A/N: Explanation for delay at the end of the chapter!

Chapter Seven

The door to her chambers banged open.

"LILY!" Petunia shrieked as she stalked into her little sister's room, her silvery robes billowing behind her.

"What?" Lily questioned, not rising from her relaxed position on her bed, where she had been reading a book.

"Don't take that tone with me," she snapped, tilting her chin imperiously whilst still managing to glare down her long nose at her sister. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Well, I was reading until you decided to barge in here -"

"I did not barge!" Her tone suggested that she was scandalized by the very thought of being compared to a large shipping vessel.

Lily rolled her eyes, dog-earring the page of the botany book she'd been flipping through and setting it aside. It wasn't engrossing like some of her novels back home, but it was engaging enough to entertain her for the time being. Anything to kill some time and stave off the boredom. She folded her hands on her lap and stared up at her sister, adopting a sweet smile. "May I help you?"

Tugging on the bodice of her dress, Petunia glowered at Lily. "You can start by ditching the attitude - I will not tolerate it today of all days. Today is too important to put up with your childish behaviour."

Lily grimaced. She had tried to avoid thinking about Snape's arrival at the castle, mainly because it solidified the fact her parents, who had yet to return from their holiday in the mountains, had promised her to a man she didn't even love, let alone know. At least, she did not know this version of Snape, just like they didn't know this version of her. For all she knew, the other Lily was head over heels in love with Prince Severus Snape, but something in her gut told her that this was untrue. From the information she'd gathered from others, Princess Lily of Westerflower was quite the rebellious child. But here was her sister, storming into her room and reminding her of the thing she'd spent hours trying to forget.

"And there's no use in making faces, Lily," added Petunia once she caught sight of her sister's expression. "Prince Severus will be here by evening, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it from happening."

"I could order our troops to ambush him," Lily muttered darkly, crossing her arms over her chest. As childish as it sounded, she didn't like being told what to do, especially not by her older sister.

Petunia gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. "You will do no such thing!" she screeched, her voice reaching a new hair-rising volume. Lily winced. "And you will stop this nonsense immediately or else -"

"'Or else' what?" Lily challenged, arching a brow. "You'll throw me in the dungeons for being your kid sister? You'll tell Mummy and Daddy?"

"Yes," Petunia responded with a sharp nod. "I will."

"Throw me in the dungeons?" Lily snorted, reaching out to snatch up her book. "That's a bit overdramatic, don't you think?"

Petunia gnashed her teeth together, doing all she could to remain calm in her sister's presence. It was damn near impossible, but she was the stronger one, the older one, the better one. "No, you idiot. I'm not going to throw you in the dungeons, but I will tell Father. And you know how irritated Daddy gets when you disobey his direct orders." She smiled then, enjoying the triumphant feeling coursing through her veins. I've got you now, you little brat.

"But these aren't his direct orders, Tuney," argued Lily, knowing that she was burrowing further and further beneath her sister's skin with every word she said. Secretly, she relished this ability to annoy Petunia with a simple nickname and decided in that moment to do it as much as possible, as it seemed to irritate this Petunia even more than the sister she knew and loved back in the real world. "They're yours and as far as I'm concerned, they have no hold over me."

Emitting a small shriek of rage, Petunia stomped her foot on the ground and put her hands on her hips. "Daddy put me in charge, so you have to do exactly as I say!" She glared at Lily, her blood boiling at the sight of her red hair, her green eyes, and her freckled skin. "Even if these aren't his direct orders, if he found out you were intentionally trying to sabotage your marriage to Prince Severus, which has been cemented since before you were born, he would go mental!"

"Then let him go mental!" Lily exclaimed, tossing her book aside and leaping to her feet. She stalked up to her sister until they were nose-to-nose. Lily narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "I don't want to marry Snape!"

"That's Prince Severus to you, Lily," growled Petunia, stepping so close to Lily the latter had to cross her eyes to see the thin blonde properly. "If you don't wish to be locked in your chambers for the rest of the day, I think you would do well to apologise to me for making such calloused remarks about your promised husband and adjust your attitude to one more fitting of your status! Do I make myself clear?"

