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[princeheir]

If Severus looked completely bewitched earlier, now it was flowing off him as an aura of pure content. In a cartoon, he probably would have over exaggerated sunsety orange, — the exact shade of her hair to be precise —, heart eyes. Ever so grateful for her help, he leaned towards Evans once more, body shielding the witch from the curious eyes all around them.  “You are the mastermind, I am purely your everloving lackey.” He agreed with her teasing, tone much too serious to give into the fact he himself was kidding (Although Severus knew Lily understood him beyond his monotonous choice of attitude).  As much as he’d prefer to hold her in between four walls, Snape made a show of how close they were, a new determination hidden behind his eyes. If their classmates were to comment, at least they’d have some substantial to judge. “Did you see them during Potions? I cannot believe Evans really is going out with him,” they’d say, only to boost his ego even further up.  “That’s because,” He started, peppering kisses all around her lips before continuing. “He is a loser of the biggest sort, you see. Lupin happens not to have the best girl around in his arms, therefore, he has enough time to study all alone in his lonely tower.” 

Lily couldn't help but smile up at him, looking into his eyes as if, within them, she would find something different than the hundreds of times she'd gazed into them before. And though his eyes always stayed their perfect, dark, ambiguous color- she never seemed disappointed in this lack of change.

"What is this?" she chuckled, wrapping her arms around his middle, quite forgetting that they were in class. Not so forgetful though, that she didn't manage to lower the temperature of the cauldron for him, with a wave of her wand behind his back. "I am wholly to blame, then?" Lily raised an eyebrow at Severus, warning, coyly, the severity of the gesture tempered by her quiet smile.

Even though she didn't at all regret such an open display of affection- and rather thought she'd manage to get away with it, Lily couldn't help but feel a little self conscious, shy. "Well, he probably is the smartest, love." Lily replied low, voice thick with teasing mirth. "You don't see him hanging off of anyone, lovesick."

[princeheir]

There was a belief inside of Severus’ every cell that her laugh could bring him back from the dead. It could rise him, make him twirl like a ballerina and move to Winsconsin to raise cows with her. It could convince him to befriend Petunia. It could, even, make him scowl less at the useless jabs of a pompous Gryffindor. So once he heard it, his head turned instantly, locking eyes with her as if he was a deer caught right in front of deadly entrancing headlights. “You’ve bewitched me! You’ve distracted me! And now neither of us will be top of the class!” With an accusatory tone, he got closer to her, completely ignoring that he was supposed to be the one fixing his own mess. “Now Lupin will walk out of this room thinking he is the smartest. Are you proud of yourself, Evans?” With a hand coming to her waist, he held back from smiling up until he physically couldn’t anymore, bending down to peck her in the lips before Slughorn could notice. “Shame, such shame.”

This year felt so much different. So much better. There was just something about the air that carried Lily through each moment without full conscious. It was like she was pleasantly submerged in deep water, with no need to surface and no will to, either.

If the usual subjects who usually scowled and gawked at her still existed, Lily had taken no notice. The only thing that could remotely hold her attention was her studies, but beyond that her mind was filled to the brim with him. And even then, her studies had taken a small hit- but not enough to give her concern. Besides, it was worth it. Lily had never before felt so exhilarated, so awake and alive at every moment, so perfectly distracted.

"Hmm-?" Lily glanced at Sev, before jumping nearer the cauldron, reducing the overflowing froth with a wave of her wand.

"Where is it at?" she laughed, tilting her head at him. "I thought you were on cauldron duty while I chopped up the rest of the ingredients!"

[princeheir]

˙ 💿 This thread takes place in 1976 during a Potions class.

How could anybody not love Lily Evans?

How could anyone look at her and see any less than what Severus saw? The blinding smile, the starry freckles, the bumpy nose— He could sit and stare at her all day, not even breathing, and the sheer image of her would keep him alive. God, he could just—

Let the potion bubble up and out of their cauldron.

Of course he could, because when has Severus ever not made a fool of himself in front of her? In front of the girl he was kissing under blankets just a few days ago, counting the days to back to school so he could come back and hold her hand in front of the smug Gryffindors.

