bThe Unravelling Chapter Eight:
Friends in Need/b
Chloe's alarm o'clock blared at eight the next morning, but she woke up feeling like she hadn't slept at all. Every hour she had woken up in the night, reaching for Sirius hoping that he had snuck back in the middle of the night. But he was never there. After the third time she had started to get up and check on Ryan, wondering if he was having the same sleeping problems that she was. But every time he was sound asleep. She didn't dare check on Lily, knowing very well if her friend was awake the two of them would never sleep. So she would return to her empty bed, and think herself back to sleep.
Pulling herself out of the bed, Chloe stumbled down the hall and into the loo. She started the shower, still moving slowly, and stripped her clothing off. She stepped into the steaming shower, letting her aching body relax somewhat. She had noticed that Sirius still had no returned, but had tried to push the thought from her mind. She did wonder if there had been any letters, but she would have been notified by either an annoying owl or Lily.
Ten minutes later she stepped out of the shower, feeling much better. Her entire body had been so tense from stress; the hot shower seemed to be the only way to reverse it. She could hear the voice of Ryan as he chatted away to Lily in the kitchen. She couldn't help but smile. He was such a sweet boy; he could keep Lily distracted for hours.
Wrapping herself in a towel, she stopped in the bedroom to dry her hair with her wand and to change in some lime green scrubs before continuing to the kitchen. Lily was still wearing the pyjama's Chloe had lent her, with her long red hair in a plaid down her back. She smiled when she saw Chloe, and instructed her to sit down; she had made pancakes for breakfast. Ryan was already sitting in his high chair, covered in syrup and icing sugar, eating.
"I thought we needed a pick-me-up after last night," Lily explained as she handed Chloe a plate of pancakes.
"Now I know why James loves you so much," Chloe teased, eyeing the crepes greedily.
"Ha, right, like I do this for him. Trust me; I only feed him this nicely if I have the craving and make it for myself." Lily laughed, sitting where Sirius usually sat at breakfast time.
"Have there been any letters?" Chloe asked, pouring syrup over her pancakes.
"No, there's been nothing. But no news is good news, isn't it?" Lily said, trying to smile.
"Sure," Chloe agreed, and ate her food slowly.
"Mummy, where's daddy?" Ryan asked, looking at Chloe with expectant eyes.
"Oh, erm," Chloe said, knowing she should have thought of something earlier, "Daddy just had to go help Uncle James with something."
"Oh, okay," Ryan gave his mum a big smile, before tearing through his pancakes again.
"What time do you take your lunch break?" Lily asked, looking up at Chloe.
"Oh, um, probably around twelve thirty, why?"
Lily glanced at her food. "Well, I'm still meeting Severus today. I just thought that maybe I could drop Ryan off at St. Mungo's and pick him up after." She answered, sneaking a glance at Chloe.
"Oh right, I'd forgotten." Chloe had actually thought that Lily wasn't going to meet him anymore. They hadn't finished their conversation the night before, and Chloe couldn't help but wonder why Lily wanted to put herself through the drama. But she didn't voice this, just simply nodded. "Yeah, that would be fine. I wouldn't mind seeing my little man." Chloe agreed.
"Great, so I'll drop him off around twelve thirty then?" Lily checked.
"Yeah, just stay in the lobby and I'll be right down to get him. You'll be back an hour later, right?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, I'll come back for him," Lily looked at Ryan, and ruffled his hair. "Do you want to spend the day with Aunt Lily?"
Ryan grinned wide. "Yes! Oh Mummy, can I?" he asked looking at Chloe.
Chloe laughed, silently wishing that Sirius had been there to see Ryan's face. "Yes, of course. And you get to have lunch with me too."
"Really?" Ryan giggled. "Is this a special day?" he asked.
Chloe gave him an odd look. "Why would you say that?"
"Because I get to spend the day with Aunty Lily, and I get to eat with you!" Ryan explained, almost as if it had been the most obvious answer.
"Oh, well, I guess it is kind of a special day, then?" Chloe smiled.
"Chloe," Lily said, getting up to put her dishes in the sink. "If you don't mind, I'd love to go back to my flat and get a change of clothes before you head to work."
