Ch 22 Rejection

IMPORTANT NOTE: hi people it's been a long time since I posted any kind of note and I am requesting you help to support me on P_A_T_R_E_O_N. i know it may be too much to ask but as you all know I have not been able to upload for a few months, it's because of my college and that makes it much hard for me to upload new chapters and I really hope to get some support from u guys because it would be really helpful to me and in the P_A_T_R_E_O_N you guys can also vote which novel should I post next or help me in noval editing works and stuff, I will also do my best to upload at least two chapters a day of any novel which i am uploading, so please support me guys thank you guys 🙂.

https://www.patreon.com/Tony_stark_3000?fan_landing=true&view_as=public

This is my P_A_T_R_E_O_N link please support me.thank you guys

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The night Lily made out with her best friend was the best she'd had in a very long while...but the morning after, not so much. Deprived of passionate teenage hormones, Lily had realized that perhaps she had moved a wee, tiny bit too fast for her own good. Severus was her best friend, who she cared deeply about to be sure, but she hadn't ever made it a practice to go snogging best friends before, no matter how much she cared about them.

Sure, there had been a few stray kisses, but none of them had come close to the moan-inducing, knee-buckling affair that had occurred the night prior. There had been evidence of...well, something between the two of them before, but now it had been proven beyond all doubt, and it was big, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it on her own. As such, feeling that some girl talk was in order, she had taken Sabrina and Mary aside as soon as they had a break between classes. However, upon doing so, she had been informed of a most unpleasant detail, courtesy of a smirking Mary.

"I was drunk!"

Seeming unruffled by Lily's scream, Mary simply continued smirking. "As it turns out, some of the students thought it would be amusing to see what would happen if they spiked the punch...the very punch you spent half the night imbibing. I don't know if you remember, but I actually had to help you get home when you were done with your live-action show." She paused, seeming to think. "I wouldn't be surprised if Severus was drunk too, given how much he seemed to be drinking. I wouldn't be surprised if he had to spend the night in the Hospital Wing."

Lily's head ached, images of her and Severus in a passionate embrace skittering through her mind, seeming tainted in the light of day. In a low voice, she nearly growled, "So what you're telling me is that I snogged Sev, my best friend, in front of half of Hogwarts...and I was drunk out of my bloody mind! I mean, I didn't feel so good getting out of bed, but drunk!"

"Completely," replied Mary, her smirk widening to a grin, clearly enjoying herself. "If it helps, it seemed like you were enjoying yourself. Hell, you practically grabbed his hand and crushed it against your-"

"Gah! Do we really need to hear that?" cried Sabrina, until now silent, an expression of near-illness on her face. Shuddering, she glared at Mary, "The poor girl looks traumatized from the experience anyway! Do we have to torment her?"

"What? I remember you yammering on and on about how you and Remus were-"

"That's completely different! Besides-"

"Could both of you just shut up!" shouted Lily, interrupting them both with a screech. As they stopped, a chagrined look on each face, she took a breath and continued in a quieter tone of voice, "Please take a moment to think about how awkward this is going to be for me, just one moment! I need to go talk to Severus about a kiss that may or may not have meant nothing, because I was completely smashed when I kissed him, him too, and I have absolutely no clue what I should say! Hell, how do I even bring it up? 'Hey, Sev, how about how I tried to stick my tongue down your throat last night'?"

There was a slight pause, then Mary chuckled. "Well, that would certainly be an interesting way to bring up the subject." Her expression turned more serious. "But what really matters is how you feel about it, I would think."

Lily blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, I'd think it would be kind of important, wouldn't you?" replied Mary calmly, stroking her chin absentmindedly. "I mean, the conversation's going to go very differently depending on whether or not you thought the kiss was a good thing. If you didn't want it, then it's really just a simple matter of telling him you want to stay 'just friends', but if you did...well, then you've got more to think about. So which is it?"

"Well...I..." Lily floundered, paralyzed with a growing blush.

"This is so stupid," muttered Sabrina, looking away from both of them.

"Let's keep it simple," said Mary, ignoring Sabrina's comment. "Did you, or did you not, like kissing him?"

Her face crimson, Lily couldn't look at Sabrina as she replied, "I...yes, I liked kissing him." Oh Merlin, this was embarrassing. "It was like...I felt my knees buckle, even though we were sitting down. If we'd been standing, I'd probably have fallen on top of him."

"Alright, that's a start," replied the brunette, ignoring their fellow blonde's outraged spluttering. "Now, where would you like to go from there? A date? A relationship? Friends with Benefits?"

