Enraptured Release Chapter 2: In The Hearts Shade, a harry potter fanfic

Lily's plan takes shape.

Fancast:

Rufus Sewell: Rodolphus Lestrange

Karen Gillan: Lily Evans

Helena Bonham-Carter: Bellatrix Lestrange

Enraptured Release

In The Hearts Shade

Two Weeks Before Wedding

"Brave now long rest is sweet
With me here in the deep"

A week had passed, and Lily had written her plan out in full complicated Arithmancy, ancient runes, and she even consulted some of the Divination texts in Kilner's Grove Library. A lot could go wrong, but that was the same with every plan. This was the horrible thing about planning without a Slytherin by one's side. She calculated that the possibility of positive outcomes were worth the risks to go ahead.

She had decided to meet Severus at The Three Broomsticks, although he wished to meet in their park at Cokeworth. They had been corresponding back and forth regularly over the past week. Lily pretended to have feminine problems to keep her somewhat squeamish affianced Auror away from her. Like most only-boy children who had no other female influence other than his mother, James always blushed, stuttered, and ran when she mentioned those two dreaded words: feminine problems. He never went near her when she mentioned those words except just to kiss her cheek and hand her chocolates. She wondered if he thought it was catching; the idea made her giggle a little.

Then she sighed as she trudged up the main hill that held the most interesting shops. She supposed she had outgrown Honeydukes. Coming back to Hogsmeade brought up happy memories of her and Sev hand-in-hand, swinging their arms as they sang the Hogwarts School song. Mindless of where she was going as she was turning a corner, Lily had not realised she bumped into someone until she landed flat on her back.

"I must apologise for standing in your way." A tall, dark looking wizard offered his manicured hand to her. "I should have noticed a lovely creature like yourself and graciously offered to walk with you."

Lily blushed as she accepted the elegant gesture. How could any witch not? For the wizard had high cheekbones, dark curly hair, and hooded bright blue eyes that sparkled in the warm, autumnal sun. Oh, then there was his voice; it trickled down her spine like perfumed oil on a masseurs hands. Once she was back on her feet again, she smiled at him in gratitude.

"I am on my way to meet someone and am an engaged witch." She proffered her ring finger to the wizard, who laughed heartily, his eyes twinkling with genuine mirth. "I thank you for helping me up, sir."

"Rod," the man winked.

"Pardon?"

"My name is Rod, as in long stick of wood," he flirted with her, and Lily lowered her eyes to his groin. "Ho ho, you have a dirty mind, don't you?"

Lily sighed and squared her shoulders. So far, in her experience, tall, dark and good looking usually added up to TROUBLE. This man held pernicious promises in his eyes, sweet nothings lingered on his lips, and his helpful hands seemed itching to cover and own her. Why Lily felt the need to be touched by this man she had no idea. She didn't even know who...

A singsong voice broke the through the normally sweet atmosphere of Hogsmeade: "Woddy, where are you?"

"Oh crap," the wizard cursed. "Glamour me, quick!"

"Why can't you do it?"

"My wife knows my magical signature by scent, so she knows when I plan to hide from her, please - I could have let you drop on the floor!"

Rolling her eyes as she shook her head she muttered something like: What a big baby! So she brought out her wand and immediately changed the man's features to those resembling something of her father. Except the eyes were more playful, the smirk sinful, and the stance more confident. The voice rounded on the corner, and the face sneered in her direction.

"Oh, it's you!"

"What is it, Black? My father and I are here to pick things up for my upcoming nuptials."

Bellatrix sneered, "I am Lestrange now, you filthy little ingrate – you would not have happened to see my husband, would you?"

"Who is your husband?"

"Rodolphus, you ginger nitwit!"

Rod... Rod... She was helping renowned Death Eater Rodolphus Lestrange hide away from his wife? The whole thing would be funny if it was not for the fact that Bellatrix had methods to her madness. The chaos she left in her wake made grown wizards shudder.

"Well, I have never met Mr Lestrange, but when I do see someone who looks like they should be in the Janus Thickey ward, I'll direct him to you."

