“I don’t remember going to Rome,” Harry almost whined.

“You were very young. That was where you got your stuffed wolf.” Severus told him.

Harry nodded distractedly. He frowned deep in thought. “Did I get in trouble at that fountain?”

“Indeed you did,” Severus confirmed. “You were under the mistaken impression that it was basically a grand paddling pool. We had to snatch you out of it. If I am not mistaken there are several pictures of it somewhere.”

“Can I see them?” Harry asked.

“Not at the moment,” Severus refused. “I do not know exactly where they are and I’m a little busy with our tale. Unless you wish me to stop here?”

Harry shook his head, “That’s okay.”

Severus sighed. Noticing Harry's disappointment, he added. "We can find them later. I promise Harry, but there is still much to tell in this tale.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Now where did I leave off?” Severus asked.

“We were at the fountain in Rome,” Harry supplied.

“Ah yes. We returned to the embassy from there, taking the Portkey back home to Cokeworth. I said farewell to you and your mother and returned to Hogwarts to recover for my inquiry the following morning.” Severus explained.

“How did that go?” Harry asked.

“As about as well as it could. But it was also your mother’s birthday. I arranged for Lupin and/or Black to babysit you for the night so your mother and I could have some time together alone.” Severus told him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus stepped gracefully out of the hearth in his quarters. He had just been released from his meeting with the Ministry.

A hand came up, loosening the collar of his formal robes. He would change into something more comfortable for the rest of the day. He had just thrown the robes over the back of the nearest chair when the flames came to life once more.

“Hello Headmaster,” Severus said not bothering to turn to confirm the visitor’s identity.

“Hello my boy,” Dumbledore’s head said from the fireplace. “I was wondering if you would care to join me to discuss today’s events.”

‘Not really,’ Severus thought to himself. “I was going to see to several personal matters then visit your office,” he said instead.

“Very good, I will see you in the next hour,” Dumbledore agreed.

Severus sighed. He had no desire to relieve today’s happenings, but he knew there was little good to try to ignore the Headmaster’s request. “Yes Sir,” Severus confirmed.

Dumbledore gave him a smile, (Severus was unsure of its meaning) and disappeared.

Severus returned to the fireplace removing a small pinch of powder from a box on top of the mantel. Sticking his head in the fire he called for Lily’s house.

“Sev’rus,” Harry called excitedly. The toddler ran toward the fireplace wanting to hug the older wizard.

“No, Harry no,” Severus scolded. Harry stopped where he was on the brink of tears.

“Harry, don’t cry,” Severus pleaded. “I don’t want you to get hurt you silly boy.” The explanation did little to soothe the hurt.

“Harry, where are… Oh, there you are.” She said coming around the corner.

“Hello Lily,” Severus said drawing her attention.

“Sev, what are you doing here? Don’t you have class? What about the Ministry?” Lily demanded.

“My classes are canceled today to deal with the inquiry. There was no way of knowing how long it would take. I am finished with it now. I wished to know if you’d care to have dinner with me tonight. If you don’t have any other plans.” Severus explained.

“No other plans, but I need to check with Remus about babysitting,” Lily replied.

“I believe you’ll find he or Black are available,” Severus reassured.

Lily frowned. “How would you know that before me?”

“I may have asked if they would be available before we left for Rome. I wanted you to have a nice birthday even if I could not be there myself. If I was not up for company, they were supposed to treat you to a night out.” Severus explained.

“You Slytherins and your plots,” Lily sighed. “Really Severus, we’ve already done so much for my birthday. We don’t have to do more.”

Severus took a deep breath. He did not like discussing his feelings. This was incredibly frustrating.

“Lily, I’ve had a very trying day,” Severus began.

“Exactly,” Lily interjected.

“Let me finish,” Severus grumbled.

“Sorry,” Lily said embarrassed. At least she had the wits to sound remorseful.

“As I was saying,” Severus said taking a breath. “I’ve had a miserable day. I could use some pleasant company and the distraction from the mounting pile of festering tripe that my students pass off as academic endeavors.”

“I’ll just double-check with Remus and call you back. But yes, an evening with you sounds lovely.” Lily agreed.

Severus nodded. “I look forward to your confirmation.” With that he withdrew his head from the flames terminating the connection. Not five minutes later Lily called him back to let him know that she be over at 6:30.

Severus glanced at his watch. He was expected in the Headmaster’s office and the next fifteen minutes or so. He expected this “discussion” to last several hours at least.

If he wanted to have any hope of his rooms in an acceptable state he would have to do something about it now. He would also need to see about dinner. He knew Lily would not totally approve, but he had little other choice. He contacted the kitchens. He explained the general idea of what he wanted and left the rest of the capable hands of the house elves.

By the time the conversation ended he was already late for his appointment with the Headmaster. Feeling the tiniest bit petulant, Severus decided to walk up to the Headmaster’s office versus using the fireplaces. It was almost fifteen minutes later when the spiral staircase finally deposited him in front of the Headmaster’s door.

As expected Dumbledore kept him there for almost a full three hours going over all the details of the interrogation, who was present, and what this could possibly mean for Severus’ future as a spy. By the end of it Severus wanted to tell the man to take his spy position and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. He didn’t though.

No, Dumbledore finally decided that they were done when the bell marking dinner rang. Lily would be over in less than an hour. Severus had hoped to shower and possibly squeeze in a short nap. He was going to have a hard time doing little more than shower now.

Why couldn't they have put this off until tomorrow? Nothing would have changed over a twenty-four hour period. It wasn’t as if the Dark Lord or any of his Death Eaters were wandering around the halls of the castle at the moment (except himself Severus added mentally).

