A/N: This Chapter is still under beta viewing. Anything can (and most likely will) change, be added, or removed.
I'm presenting this chapter because my fans have been wanting an update. I haven't worked with this for a while though.
Some information for the reviewers.
About Sirius: Lily doesn't remember his innocence until it's too late.
About Augur(No, you're not crazy, I changed his name due to an error on my part, I have dyslexia, I think): I actually did base him a little off Dumbledore, and Kian a bit on Snape (his jealousy and moodiness) Their names are a huge hints though. Augus will be simple to know. Kian is a little harder, but pay attention to him when he appears in the story; you should figure it out easily. Their fascination with secrets is mostly from research (they are Ravenclaws).
Chapter 12; The Visitors
Severus and Lily spent most days working on Potions together. Severus had been thoroughly right about having lots of potions to make when they started working together, which kept them both busy.
With their combined list, they had twenty-one families to brew for. Some were for simple healing potions, while other families ordered the more complicated ones, which obviously took more time and energy to brew. They enjoyed it though. When they were much younger, Lily and Severus often discussed working together in a potions shop, recently making it a reality.
Lily even had to turn down requests once the news came out that she was brewing again. Although, most of those were of people wanting to get in touch with her because she and Harry were the newest celebrities of the wizarding world.
It was a good thing Severus' house was warded off so people couldn't find it unless they had a password, else she would always be bothered with people who she couldn't help because she was so swamped with work.
They were the perfect team, really. Severus worked patiently over the brews, adding and stirring precisely at the proper times; usually without a single error. Most of the recipes he had memorized right at the top of his head, and any other was stored into his mind for easy access, giving him the ability to work quickly and flawlessly. Lily had been always a perfectionist when it came to preparing the ingredients. She even used her wand as a measuring tool. Severus had mildly teased her for that, but he couldn't argue when the ingredients looked like they would if you had bought them already prepared from a shop.
One late morning, as he was eating breakfast, and she was grating a Celerod (a magical vegetable), Severus happened to notice something odd with Lily's wand.
"What is this?" He asked, snatching her wand from the table where it lay and looking it over.
"Nothing." She blushed before swiping it back away from him.
"You marked your wand with measurements?" He asked in disbelief. Wand tampering was hardly ever recommended. It could easily cause the wand to malfunction.
"It's just a spell." She answered quickly. "There's no damage done to it."
"How long has your wand been that way?"
"Three years or so." Lily shrugged. "I read about it in 'The Quibbler'."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "And I bet you subscribed to that joke of a magazine."
"Some of it is actually useful." She lifted up her chin in defense. "It doesn't hurt to read for entertainment, Severus."
"I always read for entertainment, otherwise, I wouldn't read at all, but I wouldn't want to waste my time on that rubbish."
Lily grinned. "Fine then. You can miss out on all the good information that the 'joke of a magazine' has."
"Yes, well, I'll ask you for a copy when I want to decorate my wand with pretty little lines."
A giggle escaped her mouth, finding his sarcastic comment amusing.
It was only a week later before Lily discovered Severus had cast the Measures of My Wand spell on his own wand. She giggled to herself, but never called him out on it. Obviously, he didn't want to admit to having it. Men were often that way. She had grown up around many of them to understand their strong egos.
Remus came by one late January afternoon. The weather was abnormally warm and they were going to take Harry out to enjoy it, since he and Lily had been shut up inside due to the chilly temperatures.
Harry toddled around in excitement throughout his and Lily's bedroom trying to decide which toy he wanted to bring with him. He took a plastic container and tipped it over to dig through the plushed animals and rubber toys.
"Harry!" Lily scolded. "Must you always make such a mess?"
"Hat!" Harry answered with a random word he knew. He finally chose a fluffy blue duck to take with him.
"Come here, you!" Remus swung him into his arms playfully, causing the boy to laugh.
"Fun!" He squealed.
"Want to go broom flying today, kid? Uncle Remus will take you on a big boy one."
"Unky fly!" Harry exclaimed wiggling excitedly in the man's arms.
