Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any character thereof.

Chapter 14

The next day, Albus had shown Severus to his new quarters. He was to stay there during the school term but could also use it during the summer holidays.

First off, Severus was pleased that it was in the dungeons. That meant that he could almost always come and go to the Dark Lord without being observed by the students, which was the intended effect that the Headmaster was going for.

Severus was also quite pleased with the rooms themselves. He knew that most of the teacher's quarters in the castle had, to an extent, the same furnishings that he was given, but was delighted to see how the Headmaster had plotted it out, as if he knew the way that his own mind worked. (He would never tell that to Albus though.) He had a nice sized bedroom, a bathroom, and a decent sized library/sitting room. There was also a medium sized personal lab for his own use complete with storage for his potions, and an extra storage room that he could use as he saw fit.

When he had told the Headmaster that these rooms were 'acceptable', Albus had grinned mischievously at him. Before Severus could ask why he was grinning, he was told what the temporary password to get into his private quarters via the school floo network was.

Severus scowled at the Headmaster as he had walked away laughing. He had then walked straight to the fireplace, threw the floo powder down, and said clearly, "Password change for Severus Snape's Quarters. Old password: twinkle toes. (He couldn't help but sneer.) New password: Asphodel."

Before Severus officially moved anything of his into the castle, he went and informed the Dark Lord of something that he had 'overheard' while he was reacquainting himself with Hogwarts. They had talked around two hours before he had allowed Severus to leave.

During that conversation, and much to Severus' surprise, he was told that he would not be summoned again until after the school year started. The Dark Lord told him to use that time to prepare himself for his classes. However, he was reminded that if he had anything that was newsworthy to report, he would be allowed to bring him that information.

That evening, Severus uprooted himself from Spinner's End. After he sent his belongings ahead to the castle, he sealed off his house with every privacy spell and ward he knew. Just because it was, now, mostly empty did not mean that he wanted anyone else to be able to get inside.

At the castle, he had worked through the night arranging his belongings in a fashion that pleased him. Before he finally headed off to bed, he re-examined his handiwork in each room. He liked things to be in a certain order, which was convulsively neat. Satisfied, he pointed his wand at the torches throughout his quarters to dim them as he swept into his bedroom to get some much needed sleep.

The next day he started working on his lesson plans, leaving his quarter's only for meals and staff meetings. That was what he was doing two days later when one of the castle's house elves appeared in front of him.

After the house elf bowed, he looked up at the Professor and squeaked, "Sir, Tibby was sent to tell you that Professor Dumbledore Sir wants to see you Sir!"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "And why did the Headmaster not just call me by floo?"

"I is not knowing sir. I was just told to come and tell you that you is wanted sir." Tibby was twisting her ears in fright of Severus.

He nodded, indicating that he would head up there. Tibby bowed again before dis-apparating.

Severus looked around at the papers scattered over his table and sighed.

With a little over a week to go before the start of term began, he found himself trying to conform Professor Slughorn's lesson plans (which he had gratefully let Severus have) to what he assumed would be his own teaching style. It was easier this way, especially since Slughorn had agreed to help Severus teach for the first couple of months until he got the hang of it himself. He was privately pleased with that because, even though he would never admit it to anyone, he was nervous.

Standing up, he cast an evil sneer at the amount of papers that were in front of him before heading toward the Headmaster's office.

Lily,

I was wondering if I might borrow yours and Harry's presence this afternoon. I have some papers that I would like your help with and, I dare say, that one of the many items in my office will keep the attention of young Harry.

I have temporarily connected your house to my floo for safety reasons, otherwise I'm sure that James would not let you visit.

Hoping you are well.

Yours,

Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class; Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

When Lily had received that message, she could hardly wait to get out of the house. James had been practically standing guard over her and Harry when he wasn't at work. It was a bit annoying. So, she sent a letter to James at the Auror's Office, via owl so he couldn't protest immediately, to tell him where she was going and why. Afterwards she headed off to get Harry ready for the trip.

After Lily was satisfied that Harry was covered properly so he would not get soot all over him, nor have to breathe in the warm ash, she stepped into the fireplace to be whisked away toward Hogwarts.

Albus was thrilled to see them both. They talked for about 20 minutes before he finally revealed his true intentions as to why Lily was there.

Studying her, as if to gauge her reaction, Albus casually asked, "So, Lily. Would you like to see Severus?"

Her eyes snapped up, as she had been tickling her son. "He was the one to warn you that we were in danger, wasn't he?"

