Here begins the second part of the story. For those who have not read the first one, I inform you that it is titled 'The Third Time Lucky' and you will find it on my page.

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Worship

Lily's unconditional love and acceptance, despite the abuse he had subjected her to and the two weeks of absence, as well as her kisses, were a balm for Sev's battered spirit, who was able to sleep soundly that night for the first time since the conflict.

Upon waking up he felt refreshed. 'I am going to put all my will into fulfilling my determination not to worry her again, taking care of myself and not letting myself be carried away by despair.

'I will never miss breakfast or lunch again, although perhaps I will miss dinner, since I have to keep watching the Haven and it is a risk to go back and forth to the fifth floor so many times. But in that case, I will eat well in the kitchens and not anything or nothing at all like I have been doing.'

That morning they saw each other in Potions and Lily blew him a kiss when he glanced at her returning from the ingredients cupboard. He couldn't return it because he was facing the class, but even if he hadn't been like that, he wouldn't have done it either, because she caught him by surprise and he felt himself blush like a tomato.

They both made excellent potions, being congratulated once again by Slughorn, despite the lack of Sev's notes for Lily and her no longer preparing the ingredients in sight of him. 'It's better this way, I would have felt indebted to receive her help without giving anything in return, and besides, I prefer to contemplate her completely in the brief intervals that I can afford, her long hair the color of the Red Moon contrasting with the black of her robe, the graceful and precise movements of her arms as she carries out the procedures, the absolute concentration on her work.'

He gradually managed to get back into his usual routine, concentrating hard on classes and making up for some of the lost time. Although guarding the Haven required extra effort, he too relaxed somewhat, slowing down the frequency of his rounds. 'If nothing has happened in two weeks, I no longer have to be so alert.' And so at least he kept his homework up to date.

Of course, he was still thinking a lot about Lily and what had happened, not only on the day of the dispute, but also during the previous months, but in a much more constructive way. 'I put all the responsibility on her to move the relationship forward. It is true that I did not find out she loved me until the day of the walk in the Forest, but at least since then, I should have understood her shyness, her change of attitude, and made it easy for her to take the step, or I should have.

'After all, it took me six years to show her what I felt for her, and I did it in a clumsy, cowardly and surprising way, not even daring to tell her, and even so it seemed to me that I had done enough.'

His perspective on their lifelong friendship changed. 'I thought I gave her more of myself because I was in love with her and she wasn't, but it wasn't like that at all. She was always the one who spontaneously showed me her affection, not reserving what she felt. I, on the other hand, kept everything to myself, only giving myself when she demanded it, never being the first to initiate hugs and caresses, fearing that she would realize what I felt and upset her.

'Now it seems incredible to me that she has remained so close for so many years, without my closedness and apparent coldness making her a dent, and that she had enough with a timid attempt at a kiss to fall in love with me. Perhaps if I had been able to show her my love much sooner, we would have stopped being just friends long ago.

'I must try to change that aspect of myself. I am so used to self-control that I never get carried away except by anger in extreme situations. And in love it shouldn't be like that, I can't plan or control everything in detail, I have to let myself flow, let my feelings emerge, as I was able to do under the Red Moon, crying before her. Although that was also the product of the anxiety that I suffered for two weeks, and I did it thinking that under the hoods she would not notice, otherwise I would not have allowed me to show myself weak.

'But I can do it, she didn't mind the salty taste of the kisses at all, she loves me anyway and has shown me that she will be my comfort and support in difficult times without demanding explanations. Lily has the emotional intelligence that I lack. She knows how to be both sweet and brave when the situation calls for it, and she never gives up when she cares about something. And she cares about me. I'm so lucky.'

By the time the following weekend came… 'I'm already regretting not calling her in for another week, because my main reason for not doing it was not the Haven's safety, but my own troubled heart, which felt unworthy of her. But now that I feel ready to see her, there are still six days to go.'

Meanwhile, Lily had spent the week cultivating patience. After all, it had been quite a surprise to meet Sev under the eclipse… So romantic… And when she saw that he no longer had the haggard face and was eating breakfast and lunch regularly the following days, she stopped worrying, but missed him a lot.

The red berry Sev had over the weekend didn't taste bitter anymore, he knew she was fine and resigned himself to waiting until Friday. The one Lily took, after the intense flavor of his salty kisses, didn't taste bad either, which confirmed that he had lied to her when he explained that the bitterness was due to missing each other, but she was greatly relieved to know that his heart no longer bled. In any case, she thought that they should clarify it, she would find a way for him to confide in her without revealing his dissimulation, since she knew that he did it so as not to worry her.

