Lily Lives On

Slytherdor Ball

The last-minute party was about to begin in the Great Hall, where, thanks to magic, the house elves as well as teachers were able to pull off breathtaking decorations in wine red, viridian green, silver and gold. When they took a step back to inspect their new creations, they couldn't think of a better name for the event:

SLYTHERDOR BALL

Therefore, they decided to merge the Gryffindor and Slytherin crest in a way that made the animal in the middle of it half-lion, half-snake (which sounds horrendous but actually, it looked quite sublime, like an Egyptian god). They hung the crest above the teachers' table, which they had turned into a giant buffet.

At precisely 8 o'clock, the students were let in and the celebration could finally begin.

Lily was waiting for Severus at the entrance. She had changed into a classy viridian dress and tied her hair up in a flowing ponytail. She was wondering why Severus was taking so much time to prepare - after all, he had explicitly warned her that he owned no dress robes whatsoever.

She caught something out of the corner of her eye and almost jumped in surprise when she saw Severus standing there, smiling at her slyly. He was wearing another set of black robes, which he had, at least, embellished with a silky bow-tie - a humorous, but not embarrassing, final touch. But the main thing that was different about him was the hair. It wasn't greasy anymore - it looked like a flowy, silky black mane. In fact, it looked like he had stolen it from somebody else's scalp entirely.

"W-who are you and what have you done to Severus Snape?"

"I am Snape 2.0," he said with a perfectly straight face.

Lily burst into so much laughter he could see her eyes tear up. "You really are something special, Sev."

They stepped in the Great Hall. And this time, it was Severus who started laughing, because was laughing at the Slytherdor crest animal.

"What in the name of Merlin is this?" he blurted out and pointed at the animal with his finger.

Lily stared at it wide-eyed. "It's... Slythindor."

"Slytherdor, in fact," they heard a loud male voice behind them. They turned around to see a pleasant sight - their favourite former teacher - Horace Slughorn.

Lily's eyes filled with joy. "Professor! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Please, call me Horace!" he bellowed with a wide smile. Then, he took them both by their shoulders. "Slytherdor, my dear friends, is something I wouldn't miss under any circumstance. It is probably the most unique thing in Hogwarts at the moment."

Then he leaned closer to Severus: "I heard that you blasted Gryffindor to ashes," and he laughed.

Severus smirked and nodded.

Horace pointed at the giant crest above the teachers' table. "This is such a refreshing thing to see. This night is truly special, thanks to you two."

"There are people who do not share your enthusiasm," Lily said and pointed at a group of Gryffindors who were clearly arguing among each other, pointing frantically at the temporary crest, gesturing wildly. They seemed to want nothing more than to destroy it.

"Oh, do not mind the haters, my friends. This evening belongs to you two only. You deserve it! Now if you will excuse me, I have some more people to catch up with. I'll talk to you later. I just came to tell you how proud I am that you were my students."

Severus smiled at him. "Thank you, professor." Then he turned to Lily while pointing at the dance floor. "Shall we?"

"Oh, what happened to that 'no, I can't go to the ball with you because I can't dance' thing you used to tell me whenever I wanted to go with you?"

Severus shrugged. "Those were different times."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Was it actually because you were ashamed of our friendship back then and didn't want your Slytherin friends to see us together too often?"

Severus' black eyes pierced into hers. "True," he said simply. "But I like to think I am not as stupid as I used to be."

Lily smiled at him so warmly that he felt his heart melting. "Let's go," she said.

With their fingers intertwined, they stepped onto the dance floor, right in the middle. Several people turned their heads. Lily was blushing a bit. Severus looked so charming that she felt her legs wobble a bit. Suddenly, she felt his hand caressing her cheek, looking in her eyes with so much tenderness and love that she fought the urge to cry.

"What's the matter?" he whispered.

"Sev..." - was all she could say before she kissed him and wrapped him in her arms, pressing her chest against his. He felt so warm, responsive, alive. It was such a huge difference from when they were kids - he had always been a cold, apathetic, even cruel boy. And now... He was a completely different person.

All of a sudden, she felt Severus embracing her even tighter, smothering her even... He connected his arms behind her back, clutching his forearm and drawing in a few shallow breaths. Lily, completely blinded by his hair and unable to breathe properly because of the pressure, whispered in his hair:

"Is he calling you?"

He nodded into her shoulder. Lily could feel him suppressing a scream of pain.

"He is angry," he mumbled. "He wants to punish me for allowing this- " he pointed at the Slytherdor crest " -to happen."

"D-don't go. Stay here. You are safe at Hogwarts."

"No, Lily. If the Dark Lord decides to go to Hogwarts to get me, he will. If there is anything I learned from traitors, it is that there is nowhere a Death Eater can hide from his master."

"Then let us finish this dance, at least."

Again, he nodded into her shoulder and then buried his nose in her hair. However, they weren't really dancing anymore because they were clutching each other so tightly they could barely move.

When the music stopped, she inspected his face. "Snape 2.0" was gone. All that remained was the snarky, cold-blooded Death Eater he had chosen to be all those years ago.

He let go of her and disappeared from the ballroom to apparate.

And then something or someone brushed against her arm. When she looked at the spot, she found that she was holding a ball of paper in her hand. She unfolded the letter. It said:

SLYTHERDOR - HOW UTTERLY DISGUSTING AND DISAPPOINTING.

HE WILL SUFFER NOW.

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.