But life wasn’t so simple. And so far, he was only embarrassing himself further and further. No hand holding, no kisses in the corridor. And definitely no high scores on their potions now.

“Where’s my head at?” He muttered, burying his head into his Potions book.

[princeheir]

        Dearest,

My heater broke today.

It seems like a weird way to start this, but I wanted to give you something to focus on so your anxiety won’t eat you alive while reading. So keep it in mind, my heater broke. That’s what this is about. A broken heater.

I’ve paced around the room you left behind a million times and sometimes I see you in the shadows, asking me if I regret it. I’m here to admit that I do. I regret letting them take you as much as I regret helping you leave. It is a much perverse thought, something I would much prefer not to admit. And still, it needs to come out, and you need to hear it. We need to bury it, and to do so, we need to kill it.

So I will take the first blow and let it come undone before us. No more house of cards, dearest. It has stood for too long. This is it. 

We were both in there and we both know that one of us is still clinging, unwilling to let it go. And with the light of recent events, I realised what I need to do.

First, I need to apologise. There are things I’ve done that I can’t bring myself to talk about right now. Maybe— Maybe never. But I need you to know I regret them. I regret them like I regret every hidden kiss, every time I stood by your pain, every second of you I lost because of decisions I’m not sure why I took. And I am ashamed that it took me so long to crawl back to you. Ashamed of it being too late.

Secondly, I need to let it go.

Because my heater broke. And as much as I’d love to do something about it, it might be happier this way. It might be happier with the spiders crawling through it, the pieces falling and the sorrow of knowing it can never be fixed again.

I have loved it since the beginning, have loved it through heartbreak and will now love it until the end of my days, even if it’s forever broken in the corner of a house I’m not willing to live in anymore.

For peace of mind, I’ll be leaving both of my addresses with this letter, if you ever wish to respond. It is not imperative that you do, and yet I hope that you decide to. Even if you do it only to scream at me.

(That is the funny thing about broken heaters: No matter how much I know that I cannot afford to get it repaired, I still want it to work when I am freezing down to my bones.)

Hope you're doing well.

With as much love as before, The Half-Blood Prince.

[princeheir]

˙    💿     This thread takes place in 1981 during the karaoke craze. Severus and @magicalmeee are singing One Way Or Another by Blondie.

    Fucking hell, Gilderoy Lockhart was hot.

    He was hot in the way that made Severus’ blood run scalding, he was hot like it would scar. And Severus had always loved a flame. Maybe he was a little pyromaniac, following anything that sparkled with a curious gleam in his eyes and enough skin to take burn after burn.

    Snape sneaked near, slithering through the packed bar with a drink on one hand and gasoline on the other, and immediately shot a nasty look to the man who kept the blond company. It didn’t take long for him to go off looking for someone else to bother, leaving the two of them alone. 

    “Long time no see, blondie.” The word got slurred, and Severus got so close to Gilderoy it was unnecessary, liquor messing up his perception of space, — or maybe something else entirely. “Why do I feel like you’ve been avoiding me?” A predatorial smile found its way to the brunette’s lips, amusement dripping from his words like venom. “Repay me with a song, won’t you?” 

 Without waiting for a reply, he started moving towards the karaoke machine, a song already in mind. 

[princeheir]

˙    💿     This thread takes place in 1981 during the karaoke craze. Severus and @afracturedstar are singing Starman by David Bowie.

    If someone flicked a lighter a little too close to Severus, he’d go up in flames.     He hadn’t drunk like that in years, not since his 18th birthday party at the Mulciber manor, finally accepted into his little group after expelling everything he liked about himself and his life. And now here we was, dead lost in the centre of muggle London at a bar he wouldn’t like to be caught dead in… With a microphone and a familiar face staring right back at him.     Did Sirius Black even know muggle songs? Did he even remember Severus, after all those years and all that bad blood between them? And did he even care, with the lights flickering just right and a record he knew for a fact not a single wizard or muggle would be able to ignore playing?     Because at that second, Snape didn’t. Didn’t give a single shit if he’d be seen, if that’d get back to his shit boss at his shit rotten evil organisation. He pulled Sirius right up to the stage with him, tongue twisting around the so familiar words.     “Didn't know what time it was, the lights were low, oh, oh—” He passed the mic over, a smile blooming on his lips as if they weren’t sworn enemies. 