The wizard behind her guffawed. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, continuing to keep the sneer on her otherwise quite pretty countenance. "I would stop laughing if I were you, muggle filth. Your kind will soon be subject to us, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Lily did not need to pretend fury. This is what a cow like Bella would say to her own father. Sweet, kind, and lovely Henry.
"You are nothing but a vicious bitch, Bella. The only throne you'll end up sitting on is a tin bowl to pee in when you're sharing a cell with your precious little Dark Lord in Azkaban!"

Bellatrix's luscious lips curved into a smirk; her dark eyes glittered oddly at Lily, coal and emerald in a battle of silent wits.

"Oh, there is nothing little about our Dark Lord, Evans," she sneered. "The question is..." Bella had strutted up close to her and stopped by her side. Using the long tips of her nails, she brushed Lily's hair aside and whispered in her ear, "Are you going to be witch enough for him when the time comes? Because, let me assure you, it will. No one can refuse our Lord when he desires something or," her hand gently brushed Lily's neck, "someone!"

With that, Bella skipped down the street yelling for her husband – once she was out of sight, Lily released the glamours and glared at the casual yet confident man with her head tilted.

"Don't worry." He winked. "I agree. I should be in the Janus Thickey Ward for agreeing to marry that bitch. Thank you, maiden fair with vibrant hair. A favour is yours to request, for I am at your behest."

Despite the company she found herself in, she giggled and, as he brushed past her, she gasped as a zing warmed her down to her toes. One touch and she could melt in this man's embrace, yet she hardly knew him. She knew she was supposed to be in love with James, but he had never elicited that response from her.

"There is one thing," she said huskily. She coughed to clear her throat and bring her voice back to its normal timbre. "Um, I may, one day soon, seek an audience with the Dark Lord. Could you perhaps write to me so we could arrange a meet-up?"

"Just what does a sweet little Gryffindor like you want to meet the big bad monster under the bed for?"

"How do you know where I…"

"My little brother was at school and watched you being sorted. He told me of a tiny red-head being sorted in Gryffindor, as he finished his last three years you were starting yours. He sent me sneaked photographs and every scrap of information he could get his hands on. Not to mention, Lucius, my brother-in-law, was there for your first year."

"Hmm, ever heard of a saying?" Lily smiled, emboldened by the man's ease, if a little flushed by the mischievous sparkle in Rodolphus' eyes. "Curiosity killed the cat!"

"Ah yes, my dear firebird, but satisfaction bought it back." His grin was infectious. Lily felt a little flip-flop in her stomach before she reminded herself that he was a dark wizard. The exact type and reason she ended her friendship and association with Severus, so she could not fathom why it was different now. "Good luck with your real reason for being here today."

With that he sauntered off down in the direction his wife had taken. Lily stared open mouthed as she caught a flash of taut buttocks and blushed even deeper. Get a grip Lily, she scolded herself, you are engaged – he is married. You are Light. He is Dark. You are not here to gawk at a hot Death... She shook her head. Give me strength, she sighed. I am here because of Severus, remember him Lily – the one who wants out! Once she had finished her private pep-talk, she continued on to the pub.

However, her treacherous heart led her back to Rodolphus' smirk, easy manner, long thick dark hair she could forever comb her hands through. She stopped and realised she needed an addendum to her initial pep-talk to bolster herself and her resolve. Lily Judith Evans, you are not here for a holiday from your principles, you are here to help a friend.

Still, she sighed; it was proving to her that there was a world out there to explore. Other adventures to pursue. Other wizards...maybe?

She reached the Three Broomsticks and walked up to Madam Rosmerta, who was cleaning the bar. As it was, the bar was relatively empty, considering it was a weekday, and kids and teachers were busy learning and being taught – Lily envied those pupils heartily, wishing she was back amongst them.

"Asphodel," she whispered in Rosmerta's ear. It was a key word to make sure Rosmerta could trust her.

