QLFC Reserve League

S1, R1

Chaser 3: Severus & Lily

TW: Gender Dysphoria

Lily burrows into her coat, her heart fluttering in her chest as she walks into the Forbidden Forest. Severus is quiet from his place beside her, spinning his quill through his fingers in a fidget.

"It'll work, right?" Lily murmurs, wrapping her arm around Severus' shoulder. Severus leans into her, pressing his head into her broad chest.

He nods and he seems so sure, Lily nods her head herself, feeling a mite happier. "It has to," Severus breathes. "If it doesn't, I don't know what'll happen." His voice is deep, mellow, and Lily hopes with all her heart that it doesn't change with the ritual.

Their bonding has much riding on it. They can only bond, become true blood siblings, with this ritual and they can only do it in their raw forms—so if it doesn't work, there is a chance the gender–changing potion might not work either. The thought felt like a gauge to her chest.

Lily refuses to be stuck in this body for the rest of her life—too big, too tall, too masculine. All hard and angular when she wanted soft and curvy, like a woman, not a man.

Severus refuses to be stuck in his body for the rest of his life—too small, too short, and too feminine. All soft and curvy when he wanted hard and angular, like a man, not a woman.

They knew that both of them had the body the other wanted. Lily wanted Severus' body and Severus wanted Lily's body, and they were best of friends before they had told the other but now? Now they were siblings, knowing the feelings of the other easily, knowing intimately how it felt to have a body that felt so wrong, so ill-suited for them, and have to continue with the feeling every single day.

Neither of them had the right body, but they needed to do this in their rawest form, the body that they were born with, and if it didn't work—if they weren't bound together for their protection—then Lily is going to scream. And then she is going to invent a ritual that will bind them and give them their desired body.

Her heart clenches and Lily holds on tighter to Severus' shoulders. "Do you think Potter will keep flirting with me if this works?" She asks, in an attempt to keep her mind off the worst case scenario.

Severus snorts derisively, rolling his dark eyes heavenward. "One can only hope—his attempts of seduction are pitiful and an eyesore. Perhaps my changed body will keep Black from eyeing me like I am a piece of choice meat," Severus queries with venom dripping thickly from his voice, despite the pink hue that takes residence on his cheekbones.

Lily laughs, a full belly laugh, and trails off into light chuckles. "I doubt it. You'd be as much as a looker with a male body as you are in this body," Lily teases, bursting into laughter again when Severus flushes even pinker.

The clearing that they'd prepared meticulously over the past 2 months. Lily pulls the bowls needed for the ritual from her bag and shakes her too broad shoulders, and breathes out a heavy breath.

"Let's do this," she mumbles, taking 7 steps forward into her spot within the double pentagram.

She takes a deep breath and lets her magic free, feeling it flare out, filling all the space that Severus' magic didnt't.

With the bowl held in her hands, the blood soaked runes begin glowing, and Lily feels as though she is being crushed. Her lungs are compressed, the air sucked out, and she doesn't remembers the words thst she had recited to herself ever since she learned it existed, she only knows that they come out of her mouth.

Severus is talking in tandem with her, words spilling from his mouth, and Lily wants to scream as the pressure builds to an unbearable amount. Her blood burns, her body is squeezed until it feels like she might explode, and the words keep falling from her mouth.

Magic explodes and Lily screams soundlessly, her mouth opened and her eyes almost rolling back in her head. She drops to the ground, panting and gasping for air.

It takes her who knows how long to gather herself, forcing herself up—only to freeze when she sees her body. Long red hair drapes down her front, her clothes loose and baggy on her smaller, fuller limbs and she wants to cry and laugh—even her shoes are too big, almost falling off her feet.

Tears blur her vision and she swallows, smiling and laughing. "Sev— Sev!" She calls, crawling to her brother—the bond is alight in her magic and it's something she wouldn't even give up under the threat of Death, under the pain of torture—and flops down next to him.

He's tall, thinner, but still retained the muscle he'd formed from endless workouts—a protection against Muggle and Magical threats. Black eyes peek open and a loopy smile appears on his face when he sees her. "You look like a fire lily," her croaks.

