Chapter 2: Crying and Healing
As they were talking Severus thought he saw something red on Lily's pale face. At first he thought it was just a heat-blush, it has been getting hot out lately, but on closer inspection he saw, on her right cheek...
"Lily", he said in a dark voice, "what is this?"
Before Lily could turn her head toward the shade of the trees Severus took her face in his hands and examined her as one who examine a fragile piece of jewelry, carefully and delicatly.
A few seconds later Severus kept her face firmly, yet gently, in his hands and looked straight into her emerald green eyes with his obsedian black.
"Who did this to you?" anger, concern, and affection seeping into every word. "Who was so stupid enough to strike you like this? Was it your angelic sister, Petunia?" The last question was covered in sarcasm and fury.
Without saying anything Lily's eyes began to fill with tears and she buried her face into his chest. She started to cry heavily and Severus wrapped his arms around her as she drew closer to his body. She cried and cried, lamenating everything Petunia did to her a short twenty minutes ago.
During this time Severus's mind was in a jumble of thoughts and feelings. He hated Petunia ever since he first saw her, and hated her even more for what she did to the goddess weeping in his arms. He also had a deep sense of pleasure knowing that Lily was crying out to him and letting him hold her petite figure so close she was almost in his lap. He could detect a mixed scent of cherries, fresh cut grass and honeysuckle radiating from her skin.
He was also feeling hopeful, and for two reasons. One was that this would bring them closer together and make them more than best friends. The second thought was that this would help Lily understand that all Muggles were like Petunia, and Tobias, and that they need to be dealt with accordingly.
After a while she lifted her head away from his chest and croaked out a small voice, "Sorry about that," she said looking at the front of his shirt, which was soaked black with tears. "I didn't want you to see me so upset like that, which was why I was at the fountain when you found me, and I didn't want you to see the mark she gave me."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Severus said still holding her in his arms. "She is the one that needs to apologize. She is the one who hurt and belittled you, and, literally, threw you out of your own house just so she could be alone with her boyfriend."
"I know, Severus, I'm just as angry about the whole thing," Lily admitted with a small, sad nod, meeting his eyes.
Suddenly Severus heard the faintest whispers from Lily, but her lips, which were pouting, full and trembling slightly, were not moving.
Flicking his eyes back on her's he heard them again, this time louder as though she were arguing with herself.
"He's right of course. 'Tuney' dearest needs to apologize, or, better yet, pay for what she did. That insolent, worthless, hypocrite of a Mug-"
"No! I admit, she was horrid for what she did, but I'm not getting myself in trouble with the Ministry just because she was playing the irate housewife."
"That makes sense. Why get yourself in trouble just because Ms. I-want-to-be-a-witch-but-can't-because-I'm-a-talentless-Muggle can't control her obsessiveness for so called 'perfection'. You probably could help with that, once you turn seventeen..."
"Again, no! Even when I do turn seventeen I'm never, EVER going to use magic on her, especially one of the Unforgivables!"
When he broke eye contact and the voices stopped he could not believe what he had just discovered. Not only was he starting to perform Legilimancy without a wand (which was an extremely rare feat for underage wizards even with wands), but he also heard Lily's deepest, darkest thoughts. Thoughts that actually considered using Dark magic, and on a Muggle no less! Those hopeful thoughts that he had earlier came back to him a hundred fold and made him happier than he thought possible.
"What are you thinking Sev?" Lily asked suspeciously.
"I'm still thinking that Petunia needs nothing short of a good Furnacules curse during her boyfriend's visit. That way he can see who she really is under that prissy persona of her's," he responded coldly.
Lily's mouth twitched into what Severus thought was vindictive pleasure at the thought of Petunia's face covered in massive hives and boils, but it ceased its action when she said, "Maybe, but Sev-"
Holding a hand to silence her, Snape continued, "However, I also think you've suffered enough at the memory."
Getting up and bringing Lily with him he took a small, flat jar from his jeans and gave it to her.
"This is a fast-acting Healing Salve", he explained at the questioning look on her face. "Simply put it on the handprint and it will disappear completely, like it never happened."
Nodding at the suggestion Lily went to the bank of the river, knelt down carefully to see her reflection, and applied the Salve to her right cheek. In a few seconds the mark vanished, leaving her face pure and with no evidence of the incident. Smiling she stood up, returned the jar to Severus, and gave him an appreciative hug.
After breaking apart, he took her hand and the young friends made their way out of the glade, toward the fence of the park, and down to an empty curve.