Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

But Lily didn't head outside to the lake with all the other students as Headmaster Dumbledore had suggested, partly because she knew James Potter and his arrogant friends would be there. It was bad enough having to share classes and a common room with them without spending her Saturday in their unpleasant company. She knew Rose would bound to be causing trouble somewhere and she wanted to stay out of that as well. But mostly she didn't want to go outside because she knew Severus would be waiting for her in the dungeons. That was, if he hadn't given up already. She was now over an hour late for their meeting.

She raced back down to the dungeons, not pausing to wait for someone to show up this time. She slipped inside Dungeon Five and looked around. There was no one there. Severus had left already. He probably thought she'd forgotten him. Her heart sank.

She was just about to turn and leave when she heard his voice from the direction of the storeroom. She looked over, and there was his sallow face, large nose and stringy-haired head poking out around the door. She smiled at him.

"Come on!" he'd called urgently to her, glancing around the empty classroom, his eyes drawn to the door.

"What..." she began, but he didn't let her finish.

"You'll see," he cut in urgently.

He disappeared inside the room, and, glancing back over her shoulder at the door, Lily followed him. Her heart thumped – they shouldn't be in here, it wasn't right. They were breaking school rules just by entering the classroom, and now into the storeroom. But a thrill ran through her at the idea, feeling a little as she presumed Rose did every time she did something she shouldn't. Then again, she doubted her sister had any such apprehension about the things that she did.

The storeroom was crammed full, shelves upon shelves teetering to the ceiling with bottles of potions, and jars of ingredients. Lily hardly dared to breathe for worry of breaking something and alerting anyone to their whereabouts.

"What are we–" she began in a whisper, but Severus cut her off with some seemingly nonsensical words.

"James Potter," he said triumphantly, "is an arrogant toerag."

"Honestly," Lily began, about to tell him to stop wasting his time on James, but her words left her as she saw two great shelves full of dusty jars and florescent phials slide apart, their contents wavering dangerously as they moved. To her surprised, they revealed a small, dark opening into the stone wall, which disappeared into the darkness.

"What's down there?" Lily asked peering a little nervously over his shoulder.

Severus turned to her and grinned. "Freedom."

And he took her hand, pulling her through the opening. The moment they were through, she heard the sliding of the bookcases behind them. Panicked, she spun around, pushing fervently at the back of the wooden shelves to no avail.

"Lumos!" The light from Severus wand illuminated the passageway. "Lily, it's okay," he told her, grasping hold of her hand again. "Come on."

"Where does it go?" she asked, her feet rooted to the spot as she tried to peer down the tunnel before them. The light from his wand only reached so far, and all she could make out was a slight bend in the tunnel, the stone floor and the masonry walls.

"I told you, freedom."

She still wouldn't move.

"Don't you trust me?" Severus asked, looking hurt.

She stalled a moment, before replying. "Of course I trust you. It's the monsters that are hiding down here I don't trust."

He laughed. "There's no monsters, I assure you."

Finally she started walking, slowly following in Severus' enthusiastic steps. The air grew heavier, stale, and the unhealthy stench of mildew cloyed at her nostrils as the tunnel became narrower and narrower, and the castles rugged walls gave way to solid rock. Lily dared a glance back behind her, but she could see nothing but darkness. The tunnel twisted endlessly, gradually inclining, then taking a great turn downwards, down a set of crumbling stone steps.

At the bottom of the steps the stone beneath their feet became wet. Soon great puddles formed on the floors, and as Lily accidentally brushed up against one wall, her arm became drenched. In the dim light she could just make out small rivulets of frigid water streaming down the rock.

"Where are we?" Lily asked again, still a little frightened. They'd walked for what seem like forever into the tunnel. It felt like miles from Hogwarts. It possibly was.

Severus came to a sudden halt, and Lily bumped straight into the back of him. She jumped back in fright, until she realised they'd reached a door. It was small, wooden, nothing much to look at. Severus was fiddling with a key in a lock before him, and with a great flourish, he pushed the door open, holding it for her.

