing charm over it.
"Severus..." Her voice was a warning, a question. "Sev, you're scaring me."
"Look, Lily, I'm really sorry, but I have to make sure we're alone," he said, turning back to her.
As he spoke, he was unbuttoning his sleeve. As he did, the white of his skin became visible. And then, he wrenched it back.
She couldn't even scream. Her breath just caught, and she backed against a wall.
"Lily, please," he pleaded. "You need to listen to me."
"You're one of them!" she managed, jabbing a finger at him. "You-you're coming to kill me!" She clutched her belly. "You're coming to kill my baby!"
The look of terror in her eyes broke his heart. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but now that she knew what he'd done...
"I'm not coming to kill you, Lily," he said softly. "I just need you to know... To know that I'm not fooling around, when I say that someone else is."
She looked up to his face, then, and saw it distorted with utmost sorrow. Snape... Severus Snape didn't cry. He felt little remorse, or pity. He had a one-track mind, and was selfish. He wanted only power...
And now he had it.
Lily tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She'd been right to cut it off with him. He'd become a Death Eater, like she'd thought. Like James and Sirius had thought. They'd been right. She'd allowed herself the delusion that it wasn't true, but now, she couldn't deny it. So many years of lies and cover-ups...
And he'd become one of them.
"Severus, how could you?" she whispered. "You... You're half-blood yourself."
He spat bitterly. "Yeah. And before you, the only Muggle I knew was my father." His eyes fell. "I'm sorry – I don't mean that. You're not a Muggle. You're a... wonderful, beautiful, talented witch."
Black eyes met green. "The most beautiful person I've ever known. Witch or not. And..."
He looked down at the scar on his arm. "And I'm doing my best to protect you."
Her mouth moved, but no words could come out. She wanted to say something, but... she could think of nothing to say.
"Lily, I've been working with the Order of the Phoenix," he said.
Her face flashed. "How do you...?"
"I'm working for Dumbledore," he clarified. "I promise, no matter what I may have done..." His face contorted once more, a horrifying expression that Lily was sure would haunt her dreams. As would that Mark. "I would kill myself before I hurt you. Or let anything happen to you."
Suddenly, the were ten again. His face fell in desperation, and fear. And they begged her for a listening ear.
And an open heart.
Lily wasn't sure if she could provide that. But she could listen.
"What... What are the rumours you've heard?" she whispered. She still couldn't believe it... He was one of them. How many of her friends had he killed? Or let be killed. And now, here he was, in her shop, coming to him with those child's eyes...
"That... someone is coming for you. And your boy," he said, nodding to her womb.
Her eyes widened. "How did you know that?" Call it maternal instinct, but that terrified her the most. "How did you know he was a boy? We haven't even told Remus or Sirius that, yet!"
They'd told people they had wanted it to be a surprise, but James confessed it was because he didn't want Sirius to be too upset when he found out the boy wasn't to be named after him, or he'd pester them about it for the entire pregnancy...
"The Dark Lord is looking for a child – a boy – as part of a prophecy," he said quietly.
"I haven't heard of this yet," she replied sharply. How could he know? Was he spying on them?
"It was just made weeks ago," Severus explained. " 'A boy will be born as the seventh month dies, and he will be born to parents who have thrice betrayed him'," he quoted, his voice weary. And then it rose, into a panick. "The seventh month, Lily! You and James fit the bill. There aren't many people who have stood up to the Dark Lord and lived to tell the tale."
"Yes, but Harry's not due until August-" she argued.
"Lil, that's close enough!" he cried, his hands begging. "Please! You know how inaccurate due dates are, come on!"
He let out a heavy sigh, and turned away from her, a hand trailing through his air. The other rested on a hip, and she found her eyes drawn to the accursed Mark on his arm.
If it was true... If Severus was telling the truth...
She looked out the door to where she knew Remus was sweeping. And then to Severus. A man who, back in Hogwarts, had seen before anyone else that his classmates – classmates that weren't even in his dorm, orhouse – were out of bounds on school grounds. Had been the only one to see the truth.
