Taking Down the Sunrise

Severus turned around a corner on the fifth floor and ducked beneath a tapestry. He paused as he looked at Lily’s red face and the soaked tissues in her hands. Silently, he climbed into the alcove and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

It was a true testimony to the strength of their friendship that instead of shying away, she buried her face in her arms and continued to cry. He gently stroked her hair, his thoughts of love and the kiss in the Room of Requirement the furthest things from his mind. She was his best friend and she was crying. She needed the guy he pretended to be for her, not the one that was in love with her.

Minutes, possibly even hours, passed as the two of them sat there in the silence. The occasional person would pass by and their footsteps would disturb their tranquility. Sometimes voices would break in on their clandestine moment, but the words were drowned out by the energy between them.

Lily had stopped crying a long time ago. Her occasional sniffles meshed smoothly with the castles natural sounds. The light from the hallway had dimmed and Severus knew that all students were supposed to be in their dorms already. He glanced down at Lily, but she didn’t seem bothered.

“Sev,” She whispered into the semi-darkness, “Can we stop everything that’s been happening for a moment and just... go back to what we were? Just for a moment... maybe even just for the night.”

He nodded as he met her eyes. Somehow even in the muffled light behind the tapestry her green iris sparkled like a diamond in the sun. She licked her lips carefully and said, “Sev, there’s this guy who’s been my friend for as long as I can remember and I thought that I liked him. I thought I might have been in love with him. But then he kissed me... and then he said he loved me... and now I’m scared.”

“Why are you scared?” Severus whispered, disregarding the fact that she had just said everything he had ever hoped she would. He had thrown out that side of him as soon as she had asked him too. It tugged at his heartstrings to hear her say it, but he quelled the feeling, just as he always had.

“Because... what if it doesn’t work? What if I lose him forever? What if we’re not together at the end of all of this and what if we’re not even friends anymore? What if he forgets all he’s learned about and becomes more focused on our new relationship? What if we don’t work the way I think we will or if he has greater expectations than the expectations I can meet?” Lily rattled off the questions as quickly as she could, her entire body shaking, “I’m not normal, Sev, in case you haven’t noticed. What if... what if he expects me to be?”

Severus took a deep breath and gently removed her from his lap. Taking her hands in his, he replied, “He’s your friend. I’m sure he knows you better than you think he does. You’ll never lose him, you’ll never disappoint him and he’ll never forget how the two of you started off. Lily, you beat people’s expectations of what you can do an hour after they’ve met you. Anyone who could forget you... who could pull away from you after they get to know you is bat shit crazy. You’re amazing. Everything you’re afraid of could never come to pass.”

Lily nodded slightly as she stared at him. Shadows played across his face as his eyes showed a hint of brown beneath their habitually black facade. “Play,” She murmured softly as she looked at him.

Slowly, tenderly, Lily reached towards Severus and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her fingers gently twisted through his black hair as she leaned closer, surprisingly steady after all that had happened.

Her lips brushed against his but she hesitated in kissing him. He had become her world and now she was about to let him take over the only part of her life she had kept him out of. She had wanted to be with him for years but had resisted in case he destroyed her.

She opened her eyes and stared into his, her lips tingling where they touched his. He moved a hand to the small of her back and prodded her forward gently. He kissed her delicately, as if he was afraid she would break, and then pulled away.

“Promise you’ll never be afraid of me,” Severus whispered as he brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes.

“I promise.”