"Go ahead, I don't have to leave for another fifteen minutes, I'm going to Apparate." Chloe explained.
Lily smiled, "Great, I'll be right back." After rinsing the dishes in the sink she rushed off to the door, and went out into the hall to Apparate. With a faint 'pop' Chloe knew Lily had Disapparated. Finished with her own breakfast, she got up to rinse her own dishes. When she was done, she cleaned Ryan up. He was covered in syrup, and after struggling with him, she simply took her wand out and waved it once saying, i"Tergeo"/i, and Ryan was no longer sticky.
"Agh, mum!" Ryan whined. He hated it when Chloe or Sirius used the spell as it felt for a moment that you were doused in water then instantly dry all in a second.
"Well if you hadn't given me so much trouble, I wouldn't have had to it. Come on now; let's get you dressed before Aunt Lily gets back." Chloe chastised.
Ryan gave her a dramatic frown, but did as he was told. He hopped off the chair, and half ran half walked to his room where Chloe caught up with him. He had already picked out the robes he wanted to wear for the day, and Chloe began helping him change. By time she was done struggling with Ryan, Lily was back in a fresh pair of robes, with Chloe's pyjamas tucked under her arm.
"A letter came, it was from James. He says they've been watching them for the last little while. They believe Remus got the letter because he's been glancing into the woods a lot, looking for them. It seems like the other werewolves aren't suspicious of him at all." Lily said, taking the letter out of her pocket and handing it to Chloe.
"How can they not? They know he's been running around with the Order, he's been sighted fighting against them," Chloe quickly looked through the letter.
iLily,
I told the owl to go to our flat, but if you weren't there I told him to go to Chloe and Sirius's. I hope you both are okay. Sirius and Peter are resting, we all took turns staying up and watching the werewolves. In the morning we saw Remus, and he was looking around the trees; he has to have gotten the letter. We're not sure how he convinced the other's to let him join them, but he said something to convince them. We'll just have to wait until tonight to find out. I am certain that he will come and see us. I didn't want to do it, but Sirius said the only way we could get him to talk to us would be to guilt him into it.
I hope we'll be home by tomorrow. Please stay safe. I know that you wanted to be with us, but it really wouldn't be smart. Sirius has almost been caught once when he went to the loch to drink some water. One of the pack wanted to chase him down, said he might make a good breakfast. Thankfully the others told him no, and Sirius managed to get away. Don't worry, none of us we'll be making that mistake again.
Remember, I love you,
James/i
Chloe handed the letter back to Lily. "Well at least we know they're safe." Her stomach had flipped when James told Lily about Sirius. Sirius would be reckless enough to think he could get away with a stunt like that. Chloe almost wanted to Apparate to them just so she could tell Sirius off. But she knew it wouldn't do, that it was just Sirius. He would always be reckless like that, and had been since the day they first met.
"I hope everything works out." Lily said, pulling Chloe out of her thoughts.
"I'm sure it will." Chloe glanced at the clock in the living room, and saw that her time was up, she had to leave for work. She was simply too tired to walk today, and found that Apparating would do just fine for one day. "I should go or I'll be late – thank you so much for watching Ryan!" Chloe said, hugging Lily.
"No problem, it will be nice to have some private time with the little man, isn't that right?" Lily bent down to smile at Ryan.
"Yes!" Ryan cried, but Chloe wondered if he even knew what he was agreeing to.
"Okay, I love you," Chloe said bending down to kiss him on the forehead. He put his arms around neck and mumbled something that sounded like "I love you too," against her chest. "Alright, I'll see you later." Chloe said to Ryan and Lily.
As she went to the door she took one last look at Ryan, and left. Out in the hall Chloe took a deep breath, forcing everything out of her mind and focusing only Apparating to St. Mungo's. In an instant she felt the familiar sickening pull, and she appeared in the lobby of St. Mungo's. For a moment she was frozen, her thoughts turning to Sirius, and the other boys. Shaking herself she began to walk towards the locker room so she could change.
"Chloe, wait up!" Albert appeared at her side, looking a little put out.
