Affinity
Finally came Saturday, and sure enough, there was a strong blizzard. They'd meet at the edge of the Forest by the Lake, at the beginning of the path that Sev and Lily had taken that afternoon on the end of September, from where the castle could no longer be seen.
The girls arrived first, coming while the others were eating breakfast, and despite the Impervius and the heating spell - which Remus had discovered that night Lily showed it to him worked not only as a Disillusioner, but also as the umbrella, accompanying the wizard who conjure it - they ended up with wet cloaks, so they dedicated to trying to dry them while they waited for the boys.
Shortly after, Sev arrived, having hurriedly eaten his breakfast in order to stop by the kitchens and leave the castle before the crowds gathering for Hogsmeade.
By conjuring the Impervius to avoid getting wet, he was amazed to discover a new power. 'Not only the snowflakes do not reach me, but I have stopped feeling the strong wind, as if an oasis of calm had been created around me.I can master, to a certain extent, the elements.'
So he ran off. 'The girls must have been waiting for a while suffering the blizzard.' When he caught sight of them from afar, he already noticed that they were trying to dry their cloaks with their wands and as soon as he got there, without even greeting them, he cast the umbrella spell on them, and they immediately felt its effect.
"How did you do that, Sev?" was Lily's greeting.
"Here, you haven't had breakfast," it was his, taking out numerous food from the pockets of his cloak, which he put in the hands of both. "I'll explain it to you later, I'm going for Lupin." And he ran back retracing his steps.
Cecile was so amazed that didn't say anything. At last she spoke to Lily, "He has conjured up the blizzard… and has brought us breakfast… Is he always like this?"
Lily nodded, smiling.
"Now I understand that you are in love with him. How lucky you are, Lily, a treasure."
"Yeah…"
Meanwhile, Sev got Disillusioned at safe distance from the castle. He had to wait a while, as Remus stayed with the other three until they left through the passageway to the village. He saw the few people who went to Hogsmeade that day leave and shortly after the wolf, running to avoid getting wet.
Since there was no one else in sight, he advanced to meet him at a good pace, both of them meeting on the shore of the Lake. Remus was already holding out his hand despite being nearly drenched, but Sev just said, "Wait," and cast the spell on him.
"What have you done, Snape?"
"Come on, if someone else comes out we can be seen, I'll tell you on the way."
And preceding him they began to walk in absolute calm, without being reached by the wind or the snow, while he explained to him what he had just discovered.
They reached where the girls were, who were already dry and had eaten breakfast, and finally began to greet each other. Lily and Sev gave each other a brief kiss on the lips, while Cecile launched herself to give Remus one on his cheek, to which he was not able to reciprocate, embarrassed. Sev held out his hand, repeating the warm and firm grip of that night, and then he did the same with Cecile, but she, at the same time, also came to kiss him, to which he reciprocated.
They both told him that they were delighted to finally meet him in person. 'I feel invaded by a deep warmth and gratitude, this is friendship.I wish I had been Gryffindor.'
"Let's all dry Lupin together," he proposed to them. They did, while he also explained to the girls how he had conjured the blizzard, and in more detail, everything he had accomplished since he performed the ritual. "I hope that when you do it, it will work out for you too, but if it is not like that, we will look for your tree and return on your birthday or the equinox, when the tree is an oak and they abound in the Forest."
They set out on their way, there was a good way to the fir tree and in part it was quite rough. Sev and Remus needed to talk, so they let the girls lead them down the path, guarding their backs.
"I suppose you've wondered many times why I sided with you when before I used to harass you with the others," Lupin began.
"You don't need to explain yourself, Lily has already told me everything," Sev tried not to put him in a bind.
"I know, but I need to tell you in person. What happened in the Shrieking Shack was the worst experience of my life, except when Greyback attacked me as a child. Being about to kill you…" his voice broke.
Sev remained silent, not looking at him. 'I'll give him time to vent or calm down, but I won't stop him from continuing, because I've learned from my own experience with Lily how healing it is to ask for forgiveness.' He felt him take a deep breath, trying to control himself.
"I am a dangerous beast," he finally continued. "I will never be able to express to you how much I regret that. It even crossed my mind to get out of the way."
'Buaaah... and I considering him my enemy.'
"It wasn't your fault, it was Black who took me there knowing that you had transformed. I imagine Lily have told you."
"Yes, of course, but even so... And I feel horrible every time they want to harass you, I've been trying to avoid it ever since, but I must continue to show myself loyal to them. In their own way, they've done a lot for me, and besides, if I didn't stop them, they'd be harassing you all the time."
