Muggle living

Lily spent the morning at home, with her family. She paid no attention to Petunia's rudeness, which she no longer dared to do in front of their parents. Sev had been right since they were children when he told her that she was envious, and to think that at that time she reproached him for speaking like that about her sister. Sev is going to have good parent-in-laws, but sister-in-law… they are going to not like each other for life.

The four of them would have gone on an excursion, but it was raining, spring in Cokeworth was gray too. So they stayed in the living room, talking, and Petunia locked herself in her room. Lily gave them a more detailed account of all her progress. She also told them about Cecile and Remus, without telling them, of course, that he was a werewolf. What a scare, otherwise…

Sev also spent the morning with his Mum, but it was mostly her who did the talking. She told him many stories about the parents of his 'friends' who she had met at Hogwarts, revealing valuable information to him. Quite a spy too.

She gave him an envelope with money. She had never given me so much. She explained that by preventing his father from coming back, she had been able to work and save much more. She hadn't bought him anything as she preferred him to pick it out himself, just Muggle toiletries. Well... by now she cares about my appearance. He hugged her, thanking her a thousand times.

Both of them, after having an early lunch, stayed for a while. Lily asked her parents for permission to visit Eileen. "We'll just stay for tea. Afterwards, if it continues to rain, we'll come here to study for a while."

Her parents had a brief conversation with glances, which she avoided prying. At last her mother said, "We are going to leave her, they will have to talk about many things, and last night she seemed very sure to me."

Her father was still slow to respond, "It's fine, but carry the wand and don't separate from Sev."

Dad also considers him the security specialist.

"Thank you, parents."

Lily took her umbrella and ran to the park. Sev was waiting for her under a tree, his hair was soaked.

As she got closer to him, she quipped, "What? Where do you have the Impervius now? Who is the one that gets wet? Haven't you tried doing it with your hands?"

"No, Lily, don't even think about it. They could detect that magic too."

"I said it jokingly…"

They embraced... free... in the rain... without hiding…

Sev was wearing nothing but the clothes she had bought him for Christmas. Lily deduced that he had outgrown the Muggle coat he usually wore in winter.

"You're soaked... Why haven't you put on your cloak?"

"What a stupid question, Lily, to avoid attracting attention."

"You could have at least put on Jack's sweater, which is warmer."

"But I wanted to come see you with the clothes you bought me."

Oh... how cute... Lily had to stop herself from crying. "You are going to catch a cold, we are going to your house to dry you, my parents have given me permission."

They went to Spinner's End under the umbrella. She embraced him around his waist and he her around her shoulders, shivering.

"Jo, Sev... You're going to get sick, and we don't have Poppy's potions here."

"Don't worry, Mum has Muggle medicines, and tomorrow when we go to Diagon we'll buy it."

"Yes, and also a coat for you."

"Buf... that will be a lot, I prefer to spend what Mum has given me on books."

"But for books we already have the money from the Guard and I have plenty of money, yesterday Dad gave it to me for both of us," she said. "He says that I don't suppose any expenses and it belongs to me, and mine is yours too."

How grateful I feel, the truth is that I need it, Sev thought. Otherwise I will not be able to leave the house these days, it will continue to rain at least until Wednesday.And thinking about Lauren and the Guard's clothes… "I can buy a normal Muggle one, it will be cheaper, and it is more useful than the cloak for Dueling and walking in the Forest."

"Okay, then we'll go to a store downtown tomorrow morning, so you can put it on in the afternoon."

When they arrived at Spinner's End they gave a surprise to Eileen, who didn't expect to see Sev again until the evening, let alone Lily. "You're soaked!" his Mum exclaimed. "How did I not think of buying you an umbrella?"

Surely because you've gotten used to the Impervius. Sev was giggling on the inside. "It's okay, Mum."

Eileen lit the fireplace and ran for a towel. Sev took off his wet sweater and stayed in his shirt, sitting in front of the fire. How handsome… Lily thought.He's to eat him…'

His Mum towel-dried his hair and finished with her wand. Two of the three women in my life taking care of me, he thought. I feel the humble house as a true home, as never before.