Lily wasn't really a broom flyer. Not like her friends had been, but she played with Harry on his trainer broom like James had done. She could tell it wasn't the same for Harry though. Flying was a thing that Harry, James, and the other marauders had done together. Mummy couldn't replace that activity. Remus appeared good enough for Harry though, and the little boy got excited when his "uncle" came over to take him flying.
"Hold on to him tightly." Lily told Remus, literately chewing on her fingernails. Her eyes staring at Harry's scar; a reminder of his close encounter with death.
Remus chuckled. "He'll be fine." He assured his friend. Out of all the marauders, he had been the most laid back and precautions one. It seemed redundant for her to say this every time.
"I know. It's a habit, sorry." She said with a sad look. "It was something I constantly had to say to James. I think he thought Harry was indestructible or something." She laughed.
"Ah, you know how James was." Remus said. He kissed her on the cheek. "We'll just circle the house like we always do."
She nodded in a reply and watched him kick off with her little boy whose hair whipped back as the wind caught it. Lily smiled, he'll come back looking like his dad had every time he had rode a broom. She could hear Harry's laughter and it warmed her heart.
What would she do without Harry? What would have happened to me if Voldemort had killed him and I had survived? She asked herself tearfully.
And how could she be set at peace knowing that any day Voldemort could return and terrorize her and Harry all over again?
* / *
"Master Severus."
Severus looked up from his book to see Riffer standing at the doorway to the den with Lucius Malfoy behind him. "Mr. Lucius Malfoy is here." Riffer announced with a bow.
"Show my guest in, Riffer and get him a bottle of firewhiskey."
"Yes, Master, sir." The house elf said and escorted Lucius into the room. With a snap of his fingers, a bottle of firewhiskey and glass appeared on a table.
"It hardly seems fair that your house elf is better than mine." Lucius commented.
"For as young as he is, I must agree. I can't deny my luck."
"Are you still playing house with that mudblood?" Lucius eyed a figurine that was much too feminine for Severus' taste. The ballerina stood en pointe on one of the end tables. "How long has it been? Two Months?" Lucius asked in disgust as he poured himself a glass of his choice drink. "I would have thought you would have grown bored with that role already."
"I already told you the situation."
"Ah, but, Severus, I think that you are enjoying this too much."
Severus stopped himself short from shifting in his seat. "Well, she has been assisting me with my work, including providing me her list of clientele."
"Her clientele?" Lucius sneered. "How many did she provide you with? Two?"
"About fifteen hundred Galleons a month worth."
Lucius took a drink of his firewhiskey in an effort to hide how impressed he was. Severus curled his lips into a smug grin. "That's nearly three times more than the Weasels make every month." He pointed out to the still silent blond in front of him.
"We can just assume that it all came from Potter." Lucius said, unwilling to admit how successful a muggleborn could be.
"Potter spent too much of his time boasting than working. I highly doubt he went door to door gathering up clients for potion brewing." Severus said bitterly. "Besides that, he was absolutely terrible at potions and no one in their right mind would have hired him to brew even a simple first year potion."
"Quite a useless man, Potter was. He was a sorry excuse for a Pureblood." Lucius scowled. "Good thing he's gone now."
Severus chose not to respond to that. "I'll get that sun protectant potion for you, Lucius." He said, standing up from his chair. Luicus had a planned vacation in the Bahamas coming up shortly and had requested him to make the potion a couple weeks ago.
"How much was it again?" Lucius stood with him.
"One hundred and sixty-four Galleons."
"You're the cheapest one around. The shops are trying to sell it for three hundred. Complete robbery, it is! Especially given the time of year it is!" Lucius followed Severus as they made their way to the cellar. "Thank you. We appreciate this."
Severus nodded. "Not at all." He had seen Lucius red from sun burn before. It hadn't been a pretty picture. With as red as his skin had been, Severus had been surprised Lucius hadn't glowed in the dark.
"Would you happen to have any skin repair creme too?" Lucius asked. He stopped at the bottom of the steps. He never ventured further than that.