Grinding her teeth, Lily gave a short nod of her head.

"Lily!"

Her features twisting unattractively, Lily spat, "Yes."

Petunia stared at her pointedly. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

Pulling a face and doing her best not to reach out and hex her sister, she added, "I'm sorry, Tuney."

Though it was hardly a sincere apology, the fact there were servants around to hear it be made seemed to be enough for Petunia. She took a step away from her sister, smoothed out the front of her dress, and cleared her throat primly. "Now, where's your maid?" She gave a snap of her fingers, craning her neck around the room. "Mary? Mary, where are you?"

"She's eating lunch," Lily answered bitingly. "She should be back soon."

"Oh," said Petunia, clearly caught off guard by the information. "Well, then, perhaps I shall have Bernice give her a talking to; she shouldn't be taking time out of her schedule to eat lunch when there's preparations to be made." She shook her head to herself. "But no matter. We'll have someone else dress you." Again, she snapped her fingers. "Jane?"

A reed of a girl appeared at Petunia's side in an instant. "Yes, Your Highness?"

Petunia didn't even spare the girl a glance. "Help my sister into a fresh dress. And make sure it is appropriate for today's mood."

The girl looked unsure. "Which is?"

"Joyous, of course," Petunia said in a tone that suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And no matter how much she begs and pleads, do not let her wear any of the dresses our aunt bought for her. They're too modern, too daring, and Prince Severus is very traditional. Am I understood?"

The girl curtseyed so far her nose nearly touched the ground. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Good girl." Petunia smiled acidly at Lily. "You should take a lesson out of dear Jane's book and learn some obedience."

Lily did nothing but glower at her sister. "Goodbye," she said mordantly, giving a little sarcastic wave of her fingers.

"Goodbye, dear sister of mine," replied Petunia in a sickly sweet voice. "See you at sundown."

With an ostentatious wink, Petunia shut the door behind her. While Lily sulked inside, the elder Evans girl turned towards the black dog sitting in the corridor, panting as he stared up at her, awaiting his orders.

"Make sure to follow her if she leaves," Petunia instructed. "I don't care if she's making a trip to the next room, do not let her out of your sight."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Sirius said mechanically, thinking that the princess was taking her father's words a bit too seriously. He didn't say anything, though, just gave a brief nod of his head. "Of course, Your Highness."

She gave a simpering smile and pat him once on the head. "Good dog," she said before breezing down the corridor.

James paused in his work to take a break and catch his breath - and silently curse Moody for putting him in such a foul mood.

When he had woke that morning, he had expected to attend to his usual duties, which he usually completed before lunch, but Alastor had another thing for him.

"You want me to what?"

"Some o' the gard'ners didn't show up, so ye've got ter help with the tendin'," Alastor had explained.

"Tending what?"

"Flowers, ye eejit, what else?" Shaking his head, Alastor had lumbered towards the door. "And ye best git a move on - the princess is comin' ter inspect yer work at three." He'd smacked James' bare foot on his way out the door, cackling as usual.

"Mental," James had muttered as he dragged himself out of bed and pulled on a fresh shirt.

If James had thought mucking out stables and running the horses through their exercises was difficult, it was nothing compared to heaving his hoe into the ground and tilling up the soil - if soil was what one could call it as it was more like clay than anything else - for fresh flowers to be planted. The blisters on his palms and fingers, which had nearly scabbed over, broke open again and his gloves were soaked with blood. He was sweating in places that he would rather not mention, and, of course, it was the hottest day so far.

Of course, he'd only been at the castle for three days, but still, the weather had been mild up until that point and he'd thought it would stay that way. Naturally, what he wanted and how it was were two completely different things.

Leaning his weight against the handle of the hoe, James dragged his hand across his forehead in an attempt to mop up all of the sweat coating his skin. Naturally, it didn't work, but the motion felt nice and at least he wasn't tilling the earth. What was the soil made of here, anyway, bricks? His shirt clung uncomfortably to his back and his chest, which was slick with a fresh layer of sweat. He was sure he smelled like the wrong end of a horse - not that there was a right end that smelled pleasant, but whatever.