Then Eileen went to make the tea, to warm them up. They took it with cups in hand, in front of the fireplace. The three talked about the academic issues and also the serious ones. Eileen also warned Lily that she should go to Dumbledore and even leave the castle if things turned sour. She thought, Sev still hasn't told her that we can't trust Dumbledore.

"I will continue teaching you both at home, you have less than a year left to be able to use your wands, and when the situation improves, you will return to graduate," Eileen said. "Try to finish this year, so as not to lose the OWLs, since you have worked so hard. Total, only two months left, be careful until then."

I already told you that we are going to be, Lily still doesn't know that we're going to stop meeting, nor does Mum know that the damn letter will arrive in that interval, Sev thought.

They had to go back to Lily's house. Sev was made to put on Jack's sweater, his boots, and cloak. "We will take a detour by the river, so we also walk a bit, and hardly anyone will see us," Lily told him.

On the way they planned the new strategy to go to Diagon with Lily's mother the next day, it was no small problem. The Guard had offered to do it for them, but since Sev was the only regular customer of the old bookstore and knew it well, and was also the one who had to prepare the sleeping potions for everyone, it was less risky for the ingredients to be brought by himself to Hogwarts, and they had decided to do it themselves.

Why was it a problem to go to Diagon together? The answer is obvious, they could meet someone 'dangerous' who saw them together. So in the beginning, when they thought they could Floo or even travel by train, they had decided that in the alley they would each move separately. Sev would go straight to the used bookstore and Lily would do the rest of their shopping, stopping by Flourish & Bloots as well.

There she would not need to search, since the books were catalogued, but even so they agreed, as they had done in the school Library, that they would not only look at the titles, but also at the indexes. Information could appear in any book with a misleading title such as the 'Celtic Horoscope'.

So Lily would look mainly in the History of Magic and Herbology sections of the modern bookstore, and Sev would look in the old one for titles that seemed suggestive.

But when Violet offered to drive them and they couldn't refuse, a new problem had arisen. They knew from the Daily Prophet that Voldemort's attacks on Muggle-born warlocks had escalated, and if it happened that that day was a front-page story, Violet could see it at any moment in the wizarding alley, buy the paper, read it, and worry so much as not to let Lily go back to Hogwarts, where, in that regard, she was safer than home.

So Sev asked her, "How do you do when you go to Diagon alone with your parents?"

"When we went in summer for the books and the supplies they accompanied me everywhere, and then we sat in the ice cream parlor to have something."

"And at Christmas?"

"Back then they stayed alone and I went shopping."

So Violet and Peter like to sit and look down the alley.It was expected. "Do they usually pay attention to The Prophet?" he asked. "Have they ever bought it?"

"Yes, in the summer they realized that the photographs moved, it caught their attention and they bought it. But I guess not at Christmas, because I kept all the magical money."

"Ugh… Lily… what a luck. Didn't you realize that they might have found out that Voldemort attacks witches like you?"

"I was still very thoughtless, Sev. I have also had my process."

"Well, don't worry, I've already thought of something. You have to prevent your Mum from being left alone, distract her if we see someone reading The Prophet, and forget about the ice cream parlor. Take her everywhere, including Gringotts, with the excuse that you have a lot of money on you and that she can help you find the books. I am sure that she will accept, as she is very interested and would love to participate. So, if you end up at Flourish & Bloots soon, you can come to where I am to continue looking, but at the other end of the store. We'll kill two birds with one stone, we'll distract her, and have one more person to help us."

"You are a wonder for strategies, Sev."

"Well, don't sing victory, even so she can see something. If she finds out everything, we'll have to explain it to her, that Hogwarts is safer than your house. Let me do it, you see how they trust my judgment when it comes to your protection, and in fact I am much more aware than you. I will know how to do it tactfully. Rays! I'll have to put in a good word for Dumbledore, ugh…"

They reached the river and visited for the first time as a couple, the place of their happiest memory, who made their Patronus twins, and there they told each other about it.

"Within a year we will be able to make them right here, let's see what they do, they may bathe."

"I don't think so, Lily, cats avoid water."

They arrived at Lily's house. Her parents, who were watching the telly with Petunia, stood up to greet him. "Welcome back Severus, you're home. You can stay with us or go up to study."

