Chapter 5: Summer After Fifth Year

A/N: Thanks to Keladry Lupin and DeeMichelle for beta-reading; also, Brit-picking thanks go to Lettybird, who pinch-hit for my beloved MagicAlly whilst she was on holiday. Love and thanks to sshg316, who alpha read for me and to Minuet99 who gave the chapter one final pass.

Unseen

Chapter 5: Summer After Fifth Year

Sixteen-year-old Pepper Evans ran lightly down the stairs to the entrance hall and pulled open the front door.

'Hi!' she said happily, stepping back to allow the visitor to enter the house. 'Where have you been? Term's been over for a week!'

The very tall, thin boy stepped into the house; he was now more than a full head taller than she. 'I have a job,' he said gruffly. 'I won't be able to come as often.'

A voice floated down from the first floor. 'Who is it, Pep?' Lily Evans stopped halfway down the staircase and stared at the visitor, her mouth open in apparent fury. 'What the hell are you doing here?'

Pepper's appalled 'Lily Anne!' was drowned out by Severus' hot rejoinder.

'We both said sorry,' he returned, his black eyes narrowed against the unfriendly stance of his auburn-haired accuser.

Lily sniffed and descended the rest of the way, flouncing past him and down the hallway to the lounge.

'What happened?' Pepper demanded, looking from her twin's retreating form to Severus' glowering face and back again. 'Did you row?'

Neither of them bothered to answer her; Lily disappeared into the lounge, and Severus strode down the hallway in pursuit. Pepper stared after them indignantly. Honestly! Not a full week into the summer hols and Lily and Severus were already arguing. Pepper followed them down the hallway and into the lounge. Lily sat on the sofa, a book held up resolutely before her face whilst Severus stood over her angrily.

'What are you two on about?' Pepper said insistently.

Severus spared her a glance. 'It's a private matter,' he said.

'Private?' Lily screeched. 'You call me a foul name in front of the entire school and you say it's private?'

'It wasn't the whole school,' Severus muttered.

'What foul name did you call her?' Pepper asked, coming to stand between them.

'It's filthy,' Lily said angrily. 'Mudblood – it's a word pure-blood wizards use for Muggle-borns. It's the nastiest thing you can call someone in the wizarding world.'

Pepper turned to Severus. 'Why would you do such a thing?'

Severus never took his eyes from Lily's face. 'Ask her what her friends said about me – and how she laughed!'

Pepper frowned. 'What do you mean?'

Severus laughed harshly. 'Oh, Miss High-and-Mighty has a load of new friends now – all posh sorts, with smart clothes and fancy ways – much too high-class to know the likes of me.'

'There's nothing wrong with having rich friends,' Pepper objected reasonably.

'I don't give a damn how rich they are,' Severus said, his voice low and deadly as he watched Lily, who would not lift her eyes to his. 'Have all the rich mates you want. But when a lot of worthless bints insult a real friend, what kind of person laughs?'

Pepper snatched the book out of Lily's hands. 'What did your friends say?' she asked.

Lily turned her face away and hunched an uncommunicative shoulder at Pepper.

Severus' voice, pitched to imitate that of a girl, was so full of malice that it was difficult to listen to him. 'Have you ever seen a greasier boy? Being touched by him would be like falling into an oil slick. Do you think he snogs his books? No girl would snog him – it would be like receiving the Dementor's Kiss!' He dropped the girlish tone. 'And never mind the use they can think of for my nose!'

'You weren't meant to hear that!' Lily cried, leaping to her feet. 'I wouldn't have let them talk like that if I had known you were listening!'

'You didn't exactly tell them to shut it when you saw me, did you?' he flung at her. 'You were too busy giggling, as if it was the cleverest joke you'd ever heard!'

Lily took an aggressive step towards him. 'Can you look me in the eye and swear you've never turned a deaf ear to what those Slytherin prats say about me? Considering how they love to whisper it to me in person, I can't believe they aren't twice as dirty in the privacy of their dormitory!'

Pepper could tell, by the way Severus looked away, that Lily was bang on mark. 'Well,' she said, her hands on her hips, 'it looks as if you two get up to nothing but mischief in term time. Why would either one of you act that way?' Neither of them answered her, now each darting measuring glances at the other. 'And what in the world is a demender's kiss?'

