[Chapter Size: 2200 Words.]
Third Person POV
Hogwarts.
...
...
At this moment, the entire Ministry had already dispatched all the Aurors to Hogwarts while assisting the students and checking the situation. No one had received any news in the last few hours.
Many students were evacuating the place after being released to go home. Hogwarts would not be operating in the next few days after all this confusion.
Even though the situation was already under control, there was still no reason to keep the school functioning with halls full of giant ant corpses and some areas destroyed due to shadow battles; the Aurors were still searching for information on what had happened, and Severus' shadows had also disappeared.
The students crowded together, many refusing to leave. And now, there were no more activities inside the castle.
"The hole we found in the girls' bathroom on the third floor doesn't make any sound anymore, but it's full of corpses," responded an ICW agent. Vicência Santos herself, who had not yet left Great Britain, went to Hogwarts as soon as she learned of the incident with her teams.
"So he solved another problem," Vicência murmured.
Never in her entire life had she dealt with something of this scale. The closest thing she remembered to such chaos was back when, not even being Supreme Chief yet, they were dealing with Grindelwald trying to claim that position at the time. Later, she tried to confront him in the following years, while he continued massacring more and more wizards, until Dumbledore managed to defeat him.
She had received a message from the princess of Atlantis telling her what had happened in the kingdom after Severus left. Vicência was surprised. She knew that Severus had fought monsters in Atlantis, and now he was in Hogwarts doing the same, protecting all the students. None of them had been hurt. Now, he must be down there, fighting dozens of creatures. Maybe thousands. She had no way of knowing. But from what she had heard, the second option was the most likely.
"Lily, aren't you leaving? We're taking the next carriage," Mary Mcdonald approached Lily with Marlene, while the redhead was still watching Hogwarts cautiously.
"No. I'm staying," Lily said. Marlene and Mary exchanged a look.
"Alright... just be careful. Your friend is really weird," Marlene said, referring to Severus.
"I know. But he's down there fighting for us, isn't he?" Lily murmured. With that, her friends left her alone.
Lily didn't quite know what to think of all that. She wanted to thank Severus. He was there, fighting for all of them. She was sure that the Severus she had known was still somewhere inside that man. And, despite the last words they had exchanged, she wanted to get close to him again.
She wanted to fix things. She might not admit it, but she knew she was in love with him.
Even after the effect of the love potion had worn off, Severus had already left a great impression on her life that she could no longer ignore. He had distanced himself from her for her own good. As much as it had hurt at the time, she knew he had done it gently and had forced the kiss so she would take the antidote to the love potion.
When she was kidnapped, he was also there for her. He took point-blank Cruciatus attacks, all to protect her. He saved the magical world using dark powers — powers she had always despised and rejected — but she never failed to notice that he used those dark shadows to protect others.
He got along well with her parents. He was much more open, intelligent, and proactive now. Even compared to the Muggle fiancé of her sister, he was years ahead.
His words had been harsh, practically an invitation for her to abandon any hope of being part of his life again. But how could she simply pretend she felt nothing? How could she ignore it when all her thoughts turned to him all the time?
He had been harsh with his words, but he had also been truthful. Perhaps, in the end, she really had been a terrible friend. She had always stood by Gryffindor, the Marauders, everyone, against him. She had not forgiven him even when he had begged, and Lily knew he had been sincere, but she refused once she noticed he was getting involved with the Death Eaters. Even when he tried to talk to her, she refused to listen. After he called her that name... of all the people who could have called her that, he was the one who hurt her the most.
She believed he was tied to darkness and that her friends had been right from the beginning. That Severus was a lost cause.
That he would become a Death Eater.
That he would kill people like her in the name of the Dark Lord.
Now she regretted it. She regretted not listening to him. Not trying to talk. Letting her pride speak louder.
Listening to her own Gryffindor friends instead of talking to her oldest friend.
Now it seemed too late. Even if she still wished to get close to him again, Severus had made it clear he had no intention of trying the same. He spoke about how he was constantly tormented both at Hogwarts and at home in Spinner's End. How lonely he was. And how, even though he did not like to admit it, he needed someone.
Meanwhile, all she ever did was criticize him. Criticize him with her prejudice against dark magic.
To her, Gryffindors were the good ones.
And Slytherins were the bad ones.
And she held on to that childish view for far too long. Now he was there, risking his life to save everyone at Hogwarts, while they had barely managed to take down a single ant. There had been thousands of them. It would have been an absolute massacre if not for Severus.
Whatever was happening to the world…
He was fighting for all of them.
And she finally saw it.
It wasn't Potter, it wasn't Dumbledore or anyone else who was facing those things head-on, but her childhood friend, the one she had turned her back on.
She would wait for him to come out of the castle to check if he was alright. She would try to talk to him, try to greet him, or at least try to remember that kiss he had given her. Severus already had fiancées, but she couldn't help the ache in her heart knowing that. She had once had the chance to have him all to herself, and now she had to accept that Severus Prince was surrounded by women. It was irritating, it hurt, but at the same time… she had to accept it. She had put herself at the back of the line.
