Loving Lily: A Snily Story

Chapter 48 - Back to Hogwarts

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—————————————————————

Gilderoy Lockhart hadn't quite made it to the end of the previous semester before several incriminating allegations had been raised against him.

Besides Severus, the rest of Hogwarts' students and staff were shocked to find Professor Lockhart gone from the castle, his rooms vacant, the very next morning after the first fraud lawsuit had officially been filed.

Another peaceful summer soon passed as Harriet's third year at Hogwarts approached.

That season brought with it many changes for her and her family.

While she treasured the friendship she maintained with her invisible pen pal, she looked forward to the new adventures she would share with Ron and Hermione while they battled Draco and his cronies.

Severus continued his multiple positions as professor, spy, father, and husband, but with the arrival of August, Lily found herself in a difficult situation.

Her heart sank the morning that she packed Ellery's Hogwarts trunk while he and Harriet talked excitedly downstairs about the upcoming school year.

Harriet felt eager to see her friends again while Ellery was ecstatic to finally join his sister at the castle.

Despite the happy chatter that came from downstairs, Severus wore a frown that matched Lily's as he swept into the doorway and watched his wife pack their son's belongings.

Lily turned around as soon as she felt Severus's dark eyes boring into her.

"Oh, Lily........." He gasped as his face twisted in sympathetic anguish once he noticed the heavy tears that pooled in his beloved's emerald eyes.

"I'm fine, Sev." Lily giggled in embarrassment as she raised a hand to wipe her face, "I'm just......I'm going to miss him, that's all. I miss you and Harriet terribly every day......You come home to me every evening, but now my babies. My babies won't and I...."

Once Lily's voice broke into a sob, Severus rushed forward with his arms out and gasped, "Oh, Lily! Don't weep, my love......don't weep."

His long, black robes draped at his sides as he wrapped her in his arms like a protective bat and clutched her to his chest.

"Harriet and Ellery will be home again before you know it, my dear....The time will quickly vanish." Severus whispered soothingly as he kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, Sev, it will." Lily agreed as she nodded vehemently and tried to blot the last of the wetness from her face.

Severus guided his beloved flower to lean against him while he rested his chin on her head and thought carefully.......

He knew as well as anyone that the first time Lily would see their children again would be months from that day.

Severus closed his eyes as he breathed in the sweet scent of Lily's soft, red hair.

Beyond stopping Voldemort, protecting his children, and fighting for what was right, Severus's primary mission remained keeping his wife happy and shielding her from whatever pain he possibly could.

........Perhaps there was something more he could do to comfort her?

—————————————————————

"Now remember, be sweet and kind and you'll make lots of friends, alright, my darling?" Lily asked her son as the Snapes stood on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters later that afternoon.