Chapter 60: Carly Willett
Lily was stunned to the core as she was taken back home by Robin whilst Eileen sat with a Healer to discuss what to do now that Desdemona was dead and how to arrange for her funeral.
She had not known the Princes for any longer than five to six years, but they had both played such a huge part of both hers and Severus' lives. She couldn't process that they were now gone, forever.
She hated leaving Severus with his grandmother's body and his mother's wailing and tears of sorrow. She just wanted to hold him close and kiss his own tears away, but he was so numbed with grief that he didn't even process her departure.
"Is it over, honey?" asked Rose.
She looked very grim, and seeing Lily's stunned expression made it very clear that she had witnessed death yet again. Why her daughter had to be surrounded by so much death at so young an age was beyond her, and she felt fear for her safety.
"Yes, Mum, she's gone," said Lily emptily.
"Oh, honey," said Rose mournfully.
She embraced her daughter, who finally let some tears free.
"She wanted to ask me to look after Sev, Mum...she didn't want to die without asking that of me..."
"She trusted you so much," said Rose, hoping Lily acknowledged what a compliment to her character this was.
"I love Sev, but I'm so scared I'll fail. I'm so scared that I'll let him and Desdemona down," she sobbed.
"You won't, honey. I know you won't."
Lily snuggled into her mother more and cried it all out, knowing that what she was feeling most certainly paled in comparison to that of what Severus and Eileen must be going through at the present time and in the months before.
It was long after dinner, so Rose escorted Lily upstairs and promised to bring her up a mug of cocoa by the time she was ready to get into bed.
She didn't disappoint.
Listening from above during Lily's emotional discourse were Trevor and Petunia. The latter was no longer distant with her father so didn't recoil when he laid a hand on her shoulder when she sniffed a little at the news that Desdemona was dead.
Petunia had grown to love visiting Prince Manor. She was treated like an equal there which she thought she never would be considering their wizarding lineage, but nevertheless, Septimus and Desdemona always made her feel welcome, as well as Lily and Severus.
"I'll miss her," she murmured to herself in her bedroom as she heard Rose returning up the stairs with Lily's cocoa.
Severus slept pitifully that night. All he could think of, conscious or not, was his nanny and grandad both being dead. He wanted desperately to have been able to save their lives, just as he aimed to do for Lily, for the Longbottoms, for his mother...so many others. But he failed.
No matter what Septimus had to say on the subject via the Stone, he felt the responsibility for their deaths and Peter's too.
His only light at the end of the tunnel was that he would be able to communicate with Desdemona upon his return to Hogwarts.
His only regret was that Dumbledore was unyielding when it came to the subject of requesting that Eileen could access the Stone too.
He desperately wanted to allow Eileen to reunite with her parents in this way, so that she could reflect that her life was still worth living without them. She even knew that death wasn't the proverbial end, but losing a chance of a full life with her parents once again had depressed her deeply.
Severus wanted to yell in exasperation into his pillow, but all that would accomplish is risking waking his mother who had been dosed with a Dreamless Sleep Potion by the Healer who spoke to her after Desdemona's death. He was assuming Robin was not asleep as he could hear no snoring from the neighbouring bedroom.
Robin himself was still feeling deprived of sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to, not with his wife in such turmoil and distress. He kept vigil over her sleeping form, wishing the peace she felt in her dreamless sleep could last in her waking hours too, but knew that come dawn, she would look sunken and depressed once more.
He couldn't fault her, but he was so afraid of losing her to grief.
He was hardly able to maintain their relationship after she lost Septimus, and now with Desdemona gone, he feared for her safety and their marriage all the more.
"Sleep tight, my love," he whispered as he held her to him.
The following morning didn't bring any surprises. Severus was acting stoical, despite the clear signs of tears with his bloodshot eyes and damp cheeks. He sat in silence, eating a small breakfast, and acted as if Robin was not present.
Eileen remained in bed, showing no desire to get out and run the inn.
Robin left not long after to open the premise for the public, but he employed the Prince house elves to work in his stead again while he stayed close to Eileen.
Severus wanted to volunteer to help, but Robin bluntly refused.
The remainder of that day passed very uneventfully and like Robin, Severus felt obliged to stay indoors with Eileen for her sake.
In fact, Severus didn't leave the house for the whole first week of summer.
Robin did start encouraging him to go and see Lily, or even Floo over to visit Quincey, but it was no good.
Eileen herself finally stepped up, figuratively.
"For heaven's sake, I'm not an invalid. I'm just in mourning! Sevvy, go and see Lily now or I will hex you out of the front door myself!"
Severus reluctantly obeyed, but looked to Robin pleadingly to ask him not to let Eileen out of his sight or care. Robin winked in response.