"Mary!"

Mary shrugged. "Just letting her know her options...well, more or less."

Lily bit her lip. What did she want? She was pretty sure that she wasn't trying to go for a "Friends with Benefits" sort of deal...but did she want to make Severus her boyfriend or something? Could there be a future with her snarky, unhealthily-thin best friend? Nodding slowly, she took a deep breath. "I think...I'll see if he'd be interested in doing something together sometime, like a date."

Sabrina squawked with outrage, but Mary merely smirked and said, "Well, there you go. Ask him out and see how he feels."

"Alright, thanks for your help. I've got to get to class, anyway." Taking another deep breath, Lily walked away, hearing Sabrina muttering, "This is not going to end well."

Right then, she didn't mind, a sense of giddiness enveloping her, warming her from the inside out.

Although she had told Mary and Sabrina that she needed to get to class, it was a shorter walk than she thought...that, and she had been skipping part of the way. As she crossed the threshold of the classroom, she saw Severus standing in a corner, a frown on his face. She paused, taking a deep breath. All right, now was her chance, she was going to ask Severus if he'd be interested in going out on a date, exploring what that something between them was.

Taking another step, she froze as she realized that Severus wasn't alone. Mulciber was with him, clearly talking although she couldn't hear him; apparently, they had put up a Muffliato spell or something. She considered dispelling it, but before she could Mulciber smiled, clapping a hand on Severus' back, and walked away. Severus had a troubled look on his face, as he turned and walked over to their usual spot.

Frowning, she walked over and sat beside Severus, who was staring at his cauldron moodily. She wondered what he and Mulciber had been talking about, after how Mulciber had laughed at the idea of the two of them being friends the night of the party. What could it mean? Curious, she asked, "Sev? What did Mulciber want to talk to you about?"

There was no response, Severus continuing to stare motionlessly at the empty pewter cauldron.

Taking another deep breath, this time to stave off her annoyance and dread (what if he just didn't want to talk to her), she poked him in the arm and said in a louder voice, "Hey, Severus!"

He whirled around, almost falling to the floor as his chair didn't follow him. Several of their classmates laughed, making both blush. After they calmed down, Severus muttered, his eyes fastened at something somewhere to the right of her ear, "Sorry, I didn't see you sit down."

"Don't worry about it. You have a lot on your mind, I guess." said Lily, forcing a smile in an effort to comfort him, putting her 'date plan' to the back of her mind for the moment. "Was Mulciber bothering you?"

Severus shook his head, lowering his gaze. "I don't know...he wanted to ask me something."

"What did he ask?" Lily frowned darkly. "I can't believe he'd even try, barely a day after saying he'd never been friends with you."

"I suppose he wasn't," said Severus thoughtfully. "My friend that is. He never was... Of course, I wasn't much of a friend to him either, really."

Lily blinked. "Huh?"

"Never mind...it's complicated." Severus sighed, turning back to his cauldron. "Do you know what we're working on today, anyway?"

"Not sure...and what did Mulciber want to ask of you?"

"I..." Severus glanced at her, a guilty look on his face. "You s-see..." Severus stammered. "It's like-"

"Alright class, let's get started." Slughorn pointed his wand at the blackboard, interrupting their conversation. "Today, we've got a particularly interesting potion to work on..."

For once ignoring the teacher, Lily whispered, "Tell me after class, no interruptions."

Severus nodded, turning his attention to his cauldron.

The potion assigned by the professor proved no trouble, as both of them had mastered it long ago during their private study sessions, the only question being who would provide the most sublime example of utter perfection. This however, gave Lily plenty of time to think, her thoughts returning to the subject that had bothered her so much earlier that day. The determination of that morning threatened to fade, like the morning mist before the rising sun. Mary had made it seem so simple when they talked, but now it seemed so much more complicated, because this was her best friend they were talking about.

She glanced over at him, studying his face until he noticed and, red-faced, turned away. She wondered what he was thinking; did he think about last night, feeling his heart race at the thought of what had happened...or was he feeling guilty that he might have led her on? Was he perhaps trying to think of a nice way to say that he had just been so utterly piss-drunk that he had just let things get out of hand? He hadn't seemed to oppose her the other times they had kissed, or that 'not-date' of theirs, but he hadn't ever said anything that might indicate that he wanted to really date her.