With a shrug of his aching shoulders, James grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. As soon as the damp fabric unstuck itself from his skin, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Refreshed wasn't quite the word for it, but he didn't feel like he was a pig who enjoyed rolling around in his own filth. Bunching up the fabric, he wiped the sweat away from his face, his neck, and the topmost part of his chest. Once done, he tossed the now-soaking shirt to the ground and stretched again.

Feeling much better than he had seconds before, James readjusted his grip on his gardening tool and returned to his work, which was more like slave labour than anything else, taking his aggression towards his current predicament out on the earth rather than the man who'd stuck him with this shit job. At least he wouldn't get thrown in the stocks for it.

Not a half hour after Petunia had swept out of her chambers did Lily poke her head out into the corridor. As always, there were two guards stationed on either side of her door, both of them holding long spears that gleamed, sharp and silver, at the end. They didn't so much as glance in her direction as she stepped out of her rooms, pulling the door shut behind her.

"Good day," she said with a nod towards the guards.

They seemed surprised, but nodded in return all the way. "Good day, Your Highness."

As she walked away, one of the guards nudged the other, which alerted Sirius, who had been napping in the corner, to the princess's departure. Remembering the orders issued to him by Princess Petunia, he got to his feet and padded down the hall after her.

It didn't take Lily long to notice that she was being followed. She rolled her eyes, knowing that Petunia had put her pursuer up to it, no doubt because she thought Lily would try to leave the castle before Snape arrived. Which, Lily had to admit, was a suitable cause for extra supervision as she was all too tempted to leap over the palace wall and disappear forever. She'd do anything to escape a marriage to Snape.

She stopped suddenly and whirled around, catching Sirius before he could hide behind a statute, though he still tried. Lily folded her arms over chest and shook her head, amused. "You know that I can see you, right?"

"Yes, I know," grumbled Sirius, slinking out from behind the statute, looking every bit like a kicked puppy. "How long did it take you?"

"To realise you were following me?" she asked, which Sirius confirmed with a nod. "Somewhere around the library."

If he had eyebrows, Lily imagined him lifting them. "That soon?" He winced, causing Lily to laugh. "I must be getting rusty. What gave me away?"

"For starters, I could hear your paws on the marble," Lily replied. "And you pant so loudly, I'm sure the centaurs heard you."

"Centaurs?" Sirius said, scrunching up his face. "There aren't centaurs in the forest. Your father relocated them ages ago."

While the information surprised Lily, her features didn't show it. "That's exactly my point, Sirius," she said with a smile. "Try to keep the volume down next time you attempt to follow me and - you know, you should really consider getting your nails trimmed. They must be long if they're scratching the marble."

"I've been meaning to do that for the longest time, but you try fitting something as trivial as a nail trimming in when you work for your sister," Sirius said dryly.

Lily laughed as she started down the corridor. "I'm sure she's difficult to handle."

Sirius snorted, following after the princess. "Ha! You don't even know the half of it. This one time when she was visiting the Northernfield castle…"

As they meandered through the castle, Sirius regaled Lily with amusing tales about Petunia, some of which he may have exaggerated, but all of which she believed to be true. Petunia wasn't called the Queen of Melodrama in the Evans household without reason. It was strange to think that Lily was enjoying Sirius' company when, previously, she had been all too happy to be rid of him. But this Sirius that she was talking to was much more like the one she knew at Hogwarts: while he could be annoying and prideful at times, he was actually all right to be around. She might not prefer his company to Mary's, but it was better than being locked up in her chambers for the entire day, doing nothing except wallowing in her own self pity.

All too soon, there was an increase in temperature and Lily began to sweat. It certainly didn't help that she was wearing a dress that weighed nearly as much as she did or that the sun was at its highest point in the sky, beating down fiercely. She plucked at the neck of her dress, which did little to cool her off.

"So," Sirius said after a moment of silence. "I heard from one little birdie, who heard from another little bird, who heard firsthand from your most trusted maid that you, My Lady, were desperately seeking the stable boy from the other day." He twisted his head to look up at her, his eyes slanted against the bright sunrays. "Is this true?"

