XX

Severus stood by a street lamp at the edge of the road leading to Hogwarts. The evening's cold wind nipped at his skin. His nose had turned red and his lips grew chapped from the cold. He rubbed his hands against each other, desperately seeking warmth. Lily said she would meet him there. Alas, she was late.

He turned toward the road, watching couples walk down it. It would have been so easy to go with some scandalous girl who didn't care about the person she would be with the entire evening, like he had usually gone with, to events such as these, but he couldn't bring himself to it this time around.

"Early as usual," said a chipper voice behind him. "Maybe we should have come here together…" Suddenly the voice was a tad regretful.

"And cause me to be late? I think not," he said as he turned around to face the stunning woman behind him. Lily's hair was down, her curls spilling over her shoulders. She wore minimal makeup. He lips were a pale red from the cold. She wore a black coat, her red and silver dress spilling out of it. He was about to mumble something like a bumbling idiot, but other words somehow seemed to go spill from his mind and escape his mouth in a single, hot breath. "You're beautiful."

Lily wasn't sure if her cheeks were red from the cold, or if she had just begun to turn red because of Severus' comment. Regardless, she was flattered. "Th-th-thank you," she stuttered. "You look handsome as well tonight"

Severus bit his lip to suppress an impolite snort. He wore a black button-up coat, bits of white sprouted from the collar and sleeves, as well as a nice pair of black trousers. His hair was clean, and its black, silky appearance shown in light of the single street lamp. His black eyes never had looked more clouded with lust. It was these few perfections that made him a beautiful man, despite his many, eclectic flaws.

"Shall we?" he said, as he walked towards Lily.

"We shall," she replied. They began walking down the long, winding road. Daringly, Severus put his arm around her waist as they walked. Lily turned around sheepishly, blushing even more than she already was. Something in the air had caused Severus to do something so unlike himself, but he didn't regret it at that moment. If it were his last day of joy, then so be it. He wanted to lose himself for once, and forget about the world around him. For once in his life he felt as if he deserved peace, even if it were to only last one night. He had to ignore his worries, and stop listening to the pestering voice in his head, because he knew the turning of the New Year would change his life.

Lily secretly hoped that Severus would never let go of her waist. His touch had begun to send shock waves throughout her body, and they had only strengthened with each passing moment. Like Lily, Severus too was experiencing delightful bolts of electricity, but they were jolting from his fingertips to his shoulder.

As they walked, there were quite a few people that starred at them—some in awe, but the vast majority in disgust. There were whispers, uttering phrases like, "How could she reduce herself so much?" or, "He doesn't deserve her. Besides, don't slytherous Death Eaters like him look down at people like her? He does one good thing, Potter breaks her heart and she runs off with him? She could do so much better. No one is going to want her after he spreads his grease unto her."

He lowered his lips to her ear, his lips brushing against it slightly and his hot breathe rolling against the crook of neck tantalizingly. "Ignore them Lily." Their closeness was making it hard for them to breathe. "They are trying to insult me, without thinking about you." He tried to avoid the last sentence, but he knew it had to be said. "You very well know that we are friends—best friends," he intoned sadly. She took the words not too well. She frowned instantly; it was not a complementing look on her face.

The entered the castle still attached to the hip. Instantly a swarm of warm air filled their lungs. The thick, waxy smelling air clouded the entrance of the castle in puffs of barely visible smoke from the burning wicks.

The further the walked within the castle's spirited walls the more it felt as if Christmas were to come within a several hours wait. The halls were covered in red and green banners, and gold light shone upon each corner of the castle. Sometimes, a house elf would pop out of a mysterious whirlpool and wander around the castle, dressed in an adorable Christmas elf costume. A small line formed of various couples at the entrance to Slughorn's Christmas fest. A few house elves rushed passed them and entered through a set of shimmering curtains. They lined up behind a couple whose names they were not completely sure of.

Lily ruffled through the pockets of her coat before swearing. "I could have sworn that I put it in here." She looked through it once more like a madwoman. "I put it in here before I left!"

Severus held her invite in front of her face. "Looking for this?" He raised an inquisitive brow, while smirking devilishly.

She snatched it from him. "I hate you." She pouted like a small child. "When did you steal this?"

"Steal? I prefer the term 'taking it for safe keeping' thank you very much." He looked at the cavernous space around them. "You did lose it did you not?"

"Only because you took it…"

"That is beside the point."