Petunia, arms crossed and sulking, doesn't take her eyes off the telly, Sev thoguht. They both realized that the situation would be awkward and would force her into seclusion. It was Sev who answered, knowing that her parents would understand, "We prefer not to bother you," taking a look at Petunia, which they both perceived. "We'll continue talking another time, we have a week ahead of us." So that my 'sister-in-law' can also listen to it and get used to my presence here.If she doesn't want to deal with me, it's better for her to take her own life and leave the house or seclude herself.After all, she always enjoys the company of her parents and Lily doesn't.

Lily's parents understood him perfectly, and they found him polite and cunning at the same time.

They went up to Lily's room. Sev thought, Oh... I've never been here... It's like a princess', with white gauze curtains on the window, a wider than normal bed, covered with a white bedspread, printed with small colored flowers, and under thewindow, a large desk, enough for the two of us.

"Look what a surprise Dad gave me last night," she told him. "They have changed my desk, so we can study together."

What a detail, they really love me, he thought.

"And not only that, look, look," she closed the door and pointed to the latch, with a mischievous smile and look. "So that Petunia 'doesn't bother us'."

Sev's eyes and mouth widened. Whoah!How confident!We cannot betray them. "Okay, Lily. But don't pass it on while they're home. In fact, open the door, we'll close it if your sister comes up, I don't think she dares to do it. And don't worry about that aspect, I'm not going to face her at all, I'll take the downpour she throws at me. I can't be fighting for life with my sister-in-law."

"Sev! You have said 'sister-in-law'!

"Yeah…" Rays!Related to Petunia.

They sat at the desk to study, with Lily's books. Since they couldn't use their wands, they had to spend the whole week on theory. They had given them a lot of homework, a compendium of the last three years, the syllabus that entered for the OWLs.

That afternoon they decided to start with DADA, since Sev had not brought his annotated books but he knew everything by heart, apart from the fact that Lily had hardly spent time on theory, only practice.

Since they spent so much time sending letters to each other on page 394 of different books, both of them had gotten into the habit of looking for it in whatever book they opened, and they were quite surprised when they discovered that such page of the third year book of Defense was the first of the topic about… werewolves.

"Remus!" They shouted at the same time, laughing.

They started reading and Sev said, "I don't need to study this, I already saw him live."

But he let her read the chapter, they commented and laughed. From downstairs, her parents heard them and they were so happy that despite all the difficulties, her daughter and that boy so special were still as happy together as they were as children. And they thought that if only life would never separate them, because they were one for the other.

Then they got down to homework. Sev knew everything by heart, so they barely needed to consult the books, but Lily didn't copy what he explained to her, she wrote it in her own words. They managed to finish them in time before dinner. "Well, the first day and we have already got rid of a subject, it's not bad at all."

Lily got up to close the door. "Give me kisses, Sev, before you go. Today we almost didn't."

"Okay, but little. If they catch us they won't trust me anymore."

"I don't think so, I think they would be very happy to know."

"Yeah… but don't tell them anything yet, until things are fixed," he said.

"Okay."

They hugged and kissed, for the first time, in the room where the Princess discovered that she was in love with the Prince, many months ago.

When they went downstairs, Lily's Mum came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a cloth, and said to Sev, "Stay for dinner if you want, there is enough for everyone."

Wow… how they want to be with me.But Petunia is going to lock herself up and I haven't told Mum. "Thank you very much, Violet, but I haven't warned my mother that I wouldn't come, and she must already be preparing dinner too."

"Then stay tomorrow for lunch. So you don't have to go home after studying and we can go to Diagon as soon as possible. I have prepared roast beef. Do you like it?"

I can't refuse that.

"Of course, Violet, I will. I appreciate it a lot."

"See you tomorrow then." She gave him a kiss on his cheek.

And Peter, who had also risen to see him off, held out his hand.

The last kiss, also on her cheek, was for Lily, who told him, "Take the umbrella, you'll bring it tomorrow."

"Okay, thanks, good night, see you tomorrow," Sev said.

Petunia didn't flinch, she kept glued to the telly. The three of them stayed at the door watching him go. And Lily's parents thought, watching him in the wizard's cloak and borrowed umbrella, how helpless young wizards were when they had to live Muggle-like.

. . . . . . . . .