"I told you," he said to her back as she took a tentative step inside. "Freedom."

She looked around – it wasn't a huge room, more a cave. There was a stub of a candle burning in a small nook in the wall, and three empty pumpkin fizz crates, all with various pieces of chairs attached to them, arranged on the floor. A bag rested on top of one of them, keeping it safe from the water that seeped across the floor.

"I tried transfiguring them into something more comfortable, but I think I need a little more practise," he admitted sheepishly.

"They'll do just perfectly!" Lily exclaimed, a smile finally reaching her lips. This was just perfect, their own hideaway.

"We're under the Lake, from what I can tell," Severus added, finally answering her question.

"How on earth did you find it?" Lily asked, looking around in amazement. The cave's ceiling seemed non-existent, the cavern reaching so far up she couldn't see rock at the top, though of course, their must have been, since they were under the lake.

"Um, my mum actually told me about it," he said quietly. "Said it was a good place to go when you needed some... peace and quiet."

Lily heard the underlying meaning there. She'd seen Severus' mother at the train station and could well imagine, at least from her dour look, she hadn't been the most popular girl in school either.

"It's wonderful," Lily said to change the subject, but she meant it. This was perfect, somewhere to go where no one could bother them, not James, not Sirius, Rose. Not even Filch.

"I changed the passwords to something more suitable. You heard the one to get to the entrance, there's one on the Potions cupboard door, too. Sirius Black is a git."

Lily again wanted to tell him off for choosing such a silly password, but she didn't want to seem ungratefully to him for sharing this with her.

He interrupted her silence. "Anyway, where were you? What took you so long?" He sat down on one of the crates and indicated for her to do the same. She did so tentatively, a little worried the four stumpy wooden legs that sprung from the bottom of it would give way, but they held steady. She look at his face and realised he'd been worried.

Lily had almost forgotten all about her run in with Filch, distracted as she was with the discovery of the cave. It didn't take much to bring back being dragged through the halls by Filch, though. "Sorry, it was Rose again. Filch thought I was her and I got sent to Dumbledore's office!"

Severus' face softened. "I don't know why they can't tell the two of you apart. She," Severus, never referred to her sister as Rose, almost like she didn't deserve a name, "is a little bitch." Lily flinched at his words, after all, she was her twin, even if she didn't like her very much right now. "While you are..."

And he stopped again, flushed and looked down at his hands.

Lily wasn't about to let it slide this time though, not like the day in the trees.

"I am what?" Lily asked, shifting a little uncomfortably on her pumpkin fizz crate.

"Well," Severus said, then looked up at her squarely, "you're so much better than her."

Lily was surprised. Never once, in all the years Rose had been causing trouble and blaming it on her, had anyone said she was better than her sister. And she wasn't sure how she felt about it, after all Rose was her sister, but really, she made her choices and Lily made hers, and when it came down to it, she knew she at least behaved better than Rose. And after the ordeal with Filch it was just nice to know someone could separate her from her unpleasant sibling.

"Isn't this fantastic?" Severus suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and she got the distinct impression he was trying to change the subject, a hint of nervousness was in his voice. "We can sit here and talk and your sister can't bother you and we don't have to put up with those imbeciles from your House!"

Lily shot him a harsh look.

"I didn't mean all of them, I meant Potter and Black!" Severus exclaimed, his face colouring as he realised what he'd said. "And various other twits, not you Lily. Never you!"

She didn't like him summing up Gryffindor on the behaviour of two silly boys and their followers, but she did have to admit she would not miss listening to them tease her for talking to Severus, the pair of them provoking him, mimicking Rose by calling him Snivellus all the time.

Visibly shaken by his mistake, Severus began searching through the bag lying on the third crate. "I've got a present for you."

