Their trip to London was a success all around. Petunia had been anxious at first, wondering if Severus would like the Muggle part of London. She had feared he was making a conscious effort to please her and would not enjoy himself as much as she certainly would. But hers fears had proven baseless as the boy had seemed to truly appreciate the old bookshop she brought him to. They had browsed the lines of ancient tomes for a while before retiring to a small coffee shop where they had sat idly chatting for the better part of an hour.

In retrospect, she could not say they had done much of anything during the day but that was part of the charm as well. Having an outing without purpose was something they scarcely done before and she had like the novelty of it. In fact, simply walking down unfamiliar streets, her hand in Severus' was her favourite part of the experience. She had realized in the course of the outing that she had unconsciously stopped herself from doing certain things, such as holding hands, with Severus in public. Probably, a part of her still worried about gossip that could reach her parents' ears. It was not that she was ashamed of her relationship with Severus. Simply, she feared – and most probably rightfully so – that her parents would disapprove of their relationship and in all likeliness lake it difficult for them to maintain it as it was. She certainly would not be allowed to spend her days at the young wizard's house.

For this reason, being able to spend some time surrounded by strangers who could not possibly know who they were or how forbidden their relationship was, had been very liberating. She had felt relaxed in a place other than Spinner's End for the first time in a long while.

Yes, it had been enjoyable. The less enjoyable part of the day had been when Lily had caught sight of them as they were leaving the train station. Out of the corner of her eye, Petunia had seen the younger girl's expression morph from shock to confusion before becoming somewhat horrified. Petunia had hesitated for a moment. Should she walk on? Go to Lily? The feeling of Severus discreetly touching her hand stayed her.

"You'll talk with her later." Severus had said, glancing at her sideways.

Though her hesitations had not dispelled she had agreed and continued walking with the dark haired boy. She had walked home with him and spent another hour with Severus before leaving. By that point, as Severus had no doubt predicted, she felt much calmer than she had when she had noticed Lily looking at them. Anxiousness had initially made her angry and no doubt, had she gone to talk to her sister then, the discussion would have quickly gotten heated. She resolved to not let it be so, as she walked to the Evans' home.

As she had expected, Lily was lying in wait. Though as any teenager, the red-haired girl was prone to spending most of her time in her room, she was idling in the sitting-room when Petunia came home. Deciding that she would rather the inevitable conversation took place in the privacy of her room, Petunia swiftly climbed up the stairs. As soon as the distinct sound of the door opening and shutting could be heard, sounds of movement started coming from the living room and Petunia could easily guess that she would soon be followed.

Once in her room, she listened attentively to the sound of footsteps that was coming from the stairs. When a moment later there was a sharp knock, Petunia was ready and she opened the door, stepping aside to let her sister in.

The red haired witch walked in the room, looking around as if she had never been in the neat space of Petunia's intimacy. The older girl gently closed the door and went to sit at her desk, turning her body so as to face Lily who was still standing in the middle of the room.

"Was something the matter?" she asked a little stiffly.

Green eyes flashed in her direction as Lily rounded on her, every bit the angered harpy.

"I saw you." she hissed. "With Snape." she spat the name as if it was poisonous.

"I see. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"Is that all you have to say?!" Lily screeched indignantly.

"Quite. What else would you have me say?" Petunia retorted placidly, completely impermeable to her sister's outburst. "It is not so unusual for a girl to spend time with her boyfriend."

"Boy…!" Lily echoed, choking on the word midway.

She gave a worried glance at the door as if suddenly worried that there were eavesdroppers. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. Petunia almost remarked with irritation that there was no need to imitate conspirators but she refrained. She had decided to be sensible and calm about this after all.

"You're going out with HIM?! What do you think Mum and Dad would have to say about that?!"

Oh, so it was coming to this after all, thought Petunia as she turned her back to her sister, her gaze falling on her pastel blue desk.

"I'm sure they wouldn't approve." she said neutrally.

"Exactly! I don't know what you were thinking…." Lily's rant was cut short by Petunia's intervention.

"He makes me happy." she said firmly.

She turned to plant an unwavering gaze on her sister.

"He makes…" Lily repeated dumbly.

"Yes." Petunia uttered with conviction. "He makes me happy. I couldn't care less what you or our parents have to say about it. I…I know about your world Lily. I'm not stupid. I know what's going on. It might be that we don't have much time left together so…" her words became slightly strangled towards the end.

She took a deep breath.

"I won't break up with him. That's all I have to say to you. And it's all I will have to say to Mum and Dad if they come to know about it." she stated, resolutely turning her back to her sister once more, this time signalling the end of the conversation.

There was a long moment of silence. Then, there was the sound of muffled footsteps on the carpet and the gentle click of the door closing behind Lily. Petunia waited unmoving until she heard the door of her sister's room close before letting her shoulders sag. She brushed a lone tear trailing down her cheek and buried her face in her hands, trying to push away the inevitable future looming ahead.