They showed their tickets to the student, or rather servant. A black haired boy glared at Severus just as he walked into the crowd of people. "I hate it when people look at you like that," Lily said aloud, when really she had meant for it to be a thought.

"Most people in this institution relish their hatred of me." It was not his best choice of words. "You wanted to have a fun night, and that is why we are here is it not? Just forget about everyone, but yourself. I thought it was easy for a Gryffindor to live every once in a while."

"You're right," she said as she places her black coat on a coat hanger. Once she turned Severus could finally see the full extent of how beautiful she had looked that evening. Her red and silver dress' neck line dipped down in a glorious V-shape. The dresses sleeves were made of a thin, translucent fabric, in which the sleeves split at her elbows. The dress had fit her perfectly. "You look as if you're about to die Severus."

Die a happy man…

Eventually the Christmas Eve party had panned out as any other party Slughorn had held. There were several couples dancing nervously, but the mass of the crowd was circled around Slughorn. They were talking—though Slughorn was doing more than his fair share of it— about things such a bore to Severus that he nearly dozed off while sipping his pumpkin juice. The crowd's laughter filled the entire room.

He walked out of the room, bored by the event. Behind a set of curtains was a sturdy balcony. Most of the noise was contained behind the curtain, which pleased him greatly. He starred into his glass of pumpkin juice as he leaned his arms against the edge of the balcony.

A small hand touched his shoulder. "Sev?" Lily took her place beside him. "I know this isn't your idea of fun… You didn't have to come with me…"

"Yes, but you wouldn't have gone without me."

"We still could have had a nice Christmas Eve at my house…" She closed her eyes, thinking of her mother baking cinnamon and ginger scented cookies, and brewing hot chocolate late into the night. "You remember don't you?" she began, "My mother would stay up late baking gingerbread cookies, and we would always sit by the fire. You would read a book to me… Yes, you would always read A Christmas Carol to me. I would try to get you to wear a Christmassy sweater. You would always refuse and say something along the lines of, 'Get that festive monstrosity away from me.' I would reply with laughter and call you 'Scrooge'. We would stay up past midnight and we would open up the presents after my parents went to sleep. Merlin, you always found the most perfect gifts for me." She looked away for a moment, taking in a deep breath and then sighing. "And then you would leave, and I wouldn't notice until the morning, when I would wake up on the couch.

"I don't know what I was thinking when I said we should go here." Severus wrapped his arms around Lily, and she put her hands against them, keeping them close to her so he wouldn't dare let go. "But I guess it doesn't matter anyway, since you're Scrooge and you don't like Christmas," she finished nervously.

"Bah! Humbug," he whispered into her ear. She giggled like a silly school girl. "I would like any holiday, as long as I could spend each one with you…"

Lily blushed. Endeared, she took his hands and dipped her head down slightly. She tentatively kissed his hand. Both of their hearts pounded, and both breathes were hitched. The moment consumed them slowly. Severus nearly jumped with glee. She brushed his fingers with her own. "We better go back to the party… They will find us if we don't, because…"

"They will accuse us of adultery, because we are the adulterous type."

Lily laughed, nearly knocking Severus and his pumpkin juice over. "I swear your pumpkin juice must have been spiked."

"I do have my moments."

Once they got back into the room it was not long before they had separated from each other…

Lily shut the door of the lady's lavatory behind her. She pushed herself through a few gossiping girls, whom she had hung out with in previous times. Once they caught sight of her they waved to her and said a small "Hi," which she had completely ignored. They soon left. Once she finished washing her hands and wiping them dry, she turned around bumping into someone. "Sorry," she stifled.

A man faced her—a man who she wanted to forget for the sake of her new found feelings, and for the sake of the glorious present which she had only begun to develop. There he stood, arrogant smile, unruly hair and soft hazel eyes, looking at her, breathing her sweet scent in. His slightly calloused hand brushed a few stray hairs away from her face and then took to cupping her face with the same hand. "Lily," James whispered quietly—lovingly.

"James, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?" She began to push him, "Out! Out right now!"

"We have to talk Lily!" He squirmed under her grasp.

"We'll talk outside. What if someone see's us. Ah! You're being such a stalker right now! I can't believe you. Bullocks!"

She pushed him through the door, further pushing him until they were far away from everyone. They stood there alone and only edged further into isolation. She looked away from him, unable to face him after what had happened weeks ago at the Black Lake. "This—this is—um—unexpected." She turned to leave, but he didn't dare allow it.