Severus rolled his eyes at Pepper, seemingly relieved at the distraction. 'Not demender – Dementor. They're the guards at the wizarding prison, Azkaban.'

Pepper shook her head; she had no interest in their prattle about that unnaturalness. All she wanted was peace – it was summer, Lily was home, Severus would come around, and they would have fun. She couldn't bear to have them rowing.

And, if she was lucky, James would come around, too – she had a new haircut and new clothes, just in case.

'Stop behaving like firsties and come drink tea,' she said bossily. 'We have plans to make.'

The previous October

'You stop it,' he countered hoarsely, deserting the left side of her neck to attack the right, nuzzling her ear before nipping the skin beneath it. 'You started it.' Nevertheless, he obligingly moved his hand around to her back, contenting himself with the sensation of her bare skin beneath his questing fingertips.

The fact of the matter was that she seemed to enjoy it. She bloomed a bit under the barrage of adulation from the prats and gits who followed her everywhere she went. Severus, of course, was not amongst their number. No self-respecting Slytherin could be seen in company with a Gryffindor – and certainly no Slytherin would ever be seen with a Muggle-born student. No, he could not openly be seen with Lily Evans at Hogwarts. He could only steal time with her during their weekend projects for Slughorn, or in odd, dark library alcoves, behind a good Notice-Me-Not spell.

A faint frown appeared between her eyes. 'I am your girlfriend, aren't I?'

Severus felt the chasm yawning at his feet. He had come this far on instinct and emotion, without words being required – but now she wanted it spelled out for her. He knew he stood in great danger; it was important to answer correctly. Not with the words that seemed right to him – 'If anyone is, you are' – but with the words that seemed right to her.

She smiled again, and this time it was the open, guileless incandescence that invariably brought him neatly to her feet. 'I'm so glad,' she said softly, flowing into his willing arms and tugging his head down for a kiss.

Severus' job with the apothecary in Knockturn Alley kept him busy five days a week. Lily had been doubtful when he had first told her that a Slytherin alumnus – the one with whom he had spent the Easter holiday, in company with his other dormitory mates – had found the position for him, but he had insisted that the place was overseen by the great Libatius Borage and would be a perfect learning opportunity. So, she and Pepper only saw Severus at the weekend – and really, that was probably all for the good. She didn't need him around more often than that, projecting animal magnetism and allure, did she? Lily was determined that her romance with Severus was over – it was much too difficult to have a boyfriend whom one could not acknowledge, yet who was possessive and demanding, anyway. Did he expect her to sit in her dormitory whilst everyone else was going to the dance or coupling up for visits to Hogsmeade? She was young, and these were the years for her to go out with lots of boys and have fun – not to worry all the time about why her secret boyfriend was glaring at her in class, or in the Great Hall, or when she saw him out on the grounds. The only time things were okay between Severus and her was when they were brewing – whether a potion or a storm of unrequited lust – at all other times, he was the dangerous, Dark Slytherin, and she was the popular, well-liked Gryffindor – and never the twain would meet.

She and Pepper spent quiet days at the Kingdom , their bare feet dangling in the cool water of the lake, alternately chatting about random things and sitting in companionable silence. Lily had never openly told Pepper that she and Severus had become a couple, but she was sure Pepper had sussed them out, nevertheless. Once Pepper had understood that although Lily and Severus were now polite to one another, their quarrel was by no means made up, she warmed to Lily immeasurably. Did Pepper want Severus for herself? Or did Pepper just want them both to be without a boyfriend?

Lily didn't even want to try to work that out.

Conspicuously absent thus far this summer were James Potter and his attendant acolytes. Although Pepper had ceased to haunt the windows watching for approaching callers, she still ran to the mirror to check her hair and make-up each time the bell rang. Lily had never believed that James was sincere in his pursuit of Pepper, but poor Pep was so starry-eyed about him that Lily didn't have the heart to bang on at her about it.

Pepper should count her lucky stars, really. In Lily's experience, boyfriends were hurtful and difficult.

