Loving Lily: A Snily Story

Chapter 78 - The Helpful Friend

Their need was far more emotional than physical that night.

Even once they lay together afterwards, Severus and Lily continued to kiss as if they were secret lovers who may be separated at any moment.

Lily's worried heart found comfort in Severus's sincere affection.

Severus consumed every taste he received of his wife as if his dear flower were food for a starving man.

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While Lily and Severus found a temporary escape from the world's cruelties in each other's arms, Ellery slept with a smile on his face as he dreamed of Gabrielle.

Down the hallway, Harriet scowled down at the open page of Tom Riddle's diary, unable to rest.

At the very least, Severus and Lily should have cautioned her about Voldemort's birth name.

Harriet remained ignorant of the connection between her dear friend Tom and the Dark Lord.

Although, her angst prevented her from reaching out to him that night.

She gazed down at the diary's blank pages and watched.

And watched.........

And watched.......

After half an hour passed and words written in thick, black ink failed to appear, Harriet slammed the diary shut with a disgusted frown on her face.

Anuman had accompanied her home for the summer.

He had sat in his cage for the entire day and watched with a broken heart as his darling suffered while he waited for the chance to help her.

In a whispering hiss, he finally began his crusade as he spoke in Parseltongue, "What troubles you so, Harriet Potter? Is it the death of the Diggory boy?"

"That and.........everything else." Harriet sighed, "I dunno....I don't want to bother you with it all, Anuman. Everyone's fighting their own battles."

"Why not let me help you fight yours?" He asked.

Harriet turned to her scaly ally with a wry smile on her face, touched by her friend's thoughtful kindness.

Anuman gladly spent the rest of the night listening to each and every one of Harriet's concerns.

There were tears.

A laugh or two.

"Thanks, Anuman." Harriet said with a bright smile close to sunrise, "Sorry, I've kept you up all night, but I.....well, thanks."

"Anytime, Harriet Potter....." Anuman answered, "Anytime."

At the end of it all, Harriet obtained some relief from the crushing weight of the emotional burden she carried.

Anuman delighted in the fact that he had been able to ease her pain for a bit, although he sincerely wished he could have revealed himself and given her a proper hug.

As he watched Harriet doze on her bed a short while later, he contented himself with the idea that if his eventual plan became successful, he would one day provide her with a happier life.

He and Harriet would have a quiet home by a beautiful river, with the song of birds and the laughter of children as the background music to their days.

Anuman's heart skipped a beat as he dreamed of seeing his country's bright sun gleam in Harriet's mesmerizing, emerald eyes.

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The next morning, Severus woke to find himself alone in bed.

He sat up in a hurry with his dark eyes narrowed.

Panic gripped his heart for a single, gut-wrenching second until he noticed......

"LILY!" He gasped as soon as his black eyes fell on his wife.

From her seat at the writing desk in the left corner of their room, she started and shrieked.

"SEV!........You scared me to death!.......Oh, I thought you were still asleep!" She confessed as she closed her eyes and pressed a hand over her racing heart with a sigh.

"Forgive me, my love, but I believe it's you who frightened me.....you're rarely up first." Severus retorted.

Lily cracked a smile at the aggravated grimace on her husband's face before she shrugged and turned back to the letter she had nearly finished.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I just wanted to mail this today. I promised Ellery I would last night, before you and I found ourselves otherwise occupied." She chuckled.

Severus's dark gaze softened as memories of the previous evening drifted through his thoughts.

Once he recovered himself from his pleasant recollection, he asked, "......Who are you writing to?"

"The Delacours." Lily nodded.

Severus's black eyes narrowed to slits.

"Ellery asked if he might see Gabrielle and I've decided to invite them all for tea. I can't be sure they'll come though." Lily shrugged.

"Do you honestly believe that is wise?" Severus asked.

"........I don't see how tea for an hour would be any more dangerous than anything else." Lily answered as she placed her quill down and looked over at Severus.

When he replied with only an incredulous stare, Lily frowned, "Could we not lie and say we're studying them for a potential target?"

"My concern does not solely rest with the Dark Lord's reaction were he to learn of the event." Severus explained, "I could convince him to dismiss the issue easily enough.......Are you certain it's wise to cultivate Ellery's friendship with the Delacour girl?"

Lily laughed for a moment before she asked, ".......Sorry, Sev, is it not? Ellery doesn't have very many friends and now, he's finally made one."

"A sweetheart would be a more accurate description of the Delacour girl's relationship with our son." He remarked.

"Very well, then, a sweetheart. They're young, Sev, let them be young!" Lily smiled, "We can speak to him about the necessary things before anything serious happens. The tea will be chaperoned and they're entire schools apart. Isn't that enough separation to prevent a disaster?"

Severus crawled across the bed like a panther to lean over Lily's shoulder and read her letter:

Mr. and Mrs. Delacour,

During the previous school year, it has come to my attention that our son and your daughter enjoy spending time together. My husband and I would like to humbly invite your family to our home for tea one week from this date. Please respond with a time that would work best for your schedule if you can attend on that day.

Sincerely,

Laima Snape, Assistant to Hogwarts' Potions Master, Severus Snape

"See there?" Lily asked as she quickly pecked Severus's lips, "Not so bad after all, is it?"

After a languid morning kiss, Lily sealed her letter and sent it off with an owl a short while later while the Snape family enjoyed breakfast.

Lily and Ellery were glad that Harriet had made it to the table that morning and at least bothered to speak to everyone.

Severus listened to the conversation as he chewed his food with a frown of dread.

Voldemort aside, he had an unignorable feeling that Ellery's pining heart would end up dashed to pieces one way or another.

As he gazed at his young son across the table, he scowled at the happy smile on Ellery's face, which had refused to leave since he had watched Lily mail the Delacours' invitation.

Severus remembered wearing a similar, hopeful smile in the early days of his own youth.

Although Lily had become his and their love was stronger than ever, he wished there was a way to spare Ellery from the painful rejection he had suffered in his boyhood.