Snape's pupils shrank sharply as he stared, in disbelief, at the familiar figure standing in the doorway.
"Li... Lily?"
Why was she with Dumbledore? And why had they come here, to this place, in the middle of a torrential night?
What on earth had happened?
Lily's soaked red hair clung to her pale cheeks. Those green eyes, which were always so bright, had lost all their light. Her lips trembled, but no sound came out.
Seeing her trembling form, Snape instinctively took a step forward. He drew his wand and moved it in a complex motion; a wisp of heat rose from its tip.
He pointed the wand toward her, and steam began to rise from Lily's cloak, filling the dimly lit living room with a faint mist.
Snape was about to turn his wand toward Dumbledore when he noticed that the Headmaster had already, without a word, dried his own robes. The blue eyes behind his half-moon glasses watched Snape with cold composure.
"I hope we haven't disturbed you, Severus," Dumbledore said, his voice cold as ice.
"Not at all." Snape flicked his wand, silently pulling a chair out from beside the table for them to sit.
He turned and walked into the kitchen, igniting a small fire. The kettle's whistle soon began to sound.
When Snape returned to the living room carrying the tray, Dumbledore was sitting quietly opposite Lily, while Lily herself sat motionless, like an empty shell whose soul had been taken, her breathing faint and uneven.
He placed the steaming teacups before them, but neither reached for the tea.
"What happened?" Snape asked softly, lowering his voice.
No one answered.
Dumbledore remained silent, a suffocating, heavy silence.
Then Lily's shoulders began to tremble violently. Without a sound, she started to cry.
Snape quickly went to her side.
Before he could think of how to comfort her, Lily had already clung to him, like a drowning person grasping a lifeline, clutching his black robes tightly and burying her face against him.
Snape froze. He could feel her trembling through their contact, her warm tears quickly soaking through his clothes.
After a moment's hesitation, he finally lifted a hand and gently placed it on that familiar red hair. He said nothing.
He didn't know how long it was before Lily's sobbing gradually quieted.
She released her grip.
He watched silently as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Her emerald eyes were red and swollen now.
"I'll get you a blanket," he murmured, but as he turned, Dumbledore's movement stopped him.
The Headmaster waved his wand lightly. Lily's grief-filled green eyes slowly closed. She swayed slightly, her body tipping forward.
Snape quickly reached out and caught her forehead before she could fall.
"She's exhausted," Dumbledore said quietly, with a hint of weariness in his tone. "Crying helped, but she needs to rest now."
Snape carried Lily gently to the guest room, laid her on the bed, and covered her with a thin blanket.
He stood there for a while, watching the tear streaks on her face, then turned and went back to the living room.
"Professor," Snape asked in a low voice, "what exactly happened?"
"The Dark Mark appeared over the Evans household," Dumbledore said coldly. "The Evans couple were lying dead in the sitting room. If Lily hadn't happened to be away from home, you might never have seen her again."
"Originally, I came tonight to bring you to meet the members of the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore continued, his tone low and grave. "But I received an urgent message from Mundungus, the Death Eaters had decided to 'purge' the Muggle-born wizarding families in protest of the Ministry's policy that allows them to study magic. By the time I and several others from the Order arrived at the Evans home, it was already too late."
Snape's mind flashed back to last summer, to Mr. Evans warmly greeting him at the door.
"What about Petunia? Lily's sister. Was she at home?" he asked.
"There was no one else at the scene," Dumbledore replied. "We confirmed that Petunia was in London. She escaped unharmed."
He stood and walked toward the window. His long silver hair and beard gleamed faintly in the dim light as he looked out into the storm.
"The Death Eaters' activities are becoming more and more rampant," he said. "At first, they went after those who resisted them openly.
"Then, they targeted anyone who merely spoke against them.
"And now, their hands have reached the innocent, anyone they consider 'impure.'"
Dumbledore turned to face Snape. "Now, I must ask you, do you still wish to join the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Professor," Snape said calmly, rising to his feet, "the moment I gave you Ravenclaw's diadem, I had already stepped past the point of no return, hadn't I? If Tom finds out, do you think he'll let me live?"
"Yes," Dumbledore said with a humorless smile. "But I can keep your secret."
"Of course you should, but that changes nothing," Snape said quietly. He thought of their school days. "Hogwarts may not have taught us this, but I believe a person shouldn't always choose to stay safe. Some things... are worth fighting for."
"I want to join the Order of the Phoenix too."
Lily's voice came from behind them, hoarse, but steady.
At some point, she had woken. Wrapped in the thin blanket, she stood quietly at the entrance to the living room.
Dumbledore didn't answer her right away. He looked into her eyes in silence.
"I know there's no point in trying to dissuade you, Lily," he said finally. "But you may still take some time to think it over."
"I don't need time," Lily replied without hesitation. "The Death Eaters won't give me time to think. Even if I don't resist them, do you think they'll spare me?"
"Tomorrow," Dumbledore sighed deeply, his voice slow and solemn, "tomorrow, you and Severus will come with me to meet the other members of the Order."
Silence fell over the room once again. Only the sound of rain whispered softly against the windows.
"Professor, I have another request," Snape said, breaking the quiet. "Once the new term begins, let my mother stay at Hogwarts."
Dumbledore nodded. "Will she agree to that?"
"I don't think she'll approve of me joining the Order," Snape said, "but you don't need to tell her that. I'll find a proper reason to persuade her."
Lily stepped closer.
Snape turned toward her, and she met his gaze.
In that brief moment, Snape remembered that night outside the Gryffindor Tower.
He slowly extended a hand toward her.
"Lily," he said, "that night outside Gryffindor Tower, I didn't have the chance to tell you, I will never join the Dark Lord."
She took his hand.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
...
Original Author's Notes:
According to J.K. Rowling's interviews, Harry's maternal grandparents were ordinary people who died naturally of Muggle causes. But that explanation never sat well, it would mean that the parents of a prodigious potion-maker died of natural causes in their forties. So personally, I believe Lily's parents were killed by Voldemort not long before her own death. This better explains why she so firmly joined the Order of the Phoenix right after graduation, and why her attitude toward James changed so dramatically.