After All That Time?

by Kiley S. Jensen

Severus knew what lie ahead of him...death...the unknown. The one respite he had whilst waiting to Death to seize him was that he got to see her, his Lily, one last time...he got to see those green eyes full of life. Severus' body burned with Nagini's poison and his shallow breaths grew shorter, and soon, his breathing stopped altogether.

He could feel eyes on him, and the feel of a mattress under him. Severus slowly opened his eyes and found the untainted purity of the face of a little girl. All he could do was stare at the child, she was perfect- something he had never once thought of a small child, but this girl was different.

"Are you awake?" she whispered, looking at him with eyes identical to his own.

Severus' hand reached out on its own accord to run his fingers through her red hair...she looked so much like Lily, he never wanted to blink- for fear of her vanishing like smoke. "Yes," he replied faintly.

"Mummy says pancakes are ready."

Mummy? Surely it couldn't actually be her, could it? Severus rose from the bed, and looked down at the little girl, who had her arms outstretched to him. Her request was not one Severus could deny, he lifted her into her arms, and then walked out of the bedroom. What he saw in the kitchen made him want to cry out with joy.

Lily had her back to them a she placed the steaming pancakes onto three plates. Her beautiful scarlet hair was piled on the top of her head with a few strands falling down to caress her face. When she turned, a smile transformed her face...Severus could hardly believe that he was the cause of such a smile, and that she was actually here, looking at him like that. "Breakfast," she announced, and Severus' heart lept at the sound of her voice. How long had it been since he heard that voice, surely it was easily more than seventeen years?

Severus barely noticed the little girl, whom he now knew to be his daughter...with Lily, wiggle out of his arms and rush to the table. All he could do was look at Lily; she was perfect, more perfect than any memory he had of her. She smiled at him once more, and made her way to him. His heart pounded in his chest, and instinctively his arms reached out to her as they had desperately desired to do so many times in the past. Lily came into his arms easily; her emerald eyes gazed up at him and Severus looked back.

"After all that time, Sev?" Lily asked as she drew his face closer to hers, her lips tilting upwards with promise.

"Always."

Fin.