Sleep claimed him quickly as he lay on the bed in the guest room. The feeling of weightlessness, of being near someone who cared—it was bliss. He slept in the guest room while Lily was in hers. (A/N: Nothing weird now. Nope. Nothing like that for a long while. Nope. Relax)
The next morning, he woke early. Old habits die hard. After freshening up, he stepped outside, only to find the woman he loved standing there.
"But… you don't usually wake up this early. What's going on?" Severus asked, puzzled.
"Oh, Sev... You naive, lost, unloved boy. You can feel something in your Occlumency, can't you? Like I'm right there?"
"Yeah... I do feel that."
"That's not just emotion. Because of the accidental magic you performed yesterday, we're connected now—mentally. Try probing into it. You'll feel me."
He obeyed—and sure enough, he could sense her thoughts and emotions. Joy, smugness... and a touch of sadness.
'Aaah... Mic test, 1, 2, 3... 1, 2, 3... Can you hear me, Sev?'
'Yeah! Wow! We're telepathically connected?! I'm not blocking this at all. I hope this lasts forever.'
'Heh... I guess you'll need to rebuild your Occlumency shields from scratch now, huh?'
As they walked together toward the edge of the Anti-Apparition wards and into a quiet street, they kept talking in their minds, holding hands.
'It won't be too hard,' he thought. 'I've got the experience. Just need a few hours to get back up to speed. Anyway, I was thinking this morning—did you hear?'
'No. I was asleep. Then I felt this strong wave of sadness and guilt from you. That woke me up. Realized you were leaving without telling me—again. I was a little sad and a bit angry, but I understood. That's why I decided to catch you. I've figured out that unless it's direct and physical, it won't get through your thick skull.'
'I'm sorry...'
'Ugh... again with the apologies. I don't know how you're going to take down Death Eaters when you're this timid, Sev.'
'They'll definitely die. How dare they even think about hurting my Lily.'
'"My Lily"?' she asked with a teasing eyebrow raise.
'Uhh... am I not allowed to say that? I thought... Sorry...'
'Hahahaha... Stop apologizing! But that face was priceless… hahaha...'
'Phew. I thought you were mad at me again. Thank Merlin. Anyway, we need to start your training today. We'll begin with stealth spells and techniques—mastering those is essential for the next two missions. Also, remember what I said about getting internships to stay away from Hogwarts during the school year? Let's write letters to a few professors: Flitwick, Slughorn, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Hughes from Ancient Runes, in that order. We're bound to get one—maybe even a few.'
'Professor Flitwick first? Not Slughorn? That's new from you.'
'Potions would take too much time and wouldn't help much with what I need now to take down "Voldyshorts." I need more practice with charms and enchantments.'
'Fair enough. But be honest—you want to be with me, don't you? Because I'll probably get an internship in Charms. I can read your mind, remember?'
'Uh… yeah,' he replied, blushing.
'You're ridiculously cute when you're like this.'
They reached a dark alley and Snape Apparated, bringing Lily along with side-along Apparition.
'I still don't know how you're so good at this,' she said.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
'Uhh... wouldn't it be weird if you're seen coming out of my room, even though no one saw you enter?' he asked, embarrassed.
'Hahaha... You can be so dumb sometimes, Sev...'
"Only when I'm with you," he mumbled under his breath.
'You do realize I hear your thoughts before you even say them, right?'
'...'
'Anyway, just Apparate me to a nearby alley and I'll walk to the Leaky Cauldron. You Apparate back to your room and come out like normal.'
'Uhh... yeah... good idea.'
They did just that, and after meeting at the Leaky Cauldron, they went to Severus's room to write letters to Professor Flitwick.
Later, they Apparated to their training ground—a quiet, deserted patch of forest. He taught her several spells while rebuilding his Occlumency shields. He even showed her the Time-Turner, and they used it to get in more practice.
By the time they returned, it was nighttime.
"You kids should take it easy. You've been going wild for hours!" said Tom, the bartender, with a wink.
Snape just tilted his head, confused, while Lily turned bright red.
'Lily? What happened? Are you feeling hot? Fever? No... embarrassment? Why—'
SLAP!
'Stop reading my thoughts! Argh! You dense idiot!' she shouted in his head before storming off.
"Haha! Youth!" Tom said, giving Snape a thumbs up. Snape just stared, completely clueless about what just happened.
'Did I mess up again? Did I hurt her? Dammit… This is why I don't deserve h—'
'SEVERUS! How many times do I have to tell you to stop thinking that?! You didn't hurt me. Just... come on out here.'
They walked in silence to Lily's house. As Snape said goodbye, she stopped him.
'Where do you think you're going?'
'Back to my room?'
'You forgot something. You're staying here. Bring all your stuff next time. You're not going anywhere, mister.'
'I... okay,' he said, giving in as she gave him her "Don't even try" look.
A week passed.
And finally... it was time. He was ready. But this time he was not alone.
They would do it.
Together