"But...but I haven't got you anything!" Lily stuttered, feeling embarrassed. She didn't have any money to buy presents with and she hadn't even thought about getting Severus a Christmas present.

Severus waved a dismissive hand at her, letting her know that didn't matter, as he came up with a roughly wrapped gift. "It's not much, really..."

Lily accepted it with more than a little intrigue as he stuffed it into her hands. He then sat back on his crate, sliding his hands back inside the arms of his robes to warm them as he waited for her to open it.

She fingered the wrapping, playing with the ribbon, wondering what it could be. It was small, and not very heavy....

"Go on then," Severus told her impatiently, nodding at her to hurry up.

Carefully, she untied the ribbon and pulled the Spellotape away from the paper. Inside lay a silver key. It was old and in need of a polish, but the intricate detail of the snakes entwined along its stem and curled around the loop at the top, their eyes shining emerald, made it absolutely stunning. It wasn't large, maybe the size of her pinkie finger, and it hung from a silver chain.

"It's another key to the door," Severus said, nodding behind her.

"It's stunning. I mean, for a key." She looked at it intensely. "Especially the eyes."

"They're just like yours," he said, suddenly ducking his head in embarrassment. "And Mum says they've been passed down over the years from Slytherin to Slytherin."

He paused, and it hit her that she wasn't Slytherin, that maybe she shouldn't have it, but he began speaking again, ignoring that irksome fact.

"She says lots of spells have been put on it over the years, good luck, protection charms... Might hold us in good stead, you never know what that bloody Potter will try as his next hilarious joke..."

"Thank you!" Lily replied, ignoring his Potter spiel. It was the key to their hideaway, and that meant the world to her, that he'd chosen her to share it with, not hidden it away to himself. Instinctively she leant across and quickly kissed his cheek before she really thought about what she was doing. His cheek was cold beneath her lips, but soft and smooth. She pulled back in surprise as a tiny shiver ran through her at their touch. She didn't move far though, sitting there, perched on the edge of her makeshift seat in shock. Shock at both what she'd done and the overwhelming desire to do it again. Severus stared back at her, his eyes darkening, his pupils dilating, a small smile curling his mouth. Tentatively, he reached out, pulling his warm hands from his robes, awkwardly placing one palm on each of her cheeks. She shivered under his touch, surprised at how nice his skin felt against hers. His thumbs traced her cheekbones, and she watched as his eyes followed the movement of his hands. She inhaled. Severus. She knew his scent well. Clean and crisp, but this close it was different, warmer. It made her heady. It all felt so surreal, like a dream. She wanted to pull away, so uncertain about what was happening, what that odd knot in her stomach meant, all the while she wanted to see what would happen, how it would feel. And so she sat there as he leaned across towards her. She closed her eyes, she'd read she was meant to do that, though she'd much rather have watched him.

His nose bumped into hers and she giggled nervously, then looked at him, wide-eyed, hoping he hadn't taken offence. She knew how much he hated his overly large nose. But he just smiled back at her with an impish grin. He waited a moment, then leaned in again, this time tilting his head a little so his nose brushed her cheek instead. Awkwardly he placed his lips against hers. This time she watched him, his dark eyes on hers as he closed in.

His lips were cold on her mouth; it wasn't exactly warm down here. It was like having soft icicles against her skin. The butterflies in her stomach stopped their fluttering and began somersaulting instead. She reached out with her own hands to touch his hair. Severus pulled her face closer to his, pressing his lips more tightly against her mouth. Her eyes widened and she gasped, jumping back. She looked at Severus, hoping he wasn't going to laugh at her, only to find him staring at her again. The awkwardness of the whole situation suddenly hit her. What was she supposed to do now? Her lips still tingled from where his had touched hers. She sucked on her bottom lip, surprised at the slightly salty taste he'd left on her. She reached up to touch her mouth, wondering at the faint electricity she felt beneath her finger. And then she started giggling, and couldn't stop.

