Risen from the Ashes (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 26

Lily raised her hand to knock on the door... but let it fall back down to her side. What was she doing here?

It had been over a week sense Dumbledore had given her Severus' address. It had taken her all that time to decide if she was even going to go or not. But now that she was here... "Oh what am I doing..."

"Can I help you?"

She quickly pulled her hood up over her head before turning around. She saw an old woman walking down the sidewalk.

"Oh, no ma'am." She answered quickly, "I was just... here to visit an old... friend..."

"Really?" the woman asked with surprise. "Well, that's wonderful. Mr. Snape doesn't receive many visitors. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"Yes, I'm sure..." She said quietly as the woman walked away. She turned back to the door and took a deep breath. A quick rap on the door sealed her fate.

She waited a few seconds before she began to hear footsteps. The door creaked open a crack and stopped, "State your business. If you are here to sell something, I suggest you be on your way before I stupefy you."

"Severus?" she asked quietly.

There was a pause, before the door opened a little wider, and a mop of black hair, "Lily?"

"Hello Severus," she took in his aged features. He looked awful.

"Incarcerous!" he yelled and thick ropes bound themselves around her. With another flick of his wand, she was dragged into the house, and he slammed the door. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you this very instant."

"I know you're confused Sev, but please let me explain." She tried to remain calm as he pointed his wand at her face.

At the use of the nick name, his hand twitched and for a moment, she thought he might lower his arm. "What is the meaning of this?" he replied gruffly.

"It's really me Severus. Professor Dumbledore said that there was some kind of ancient magic at work. A comet. It brought James and I back."

He flinched at the name, "And why should I believe you?"

"We grew up together." She began, "And we spent the summers together. You taught me about magic, and told me so many wonderful things. Once you told me about the dementors that guarded Azkaban prison. I was so scared of them after that. But you assured me it would be ok. You told me that I could never do anything that would put me in prison. I missed our chats after that horrible fight."

He stood there for a moment, before flicking his wand, and releasing her. Before she could thank him, he had already walked off towards the sitting room. She followed him in confusion and found him sitting in front of the fire, already pouring himself a glass of fire whiskey. "Alright, so you've returned from the dead. What is it you want?"

"What?" she took a seat across from him. "I... I just wanted to let you know... and to see you again..."

He chuckled dryly and took a swallow from his drink. "Oh really, because as I recall, you and I weren't exactly on speaking terms the last time we saw each other."

She glared at him, "Oh and who's fault is that?! You went off and joined Voldemort!"

"And who led me to do that?!" he slammed his glass onto the table.

She scoffed, "You cannot seriously blame me for that!"

"I LOVED YOU! Lily I... I've always loved you..." she froze and took in the anguish on his face, "But on that day... with Potter I... I saw that you had made your choice. And I knew that I would never make you happy, so I pushed you away... I thought that would be for the best..."

"Oh Severus..." she knelt down next to him. "I didn't know..."

He looked down at her through a stream of tears. "Is this a trick? Is it really you?"

She gently cupped his cheek, "It's me Sev... I'm here..."

He gave her a sad smile, "I missed you too..."

(A/N - Thanks for reading!)