So they both began, each in their own way, to weather while waiting. They both thought, with the innocence of first love, that it would be forever, and that they still had almost three years to keep it a secret at school. They had to be brave, faithful and constant, and at the same time avoid suffering so as not to make the other feel bad.

Both concentrated to the maximum in the study, feeling that they were doing the same thing, being somehow connected. The important thing was that when they met, they made the most of their time, not like before. Sev continued with the surveillance and Lily at times with her companions, and in the end, the week did not go as slowly as they expected.

He dedicated himself during the intervals between homework and rounds to fixing the Haven. He moved the splinters and scraps of cushions to adjacent classrooms and stole another pair from the Common Room in the dungeons. He repaired the rest of the candlesticks, stealing more candles as well. And on Thursday afternoon, this time without great pretensions or delusional dreams, he reassembled the improvised couch. 'The Gryffindor cushions haven't been repaired very well, but it'll do just the same. I won't stay to sleep, so I won't fantasize about what will happen next.'

Both resisted taking another berry the day before the meeting. Sev because he knew there weren't enough. 'They didn't last year for me, and although this year the harvest has been greater, now we are two to consume.' And Lily because he had told her one per week, and it would always be better to take it after more kisses. Total, there was only one day left…

Friday at four finally arrived, after school. Sev flew to the Haven. 'Thatshe doesn't get ahead of me, I want to see her reaction to the arrangement.' He stood near the door waiting for her to arrive, fighting not to bite his nails, nervous. 'I want to be the one to welcome her with open arms… for the first time.'

He didn't have to wait long, Lily was the first to leave her last class, she didn't hurry too much so as not to raise suspicions, but she didn't waste time grooming. She went straight to the fifth floor taking off her tie and undoing the buttons as she walked up the stairs. She only took a little longer than she thought to get to it because it was the first time she had walked alone down the east corridor. But no problem.

Sev didn't have time to hug her, because when Lily arrived at the Fidelius, opened the door and saw him standing there waiting... The emotion and longing that had been contained for months to show him everything she felt, which was very, very much, exploded in such a way now that she felt free to do so, that she leapt at him, clinging to his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist, quite forgetting that perhaps he was still a little weak, and eating his face off with kisses, also on the mouth, of course.

Sev froze. He nearly fell but barely kept his balance by taking a step back. 'I did not expect such effusiveness. Lily hasn't behaved like this with me since she was still an unapologetic child, before Hogwarts and maybe during the first year of school, but when she became a young woman she stopped throwing herself at me in this way, and showed her affection for me in less compromised ways.'

Luckily, he also managed to grab her thighs to support her. 'Fortunately she is wearing herrobes...' His hands did not come into direct contact with her skin, but still... The thin fabric did not prevent him from perceiving the shape and texture of that part of her anatomy that he had never imagined touching…

And not only that, before that moment they had given each other a thousand hugs, but he felt it as if it was the first, aware of her feminine forms in intimate contact with his body, which clouded him even more.

Between kiss and kiss she was telling him, "I love you, I love you... I've missed you... It's nice to be with you…" And many other niceties.

He barely managed to return her kisses and was unable to speak. 'I will never measure up to her in this regard, rather I will have to discourage her.'

"Come down... Lily... we're going... to fall…" he finally managed to say between kiss and kiss from her.

She released the hold of her legs around his waist and he gently helped her to the ground.

Lily, ever since she discovered that he had loved her in silence for years, had attributed his shyness to her not returning him, and his subsequent reluctance to him expecting her to make the first move. And now that she believed all barriers had been overcome, she interpreted his lack of passion as indifference. 'Well, maybe he told me the truth about the berry.' And without letting go of his neck and with a sad face and voice she asked him, "Haven't you missed me, Sev? The berry no longer tasted bitter to me... It did to you, right? Because I've missed you so much…"

He realized at that moment how dangerous the white lies could be, but he still tried to fix it. 'She hasn't even looked at the classroom yet, she's only had eyes, hands, legs and mouth for me.'

"Of course I've missed you, look what I've prepared." He moved away from her sight and took her by the shoulders, standing next to her to look towards the back of the room.

At the same time Lily detached herself from his neck to accompany his movement, linking him around the waist. "Oh how nice…! You have done everything… for us…" excited.

Sev was smiling, pleased, never taking his eyes off Lily's stunned face. 'Well, at least I've managed to put something from my side.'

"Do you like it?"

"Very much… I'm so excited, Sev! The colors of the two… Thank you, thank you!" And she turned to him again to continue planting kisses, standing on tiptoe. "So, today we will not teach Duel class?" looking around the whole classroom, without letting go of him.

