Chapter 13 - Nervous Calm
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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For the next fortnight, Severus and Lily lived their daily lives in a state of anxious, awkward calm.
Every morning, Severus woke to find Lily had already prepared breakfast, which he gladly ate before heading to the castle, much preferring his darling’s food even to the fine dishes offered by Hogwarts’ house elves.
Lily spent her days shopping and researching while Severus taught his classes.
Each evening, he returned home and found his darling waiting for him along with another delicious meal.
His heart ached with the desire to express his gladness.
Beyond his secret happiness, nothing Lily cooked could cover up the telltale sweetness that wafted from her skin, a tempting scent that grew more noticeable by the day.
Weekends were spent with Severus flitting between Malfoy Manor to appease his dark master alternated by long, pleasant hours sitting with Lily by the fire and brainstorming ideas of how to escape, spoken in hushed whispers as if they expected the walls themselves to report back to Voldemort.
A growing intimacy began to form between them.
Severus and Lily shared that cozy bed at the top of the stairs each night they stayed in the cottage.
Although their bodies had never touched, they both turned that exciting idea over in their minds while they lay awake each night.
Every day, Lily sat closer and closer to Severus on the sofa while they chatted, until one Friday evening, she leaned against him completely, with his arm around her shoulders, and her head on his chest.
Regardless, both of them remained reluctant to bring up the idea of romance, Voldemort’s evil command and their mutual desire to protect their friendship hovering over their hinted joy like dark clouds.
“Lily………” Severus began while they stared into the dancing flames of the hearth, “I should very much like to ask you something, though I fear it may cause offense.”
Lily moved off of his chest to look up at him as she blinked, “Offense? Don’t be silly, Sev! You can ask me anything! Go on, what is it?”
Sharing a bed with Severus every night yet not being allowed into his arms had been a special kind of torture.
Lily wanted nothing more than for Severus to whisper a desire to become her alpha in his seductive voice, but to her dismay, his question held none of that special promise.
“Perhaps we should……..both, of course……consider taking suppressants.” Severus nodded.
Alpha’s ruts were rare, unlike an omega’s heat, but to soften the blow of the idea, Severus gladly included himself as he brought it up to Lily.
“For heats and ruts?” She asked.
The frown on her face could not be ignored.
It broke Severus’s heart to watch her expression twist in disappointed despair.
“Only to do our due diligence…..” Severus said as he cleared his throat while he gazed into Lily’s green eyes, “To ensure, as absolutely as we can, that there is no contribution the two of us put forth to further his malicious plot.”
Lily blinked as she gazed at Severus for a long moment.
His brow furrowed in sympathy.
It touched her heart that although his lips expressed no words to confirm his mutual feelings, he did raise a hand and place it gently on her cheek to let his fingers stroke the delicate flesh there, as if in a gesture of subtle reassurance.
“Of course, Sev.” Lily nodded, “You’re right. I’ll brew us both a bit of potion while you gather supplies tomorrow.”
Severus shook his head, “Dont trouble yourself, I’ll gladly-“
“-Sev, it’s ok!” Lily laughed, “You work, I don’t. Please….Tomorrow’s Saturday, take the time to prepare for Monday’s classes and let me brew this for us, alright?”
Severus frowned as Lily laid her head back down on his chest and stared at the fireplace once more.
There wasn’t a single word that passed between them for the rest of the night.
Once they laid down that evening, warmed by the soft covers and the gentle presence of each other in their shared bed, Lily didn’t see the frown on Severus’s pale face, nor did he view the tears that ran down her cheeks in the darkened room.
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Their idea had been logical.
The next day they would begin their suppressants.
Voldemort’s plan would be thwarted.
Lily groaned as she opened her eyes the next morning to a familiar and unwelcome feeling.
Behind her, Severus gasped as he found himself suddenly awake at the first hint of nearby motion.
A whimper escaped her throat as she winced against the tight band of vicious cramps that crackled through her lower abdomen.
Severus felt himself slip against the sheets, his body slickened with sweat as he struggled to move.
Sometime during the night, Lily had wound up in his arms, with his chest to her back, and his….
His……….
A soft, little moan left her lips as something full and hard pressed through her nightgown and panties into the doughy flesh of her rounded bottom.
Severus grit his teeth as he tried to push himself away but Lily quickly grabbed his hands and pulled him closer.
“Lily……” His usually smooth voice cut like a knife as he called her name in a husky growl.
Their well-conceived idea had been thought of too late to execute.
Lily turned her head and whined quietly until she captured Severus’s lips with hers, placing one of his hands on her heavy, tender breast and one on her side.
Severus shivered as the woman he loved begged him to touch her.
How many ruts had Severus passed dreaming of that moment finally arriving?
How many sleepless nights had he sat in bed and idealized a world in which Lily would become his?
Her grip was vice-like as she held him by the shoulders, lifting herself towards him to seal their fate.
“We can’t……” Severus hissed against her lips, all the while cradling her in his strong, thin arms as if she were made of glass, “Voldemort will-“
“-I don’t give a damn about Voldemort.” She huffed, guided by her hormones as much as she was by her love for Severus, “I want you, Severus Snape.”
He pulled back to look into her green gaze with his wide, dark eyes.
The next order he was given fell from his lover’s lips, as sweet as honey, as charming as a siren’s song.
Lily’s decision was absolute as she whispered against his mouth, “Take me, Severus Snape.”