Severus and Lily
Thank you for reading! I don’t own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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The seven years of Severus Snape’s Hogwarts education drew to a close early one June, weeks after the last frost of that previous, lingering winter had finally faded away.
On a warm afternoon, he sat underneath one of the expansive trees near the Black Lake while he jotted a few notes in his textbook.
A mirthful, familiar laugh prompted Severus to look up, the sound as sweet as song.
“Lily.” He frowned as he glanced up into his favourite set of eyes.
With the same brilliance of bright green emeralds, Lily’s gaze enraptured him as a perfect smile danced across her pink lips.
“Hey, Sev! Studying even after exams have finished? You must be really serious about interviewing for the Potions Master position.” She chuckled.
“I’m serious about earning a salary and getting out of Spinner’s End.” Severus remarked, purposely maintaining a sense of calm, determined not to blush while she sat down next to him.
Lily sighed as she leaned against the tree and stared across the landscape, “I can understand that.”
A moment of tense silence passed while a gentle breeze lifted a few strands of Lily’s long, red hair.
“........What will Potter do if he finds you here, next to me?” Severus asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
The low baritone of the sound sent a delightful shiver down Lily’s spine, although she made certain not to let Severus see.
A shadowy scowl drifted over her fair features as she chuckled again and playfully deflected his question, “What’s that supposed to mean, Sev? I’m not a prisoner, I can sit wherever I want, with whoever I want.”
“I didn’t know Potter could be so kind.” Severus sniffed.
“Listen, I know how much you hate James, but me being with him has done you some good, hasn’t it? They all laid off you as soon as I went out with him, didn’t they?” Lily asked.
Severus’s pale features had not yet been lined by years of woeful worry, yet that did nothing to stop them from twisting into a frown of disapproval as he gazed at her.
“............Lily…….” He sighed.
Her smile faded as she realized the impromptu falsity of her own facade.
“I know.” She huffed, “It’s all been a great mistake. I’ve been meaning to tell him, I just…..I’m not very good at that sort of thing…..at breaking people’s hearts.”
“I’d argue your skills at that endeavor are already far beyond your comprehension.” Severus quipped.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lily scowled.
Severus instantly clammed up as he closed his mouth and tried not to let his dark eyes widen, too terrified of ruining his friendship with Lily to even dare hint at his true feelings for her.
“Nothing.” He said quickly as he passed a hand over his face and through his shoulder length, black hair, “Just a fleeting thought from an unmated alpha, that’s all. If I don’t have anything to read, I usually spend my time observing others, but you already know that.”
“‘Unmated’!” Lily laughed, “You say that as if everyone else is already married and settled, Sev! I bet half the couples together now won’t be in a year, watch and see.”
The slightest sliver of hope bloomed in Severus’s heart as he asked, “......Where do you think you’ll be in a year, Lily?”
Instead of noticing the telltale glint in his dark eyes, she shrugged and replied, “I honestly don’t have any idea. I thought I may pursue an apprenticeship in Hogsmeade, or……maybe a job somewhere in Diagon Alley? My parents will be quite disappointed, that’s another reason I’ve put everything off. They’ve always been fond of James’.....wealth. Petunia came out of school with a rich man on her arm…..when they find out their younger daughter is refusing to do the same, they won’t be pleased.”
“Wealth isn’t everything.” Severus remarked.
“It’s not, no.” Lily nodded in agreement, “I’m afraid they’re a bit old fashioned, unfortunately……But they’ll come around in time.”
A silence settled between them again as the bright sunlight gleamed over the dark waters of the Black Lake.
“Honestly, I’m a bit sad to leave.” Lily said as she frowned, “There’s been some odd times here and there, but over all, it’s been lovely, these seven years.”
Severus said nothing in response while he contemplated the situation.
Soon, he would be parted permanently from his darling flower.
No longer having their childhood homes or the castle as common living spaces, the pair would be lucky if they bumped into each other on some unintended street, save for other chance meetings.
That notion churned Severus’s stomach.
“Promise to keep in touch, Sev?” Lily suddenly asked as she shook him from his musings.
Severus blinked as he turned to look at her incredulously.
“We’ve been friends all these years.” She smiled wryly, “I couldn’t bear to never hear from you again.”
“Of course.” Severus nodded, “I’ll write to you every week, Lily.”
His mouth fell open in awe as she flashed him the happiest of smiles and let a gleeful laugh escape her throat, glad to know that regardless of the times ahead, she and Severus would remain as close as ever.
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Yet, Severus wanted to be closer.
He did not allow himself to enjoy the fantasy of thinking Lily wanted the same, though he did consider how he may guide her to see him for who he really was, not a sad, lonely, abused boy, but a strong, smart, confident man, an alpha.
……..An alpha capable and worthy of becoming her mate.
After graduation, Severus aced his job interview, having already been preselected by Professor Dumbledore to assume the role of Potions Master.
He prided himself knowing that his nearly impossible talents at brewing had surpassed other candidates more than three times his age.
The news of Severus’s employment came as no surprise to Professor Slughorn, who wished his successor well on his way out of his chambers the day he left for early retirement.
As Severus walked through the empty classroom and crept across the stone floor of the dungeon chambers, he let out a quiet breath.
He had secured a job, a title, an official role in wizarding society.
Soon, he would have an income.
He frowned at his reflection in the large mirror that hung across the room from the four-postered bed.
As the glass reflected his image back to him, he hated all of himself, from his greasy, black hair to his hooked nose.
Severus grit his teeth in reluctant acceptance of the notion that he would never be as handsome as James Potter.
What then, could he find to offer Lily to make up for the fact that he would never be good-looking?
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“That’s it, then?” James gasped in disbelief as he stood on the street outside of Lily’s childhood home while they spoke, “.....You and I are done?......Just like that?”
“James, I’m sorry.” Lily said as she shook her head, “I just-“
“-It’s because of him, isn’t it?” He blurted out.
“.....What?” Lily asked as a scowl marred her fair face.
“.......Snivelly.” James sneered, “You’re leaving me to be with Snivelly. I can’t believe this! I knew something was up between you two!”
“Don’t call him that!” Lily snapped, “And nothing is ‘up’ between me and anyone else! I thought I was someone I’m not, James. I thought you were someone you aren’t too.”
“A sad, pale pushover?” James mocked as he tried to mimic Severus’s usual melancholy expression.
“Better a sad, pale pushover than an arrogant, bullying toe-rag!” Lily spat.
James’s eyes widened as he watched his former girlfriend glare.
“Enjoy your life, James, it’s time I lived mine!” Lily snapped before she turned around and walked out of the street, up the sidewalk, and into her house.
“Lily!” James called into the night, “Lily!”
As the front door slammed shut despite his calls, he grit his teeth as he apparated away.
James Potter had never much enjoyed rejection or defeat.