[princeheir]

    The blood coming to the surface in his clavicles barely mattered, shirt stained red with way more than just it. There was numbness in the way he moved to her aid once more, hands closing around her hair so it wouldn’t get tainted, letting Lily spill all over his brand new cloak without thinking about it at all.

    It was suffocating how no matter how many years were between them, he’d always put himself back in the shoes of the boy that’d fix her breakfast and run through dandelions to meet her. How ironic, how overwhelming. 

    “You’re okay, baby.” It came out, and suddenly the summer sun was touching their skins once again and it was almost like Lily was crying over her sister’s mistreatment, not having a breakdown over the torture his own allies were indulging upon her. 

    With a calm hand, he drew circles against her back, soothing her as best as he could in a physical reaction beyond himself. It was method acting, pretending with all of his best abilities. Or maybe it was his true self spilling out from the cracks, the boy willing to do anything for his best friend. He would never know, would never ask himself about it. And in a few days, it wouldn’t even matter. Either she’d be dead or back with Potter and he wouldn’t have that problem anymore.

    So he held her a little closer and took a deep breath, ignoring how filthy his body felt, for reasons beyond the fluids sticking to his clothes.   

princeheir​:

    If it weren’t for the sting left, Severus would probably have thanked the gods for the opportunity of being touched by her again. He was running through the desert, terrified of never seeing water ever again, and Lily was a crystalline lake, begging for his attention. 

    The sly smile became a grin, one she used to be very familiar with, one he saved for her and only her. A place in his mind he hadn’t accessed in years came to him, an admiration for the fire he feared would never leave him alone. His heart swelled, corroding him from the inside. 

    It took him a few more seconds to come to himself, regretting ever letting her see, or feel, how his devotion for her hadn’t wavered much in all those years. “Don’t strain yourself.” Was all that left his lips, hands finding her elbows to help her back onto her feet, putting some distance between them. 

    With a wince, he lead her back to where their meeting had started, ridding himself of his robe to cover the hard ground under them. It had now started to look, — and feel —, too disgusting to touch. Folding his shirt above his elbows, he leaned down, back to sitting right in front of her. 

“What’s his name?” His voice was no higher than a whisper this time, suddenly mellow. 

.

Lily’s legs were shaking so badly trying to hold her up that she knew Severus must be able to tell, must be able to feel it in how her clawing fingers trembled against his shoulders. Was Severus thinking of her as a weak, dirty blooded witch? Lily felt a pang of desperation to push through and stand strong.

But that smile. It threw her as any hex or wound could not, sending her mind reeling, anguished. He looked so much younger when he smiled like that- Lily felt confused anxiety inject through her, feeling a sense of shame like betraying a friend. But they were past that, long since past all kindred feelings.

Nevertheless, her knees buckled and Lily braced to hit the floor, but Severus’ hands closed around her forearms, steadying her. Embarrassment and anger- she attacks him and all he does is help her to stand, unphased by her threats, and smile?

Lily sank to her knees as Severus stepped away, laying his cloak on the ground, but she hardly noticed. Lily closed her eyes, him being in the room wasn’t important and nothing that happened between them, nothing that he threatened or did would matter. Towards the death eaters, Lily was going to be a fixed point. She would not give them anything more than herself, and so it didn’t matter. Come what may, she would be as far as they got.

But at Severus’ question, Harry filled her mind. His nose- already looking just like James’, his soft, chaotic, jet black hair. His laugh, still so small but could fill her heart like she’d swallowed an entire universe. Her whole body felt sore in missing him, in holding him.

Lily felt her stomach clench like a tightening fist, and before she could do anything, Lily bowed forward, her hands on Severus’ cloak and vomited.

[princeheir]

    “I’ll have you know that her hairstyle is an imperative—” Cutting himself off by physically closing his mind, Severus took a step back and tried to analyse the situation.

