Lillith's Father: Chapter Eighteen:

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Chapter Eighteen: 

Severus Snape was barely holding onto his sanity.  It was completely possible that over the last three months his Lillith had been gone that he had given detention to every single person in most of his classes.   He was angry and surly all the time, if students weren't afraid of him before, more than ninety percent of them were within those three months.  

He couldn't handle worrying so much.  He had never worried about anyone so often before in his life.  He no longer felt like himself.  As time went by it became more and more difficult to keep his mask in place.  It had taken years and years of training to be able to keep him self looking and acting as if he didn't care, but now all his hard work was useless.  

Because he was worried.  He was scared.  He loved the stupid girl who used to run to the point of exhaustion, who never spoke out of turn, and before that never spoke at all.  He cared for her wellbeing and he knew that if he didn't find out if she were safe soon, he'd go insane with worry. 

It was as if Albus Dumbledore could read his mind, as the Headmaster came barging into his chambers uninvited.  

"The Weasley twins have Lillith safe in their shop Severus.  Come."  

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 "All right, I sent the owl.  I expect they'll get it in a couple of hours.  Would you like something else to eat or drink? Are you tired?"  Fred fussed over me as I sat on his bed, a tray of food already devoured and for the first time in a long while, I was full.

"I'm fine, honestly."

Fred stared at me for a few moments before shaking his head and sitting next to me on the bed.  In one swift movement, he had wrapped his arms around me, pulled me up into his lap and kissed me softly on the lips before pulling back.  

"I love you. I love you so much. I'm sorry I never said it before, I wish I had." 

I was stunned, my eyes stared up at Fred from his lap for several seconds before I finally realized what he had just said.  He was smiling, not his usual mischievious smile or his 'that was a funny joke' smile, but a smile that seemed to be trying to convey just how in love he was.  

I didn't even know that was possible.  

I felt even more tears sting my eyes and I bit my already busted lip, wincing slightly.  I would have figured I was all out of tears after our crying fest when I first came, but I hadn't.  Because I was crying again.

Only this time it was because Fred had said he loved me.   I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his shoulder as I smiled. Really and truly smiled for the first time in a really really long time.  

"I love you too."

*_*_*_*_*_*

I woke early the next morning, my nose was frozen as it had been the only thing sticking up out of my blankets in the middle of the night, and it took me several seconds to realize where I was, and to remember what had happened yesterday.  

I had escaped!   I was free!   

Opening my eyes slowly, I realized that Fred wasn't with me even though he had fallen asleep beside me on the bed with his arms wrapped around me.. I had felt so unbelievably safe.  It was a feeling I'd never really felt before, complete safety.   I sat up in the bed and tossed my legs off the side, standing up slowly.   A comb and a hand mirror were on the nightstand with a note that had an arrow pointing to a door on the other side of the room, 'Bathroom' written on it.  

I smiled, taking the comb into the bathroom and spending well over a half hour combing out only half the tangles in my hair before I washed my face and made my way out of the bathroom and bedroom.  I could hear quiet voices coming from downstairs, but couldn't see anyone as I checked over the staircase.  

Slowly, I made my way downstairs, following the voices to what looked like the stock room for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.  Inside, sitting on a couple of couches, were Fred and George, and my Father and Dumbledore.  

My knees started to shake.  I felt as if they would give out from underneath me as Severus Snape and I made eye contact.   

Then, he did something completely unexpected.  He stood up off of his couch, and walked over to me, his cape billowing behind him as it always had and probably always would.  He wrapped me in his arms, and he hugged me.  

He actually hugged me.  

I clung to him, his almost-familiar scent wafting around me calmly, making me smile.  All too soon, he pulled back, his hands on my shoulders as he stood and examined me from head to toe.  From the fluffy hair, down to the overly long tshirt of Fred's I was wearing, and to his boxers, then down to my cut up, dirty feet.  

"I'm glad to see that you're safe, Lily."  

Those words were all it took to bring tears to my eyes.. again.  I felt like I couldn't stop crying, but at the same time, I had every reason to cry.  I knew that.  Others must have known that as well.  I was tortured, I've been missing from my life and my friends for months.  I deserved a few days to cry.  

Nobody mentioned it as I wiped tears from my face and stared up at my adoptive father, smiling slightly.  I felt stupid even if nobody said anything about it, I didn't want to cry in front of Snape even if it was completely natural for me to do so. I wanted to remain strong for him.  

But I couldn't.  

"Come, Lillith, we've man things to talk about," Dumbledore called over to me, and Fred patted the seat between he and George and together Snape and I walked over to them.  He sat on the same couch as Dumbledore, although on opposite sides, and I was squished comfortably between the Weasley twins.  Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes sparkling behind his halfmoon spectacles as he, too, searched me up and down as if to check for any injuries.  

"It's good to see you alive and well, Miss Deacon."

[[A/N: This isn't the end.  However, I wont be uploaded anymore on Lillith's Father until I've completed editing Snape's Daughter.  I also ask that you please go to my home page (wattpad.com/user/internetjunkie) and look at my messages there, so you can get the gist of what will be happening for the next few days.  :)  Peace and Love, iJay]]

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