Kecgirl

The whole space was suddenly consumed by horrid coldness, hopelessness and bleakness. Lily, still sitting on Severus’ bed, put her arms around him and pulled him closer to her chest. Why else would dementors be there if not to take Severus to Azkaban or worse… to suck his soul out? Severus’s eyes were glaring in their direction, moving from the dementor to Dumbledore and Fudge and back. Lily could feel his muscles tense up under her arms. His heart rate went up, too. He was frightened but his face remained unchanged. Madame Pomfrey approached them in quick, resolute steps and with a wand in her hand. “This is the hospital wing, not a place for a dementor to wander around,” she told them angrily. Dumbledore looked angry at the situation, as well. Fudge, however, looked her straight in the eye and said: “It is also not a place to heal death eaters.” “This death eater has saved this young lady’s life!” “Yes,” Fudge nodded. “And now it's time he face the music. A death eater who saved a

Lily felt scrawny arms coiling around her and a bony but warm chest pressing against her back. A hooked nose huffed into her neck, tickling her. She suppressed a giggle. “Sev!” She turned around, beaming widely, ready to plant a kiss on his cheek, only to find that his face showed none of the happiness she was feeling. His eyes were cold and his voice was quiet and surprisingly matter-of-fact. “I’m going to another Death Eater meeting.” Without hesitation, she pulled him into a tight hug. “Stay safe.” “I intend to.” He let go of her and promptly left the room. *** “Lily, are you listening to me?” “Um, what? Oh, Molly… I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, dear. It’s just that… we’ve just burnt the onion.” “Oh. I’m… So sorry.” Molly’s face showed deep concern as she was rescuing the pan. “You don’t look well at all. Are you sure you don’t want to lie down for a while?” Lily shook her head. “Believe me, that would only make it worse.” “Maybe I have some calming potion left here somewhere. You

When Lily opened her eyes the next morning, she saw him sitting on the bed in the PJs, hunched over his knees pulled to his chest, dark eyes glaring into the wall. He didn’t seem relaxed at all and in fact, Lily could not remember one single time she’d ever seen him relaxed. He would always look like he’s on constant guard. Even in his sleep, he’d been frowning. He turned in her direction. “Hey,” she smiled at him. He gave her a thin-lipped smile in return. “Sleep well, did we?” “I did,” she nodded. “Did you?” “Of course.” Then he added: “Sorry for drinking your sleeping potion. I ran out of it and the new batch takes forever to make.” “Is that why you didn’t sleep for three days?” “Yes, I can’t sleep without it,” he admitted. Lily sat up and looked between the beds. There stood a tray with some bacon, eggs and bread rolls. Her eyes lit up. “Is that breakfast?” “Unless it’s made of rubber,” he said with a twisted smile. “Will you eat some?” Severus sighed. Only now did Lily notice

Lily woke up slowly, as if surfacing from a deep lake. She opened her eyes. While she was trying to figure out where she was, she noticed a slight movement beside her bed. She turned her head and saw a pair of dark, long-forgotten eyes, staring at her. She couldn't believe it. Was it really Severus? What was he doing here? What was SHE doing here, anyway? She was in the hospital wing, at Hogwarts. Hogwarts? She smiled. A feeling of comfort of all these bright, shiny school memories soothed her. The eyes were still there. Hard, serious, cold eyes. Thin, pale face. Strings of long, greasy, black hair. Really, it was him. He looked the same and yet different. Her friend. Or enemy? She wasn't sure anymore. She never was. "S-severus?" "Ah, I see you've finally woken up, Lily. That's good, very good," she heard an old woman's voice. "Poppy," she breathed out. "Now off with you, Severus. I must take care of my patient." Severus nodded and left. He seemed so lifeless, so... different. "How

A FEW WEEKS LATER Severus and Lily were sitting at the Three Broomsticks over a coffee. “Are you sure the memory has been altered?” “Positive.” “Couldn’t he just… have dissociated at that particular moment? Or maybe Voldemort did something to him that made him forget?” “I highly doubt it.” “Why?” “Lily, you know very well that if it was due to an Obliviate or dissociation, there would either be nothing or some flashes, gaps, inconsistencies… Definitely not a whole, beginning-to-end memory with muffled voices. Trust me - he altered it.” Lily stared into his serious gaze through the coffee steam. “All right. How do we get the truth out of him?” “There are a few ways…” “Don’t even think about it.” Severus sneered at her. “Do you have a better idea?” “...No.” “Now, then.” “I just think we should try a normal dialogue first.” Severus’s mouth twitched upwards into a tiny smile. “Pity. You know Veritaserum is one of my favorites…” “No.” “All right, have it your way.” Horace Slughorn. The

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky. Severus was nowhere to be seen. Lily had not seen him at breakfast or at lunch, so she was starting to get worried. Now that he's become a little bit healthier and happier, she couldn't bear the thought of him going back to how he was five years ago. Panic was slowly surging up her throat as she was going down the stairs, approaching the dungeons. Cold, damp air was now circling in her lungs and the dark, unfriendly atmosphere soon took over her confidence. "S-sev?" She called out to him. "Over here." The voice came from somewhere further in the corridor. She followed it and soon found herself standing in front of a rather shabby door that flew open the moment she looked at the handle. Severus' office. And there he was, sitting at his table, crouched over something that looked like three bottles of the same transparent potion. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, not diverting his gaze from the mysterious liquid. "For

Severus heard voices from the hallway. “And how is living with Severus going?” he heard Dumbledore ask her. “It’s not bad,” Lily said. “The street is awful but the house is quite interesting.” “I see you’ve immersed yourself in his books.” “They definitely make time pass quicker.” He wanted to get up from his bed to give the visit a proper greeting but as soon as he got on his feet, he felt dizzy and had to sit back down. He wasn’t exactly pleased with the situation but decided to wait patiently. Besides, Lily would surely insist he lay back down, anyway. Only a couple of breaths later, the door opened and there stood Dumbledore. “Severus,” he greeted him with a slight nod, with a bit of distrust in his voice. “Headmaster,” Severus replied. Dumbledore’s eyes swept over his poor frame. With a slight concern in his voice, which annoyed Severus, he said: “How are you feeling, my boy?” Severus couldn’t help but smirk at that “my boy” thing. “Better.” “That’s good news.” He sat down next

“So you’re saying it was a new curse, invented by You-Know-Who?” Lily nodded, still staring at Severus’ body, shaking under the duvet. Poppy came closer to him to inspect him. Lily caught her hand and warned her that the effects were infectious. Poppy thanked her for the warning, drew out her wand and performed a series of diagnostic spells instead. “His heart rate is very high and arrhythmic,” she said worriedly. Lily could see it herself - his heartbeat was visible through the ribs and it went up and down like a madman. “If it doesn’t get better, it could kill him. His body is too weak to sustain such a load.” “Is there anything we can do?” “I don’t know. But since it was You-Know-Who who did this, I’d say there’s no other choice than just wait for it to wear off. Still, I’m going to try easing his heart rate, at least.” Poppy was successful. And although Severus was still experiencing some pain and electric twitches, his heart rate seemed to be slower and more regular. When Madame