    No matter how bad things got, how annoying the person in front of him was, he refused to let himself be carried away. And it wouldn't be that pathetic excuse of a Disney prince to break his gorgeous streak of walking away from confrontation.

    So, he turned around, grabbed the rest of his books, and scooted away from Lockhart, feeling like he needed a whole day locked into the dungeons to recover from whatever the fuck that was. 

princeheir​:

    It took a while for Gilderoy’s words to compute in Severus’ mind. He wasn’t going to move.

    He had two paths in front of him. He’d either let it go, get up and get to his reading or…

    Or he’d be incredibly petty. 

    “No?” Without thinking twice, he tackled Gilderoy to the ground again, this time searching for the book under him with grabby fingers. Once he felt it, he pulled with all his strength, pressing the object against his chest with an exasperated gasp. “You pompous prick.” 

    As soon as he could, he got up, escaping from Lockhart’s grip and putting an enormous amount of distance between them. “Who do you think you are? Debbie Harry? You don’t even have the hair for it.” His hope was to confuse his way out of getting beat up by a kinda very buff Ravenclaw. 

.

“Hahahaha!” Gilderoy laughed deep from his chest, enjoying as the sound bounced off the corridor walls, until Severus tackled him and his laughter transformed into a startled yell.

Having the moody greaseball tackle him might have been startling at first, but there was an element of fun in there as well, certainly. The situation was a win win for Gilderoy, either he’d be groped and then the surrounding students would rush him in concern, or Severus would ignore him and he’d garner the sympathy of the crowd anyway. Yes- Gilderoy felt well set up, specially as he pocketed a parchment that he’d accidentally also sat on, hoping Severus wouldn’t notice. That would, hopefully, be a treat for later.

“Oh please-” Gilderoy laughed, staggering up to stand. He ran one of his hands through his curls, allowing them to fall against his face in perfect, potion controlled, effortlessness. “She should have been called Bottle Blondie. She can keep the peroxide- this is all natural.”

[princeheir]

    The display was a car crash and Severus was a witness getting hurt in the process. 

    His heart raced with the Hufflepuff’s, eyes slightly too hopeful for a second. He felt the shocking need for it to be true, for Avery to be kind and forgiving for once in his bloody life. Because Severus was both the girl giving her heart and the boy not willing to take it, both the mouse and the cat, running after each other with no intention of ever stopping. When the blow came, he winced to himself, book closing and falling onto his lap. 

    It was even more astounding that Emmeline seemed amused. Or maybe it wasn’t, maybe he wanted to believe that, too. That his best friend would understand him instead of finding delight in his suffering— The girl’s suffering. He wasn’t suffering, he was fine. Fine. Great, evan. Thriving. 

    “She will.” It was his initial response, staring daggers into Emmeline for the first time in… Ever. “And if he has a conscience, so will him. But I don’t think his brain is evolved enough to have one, unfortunately.” Bitterness filled his words, logic escaping from his grip and losing itself. 

    The question shut him up, hands running through the book’s spine with too much force. What would he do? If a muggle born confessed her feelings for him in the library, in front of everyone? He’d do the same, he’d lay his life before her and drop to his knees, forgiveness a fountain he’d drown himself in. 

    But Emmeline didn’t need to know that. And he wouldn’t be the target of such display, those days were gone. 

    “If I got a confession from a Hufflepuff? I’d tell her I only go for Ravenclaws.” He avoided the real topic, — and the real house —, and opened his book once again. 

It was bizarre how well Emmeline seemed to know the person next to her, not even needing to check whether he was listening or not. She simply knew that he was despite the outward appearance of a student entirely engrossed in the literary masterpiece in front of them. “A mouse indeed but that’s what happens when the mouse comes to play with the cat. Such a request hardly ever goes by without at least the hint of a fallout.” The witch turned toward him for a moment before her attention went back to the display in front of them. Her hands were moving things around, placing books and parchment wherever she needed it. That was something Emmeline was rather particular about. Her workspace needed to match a certain pattern to allow for clarity. A lack of disturbance around her would allow for a lack of disturbance without the finely constructed mask.