Albus nodded. "Only a handful of people know that you are being targeted directly and if you started discussing that with anyone, suspicion would fall on him immediately due to your prior relationship."

She nodded. "I figured as much. After we left your office the other day, I threatened to curse James into next week if he told anyone. Then I reminded him that I was sure that you would do the same thing." She chuckled. "I'm not sure which scared him more, to be honest."

Albus smiled and picked up a piece of candy as he spoke. "Severus turned himself over to me as soon as he realized you and your family were in danger. He is acting as a spy now. Only you, Minerva, Poppy, and myself know that."

"I won't tell anyone, Albus, you have my word. You asked if I could see him. Is he here?" Lily nervously bit her lip.

"He is." Albus watched as her eyes filled with the same emotion as Severus' had.

"Then yes. I would like to speak with him, if it's alright." She felt pixies flying around in her stomach.

"Tibby!"

A house elf CRACKED into the room. "You called Professor Dumbledore sir?"

"Yes Tibby. I would like for you to go to the dungeons and tell Professor Snape (Lily's eyes widened in shock) that I would like to see him. Do not tell him that there is anyone with me."

Tibby squeaked and dropped her eyes. Albus was very kind to the elves in the castle and saw her tremble. He knew why she was hesitant to go. "Tibby. I know that Professor Snape can be ... grouchy ... at times but he won't do anything to you."

Tibby nodded, bowed, and dis-apparated toward the dungeons.

"Professor? Grouchy?" Lily leaned back in her chair, clearly confused.

"I'll let him tell you the first part and yes, grouchy. The man has been here two days and, as Minerva put it, is a walking sneer."

Lily burst out laughing.

"I know it's his defense mechanism, but I must admit that I have had fun pestering him about it. I have no doubt that the students are going to be petrified of him, but he is a natural genius when it comes to potions."

"Yes, he is" she agreed with a smile. "So, Professor Slughorn is finally retiring then?"

"He is. He did, however, agree to stay on an extra two months to show Severus the ropes of teaching."

Lily nodded at the same time that there was a knock at the door.

When Severus walked into the Headmaster's office, he felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Lily ..." He managed to rasp out. He watched as she handed the baby to Albus before running to hug him.

He inhaled her wonderful scent as he wrapped his arms around her just as tightly as she did him. Then, as she pulled away, he opened his eyes and glanced toward the Headmaster. He was not surprised to see that there was not only a knowing, but also a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Before Severus could mutter anything, Albus had handed him the baby, then excused himself. (Severus vaguely recalled him saying something about needing more lemon drops.)

As Albus left the room, he heard Severus finally speak. It greatly amused him that the words that found their way to his mouth first was 'interfering old coot'.

Severus looked down and finally realized that he was holding a baby. He suddenly became very, very self conscious. He had no idea how to hold a child, let alone a newborn.

Lily smiled as she watched a plethora of emotions flash through Severus' eyes. She knew that he would be angry with himself if he knew he betrayed his feelings like that, so she decided not to tell him. Instead, she guided him over to one of the chairs in the room and watched as he sat down, staring at the baby in his arms.

Severus had no idea how he had sat down, but was grateful. As he stared at Lily's son, he saw that he had her eyes and nose. "He's absolutely beautiful, Lily."

He tried to hand the baby back to his mother, but Harry had grabbed a hold of his robes and would not let go. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. What if he broke the baby? He was pretty sure that Lily would kill him if he did.

As if reading his mind, she let out a chuckle. "You won't break him, Sev. He's more resilient than you might think."

Severus looked up at her and felt some comfort by her words, but was still nervous.

"What are you doing here?"

"Technically, I'm supposed to be here to help Albus with some paperwork for the Order. In reality, it seems his true intention was to see if I wanted to see you, and naturally, I did. So, Professor, I hear that I have you to thank for the warning that we were in danger."

His eyes met Lily's and he withered into a puddle of frogs spawn under her gaze as he nodded.

"Thank you, Severus." She had almost whispered it, but he knew that it was heartfelt. Her eyes told him as much. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Actually I had assumed it was you to begin with, but Albus just confirmed it for me."

Severus nodded and felt his lips turn into a smile. "I didn't want anything to happen to you or your family Lily. Even though I can't have you, my feelings for you have not changed one bit. I ... I do still love you and I just wanted to make sure that you were safe and happy." Severus felt the color creep into his cheeks but he knew that yelling at himself would be pointless as he never could keep his emotions in check around her.