"Lily, I've given you time. Please tell me you have an answer for me."

Truthfully, she hadn't given it any thought. After the one night she spent curled up in Severus' arms she was too encompassed by her best friend and too caught up in falling, that she had soon forgotten about James' proposal, or rather made herself suppress the painful memory of it. "I—I don't know. I can't…answer, yet. This isn't the time or place for this sort of thing James."

"I tried at the right time and the right place Lily. Please, let me take care of you, let me love you, because Merlin I do—more than I love this world." She began to shake her head, trying to block out the words. "I've seen you there with…Snape," he sneered, curling his fist into a tight ball. "I'm willing to let it go. Just come, run off with me. We used to talk about fantasies like these. I still want that. I want us Lily, and I'm not willing to let you go. I love you. I know you love me too. Maybe you've forgotten, but by Merlin I will make you remember that you loved me, just as much as I love you."

"James, I do love you, but—"

"There are no buts Lily." He turned her face to his, and then crashed his lips against hers. He tried to deepen the kiss, biting on her lip every now and again. For a time she allowed herself to kiss back, but let herself go numb to escape the feelings the kiss had released. Love, passion, hunger—all was present, but demurely. Once they parted, the feelings of the past came rushing toward her; memories she had let herself forget and the caresses she had once let herself be devoured by came in one fatal swoop, taking her back to a place she had fought so hard to get out of. But she couldn't let it come take her once more. This dastardly predator would not take his prey, for his prey was no mere creature, she was a lioness—strong, controlling, and completely sure of what she had to let go, but not sure if she ever could let herself. This lioness was broken, but so eager to be fixed, and she thought there was only one way to do it.

"It's there in the kiss, can't you feel it Lily?"

She shook her head slowly, denying the feelings she had for him, even if they were no longer what they were before. She began to cry from confusion. What she didn't know was that if Severus had never come back she would never have been like that in the first place; because she would have had it figured out with James. Oh, but now, she had so much more to love, and so much more to stop loving because of it.

"Lily, I love you, and I know you can love me too like you did before."

"It doesn't work that way James." She left him standing there, confused, broken and unable to perceive what had just happened, just as she. You're doing the right thing Lily. You know you are. This can't be another way. It's passed with James. You just have to begin with Severus. The problem was that she was denying that she was still choosing who the better man for her was. She kept chanting it in her head. She ran off, away from the party. Her breath was heavy and the world kept spinning in confusion. She knew that she had to get out of there.

"Snape come over here!" Avery shouted from the other side of the room. Like a lost pup, Severus walked to over to Avery reluctantly. Avery placed his hand on Severus' back. Soon a few future Death Eaters joined the twosome. Once their group assembled, Avery smirked slyly. "So boys, what do you think about creating a little havoc on this fine night? What do you say?" He looked at the group, mischief radiating from him.

All, but Severus chuckled at the comment, relishing the glorious thought of it. "So what's the plan?" Rosier, a man with pale green eyes, dark skin and even darker hair asked. "You've got to have something good in your bag of tricks, ay' Avery?"

"You shouldn't expect any less of me." Severus was squirming beneath his skin. It was unbearable. He didn't have his professor's authority. He was at a loss of what to do, but nevertheless, he would attempt to get out of it. "How do you guys feel about spiking the drinks? I know, I know, it's been done before, but I assure you, this—" he held vial of a thick cerulean liquid in the air, just long enough for the group to see before he quickly shoved it into his pocket, "—will make it unforgettable."

"What's in the bottle Avery?" some clueless sixth year asked.

"That my friends, is a potion that shall remain unnamed, but I will tell you that it will make everyone lose their minds by the end of the night… And when they wake up in the morning they'll find themselves in an unwanted situation."

Severus remembered hearing hoopla about such an event occurring the first time he was in that time period. He was sure that it was just a silly rumor. The most hilarious detail was something that Severus was never able to picture in his mind quite perfectly. He remembered the odd conversation he had with the seventh year news bringer the day he came back to school from break.

"Snape, did you hear what happened?"

"I just got back here you dunderhead." After a few moments of silence Severus spoke up slightly annoyed, "You are going to tell me, aren't you? I'm going to hear about it anyway."