The joy the witch felt at the sight of a girl about to be crushed was something she once upon would have thought impossible and yet it had become normal, having grown up the way she evidently ended up doing. Emmeline thought it right for the girl to fall back the way she did, hit by the rejection and yet there was an odd mixture of feelings in the air. Not just the joy, no, there was something more. For a moment she turned toward Severus, observing him much rather than the near-Shakespearean drama unfolding in the library. For the tiniest moment, so she could have sworn, a sparkle took a hold of his eyes. Confusion added itself to the mix before his very own words ripped Emmeline from her wonderment and back to reality.

Never would she dare to pass judgement on the one next to her and yet the was a curious spark within her own eyes as she turned back toward the poor Hufflepuff. “I suppose so. Then again, I don’t think he’ll have to worry about that. His name is set in stone for much bigger things. No one is going to remember this down the line.” A shrug, to ease the mild tension. When it came to emotions, feelings or attachments of any kind, Emmeline would turn into quite the mouse herself. Not a shy one yet very much one that struggled to function as though thrown into a maze of questions. “What would your reaction be?” Curiosity had finally been put into words. Part of her really wanted to know, another part just felt the question to be logically placed. Wasn't that how they functioned?

[princeheir]

    There was only a single thing Severus cared about when it came to his flat. It had to look lived in.

    Growing up, his house was clinically clean, always too quiet, waiting for a father that wouldn’t return and a mother that watched her life pass her by. And he refused to ever go back there, filling the space he now lived in with everything that could possibly separate him from the lonesome little boy in the show house. 

    When the knock came, he barely heard, too caught up sorting through his laundry. Carole King echoed through the walls, his voice humming along to the vinyl playing as if there was nothing wrong with the world. The mark hadn’t hurt in a few days now and he had settled into a borderline normal life, doing chores and hanging around with muggle books, exclusive potion inventions and picked vegetables from his balcony garden. 

    It was almost as if the life he’d never thought he’d live had caught up to him, punching him in the gut with the dread of having to go back to the Dark Lord’s side as soon as he called. But, no, he wasn’t regretting the career choice he made at sixteen under the influence of the two biggest morons he’d ever met. Pfft, that didn’t sound like him at all— Fuck, the doorbell.

    Sliding through the hardwood floor with just his socks on, he looked through the peephole and felt sick to his stomach. Had he forgotten about inviting Emmeline to his place? That had never happened before, he was always on top of his schedule, he always knew who was coming and going. Or, even worse, had something happened? He opened the door so fast it almost gave him whiplash, welcoming her in and out of the rain. 

    “Take your shoes off, I just finished cleaning the floors. And— Is everything okay? I’m not sure we were supposed to meet today.” 

where: home of severus who: @princeheir

No matter the times, no matter the seasons or the weather, no matter how many days or weeks would pass, Emmeline would always find her way back. Back to the roots. If storms were to rage outside, she’d walk through the rain. The few that truly knew the witch would in fact know that said storms would be a welcome sight; something that she would truly thrive from. Rain had always been an accompanying factor in the life of Emmeline Vance and she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Yet that day was not one filled with the downpour of a lifetime. Instead nothing but a light drizzle could be found filling the air with a hint of dampness as she made her way down the street toward a more than familiar door, rare smile on her lips.

Hand raised to knock the moment she reached her destination, leaning back to wait with the umbrella tucked under her arm and a book clutched to her as though she worried a gust of wind may come by and make the compiled piece of writing flutter away in the breeze. Books were certainly something Emmeline had always been careful about. There was something about them that just held a magic no spell could capture.

It had been a few days since she’d last seen Severus. Of the many people that she’d shared her time at Hogwarts with, he’d become a constant even in the life beyond the walls of the castle. A constant. So much had happened yet this was a little fact that had remained all the same. It seemed like just another hint toward Emmeline not fully being aware of what world she truly felt she belonged in. It was a thought that crossed her mind for a split second before she pushed it aside. Another glance around, scanning the area. It was so much different from the hidden away place in Knockturn Alley she called her own.

