Severus Snape and the Siren: A Snily Tale

Chapter 14 - Damsel in Distress

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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As summer classes resumed on Monday, Severus and Lily stole glances at each other throughout each period.

It bothered Severus that each time Lily looked at him, he saw a frown on her lips and an unreadable expression in her eyes.

Was that guilt?

........Relief?

........Regret?

Later that evening, Severus slipped out of the castle with his handful of Gillyweed and followed Lily on her nightly stroll down to the Black Lake.

As she undressed, he hurriedly slipped his clothes off as well until he stood only in his greying boxers.

He glanced over in time to see her disappear underneath the water, after which, he stuffed the Gillyweed into his mouth and promptly did the same.

It only took a moment for his gills to form.

The process was much less painful than he had imagined and with his new, temporary improvements, he had no trouble trailing behind Lily as she bolted through the water.

Severus quickly learned there were several, odd-looking openings at the very bottom of the Black Lake.

Severus followed Lily as she swam through one tunnel after another, across the inner workings of those hidden arteries.

He wondered if his limbs would survive the punishing exercise his darling flower put him through until Lily turned down yet another long passageway only to emerge in a current of salty, warm water.

Severus breathed through his temporary gills as he stayed a reasonable distance behind her while she headed towards the surface.

He realized they must have reached their destination at last.

As Lily moved towards a darkness that hovered above the water, Severus continued to loyally follow her.

Without so much as gasping, she emerged from the ocean into a cavernous grotto, deep beneath a village nestled proudly on the cliff above.

Severus carefully stayed on the outskirts of the grotto's edge and allowed the night to conceal him from view as he lifted his face out of the water, eager to see and hear what would happen next.

He narrowed his eyes to slits as he watched Lily step from the sea onto the sandy terrain of the grotto, towards to a trio of bare women.

His body stilled as he treaded only enough water to keep him in place, not wanting to make an audible splash and draw attention to himself.

"Circe." He heard Lily greet the first woman, who stood with her blood red hair bound and braided in elegant coils.

Severus narrowed his eyes as he recognized the siren largely responsible for the destruction of Voldemort's ship.

"Ligeia." Lily nodded at the second woman, who had such dark skin and hair that her flawlessly white and blue eyes radiated under the beam of moonlight which jutted into the grotto like an unwelcome leer.

Ligeia nodded before Lily turned to the third siren, "........Raidne." She greeted the last of the trio, an olive-skinned woman with jet-black hair and matching eyes.

Severus watched Lily incline her head in a low bow of deep respect as the three sirens narrowed their eyes at her.

The trio Lily had come to greet all shared differing characteristics yet similar traits.