Chapter 5: Pleasant Dreams
Closing the door, Lily went into the kitchen, kissed her mother good night, and headed to her room upstairs. When she rounded the corner she found a livid looking Petunia leaning in front of her door, already in her pink flannel gown and with red eyes. She had been crying.
"Well, don't we look happy," she spat at Lily.
Sighing Lily placed her hand on the doorknob to her room and began to open the door. She was too exhausted to deal with her sister's moodiness.
"I'm talking to you!" the blonde half shouted, obviously trying not to alert her parents.
Sighing again, Lily turned to her sister and said, "Petunia, I'm tired. Okay? I've had a rough day and you looking as though you're about to smack me again is not helping my mood. I just want to get some sleep and forget our little squabble ever happened."
"You had a rough day!" she continued to half yell. "I had to work double-time to get everything perfect for Vernon's visit because you had to mess up the carpet with those trashy sandals."
"They are not trashy and you know it!" Lily said indignatly.
"Then I had to go and straighten up the path that you, once again, messed up when you landed on your fat ass," she continued with more venom.
"She's one to talk. I've seen Vernon and he's as big as a killer whale!" Lily thought, and, for once today, did not backtrack.
"And then, just as I had everything under control with Vernon, Mum and Dad came back home early because that nosy old cat, Sullivan, couldn't keep her nose out of other people's business!" Petunia gave her a look that clearly said that she blamed everything on Lily.
"Again, she's one to talk! The horse-faced hypocrite!"
"Now as punishment I'm not allowed to see Vernon, I have to give a week's worth of allowance to the poor, and I have to work at the soup kitchen until I return to school," she said this as though the thought would make her vomit. "The soup kitchen! A week's worth of allowance! I can't believe this!"
With that she stormed off into her room and slammed the door.
Meanwhile, Lily entered her room shaking her head and started changing into her own flannel gown- a deep blue- thinking about all of the things that happened to her today. From the note she wrote to Severus about their meeting; to the incident with her sister; to the time she spent with Severus at the park, on the bus, in London and at home, and to what happened a few minutes ago.
"Funny how he keeps popping up whenever you think about him."
"Yeah, it is. But that doesn't mean I'm falling for him. Does it?"
Shaking her head once more Lily climbed into bed and started drifting off to sleep, being sung into the depts of unconscienceness by the storm's melody on her window.
That night she had a dream. Her and Severus were back in the glade and he noticed the handprint on her face. Lily collapsed into his arms the way she did in reality, but this time the sensations she felt were intensified.
She could feel the warmth of his embrace as his arms coiled around her and she felt herself curl up in his lap. She could feel his heartbeat inside his chest give off a fast, steady rhythm that copied hers. She could smell the scent of his body- freshly turned parchment from a book, an herb that he liked to use in his potions, and the scent of pine trees.
Then she looked into his eyes and saw a flame inside of him that was a natural part of him. A flame they both knew because it was reflected in her eyes too. A flame that promised happiness and the fulfillment of even the smallest kiss.
At that moment they were still in that embrace as a plush brown loveseat glided around inside a moving vehicle. After that they separated into comfortable seating positions close to each other in a dark corner, becoming more cozy as they moved closer to each other.
Seconds later they were on the floor in front of a familiar fireplace, but no one else was there, and their hands were touching. Pale skin meeting fair. Obsedian meeting emerald. Thin, soft, pale lips closing in on full, pouting, pink lips.
They touch, and everything turns into bliss. Hearts beating faster than a hippogriff's wings. Flames burning brighter and truer than the ones in the fireplace...
Lily found her arms wrapped around his neck and her hands pulling his head closer to hers, keeping their lips locked. She felt her lips part and making his open as well. She felt her tongue slip out as it started to play with his, trying to see how far they would both go...
Severus's arms were coiled around her middle. His right hand was keeping her head close to his and getting entangled in the dark red tresses, while his left was going down the small of her back, pass the hem of her skirt, then under it, touching her thigh...
The alarm clock sounded and Severus Snape woke up with a start. Sitting upright in his bed he brought his hand to his forehead, only to find that it was sweating. Looking around he saw that it was not just his forehead that was sweating, but also his chest, his arms, legs... basically everywhere. It felt as though he was waking up in heat.
"Which is probably true, considering the dream I had," he thought with a sense of... bliss.
In his dream he and Lily were back in the park, and she was crying into his chest about the handprint on her face, seating with his arms around her in his lap. But when she looked up into his eyes he saw a flame dancing behind them. A flame that promised him his heart's desire and that she wanted the same thing from him in return.