The previous October

'I'm talking about going to the Halloween dance with my boyfriend,' she said dangerously.

Severus stubbornly remained rooted to the spot and watched his girlfriend dance every dance, moving from boy to boy with unimpaired good cheer, the continual admiration of her partners, both verbal and non-verbal, keeping the attractive flush in her cheeks. Every smile she bestowed upon another boy was like a jagged dagger embedded in his belly. His only consolations of the evening came when he saw her decline the dance requests of first Sirius Black, then James Potter.

Severus sat morosely in the belfry of the owlery at Prince Glen, watching the moonrise. It had been three weeks since the end of term – four weeks since that horrible day when James Potter had handed Severus the worst humiliation of a life fraught with world-class humiliations. He hadn't meant to speak that way to Lily – but surely he deserved some leniency for the situation in which he had found himself! She had, just the day before, laughed at him with a group of girls, not one of whom would ever so much as deign to speak to him, then she had defended him whilst he hung upside down with his pants on display! No man could abide that kind of mortification.

He lowered his face, resting his forehead on his crossed arms. He had a job now. He was earning pocket money – he could buy better clothes – could afford to take Lily out, if she wanted to go somewhere during their summer break. And in another week, he'd have enough gold to buy the gift he had chosen for her.

It was only two more years of school; then they could go away from Hogwarts, away from the Slytherins and the Gryffindors – away from everyone who thought that their Houses should determine how they felt about and acted towards one another. Perhaps they could buy the land the Kingdom occupied – they could build a cottage there, and no one would bother them. He would have her all to himself, and she wouldn't want or need anyone else.

His eyes fluttered closed and he fell asleep, into Lily's arms, where he slept every night, in his dreams.

The previous November

Lily sipped desultorily at her tea and stared out the kitchen window in boredom. Picking up a scone, she began to nibble, her mind far away.

'Isn't that your second one?' her mother said pointedly. 'You ought not to stuff yourself at the table, Lily Anne – no man wants –'

'... a fat wife,' Lily supplied, dropping the scone on her plate, suddenly bereft of appetite. 'I know, Mum, you've told me every day of my life.'

Pepper sat across the table from Lily with a cup of unsweetened tea and an unused plate, looking smug.

'I only want for you girls to be happy,' Elsie admonished. 'It's hard in this day and age for a girl to find a husband. In my day, there were parties, and dances, and a girl was pursued by a man. Now, I don't know how you can tell the girls from the men!'

Lily rolled her eyes in disgust, but Pepper spoke up unexpectedly.

'I think it would be lovely to have a party,' Pepper said dreamily. 'I'd like to meet more of Salty's friends from her school.'

Lily looked up at Pepper with a smile, warmed by the uncommon use of her childhood nickname. Their father still used it every day, but Pepper seldom ever did. 'I wouldn't mind inviting more of my friends to come visit,' Lily said. 'We could have a party.'

Elsie Evans' eyes lit up. 'It would be just the thing to brighten things up around here,' she said. 'A lovely opportunity for Pepper to meet some more boys.'

Pepper wasn't the only one who had missed the visits of James and his friends, apparently. Lily hopped up and brought her mother's date book and pen from the dresser. 'Let's plan it!' she said brightly, glad of a project to occupy her.

The Potters returned from their holiday in France in mid-July, and James immediately began to plan how next to approach Lily.

'Not before you wash off the stink of that Parisian perfume, mate,' Sirius said, vicariously smug regarding his best friend's holiday conquests.

James laughed out loud. 'No, certainly not,' he agreed. 'First wash off evidence of other women, then fly to Harrogate.'

'Don't you think if you show up at the Evans' house that Petunia will think you've come to see her, Prongs?' Sirius said lazily, shifting his chair slightly to be more fully in the shade of the oak tree in the Potters' rather extensive back garden. He and James reclined on chaise lounges with a small table bearing fresh-squeezed lemonade between them.

'But Lily won't have that great greasy git hanging about her – not after the m-word incident,' James said with great satisfaction, pausing to take a long sip of lemonade. 'You have to admit, Padfoot – we were beyond cool, that day.'

