Lily and Sirius stood uncomfortably on Petunia's doorstep. Twilight had fallen, and the neighborhood was still and quiet. Lily looked distressed, and Sirius squeezed her arm. She looked at him gratefully.

They rang the doorbell, and unfortunately, Vernon answered. He screwed up his whiskered face when he saw Lily. "Come back for the boy?"

"Yes, Vernon. I'm grateful that you and Petunia were able to take him in."

Vernon made a scoffing noise which communicated that he had nothing to do with taking care of Harry. "I'll get Petunia. You stay here," he ordered, leaving them in the foyer.

Petunia looked much happier to see her sister. She walked forward with her hands out tentatively, and Lily immediately embraced her. "Thank you, Tuney."

"He was no trouble at all." Petunia looked less happy to see Sirius. "Come in, have some tea. Harry and Dudley are watching television."

Sirius made a face at Lily on their way into the kitchen. Seated at the table in the incredibly clean white kitchen, Lily and Sirius accepted cups of steaming hot tea. Vernon walked through the kitchen looking incensed, but Petunia ignored him.

"I was so worried," Petunia confessed, sitting down next to Lily with her cup of tea. "What happened?"

Lily looked at Sirius, and he shrugged. Even though her memory of the Death Eater attack had been removed, Petunia was already in over her head where it came to Statute of Secrecy material. "Do you remember the dark wizard I told you about? He possessed a girl I was taking care of. We freed her from possession but we're not sure whether she will ever regain consciousness."

Sirius looked sadly at Lily, who was holding back tears.

"Have you seen much of Severus Snape?" Petunia asked pointedly.

Lily set her nibbled chocolate biscuit down on the elaborately painted china plate. "Yes. He's been very supportive."

Sirius stifled a snort and Petunia gave her a chilly look. "Don't bring him around here, Lily. I don't think I can forgive him."

"For what, for when we were teenagers?"

"You might have forgiven him, but he made your life hell. And it's too soon for you to be seeing anyone, Lily."

"Why does everyone think it's their business?" Lily was flushed. "Severus has been amazing. He saved me so many times. I've been leaning on him to get through all this."

"You should think twice about trusting him," Petunia said. Sirius couldn't help but agree. "I realize you're an adult, but I just want what's best for you."

Lily sighed. "I promise you I'm looking out for myself." She changed the subject. "What did the little ones do all day?"

"They've been no trouble, except when they were fighting over a toy lorry. I found the second one in Dudley's toy chest but they only wanted to play with the one."

Lily smiled. "Listen, Petunia, we need to get back to Hogwarts. Thank you again. I can't imagine how I could ever repay you."

Petunia put her hands on her sister's upper arms and squeezed. "We haven't had the best relationship, but you're my baby sister. Anything you need, no matter what Vernon says."

Lily stepped forward and Petunia squeezed her tight. Sirius thought of Regulus with a pit in his stomach. Regulus had gone off years ago without a word. Sirius was jealous of Lily's growing rapport with her sister, but he wouldn't take it out on her.

"Harry, love, Mummy's here," Lily said, moving into the parlor. It was a cozily decorated room with brown velvet furniture. Pictures of baby Dudley dominated the decor. Harry and Dudley sat on the floor with toy trucks in their hands, watching cartoons. "We're going now, love. Say bye-bye to your cousin." Lily picked Harry up and he screeched, pounding his hands into her back. "Harry!" she scolded.

Sirius couldn't help laughing. "That's what you get for introducing him to Muggle life."

"Shut up, Sirius." Lily held a yawning boy on her shoulder as they went outside.

Severus stood nervously in the torch-lit entrance hall, waiting for Lily and Harry. His hands were clammy, and he rubbed them on his frock coat. It felt like everything was changing. Lily was on her way to Hogwarts to stay. He entertained a hope that she was coming to stay with him, but maybe it was just a necessity.

The sounds of chattering children and the enticing smell of roast chicken filtered in from the Great Hall, where dinner was well in progress. Severus's stomach growled.

Lily and Sirius opened the great oak door, letting in a rush of cold air. Harry lay draped over his mother's shoulder, fast asleep. Sirius patted Harry's back, saying goodnight before heading back outside.

"Hi," said Lily, adjusting Harry's slack weight on her shoulder. Severus bent down to kiss her on the cheek, feeling awkward. Her answering smile made him feel brave.

"Are you hungry? I can have the house-elves send something down."

"That would be amazing. I did have a biscuit at Petunia's."

"How did that go?" Severus asked dryly.

Lily chuckled. "Better than expected. She isn't interested in making friends with you, though."

Severus shrugged. "Not exactly a surprise. Shall we go?" He held out his arm and Lily steadied herself.

"How was St. Mungo's?"

"Melora is being kept comfortable. She has the best care possible. You don't need to worry anymore."

Severus didn't tell her what the chief Healer had told him. Melora had been stabilized, but she was rapidly losing her strength. Lily had enough grief and self-blame without this knowledge. Ripping out the Dark Lord's influence had pulled a great deal of Melora's soul out with it as if he were a bloodsucking parasite. She would likely never wake, and if she did, she would be a shell of a person.