The barmaid simply nodded and handed her a key. Lily took it and walked toward the door that led to the stairs. When she was at the foot of them, she took a deep breath and walked her way up. There must have been some kind of irony that the room number was 196. His birthday.

The usually self-assured witch fumbled with the magical key pass and almost dropped it between cracks on the floorboard. Whilst she was swearing up a storm, the door opened, and before she could look up, she was yanked through the threshold, only reacting with a jump when the door slammed shut behind her.

"You're late!" he snapped.

"I got waylaid."

"By what?"

"By whom, you mean," Lily huffed. "Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, if you must know. Not exactly madly in love, are they?"

She heard a snort from the dark shadows of the room. "You spotted that, did you?"

"Hello, Regulus," she said evenly.

"Hello, Lily," Regulus said with a mock bow.

"Anyway. It turned out meeting Rodolphus ironed out a wrinkle in my plan."

Severus nodded, and they warded the room tightly against eavesdroppers. There were two single beds, and that was it. The bathroom was down the hall; en-suites were only provided for those who could afford the rooms on the top floor. Lily sat next to Severus, being more comfortable with him as Regulus treated the moth-eaten blankets with disgust. Lily rolled her eyes. Pampered prince!

"What was your plan?" Severus asked.

"I learned a few things about Riddle that quite shocked me."

"Oh, so disembowelment stories faze you not one bit?" Regulus sneered.

"Pipe down, Black," Snape snarled. "She is risking a great deal being here in the first place – allow her to talk."

Whoh, what had happened to Sev in the past few years? Never had he defended her against one of his friends publicly before! Was it her imagination, or had he toned his muscles? She had never seen him walk so tall before. She realised how controlled he really must have been in his adversity – if truly let loose, the Marauders would not have stood a chance. Were his cheeks always so sharp and angular? His jaw strong? That dangerous glimmer in his obsidian eyes...were they always so...intense? She realised she was doing it again and shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts.

"As I was saying: Euphemia Potter told me that she was Riddle's Head Girl. That they had a relationship, and it was serious enough for him to ask her father's permission to marry her, but her father refused because he did not like Riddle."

"You mean James could have been..." Regulus paled.

"Yep," Lily shuddered at the thought. She'd have to overcome that particular reaction to the thought of the Dark Lord having sex, and soon. "So, finding this out, a plan began to form in my mind. I used Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and even Divination – any branch of magic that would help me to work out variables. I consulted solely on Euphemia for knowledge about Riddle that could help, but the only thing that did not add up was the how of it."

"The what of it?"

"The how of it," Lily sighed. "Or, more precisely, how I was going to execute the plan in the first place. To do that, I'd need a formal introduction. That could only be accomplished by knowing a Death Eater, and me literally bumping into Rodolphus helped that along."

Severus leapt up off the bed, causing Lily to topple on her back and hit her head against the headboard. She winced on impact.

"What part of 'Get out of England' did you not understand, Lily?"

"What part of 'I don't trust Dumbledore, but I trust you fully' do you not, Severus?"

"Fine, get on with it!"

Rolling her eyes, Lily looked over at Regulus; he was somewhat neutral to their history. He simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. It was odd how he could be so like Sirius. Her mother would describe them as two sides of the same coin.

"I did Rodolphus a favour by glamouring him to look somewhat like my father when he heard Bellatrix screech for him in what she thinks is a voice of innocence. She challenged me somewhat to be Witch enough for their Lord."

"That doesn't mean you have to bloody well whore yourself out for him!"

"I am not whoring myself out to anyone," Lily snapped. She was irritated that Severus would not let her fully explain. "I am doing this to stop you and Regulus from having a rather ugly tattoo, if you must know. I figured out something I can offer him in exchange to your freedom. I cannot be his follower, but I can offer him something else."

"Your body?" Regulus said softly. "Lily. Sev is right. You are crazy to contemplate this tomfoolery."

Lily chuckled. Severus slapped his palm against his face. Reg looked as if he had no idea what he had said. "What's the joke?"

"You said tomfoolery – seeing as that is exactly what we are up to...Fooling Tom!" Lily exclaimed between giggles.

