Harry was speechless, motionless. Time stopped for him and he stared at the woman who was unmistakingly his mother. His mother who had been dead for almost seventeen years but who nevertheless was standing in front of him. He was frozen, but fortunately she was not. In a split second her arms were wrapped around him and she was kissing his hair.
"Harry, oh Harry, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again. I'm so sorry for not being there for you, for leaving you for so long, for not being there to help you grow up. I'm so proud of you, what you've done." She stopped talking as her tears overcame her. She just held him.
He finally managed to get out, "You're….alive?"
"Yes Harry, I am," she sighed, "but it's a long story, a very long story."
She gave him one last loving gaze before stepping past him and making her way to the other man in the room. She stopped in front of Severus and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head against his chest. One of his arms wrapped protectively around her back while the other held her head to his chest as she silently wept. After a few moments, she stepped back from him and raised her hand to cup his cheek.
"Harry," she said with her back turned to him, still staring into Severus' eyes, "I'd like you to meet someone. This is your half-sister."
The girl who had followed Lily in stepped out of the shadows beside the door in which she still stood and gave Harry a small smile. The girl was petite and had long black hair past her shoulders. She was maybe a few years younger than Harry. As she raised her head and the hair fell away from her face, Harry saw her eyes. They were his eyes, his mother's eyes.
"Severus," Lily whispered, a tear running down her cheek, "I'd like you to meet your daughter."