"Oh, Albert," Chloe stopped to greet her friend.
"I called your name three times," Albert said with a look of concern.
"Sorry," Chloe gave him a tired smile, "It was a long night, and I don't really feel myself."
"Want to talk about it?" Albert asked, but Chloe knew full well he didn't.
"No, no it's fine. How are you? It seems like ages since I asked you that." Chloe said giving a smile.
"I know, Pricilla has been working you hard." Albert agreed. "But I do have some good news," Albert gave a smirk. He could hardly contain himself.
"Oh really, what?" Chloe asked, happy to have some good news.
"Well you know, I'm sure, that Kathy and I have been seeing each other for almost two months now." Chloe stared at Albert. She had no idea. The last time she had talked to Kathy she hadn't said anything about Albert. Well, she hadn't really said much. Simply told Chloe she was fine, and handed her a patient's chart. At the time Chloe had so many things on her mind, she didn't have the time to make much conversation anyway.
"No, I didn't know." Chloe gave Albert an apologetic look. "I feel like a terrible friend. I'm always so caught up in things... I've barely spoken to Kathy, less than you."
"Chloe its fine. Kathy, I think she understands. I do; you have a family to take care of. We may young, but you're living a different life than us." Albert summed up.
"It's no excuse," Chloe decided. "So tell me everything, I have to make up for lost time." She told him as they entered the locker room, and put their things away.
"Well last night, we were talking, and, well she's my girlfriend." Albert told her.
"Oh that's great Albert! I really have to talk to Kathy – I guarantee she's just brimming with excitement." Chloe laughed.
"Well, I think she's happy about it." Albert added.
Chloe turned to look at him. "Albert, trust me, she's happy about it. I know you've liked her for a long time... I'm just glad she's finally moving on from Remus." Chloe lied. Truthfully, a large part of her still wished things had worked out between her two friends. They had dated after Hogwarts, but Remus ended it because he didn't want to bring Kathy down. He never told her about his problem, and Kathy was left heart-broken, and still pining.
"Ah, yes, the infamous Remus Lupin." Albert said with a sigh. Chloe couldn't help but laugh. For such a confident man, Albert seemed to get antsy around Remus. It was probably due to the fact that he was very much aware of what went on between Kathy and Remus. He had been friends with Kathy through the whole thing, and had heard all about the up's and downs of their relationship. Chloe had a feeling that Albert did feel threatened by Remus, but at the same time she knew Kathy would never hurt Albert. "By the way, what happened yesterday?"
"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.
"Well, you went out to lunch with the bloke, and came back raving. You never explained." Albert told her.
"Oh, well; it's nothing important." Chloe assured him. "He's just, he's ridiculous."
"I know, he dumped Kathy after all." Albert laughed.
"Did I hear my name?" Chloe turned to see Kathy enter the room. She glanced at Chloe, but quickly turned her attention to Albert. "I just wanted to see you," she grinned and walked over to Albert. They kissed, and shared a rather intimate moment, and Chloe quickly turned away feeling awkward.
"How was your night?" Albert asked.
"It was fine; to be honest nothing could bring me down right now." Kathy giggled.
"I'm glad to hear it," Albert said. "I was just telling Chloe our good news."
Chloe took this as her cue to turn back to them, and smiled at Kathy. "Great news, I'm so happy."
"Good," Kathy said shortly, and looked back to Albert. "I'll see you up stairs, you've been assigned to my floor."
"Brilliant," Albert said, a little uncomfortable. He had noticed Kathy's behaviour. After a quick kiss Kathy left without so much as a glance at Chloe.
"That went well," Chloe said staring at the door where Kathy had left.
"Did something happen?" Albert asked, looking confused. "She hasn't said anything to me."
Chloe shook her head, biting her lower lip. "No, I guess I should expect that. We haven't really talked in awhile. I guess you were wrong."
Albert shook his head now. "Nah, I'm not wrong. I'll ask Pricilla if you can work with me. That way you can talk to her, apologise and I'm sure she'll agree she's being silly."
"Always an optimist." Chloe groaned, giving Albert one last look and leaving the locker room.
