Madam Pomfrey proclaimed Severus well enough to leave, but heaped a mountain of warnings, scoldings, and admonishments onto his head to take it easy and you're core is still fragile and if you don't listen to me I will glue you to the sickbed with a Sticking Charm. Severus nodded along, not paying a bit of attention as he thought about the potion he was intending to brew the moment he was released. He needed to get rose thorns from the greenhouse and ground streeler shell from the storeroom; he should still have the rest of the ingredients in his trunk, so long as his roommates hadn't helped themselves to his supplies.

"You hear that, Sev?" Lily called out from behind the curtain after Pomfrey had left, while Severus fumbled with his clothes. "Don't overspend yourself." Her– His words were thick with anxiety. He hadn't said anything, but Severus knew Lily was terrified of the Dark spell they were planning on casting.

"We don't have a choice," Severus said.

Lily was quiet for a moment, and he waited, knowing what was to come. "Sev–" And there it was, that tone. "It's blood magic. Not just that, it'll be your blood. What if it goes wrong? You're already in a magical bond. I just don't want to see you hurt."

"What's the alternative then?"

"We get married and live happily ever after," Lily joked.

Severus adjusted his robes, pulling down the sleeves in a futile attempt to cover his wrists and then grabbed the white curtain that separated him from Lily. He didn't draw it back though. Instead he placed it on his head and taunted Lily, "Here comes your bride!"

He half-expected Lily to make a joke about keeping the veil firmly in place, to better hide his ugly face. That might have been unfair to him; Lily had never made a single disparaging comment about his looks, but Severus had heard enough jokes from everyone else that his mind easily filled in the words for Lily. Instead, what Lily did was take the ends of the curtain and lift it gently up. The shroud of white disappeared from his vision, revealing Lily's solemn face, and his eyes staring so tenderly up at him. No matter what body he was in, those green eyes were unchanging. For a brief second, Severus almost felt as if he was a bride, and a hot flush spread up from his neck until Lily, still with that solemn, tender expression, said, "Pucker up those lips, Sev."

Severus burst into laughter and Lily's solemn expression finally shattered as he laughed with him.

Severus noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and the laughter choked in his throat when he spotted Dumbledore standing a few feet away, looking highly amused by their antics. Oh God, how long had he been standing there? Had he heard about the spell–? Lily noticed his face turn pale and, still grinning, looked over his shoulder. The grin quickly faded and he shot Severus a look as the other boy disentangled himself from the curtain.

"Mr Snape," Dumbledore greeted, and then he looked at Lily. "Mr Evans. I'm pleased to see you looking well, Mr Snape. Every time I came to look in on you, you were asleep."

Severus said nothing and Dumbledore turned to Lily. "Mr Evans, I do believe you have Arithmancy in five minutes. Best if you run along to class now."

Lily shifted his gaze between Severus and the Headmaster and at Severus's nudge he finally said, "I'll see you later," and walked slowly out of the Hospital Wing, shooting them looks over his shoulder as he left.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Dumbledore turned to Severus, his eyes twinkling with pleased mischief. "Mr Evans is blossoming into a fine young man."

Severus refused to fidget. "Did you want me for something, Headmaster?" He asked, keeping his tone dull and emotionless.

"I wanted to see how you were doing, and to ask if Lily spoke to you regarding my proposal. I am very sorry to see you placed in such a position, Severus. If there was something more that could be done, I would do it. Unfortunately, the magics used in contracts such as yours are very old and if there ever was a way to break them, that knowledge has been lost. Still, you could do much worse than Lily Evans–"

"We're not getting married, sir," Severus interrupted.

The Headmaster stopped short and looked at Severus with an expression of mild surprise. "No? Mr Evans seemed quite willing, and it's obvious you've been sweet on him for years–"

"Lily is a good person. He wants to help me anyway he can. I won't– I won't trap him in a loveless marriage just to save my own skin," Severus said, lifting his chin defiantly.

The twinkle dimmed and what replaced it was something cool and calculating. Assessing. "I know what you want, child," the Headmaster said. "And Fate has seen fit to deliver it to you on a silver platter. Why not take it? Why not take him?"

Revulsion curdled in his stomach. Thoughts of his father, of Mulciber, rose up and he swallowed the bile that flooded his mouth. He didn't know the game Dumbledore was playing, but he refused to participate. Severus shook his head, the movement jerky, not trusting himself to speak, but making it clear that no. No, I'm not doing it. I won't do it.

Dumbledore lifted his hand, trying to calm him, and Severus realized he was trembling. His skin prickled the phantom touch of unwanted fingers. "It's alright, Severus, deep breaths. That's right, nice deep breaths. Let me help you."

"Why?" Severus choked out. "Why now? You didn't– not when I was being bullied– not after Black– I'm not one of your chosen, so why now?"

"Do you want to be?" Dumbledore asked.