The two friends lapsed into self-congratulatory silence, reliving their moment of glory. After a time, Sirius darted a glance at his best mate. James was wearing that fatuous look that overcame his face when he was fantasising about Lily Evans. Poor Prongs was becoming antsy about the girl; in the last year, Evans had become so popular that James and his perpetual pursuit had hardly registered with her.

'Tell me again how you're going to court Lily under Petunia's nose without inciting hysterics?' Sirius invited.

'Simple, Padfoot, old friend – you are going to chat up Petunia whilst I woo her sister.'

Sirius laughed. 'No, I am not,' he retorted, still laughing. 'I told you how I feel about Uncle Alphard's thoroughbreds.'

James smirked at him. 'Yes, you did. You said you enjoy riding them.'

James screeched like a girl when the icy jug upended itself over his head, and although the house-elf came running from the house with a cleansing charm for the lemonade-drenched James, Sirius felt it was worth being told off by the tiny creature to have retaliated for such a dreadful pun.

In the excitement of tidying up the lemonade spill, a new arrival came upon them unnoticed. 'Don't stop, Nonny,' a warmly laughing voice admonished. 'I could stand here all day and listen to you setting Sirius straight.'

The Potters' house-elf turned to Remus Lupin with her hands on her hips. 'Behave yourself, young master, or Nonny will have something to say to you, as well.'

Remus held up his hands in surrender. 'I'll be good, Nonny, I promise.'

Peter Pettigrew came running across the lawn. 'Got off at the wrong house,' he puffed, brushing ashes from the sleeves of his robes.

Sirius snorted. 'Only you, Wormtail, at the age of sixteen, have yet to master the use of the Floo Network.'

Peter scrunched up his nose. 'It's harder than it looks,' he said, flopping down on the grass besides James' chair.

Remus pushed Sirius' feet onto the ground and sat down at the end of his chaise. 'So, Prongs,' Remus began, 'Padfoot says that you were a busy buck amongst the witches of Paris.'

Peter's eyes got very big. 'Tell!' he said with enthusiasm.

James' response was pre-empted by the house-elf, who spoke before hurrying back into the house. 'Owls are coming for you, Master James,' Nonny said, pointing in the distance.

At that moment, all four boys looked up at the sound of wings, and soon, a tawny barn owl lit upon the arm of James' chair, offering his leg. In a flurry, three other birds landed amongst the boys, each offering a message to them.

Sirius was the first to rip the envelope open, at which point he began to laugh. 'I was certain these were our O.W.L. results, but they aren't – looks like you won't have to scheme for a reason to go to Evans' house on this date, Prongs – we're all invited to a party.'

Pepper stomped her foot. 'Explain it to me, you great oaf! She won't tell me anything!'

Severus kept his face impassive, not permitting himself to look hopefully beyond Pepper for the approach of her sister. 'Where is she?' he asked with an air of indifference.

Pepper shrugged impatiently. 'A boy I don't know came to call – he's some sort of captain of a team, I believe – anyway, she stayed behind to entertain.' Pepper managed a creditably nasty sneer on the last word, for which she received a nod from Severus. She sighed heavily and turned away from him, walking halfway across the bridge and sitting on the edge. When she was seated, she looked up at him.

Severus sighed; he was such a slave to his own good nature. He joined her, taking the seat across from her. 'I can't come to a party at your house with other Hogwarts students – surely your sister explained that to you.'

Pepper stamped her foot again. 'It makes no sense! What difference can it make to anyone?'

'It's impossible for you to understand,' he said dismissively.

'I may not be a witch,' Pepper screeched furiously, 'but I'm not stupid!'

Severus frowned at her. 'I never said you're stupid. It's not a matter of intelligence. There are attitudes and ideas that you can have no understanding of because you live outside of the wizarding world. I just can't come to your party, that's all.'

Pepper sighed noisily, and Severus watched her covertly through the curtain of his hair.

At last, she stood and walked towards El Castillo del Viento. 'Aren't you coming?' she called without looking back. 'I brought non-exploding playing cards – now we'll see who plays a better hand of gin rummy.'