Sev knocked on Lily's door at nine that Monday morning, punctual as clockwork. She ran to open it and saw him again dressed only in his clothes from the day before, although at least this time under the umbrella.

"Come in, come in, you're getting cold." She closed the door and fell into his arms.

"Lily, and Petunia?"

"Bah! She never gets up early when she's on holidays. Kiss me."

He did, long and deep. For the first time in Cokeworth, for the first time in the blessed place where chance, fate, the goddess Fortune, made our paths coincide.

"Have you had breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"But it wouldn't hurt to have some tea, it's already prepared."

They went to the kitchen and Lily served it to him. "While you take it, I'm going to look for a coat of my father for you, there's a stretch to downtown, you can't go like this."

"Lily, it's not necessary, I'm not cold."

"Don't protest. I don't want you to get sick the few days we have. How did you spend the night? Have you needed to take medicine?"

"I haven't."

"Well, better, but don't claim victory, you may still be incubating it."

The truth is that I do feel shivery, but I don't want to worry her,he thought. Sev was left alone in Lily's kitchen. It is tiled with modern tiles in bright colors, it is spacious, enough to eat three people at the table, and full of electrical devices that hardly sound familiar to me.A fridge, an oven under the gas cooker, the toaster.The sink is under the window framed by curtains to match the tiles.What a nice idea to be able to look outside while you do the dishes.

Lily was back soon. "I found this one. It's something old-fashioned, from before he got fat, I think it's the one that will suit you best."

He tried it on. The black wool three-quarter fit me like a glove.Although Lily's Dad is taller, I have long arms.

"Wow! How handsome, Sev, it's perfect for you. Do you like it?"

"I love it. What an eye you have with the sizes."

"Then I'll ask him to give it to you, he's never going to put it on again."

"Lily, I feel bad… I think I'm abusing."

"Always with your nonsense, Sev. It's better that you use it than it's getting moth-eaten, and he's going to be delighted."

Always better to give than to receive, and I can't think of any way to reciprocate, Sev thought. "In that case, I no longer need to buy another one."

"How not? This one is not waterproof to walk through the Forest and now you are constantly there. I'm going to buy one too, the cloak is very uncomfortable for Dueling. Besides, you need more clothes, you can't walk all week with the same ones. I know a sale store, seasonal leftovers, and now they must have discounted winter clothing. This way you already equip yourself for what is left of cold and for the next one."

Ugh... Lily's planning my life.

"Come on, let's go as soon as possible," she continued. "If we hurry, we'll still have time to try the latch."

Booah! What a danger! It is clear that today she does not plan to study.

"It's enough for us with an umbrella, right?" Lily asked. "We both fit under it. So when we buy another one for you we won't have to carry three."

But... how much money does Lily intend to spend with me? "Lily, Mum has told me that she's already going to buy one for me. And stop now, you're making me feel terrible."

"Sev," she faced him and looked at him very serious, with a frown. "Mine is yours. You are giving me much more valuable things, the Haven, the Druid Magic, your talent, the Dueling, the Guard and the Mental Arts, all that cannot be bought even with all the gold in the world. Let me contribute what I can."

Well thought out, she's right, and I can't despise what she offers me, after all, the truth is that I need it. "Well, let's go then… You are the mistress of the house."

Lily smiled widely. I can imagine… Ah…!Living with him.

They walked briskly to the city center. Lily knew each shop and what to look for in them. At the outlet store they found a raincoat, with a removable liner, with numerous pockets like Lauren's, the bottom ones just big enough to hold the wand. Sev thought, Wow... it's perfect, it works for both winter and summer, it's a pity it's not black, it's dark green, even better to blend in with the Forest.

Lily found another similar one for her, coffe colored. She insisted that he also buy two more pairs of trousers, sweaters, and shirts.

"I don't need that much to be at school, Lily."

"But that way you already have it for next Christmas. The winter sales don't start until January 7th, so take advantage now."

Wow! She is quite an expert, and thinking about it, I'll better equip up with clothes that also serve me for training. The dress shirts are very uncomfortable, long-sleeved shirts are better under thin sweaters, and no jeans, I prefer them lighter, these canvas ones seem much more comfortable.

He picked up another dress shirt, for Lily, which he knew she liked to take off, two shirts, a V-neck sweater like the one he already had, and two pairs of trousers.