Stirring her cauldron with practiced ease, Lily imagined all the things he could say, all the ways he might react... This really could ruin their friendship, she knew. She had seen all sorts of friendships break up over the issue of romance, whether in competition over another person, or simply being unable to take a particularly painful break-up. The idea of that happening was horrifying; it would be heart-shattering if her friendship with Severus, so painstakingly repaired after what had happened last June, were to die over the matter of something as stupid as a date or the like.

For the first time in a long time, she honestly wondered if things might not have been better if the two of them had never been friends to begin with, as if that were the case...well, it would be so much simpler, wouldn't it? If he said no, so what? He would have been just some guy after all. No big deal, really.

"Hey, Lily?" Severus' tentative voice seemed to float in the air, unsure of where to land.

"Uh...what is it?" asked Lily nervously. Was this going to be about last night?

Severus took a deep breath, then let it out, his eyes closing as he whispered guiltily, "I just wanted to know...last night...did I hit you?"

Lily blinked, then blinked again at the strangeness of his question. "Huh?" she asked intelligently.

Severus opened his eyes again. "I was really drunk last night and I don't remember much of anything...except...well, drunken stuff..." Seeming to realize he was rambling, he grimaced. "Look, just be completely honest with me in this; did I hit you? I...I need to know."

Lily scrutinized his face carefully. He seemed earnest in his question, but did he really not remember anything? "No, Sev, you didn't hit me... Are you sure you don't remember anything?"

"I remember talking to Mulciber, Evelyn apologizing to me..." He paused, furrowing his brow. "You were apologizing to me about something...but then things." He blushed, finishing lamely, "I think I fell asleep."

"Hmm..." Lily blushed herself, knowing that the 'dream' he had probably had was very real indeed. "Well, that's most of it, anyway."

"Alright." With that, silence fell upon the two of them again, Lily momentarily wondering about his absurd question...but soon returning to the same problem she had been facing before, even as class ended (she vaguely heard Slughorn congratulating her over having the best potion today): was she really willing to risk their friendship over something that might prove to be nothing more than a single drunken mistake on his part? Maybe it was best if she just forgot about it, at least until she had a better idea of how he'd respond... He might reject her, laugh at her, scream that-

Lily paused, a thought striking her. Would Severus really do something like that if she asked him out on a date? Would he really scream or laugh at her, someone as loyal as he was?

She laughed at the thought, causing Severus to give her a strange look at her. "What's so funny, Lily?"

Chuckling, she grinned at him. "Oh nothing, just realized I was being absurd. Say Sev..." she spoke lightly, laughter easing her tongue, "...would you like to do something together sometime, just the two of us? I'd like to make it a date, if you're not opposed to it."

"I see..."There was an awkward moment of silence, a series of expressions passing across his face as quickly as ripples on the water while Lily waited for his reply.

Finally, he frowned, sounding apologetic as he said, "I...I don't think that would be a good idea. Sorry, Lily."

"Oh..." The silence stretched on again, this time due to the sense of gravity that seemed to be pulling her into the ground, swallowing her whole.

"I see..." Lily forced a smile, quickly turning away as she felt a burning heat in her eyes. "It's no big deal, was just curious is all." And really, it wasn't, right? It had been just one harmless little date between friends, and Severus hadn't even been rude, cruel or angry at all. He just hadn't been interested, that's all. It didn't hurt...

Really, it didn't.

"Okay..." Severus seemed as if there was something he wanted to say, but instead he simply stood there, watching her. "Should we be going to the great hall?" he asked lamely. "I heard that they're serving dinner now...because it's dinner."

"Nah, I just remembered," replied Lily in a breezy tone she didn't feel. "I forgot to get my homework done for um...tomorrow's Transfiguration. I'll see you later..."

"I..." Severus seemed about to say something, then faltered. "I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," but rather than walk away, Lily paused, and before she could stop herself, she remarked, "Hey, Sev, you know that dream?"

Severus' face now bore a guarded expression. "Yes..."

"Well, it was no dream." Lily looked him right in the eye, almost angry as she said, "We snogged each other in front of everyone, and that's real, whether you like it or not!"

"We...snogged?"

"Yeah, we did. And it sure seemed that you liked it, too!"

"We snogged..." he repeated dazedly, looking as if she had told him Dumbledore was part-Veela. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. More composed now, he nodded, muttering, "I'm sorry, I still don't think that would be a good idea...even if...yeah."

"Alright then..." Her anger fading into embarrassment, she looked away, trying to think of something to salvage the situation. Luckily, they had been alone.

"Yeah..."