Soon they were in a sliding, plush brown loveseat. A few seconds later, in a dark corner of a room trying to get closer and more comfortable.
Then they were seating on the floor in front of a fireplace. Their eyes met, their hands touched and soon their lips followed. The flame that was burning inside of them was truer and brighter than the flames in the fireplace. Their hearts were beating in a synchronized, fast pace, faster than a hippogriff's wings.
Lily had her arms around his neck and her hands were clapsed tightly to his head, holding him in place as she pulled their lips apart. He could feel their tongues in each other's mouths, pushing to see how far they could go...
His arms were holding Lily's petite form close to his, feeling her pressing against him as his right hand entangled itself into her beautiful ruby strands. His left was slowly going down her back, pass her skirt, coming under it, then touching the soft, creamy skin of her thigh...
"Okay, stop!" Lily thought while still panting from her dream and from the suddenly humid atmosphere in her room. "That was just..."
"Wonderful? Right? Maybe an omen of things to come? You know it will happen sooner or later."
"Again, stop! Severus Snape and I are just friends. We have to be anyway. He's in Slytherin with a bunch of wanna-be Death Eaters who want nothing more than to corrupt. I'm in Gryffindor with a bunch of people who want to fight Death Eaters and who want to finish them off before they have a chance to join."
"All the more reason to be lovers than friends. This way you can show him a different way of life, and he won't have to be on the receiving end of any curses."
"Or make it worse, especially where Potter is concerned. Those two hate each other with a passion that goes beyond House rivalry, and just us being friends makes Sev a target for His Royal Pigheadedness. If I started dating him, Potter would have a field day!"
"Are you saying Sev can't defend himself? In case you haven't noticed, he has been the Slytherin Dueling Champion as long as you have and he knows more spells, both Dark and Light, that can be useful to dethrown His Toohighness once and for all."
"Maybe."
"And you can help him, you know. Two Duel Champions, from rival Houses, dating each other. That would not only make Hogwarts history, but could also knock that Quidditch jock down a few knotches faster than a Bludger to his fat head."
"True," Lily began to wonder about the possibilities of this as she got ready for the day.
Later that day two owls, one a big barn owl, the other a red tawny owl, separated while flying down the lanes of houses. The barn owl went to the left, towards Spinner's End, and the tawny owl went to the right, towards Westminster. Both of them were carrying bulky parchment envelops to their respective owners.
The red, tawny owl came when the Evans family was gathered for breakfast at eight-thirty, much to the displeasure of an already red-eyed Petunia. The owl pecked at the window in the kitchen and was let in by Adriana, already prepared with an owl treat. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had gotten used to this after years of getting letters from their young witchling.
Looking at the front of the envelop with a smile Mrs. Evans came back into the dining area and said, "Here you are Tiger Lily, and, might I say, it feels rather heavy."
"Thanks, Mama," Lily whispered, embarrassed at the early use of her nickname.
Opening the envelop, which was addressed Lily Evans, At the Dining Room Table, Facing the Kitchen, 13 Westminster Road, England, she read the letter then burst into a shout of laughter.
"Mama! Papa! Read this! Look what it says!" she exclaimed, giving the letter to her father as he and his wife read it with questioning expressions.
"Ms. Lily Aurora Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been made Gryffindor Prefect for this year. Due to your excellent academic performance these past four years, your ability to multitask various appointments with your clubs, and your unique air of authority, we believe that you shall do all of us at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry very proud.
You will be working alongside other students from different Houses, including your fellow Gryffindor Prefect. We hope this will help you get to know your fellow students better.
Good luck, and please find enclosed your badge, schedule for your first Prefects' meeting, and the required list of schools supplies.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster, Superior Mungwomp, Order of Merlin First Class..."
The confusion on her parents' faces vanished and was replaced with joy at their daughter's accomplishment. They were even more excited when they saw the Prefect's badge in the envelop just like the letter said. It was crest-shaped, silver and had the Gryffindor lion standing on its hind legs leaning on a bold capital P.
"That's my girl!" Harry Evans exclaimed as he got up from his seat to take her from behind. Then, placing her in a headlock with his right arm, he ruffled her red hair that she started to resemble the lion on her new badge.
"Papa!" Lily laughed back, elbowing him in the stomach, slipping out of his grip, and holding his arm behind his back in a half-nelson. "Don't do that!"