"Have a good Christmas," Severus suddenly said, jumping to his feet and rushing out of the room. She could hear his feet, in their oversized shoes, splashing along the stone walkway, as she sat there, still staring at his now empty crate.

*****

Lily arrived home, a little happy, a little sad. She missed Severus, but, she figured, she could go around and see him anytime, he was just down the road. And he'd more than likely come over anyway. And she'd been glad to see Petunia, to see she was all right. She'd moved to give her sister a hug, to apologise again, but Petunia had taken one stuffy look at her, turned her back and gone to her room. Lily had barely seen her in three days; Petunia hadn't even eaten dinner with the rest of them.

Finally, Christmas Eve, Lily could take it no more. Nearly a week had passed since the end of term and she hadn't heard anything from Severus. She was worried; she hadn't spoken to him since he'd kissed her in the cave. Maybe she'd done something wrong. She wracked her brains. Oh, dear gods, she'd giggled and he'd left. She'd been nervous, of course, but he probably thought she'd been laughing at him! First thing in the morning she was going to go over to his house and explain. And Petunia continued to play on her mind. She hadn't spoken a word to her since she'd arrived home and nearly a week had passed since the end of term. That was something she could do something about right now.

She went up to Petunia's room and knocked on the door, a large lump forming in her throat. When she got no reply, determinedly she turned the knob and let herself in.

"What are you doing in my room?!" Petunia yelled at her, leaping from her bed. "I don't want any of your sort anywhere near me! Freaks, all of you!"

"Tuney, please," Lily begged, desperate to talk to her sister.

"You heard what I said!" The look on her sister's face frightened her. It was full of loathing, of disgust.

"Professor Dumbledore – he said you'd be angry, said you had a right to be. It's not fair, Tuney, honest it's not! I'd..." she sniffed, hiccuped as she tried to bite back her tears, "I wish it were you at Hogwarts, not Rose!"

"Professor Dumbledore said, huh?" Petunia replied haughtily. "I couldn't care less what that old freak has to say!"

"Tuney, I'm sorry! Maybe... maybe I shouldn't go back to Hogwarts, maybe I should stay here with you."

Petunia looked at her, a mix of emotions contorting her face. "No, you're one of them now. One of those freaks. It makes no difference if you go to their freaky little school or not!"

"Freaky, huh?" Lily stiffened at the sound of Rose's voice from over her shoulder. "I'll show you freaky, you Muggle!"

Lily spun around to stop Rose, but she was too late.

The words came from Rose's mouth like a deadly whisper, causing Lily to shiver as the light leapt from the end of Rose's wand, sailed across Lily's shoulder, and hit Petunia squarely in the chest.

Lily only vaguely recognised the incantation, but the massive bogies that flew from Petunia's nose, wings and all, that turned on her, attacking her horrified face, was all Lily needed to know. The Bat-Bogey Hex.

"Rose!" she screamed, turning to belt across the room to help Petunia.

"I'm not quite done yet, I don't think dear Petunia has learnt any respect!" Rose yelled furiously. "Petri–"

Lily spun around towards Rose, and in one fluid motion, she pulled her wand from up her sleeve and waved it precisely. "Expelliarmus!"

Rose's wand flew through the air, landing at Lily's feet.

Lily stood there, shocked for a moment at what she'd done. She'd performed magic outside of school. She'd disarmed her own sister. Panic set in, until she heard Petunia begin to scream.

Petunia clawed at her skin, tried to rid herself of the bat-bogies. Small specks of blood littered her face where she'd scratched at it with her nails.

"Oh my..." Lily breathed anxiously. She reached out, grabbed Petunia's hands and pinned them to the bed, barely feeling the slimy brush of bat-bogey wings against her own skin, she was so worried for her sister.

"Rose–" Lily began, desperately. "Make it stop!"

"I don't know how," Rose said, sounding, oddly enough, a little distraught. "I just wanted to teach her a lesson, Lil."