"My feelings for you haven't changed any either." Lily admitted while smiling.

She saw Severus reluctantly look away because Harry had managed to distract him. She laughed and smiled as she watched him play with his son (not that he knew that). It was a very heart warming scene. She interacted as much as she could, just to savor the moment.

Albus had carefully crept back into the edge of the room and watched Severus, Lily, and baby Harry interact. He was almost knocked backwards off of his feet at the amount and sheer power of the love that he could see and feel around the room between these three people. It really did take his breath away. He had not encountered such an intensity of emotions for many, many years. It warmed his old mans heart greatly. Before he slipped back out of the room, he snapped three different pictures and was unsurprised that they did not even notice.

As he silently closed the door, he patted himself on the back. He had proved most of what he had hoped to. He had proved that Lily and Severus felt the same toward each other and that they both knew it, but both were in situations where nothing could really be done about it.

However, he still had an unanswered question, and not for the first time, nor would it be the last, he wondered if Severus was Harry's father.

Back in the Office

After about 15 or 20 minutes had passed, Severus found Lily's eyes while still managing to play with Harry. "Has he changed his mind about going into hiding, yet?"

When Albus had told Severus what had happened in his office, Severus was ready to go straight to Godric's Hollow and strangle James. If it wasn't for the fact that Dumbledore threatened to put him in a full body bind curse, he would have.

Lily sighed. "No. He keeps saying he's not a coward. Do you know why we're even being targeted?"

Severus nodded. "I do, but unless the Headmaster told you, then I cannot. He must have had his reasons for withholding that information from you."

"I figured as much. Sev," his eyes met hers (he had been playing with the baby again), "Thank you for trusting in Albus and going to him. Thank you ... for everything." She let her eyes drift to Harry, but for Severus being so smart, he never made the connection as to what she was subtly saying.

Damnit, he was blushing again. "Anything for you Lily. Anything." He allowed himself to smile.

Severus suddenly got a very shifty, sly look upon his face which made Lily quirk an eyebrow at him.

"So, am I allowed to hex Potter? Albus wouldn't let me when he told me what had transpired the other day."

Lily laughed which filled Severus' heart with a great amount of warmth. "No, Sev, you're not. However, I am liable to hex him myself if I can't talk some sense into him soon."

Severus half smirked, half cringed which was a horrible look. She snorted at him. He would rather be hexed by himself before being on the receiving end of one of Lily's spells.

"So, tell me, how did this Professor thing happen?"

Severus sneered and just because he knew that the Headmaster was eavesdropping, he said, "The old man is blackmailing me and threatened me with torture if I didn't agree to teach."

Before Lily could scold him for saying such an awful thing, she heard Albus burst out laughing, which made her laugh in turn, because now she knew why he had said it.

They sat and talked for over an hour. Severus did finally tell her the real reason he was teaching and she had agreed with Albus, that he would be an excellent professor, even if he was a 'walking sneer'. At one point, Severus realized that Harry had fallen asleep, but he found that he did not want to relinquish his hold on him just yet.

Lily came close to telling Severus that Harry belonged to him several times, but she never did. She still had an urge to protect both him and James, so she kept biting her tongue.

Albus finally came out of wherever he was hiding and joined the conversation. He still had a few things to discuss with Lily before she returned home, so he gave Severus a pointed look.

"I think I'm being told to scram," Severus said while smirking.

Lily started to object, but was cut off. "It's alright, Lily. I need to go work on those confounded lesson plans some more. If I don't get them done soon, he's liable to find some way of putting me in detention and Merlin knows that I had enough of that while I was a student."

Albus laughed.

Severus was unsure how to give Harry back to Lily without waking him, but was amazed when she scooped him up out of his arms with no problems at all. When their skin made contact with each other, Severus felt the adrenaline rush through his body, and by the look in Lily's eyes, she felt it too.

He stood and found himself being hugged by Lily again. She also gave him a small kiss on the cheek, which he returned both of.

"Thank you again, for everything."

He smiled at her, still refusing to look at Albus.

"Take care of yourself Lily, and remember, that offer I made earlier concerning Potter is still open if you ever need me to use it."

Lily grinned. "I'll keep it in mind, Sev. You take care of yourself, too."

With a curt nod towards the Headmaster (while still avoiding that know-it-all gaze he knew he had in his eyes) and a smile toward Lily and her son, he walked out the door to head back to the dungeons.

A/N: 7/29/11 - Edited words and such ...