As the Evans, save for Petunia, finshed laughing at the little exhibition that occured whenever Lily made Harry proud, Adriana pulled her husband away from her daughter, and gently reprimanded him.
"Harry! I know you're proud of Lily, but do you really have to rough-house with her? I'm still trying to make a proper young lady out of her."
"Hey!"
Laughing, Harry replied, "I know, dearest heart. But I think Lily is more than enough of a lady already. She has your etiquette lessons down pact, and she knows not to knaw her bones in public. I just don't want anybody, especially a boy, to get the wrong impression that she can be pushed around easily."
Turning, he gave each of his daughters a wink and concluded, "Besides, I didn't raise my daughters to be wallflowers. I raised them to be the strong and sturdy plants they were named after."
With that the family finished off their breakfast with much more gusto. Except for the eldest daughter, of course. During that time she kept flashing daggers at her Prefect sister, and continued to stab at her bacon with unneccessary force.
Afterwards, Lily went up to her room to write to Severus, letting him in on the good news. But when she reached her room she saw, hanging upside down from a straightened out old hook, which was screwed inside of the window frame, was Severus and Lily's pet bat...
"Reinfield!" Lily said as she closed the door and went to sit in the chair at her desk. "Do you have a note from Sev?"
In answer, the big black bat spread its sturdy wings, showing off its muscular chest and on its leg, wrapped carefully tight, was a piece of parchment that had Lily's name in delicate handwriting. On closer inspection, its left wing looked a little crooked from the folding joint, and the broad chest held a thin, long scar, close to where his heart is.
The bat was from the mill tower that overlooked Spinner's End where Severus and Lily tended to the wounds that a superstitious Muggle woman inflected upon it when she tossed a sharp rock at it. The rock hit the bat's left wing, braking it and making a deep cut on its chest, and it would have died on the spot if it were not for Lily and Severus passing by when the poor thing collapsed on the ground. The bat was starting to bleed from the gash but was trying to take off, even with its broken wing.
So they decided to look after it until it was better. Lily provided the bandages and the padding for its bed, and Severus provided the healing solutions and an old shoe box that he kept herbs in. In a few weeks the bat, who they christened 'Reinfield', was fully recovered but chose to stay with its two caretakers, delivering messages and receiving some food as payment.
When Lily untied the parchment from his legs, Reinfield stayed put on the perch and refolded his wings, waiting patiently in case Lily wanted to write back.
"Kind of like how Sev always waits for me when we're at school," Lily thought with a smile.
She quickly opened the parchment and read:
"Dear Lily,
I hope you are doing well this morning, because I am. I know this sounds a little out of character, even for me, but I am very excited at the good news I have to tell you...
Actually, no, I think I will let you wait it out until we meet up at the Leaky Cauldron to go to Diagon Alley. I would tell you now, but I decided to let it be a surprise and tell you in person.
How about we meet Saturday, the twenty-fifth, at ten o'clock?
I wish we could meet earlier, but I'm going to be busy the rest of the week. My mom will need help at the Apothecary, and I need to be at Florish and Blots later on to earn some extra gold.
Write me back when you get this, and give Reinfield an apple or something. Tobias decided to play 'target practice' with the neighborhood cats and didn't want to waste his beer bottles, so he threw Reinfield's treats at them instead.
Write Back Soon,
Sev"
Smiling at the letter (excluding the part about Tobias), Lily decide that she would wait to tell Severus her good news, too. So she quickly ran out of her room, and asked her parents if it was okay to go to the Leaky Cauldron on Saturday.
Given the okay to go, Lily went to the kitchen, grabbed a bag of dried apple crisps, and ran back upstairs to her desk to write her response as the bat ate his treats upside down.
"Dear Sev,
Mama and Papa gave me permission to go, so I'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron, and don't worry, I've fed Reinfield. Sorry about what Tobias did.
Anyway, I have a surprise for you as well, so looks like we'll both have to plenty to tell when we meet Saturday.
I wish we could meet earlier too, but I'm going to be busy this week myself. My father is insisting that I come with him to the Fencing Arena to show off for some of his students there, and my mother wants me to help her at the Bridal Shoppe later on. We are expecting a wealthy client to drop by this week, and she wants everything to be presentable for the bride and her entourage.
See you Saturday, and good luck at the bookshop.
Sincerely,
Lily"
Tying the letter carefully to Reinfield's leg, Lily tranfered him to her forefinger and gave him an appreciative stroke along his body. He returned the gesture by lapping at her hand with his small pink tongue, and flew off to Severus' window.