And she'd rolled her eyes at him. Refused to listen to him. Even after he'd seen it, and wanted her safe, protected, and knowing that there was a danger in the castle... Even after he'd nearly lost his life due to someone else's cruelty, he'd respected the Headmaster's request to not tell anyone about what had happened. And he hadn't, couldn't. But he'd tried to help her see it for herself, and she'd blown him off.
What if this was the werewolf thing all over again?
She took a step forward. "Alright, Severus," she said softly. Her eyes looked to him, and he turned back to her, relief on his face. "I believe you." She curled her fingers around her babe. "But what do we do about it?"
"Go into hiding," he answered quickly. His hands fell on hers – and yet... she didn't flinch away. Even as that Mark hung so near to her 'mudblood' boy. "I know of a charm – the Fidelius Charm. But you must have someone you trust! That is urgent!"
He quickly described a spell that would take the knowledge of their hideout and entrust the information to a single person – that person, a Secret Keeper, would be the only person who could share the information, and thus keep the knowledge in as limited hands as possible.
"You can hide yourself," he said, "But you need to have the right person for it, or you'll be doomed."
His hands gathered up hers, and kissed them furvently. She could see tears in his eyes, and the sight of them worried her even more.
"Please... Just hide yourself," he said. "You, and your son. Your husband. Just... hide." His eyes searched hers, and they were shining in fear. "Please. If I lost you, I..."
He turned his head away, and she lifted a hand to his face.
"Severus..." He turned to look into her eyes.
She sighed. "I trust you. I do."
And then she turned away, looking to the collection of cauldrons around her. She clutched her babe, but looked at the other child that she was going to have to give up.
"I suppose that means... I'll have to close the shop," she said, moving to the side of one potion.
"I'm sorry, but it's for the best," he said. "You're too easy to find here."
She nodded. "Help me with something real quick?"
"Anything," he answered.
"Hand us that," she said, pointing to a small bottle on the opposite side from the cauldron.
He picked it up, and read the label. "Lily essence?"
She nodded. He passed her the bottle, and she measured out a dose. And put it into the cauldron, stirring it. She then turned to her book, and pulled out the unicorn horn.
He watched her, and his eyes widened.
"Is that...?"
She nodded, stirring counter-clockwise twice.
"All this time..." he whispered, awed. He looked up at her, love in his eyes. "Lilies."
Her smile was sad. "My secret ingredient."
Lilies. For Lily's Amortentia.
xxxxx
Edit: Because a couple people have already commented. I originally had the plot for this story before the series was finished, and I had to edit enough as was after the book was done. For one, I had to change their relationship a bit, and I hope chapter 3 clarifies it a bit. For second, I'm playing a little fast and loose with the timeline. I imagine when Severus realised what was up, he asked the Dark Lord to spare Lily's life, but he quite honestly couldn't trust that the Dark Lord would care that much for a Mudblood witch – so he went to Dumbledore to protect them. Dumbledore requires him to work for the Order, from then on, and shortly after this promise is made, he visits Lily for this scene. So he's technically 'now employed' in the Order, even if he might not have done anything yet. In fact, in the original version, the Fidelius Charm was something of Severus' own creation, but I ended up leaving it out, making it instead an obscure piece of magick. In the books, he might not have known of the spell at the time (since it was Dumbledore's 'doing', so he might not have known what method of hiding they were using, which would make sense, giving him the benefit of the doubt, and less burdensome information – mind, even if he knew she knew of the charm, once it's put into place, he won't know anything anyway because of the magick) but for the sake of the story, Snape would have come to her in person one very last time – because he didn't trust Dumbledore to do it wrong. Mind, most of that is less the 'I don't trust you' (though I'm of the opinion you shouldn't trust Dumbledore more than you can throw him, since he's got his own agenda going on at any given time...) so much as a 'It's my Lily and I'm frakking paranoid that she is taken care of and hidden!' type deal.
To be honest, I liked keeping Remus' 'furry little problem' as a private issue that most people didn't know about, and that even Lily hadn't known of Remus' lycanthropy until after she'd been married, and a circumstance required her to know about it. She's in the position where she can't really confirm it to Severus, but she knows that he was right all along, and that makes her a bit more careful when tossing out his crazy theories – because even a broken clock is right twice a day. And when it comes to her child, she'd rather err on the side of caution, and treat the threat as real rather than ignore him and find out he was right again.