[princeheir]

    Severus had never experienced something like his friendship to Emmeline. It was as if they had been made from the same clay, same sculptor, just with different goals in mind. She was rounded edges, hidden depths, the most beautiful design with the most saddening meaning. He was pointy corners, much too messed-up to be interpreted, black and white with so much grey in between it was hard to distinguish one for the other. And, somehow, she still managed to steal the words right from his mind.

    A crooked smile, a hand on the low of her back and eyes going back and forth from the ambience and his best friend, he found pleasure in the new details she shared with him. “Dance lessons do fit you, you are a most graceful person.” He meant it, seeing Emmeline as someone who held poise in everything she did, always impressive. 

    “She has this song… It’s not very poetic, I fear, but it goes like—” He twirls her, moving with her in a different rhythm to the one the band was actually playing, as if Suzi Quatro was blasting through the room, just for them. “You'll turn the wrong way, honey, if you ever turn your back on me…” The raspiness of his voice matched the way she sang it, lyrics etched in his brain. “And I'm down on my knees and I'm begging so savagely.” 

Perhaps it was their unique way of caring or just the evident oddness with which they functioned. Logic had never been something that Emmeline saw herself using when deciding upon who to spend such a dance with and yet with Sev it had made all the more sense. They worked well together and dancing was a team effort. Well, a two-person team in this case.

For a while Emmeline had stood by, observing the others as they moved across the dance floor; some seemingly effortless while others seemed to be on a path of potential and, to a degree unavoidable, danger. A smiled formed as she observed some Ravenclaw she’d seen around Hogwarts a few times try to spin their partner around and instead just bump into the pair next to them. If bowling pins would exist within the confines of the dance floor, this would certainly have been the moment for them to fall.

“I’d like to see you try.” Emmeline had paid close attention to every word, only turning toward him when the echo of his last had died. “Not sure if that is a threat or a promise, though. We may just have to find out.” She raised her eyebrow, almost daring him to do so as her hand reached for his. The way he seemed to be judging the music played by the band not going unnoticed, she couldn’t help but add to it. “I’ll have you know, I suffered through years of this.” She had taken dance lessons much like most of the purebloods around, had been treated by her father as though she was on the very same path and despite not being one of them, she was part of something. Her father had made sure of that.

Emms noticed the tension within him, the way he held her hand as though a breeze could pick her up and carry her away. She’d almost call the gesture nice. “Suzi Quatro? Do tell me about that one!” Of course, when it came to muggle music, Emmeline only knew what she’d been shown by others. Muggle culture in general seemed to one great mystery to the witch. “You have my undivided attention.” Something which he was granted whenever he may need it. “Is it a muggle artist?”

[princeheir]

    How long?

    He didn’t know where to start, heart beaming at the opportunity of being honest for the first time in… In just as long as he’d ever felt alive, really. 

    There was so little in his life he cared about, so little he held sacred. And one single constant. The red hair, the freckles, the same sweet smile that always turned into a laugh, no matter how bad the joke. And she had held that place since the first time they met, between dandelions and butterflies, with that unspoken knowledge that she’d be forever the only name to come to his mind whenever someone mentioned affection, love.

    And finally he had an opportunity to just say it, stop thinking about it, cleanse himself from the sin of never being able to shut his mind whenever she got a little too close.

    So why couldn’t he?

    The smile turned sorrowful, hid in Evans’ shoulder and not planning to ever show itself. For a moment, all they could hear was the night, all demanding and freeing. He wondered if he never answered she’d stay right there, and they’d wait for the morning together.

    When he couldn't take it anymore, he spoke. Slowly, stretching his vowels. 

    “I think… That one time I got a bug in my hair and you took it off.” He prepared to ramble, suddenly feeling freezing cold and hot as the sun at the same time. “You reached for me and I just thought… I hope she never pulls away. Just like that, I knew. And— And I know you don’t, don’t feel anything. This, whatever it was, doesn’t have to mean anything— You’re my best friend, I would never… I wouldn’t want to ruin— To mess up what we are. What we, uhm, have.” 

.

Lily gasped against his kiss as if she wanted to breathe him in. Pin pricks shot down her body as Severus leaned towards her. It took Lily a moment to realize that her hand against his wrist had tightened more than what might be pleasant, but as she tried to tell herself to let him go, she felt Severus' other hand tug at her waist, and only gripped him more tightly as her body braced in surprise.