"Oh right, right! Over break Avery decided to play some tricks, you know? Anyway, Slughorn threw this party and at the party Avery spiked the punch. Ol' Slughorn went loopy twenty minutes later. He went out of the party and left everyone on their own. The next day he woke up in his boxers in McGonagall's office. McGonagall caught him and swatted him out of there. Next thing you know, you got Slughorn running through the halls yelling for Merlin to save his life!"

When Severus broke away from his thoughts he noticed Lily, who seemed very upset, run out of the party. He wanted so badly to chase after her. Once Avery and the group made their move to the kitchen, Severus slipped passed them.

A distressed Regulus turned from the corner. "Severus I need to talk to you, it's about Lily!"

"I know, I know. I have to go talk to her." He ran passed Regulus.

Severus aimlessly searched the halls for Lily. The sound of Slughorn's old, green radio echoed through halls. A loud 'click' resonated before "The Way We Were" began to play. The melancholy, but beautiful voice grew louder as he neared the room. He opened the door, the door knob squeaky and the door's hinges even more so.

On the teacher's desk sat Lily, her face red and slightly wet from the tears. She wiped her eyes before facing Severus, and an attempt to make it look like she hadn't been crying. "Oh, Severus. Hi."

"Are you okay Lily?" He asked, knowing she wasn't.

"Things were so much simpler in the past? You remember the way things were don't you?" She walked up to him, taking his hands into hers. "Remember in fourth in fifth year how we would always hold hands and sometimes kiss each other…on the cheek?"

He nodded. "I don't think I could forget." She wrapped her arms around his neck lovingly, and he put his arms around her waist. He bent down and kissed her jaw line softly. He lifted away from her, an apologetic look on his face. Merlin, he wanted her more than it was humanly possible to ever want someone. She wanted him too. The more time passed the harder it was to wait and then, it seemed impossible to wait any longer.

Before they knew it "I Can't Help Falling In Love" started playing. Both decided to make their moves that night. Lily slightly loosened her grip on Severus. "Dance with me," she pleaded. They began to dance, swaying to the beat of the song. Their eyes were locked, and their lips so close. "Severus, why did it have to end?"

"It didn't have to," he replied out of yearning. He closed the space between their bodies. She silently squealed in delight. "There's something that I've always wanted to do Lily." He started kissing the nape of her neck, going upwards to her jawline, her chin and stopped at her mouth.

Captivated, she asked, "Like what?"

He claimed her lips with his own. Passionately, he kissed her. The feeling of love finally prevailed in a glorious symphony of emotion. Euphoric pleasure entranced them. Lily felt as if she were floating in a sea of him. She didn't want the feeling to end. Hastily, she deepened the kiss. Every emotion, every assurance, everything that had lacked with James was suddenly there. Both kissed with desperation and need, love and lust, nostalgia and profound greatness.

She didn't know when she fell in love with Severus, nor how, but she was so happy that it had happened. The feelings that she had let go of in fifth year finally came back to her. No longer was there a fleeting feeling. She felt empowered by this new love. However, she thought if she were to be with Severus she would always be second-guessing herself, unable to see whether he was on the dark or the side of light. Severus was always dark, but he was also such a good person at heart, when he let it show. She knew then that there was no more choosing, because the choice was already made with that one kiss. No matter how much she had to doubt, she knew he would always stick by her.

It had finally happened, after so many decades of the near impossible wait. Severus had her in his arms, he was finally kissing her and perfectly, she was kissing him back. He finally knew what it was to live—to genuinely and wholeheartedly live. Without holding back, he lifted her to the desk as the song ended. They separated, gasping for air. Each other's eyes were filled with such thick love and thirst.

So the night went by, Severus' sitting in Slughorn's chair, and Lily sitting on his lap, sometimes turning to kiss him once more. Every once in a while they would poke themselves, just to make sure that it was all in fact real.

Severus held Lily steadily in his arms, unwilling to let go of her. He looked at the clock, noticing that it was well past midnight, and it would be time to leave the premises soon. A small blanket of snow had covered the ground by then, and it only continued to thicken just as the love Lily and Severus shared for each other did.

"I don't want this to end," she uttered

"Then I should learn to stop time."

"Then let it be my Christmas present."

"Merry Christmas," he said, before kissing her once more. They both wished that it wouldn't be their last together.

A/N: Overly cheesy? I know. Was Severus overly out of character?

The moment you've all been waiting for has finally come. It only took what— 20 chapters?

Update days are changing to Mondays I think...