"I guess...I'll see you later, Sev." Quickly striding away before she humiliated herself further, Lily bit her lip, trying to ignore the tears trailing down her face...and the quiet pain filling her chest.

Later that day, Lily was heading down to eat dinner, deciding to brave the questioning eyes for the sake of getting something to eat, when a much-unwelcome shadow crossed her path.

Evelyn Matthews stood there, calmly looking back as she said politely, "Hey Evans, may I have a word with you?"

Lily's jaw tightened. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she managed to maintain a thin veneer of politeness as she replied, "After careful consideration, no. You may not have a word with me."

Evelyn nodded, but nonetheless continued, "It's about Severus. Would you please talk to him about something for me?"

"No, I'm not going to talk to him for you." Lily glared at Evelyn, her hands on her hips and hoping desperately that she didn't look quite as pathetic as she felt right then. Being told 'not interested' by someone you were asking out was no picnic. Thinking about Severus again certainly didn't help her mood either. "I'm not going to do anything to him for you, save making sure that you never talk to him again. Now, if you would like me to do that,I would gladly help you."

Evelyn ignored her. "Professor Slughorn told me that if Severus doesn't finish tutoring me for the semester, he'll only get half the pay for his work. That's money he needs with his mom dead and unable to provide for him, I believe." She looked away. "I'd tell Severus myself, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to talk to me."

Unable to believe what she was hearing, Lily asked incredulously, "You want me to threaten Severus so he'll tutor you again? Are your grades that pathetic or do you just enjoy tormenting him?"

"It's not like that. It's just..." The Ravenclaw girl sighed, sounding tired. "Look, it's Severus' job, so-"

"Well, on behalf of Severus then, 'no'!" shouted Lily, barely keeping herself from slapping the other girl. "I'm sure he'd rather lose half his pay for a cruddy tutoring job than deal with a backstabbing traitor."

Evelyn sneered at her. "It's not your place to decide that sort of thing for him, now is it? Just tell him what Slughorn said, alright?"

"No!" Lily clenched her hands into fists, retorting savagely, "Why don't you find another tutor instead? No-one's as good, sure, but there has to be someone who would help you if you gave them a ride or two, nothing you'd mind, I'm sure!"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes, but managed to say politely, "If Severus would just talk to me, then maybe we could work something out with Slughorn...maybe. And I don't want another tutor, thank you."

Lily growled, glaring back at her as she shot back, "Sure giving those 'fake smiles' wouldn't be such a big trouble for you? You said you suffered soooo much in talking to him; sure you wouldn't be bothered too much to deal with 'a disgusting freak'? After all, it's only a grade, and it's not like you'd be-"

"Shut up!" screeched Evelyn, screaming at the top of her lungs. Seeing everyone in the hallway staring at them, she took a deep breath, then looked away. After a few seconds, she spoke with gritted teeth, "Look, do you want me to apologize? Fine! I'm sorry I said that, any of it. I was lying and angry and humiliated, thanks to him, not that you'd possibly understand that."

Lily frowned, surprised at how...how much it seemed to matter to her, then she remembered...

"You know, Severus, I've got a little theory..."

Her voice hardened, icy cold as she replied. "You were humiliated? So what! I'm sure you get that all the time, given how you act. Leave Severus alone, or else."

Evelyn reached for her wand, voice burning hatefully. "Or else what, Evans? Going to hex me again? Look, just tell Severus I want to talk to him, alright? That's all I want."

"...I'll bet that anyone would give their right arm to never talk to you again if they weren't getting something from you..."

Her hand on her own wand, Lily took another deep breath to calm herself so she wouldn't hex the girl. Succeeding barely, she ground out, "I've had enough of dealing with two-faced little toerags this week to last a life-time. I'm not telling Sev to talk to any more of them, especially not you, after you said all that to him. Now, crawl back to your disgusting little hole and leave me and Severus alone!"

Evelyn spoke in the same, carefully controlled tones, watching Lily's wand. "I was lying, I don't really think that about him. Now would you let me talk to him?"

"...not counting your mom, since she'd want to talk to you regardless... Oh, wait..."

There was a brief pause, then Lily snorted with contempt.

"Ohhhh...so you were lying. I see! That makes it so much better!" replied Lily in a voice dripping with loathing sarcasm. "You told him that everyone he knew despised him, that he was some disgusting freak, that everyone wished that he didn't even exist, and it's alright because you're sorry and you didn't mean it?"