"Of course. How many do you need?"
"Three." He wrinkled his nose from the smell. "Is there not something you can do about the foul odor down here?"
"Nothing permanent, so I never bother with it."
"I should ask you to start delivering my potions then."
Severus glanced at him. "I remember offering to do that eight months ago. You must have forgotten."
"Eight months ago you were needed for much more important matters." Lucius then sighed. "I still can not believe He is gone. It seems I have too much free time now."
"Now you know why I spend so much time down here." Severus held up a tub of skin softener. "I have a new kind, would you like to try it?"
"Anything special about it?"
"It's made with four different citrus peel oils. One of which is from a rare fruit that is exclusive to South America." He informed. "It is the best I have seen yet. I'll let you have the first one for free; it's extremely expensive. Thirty-Five Galleons for about four days worth, but it repairs dry and cracked skin like none other. You will see results overnight."
"I'll take three of those then, and three of the other ones." Lucius said without a thought.
"Excellent." Severus had known Lucius would want more than one. Narcissa would love it, and Lucius pampered his wife beyond belief. The Malfoys were his best customers, giving him an easy two thousand a month.
Lucius then paid for his items and they thanked each other before Severus walked his friend to his fireplace to Floo out.
"Have a nice vacation, Lucius."
Lucius tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the fire. "Have fun with your pet, Severus." He teased before stepping in. "Malfoy Manor!" with a blaze of flame, the tall man disappeared.
Severus growled at the empty fireplace. Sometimes Lucius' comments could rake on his last nerve. Especially, if they had anything to do with Lily.
Nearly two weeks later, around three in the morning, Severus stood in his bedroom with an open book in one hand and his wand in the another. He was in the process of decoding a shield spell that formed an invisible wall to oncoming water hexes. He was going to use the base of the spell to create a new one.
"Master?" Riffer appeared behind the busy wizard.
"What is it, Riffer?" His tone slightly annoyed. Why he was struggling with this spell, he would never know. It should have been relatively simple; rearrange the magical properties and apply a sand base instead of the heat one that evaporates the water with the water shield.
"Mr. Remus Lupin is here, sir." The house elf informed quietly.
At this hour?! What the heck is that man thinking? "Lily is sleeping. He can't see her right now."
"Yes, sir." Riffer scampered off after a bow.
How can he manipulate this spell to deflect fire? It blocked water well enough to be considered useful to him. Severus hated water, but he needed to create one that would also block fire. Eventually, when the Dark Lord rises again, if he was ever to be outed for being with the Order, Severus would be attacked by Death Eaters. The dark wizards loved spells with painful damages and those that left equal memories behind. Fire attacks were used often. Heck, he even liked using them from time to time. He had to prepare himself now. Things could turn out badly if he wasn't ready.
"Master, sorry, sir, but Mr. Remus Lupin is laying on Master's floor in the den and Mr. Remus Lupin is not moving." Riffer interrupted his thoughts again.
Severus sighed. He'll have to go down and see what's wrong with the werewolf.
It was two days after the full moon, so he felt safe enough to approach him. Lupin was forbidden to step foot in the house within one week prior to the full moon. Severus was not about to take chances, even if Lupin was Lily's friend. Thankfully, Lily hadn't argued with him on this rule. Lupin was lucky enough to even be allowed in the house as it was, but he was good for Lily, no matter how much Severus wanted to deny it. Between the two of them, they had been pulling her through her grief of Potter's death. Although, she wasn't one hundred percent herself, she could have a general conversation here and there without bursting into tears.
Severus quickly apparated downstairs. There, Lupin lay just inside the threshold of the den. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and deep. Lupin's skin was pale as a ghost, and the right forearm of his robes was covered completely in blood. Lupin had lost a grand amount of blood. Faint grunts came from him every so few seconds.
"You need to learn how to seal your own wounds, werewolf." Severus grumbled after inspecting the deep gash that was still gushing out blood. He then cast a spell that would seal it. This spell would also prevent him from scarring, but most likely, the wound would scar given its severity.