'Now I am the one who is so sorry, for not having listened to Lily from the beginning, trusting him.'
"You don't know how much I appreciate it, without a doubt I owe you that they haven't bothered me throughout the school year. I don't know how you do it and I don't need to know, I understand that you owe a double loyalty."
"Thank you, Snape, for your trust despite everything. I am very relieved that you understand, but I am more and more convinced that if I had to choose, I would leave them," he paused. "Be extremely careful in the days before and after the full moon, because I am not in top shape then."
"I'll keep it in mind, wolf, thanks for the warning."
'Buf... the nickname that I have used so many times in derogation came to me without thinking.' But he said it in such a natural and friendly way that Lupin understood that he always called him like that, but now he gave it an affectionate meaning, and in a way it made him reconcile with his condition.
He gave a sincere smile and turned to Snape, who was looking at him out of the corner of his eye in case he had bothered, and when his eyes met he smiled at him as well. "I suppose I deserve it for having called you Snivellus so many times."
Sev looked away and rolled his eyes. "From your part it is already forgotten. And besides, at this point it already slips me."
They walked a few steps in silence, but Remus had another matter that was bothering him, Snape's situation with the snakes, as Lily didn't tell him anything about it. He decided to approach him tactfully. "Don't answer me if you don't want to, but… what about your House?"
'I decided not to press him or get any information out of him at all, but it seems logical to me that he wants to know, since I asked Lily not to comment on the subject. Better, so I'll tell him my way.'
"I think they are going to try to recruit me soon, they are not going to wait for me to finish school. But of course I'm not going to join. I have found an ally who advises me what to do, I still can't completely disassociate myself, and at the same time I am looking for other alliances. A real mess."
"Why don't you ask Dumbledore for help?"
"Dumbledore?" he faced him. "With how much he listened to me when I denounced you last year? Besides, I don't want him to read me, I'm on it too. I left it as a last resort."
Lupin did not insist, and decided to continue keeping the Map and delaying the making of the new one until Snape got out of his mess. "If I can help you with anything else, don't hesitate to ask me."
"You are doing enough already, I hope to be able to reciprocate you some day."
Meanwhile the girls also talked about their things… about the boys.
They reached the point where they were to turn off the road and into the Forest. It was Sev who led the way, since only he knew the route, with Lily behind him, to help her when she needed it. Remus had to do the same with Cecile, who felt in the glory every time he took her hand to help her not to slip or stumble, which was many times, since the ground was wet and at times covered with snow.
Lily and Sev took the opportunity to talk about their things, they hadn't done it for three weeks and they didn't know when they would have the opportunity again. When they had been talking about less transcendental topics for a while, she told him in a lower tone, so that the others wouldn't hear her. "Sev, I've been trying what you advised me and I don't think it works out for me," shy and worried. "I haven't told you in the letters because I'm embarassed to write about it.
He took her hand tighter. "Do not worry, my love. You told me yourself that there was no rush. Well, don't be in a hurry, we'll try it together as I promised. Do you like it when you do it?"
"Yes…"
"Have you tried several ways?"
"Yes…"
"And is there one that you like more?"
"Yes…"
"Well, then when we meet you'll explain it to me, we'll take it easy, and I'm sure we'll get it even if it costs us a bit. Okay?"
"Okay…"
"Are you calmer?"
"Yes, Sev."
"Me too."
And they continued talking about other topics.
Meanwhile, Remus and Cecile talked from time to time, she was always the one who started the conversation and held his hand more tightly. Remus struggled, he loved her touch and her talk, they connected with each other, but at the same time he didn't want to encourage her, that's why he didn't meet her gaze when he turned to help her or didn't take out a new topic when one ran out.
They came to the century-old fir. Sev melted the snow before it with his hands with the heating spell and dried the ground. The others looked at him in astonishment.
"Shall we start with you, Lily?"
"Okay."
"I, the first time meditated just looking at it, but I didn't notice anything there. It was when I repeated it barefoot and hugging it that I felt the magic. So do it like you want."
Lily thought they were short on time and there were four of them, so she decided to get straight to the point. She walked over to the dry space and took off her shoes. Meanwhile, the others moved away a little way from her to leave her at her ease and kept silent.
She hugged the tree barefoot, with her cheek pressed against it, and began to invoke the request she had prepared.
'Universe, grant me your favor, I just want to ask you to free Sev from his apparent fatal destiny, to help him not to fall into the abyss he has peered into.'