"All right, Lily, it was not that funny!"

"Look, I meet Tom – offer him my services in exchange for your freedom. What could possibly go wrong?"

"You could be killed before you get the first word out," Snape said. "You could be too charmed by him and perhaps become his bride instead. You could be poisoned. Drugged. Gang-raped."

"See, and you were worried about what could go wrong, Lily," Regulus smirked. Lily smiled back, her eyes sparkling joyfully. Severus looked between the two and made to stand so they could not look at each other.

"As if I'm interested..." muttered Regulus.

"Not the point," Severus snapped again.

"Regulus," Lily said, "perhaps you ought to leave us alone for a few moments."

Regulus nodded. "Misbehave well, won't you!" He grinned on his way out, the result of which was a shoe being lobbed at his disappearing head from Severus foot.

"So, we're alone. What do you want to talk about?"

"Severus. I came here to answer your plea. I came with good intentions. I came here because you...because...I..." she found the words stuck half-way up her throat. "I came because..."

"Spit it out, Lily - it might be a five-pound note!"

Lily stamped her foot on the floor as she stood up and strode purposefully up to him. "I came to save your stubborn hide, because I still damn well care about you, Severus Snape, and if you cannot appreciate that, then I'm..."

Before she could finish her sentence, his mouth clamped onto hers, fiercely bruising her lips. An involuntary moan escaped her lips as his hands buried themselves in her fiery locks. He stopped kissing her just before she had a chance to kiss him right back. Their breaths mingled in between as they stared into each other's eyes, arousal clearly evident in both. Again, more zing. Then again, she always had more zing with Severus than with anyone else.

"You were what, Lily?" he panted.

Her answer was a kiss in return. Just as violent, equally as intoxicating, and wildly passionate. Lily pressed her body against Severus – yes, he had definitely gained muscle. Lean, sinewy as a snake but strong like a panther. They even fit better than she did against James. His clever potion making fingers frantically pushed through her hair. She slung her leg up to his hip as an invitation, but it slid back down when he did not hold it there. Disappointed, she stopped the kiss to breathe.

"I was leaving," she sighed, gulping as his eyes became unfathomable atoms of night. Suddenly, her mother's words came to fruition. "There is beauty in the night," she said as she stroked around his eyes, fascinated by their mesmeric quality. "I should go."

"Go then." He clung onto her.

In all her wildest imaginings, she never considered the remote possibility throwing herself at Severus as they finished two rather heady make out sessions. Nobly, he ignored her subconscious invite to take things further than passionate kissing.

"I am..." but her body belied her words as she somehow ended up closer to his body than she realised. "Sev, do you still trust me?"

"With my life, Lily," he said as their foreheads touched, Her hands clung onto his shoulders whilst his were threaded in her hair. "You said you had to go."

"I have to, but I..."

"Yes, sweetheart?"

She closed her eyes as she remembered the first time Severus had called her that underneath the shade of a tree in their local park after their third year. They had become more touchy-feely. Their hands clasped tightly to one another as they looked into each other's eyes, and he blurted it out, and she blushed. From then on, they were sweethearts to one another. Until that awful day.

"Don't want to," she finished lamely.

Severus sighed, and she calmed as his breath fell on her face, a balm soothing her troubled heart.

"I don't want you to, either," he gulped as his hands slipped out of her hair and onto her arms, making her look into his eyes. She did so, but her guilty expression spoke all.

"I will come back in a few days once I set up a communication with Rodolphus."

"For what it's worth, Lily, thank you for helping me."

"I love you. Of course, I'm going..." she stopped and froze on the spot as she thought back on what she had said. "I do love you, Severus," she said earnestly. "I," she kissed the tip of his nose, "love," the side of his quirky mouth, "you," the other side of his mouth. "Now and always."

Their lips met each other's again in a slow waltz, his fingers stroking the skin of her neck before cupping each side of her jaw, angling her face up so they could deepen the kiss. Lily rubbed her thighs together as she felt her panties become wet. Severus poured all he could into his kiss - the one thing he wanted to do with her since he met her.