The night of the party was lovely and clear, the half-moon rising in the sky amongst the stars. The Evans' back garden was littered with broomsticks, and the lounge fireplace had been cleaned ruthlessly so that attendees could Floo in, if they preferred. Elsie Evans moved through the good-looking, well-behaved young people, making sure the refreshments did not diminish, whilst Lily held court in the middle of the room, basking in the attention of no fewer than eight different boys. Petunia hovered unhappily near the edges of the group. That nice Remus Lupin went out of his way to be kind to Petunia, but her eyes kept following the Potter boy, who seemed to be avoiding both of her daughters. Instead, she saw him slip out the front door, without even little Peter Pettigrew following him.

James took a deep breath of the soft summer air and strolled along the lane. The party was a waste of his time. Lily was surrounded and ignoring him, whilst Petunia was watching his every move with sad, puppy-dog eyes. Remus had been right; it had been wrong for him to play up to the poor girl just to keep an eye on Lily. Ah, well – one could only live and learn. Petunia would get over him soon enough.

As he walked past the lighted windows of the houses on Claret Drive, he was surprised to hear crying. Curious, he followed the sound into someone's front garden and found a small boy huddled beneath a tree, sobbing.

James squatted down beside the child. 'What's wrong, mate?' he said softly, tugging a clean handkerchief from his pocket and pressing it into the hands of the little Muggle boy.

'K-kitty,' the boy blubbered, holding the handkerchief as if he had no clue of its uses. 'Kitty's up the tree!'

James glanced over their heads at the towering oak, not dissimilar to the one in the Evans' front garden. 'Up that tree?' he asked.

The boy nodded, his tears abating as he watched James with hopeful trust. 'Pa said Kitty will come down when she's hungry,' he confided, 'but she's too little to come down by herself.' This thought sent him into a new paroxysm of tears.

'There, there,' James said, removing the handkerchief from the boy's hand and putting it to good use, 'no use crying about it, is there?' he said practically. 'If I bring Kitty down, will you promise not to cry anymore?'

The boy did not struggle against the ruthless wiping of his wet cheeks. His eyes were fixed worshipfully on the Grand Being who had happened upon him in the dark. Robbed of the power of speech, the child simply gave his head a solemn nod – he would indeed promise not to cry if Kitty was restored to him.

'Excellent,' James said. 'Now, we should shake on it.' He extended his hand politely, and the little boy grasped it with his own undoubtedly grubby paw. 'My name is James, by the way,' he added. 'What's yours?'

'Robin Howard Burk,' the boy replied dutifully, 'but me mum calls me Robby.'

James grinned to himself. 'Well, Robin Howard Burk, you turn your back and keep a look-out for bad guys whilst I fetch Kitty down from the tree, all right?'

Excited by the notion of bad guys lurking in Claret Drive, but unafraid, due to the presence of his large friend, Robby crept to the edge of the garden and looked suspiciously up and down the road. Taking the proffered opportunity, James whipped his jacket off and lifted his wand, saying softly, 'Accio Robby's kitty!' With a hiss and a screech, a kitten was ejected from the tree, and James caught it neatly in the improvised sling of his jacket.

'Kitty!' Robby cried, running back, his post forgotten.

'Kitty's a little upset,' James said, keeping the small feline bound up in his jacket. 'What do you say we let her go inside the house?'

Robby had no objection to make to this suggestion, and James shook Kitty free in the front hallway. 'Thanks, James!' Robby said before chasing after his pet.

James smiled to himself as he walked back to the Evans'. Apparently, there was some good to be got from this evening, even if Lily was too busy to give him the time of day. He would have to ask his father to submit an Emergency Magic Dispensation Request to the Ministry in the morning. True enough, it would be the fourth time this summer, but Dad had a contact in the Improper Use of Magic Office – Mafalda Hopkirk had been a family friend any time these last thirty years.

Only Wormtail jumped on him after he returned indoors. 'Where did you go?' he demanded. 'That Ravenclaw bloke is really getting on with Lily!'

'Is he?' James said, taking a glass of punch from the refreshment table. 'We'll just have to see about that.'