Lily was still a bit lost when she heard some exclamations behind her. She turned her gaze and found Rosária, Clarisse and Pandora talking to none other than Severus, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Lily was surprised by that. He had probably teleported, and almost no one noticed besides her and the girls, while all the other eyes were still fixed on the castle.
Severus talked with his fiancées, explaining the situation while they asked him questions. Lily just stood there, watching from afar. Rosária had her arms crossed, Clarisse looked intrigued, and Pandora laughed, clearly entertained by Severus' remarks.
Lily watched that scene wondering if there was a place for her there. If Severus could consider her the same way he treated those women. She still remembered the kiss he once gave her. That kiss had never truly left her memory.
"It's Severus! Severus Prince is back!" someone shouted, and the eyes began to turn toward him. Quickly, a crowd started moving in his direction. Aurors tried to keep everyone back, while some students who had once judged Severus as evil during the trial now began shouting and praising him as if he were a hero.
Lily soon found herself pushed aside as people rushed past her. She had gotten lost in the middle of the crowd. After a few words, an Auror spoke to everyone: "The threat has been contained! The monsters have been defeated!"
The crowd erupted into applause, shouting Severus' name as if he truly were a hero. Dumbledore approached with a pleasant smile and exchanged a few words with him.
Lily stayed there for a while, but she knew that wasn't for her. Severus was something she might never be able to reach again.
With sadness, she turned away and ran in the opposite direction, tears streaming as she finally understood the reality she was in.
She would never have another chance with Severus.
She could not compete with his fiancées, nor with the attention he now received. He was a hero to the entire world.
All that was left for her now was the bitter memory of a single kiss that would never be forgotten.
Severus did not fail to notice with his eyes when he saw the red-haired girl running off to who-knows-where, while he continued talking and explaining the situation to Dumbledore, Vicência, and the others.
Lily didn't know how much time had passed, but she could still hear the crowd roaring in the distance. She was sitting in front of the lake, alone, with her arms crossed. Her friends had already left, just like part of Gryffindor, which had split into two groups: those who were celebrating with Severus and those who simply went home.
Potter had gone with the Marauders, refusing to stay and listen to the fact that Severus had saved the day. To him, that couldn't be true. Severus, a hero? Even after everything, Potter still couldn't swallow his pride.
The distant shouts began to fade as Lily continued staring at the dark waters. There was no moon that night. She was lost in her thoughts, but she felt someone approaching. Startled, she quickly turned and stood up.
Severus was there. She recognized him even in the darkness.
Severus watched her in silence for a moment, perhaps surprised to find her there. Shouldn't he be getting praised as the hero who saved Hogwarts?
"You're here. I knew you'd be here," Severus said, sitting on the stone beside her.
Lily just stared at him quietly, not knowing what to say. What was he doing there?
"You're here alone. That's kind of dangerous," Severus commented, while she remained still.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be… there?" she murmured softly.
"That's not so important." Severus shrugged. He didn't care about showing off as a hero, even though he was already used to being seen as one in his life as Morou.
"But that doesn't explain why you're here. You don't… hate me?" she murmured, finally letting the thought trapped in her throat escape.
Severus gave a small smile. "No, I don't hate you. But you seem to have a crying crisis every time you see me," he said.
"Sorry," she whispered.
He raised an eyebrow, wondering why she apologized so quickly, while her eyes began to fill with tears.
"It's just that… when I look at you, I realize the kind of friend I should have been. And I realize I lost my childhood friend. My best… my first friend. And I lost everything because I was foolish," she murmured.
Severus let out a soft sigh.
"Well… here we are. That boy and that little girl under that tree near the river in Cokeworth… now find themselves here, at the Hogwarts lake, after all this chaos," Severus said, finally looking at her and extending his hand.
"Do you want some?" he asked, releasing the bottle of firewhisky from his system, from which he had taken a little earlier.
"You shouldn't be drinking," she murmured, and Severus almost laughed at that.
"You were almost killed by giant ants and you're worried about alcohol? You don't want to drink even a little?" he asked.
She stared at him for a moment before moving forward, taking the bottle and taking a sip. She immediately began to choke.
"Take it easy," Severus warned, while she was still coughing. He took the bottle back and took a drink, without showing any reaction. The drink barely made a difference to him.
"This bottle is half empty. Were you drinking with one of your fiancées?" Lily ended up asking, her voice slightly irritated.
Severus shook his head. "No. I was talking with Salazar," he said.
Lily raised her eyebrow. "Salazar… the founder of Slytherin?"
"Yes. There's a portrait of him in the Chamber of Secrets. He's a grumpy old man, but he's actually a decent elder to have a chat with and pass the time. He used to insult me a lot for being a half-blood at first…", Severus said laughing, while Lily stared at him, trying to decide whether he was joking or telling the truth.
"Do you want to hear the story of how I ended up involved in all of this?" he asked calmly.
She raised her eyebrow and nodded as he handed the bottle back to her. Lily drank a little more and sat down beside him.
"I would love to," she murmured at last, not knowing exactly where that conversation would lead, but believing that maybe… it was a beginning.
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