"Yes, it is," she answered as they descended the steps to the Royal Garden, "and no, we didn't do anything inappropriate, so get your mind out of the gutter." She smiled when Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "No, I merely thanked him for helping me out and he thanked me for giving him a lift back to the castle. It was nothing more than that."

"If you insist."

"I do."

"Okay. Whatever you say goes."

"You better believe it does," Lily muttered sourly as they walked past a cluster of yellow rose bushes.

Again, Sirius laughed. "For a princess, you have quite the temper."

"Are you saying just because I'm royalty, I'm not allowed to have feelings?"

"Yes," Sirius replied. "I am."

Lily rolled her eyes. "That's so archaic, not to mention ridiculous. People can't function without emotions."

"I agree," said Sirius. "You with a temper is much more fun than you with your nose stuck in a book, though I must admit," he added as an afterthought, "I do prefer you when you're in a good mood like you are today."

"Likewise," she said as she turned the corner, expecting to see another row of tall hedges or a fountain, not a dozen shirtless men hacking away at the earth with rakes and hoes. She turned to Sirius, her eyebrows raised in question. "What are they doing?"

"Obviously, they're working, Your Highness," Sirius quipped.

She glared down at him. "You know what I meant, Sirius."

"They're replacing the hydrangeas with lilies."

"But why? The hydrangeas looked perfectly fine to - oh!" She paused as the realisation dawned upon her. Did Petunia really think it was clever to fill the entire garden with lilies just because her name was Lily? Probably, but Petunia had always been the more direct one of the pair, preferring the literal to the vague. "Well, then. That's a bit over the top, don't you think?" She glanced at Sirius. "Not to sound arrogant, but I'm sure everyone knows that my name is Lily and I'm the princess. Does it need to broadcast so…literally?"

"It was your sister's idea," offered Sirius.

Lily snorted, her eyes roving over the tanned and muscled backs of the workers, barely maintaining her schooled expression; she couldn't help but appreciate what was set before her. "Figures. It's not like she's subtle."

"The same could be said about you."

The remark went unnoticed by Lily, for the moment Sirius had uttered the words, one of the workers (the one she had been watching most intently) paused in his work to either catch his breath or readjust his grip or to move onto another hole - she didn't know what he was doing, but that was hardly important. What mattered was that he was tall, his skin was lightly tanned, and his dark hair was rumpled in such a way, she wanted to run her fingers through it.

She watched, seemingly transfixed, as he stretched one arm over his head and then the other, more than appreciating the way his damp skin seemed to move like water over his taut muscles - fluid and uninterrupted. He removed the shirt hanging from the waist of his trousers to dab away the sweat on the back of his neck and suddenly, Lily wished she were the shirt. Or the sweat. She didn't care as long as she was touching his body. A flush spilled out over her cheeks as the thought passed through her mind, but she couldn't help herself. It was impossible to look away from it - from him.

So, it was needless to say that when the sweaty and shirtless Boy Wonder turned around in search for a water jug, Lily was more than a little shocked to see that she hadn't been admiring some stranger with an attractive form at all, but James bloody Potter. She felt her jaw drop and she blinked, hoping to clear away the illusion, but it stuck: Potter was shirtless, he was sweaty, and she had been salivating, lusting even, after him only seconds ago.

She groaned, though whether out of disgust or weakening resolve, she couldn't be sure.

Besides her, Sirius chuckled knowingly. "Nothing more, you say?" With a wink, he started down the path and Lily followed, half stomping, half drooling, behind him.

"Are you sure I look presentable?" Lily asked, fidgeting nervously with the hem of the dress's sleeve. "I don't want Petunia to throw another conniption because I look inappropriate."

"You look beautiful," Mary reassured Lily for what seemed like the seventeenth time in the last two minutes alone. And it was true. Dressed in an emerald gown made of the finest silk, with her hair twisted into an elegant knot at the back of her head, Lily looked every bit of the princess she was, even without her circlet, which Mary made sure to grab as she ushered Lily out of the door.

"It's your job to appease me, so your opinion doesn't count," Lily said as she led the way down the corridor, her heavy skirts clasped in her hands.