Lily stood before the mirror on her dressing table, staring at her reflection. The midnight blue satin had been a good choice to complement her hair and her complexion; her mum really did have good taste for clothes. Pepper had looked well in her sea foam green satin, as well; the colour had brought out the green in her hazel eyes. Pepper had looked her absolute best, her Farrah-flick hairstyle faultlessly done, the expensive blond streaks in her hair lighting her face in a flattering way. The sad thing was that none of the boys had paid much mind to Pepper. The boys who weren't clustered about Lily were paired up with other girls from Hogwarts; no one had evinced much more than polite interest in Lily Evans' Muggle sister. Remus had been kind to Pepper, as he always was, but James and Sirius had simply been bored, and beyond devilling the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff boys by asking their girlfriends to dance, James and Sirius had enjoyed very little sport, that night.

Of course, there had been no Slytherins in attendance, even though one had received an invitation.

As if in answer to her thought, the invisible necklace about her throat heated up against her skin; he was calling to her. Well, she wouldn't go. He could have come to the party if he had wanted to see her, couldn't he?

Lily sat on the edge of her bed to pull off her tights, and Pepper entered the room. 'Did you and Mum put all the food away?' Lily asked.

Pepper nodded, removing her shoes and carrying them to her wardrobe, where she replaced them in the box in which they had come, tenderly stuffing the tissue paper into the toes. 'It was a nice party, wasn't it?' Pepper said, her voice strained, as if she was determined to put a brave face on it. She pulled her dress off and placed it carefully on a hanger, meticulously adjusting it to hang properly before replacing the hanger in the wardrobe.

Lily looked at the pinched, unhappy face of her twin sister and felt a twist of terrible guilt in her stomach. 'Oh, Pepper,' she whispered, standing and going to put her arms around her. 'Never mind them.'

For a moment, Pepper allowed Lily to press their cheeks together. 'Why couldn't we look more alike?' Pepper croaked, obviously fighting tears. 'Why couldn't I be a witch, too?'

Lily Evans held her sister whilst she cried, knowing that Pepper's hot tears were falling upon the midnight blue satin, but not caring. How had they grown so far apart? Before her Hogwarts letter had arrived, she and Pepper had been inseparable, virtually indistinguishable from one another. In the last five years, they had done nothing but grow more different with every passing day. She knew that Pepper missed her – knew that Pepper's life was not happy when she was absent – but now, it seemed that Pepper's life was unhappy even when she was home. Was it wrong for her to be happy in her life as a witch? To enjoy being a pretty girl pursued by boys? To revel in her popularity? Was it her duty as a good sister to be miserable because Pepper was miserable?

The two girls sat on the edge of Pepper's bed, their arms about one another, rocking back and forth. Pepper cried and Lily murmured, stroking the bleached-blond, hairsprayed Farrah-flick. After a time, the storm of tears passed, and Pepper accepted the box of tissues Lily fetched from the dressing table. Without speaking further, Lily brought Pepper's nightdress and Pepper obediently put her hands up to be dressed, like a child. With a sigh of exhaustion, Pepper then slipped beneath the bedcovers and closed her eyes.

Lily turned off the bedside lamp and wandered over to gaze out the window at the night, her heart in turmoil. She didn't want to be like Pepper – she was glad she was pretty – glad she was a witch – glad boys liked her! It wasn't wrong for her to be happy – it was down to Pepper to find her own way in the world, just as Lily had done.

The medallion heated again, and it seemed to Lily as if she could feel Severus' impatience. Well, in many ways, she had known this summons would come tonight. Hadn't she half meant to goad him when she had chosen the date for the party?

With sudden decision, she slipped her bare feet into the black flats she had worn with her dress and went to the door.

'Don't go.'

Lily turned from the door to see Pepper's open eyes in the ambient light of the room.

'I'll be back soon,' she whispered, going to bend over Pepper and smoothing the hairspray-matted hair from her sister's forehead.

'You won't,' Pepper said, turning her face away. 'You'll be gone all night, just like last time.'

Lily looked down at Pepper, torn.

'Go on, then,' Pepper said.

Lily didn't speak again, but crept from the room, moving soundlessly down the staircase and letting herself out without disturbing anyone.

Severus paced the clearing beneath the starry sky and tormented himself with mental images of Lily with another bloke. Lily, kissing another boy – letting him put his hands on her – receiving and ignoring Severus' summons so she could be with someone else.

