Jily Oneshots (pt2)

Lovers and Voyeurs

by MeganRachel09 on archiveofourown.org

.He rounds the corner to the Transfiguration corridor and immediately spots a familiar head of red hair. His heart hammers in his chest and he just knows that there is an awful, hopeful look on his face that surely would only serve to have his friends -if you can call them that- hex him if they spotted it, for there is Lily Evans sitting on the hard, cold floor, her legs stretched out in front of her. She is frowning as she reads a piece of parchment she is clutching in her hands.

He is curious to know what it is that has her looking so unhappy. At one point in time, he would have been the first person she told; she would have sought him out and thrust the parchment in his face before launching into a long and heated diatribe about whatever is written there. He knows better than to expect that now, though, for it has been nearly two years since Lily has considered him a friend. The most he gets from her these days is a cool politeness that begins and ends with acknowledging his existence when they pass each other in the hallways.

Ever since she took up with Potter and his friends — no, that’s not true. Lily did not align herself with those four great oafs until after she had severed ties with him, all over a stupid word that he did not mean to say to or about her. If he thought it would help his case even slightly, he would walk over to her and apologize. But an apology would do nothing; he has tried countless times to apologize to her, but proud, brave, unthinkably strong Lily Evans wants nothing to do with him now.

If only he could make her hear him out, because obviously she hasn't been listening to him if she has yet to accept his apologies. All he needs is for her to sit silently for a moment, for her not to interrupt him or walk away from him. Before he has even thought anything through, he feels the strong, reassuring weight of his wand in his hand. Through magic, he can make anything happen.

But she is Lily Evans, and aside from the fact that she is Head Girl and one of the most proficient witches in the castle, she was once his best friend. Can he really turn his wand on her the way he once turned his words on her? He stands frozen for a moment, watching as she spreads the parchment out over her half-bared – ever since she started dating Potter, Severus has watched her skirts grow shorter and shorter – outstretched thighs and smooths it out with restless fingers, her neck angled to stare down at it. She clearly needs someone to talk to and he is just the person for her.

Besides, once she properly hears him out, there is no way she won’t forgive him. Before long, they will surely be right back where they once were: best friends. He raises his wand, a paralyzing jinx of his own creation on his tongue. Professor McGonagall can wait a bit longer for his belated essay on human transfiguration.

A door to his left opens and closes loudly and Lily looks up immediately, her gaze turning in his direction. A relieved, sweet smile graces her lips and for a moment Severus thinks she has spotted him and is glad for it, but he realizes that is quite unlikely as the slamming of the door had him diving out of the way and he is now standing mostly hidden behind a suit of armor and she is looking at whoever exited the room.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” A loud, sickeningly familiar voice calls out from where the person is standing just out of Severus’s eyesight on the other side of the suit of armor.

“Waiting for you,” Lily says, turning the parchment over in her lap would-be-casually as Potter walks towards her. Severus’s hand clenches tightly around his wand, now dropped to his side.

“You weren’t waiting long, I hope.” If Severus didn’t know any better, he might think that Potter sounds genuinely concerned that he has inconvenienced her. Lily shakes her head, her neck craned at an unnatural angle to look up at Potter, who has reached her and, towering over her when both are standing, now dwarfs her.