"Lily," he sighed into her mouth. She moaned as his tongue moved against hers, revelling in his salty, spicy flavour. James tasted of strawberry jam and coffee. Severus tasted of coriander, cinnamon, salt, and a hint of apples. He was warm and sweet. She was home. She'd not had that feeling with James. "Sweet little Lily!" His lips disconnected from hers reluctantly but soon pinned themselves along her jawline and down her neck. "Be mine, Lily. We can travel the world together, make new discoveries, develop new potions. With Reg and me. Please." His mouth did wicked things to her neck as he spoke. "Please, Lil?"

For all his pranks, James' taste ran to the vanilla side of things in the bedroom. She had pleaded with him time and again that there were things she desired to try, like being tied to a bed. Blindfolded sounded intriguing. Role play. Dressing up with glamours. She wished there was a teacher in her year worthy of the famed detention fantasy. Sirius had often said he wanted Minerva to accommodate that particular area. All she had was Flitwick and – Slughorn – no... there was that DADA professor she rather had a crush on. Kissing Severus had bought a self-awakening realisation; Severus tasted of dark, forbidden desires, James was too safe for her. How could she marry a man that had only sparked damp squibs inside her belly when Severus was lighting up the bonfires inside her heart?

Suddenly Lily remembered who she was with and stepped back, breaking the kiss, regret flooded her countenance. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I can't, Severus. I will stop you from gaining the mark, but I cannot..." she declared with a shiver in her tone.

"I thought you said you love me?"

"I do, Severus, of course I do, but there are still bigger things going on in the world than us. Try to understand. If I leave with you, who'd defend my parents? Petunia and Vernon sure wouldn't."

The weight of frustrated energy was clearly too much for her friend to take as she watched him pace angrily back and forth, stopping twiddling his thumbs behind his back. Angrily, he turned and, without warning, picked up a chair, lifted it above his head and threw it against the wall. Lily flinched a little at the rare state of physical anger he allowed himself to indulge in.

"What exactly did splintering a chair achieve, Sev?" she sighed with exasperation, shaking her head and tried to diffuse the situation.

"Come on, Lily, who knows how long this infernal war will go on for!"

"My parents don't want me to marry James," she began. "His mother thinks I should not either. I rarely see Fleamont, so I have no idea what he thinks. I am stuck with parents and future in-laws. His friends are around all the time, bar Pettigrew – I cannot leave everyone in the lurch!"

"What of your heart? Your freedom? What of your ambitions? Lily, what about you?"

"It is not about me anymore, Sev. It is about the divide between Light and Dark. It is about how we still made a choice. I applaud the fact that you no longer desire to serve him, but I am also still going to fight for the Order. There is no such thing as neutrality."

"I'm Switz!"

"No time to joke, Sev. I mean it. Are you Light enough to become a member of the Order?"

"I doubt Dumbledore would want me in," he muttered sourly.

"If you still want me, Sev, you know that simply not taking the Mark is not good enough. IF I am to leave James – I need you. All of you! It has to be you to write to Dumbledore; it has to be on your terms. Now, I do seriously have to go."

"Be safe, sweetheart."

"I will, dearest."

"Thank you, again, for helping us out."

"No problem, Sev," Lily said. "I will be back soon."

"Goodbye, my friend."

"See you anon, my dear one."

With that, Lily took a few steps back before hurrying out of the room lest her resolve weakened. She dropped the key back to Madam Rosmerta, who was shamelessly flirting with Regulus.

When she arrived back at the gates of Kilners Grove, she walked in and was thankful for the long twisting drive way to the front of the house. She needed time to think, despite the fact that there were Thestral drawn carriages and broomsticks on hand – Lily needed to buy herself time.

How on earth did one of her equations know that the missing variable would be…Rodolphus Lestrange?

Hmm, so Rodolphus Lestrange was the problem of her equations and why she was so doubtful.

Next chapter: Rodolphus lays on the poetic charm and Lily comes to a decision about James.