An hour later she found herself on the Fourth floor, checking in on the hospitals long-term spell damage patients. Kathy had said nothing to her when she went to get her charts. Simply handed Chloe the charts and went back to her work. Chloe was a bit lost on how to go about things, and Albert tried giving her some tips.
"Sit with us on break, and talk about Ryan. She won't be able to resist talking about him." Albert suggested.
"Or she'll just continue ignoring me." Chloe disagreed, "I honestly don't have the time for this Albert. There's a war going on, I've got a four year old son to worry about, never mind every second my husband and my friends seem to be involved in some kind of danger."
Albert gave her a look. "Husband?"
Chloe heaved a sigh, and put her head in her hands. "Well, I might as well call him that. Just because I don't wear a ring yet doesn't mean it won't happen."
"Are you telling me he's asked you to marry him?" Albert asked, looking more confused.
"No, no, that was just something that slipped out." Chloe quickly hushed him before he could say more. "I don't know... I haven't really thought about it. But Lily and James are going to get married; it's only a matter of time where he starts thinking the same idea."
"I never pictured Sirius as a follower." Albert smirked.
"Trust me, he isn't. 'Marriage' is probably not on his list of reckless things to do." Chloe explained, and stepped away from her locker, getting ready to start work.
"Ah, then you've just got to make it so." Albert said with a knowing luck.
Chloe shook her head. "Right, when you figure out how to do that, please tell me."
Chloe headed out of the locker room, followed by Albert, and together they took the lift up to the fourth floor. Chloe wasn't able to talk Kathy at all before her lunch break. Kathy would simply hand her, her charts without so much as a look. Chloe had tried to strike up a conversation, ask her how things were but Kathy would brush her off saying she was too busy to talk. Throughout the morning, and helping patients, Chloe flashed an exasperated look to Albert, who could only shrug, dismayed, in response.
As it neared her lunch break, Chloe knew she only had a few minutes to try and convince Kathy to eat with her. It did help, funnily enough, that Ryan would be visiting because Chloe was sure Kathy couldn't deny seeing him. So when she finished her rounds, she went to the front desk where Kathy sat, copying something out. It was a few seconds before Kathy noticed – or decided to 'notice' that Chloe was standing in front of her.
"Yes?" Kathy asked no hint of a smile on her face. It was so odd for Chloe to see Kathy so stony faced, but she pushed this thought out of her head.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to join me for lunch – Lily is dropping Ryan off in a few minutes."
Kathy blinked, thinking. Chloe could see that it was hard for Kathy not to jump at the chance but at the same time she felt in her gut there was a good possibility that Kathy would say no.
"As much as I would love to, I've really got a lot of paperwork. Maybe you could bring him by before Lily comes to get him?" Kathy suggested, and Chloe could see she was being genuine.
Trying not to frown, Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure I can get away with that."
"All right, look forward to it," Kathy said quickly before looking back down at the document she had been copying.
"Cool," Chloe said quietly, backing away from the desk. She knew that Kathy had wanted to say yes, but it was clear to Chloe now that Kathy had already moved on. Or at least, was trying to. In some way she had expected this to happen, but she had always hoped it wouldn't.
Sucking in a heavy breath, Chloe headed over to the lift, and clamoured inside the busy lift. There were a few other Healers as well as discharged patients, a few she had spoken to once or twice. There was small talk, but Chloe could barely pretend to be happy. When the lift doors finally came to the main floor, Chloe rushed out. In the waiting area she spotted Lily and Ryan immediately.
Ryan was all smiles, excited to be visiting his mother at work. Lily had a little more trouble smiling at Chloe when she saw her. "Nervous?"
"Terrified," admitted Lily.
"Remember you don't have to stay. If he says or does anything-" Chloe began, but she was quickly hushed by Lily.
"I can take care of myself, Chloe, I am an Auror after all. Besides, we both know Severus could never hurt me." Lily reminded her.
Chloe nodded. "Yes, yes, but he's probably going to want to kill James, and that's kind of a problem, don't you think?"