"What?" Severus gasped, trying to will himself to stop shaking. Mulciber wasn't even here, and he wouldn't shake in his presence, wouldn't give that worm the satisfaction–

"One of my chosen, as you call it. I haven't done right by you, Severus. Let me remedy that. I cannot expose Mr Lupin, and I feel that James Potter, with enough time, can prove himself to be a mature, capable young man. But Sirius Black… well, he has done plenty to earn an expulsion. I can find an excuse, I can remove him from this school. Would that appease you? Would that prove to you that I want you on my side? Severus, you must marry Lily Evans. There really isn't much of a choice. If I had known who your mother was, perhaps I could have– well, what's done is done. You and he can live apart if you prefer. I do not imagine Lily would object if you insisted. If you marry him, Severus, I will expel Mr Black. I will help keep you safe."

Dumbledore's honeyed words did nothing to stop the shaking; it only made it worse. Severus felt as if he was standing on a frozen lake and the ice had started cracking. This was– wrong. Dumbledore offering Black up as a sacrifice– for him. Something more was going on, beyond this stupid contract. "I have to go to class now," Severus blurted out, his voice trembling with fear and he bolted from the infirmary, running right past Dumbledore and straight toward the dungeons, nearly colliding into Lily who was waiting for him just around the corridor.

"Sev, Sev! What's wrong? What happened?" He demanded, grabbing hold of Sev by his sleeves to stop him in his tracks.

Severus tugged away and Lily let him go. He backpeddled, wrapping his arms around his torso and said, "I want to do the spell. I want to do it now."

"Sev, you need to heal."

"No, we're doing it. I need to know. There's something going on, Lily, and if it's not my blood and family, then–" He shrugged, folding into himself more.

Lily slowly nodded. "Alright. Okay. Let's do it. Let's go to the Dueling Ground."

They needed a place soaked with ancient magics and no place in Hogwarts held more magic than the Dueling Ground. Severus had originally found the spell after sneaking into the Restricted Section his third year. He wanted to perform the spell ever since. He wanted to know who his ancestors were – not the Muggles, he knew enough about the Snapes to know he never wanted anything to do with them, but the Princes… His mother never talked about them. She half-pretended to have sprung up from the ground, no parents involved.

They settled over one of the sigils, one that held the runes for blood and family, and Lily lit the candles. "Are you sure about this?" He asked once more.

"Absolutely," Severus answered, and cut into the pale flesh of his arm.

The blood dripped into the grooves that ran across the stone, blooming like roses, and as each petal unfolded smoke slithered upward. The candles flickered and Severus could feel something tugging on his core, on his soul, and with a glance at Lily, at the fear on his face, Severus knew he could feel it too through the bond. His blood felt hot. Boiling. Singing.

"Sev!" Lily screamed.

Severus ignored him, his gaze drawn to the figure in the smoke. She looked almost like a ghost, but not quite. Her skin was bronze, but had been painted white with lead. Her black hair was oiled and twisted into curls, and the dress she wore– Severus vaguely recognized it as Minoan. He was staring at some ancient ancestress, his blood calling to hers across thousands of years, summoning her through time and even death. Her bones were nothing but dust now, but here she stood. Another appeared, a Roman priest of Cybele this time. Then another, and another, and another. They kept coming and with every new face Severus felt his magic drain out of him.

"Sev, look!"

He didn't know when he closed his eyes. His lids had grown heavy, but he wrenched them open just in time to see another ancestor spring up from his blood. A man dressed in leggings and a long, fur-lined tunic, followed by what was obviously his daughter, a pretty girl who wore a blue kirtle and a wreath of apple blossoms. A bride. They did not rush to Severus like the others. They ignored the call of his singing blood and hovered by the far wall, near the back of the chamber where the torchlight didn't reach, half-obscured in shadow. They reached out with their hands, but were unable to touch the black stone. Lily stood up. "What's back there? A hidden door?" He asked.

The bride turned to look back at them. Her mouth was moving, but no sound came out. Lily stepped forward, to reach them, and the second his toe breached the sigil the candles were snuffed out.

It felt like someone had dumped ice water on Severus. His blood – which had been boiling beneath his skin just seconds before – settled as the magic fled him and the singing stopped. He slumped forward and the ghosts disappeared, snuffed out in lingering traces of smoke. "Sev!" He heard Lily cry out.

"I'm okay," he mumbled out, trying to keep his eyes open. He felt Lily grip his shoulders, pulling him until he was mostly sitting up straight. Severus could smell Lily– not the perfume he used to wear, but him. His hands felt warm. He could feel the heat rolling from his body melt the ice water that was currently chugging through his veins. He wanted to close his eyes, tilt his head back, rest his head on Lily's shoulder–

"What's going on here?"

A shot of adrenaline pierced straight through his heart at the sound of Potter's voice. Severus scrambled to his feet, barely noticing Lily's hands as they helped right him. His wand, his wand– where was it? His fingers grasped the ebony wood inside his pocket, ready to pull it out and hurl hexes at the boy standing at the entrance of the Dueling Ground.

"James," Lily ground out from between his teeth. "What are you doing here?"

Potter's eyes were still glued to Lily's hands gripping Severus's robes. His gaze traveled up to meet Lily's head on. "Saving you, despite yourself," Potter answered. Severus took a step back, into Lily, as Mulciber came into the chamber. He stood behind Potter, grinning that cherubic smile.

Potter took a deep breath. "I challenge you, Lily Evans, for the right to marry Severus Snape."