He cursed and kicked at a stone. Wasn't that the purported purpose of the medallions? To call for one another?

He felt a sudden cold fear in the pit of his stomach. What if she wasn't coming? What if she was no longer his girlfriend? What if he had forever lost her?

Panicked, he grasped the medallion again. Come to me, Lily, he thought and then resumed his pacing.

When she came, it seemed to him as if Nimüe herself approached him from the Kingdom bridge. She wore a dress which shone black in the moonlight, her skin appeared as white as ivory, and the dark red of her hair framed her face. She walked straight up to him and into his arms; he read her intent quickly enough to meet her scorching kiss with his own heat, and the endless weeks of not touching her fell away as if they had never happened.

He swept her up and carried her beneath the low-hanging branches of El Castillo del Viento, and they lay together as they had done that night exactly one year before. He rose over her, as he had not done then, and covered her body with his own, the two in all their clothing yet finding ways to move together in driving defiance, their touches, whispers, and kisses carrying them into that haven that existed only for them, and beyond, to places they had not yet been.

When the moon had reached its zenith, they walked hand-in-hand by the lake, saying more true things to one another with their silence than they could have hoped to speak with words. At last, Severus stopped and looked down into her shadowed face.

'You chose tonight for your party because of the date?' he asked.

'Yes,' she said.

'Did you truly think I would come? Or did you mean to punish me?'

'Both – neither – I don't know.'

She turned from him and began to walk back the way they had come.

'Where are you going?' he demanded.

'Home,' she replied. 'It's late. I'll be missed.'

'No – no, wait,' Severus said. 'I have something for you.'

Lily stopped and turned back to him, her curiosity piqued. 'What do you have for me?'

Severus fumbled in the pocket of his trousers, then pulled out a black velvet cube.

Lily became very still.

Confused, Severus held the box out to her. 'Take it – I bought it for you.'

She continued to stare at the box but did not reach for it.

Severus frowned and snapped the box open himself. 'It's a ring,' he said, thrusting the box at her again.

Lily took a step back from him. 'I was afraid it might be,' she said.

'It's – it's not a cheap one,' he said, despising the desperation in his voice. 'I saved up for it.'

'I can't accept it, Severus,' Lily said sadly.

He took another step towards her, his tone soothing. 'Of course you can – girls accept rings from their boyfriends all the time.'

Lily looked at him, then, her face tilted up, her expression pained. 'I thought you understood,' she said softly. 'We can't be a couple anymore, Severus – I told you that before. We're just friends.'

Severus clenched his jaw. 'Not a couple? Well, what would you call what we just did? Do you carry on like that with all your friends, Evans?'

Lily turned her face away from him, and he was treated to the sight of her lovely profile. Pulling in a ragged breath, Severus fought to maintain control. 'It's a Plight-Troth ring – that's all,' he said, his tone coaxing. 'It's an old-fashioned wizarding custom, but it would work for us. Since we can't be together at school, it just signifies that you've exchanged a promise with someone ....' he let the words trail off, unable to complete the thought aloud in the face of her cold silence.

Lily stepped away from him again, not even bothering to look at the ring he held in his hands. 'I shouldn't have come, Severus. I'm sorry. Let's just pretend I wasn't here tonight.'

She turned then and began to run, and he stood like a fool in the moonlight, a scorned gift in his hand, and a sudden, rending pain in his body as the hope that had been Lily – his sustenance and his reason – receded in her wake whilst she vanished from his vision.

Finally, he wanted nothing more than to collapse, down into the earth, but he could not bear to remain in the place which had so betrayed him. Moving with great difficulty, as a man who had gone fifteen rounds with a prize fighter, he returned to the clearing. The velvet box tumbled from his benumbed fingers, and he did not bother to look at it again before mounting his broom and flying away.

Pepper woke up with a pounding headache, but a nice hot shower washed away the vestiges of her feeble outburst of the night before. Lily was still sleeping, her duvet pulled firmly over her head. Pepper dressed and went down to breakfast.