'By Merlin! She expects a Duel class after the beating I gave her.'

"No, today we will simply be together. Come on, go and try it, it's not very comfortable, but we'll improve it." And he broke away from her to go close the door, which was still open.

Lily walked slowly admiring everything. The symmetrical and strategically placed candles, the elegant contrast of the colors of their houses. 'If he has worked so hard, it is because he has missed me and he lied to me about the berry.'

When she reached the foot of the dais she stopped, puzzled, seeing the battered Gryffindor cushions up close. 'Something happened here that I don't know about. What I do? Do I pretend not to notice or ask him? If I let it go he will never tell me.' She turned to Sev, who had kept a couple of steps behind her so she wouldn't throw herself on top of him again.

She questioned him casually, as if making light of it, "What happened to the red cushions, Sev? Have you been practicing with them?"

Sev stopped dead, barely three feet away, swallowing hard. 'Booah! Another blunder, she has noticed. Sure, with how observant she is. The cushions that she brought with so much enthusiasm... Of course, the day of the fight they were already like this, but then she was paying attention to other things.'

"I thought you did it with a desk, why didn't you leave one?" Lily continued with an innocent expression.

'This time there is no escape, we are face to face and I am the one who is lit by the candles, she must have already seen my expression of caught at fault, and I am taking too long to respond for any new dissimulation to be credible. This wasn't the way I intended to open up to her, but since I've decided not to plan anything and just let things flow…'

Taking a deep breath, he took the step that separated them and took her by the shoulders, turning her towards the dais. "Come on, let's sit down, I have to tell you some things…"

'Good…' Lily thought with relief, as they climbed up in one step and headed for the couch.

'That wasn't how I imagined it would be used for the first time, but well…' Sev thought.

She sat on the red cushion with a green back, on the left, and he on the right with opposite colors, both stretching their legs crossed in front of them, shoulder to shoulder.

"Are you comfortable? The blankets can serve as cushions," Sev said monotonously, looking straight ahead.

She didn't care about being comfortable, she just wanted him to tell her. She faced him, took his hand, and adopted her usual confiding tone. "Come on Sev, tell me, what did you want to tell me?"

He took a deep breath, without looking at her, and began, "You see, the night before we got into a fight, I prepared everything as you see it now…" And he gave her a summary, with his sweetest tone and trying to play it down but with absolute sincerity, of the storm of emotions that he had experienced that day. When he got to the point where he hadn't delivered his potion, Lily hugged him, feeling very guilty and saying, "I'm so sorry Sev…"

"I'm not telling you to blame you, I just want you to get to know me better…" patiently. "If I'm going to make you feel bad, I won't go on."

"Of course I want you to continue, tell me everything."

He continued, and she hugged him tighter when he reached the tense points of the story. Arithmancy class, the destruction of the classroom, the two hours it took him to fix the mess. "So you see, I had already calmed down and got angry again on purpose to punish you. I'm a real pig," he concluded.

Lily faced him, turning his face to look at him, his expression serious and content. "Never say that," looking at him seriously and scowling to make him see. "After how you lost your temper, you knew how to contain yourself with me, and I confronted you lying to you and for no reason. I deserved the lesson you gave me."

Sev's eyes misted over, and partly to comfort him, but mostly because she wanted to do it with all her soul, she said, "I would never kiss a pig." And she kissed him very gently on his lips, repeatedly, holding him close, until he embraced her in turn and returned her kisses.

Although she would have continued like this for the rest of the afternoon, Lily did not want to miss out on the fact that he was opening up, and knowing that there was still much more to tell, she interrupted the kisses, with a caress she removed a lock of hair from his forehead and urged him to continue, "Keep telling me, Sev, I know you had a bad time afterwards."

He took another deep breath and now, looking into her eyes and struggling not to cry, he asked her forgiveness a thousand times while he told her about his days and nights of anxiety, also explaining the true meaning of the bitter taste of the berry, that of his own bleeding heart.

When the first tears began to flow from both of them, she hugged him, burying her face in his black hair, so that he could cry without her seeing him. She had just discovered a new world in him, always so master of himself. Deep down he was very fragile, sensitive and insecure, and he had been dominating himself all his life, feigning strength. She must be gentle with him, control her temper.

"Promise me you won't go through something like this on your own again. If you had talked to me I would have reassured you, because I think it was my fault for not being honest with you. If I had told you how I felt from the beginning, we wouldn't have gotten to that point, but I'm going to tell you now. I will regret all my life that I laughed at your kiss under the beech tree."

And now it was Lily who explained everything she had felt during the last few months, omitting how bad she had been in the summer so as not to make him suffer more.