"...your mom hated you so much, was so disgusted by the idea of seeing a little freak like you again that she killed herself last December, mere days before she'd be inflicted with your presence again..."

Quick as lightning, Lily grabbed Evelyn's wand-arm and squeezed it as hard as she could, making the other girl yelp in pain, even as Lily continued furiously, her own wand jabbing the other girl's neck, "You told him his mother, his dead mother, offed herself because she couldn't stand the very idea of seeing him again, that she was so appalled by her horrible freak of a son that she'd rather be dead than spend one sodding minute with him! And now you're standing here, telling me that you're sorry and didn't mean it! I don't care if you didn't mean it! Take your sorry and bloody shove it! And never, ever talk to Severus again, you filthy, diseased little whore!"

Evelyn glared back, but said nothing.

"...Frankly, I envy her. She doesn't have to suffer through you anymore..."

Lily let her go, throwing her arm away from her as she turned around, only to see the other few students in the hall watching with stunned looks on their faces, save for Sirius Black. She blinked upon seeing the look on his face, surprised.

Sirius was actually glaring at her, disgusted.

She heard Evelyn's voice, coldly polite as she spoke, "Sorry Evans, but I consider your terms...unacceptable.""

Incensed, Lily whirled around with wand in hand and a hex on her lips, only to find that the girl had already vanished around the corridor. Frowning as she mentally swore to hex her next time she had a chance, Lily continued her walk, glad that at least she had managed to get thoughts of Severus rejecting her out of her mind...

...Darn it.

"Expecto Patronum."

Many times over the past several months had found Lily sharing the Potion's classroom with Severus, to the point that it was tacitly considered to be 'their place' by most of the school apart from during class hours.

"Expecto Patronum."

Sometimes there was laughter (mostly Lily's-Severus only giving a quick snicker or chuckle), often there was companionable silence (save for quiet murmurs and the sounds of smiles), rarely there were explosions (the path to a perfect potion runs oft not smooth), and for the past couple of months there had been spell-casting, lots and lots of spell-casting as the two of them tried to finish up the Patronus spell...

...until the past few days, at least. That was when things had changed. Lily had managed to finish her Patronus spell, successfully summoning an owl, and Severus had...

"Expecto Patronum." Even as he cast his spell, she noticed him watching her out of the corner of her eyes, his gaze calm and evaluating, like she was one of his Potions.

Shivering, Lily closed her eyes, trying to ignore the strange silence in the air.

The two of them sat together, one continuously casting the same spell, with the same poor results as before-after many attempts he had finally started managing to summon white mist, but no more than that. Given that exams were barely days away, it was not encouraging. Meanwhile, Lily kept her eyes firmly shut, wanting simultaneously to gain soothing comfort from his presence and pretend that he didn't exist.

"Expecto Patronum."

Not looking at him seemed to help, if barely. The problem was, even though she was hurting (and it was so stupid for her to be hurting; they had never been an item at all for Merlin's sake!) and being all weird, she somehow felt that it would be worse if she wasn't with him. Mary had been sympathetic, but Lily didn't want to talk to her about it, preferring to stay here with Severus. How ridiculous was that? That the very person who caused her to hurt like this was the only one she wanted beside her while she was suffering?

Opening her eyes, Lily swallowed as she stared into his for a brief moment before glancing away. Licking her lips lightly before speaking, her voice falsely-bright even to her own ears, she tried to make conversation, "So...anything interesting happening in Slytherin house of late?"

The halting of the monotone chant was the only reaction, before a tired voice escaped the shadow sitting before her, "What would you define as interesting, Lily?"

Forcing a smile, she shrugged her slender shoulders, "Well, per Sirius Black, there's Dark rituals, Death Eater meetings, and wild orgies around the clock in Slytherin." Her grin turned genuine for a moment. "Somehow I doubt things are quite like that, but it would be rather ironic..."

Severus paused, Lily easily able to imagine the nonplused look on his face as he replied, "I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest idea of what you are talking about. I suppose the most 'interesting' thing to happen of late would be the party the night before last."

Lily's eyes flew wide open in surprise. Whipping her head around, she couldn't keep a small quaver from her voice as she asked, "Really? How was it?"

Severus' face still bore that odd, contemplative look as he looked back at her, replying quietly, "I wasn't invited." The unspoken words 'not that it was a surprise' lingered in the air, although the cunning young Slytherin didn't say anything more.

"Oh...I see." With that, the dread awkwardness reclaimed possession of the room once more, Severus' face still unchanged from the cold, calculating mask it had become of late.