"Some lesson! If we don't stop this she's going to scratch her whole face off!"

Lily tried desperately to think of anything she could do, but nothing they'd learnt at school so far helped. Not even anything she'd read in books. She was so stupid, how could she have overlooked this possibility? Of course Rose would eventually turn on Petunia. And she should have been ready for it!

"Well, I don't know," Rose replied, her usual dismissive tone back.

Lily turned to glare at her, only to find Rose creeping out the bedroom door.

"Don't you dare, Rose Evans!" Lily screamed at her. "Don't you dare!"

Lily desperately thought. There was only one person she knew who might be able to stop this. She grabbed up a coat from the bed, pulling it over Petunia's shoulders and the hood over her face. The bat-bogies continued to attack Petunia, but now they simply hit the fabric of her coat. Petunia was still fighting though, still trying to push them away.

"There's one under here!" she screamed.

"Rose, come on!" Lily said, pulling Petunia to her feet.

Rose stood there, frozen to the spot. Lily hated herself for doing it, hated that she had to use her twin's tactics on her, but she had to anyway. "Rose, if you don't help me this instance, I'm going to have Severus tell all of Slytherin about Rusty the teddy you still take to bed!"

Rose paled. "Okay, okay."

Between the two of them they managed to get the struggling Petunia down the stairs, and out into the night. With a quick glance around, Lily was relieved to see no one about to witness the bat-sized bogies still attacking her sister. Quickly they pulled Petunia along the street, through the snow, finally reaching the decrepit house Severus called home.

Lily knocked on the door. "Come on, come on," she muttered under her breath.

She knocked louder. "Severus!" she yelled.

Finally, a light came on inside, heavy, ominous footsteps on bare floor boards. If the situation hadn't been so desperate, Lily would have been having a minor heart attack. She moved the still whimpering Petunia behind her, not wanting Severus' parents to see the state her sister was in.

The door creaked open. "What do you want?" The woman's overly large nose and sour-looking face were all too recognisable; she looked like a female version of Severus who'd eaten one too many Sherbet Lemons.

"Severus. I need to see him!" Lily squeaked.

The woman looked at her cautiously. "Severus is visiting relatives." She moved to close the door, but Lily put her foot in the doorjamb.

"Please, please, you've got to help us!" Lily begged her.

"I have no time for this nonsense–"

Lily stepped aside, pulling Petunia up the step to the level, shoving back her hood and exposing her bloodied face, bat-bogies still attacking her, to Mrs Snape.

"You stupid girls!" the woman hissed. She shook her head, pulling her wand from her frumpy dress, and with a few murmured words, the bat-bogies vanished.

Petunia's mouth opened slightly as if to scream, but nothing came out. Looking very pale, she turned and ran from the house.

"Tuney!" Lily called, but her sister didn't stop. Lily turned back to Mrs Snape. "Thank you," she said sincerely, as much as she felt the overwhelming urge to run from the house as well. Something about the place was just wrong; it made her feel sick to the pit of her stomach.

"I suggest," the woman said darkly, "that the two of you learn to keep your magic under control."

"Yes, Mrs Snape." Lily turned to leave, but hesitated. The overwhelming dread forced her to ask, "Severus, is he all right?"

Rose huffed at her question, and left the stoop, heading back across the snow to their house.

"I don't think that's any concern of yours," the woman growled.

"I'm his friend."

Mrs Snape gave her a scathing look. "Indeed. Severus is," she paused, "fine. I told you, he's visiting relatives. Now," she sneered, "go home."

Lily turned, hearing the door click shut behind her. She walked out into the yard and stopped to look back at the house. She could have sworn she saw someone pulling the corner of a curtain down in one of the upstairs rooms. Someone who looked very much like Severus.

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AN: Big hugs and plenty of booze for my darling beta, she did an absolutely fantastic job on this one, especially kicking my sorry behind over their kiss :-*