Lily made a small smile, and then quickly hugged Chloe. "I'll be back in an hour," she said in her ear.
"We'll be in the lobby," Chloe told her as they pulled apart.
"Give me a big hug Ryan," Lily said, kneeling down to hug Ryan.
"Bye bye Lily!" Ryan exclaimed, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck. Lily grinned, giving a soppy kiss on his cheek, and with some difficulty stood up again.
"Good luck," Chloe said, giving Lily one last hug.
"Thanks, I'll see you soon." Lily waved off, moving away slightly to Disapparated.
"Bye!" Ryan shouted just as Lily disappeared.
Chloe stared at the spot where Lily had been for a few more minutes before turning to Ryan. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes Mummy, I could eat a hundred cauldron cakes." Ryan said enthusiastically.
"Hmm, well I'm sure I can find something for you to eat that's a little better than cauldron cakes." Chloe said, holding out her hand for Ryan to take. "Come on, we have to go upstairs."
"Okay," Ryan said taking hold of her hand. As they walked over to the lifts, Ryan hummed to himself, wiggling about as he usually did when walking. Just as they neared the lift, Ryan suddenly halted, pulling on Chloe's hand. "Mummy wait!"
"Yes," Chloe looked down to Ryan, amused.
"Does 'better' mean healthier?"
"Yes, that's what it means."
"But can I still have a cauldron cake?"
"Yes, but you've got to eat the healthy food first."
"Okay," Ryan said shortly with a grin.
"Can we go on the lift now?" Chloe asked, gesturing to the now open doors.
"Yes," Ryan nodded, rushing forward.
Inside the lift, they joined a tall wizard whose ears had steam pouring out of it. A Healer Chloe didn't recognize was asking him questions about when it had started, and if it was possible he had taken any strange potions by accident. At every floor more and more people clambered onto the lift, and left until it was mostly Healers on the lift going on break for their lunch.
When they reached the tea room, Ryan was getting antsy. As soon as the lift doors opens, he zoomed out of it, and rushed over to the counter where an elderly witch by the name of Susan worked. She was serving a few people who were there visiting, all ordering soup or sandwiches. Because food can't be conjured up from thin air, most of the food was displayed in a glass case to choose from. It was mostly raw ingredients for sandwiches etc, but all you had to do was tell Susan what you wanted to eat and she would whip it up in a storm with a flick of her wand. Every time Ryan had come to the hospital he usually he demanded to come upstairs to see Susan make him a sandwich.
"Ryan! It's been too long!" Susan exclaimed as he rushed up to the counter. She had finished serving the witch and wizard, and was grinning down at Ryan. Chloe joined them just as Ryan was telling her what he wanted to eat.
"I don't want soup – daddy always makes soup. I want a big sandwich. With everything. And lots of pickles. I love pickles." Ryan finished, and looked to his mum expectantly.
"I'll just take whatever soup you've got ready. And I'm sure you know his sandwich by now." Chloe laughed, sharing a meaningful look with Susan.
"Oh of course I know the little guys taste by now. But how have you been dear? You don't come up here as often as you used to." Susan asked, as she began waving her wand; a bowl appeared upon a tray, and she quickly pointed her wand at the bowl, vegetable soup pouring out of it. When she finished, Ryan's sandwich was next.
"It's been really busy on the wards. And I've been bringing my own lunch, sometimes just Apparating to my apartment - it's easier to be honest." Chloe explained, enjoying the small talk. It was so nice not to talk about the war, about the disappearances and the deaths. It never lasted long; somehow the conversation would always turn to whatever was in the papers that morning.
"Yes, yes, I would even guess safer in some ways, to be home with your family. Dark times these days. I couldn't possibly know what I do in your position, a young mother and all. When I was your age, life was so much more carefree. War was only something the Muggles dealt with." Susan observed.
"Well I'll try and not make myself scarce, and see you more often." Chloe agreed, picking up the tray, and handing Susan a few galleons.
"You take care of yourself honey!" Susan called after her.