Lily looked away again, neither liking nor understanding that look. She hoped it would vanish soon, that the awkwardness brought on by her asking out Severus would disappear and leave their friendship unharmed.

Sighing, she returned to the letter she had been writing:

Mom,

Sorry it's been so long since I sent a letter; I guess I've been rather distracted of late. I've been helping Severus deal with a fiasco, exams and other things...and I kinda forgot. I've missed you though, very much. I hope that you're doing well.

I'm passing all of my classes, partially thanks to some help from a friend. Speaking of which...

...I've been asked to go on a tour of Europe this summer by James Potter, the boy who came with me and Severus' to dad's funeral. It would be with him and his friend, Sirius Black. Both of them are in my house at Hogwarts. Would that be alright, even though I'd be going alone with two teenage boys? They'd be paying for it all, but I don't know how many weeks or months it would be, so if you say 'no', it's perfectly all right.

If I can't go, then we'll be able to see each other all Summer. It's been so long...especially since we didn't have much time to talk at the funeral.

Lots of Love,

Lily

Lily frowned down at her letter, biting her lip as a thought struck her. Her mother would never say yes to her request when she phrased it like that, she knew. Between the mentioning of two boys and the lack of a time frame, there was no way she'd get permission. The strange thing was that she found that she didn't particularly care if she got said permission...odd.

She glanced over at Severus, wondering what he would be doing over the Summer...before remembering with a start what Evelyn had said about his tutoring position. She barely suppressed a grimace at the thought. She had told Severus what Evelyn had said, both out of fury at the tart and wanting Severus to know about the threat she had posed. Lily had hoped that he would be angry, furious, so enraged that he'd lose control in a wave of passion and slam his lips against-

"Expecto Patronum."

Shaking her head frantically, she blushed deeply as she broke off that particular train of thought.

Besides, the reality had been quite different; rather from becoming angry, Severus had gotten this hurt look on his face as he turned away...seeming sad, almost regretful... It was at times like those that Lily particularly hated that...that cruel monster which took the shape of a normal girl, that disgusting piece of already-chewed gum she so longed to remove from Severus' memory.

She paused, a red flush burning her cheeks, before swallowing her rage. Working herself into a frenzy of hate wasn't going to help anyone, not right now. In an effort to distract herself, the angry Gryffindor glanced at Severus' book-bag, which laid wide-open. There, the usual supply of advanced textbooks, although no library books this time-shame he has no desire to use that great brain of his for anything other than high notes and Dark magic-a few quills, a vaguely-familiar piece of parchment with 'Perseus' written on it, a ink bottl-wait!

Is that my letter? Maybe a little better glance would help... Looking out of Severus out of the corner of her eyes to make certain he was engrossed in his wand-work and not staring at her again, Lily carefully slipped her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the bag, whispering, "Accio." It was as weak as she could possibly make it, just enough to make more of it visible.

Dear Perseus,

Hey, how have you been doing of late? Has your owl died or something? Because I'm starting to wonder why you haven't responded for so long. It's nearly the end of May! Just in case, I told my owl to wait until you gave it your say-so to leave, so you can send it back using my own.

Have you been thinking any more about that-

The letter ended there. It was mostly crumpled, but still clearly her most recent message to Perseus. Littered with furious scribbles and torn in places, the rest of it was clearly illegible.

Apparently, he didn't want to speak to Medusa either.

The thought caused her to fight tears before furiously looking away. Knocking her chair to the ground, she stood up, unable to sit there in front of him.

"Lily? What's wrong?" Severus sounded worried, concerned about her.

Somehow, this only made her angry. "Oh, why do you care anyway?" she spat, her natural temper bursting at him.

He looked at her then, his eyes neither calculating nor contemplating. Slowly, he said, "I care because you're my best friend, Lily."

...or cherish you for all the times you've been there to help me, when you've been at my side with your faith in me burning a bright hole in your sleeves, trusting me to be so much more than I am..."

Lily blushed, her anger slipping away. Wistful, she smiled at him. "Yeah, you've been a very good friend, Sev. I just wish..." She broke off, looking away.

There was a moment of silence, then Severus said quietly, "Actually, I need to get going. There's something I've been meaning to write, if that's alright."

Lily glanced at him, curious. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Severus looked down, starting to pack his bag, not seeming to notice the letter peeking out of it. "I'll see you tomorrow, I think.

"Alright, can't wait."

And for some reason, in spite of the hurt she still felt, it was the truth.