Then, as the pad of Severus' thumb pushed softly against Lily's cheek she was undone again, her hands grasping at Severus gently, feebly, without help from her absent mind.

Never thought you would let me. It rang in Lily’s head as she pulled away to breathe properly. It did seem as if he had thought about it before, like he knew exactly what he’d been missing.

As Lily moved to lay on her back, and Severus caught her lips against his twice more- she made a small sigh of surprise, lightheaded from joy.

“I… I can't even think.” Lily said breathlessly, watching Severus smile wider than she’d ever seen. Was that because of her? Lily felt a strange mixture of pride and shyness as they smiled at each other, before Severus broke, cursing and laughing into her shoulder. Her cheeks felt hot as she looked into his face, when he smiled like that he was handsome.

His laugh rolled through her, a sonorous, deep sound that she wished she could have captured and kept.

After only a moment of hesitation, Lily moved so that Severus’ head could rest against her chest, her fingers carding through his hair as she wondered how uneven and quick her heart must sound against his ear. They had kissed and now it was the moment after. Could their friendship survive this? Did they want it to? Was it going to transform, deteriorate? Anxiously, Lily pushed her fingers against Severus’ scalp and ran her knuckles down the back of his neck.

It was too quiet, Lily bet her heartbeat was thudding so loud it could echo through Spinner’s End.

“Severus-“ Lily started, watching his head rise and fall with the swell of her breath. Never thought you would let me. Was it worth ruining a perfect first kiss to know? But how couldn’t she ask?

“How… long have you…?”

[princeheir]

˙    🐍     This thread takes place in 1981 at the Whyte Wyvern where @battleofpeter works.

    There is a pool of butterbeer right on top of the counter and Severus is trying to ignore his impulse to just clean it. It spreads, getting dangerously close to spilling and tainting the floors of the Whyte Wyvern, driving him closer and closer to complete insanity.

    Peter has been talking to a client for quite a while now, too busy to notice how he’s been waiting, book bag sitting on his lap so it won’t touch the disgusting, in his opinion, floors of the pub. And little by little, distraught fills Severus’ brain.

    Is when he goes to reach for the rag to do Peter’s job that he turns, finally acknowledging him. 

    He lets his hand drop, moving away from the back of the bar like he’s afraid he’s going to get screamed at. 

    “Uhm, hey, mate.” There is a lump in Severus’ throat thanks to the embarrassment, but the excitement to see Pettigrew is still there. “I just got here, really, thought I’d help out. You seem busy.”

[princeheir]

    There were no more thoughts inside of Severus' mind. Not a single one. Mary had wiped his head clean with a single phrase, a single sentence. He smiled awkwardly and slapped it off his face in record time, looking surprised that he’d regard her with it at all. 

    He followed behind her looking incredibly embarrassed, trying to ignore the rest of the Gryffindors with all of him. Being humiliated by Macdonald during school was one thing, being humiliated by her at a ball was something else entirely. And he’d like to keep his clothes very clean this time. 

    “Uhm, do you really want to dance, because—” He looked around, trying to find a familiar redhead in the crowd. Dancing with Emmeline was one thing, dancing with another girl altogether would make things heaps worse for himself, — and Severus was trying very hard not to complicate his life any further. “Because I’m really bad at it. Two left feet, truly.” 

    He moved his weight from one foot to another before taking a big breath in. “Why do you hate me?” It came out a little more meek than he’d like, everything seeming to get more unbearable with every second of that conversation. Why’d he choose to talk to her anyway? “Because I never did anything to you, really, not that I can recall. And, uhm, I’m trying to be nicer to Lily’s friends, so.”

princeheir​:

is thread takes place in 1976, on that year’s Yulle Ball during an interaction between Severus and @vclatiles.

-

       Mary wanted to see the world burn.

It would be quite the beautiful sight, and yet she knew no matter her actions; society and those around her would barely notice the smoke in the sky nor  the screams for help from those they considered lesser.

