She cried until her body couldn't hold the sorrow anymore. With her fingers curled into the fabric of his robes, Lily finally drifted to sleep—curled up against Severus's unmoving form, her head rising and falling with the rhythm of his shallow breaths.
The next morning, in the quiet hush of dawn, Lily gently searched through Severus's robes. She already knew what she was looking for—the letter. And she knew what it would say. She had lived it.
She had seen his memories, felt them as if they were her own. His pain. His choices. His loneliness. The unbearable weight of love unspoken and sacrifices unseen.
She found the letter tucked inside an inner pocket, worn at the edges. Unfolding it with careful hands, she read it again. Her eyes stung, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. But there was a strange kind of warmth there too—something soft and full in her chest. She held the letter to her heart, then slipped it into her pocket and kissed his forehead before heading to tell her parents.
Within the hour, she was on the Knight Bus, Severus slumped against her, pale and unconscious. She didn't let go of his hand the entire trip.
At St. Mungo's, a healer examined him thoroughly before pulling Lily aside with a grave look.
"Miss Evans, Mr. Snape is suffering from complete magical exhaustion and severe psychological suppression. He's been relying far too heavily on Occlumency to keep his emotions at bay. That kind of sustained repression is dangerously unstable—it could've killed him, or worse, triggered a magical outburst that endangered others. He needs rest. And support."
"I understand," Lily said, her voice tight. "Believe me, we're going to have a serious conversation about all of this."
They sat side by side on one of the empty beds during the ride back. Neither spoke.
Severus kept glancing at her—guilt, fear, longing all flickering across his face like shadows under candlelight. Lily didn't look at him once. Her jaw was set, arms folded, eyes fixed on the window, even though the world outside blurred past in streaks of light and darkness.
When the bus finally screeched to a halt, she grabbed his arm without a word and led him inside. Her parents watched, stunned, as she hauled him past them and up the stairs.
She didn't stop until they were in her room, the door slammed shut behind them.
"You're not going anywhere," she said, spinning on him. "We're going to talk. And you're going to tell me everything. Now."
"Lily, I…" His voice cracked. "I know you're angry. I'm sorry. I just—I don't deserve—"
"Don't." Her voice cut like ice. "Don't give me that 'I don't deserve' rubbish. Do you even hear yourself? You disappeared. You nearly died. You tried to take down Voldemort alone. You infiltrated Malfoy Manor. Are you mad?"
She was pacing now, breathing hard.
"You could've written. A letter. Anything. I might've screamed at you. I might've ignored it. But I would've known. And instead, you kept suffering in silence—taking care of me like I'm some mission, some burden, without even telling me why."
Her voice cracked, and she stopped walking.
"Why do you keep hiding what you feel? Why do you keep hurting yourself like this? Why do you love me like I'm something sacred, but never let me love you back?"
She broke then, her anger folding under the weight of grief. The tears came fast. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed into his chest.
Severus froze, stunned. Her warmth, her scent, the sound of her sobs—it all felt too real to be true.
His arms wrapped around her slowly, carefully, like he was afraid she might vanish. "Don't cry," he whispered. "Please, Lily. I'll do anything. Just don't cry. I'm sorry. I'll listen. I'll stop. Just... don't cry."
"Stop apologizing," she mumbled into his robes. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're just broken in places no one ever tried to fix."
She pulled back, just enough to look at him. Her eyes were still full of tears, but her expression had softened.
"I'm going to fix this," she said. "I'm going to fix you. Even if it takes everything. I'm going to bring you back into the light."
And then she kissed him.
It wasn't grand or dramatic—it was quiet, gentle, like a promise whispered into a storm.
And in that moment, for the first time in a long time, Severus didn't feel like some cursed existence that had no place in the world.
He felt seen. Held. Wanted.
Though her kiss caught him off guard—his breath hitching, heart stammering wildly—he didn't pull away. How could he? The warmth of her lips, the scent of her hair, the quiet desperation wrapped in her touch—it was all too much, too overwhelming.
And yet, it was everything he had ever longed for.
He gave in.
Tentatively at first, unsure if he even deserved to want this. But then the dam inside him broke—years of loneliness, guilt, aching affection—and he let himself melt into her, anchoring himself to her like she was the only thing tethering him to the earth.
Her fingers curled into his robes, and his hand rose, trembling, to cup the side of her face. He didn't need words. He couldn't speak even if he tried.
All he knew was that, in that kiss, there was light. And for the first time, he wasn't afraid of it.
He was drowning in her—her presence, her fire, her fierce, unrelenting heart—and he wanted nothing more than to stay lost in it.
In her.
"I love you," she whispered against his lips, her voice trembling but certain.
And then she kissed him again.
****
"Now," Lily said as they finally parted, breathless and still leaning into him, "we need to talk about Voldyshorts."
Severus blinked, startled by the shift in tone—and the name. "Voldyshorts?"
She shrugged, a sly smile tugging at her lips. "What? I need to keep things light or I'll go spiral."
Severus, still a bit pink from the kiss—and the fact he was being kissed by Lily Evans—nodded, trying not to combust. "Right. My plan. You saw everything... so you already know the risks."
"I do. And I also know how utterly stupid it is for you to think you're doing this alone."
"But—Lily—Dumbledore doesn't even trust me. I was going to give him the address eventually, but I need leverage first. I need to pin everything on Abraxas. Make sure my last years at Hogwarts aren't a death sentence. And the Lestranges... they need to be taken out. Permanently."
She crossed her arms. "Then we do it together. I'm not asking, Sev. I know what you're capable of. And I'm done watching you fight alone from the shadows like it's some kind of punishment."
He hesitated. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Too late for that," she said softly. "I already have been. Watching you in those memories broke my heart. I felt what you felt. And I'm still here. So teach me, Severus. If you want me safe, make me dangerous."
He stared at her for a long moment. Then he smiled, the kind of smile that only someone who had forgotten how to smile could manage—small, cracked, but real. "Okay. Let's tell your parents. We'll stay the night. If you're alright with that."
"Severus Snivellus Snape," she said, hands on her hips now, "don't talk to me like I'm a guest in your life. You're mine, and I'm yours. That's it. No escape clause. You're stuck with me, for life."
A choked laugh slipped from him, a sob hidden beneath it. He stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms again, resting his forehead against hers. "I could never want anything more."
She smirked against his chest. "And another thing—I'm not letting you bottle things up anymore. No more emotional detachment. Especially not with me."
"As you wish, Your Highness," he said, dropping into an exaggerated, mock-formal bow.
"Prat," she muttered, yanking him back into her arms.
And he couldn't help but think—if this was what being stuck looked like, he never wanted to be free again.
****
A/N: Okay guys. I tried. okay? I tried my best. I can't do better than this. I wrapped up the love stuff so that we can focus on taking down Voldyshorts cause well there won't be any Harry Potter anymore. And plus if this didn't happen the chapters in the future would be too heavy. There hasn't been a single light-hearted conversation in the all the chapters till now. So I needed to get it done like this. I think it was pretty fine and natural. Though it was a bit forced where I just thrust all his memories into her using accidental magic legilemency, but I think I did fine. What do you guys think? Lemme know how you want the story to go, I am open for suggestions.