Lily returned with mixed emotions. She'd had the best time with Alice but, at the same time, she'd really missed Severus. Functioning without him was like functioning without a limb. She didn't know how she'd ever managed to do everything before he appeared in her life.
But they'd still argued. And, unlike Remus, Lily held grudges. She couldn't pretend they hadn't fought. She'd been mean and he'd been emotionless and now they officially weren't speaking. Her only hope was to speak to Remus himself.
*
"Hi, Remus."
Remus looked up from where he'd been reading in the library.
"Hi, Lily! Good holiday?"
"Yeah, it was," Lily replied, smiling. "Alice and I went to the park most days."
"Sounds relaxing," commented Remus, scribbling down a few facts.
"Sorry, you're working," Lily realised. "I shouldn't distract you."
"No, it's absolutely fine," Remus insisted, closing his book and pulling out a chair. "Please, sit."
Lily gave him a grateful nod.
"So how was spending Easter here?"
Remus shrugged.
"Pretty boring. Severus has finished his potion now, though, so that's something."
He beamed at her and she smiled hesitantly back.
"Actually, I'd better get on. There's a book on Charms I need to find before tomorrow."
"Alright, then," Remus answered. "See you around."
Despite what Lily thought, Remus hadn't been acting naïvely. He'd noticed her reluctance to discuss Severus; there'd been no book she needed to find. Remus had watched - she walked straight out of the library after speaking to him without a backward glance. Severus himself now approached Remus.
"Anything?" Severus questioned, his eyes sharp.
Remus shook his head.
"She misses you," he said simply. "But she won't be the first to apologise. You know that."
"Indeed, I do," Severus muttered, sitting down opposite. "Revising for Transfiguration?"
"Yes," Remus sighed. "This particular paragraph is destroying my brain."
He massaged his temples.
"Luckily, I do understand it," Severus commented, writing a few words on the other boy's parchment.
"Of course you do," Remus muttered.
"But I'm not nearly nice enough to tell you myself," Severus continued wryly, chuckling slightly to himself. "Check out this book. It's really helped me."
With that, Severus got up and left.
"Wait, Severus!" Remus called after him to no avail. "That didn't mean I wasn't prepared to cheat!"
Madam Pince glared at him.
*
Severus did, extremely reluctantly, go and find Lily. It wasn't usually his thing, to go and apologise, but he would always make the extra effort for her. He checked in a few classrooms before looking outside and found her in the first place he looked - underneath the tree where his worst memory had taken place previously.
"Hi, Lils," he said quietly so as not to startle her.
"Sev," she murmured, avoiding his eye.
He sat down next to her so she had no way of avoiding him.
"Lils, I wasn't angry at you before. I was angry at myself. Being up the Astronomy Tower after curfew was what got you hurt. Being with me ensured your danger." He sighed. "I don't want you to live in fear and danger."
Slightly shocked that he was actually telling the truth without any prompts, Lily tentatively took his hand.
"It's alright," she smiled hesitantly. "I always knew life with you would never be straightforward."
Severus grinned. She immediately punched him.
"Yep, sorry. But I can't change my life completely - it's not that simple. I will forever be surrounded by danger and murderous fanatics. That is my fate."
He waggled his fingers dramatically. She laughed.
"I wouldn't have you any other way," she said sweetly. "Unsafe Sev. Just how I like it."
Severus outwardly smirked but inside his heart was beating frantically. Lily was definitely too young to realise what she'd just said.
*
Now reunited, Severus decided to have Lily meet Regulus.
"May I present Regulus Black?" He said with a ridiculous air.
"I can make my own introductions, thank you very much Snape," Regulus scowled, bowing.
Remus laughed from where he stood leaning against a desk.
"You're Sirius' brother?" She asked cautiously.
Regulus scowled even more.
"Yesss. Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm obviously the prettier brother - isn't that all you need to know?"
Lily laughed.
"He clearly doesn't take after Sirius in the slightest," she coughed.
Regulus preened slightly. Remus hit him.
"She was joking, you moron."
"Remus and Regulus actually helped me finish my potion," Severus informed Lily. "But you wouldn't know they had brains to look at them."
"Huh, I'm deeply offended," Regulus gasped, putting a hand on his chest in shock.
"As am I," Regulus declared.
"They're both drama queens, obviously," Severus explained. "They crave attention.
Regulus stuck his tongue out at Severus.
"Watch it," the Ravenclaw said in response, "The next time you do that I'll show you what Waddiwasi does."
"Ooh, cool," Regulus breathed.
Severus rolled his eyes.
"As bad as Fred and George," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Lily asked.
"I said he was as bad as Sirius," Severus answered, glaring at the younger Black brother.
Regulus burst into mock tears.
"I can't keep up with these dramatics," Severus sighed. "I'm leaving."
He left with Lily, his cloak billowing behind him.
Remus shared a look with Regulus.
"And he says we're the dramatic ones?"
*****
A.N. Severus and Lily make up nice and simply and Lily seems to be flirting. Ooh!
And R&R are our resident drama qweens as Cassie20052 so eloquently puts it.
I plan on skipping ahead to the summer holidays now unless I find some unused text or people give me any ideas that MUST occur before their 3rd year.
Thanks for reading and please comment. :)