Mary scoffed, but didn't say anything. Lily had been acting odd - well, odder than she had been the last few days - ever since she returned from her walk around the Royal Gardens. At first, Mary attributed her peculiar behaviour to the heat, but now she knew the truth: Lily was nervous about seeing Prince Severus, and with good reason. He was her betrothed, after all, and wasn't particularly well known for his kindness.

They had mere moments to spare by the time they reached the entrance hall, where Princess Petunia stood, looking absolutely thunderous. Thankfully, she didn't say anything to her sister, though she shot her a look of supreme dissatisfaction as Mary placed the circlet upon Lily's brow.

"Let us not keep the prince waiting," Petunia said, holding out her elbow for Lily, who grasped it with some reluctance.

Together, they stepped out into the setting sun, walking down the wide staircase until their feet touched gravel. Lily moved to release her sister's arm, but Petunia clapped her hand down upon Lily's and gave the slightest shake of her head. Knowing better than to cause a scene, Lily remained as she was, her back straight and knees trembling, as she watched the horizon.

It didn't take long for the travelling party to come into view and oh, what a party it was. Four intimidating men sat astride four equally intimidating black horses, touches of gold glinting off of the saddles and reins. The horsemen were followed by a large black carriage that, unlike the horses' accessories, was covered in gold, which gleamed proudly in the sun. In several places, there were huge emeralds, though Lily noticed a few of the spaces were empty and she surmised that some of the jewels had been stolen in the ambush.

When the footman hopped down from his seat and moved to open the door, Lily's breath hitched in her throat and she tightened her grasp on her sister's arm. Much to her surprise, Petunia gave her a hand a comforting pat and when she glanced up at her, the elder girl was smiling tightly, her eyes tinged with sympathy.

The door swung open, the footman extended a hand, and a black gloved hand rested upon his outstretched palm primly. The hand was followed by two shining leather boots, a pair of knobbly legs, a long torso, and finally, the hooked nose of her childhood friend, Severus Snape. There were hardly any differences between this Snape and the one she knew, save for the hair. Unlike her Snape, this one kept his hair brushed back away from his face, held in place by his ostentatious crown.

"Ah, hello, Petunia," Snape said in his oily voice, straightening his shoulders and striding over towards the sisters. He took her hand within his grasp and dropped a small kiss onto her knuckles.

"Hello, Severus," Petunia returned warmly. "It is such a pleasure to welcome you back to our home."

"Oh, no, no," Snape said with a shake of his head. "The pleasure's all mine."

A blush crept onto Petunia's cheeks as he winked. Then, he turned his attention to Lily, who tried not to flinch as he did as he had with her sister and picked up her hand. However, unlike Petunia, when he kissed the back of her hand, he locked eyes with her, his black gaze seeming to penetrate her. He pulled back, but didn't let go of her hand. "Lily, my dear Lily flower," he schmoozed, his voice laced with false sincerity as he regarded her. "You grow more lovely with each passing day."

She fought back a grimace. "Thank you, Sna - Severus," she corrected herself.

Petunia cleared her throat loudly.

"Oh! And you - well," Lily gave him a quick once over. "You are just as handsome as I remember you being."

Snape patted her hand. "You're too sweet, Lily dearest. But enough with greetings!" he cried, pulling on her arm and placing her hand in the crook of his elbow. "Come now, let us feast!"

"I do hope you're hungry, Severus," Petunia said as she led them inside. "I've had the cooks make all of the famous Easterhollow dishes as well as some native food."

Severus leered down at Lily, his eyebrows raising suggestively as he said in an almost purr, "I'm absolutely starving."

This time, Lily didn't bother hiding her tremble.

A/N: The past few weeks have been incredibly hectic. My little brother had extensive reconstructive knee and ankle surgery, so I've been spending a large amount of time at the hospital with him, with no internet connection or anything. Between commuting there, staying with him, and getting sleep, I haven't had much time to post this update, but I've finally recovered from the shock of seeing the midnight screening of DH part II and decided, what the hell? Why not post an update, even though it is so very long overdue? I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and that you haven't lost interest in it. Thank you for being so patience and I promise the next chapter will come out soon enough.