Taking Down the Sunrise

Severus sat at the breakfast table, his friends across from him, and reached for a bagel that sat in the middle of the buffet. For the first time in a long time he was completely oblivious to the fact that Lily had entered the room. Or at least he was trying his best to pretend he was as she had refused to talk to him all yesterday after potions.

There was the sound of a throat clearing behind him and Severus was perfectly prepared to ignore it, thinking it must be Professor McGonagall, until someone spoke. “Sev,” she said softly, “Could I talk to you for a second?”

Severus froze, wondering how to deal with this. While he could be cold and uncaring, it went against his every instinct to be mean to her. So he turned with a quiet politeness and replied, “Alright. Here or elsewhere?”

Lily glanced towards Mulciber and Avery before responding, “Elsewhere. Maybe in the hallway?”

“I’m hungry,”

“So?”

“So, there’s no reason to be afraid of us,” Mulciber interrupted with a sly smile, “Anything you can say to Severus you can say to us.”

Severus shot him a dark glare, stood up and said, “Maybe elsewhere is a good idea.”

Lily nodded, the picture of decorum, and led the way out of the Great Hall. Severus followed her easily, a million versions of what could happen flooding through his head. Most of them were bad. Very, very few of them had her thanking him for saving her from the explosion. In fact, the majority of the time she blamed him for the explosion.

She stopped at a corner that was relatively clear of portraits somewhere close to the marble staircase. Her eyes were trained on the floor, the walls and occasionally his forehead, but she never looked straight at him.

“Lil?” he prodded her gently.

For a brief second, her deep green eyes landed on his but they were gone before he even had a chance to read the emotions within them. “I...” she began quietly, “I just wanted to... I...”

He made no move to finish her sentence. Before this year, he would have thought he had known all of Lily’s thoughts, but now he was no longer so sure. He had never known her to be so nervous around him or to move so restlessly while she was speaking.

“There’s a part of me that... I guess I kind of...” she swore colourfully.

“Lily,” Severus said softly, “Are you trying to ask to get back together?”

“No... Yes... Sort of...”

“Lil, I can give you an answer right now, if you want,”

“It’s just I want to say I’m sorry for being so incredibly stupid and that I don’t know what I was thinking breaking up with you. I’ve never been happier than when I was with you and I think that scared me. So I suppose I’m asking you to forgive me,”

“Lil,” Severus whispered, taking a step closer to her. He tucked a lock of her red hair behind her ear and let his fingers trail gently to the ends. She was shaking as his hand cupped her chin and he pressed his lips gently against hers. When he let go, their noses still touching, he added, “I’ve already forgiven you.”

She was shaking as if she might cry as her body pressed against his. The two of them radiated warmth throughout the entire hallway. A strong sense of relief was washing through her veins as she pulled up on her tiptoes and kissed him again. “Thank you,” she murmured against his lips.

“Can I see you tonight?” he asked, “We can have dinner and sit and watch the stars.”

“I... shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

Lily pulled away ever so slightly, a sad smile playing across her lips. “O.W.Ls start tomorrow, Sev. Surely you remember? If I don’t finish going through everything tonight I’ll fail miserably at Charms tomorrow.”

“Then... in the afternoon? Just after the exam we can sit outside and have lunch.”

She smiled and nodded, “I’d like that.”

“Good. Now let’s get back to breakfast,” he let his hand slide from her face into her hand and their fingers interlaced. The two of them headed back to the Great Hall together, neither of them imagining they could be happier.