Always (SNILY): Angst, Multiple POV, Dark Romance

Chapter Two

Lily sat alone at the wooden dining table of Severus' residence, swirling a glass of fragranced mead. Her head hurt. Severus always seemed to summon her at odd hours of the night and tonight was no different. One in the morning hardly seemed like an appropriate time to be eating dinner.

"Did it work?" Lily broke the silence as she rubbed at her bleary eyes. "Did he take the potion?"

"He did." Severus spoke directly, but his features were distant. Cold.

Severus had become hardened over the years. The melancholy boy she had met in childhood sat before her as a sharpened weapon of the night. The soft features of his face were gone, leaving nothing but stoic lines and shadows. Dark magic rippled off him in unseen waves, permeating the air between them.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Lily prodded, "You hardly exhibit a sense of victory."

Severus barked a laugh. "There are no victories in this war, Lily."

Lily was confused.

"Lily."

"Severus."

"Stop worrying and join me." Severus gestured towards the chair next to him by the fire.

He was still dressed in his death eater garb and his robes puddled on the ground below his feet. The burning fire casting him in a haunting silhouette.

Lily got up from her chair and walked over. Standing over him from behind, she pushed his hair over his shoulders and leaned her forehead against his. His musky scent was familiar. Something between worn mahogany and fresh laid snow. He smelled like the night.

No matter the turmoil that had come between them, Severus felt like home. They'd gone their separate ways once Severus began his journey into the dark arts, but there was something about him that Lily often refused to acknowledge. She wanted him.

"It's getting late, Severus. I should get back." Lily spoke as her lips lay pressed against the pale skin of his forehead.

Severus fidgeted and loosed a breath. "If that's what you want."

"Sirius and James will start wondering where I am," Lily sighed. "I can only feign ignorance for so long."

"Hm."

Lily and Severus had only recently reconnected and were on opposing sides of a godsdamned war. Severus was a death eater, for Merlin's sake. A willing servant of Voldemort's army. Sirius, James and the rest of The Order would never allow such a formidable relationship to blossom. She'd be nothing but a liability.

"Voldemort will likely be returning from beyond the veil tomorrow morning." Severus sat up and brushed a hand through his ruffled hair. "And will have made minimal progress navigating the realm... he will need me to procure more potion for future visits."

Lily was tempted to laugh. What was this— a summer holiday? Severus had illuminated little of his plan to Lily. She knew he had planned to exploit some dormant weakness in Voldemort but how going beyond the veil accomplished that, she didn't know.

"What is it you are anticipating he will find in the realm of the dead?" Lily asked, unable to restrain her curiosity.

"That... is privileged information." He peered down at her with a playful smirk. "I might be willing to satisfy your curiosity if you're willing to... satisfy mine."

Severus stared at her through darkened eyes and Lily felt every cell in her body bow in reverence. Lily took a shallow breathe and shook her head.

"I can't tell if I love it or hate it when you look at me like that." Lily responded, tugging on the frays of her shirt.

Lily knew that Severus enjoyed this. Pushing and prodding her. She needed to leave before she did anything stupid.

"I won't be around tomorrow—" Lily uncurled to her feet and stared at him. "I wish you luck, Severus."

Severus was still staring at her with his lips tugged in a cruel smile, showcasing the whites of his canines. His darkness was calling to her.

Severus reached an arm out, as if to pull her into him, but Lily had beat him. She left him grasping at cold air as she accio'd her bag and dissapparated from the room.

***

Lily fell on to the plush blankets of her four-poster bed and let out a long breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard it hurt. She'd been close to doing something stupid. Too close.

Severus' scent clung to her as she rolled off the bed and strode over to the adjoining chamber. She needed to bathe.

As the water began filling the porcelain tub, Lily replayed the past few months in her head.

Severus had sent an owl. She had tossed the message around in her mind for days before opting to oblige him.

Lily,

There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand. I must see you.

Severus

She knew that Severus had switched his allegiance and that she was the only one he'd ever trust. He'd told her as much.

But since she began meeting with him, he gave little reference to his letter. She'd seen what the dark magic was doing to him. He seemed at constant war with himself. Lily just wasn't sure how she would be the one to help him.

As Lily turned off the tap and stepped into the scalding water, she decided she'd save those thoughts for another night. Before she could reconsider, she sank beneath the water, releasing her thoughts and succumbing to the heat.