Round Robin: The Post-Grad Prince: Part 2 ***COMPLETE***
The ground under his hands was dry and soft, and he felt no wind, so it was easy to assume that he was in a room.
After his eyes had adjusted to the light in the room, he noticed the red wall he was looking at, golden stripes running diagonally up to one corner, and on another wall a roaring lion's head - right next to a snake drawn on a green part of the wall.
"That..." Severus said, a little surprised, as his eyes scanned the room, noting that it still looked... the same.
"...It was the first thing that came to mind with the subject we had a moment ago..." Lily admitted, her voice seeming to take on a shy tone.
As Severus looked at her, he also noticed a blush colouring her freckled cheeks.
Severus stood, his head aching from the sudden change. "I wasn't expecting you to even bring that up," he said.
"I wasn't expecting Potter to talk about taking my virginity," Lily replied.
... Potter. Not James. Severus's smirk turned into a wince. "There wouldn't happen to be any ice, would there?"
Lily waved her wand, and a bag of ice appeared. "You wouldn't believe how long it took me to learn this one," she said as she handed it to Severus.
Severus touched his nose to the icebag before conjuring a tea towel to wrap the bag in; the cold was too harsh for the numbing process. "I noticed you weren't wearing your engagement ring."
"And?"
"I have the sinking suspicion that you've decided not to marry Potter."
Lily snorted. "I'm glad you caught on so quickly."
Despite the pain it caused him, Severus couldn't help but grin at her reply.
"And I'm glad my suspicions were right." He said as he turned to face her. "Still..."
Severus was silent for a moment as his eyes met hers before travelling down her body and slowly up again until they rested on her eyes again.
"Still... What?" Lily asked him, and Severus wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or if there really was a smirk on her lips.
"It doesn't answer why you're dressed like that? I mean... have you looked at yourself, Lily?"
"Why? Do I look bad?" She asked in a seemingly innocent tone.
"No! You look gorgeous like - fuck Lily! You're beautiful, but this outfit... I don't have the words to describe it." Severus admitted and he was sure that the smirk on her lips got a little bigger.
Lily's face reddened even more than it had already. "I thought-- I mean, I wanted to impress your grandfather, and this was the best I could find."
"What was the second-best?"
"A few cardigans, a white blouse, matching skirts--"
"That's a rather plural second-best option."
Lily smiled as she laughed a bit more, although only for a moment before she stopped. Her face relaxed slightly, and her eyes dulled.
"What is it?" Severus asked.
"... I didn't know how much I missed this," Lily replied.
Once again it was as if some kind of instinct had awoken in Severus and decided to take control of him - as if it wanted to make sure that he couldn't ruin the moment with whatever decision his brain came up with.
And so, a moment later, he found himself with his arms wrapped around Lily's middle, his eyes locked with hers.
"I missed this more than I could ever put into words... You know, I regretted what happened every single day because I lost this... you... ."
Lily gently nudged Severus. "I hoped as much.... You fancy some tea?"
Severus tasted iron in the back of his throat. "I think that'd help."
The two made their way downstairs to the sitting room, something Severus ought not to have seen in a while if not for Mrs. Evans reaching out to him for support. Sitting at the kitchen table, Severus re-applied the ice to his nose, moving it slightly to his eye as well.
"So," Lily called back, "have you thought about your grandfather's offer?"
"My head's a bit out of sorts, given what just happened." Severus rested his elbow on the table. "What do you think?"
At first silence was the only response he received, but a glance at Lily revealed that she was considering her answer as she prepared the kettle to heat the water for some tea.
"That night after our graduation, when I met you in the Leaky Cauldron... I somehow had hope that maybe you would turn away from the dark path you had chosen, that maybe there was a way."
Severus listened to her words and watched as Lily slowly walked towards him, still wearing the outfit she had chosen for the meeting with his grandfather.
"And when we found out about your grandfather... I was so hoping that he might be able to help."
Finally she stopped in front of him, crouched down gently in front of him and took his free hand as she looked at him.
"And from what I understand, he can help you - help us. With him on our side, we will be able to form a third option for the people, one that you will lead."
"Do you really think I'm a leader?" Severus asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I understand you wanting me to distance myself from both sides, but leading a third party? I think my grandfather would be better at that."
"And what if he doesn't want that?"
Severus couldn't think of an answer to that, and he had to admit Lily had a point. If Aurelius were interested in leading a movement such as this, he'd have done it already. "Maybe that's true," he said, "but that doesn't mean I know how to lead people. Name one time I've ever led anything."
Lily opened her mouth, but closed it almost immediately. "You have a point."
It surprised Severus that Lily would so easily admit that he was right. He even raised an eyebrow as he looked at her in surprise.
"But you told me everything about Hogwarts and taught me everything you knew, you were always ahead of our year and if people would have listened you could have taught them, just like you taught me." Lily replied with a slight smile on her lips.
"I taught you - that is a person who has always held a special meaning to me. Why do you think I'm capable of leading a third party in a war when you just admitted that I've never led anything?"
Somehow it was an opening for him to make her see sense, to understand that the plan would probably fail with him as its leader.
"Well... that's not entirely true..." Lily said, and Severus noticed that her cheeks seemed as red as her hair. "...I mean... you have led me quite a few times when we were alone."
Severus's eye and nose were still warm from the soreness, but the rest of his face soon matched its heat. "That's... I'm fairly certain I shouldn't be doing any of that to the people I'm supposed to lead."
Lily laughed again and stood back up. "Let me get the tea."
Tea was served, and the two sat together, sipping at it gingerly. The warmth and taste washed away the taste of blood from Severus's throat. "I suppose I should write back to him and see how this all goes."
"So, you're accepting?"
Severus nodded. "I'll see how this goes."