'Good morning, dear,' her mother said, looking up from the announcements page, which she read whilst sipping her unsweetened tea and eating her unbuttered toast. 'I hope you won't mind running that folder of paperwork out to your father's office this morning?' She inclined her head toward a manila envelope on the dresser. 'He meant to take it himself, but he forgot it.'

'Oh, all right,' Pepper said, preparing her own tea and toast.

'You should wear the blue dress and fix your hair, before you go,' Mrs Evans added.

Pepper made a face. 'Whatever for?'

Elsie straightened her spoon, making certainly that it lay at a perfect right angle to her teacup. 'A girl should always look her best, Petunia Anne – you never know when you're going to meet Mr Right – and you should always be prepared. Besides, haven't you said you'd like to go to work at Grunnings when you leave school?'

Pepper nodded unenthusiastically – she had to work somewhere, didn't she? Unless she found someone to marry, of course. She sighed heavily and pushed her breakfast away, untouched. 'I'll change clothes,' she said and walked out of the kitchen.

Elsie Evans waited until she heard the girls' bedroom door close before she picked up the phone and dialled her husband's office. 'Yes, she'll be along soon. Is the young man there?'

Pepper knocked on her father's office door; when a male voice called, 'Come in!' she did – but she was quite surprised to see a stranger sitting before her father's desk.

'I'm sorry,' she said, embarrassed. 'I thought this was Mr Evans' office.' She turned to go, but the man rose to his feet.

'No, please don't go! You're in the right office. Your father asked me to step in and speak with you – he was called into a meeting, unexpectedly.'

Pepper turned back, paying more attention now to the young man before her. He was of medium height and on the portly side, with very little neck. His hair was dark, and he had a rather impressive moustache. He was dressed with great propriety, in a business suit with a rather dull necktie. The most appealing thing about him, though, was that he was looking at her with keen interest.

'My name is Vernon Dursley,' he said, offering his hand. 'I'm one of your father's sales assistants. And you're Pepper, aren't you?'

Pepper took his hand and tried out the coquettish, corner-of-the-eyes look she had practiced before the mirror. She had meant to use it on James, but this rather beefy young man seemed pole-axed by it. 'I'm Petunia,' she corrected, favouring him with a smile as she allowed him to take her hand.

After having a nice mid-morning tea with Vernon Dursley, who seemed quite sorry that they had not met in time for him to have been invited to her party – as if he could have come to a wizarding party! – Pepper went to the Kingdom. It was not the weekend, so Severus would not be present, and Lily was undoubtedly just now rising from her bed. It would be nice to be in the most peaceful place she knew to mull over the idea of a man who was unabashedly attracted to her, unlike James Potter, who had always left some room for doubt as to his intentions.

Pepper stopped by the marble birdbath and smiled, running a fingertip along the edge as she pondered. Why was it that the young men of her acquaintance – the ones at school, and now Vernon – seemed sadly dull in comparison to Severus and James and Sirius?

She slipped through the passageway they had created through years of pushing through the hedge and smiled at the sight of the stone bridge arching across the stream. She felt strangely light-hearted and hopeful this bright summer's day. She crossed the bridge and spied something bright twinkling from the ground before El Castillo del Viento. From ten feet away, she identified the cube as a jeweller's box and quickened her step, a strange dread crawling up from her tummy into her chest, making her heart beat faster. Unmindful of her nice blue dress, she dropped to her knees and lifted the box before her face. The tiny fire opal sparkled valiantly, in spite of its light coating of dust. Pepper pulled the gold ring from its velvet bed and her eyes went unerringly to the inside band. Pepper had never received such a gift from anyone, but she was fully conversant with the proper customs.

Tilting the ring just slightly, she read SS/LE Eternally.

Severus had brought a gemstone ring for Lily – one which bore a remarkable likeness to an engagement ring – and Lily had left it laying in the dust.

Pepper never understood why she cried for so long, sitting in the dirt in her good dress, the ring which was not hers glinting on the third finger of her left hand.

A/N: SubHub was puzzled by this, so let me remind you that Sirius referred once before to Pepper's likeness to Uncle Alphard's horses, in Chapter 3.

House Points to the clever reviewer who can pick out the hopeful mention of a happy future for Severus in this chapter.