"You are quiet handsome… Black is going to be all over you," Lily wheedles with a happy grin on her face as she stumbles to her feet.

She helps Severus up and he immediately places his arm over her shoulder and Lily leans into his chest. Her sibling bond overflows with love and happiness and contentment.

"Holding me just like I used to hold you," she croaks out with a choked laugh.

Severus holds her tighter. "It feels more natural, no?"

"It does," she mumbles. "We're finally correct."

Lily squeezes Severus' hands as they make their way towards the Great Hall. They were wearing each other's old clothes—Lily wearing Severus' old ones, and Severus wearing Lily's old ones—just resized and with a color charm.

She takes in a deep breath and Severus pushes the doors of the Great Hall open. Nobody really notices them at first and Severus escorts Lily to the Gryffindor Table—their roles now reversed, since it used to be her escorting Severus, not him escorting her—and she bears it with a self–suffering sigh and an amused smile. Slowly eyes are drawn to her, staring wide–eyed and obviously, and Potter chokes on his juice when he notices her.

"Er– Evans?" he stammers, his cheeks red and eyes wide as he stares at her. It isn't lost to Lily that he doesn't say the customary Mister. He looks a bit lost but Lily knows that he's working through it in his brain.

Smiling widely at Potter, she plops herself down next to Remus who immediately pushes her favorite pot of strawberry preserves her way. "Miss Evans now, Lord–Heir Potter," she says with a wealth of satisfaction.

"Congratulations on the new body," Regulus says as he stops next to Severus. "It's rather nice when you get to be in your true body, no?"

Lily nods toward him, recognizing the camaraderie. "It is, Heir Black."

"Good for you, Miss Evans," Sirius says, leaning forward so that she could see his face, almost enough to make his tie fall into a pour of syrup. "This calls for a celebration, no?" he offers with a wink, a roguish smile on his face.

She snorts and Severus lets out a groan from behind her. His voice was deeper now, still slow and mellow, and Lily takes great comfort in it. It had been one of the few things Severus liked when he had a female body and it is still one of his favorite things, just now he had a male body to feel comfortable in.

Sirius glances up at the sound of Severus' groan and Lily can see the stars that enter his eyes. She smothers a laugh as Sirius stands, taking two steps toward Severus. He is just barely an inch shorter than her brother. "Your clothes are dirty," Sirius says softly as he barely brushes the grass stains on Lily's old shirt. A mischievous grin curls at his lips. "I would like to offer my services in helping you take them off."

Severus goes red and Lily cackles, gasping and choking for breath as tears blur her vision. She breathes through her nose only to dissolve into laughter again at the look on Severus' face. He stumbles over his words and Sirius laughs, spinning himself so that he is standing directly beside Severus, and wraps an arm around his waist.

Severus goes even redder but doesn't seem to be fighting his touch. Lily knows it's not her imagination, him taking a small step closer to Sirius, and Sirius' smile widening, turning smug.

"Sit with me?" Sirius chirps and Severus is silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. Sirius skips the 4 steps back to his seat and sits, prodding James insistently until he slides further down.

Severus sits next to Sirius stiffly and Lily pats the seat next to her. "Regulus, come sit." Regulus rolls his eyes but sits down anyway, looking a bit awkward.

"Miss Evans, would you be willing to accompany me to Hogsmeade in a fortnight?" Lily startles at James' sudden blurt out and stares at him for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"I am willing," she says softly, flushing a little bit at the way he beams at her, his cheeks pink and eyes bright.

There is a smug feeling from Severus down their bond and Lily glares at him, glaring harder when he snorts audibly as he takes a bite of his toast. His amusement turns into a glare when Lily flicks her eyes over to Sirius knowingly.

She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of tea, admiring her small, dainty fingers.

Lily has a brother and her true body, her brother has his true body along with her.

Now she smiles at James, who likes to look at her when he thinks that she isn't looking, and thinks that maybe life will get even better.