Ryan jumped up and down as he followed Chloe over to a table near one of the large window s overlooking the street outside. They were completely invisible to the people outside, but Ryan loved to make faces at pedestrians hoping one might look up and actually see him. Ryan ate his lunch without much fuss, happy to see a cauldron cake sitting on the tray waiting for him. He hummed softly to himself, only pausing every now and then to make a face at a Muggle below. Chloe loved to sit and watch him. She enjoyed his easy company, and for some reason seeing him so happy made her feel happy despite all the worries on her mind.
A large part of her still wished that Kathy had agreed to see her at lunch, and she sub-consciously glanced at the lift doors every few minutes hoping Kathy would exit, all smiles, and sit down with Ryan and her. But it never happened, and it was very likely that Kathy had gone out with Albert to a nearby restaurant or cafe.
"Are we going home after?" Ryan interrupted Chloe's thoughts.
"I'm sorry hun?" Chloe asked.
"Are we going home after we eat?" Ryan repeated.
Chloe shook her head. "No, mummy still has to work a little bit more. You'll get to spend more time with Lily!"
Ryan gave her a pouty look. He missed his father, she knew – it broke her heart. "Can't you come home early?"
"Maybe," Chloe lied, knowing he wouldn't stop if she didn't say it.
"Okay," Ryan didn't smile, just stared at his half eaten sandwich. "Can I eat my cauldron cake?" he looked back up Chloe with great big puppy-dog eyes.
Chloe grinned, holding back a laugh. "All right, but you had better eat your dinner tonight or no desert!" Chloe warned.
"I will, I will!" Ryan agreed, grabbing the cauldron cake off the tray and starting to eat it looking the most excited he had all day.
"Once you're done that we should get going to meet Aunt Lily downstairs, she should be here soon." Chloe told Ryan, checking her watch. It surprised her how fast the last hour had gone, and she secretly wished that this moment would last for forever. She wouldn't have to work, wouldn't have to worry about anything (well kind of), and she just had to sit here enjoying good food with Ryan, who was happy and content just to make faces at unseeing people. It was these simple things that reminded Chloe what normal was. Not that normal had ever been a part of her life, it seemed.
"Chloe." Someone said nearby. It was lower than a whisper, and if Chloe hadn't been listening properly she probably wouldn't have heard it.
Chloe turned with a start. Lily stood by the table. She looked terrible, pale and sickly. Her voice sounded strained, and she held her hands in tight fists at either side of her, so that her knuckles were as pale as her face.
"Lily!" Chloe exclaimed with the quietest voice she could muster. "Merlin, what's wrong? What happened?" she rushed to get her friend a seat, and ignored Ryan as he began babbling with excitement at seeing Lily. Almost pushing Lily into her chair, Chloe drew her own close so that she could hear her friend speak.
Lily was clearly shaken. Whatever had taken place in the hour had not been good. "He... hates me." Lily burst.
Chloe blinked at her friend, and attempted to console her. "Oh... Um. I hate to be a bugger, but didn't you sort of expect that?"
Lily shook her hand, tears still falling down her face. "I – I – I just didn't expect him to react the way he did. He could hardly look at me, like I was some kind of idisease/i."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Chloe said, trying to sound genuine. She had thought this would happen; Snape would in no way be pleased with the news of her pregnancy.
"It started off fine, I mean, as best as I thought it could. Severus had heard about the engagement – it was in all the magazines and the Daily Prophet. Anyway he asked me how I could marry James, I told him he knew the answer. For awhile he was silently fuming, pacing back and forth. He told me he was living in his parents old house, his father died..." Lily's voice faltered, and Chloe quickly hushed Lily, rubbing her on the shoulder.
"How did he find out about the baby?" Chloe asked quietly – all they needed was the news that Lily was pregnant to get out.
Lily sniffled into her sleeve. "He figured it out. He started to lecture me about ruining my life; that I would wake up one morning and find out that I had married someone who was selfish and just thought me a House Cup – a prize, something to be seen and not heard." Lily's face grew dark. "So I said to Severus it sounded like he was talking about himself."
Chloe's eyes widened. "I bet he didn't like that."