Severus felt like he walked for hours to reach Lily's front door and when he knocked, he felt numb to everything around him. He wished he could be assured of Eileen's safety, and half of him desperately wanted to turn back.
But the other half craved his girlfriend's comfort and touch.
His second guessing became moot when the door opened.
"Oh, Severus, do come in!"
Rose ushered him inside and instantly set to work to brew him a cup of tea. Petunia was also in the kitchen, preparing a stew for that evening's dinner.
"Hello, Severus, how are you?"
"I'm...managing," replied Severus.
There was nothing more to say on that subject. Rose put the kettle on and then called Lily down.
Lily hurried down with a lot of banging on the way to show she was very eager to see her boyfriend.
"SEVVY!"
She rushed into his arms, kissing his cheek several times shamelessly.
Severus, on the other hand, turned beetroot red at such an open display of affection, especially in front of Lily's parents.
Rose made no comment but did pour the kettle, her eyes well-secured to the mugs.
"I've missed you so much, Sev. I wanted to look you up, but Mum and Dad said you needed the space, but I didn't want you to think I wasn't missing you and I considered going anyway and then I'd think of your mum answering the door and what she would look like and-"
"Give him breathing room, Lily," snapped Petunia without looking away from her stirring.
Lily withdrew with a blush.
"Sorry, Sev," she murmured sheepishly.
"It's fine, Lils, but yeah, your parents were right. I needed time. It's been really difficult. The funeral is on Friday by the way, if you all want to attend."
"Of course we would, Severus," said Rose.
She had no intention of letting her best friend suffer at the funeral without her there to provide comfort and a friendly face beyond that of Robin's.
"I'll come, Sev, obviously," said Lily.
"We all will," added Petunia.
"Smells good, Petunia," complimented Severus.
He was feeling awkward at all the affection over his loss.
"Yep, and it's going to be prepared with no further distractions," said Petunia with determination.
"Don't be so rude, Tuney!"
"Sorry, I just want this to be perfect! She's been so scared of coming here since that...day," said Petunia with a shudder.
"What's going on?" whispered Severus to Lily.
"Remember that girl that Petunia was caught with at the end of last year?"
"Yeah?"
"Tuney's finally persuaded her to come and visit again, but they're both nervous about Dad, and Tuney's throwing herself into this dinner preparation. She's using it as a...therapeutic exercise."
"Not very helpful, by the looks of it."
"Not too effective, no."
Severus and Lily made themselves scarce for a little while after Severus drunk his tea. They made their way to their favourite spot.
"So, what do you think you'll do once the funeral is over, Sev?"
"Spend more time with you, I hope."
"Aww, charmer!"
"I need you near me, Lils. I can hardly cope with all this. With Mum in her state, you're my only real anchor at the minute."
"I get it, Sev, but she will recover. She's still young. She won't die on you. Not yet!"
Severus nodded absently. He wasn't sure despite even Eileen's promise of not abandoning him. He never believed in promises of not being left behind. The other Lily once vowed that they would always be together, be best friends...
"Sev?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you alright? You look very...haunted, for lack of a better word."
"I'm just thinking..."
"Of?"
"...How things used to be before my grandparents came back to our lives," he lied.
"Yeah, it wasn't fun, I gather."
"Mildly speaking. I can never forgive that foul bastard for how he hurt Mum and I. I just hope in death, he's content in his personal residence in Hell!"
Lily shuddered at the sadistic sneer on Severus' face at this point.
"At least you have a new dad, one who actually cares for and accepts you," she piped up.
Severus nodded in appreciation for Robin. He just hoped he wouldn't lose either his mother to grief or his stepfather to Voldemort's hateful agenda.
They laid down together, hand in hand, in the summer sunshine in their spot. For the first time since he got off the Hogwarts Express, Severus felt contentment with his soulmate.
They ended up falling asleep on the sunlit grass, dreaming of happier days.
However, soon enough, a heron's call woke them and they saw the sun was beginning to sink low and they both realized they needed to go back to their respective homes for dinner. Severus was keen to get back to Eileen, and Lily wanted to be there for Petunia when Carly Willett came for dinner.
"We'll see each other again tomorrow, okay?"
"Definitely, Lils."
They kissed one another and released hands to part ways.
Lily was soon back in front of her house. She assumed that Carly had already arrived and entered as discretely as possible.
Sure enough, in the kitchen, sat next to Petunia, was a very tense girl whom Lily had seen a couple of times before, the most recent time being in a compromising state of undress in the lounge with her elder sister.
"Lily, Carly. Carly, Lily."
"I remember," said both girls in unison.
Rose came in with some cheeses and biscuits as a starter before serving Petunia's simmering beef stew.
