Chapter 11 - What to do
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After Lily’s tears of shocked devastation finally began to dry, she and Severus contemplated the mortifying side of their new circumstances.
Her black lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she hesitantly glanced up into his black gaze.
Despite their grim situation, Lily couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sev, are you blushing?” She chuckled.
“Of course not.” Severus snapped as he furrowed his brow.
Humiliated beyond measure that Lily had indeed glimpsed his own embarrassment, he couldn’t help but feel relief at watching a smile grace her fair face instead of a woeful grimace.
“I suppose it’s a bit…….well…..” Her voice trailed off as she cast Severus a wry smile, “I wasn’t quite expecting this, that’s certain.”
Severus opened his mouth to respond, but Lily’s smile faded as she asked, “I…..I haven’t asked, Sev, because I trust you and I know….I know there has to be a good reason for it, but…..Why? Why are you…..Why were you with-“
Severus rasped the words out, having no good explanation to offer Lily then and there, he sought to veil the truth in what was neither confirmation nor denial of her worst thoughts, “Lily…….Do not ask me, please, to reveal to you what may further endanger our lives as well as the lives of others.”
Lily quieted at the stoic look on his pale face.
“Sorry, Sev…..” She said as she shook her head, “I…..I won’t ask again. When I saw you appear tonight, I knew then why you’ve become the new Potions Master. No offense, of course, but I can clearly see why Dumbledore would have wanted you at the castle. What an excellent way for him to keep tabs on……Voldemort.” She finished as she forced her enemy’s name from her lips.
Severus blinked.
Work for Dumbledore as a double agent?
He should have anticipated that Lily would have come up with an idea of such brilliance.
“I will reveal to you….” Severus began, “All that I am able, when the time is right. For now, we should-“
“-Figure out how tonight will go?” Lily asked.
“..........Yes.” Severus replied.
He had hoped to move on to various strategies as to how they may stop the Dark Lord, but instead, he watched Lily stand and roam around the cottage on a thorough inspection.
The humble dwelling had only a small living and dining room downstairs next to the kitchen, complimented by a short flight of steep steps that led to a lavatory and a single bedroom.
As Lily went, Severus followed behind her, his black robes sweeping the wooden floors like some looming phantom.
The dim light of the moon shone through the small window and hid Lily’s red cheeks as she laughed and tucked a strand of crimson hair behind her ears as she and Severus quietly contemplated the conundrum posed by the single bed.
“You take it, Sev.” Lily nodded, “You have to work in the morning and I don’t…..I can sleep on the sofa.”
“Nonsense.” Severus drawled, “I’ll sleep on the sofa. The bed is yours. Omegas need to feel secure to rest properly.”
Before Lily could say anything else, Severus left the doorway and quietly walked back down the stairs.
She pouted for a moment before a thought entered her mind.
With a smirk on her lips, she began to arrange the luxurious materials on the bed as Severus stretched himself on the sofa downstairs.
There was a cushion close to the left arm of the furniture that he decided to use as his pillow while he laid back and closed his eyes.
The hour was late and the morning would be brutally early.
With no possible way to defeat Voldemort that night, Severus decided to close his eyes and make an attempt at sleeping.
He had finally relaxed with a sigh when a gentle voice called his name.
“Sev……….”
Severus started as his dark eyes cracked open.
He sat up before he could stop himself, hypnotized by Lily as she stood there with her outer dress gone and her loose chemise flowing over her lithe figure like a fluffy cloud.
“May I get you anything?” Severus asked.
“I can’t stand the thought of you sleeping on the sofa.” Lily frowned, “It’s quite lumpy.”
“I’ll be fine, Lily.” Severus nodded as he laid his head back down, “I’ve slept on far worse……believe me.”
As he waited for her reply, he watched her raise a hand to stretch her fingers towards him.
Severus hesitantly reached back and gently clasped Lily’s hand with his own.
His heart raced in his chest as she gently pulled him up, from laying to sitting, from sitting to standing, before he found himself being led out of the living room and up the stairs.
Every step was filled with happy anxiety as they silently walked slowly up to that small bedroom.
As Lily led Severus inside, he couldn’t help but blink at the immediate changes he already noticed in the decor.
The burning candles on the nightstand emitted a soft glow.
The bed itself looked fluffier, fuller, with its many pillows and blankets arranged into what was clearly meant as a-
“Are you inviting me into your nest, Lily?” Severus asked.
His rich voice was as soothing as warm honey as Lily smiled and nodded, “I’d feel more comfortable if you were here with me, Sev. Its, um…..There’s nothing wrong with it, sharing a bed. We don’t even have to touch each other, I suppose?”
Severus’s throat went dry as she spoke.
A part of Lily worried he would blatantly refuse and walk away, offended and angry she had even suggested something so innocently obscene, but to her surprise. Severus dropped her hand and crawled into the pile of fluffy covers.
She let out a small sigh as she watched him roll on his side and curl himself forward, determined to leave enough space for her.
“Shall I put out the lights?” Severus asked.
“Oh……” Lily blinked, “Sure, yes, go ahead.”
As Severus extinguished the candles, Lily walked over and crawled into the other side of the welcoming bed.
With their backs to each other, Severus and Lily lay there in that comfortable softness for hours, staring at opposite places on opposite walls.
For once, the two best friends could not talk to each other.
A conversation right then would have meant acknowledging the tension that had practically thickened the air.