When she finished, Sev spoke, "I didn't make it easy for you either." And he in turn related to her his point of view from the same period. "I should have understood that now that you loved me, you no longer dared to approach me, as happened to me for so long."

Lily had been dying of curiosity for months to know how Sev had felt the friendship of so many years, and he had just given her cause. "Tell me more… How did you fall in love with me?"

Sev flashed a small, shy smile and looked at her, he looked at her!, just like then.

"I guess from the moment I first saw you doing magic in the park, I liked you and wanted to be with you. It took me a long time to dare to speak to you, and then, when we became friends, I could no longer conceive of separating from you. We were so young that I didn't know that was to be in love. What I thought was going to be the best night of my life, the first at Hogwarts, turned into the worst when you were assigned to Gryffindor."

The two exclaimed at the same time, "Damn Sorting Hat!" They laughed, and continued to tell each other anecdotes that they had lived together, comparing their points of view. It was like a rehearsal of what they would learn to do later, when they were able to bond their thoughts to share memories and experiences.

At one point, Lily, already knowing firsthand how deep and constant Sev's love for her had been, straddled him, buried her hands in his hair, looked up into the dark eyes that were already looking at her as before and said, "I'm going to give you all the kisses you've been waiting for so long."

His smile widened, and when she went to launch herself into his mouth, he restrained her by gently taking both sides of her head. "Lily, you always did it, it was me who didn't show you anything, you must give me space to do it. If you always start, I'll never learn to give myself. Let me, for once, do it my way."

And Lily was carried away. He gently eased her off of him to sit next to him again and invited her to put her legs over his so that she was a little to one side of him, while he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Are you comfortable?" he whispered in her ear, with his deepest and silkiest voice.

Lily was in the glory in any position that involved contact, so she nodded smiling at him. She thought that he was already going to kiss her on the mouth, but she was wrong. Sev took her hand, lightly kissing each of her fingertips, taking his time. Then he moved to its back and her palm, just as slowly. After each kiss, he looked at her like this.

Then he did the same with her pulse, this time more intensely, lingering. Lily imagined that he felt the beating of her heart on his lips, and he did. He finally broke away of her hand but without letting go, entwining their fingers, and went to her face. He began by giving her a fatherly kiss on her forehead, then her temples, her cheeks, her jaw, her chin. She thought that from there he would go to the mouth, but not yet.

"Close your eyes," he told her. And he kissed each eyelid, two, three times. Then he went down following the path of a non-existent tear. At last he reached her lips, the corner, traced the top and bottom edges of them with very light kisses and stopped. "This is how I dreamed to comfort you when you cried."

And in fact, Lily was on the verge of tears, because Sev had just shown her that he completely worshipped her, her whole being, with just light kisses and glances.

"And from here on, there is nothing planned." He fixed his onyx eyes intently on her misty ones and took her chin, and parting his thin lips, he encompassed hers and gave her a wet kiss, turning away from her again to look at her. He repeated it several times, until Lily began to return them to him, and after a few more, he no longer parted.

She felt his tongue slowly invade her and slid hers to meet his. They explored, savored and got to know each other, at first without anxiety, but little by little they deepened, clinging to each other's necks, until they felt totally fused into one. When their breaths became gasping, Sev pulled away, with one last wet-lipped kiss.

'God! Now that was a kiss.' Now she was the one looking at him adoringly. But he was doing it in a very different way, although just as intensely, it was desire.

Lily wanted more, but Sev told her, "And that's all for today. The afternoon is gone, there is half an hour left for dinner, you have to go home to leave the backpack and we still have things to talk about."

'As soon?' Lily consulted her wind-up watch. He was right, she was surprised at Sev's control of time, he always knew what time it was without a watch. They agreed that she would bring two other Gryffindor cushions during the week, to replace the damaged ones and use these for the duels.

He also asked what excuse she had made today and she said none, to which Sev agreed, advising her not to explain unless asked and in that case, be vague, not say exactly where she had been. And that she would disappear some other afternoon of the week, so that her housemates would get used to her absences.

"And why not meet that afternoon too?" she asked him.

"When they stop controlling you, we'll meet more." They appointed for next Friday just like today.

When she was already leaving, Sev said to her, "I haven't offered you a berry, will you?"

"Not now, I prefer your flavor directly from you. And I still have them, now they will taste different."

"Sure." He got up and took her by the head. "Then, take, for the road." And he gave her another brief kiss, deep and passionate.

Lily turned to leave, and without turning to look at him, she gathered up her stuff and headed out the door.

Neither of them said goodbye.