"You don't buy anything?" he asked.

"Bah! I already have everything for several years."

Ugh... maybe she's already running out of money with everything I've taken, and she should equip herself for training as well. "Lily, buy comfortable clothes to fight, I can leave some trousers, a shirt and a sweater."

"You're right, but you don't have to leave anything, we have plenty."

Well, I'm going to escape at Diagon this afternoon and I'll buy her some detail.

When it was all paid, Sev was pleasantly surprised that the bill was much less than he expected. Actually, Lily knows what she's doing.

"You no longer need underwear, right?" she asked him. "And another pajamas?"

"No, Lily, I already have plenty. And I only wear pajamas when we meet." And we're going to stop doing it.

They kept walking under the same umbrella. It's nice to walk hugging Lily in the rain, in our town. I feel free, and for the first time in so many years, I have no desire to return to Hogwarts.

"Can you think of anything else you need?" she asked him.

Yes, my greasy hair, the school shampoo is crap and I have to wash it every other day to be presentable. "Where do you buy Muggle toiletries?"

"At the drugstore, we've pass by it."

They went back.

"Will you let me in alone?" he asked.

Lily already guessed what he wanted to buy. "Yes, of course, here." She handed him a bill.

"It is not necessary, for this I have enough."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

He bought two bottles, more than enough for the rest of the school year.

"We'll buy the summer clothes in the July sales," she said.

Merlin, Lily already has it all planned out.

"We're going to go to City Hall to say hello to Mum," Lily continued. Violet worked part-time at the Registry office.

Ugh... with all the purchases and her Dad's coat, Sev thought.

"That way we show her what we have bought," she added.

To top!

"Lily, you're going to embarrass me."

"Sev," frowning and reproachful again. "You're dumber by the day. Don't you understand that they better realize we're not wasting money? Dad gave it to me for both of us," emphasizing the last words with authority. "So get used to it, he already told you, you're part of the family."

I'll have to resign myself, he though.

Violet was surprised and very happy to see them.

"Hi, Mum," Lily greeted her. "Look, we've been shopping."

"Sounds great, honey," her Mum replied. "Have you found everything you needed?"

"At the moment yes, if something else occurs to us we will return."

"Isn't that Dad's coat?" Violet asked. "It seems tailor-made for you, Sev, you look very handsome."

Sev's colors were already rising. "Thank you, Violet."

"Keep it, Peter will never wear it again, I don't know why we have kept it for so many years," the older woman added.

"I appreciate it very much, Mrs. Evans."

"Again with the last name?"

"Sorry, Violet, it's out of habit," Sev replied.

"Well, Mum, we're going, we still have to go to Sev's house to drop off his things and we want to study for a while before having lunch," Lily said.

"Okay, daughter, but be careful, don't stay there," Violet answered. "Today I will arrive earlier, you will have already noticed that I have taken the car to come. If you remember, put the roast beef in the oven at one o'clock, so we'll have lunch as soon as I arrive and leave right away."

"Yes, Mum, I will also prepare a salad."

"Brilliant," her Mum approved. "Come on, go away, you've already wasted half the morning."

I'm amazed, everything planned without consulting me at all, Sev thought. Of course, the Muggle world is Lily's domain, I do the same to her in the castle.

They went to Spinner's End. The city center, Sev's house in the suburbs, and Lily's in a residential neighborhood made an almost perfect triangle. When they arrived, Sev opened the door, Lily made no move to enter. "Don't you pass?" he asked.

"No, hurry up, we won't have time for almost anything anymore."

"And wouldn't it be better if we stayed here? Mum is not here."

"No," Lily replied. "Petunia must be up by now and she'll tell on us if we don't come home to study."

"She'll also tell if we lock ourselves in your room."

"But my parents are already counting on that, they care much less than the fact that we are here."

Well, I must let myself go, Sev thought. He went up to his bedroom and left the bags there. He only took time by changing Lily's Dad's coat for the one he had bought.

When he came down, she scolded him, "Why have you changed? Save that one for the Forest. Haven't you seen that Mum was very happy when she saw it on you?"

Ugh... social skills, Lily's terrain too. So he went back upstairs to put it on.