Round Robin: The Post-Grad Prince: Part 2 ***COMPLETE***
"I think that's the best you can do, he seemed like a very nice man and as if he really wanted to get to know you and help you." Lily replied before taking another sip of her tea.
"He... He was sort of what I expected, but at the same time he wasn't." Severus admitted with a thoughtful glance at the window.
"From the way my mum portrayed her parents... I would have thought they were completely snobbish purebloods who wouldn't even look at a half-blood... But now my grandfather has even said that you would be wel–"
Severus stopped himself before he could say more than he should.
"... well," Lily said, "it's a good thing he's better than you thought."
Severus nodded. "I should probably head home and write to him, then."
"You could write from here," Lily offered. "And I'll make us something to eat."
Only now did Severus realize he hadn't eaten anything while they were out, and based on what Lily had said, she probably hadn't either. "Where do you keep your quills?"
"I have pens," Lily said. "Check my dad's old study upstairs; Mum kept everything the same."
Severus nodded once more and went upstairs to retrieve some loose paper and a pen, opening the door next to the master bedroom.
Just as Lily had said, the study was still the same as Severus remembered it, proof that Mrs Evans had not changed a thing since her husband's death.
Somehow Severus could understand why, Mr Evans had loved his study and it was his place, no one had ever entered without knocking - without being invited in by the man himself.
It was all about respecting other people's privacy, a lesson Mr Evans considered very important in life... And Severus had quickly learned to understand why at Hogwarts.
To be alone in this study now... It was strange somehow. But when Severus closed his eyes...
Somehow he could also see himself sitting in the leather chair that sat on the desk, the small lamp turned on to provide light while he read or wrote something down.
Lily would be sitting in the armchair or lying on the sofa if she wasn't busy somewhere else in the house or preparing dinner for them.
The soft laughter of children might be audible, filling the house with an extra warmth.
It could be their home.
A home filled with the love of a family, the love that the Evans family had filled it with.
A smile slowly formed on his lips as he stood in the room with his eyes closed.
Shaking himself out of these thoughts, Severus soon found a mug filled with a number of pens and pencils, and he took one of the former before opening a drawer and retrieving a sheet of paper. He returned downstairs and sat back at the kitchen table to find Lily opening a can of food.
"Do you like Spam?" Lily asked.
"That's fine," Severus replied; Spam was something of a luxury when his parents were still around, especially in the winter.
"I'll make us some sandwiches then." Lily started frying up a few thin slices of the canned meat, resting the slices of bread on top of the toaster so it would heat one side, and, once it was done, Lily flipped the slices to the other side so the residual heat would keep it warm.
Very shortly after, two plates were set before them. Severus took a bite and chewed slowly.
"It's not much," Lily said, "but it was that or sardines."
"I thought you liked sardines?"
"Eat sardines wearing this dress?"
Severus smirked. "Not classy enough for you?"
"Oh, it's positively common."
Severus took another bite as he started writing his letter.
A moment after he had started writing the letter, his eyes moved back to Lily.
"Do you have any clothes we can change in here? Or do we have to go back to Petunia's? Because I assume you don't want to stay in that dress all night."
His eyes swept over the visible part of the dress once more, grateful that it was on its way back to the letter in front of him.
So far he had thanked his grandfather for the meeting and the information he had given him about their family. Now came the part about the offer that had been made and that he intended to accept it, to choose a different path with the help of his grandparents.
"Tell me... what are you and Petunia planning to do with your parents' house?"
He asked as he put the pen down to continue the letter to his grandparents, another thought nagging at him as he waited for Lily to answer his question.
"We've been looking for buyers since I graduated," Lily explained. "Right now, though, we're sorting out all of the legal documents; her husband's helping with that."
"Because you can't afford to live here?"
"Not that; we both got quite a bit out of the inheritance."
"So, you just want to move?"
"No, selling the house was Petunia's idea, really."
Severus nodded. "So... does she know you want to keep living here, or is that not a factor?"
“I…” Lily looked at him and blinked, something that surprised Severus.
“You didn’t even tell Petunia, did you?” Severus asked her in a calm tone and laid the pen down.
“I… Well, yes. I didn’t even tell her. It was… With Ja– Potter, he would have never accepted to live here. This would have been under his… Standard.” Lily admitted as she looked down at the table.
A sigh escaped Severus lips as he leaned forward and gently reached for Lily’s chin to make her look at him.
“You should tell your sister, and if she wants to be paid out… We could always ask my grandpa for a loan if she wants some crazy amount.”
"Buy her out?"
"Why not?"
Lily didn't respond immediately, but Severus could see she was considering his proposal, as though she hadn't ever thought of it before (she probably had, but Severus wasn't sure). "Do you think he'd help?"
"I think so," Severus answered, including the Evans house in his letter. He took another bite of his sandwich. "Houses in Cokeworth don't cost too much, so I don't think he'd be giving you too much."
"How do you know how much my house costs?"
"... Lily, it's Cokeworth."
Lily snorted. "I'll have you know I live in a very respectable part of town," she said teasingly.
"Yeah, but it's a ten-minute walk from my part of town," Severus retorted with a smirk.
"Still, it's very respectable, and prices are rising in some parts... And you know that this place could easily be renovated with magic, making it even more expensive." Lily stuck her tongue out at him, a half-smirk on her lips that Severus knew only too well.
"And that's exactly what you shouldn't tell your sister. Let her think this is a good-for-nothing place, and when you have some money left over, it can be used to do some repairs and rebuilds to your liking - the ones we can't do with magic, at least." He winked at her after the words and took another bite of his sandwich.
But then a loud laugh from Lily made him look up again.
"Sev! The Slytherin in you is coming through. Have you ever considered going into the property business as well as being a wizard? I mean, you obviously already know the tricks." The smile on Lily's lips was enough to make Severus forget the sandwich and the letter for a moment.
"I bet my grandfather could help me with that," Severus said sarcastically before he stopped to think about it. Aurelius practically owned Diagon Alley with how many connections he had, not to mention the Prince family's history with the community. Dealing with property wasn't an unreasonable career to pursue, especially if it meant bringing in a decent level of income.
"What is it?"
"... that's not a bad idea."
"Wait, really?!"
"Why not? Aurelius has contacts, and I'm sure he knows how to start off with this sort of thing.