Portraits murmured to each other from their gilded frames as they passed by. Severus heard his own name, and a few of the portraits recognized Lily as well.

Descending through the levels of Hogwarts castle was strange with Lily at his side. Severus remained conscious of her warm presence beside him.

"I had Harry's cot moved from Minerva's apartment," Severus said, hesitating. "I thought you might stay with me for now."

Lily turned to him and smiled over Harry's rumpled black hair. "I'd like that."

The Bloody Baron passed by them on the way down the last set of stairs that led to the dungeon. The specter floated over their heads, touching the brow of his feathered hat with two ghostly fingers.

Severus used his wand to open the Potions classroom, ushering Lily and Harry inside. The two of them followed him through his office and up the narrow, twisting staircase for several levels. Severus slowed down to make sure Lily could keep up while carrying the baby.

"It's not much," Severus apologized, opening the door to his apartment. He had cleaned the place within an inch of its life and lit a roaring fire, but it was still damp and gloomy. Lily shone in the dingy setting like a ruby in a jumble of pebbles. She carefully settled Harry down in the cot and pulled a light blanket up to his shoulders.

Lily and Severus stood awkwardly in the middle of the sitting room, looking shyly at each other. Finally, Severus walked forward, pulling her into his arms. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and he kissed her hair. "I'm glad you're here."

Lily reached up and held Severus's face in both hands. "Me too." She tipped his face down toward her and kissed him. His hands came up to bury themselves in her hair, drawing her closer. She ran her hands down his back, coming to rest at his waist. "Are you hungry right now?" she asked in a teasing voice.

"I could wait," he said against her lips.

Lily laced her fingers together with his and drew him toward the bedroom. "I think the baby will sleep for a while." Severus let himself be led.

Lily lit her wand, revealing the small and cramped bedroom. The room was completely bare of decoration except for a wardrobe, a steamer trunk, and a twin-size bed with a plain iron headboard. "It's not much," he said, feeling embarrassed.

"It's all right. You're here and that's what counts."

Severus couldn't believe his good fortune. Just a few months ago, Lily was the guilty dream of so many lonely nights. To have her here, in his room where he had spent so much time going over and over the missteps he had made, was amazing. He couldn't put it into words, so he simply sat down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. They fell over backward, laughing.

"Shush, you'll wake him up," Lily teased. "God, we should have left him with Professor McGonagall but then everyone would know exactly what we were up to."

Severus kissed her, and her mouth parted for him. For a moment, he wondered whether he was dreaming and he pleaded with himself not to wake up.

"It's going to be all over the school if you stay." He twisted his fingers in her auburn hair and looked over at her with a sad expression. "I'll understand if you can't do this."

Lily lay her finger across his lips to shush him. "I'm here with you. I'm not going anywhere unless you ask me to. I've wanted this. I've been lonely too."

He kissed her again, and this time she greedily pulled him on top of her. Stretching out beneath him, Lily ran her hands down over his back. "Make me forget about everything else," she said softly.

Afterward, they lay closely curled together beneath the thin wool blankets. Lily kept him warm, but when she pressed her face into his shoulder, her nose was cold. "I'll get us some more blankets," he promised her.

"I could do an extending charm on the bed too," she suggested. "I love you but these are tight quarters."

Severus's heart thumped out of time. "Did you mean that?"

Lily pushed her face into his bare shoulder. "Yes, I meant it. I've always loved you, ever since I was a little girl. Even when we hated each other, I loved you."

"And Potter?" Severus could have kicked himself for even mentioning Lily's dead husband and his own mortal enemy.

"I think you can love more than one person," she said, shifting over to lay her head on the single hard pillow. "I certainly loved him, and I always will. That kind of love doesn't just go away."

"I understand," Severus said, even though he didn't really. He was willing to take anything Lily could give to him, and he accepted that she might love him with a divided heart.

"This deep conversation is making me hungry." Lily sat up and reached for her flannel shirt. "You said the kitchen would send us some food?"

"I'll go call them." Severus slipped on an old-fashioned shirt with ties at the throat and wrists along with his work slacks.

When he went back into the living area, Harry drowsed in the cot. Severus made his requests through the Floo, and the food materialized on a side table.

Lily and Severus sat at his desk, pushing unmarked student scrolls out of the way. They took the covers off their plates and found steaming plates of roast chicken and potatoes.

"Living here must be great: no cooking, no cleaning."

Severus smirked around a mouthful of chicken. "I clean plenty in my classroom. Professor Slughorn took my classes today and I am not looking forward to what he did to my classroom."

"Do you think we will ever find him?"

Severus knew who Lily was talking about. "We're going to have to find that bird. He will be looking for a new host, a strong human host."

"We need to find a way to stop him before he does."

"We will," Severus said with more conviction than he felt.

End Note: Something for our Severus and Lily fans at last. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!