         As long as the Pureblood’s were still getting fed from golden spoons and were still able to marry their cousins, Mary supposed. These thoughts she would keep to herself, to bury deep inside, into the depths of her mind where no one would dare venture - fifth year had left her unhinged, no thanks to Mulciber - she let out a loud sigh at the mere thought of him. Prick.

She laughed at one of her friend’s jokes, though Mary had no idea what the punchline was - her eyes too focused on a certain Slytherin that was inching too close to her liking, her lips turning upward into a small, cold smile. Severus Snape. Having first met in their very first Herbology class in first year; Mary had just known he was going to be a thorn in her side, and avidly made it her mission in every herbology class they shared to make his time absolutely miserable.

       “If you wanted to ask me to dance, Snape, just ask. It’s not like I bite.” Mary most certainly did bite, yet Severus was not her brother, and she was no longer five. Dismissing her friends with a wave, not caring about their confused looks on as to why Mary would take up his offer, or even acknowledge his existence, as she moved closer to the center of the room before spinning back around to face her foe; standing mere feet apart from Severus. “You’ve intrigued me, Snape. What could you possibly want to talk about with me?”

[princeheir]

        To the idiot that sent me itching powder through the mail,

    You left your address.     Why would you ever leave your bloody address in something like that? Are you a masochist? A very very lonely person waiting for a response?      Well, here it is. It was extremely unpleasant and a little mind boggling. It did not, however, do much harm. Now, are you satisfied?     I’m pretty sure there are laws against this type of display, so I recommend that you don’t go around doing this in the future.

Not a single regard, Severus Snape.

[princeheir]

        To one Gilderoy Lockhart,

    I have received a copy of your first book in the mail recently. I can’t say if it was sent by you, your team, — as I assume you have one —, or a completely random third party, but here are my (much convoluted) thoughts.     First of all, the picture of you. Why’d you make it so big? Was it to match your ego? Or to make the size of your forehead look normal? I’d love to hear why, how and when that picture was taken, and why’d you choose it. I’d also love a copy of it for myself (To hex, of course, I’d never use it for anything else).      When it comes to the book itself, dear God, get an editor. I’m begging you. You’ll see all of my more complicated thoughts on my copy, which I am sending back to you. I’ve tabbed and organized the pages in the following manner. 

Pink tabs for what I enjoyed.

Blue tabs for whenever I had to close it and take a walk.

Yellow tabs for changes I’d make.

Green for whenever I wanted to sit down and have a very unpleasant talk with you.

    Now, you must tell me why’d you choose hags of all things, when there are much more interesting things to write about! You truly need someone, something, to guide you, love.     With the book out of the way, how are you? I feel like we haven’t spoken much in these troubling times and I wonder how you’ve been doing. I’d send you a poem but I don’t think you deserve one these days. Hope your response will change my mind.

Do less, God bless, Severus Snape. 

[princeheir]

    Oh, but we would mind. He’d mind from there until eternity, already so certain that kissing her would be sealing his destiny. There would be no name owning his heart but her four, so lovely, letters. No lips he’d rather kiss, no person he’d rather be with in the middle of the prickling dandelions and chill of a summer evening… God, he was so incredibly fucked.

    Stuck between making it sweet, soft, perfect and kissing her like it was the last time he’d ever get the chance, he dove in anyways, closing the space that separated them.

    It was everything and nothing he expected at the same time and he found himself losing his mind before her touch, body suddenly too hot to bear. It was calm as a sea before a storm at the beginning, the fear of fucking up stopping him from going deeper, touching beyond where she’d let him. Little by little, inhibitions being tested by how she felt, he inched even closer, fingers dancing until they found her waist, touching it with reverence and a bit more roughness. 

    His thumb danced on top of her cheek, Severus being much too stubborn to pull away even when he felt himself inch a little too close to passing away. Nothing would bother them, not even air. Not for as long as he could live in that bubble they’d created for themselves.

    Once she pulled away he followed her with his lips, body inching forward. He placed one, two more quick kisses upon her lips before breaking into a grin so big he felt the corners of his mouth ache. “Oh, shit.” Was all that came out, face being hidden onto her shoulder and a stupid laugh echoing through the dandelions.