After the third sentence, she began to feel tingling and heat on the soles of her feet, the palms of her hands, and her cheek, and soon the sensation spread to her entire body from those points.
'He has sworn to fight Evil with his own life, that should be enough for you to welcome him into your sinus and help him in his task. Let it is not necessary that he actually give his life to achieve his goal, but that things turn out well if he knows how to find a way to fight against everyone's enemy, which he surely will, because due to his position and his talent he is the most suitable for it.
'In exchange, I promise to always be by his side no matter what happens, whether he should be on this side or apparently on the contrary, never abandon him, be his support, his safe haven. I will be that for him, give him the necessary strength to be motivated and achieve it.
'Thank you, Universe, for all your gifts and for listening to me.' When she finished, she stayed another minute, feeling the magic wash over her, but she remembered the others and broke away from it, putting her shoes back on. Even so, the feeling didn't completely disappear until a while later.
"It's done!" she warned them.
"Has it resulted?" Sev asked, coming closer.
"Yes… it has completely invaded me, I still feel it."
They both looked at each other, transfixed.
"We'll try it right now." He turned to the others, who were further away. "It has worked out for Lily! Who's coming now?"
Remus nudged Cecile slightly by her shoulder. "Go."
She looked at him and saw his soul again.
Cecile imitated Lily, making her own invocation and feeling the magic as well. Meanwhile, away, Sev removed Lily's Impervius and asked her to do it herself. It worked.
"Works!"
"Shhh…" Sev said, with an excited look. "Let's not bother Cecile."
Then it was Remus' turn and in the meantime they tested if it had worked out for Cecile. It had done it too.
"What I was telling you, it has nothing to do with the tree or the birthday. Pure superstition, magic is present for everyone."
When Remus finished he tried it too, and the same thing. The four of them, forming a circle, looked excited.
Lily asked, "Sev, do we have time?"
"Yes, you have been very fast."
"Then do it by yourself again since you're here, maybe you'll increase it."
"I can come back whenever I want, now that we know that the date doesn't matter. Let's do the joint rites."
"Yes!"
He took her by her hand, and when they reached the fir tree, he said to her, "Try drying the floor without your wand, just with your hands," while he took off his boots.
Lily did it. "Magic without wand…"
"Of course, as children, and like Druids…"
They took off their shoes and both hugged it, their fingers intertwined, looking into each other's eyes. They meditated on what they felt for each other.
They felt the warmth and tingling through their skin as well, and Lily, too, in the pendant Sev had made for her, and at the same time they were invaded by the feeling of the other. Deep love, complicity, desire, fear, wanting to be together forever... They looked at each other, totally pierced by emotion.
She broke the silence. "Sev… it's incredible, we have to do it with them too."
"Sure…" but he couldn't get away from that feeling.
"Come on, come on, that way we'll correspond to them."
"Yes, yes…"
They separated from the tree.
"Come!" Lily called, while they both dried all the space around the trunk.
Cecile and Remus approached, Lily leading, in case they didn't dare to touch each other, and since she and Sev had already done it together, she proposed that they stand with the alternate partners, Lily touching Remus and Cecile and Sev on the other side.
They completely covered the trunk interlacing their fingers, it seemed tailor-made for them. They looked at each other in turns, first the two girls and the two boys, then Lily at Remus and Sev at Cecile.
Each of them appreciated the set of feelings of the others towards them: Lily, trust, appreciation and a certain fear; Sev, deep admiration, affection and intense fear; Cecile and Remus gratitude, admiration and some compassion.
But the best thing was that at the same time they all felt that they were an indissoluble whole, an affinity group, willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the others.
When she deemed enough time had passed, Lily continued to lead, "Let's change."
And she exchanged places with Cecile, so that she and Remus would feel each other as well. This time they each fixed their gaze on their partner. They conveyed deep appreciation, affinity, he felt unconditional support from her and she reluctance to get close to her from him, but also doubts about that decision.
This time it was Sev who broke the magic. "It is better that we get on our way. Remus and I have to arrive on time and you soon after. Try to memorize it, to come back whenever you want."
They slipped on their shoes and retraced their steps over the rough patch as before, but now they went in silence. Lily and Sev didn't let go of each other's hand, because they kept feeling each other's magic, and Cecile and Remus did the same when they touched.
When they got to the road they did it in pairs. Sev and Lily ahead, linked, Remus and Cecile behind, looking at each other from time to time. Everyone in silence, because they no longer needed to talk.