Now Lupin needed a few potions. Blood Replenisher, The Energizer, and Shakes Be Gone. Those should allow a quick recovery. Severus slowly poured each one into his mouth in that order.
Twenty minutes later, Lupin stirred and sat up with a groan, holding his head in his hands. "Lily?" He asked gruffly.
"No." Severus corrected above him. "Snape."
Lupin looked up. "Oh." He frowned. "Where's Lily?"
"Sleeping." Snape conjured a potion for headaches and dizziness then held it out for Lupin.
Lupin ignored the offering and inspected his arm. "Did she use a new potion?"
"Take the potion, Lupin." Severus ordered coolly, ignoring the question.
"What is it?" The werewolf eyed it suspiciously.
"Poison." The answer was dry. "Having you bleed to death in my house is much too messy for my liking."
Lupin then noticed the mess he had made. "Oh, dear, Severus, I do apologize." And Severus could tell he meant it.
"My house elf will clean it up." He said with a matter of fact. "Can you stand, or are you too dizzy?"
Slowly, Lupin wobbly stood up and Severus helped him to a chair.
"Riffer, clean this mess up. I don't want any stains." Severus ordered his house elf who had been watching the whole ordeal from the sidelines.
"Yes, Master Severus!" Riffer simply pointed at the blood puddle and it disappeared.
"Do you want the pain reliever or not?" He asked Lupin impatiently. "Lily fully made this one, if that will set your mind at ease."
"Thank you, Severus." Lupin finally took the potion. He sniffed the brew before drinking it though.
"Moony?" Lily's sleepy voice was heard then. "What are you doing here?" She asked through a yawn. Her eyes were baggy and swollen from crying.
"Hey, Lil'." Lupin got up to hug her. "How are you feeling?"
Lily gave a faint smile. "Wonderful." She fibbed.
"Nice work on the potion." Lupin held out his arm to her. "Is it new? I hardly even feel a thing."
"What potion?" Lily eyed the wound. "Remus this wasn't healed by-"
"A simple cure." Severus cut her off. "It has just recently been discovered, yes."
Lily sent him a funny look.
He cleared his throat. "I'll be in my bedroom if you need me, Lily."
"Why didn't you want Remus to know that you healed him?" Lily asked two hours later from the doorway of his bedroom.
"I don't need him thinking he owes me a favour." He told her, partially absorbed in his book. He was still trying to create the invisible fire barrier shield.
"He should know though."
"It's better if he didn't. You know we don't get along. Neither of us trust each other; for fair reasons."
Would he be forced to use water instead? He hoped not. He much preferred sand to water.
"You two are the best men that I know." Lily told him gently.
"That doesn't mean we have to like each other, Lily, and just because I saved his life doesn't mean I like him. It doesn't mean I want him owing me anything. I have saved other lives of men who aren't even half the man that Lupin is- and that is saying something. It's second nature to me. It's just what I do."
"You deserve credit for what you have done." She pushed firmly.
Severus sighed and shut his book. She wasn't going to let this go as easily as he had hoped. Why was she so persistent on things like this? Why would she think Lupin needed to know that he saved his life? Severus would hate it if he was told the werewolf saved his own life-Merlin knows he despised the fact that Potter died before he could repay that debt to him. Lupin would most definitely feel the same way.
"Lily..." he turned to look into those green eyes that he often saw in his dreams. "Just drop it. I am no saint, and I will never be one."
"No one's perfect, Sev." She told him gently with a hurt expression on her face. "You deserve a second chance though. And Remus would give it to you if he knew what you did today."
"Mummy!"
Severus found himself silently thanking Harry for a way out of this conversation. "Harry's awake, Lily." He said, pointing out the obvious.
Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "You never would take credit where it was due!"
"Then why are you so upset about this? It's nothing new to you."
Lily sighed. "Sometimes you're just too confusing for me to even figure out." She turned on her heel to tend to her son.
"That's the way I like it, Lil'!" He called to her before opening his book back up.