"Your father will be home in a matter of minutes. Now, Carly, I promise you have nothing to fear now."
"I do hope so, Mrs Evans."
Carly Willett was shivering with nerves. Lily didn't blame her. She was clearly haunted by Trevor's violent outburst that day and had no intention of getting on his bad side twice.
"I'm sorry you saw us, Mrs Evans, Lily," added Carly, "I didn't mean..."
"I understand, dear," reassured Rose, "Petunia explained you got carried away. Let's just tone that sort of thing down under this roof, okay?"
"Of course, Mrs Evans!"
Soon, the front door opened and Trevor inhaled deeply as he removed his coat and hat. He knew what to expect and didn't know how to approach the girl he had angrily cast from his home and treated like scum.
"In here, Trev!"
His wife's pressing tone made Trevor speed up and go into the kitchen, ready to face up to what he had done.
"I'm here, hun."
"Good, now I don't think I need to reintroduce you to Carly, do I?"
"No...hello, Carly."
Carly looked pale and barely managed to reply.
"G-good evening, M-m-Mr Evans."
Trevor sighed and sat at the table opposite Carly and Petunia.
"Carly, I'm indeed terribly sorry for my gross attitude towards not just you but to my daughter as well. I was quite shocked by what I had seen, and in my generation, homosexuality was extremely frowned upon. I realize that times are changing to far less prejudiced ways of life. I want to move with the times, hence I give Petunia my blessing to date any woman she pleases in time. I understand from her that you and she are only friends exploring your sexualities. I can appreciate that. I only ask of you not to make displays like that in future. I also withdraw my hasty statement that you are not welcome here. For as long as you are Petunia's best friend, you are always welcome here. Not just by me and Petunia, but by this entire family."
Carly had started crying during the speech and was now being hugged by Petunia.
"I'm still so sorry that you saw it, sir," she whimpered, "you shouldn't have had to find out about Tuney that way!"
"Shh," soothed Petunia.
"I admit it wasn't an ideal coming out, but the fallout of it is my fault, Carly, not yours. I promise that I will not act that way again."
Carly looked up at him at last, saw the sincerity in his face and the gleam of satisfaction in his wife's.
She believed his words and nodded with a sniffle.
"I shall serve the meal," said Rose pleasantly, "Lily, give me a hand, please."
"I cooked it, Mum. I'll do it all," said Petunia, rising up.
"You sit down and comfort Carly. She's still recovering from it all," insisted Rose in a no-nonsense voice.
Petunia saw Carly reaching for her hand, still looking nervous and tearful and conceded.
Lily gathered all the necessary cutlery and Rose dished the stew into several bowls. In a matter of moments, all five of the party were sat at the table savouring Petunia's cooking.
"This is gorgeous, Tuney," complimented Carly.
"As ever, my dear," added Rose.
"Absolutely first class," put in Trevor.
"Yummy, Tuney," said Lily cutely.
Petunia blushed at the praise and wondered if, in the future, she could brew potions as well as she could a stew.
An hour or so after the pudding, (vanilla cheesecake) Petunia escorted Carly out and Lily gave her a pleasant farewell after her parents.
"It was nice to see you again," she said.
"Again, I'm sorry for what you saw that day, Lily," reiterated Carly.
"I know, but it's okay. You'd be surprised how well I understand being different. I'm just glad Tuney wasn't alone in it all."
"In what way are you different, Lily?" asked Carly. "You're not gay as well?"
Lily realized she may have said too much, especially after Petunia gave her an incredulous expression.
"I have unique...mental skills, so I go to a private school to study to my full potential."
"You're a teen genius?" asked Carly with fascination.
"I wouldn't say that exactly, but for lack of a better term, I suppose you could describe it as that," said Lily uneasily.
"Shall we get you home then, Carls?" asked Petunia hastily.
"Yeah, better do. Mum will wonder what's keeping me. Goodbye, Lily."
"Bye, Carly!"
Lily smiled to herself as her sister and her best friend shut the door behind them.
Petunia was feeling more accepted and Trevor had redeemed himself to all parties.
She only wished things were going just as well for Severus and his family, what was left of it.
I have all summer to help him through it, she thought to herself.
After helping wash the dishes and drying it all away, Lily bid her parents goodnight and went to sleep, keen for the next day to come, so she could start her quest in making Severus even slightly happy again.
Author's end of chapter note: Hey all, I hope this chapter and the previous have quenched some thirst for now. Coming next time is the beginning of Severus and Lily's fifth year at Hogwarts. I hope you all look forward to it.
What do you think Severus will get up to? Will he reconcile with Lily Potter? Will anything else go wrong? Will he and Lily progress further in their relationship? Please review. Thanks for reading!