"No, he started talking about terrible children we were going to have. I slapped him, said that we were going to have the most wonderful children. Children who were going be brave, smart, and never judge someone based on their heritage, their wealth, their blood." Lily suddenly looked very proud.
"Yes, but how did Snape figure it out?" Chloe pushed.
"He just knew. The way I talked about having a child with James, he just narrowed his eyes at me and in a second he knew. He said it through his teeth – 'You're pregnant' – he almost choked. He could barely look at me, muttering that it would end up just like James, an attention-seeking, arrogant prat obsessed with his self. I don't know if he meant me to hear, but I just started shouting at him, telling him that James will be the best father a child could ask for because he won't care if its blue or green – James wouldn't care if this child is magical or no because in his eyes it would still be perfect, something that he, Severus, could never understand. And I left. I couldn't bear to be around him any longer." Lily finished, and slumped over in her chair, staring at her feet.
"Well its over," Chloe said after a few minutes of silence. Ryan was still in his seat, silent and watching Lily and his mother closely. He knew something was wrong and had quickly learned it was important to stay silent at times like this. That's just what happened when you grew up during a war of any kind.
Lily looked up at her and gave her a thin smile. "You were right, I shouldn't have bothered to see him. There is nothing more I can say to him, his mind isn't changing any. He said he hated me before I left – but thinking about it now he probably just said that. Like I said, you were right, about everything. He's still in love with me, even after all these years. I guess this is just how it's going to be."
"You should head home," Chloe said, glancing at her watch. As much as she wanted to be there for her friend, to console her, she had to get back to work or risk getting in trouble by Peabody who would not be pleased to find Chloe in the visitors floor with her crying friend and son. Not when there were extremely ill patients she had to care for. "Make yourself some tea, put on the telly and enjoy some Muggle entertainment." Chloe smirked.
Lily gave a small laugh. "I'll let you get back to your job, I know I'll have your full attention tonight."
"Time to go home?" Ryan finally spoke from across the table.
"Yes, honey, Aunt Lily has done blubbering; your mum has got to get back to work." Lily said to Ryan, casting a sideways glance to Chloe as she did.
Chloe gave a light chuckle, and at once she and Lily stood up. Hugging each other tightly Chloe whispered in her ear, "It's sad, Lily, that you've lost him as a friend, but you lost him a long time ago, its time to let go." Lily gave a nod, understanding what Chloe meant, but she said nothing. Chloe gave her a smile, and then turned to Ryan who was waiting for his own goodbye hug. "Be good for Aunt Lily now!" she told him when she bent down to hug him.
"I will mummy, come home soon." Ryan told her as he put his arms around her. He held on to her a little longer than expected, and Chloe gave him a squeeze and he let her go.
"Bye," Lily said to Chloe as she and Ryan headed over to the lifts.
Chloe stood still, watching as Lily and Ryan entered the lift and disappeared behind the steel doors. Every part of her body ached. It seemed every day there was a new layer of problems laid upon her. She understood why Lily was so upset about Snape's behaviour, but the nostalgia she held for her childhood friend had to end somewhere. She had made her decision quite clear in fifth year. As Chloe understood it, after exams they stopped speaking, and sometime during sixth year Lily began dating James, which she only assumed meant Snape wouldn't even approach Lily.
Taking a deep breath, Chloe checked her watch again and knew it was time for her to return to work. She couldn't spend any more time thinking about the strange relationship Lily and Snape had. There were bigger worries on her mind. Waving her wand, the tray and dishes disappeared and she quickly headed towards the stairs, feeling that she could move much quicker by foot then taking the lift.
bA/N: So it's been awhile. I've been having difficulty finding time to write, and that's updates have been slow. I have a really bad habit of taking on more than I can chew. I've been trying to re-write three other stories as well as doing a sequel for another story of mine along with this story. A bit ridiculous for a girl who only gets a few hours a day to write and take care of school business. I'll admit, I spend way too much time on Facebook as well. But I'm thinking (and hoping) that when I get my laptop in two weeks I'll be able to spend more time writing. One can hope.
Thanks for reading, for being so patient and not sending me 'hate' reviews. I do hope you review, but at this point I can't blame you if you don't./b