It was over now though. He was free to enjoy his evening. At least if he said he didn’t want to talk about it Lily was likely to respect his desires.

Severus stalked through the halls. The students parted more quickly than usual. They must have guessed he was in a bad mood. Not for the first time Severus was thankful for the level of fear he instilled in the students. It was that fear that kept most of the students from doing anything too horribly wrong in the lab.

When Severus first took the position of Potions Master at the school Slughorn tried to explain how to handle the students' brewing. Slughorn had a much lighter hand with the students. Then again, he was more concerned with rubbing elbows with the right people, whether that was a promising student or their family. He would ignore the work if the students had the right last name, or cheeky personality. Severus would not admit it, even if it was only to Lily, how hurt he felt when his efforts were ignored over Lily’s charm.

Severus was pleasantly surprised at the sight that greeted him when he entered his quarters. It looked like the setting of a Muggle movie or romance novel. Maybe one of the house elves had found one of those novels stashed away in the castle. Could house elves read? Severus wondered this as he got into the shower. He just finished dressing when the Floo flared to life once again.

“Sev,” Lily called stepping onto the hearth rug.

“Happy birthday,” Severus said when he greeted her, leaning down to kiss her.

“Thanks,” she said as they broke apart.

She got a good look around the room for the first time. “You shouldn’t have gone through all the trouble,” she scolded mildly.

“I didn’t, the house elves did.” He informed her.

“Sev,” Lily scolded. “You shouldn’t have made them do that.”

“I did not ask for all of this,” he said gesturing around the room. It was covered in candles, flower petals spread over the floor, possibly in a path to his bedroom.

“I simply told them I would have a lady companion over this evening and would need several dishes directed towards my rooms. I also mentioned my quarters could use a bit of a straightening up. The rest of it was thanks to the lovely Lolly.” Severus explained.

Lily grunted. “I see. I guess we should enjoy it if they went through all the effort.”

“It would be a waste to ignore it.” Severus agreed then yelled, “Chaucer get down.”

The kitten had climbed the back of the couch was trying her best to knock one of the small decorations off the table. The problem was she was, also hitting at least one of the candles in the process.

“Don’t yell at her, Sev,” Lily said scooping up the kitten.

“Oh yes, take her side. Never mind the fact she has torn up the sides of my sofa, leaves her fur over everything, and is just doing her best to kill us with fire,” Severus pouted.

Lily stopped petting the cat and looked over at Severus. “Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Lily demanded.

Severus returned a humorless laugh in reply, gracelessly flopping down on the sofa. “Very funny Lily. You’re always so droll.”

“The Severus Snape I’m used to doesn’t normally pout about his animal getting more attention than himself.” Lily remarked.

“The normal Severus Snape you know didn’t have pets,” Severus replied.

Lily raised an eyebrow. “What’s really going on?”

Severus sighed, “The fallout from an overly long horrible day.”

Lily sat down next to him, “If you want I can…”

Severus shook his head. “No, what I told you earlier was true. I would really like this, pleasant company.” He paused, “Perhaps it would be best if we don’t talk about the inquiry today. The Headmaster already made me do it once today.”

Lily nodded. “Of course whatever you need. How about a drink?”

Severus shook his head. “No, it would be best if I don’t drink for the next day or so.”

“Potion after effects?” Lily asked.

“Not exactly,” Severus replied. “I start taking on some of Tobias’ is more lovely personal behaviors.”

“Oh,” Lily said. She knew Severus’ greatest fear was falling down the bottle that swallowed his father and made his childhood so miserable.

“Okay,” she said forcing more cheer into her voice. “Let’s eat. Everything seems a little bit better with food in your belly.”

Severus followed her to the table for lack of any sort of reasonable objection.

Dinner a pleasant affair. The house elves had given them a roast chicken, potatoes, vegetables and treacle tart for dessert. About halfway through their dinner Chaucer reminded the couple of her presence by sticking her claws into Severus’ foot. She decided to use it for hunting practice. This was the one time he didn’t have shoes on. Lily was able to chase her off with a bit of chicken from her plate.

Severus groaned at the sight. “You’re going to teach her horrible habits and I am going to be the one who has to deal with it.”

“Uh huh,” Lily agreed and gave the kitten a bit more chicken.

“Is there anything you’d like to do tonight?” Severus asked.

Lily looked at him curiously. “Don’t have that part planned out already,” she teased.

Severus shook his head. “I hadn’t planned that far, no. I will tell you I am not up for much of anything exciting. If I had a telly, I would suggest we watch a movie. Sadly we do not however.”

“How about a snuggle on the couch and you read to me for a bit?” Suggested Lily.

“That sounds agreeable,” agreed Severus.

Severus cleared the table with a wave of his wand. Lily met him with a novel in hand. They settled down next to each other on the couch, shifting until they are both comfortable.

“The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex….” Severus read. He read for almost thirty minutes straight only pausing for breath or an occasional sip of water.

“Sev,” Lily asked to still tucked into his side, her head resting on his chest.

“Yes Lily flower,” he replied slipping his finger between the pages to mark their spot.

“What happened at the Ministry this morning?” Lily asked nervously.

Severus stiffened and sighed. He shifted until Lily let him stand up. He placed the book on the coffee table before crossing to stand in front of the fireplace. He wasn’t looking at her when he began to speak. “I told you on Boxing Day the Ministry wish to ask me about my time as a spy. This time would be different from the last half-dozen times because I would be under the influence of Veritaserum.”

Lily nodded before realizing he couldn’t see her. “Yes,” she said.

“That is what happened. The questioning was carried out mainly by Alastor Moody. He wanted much more detail than in my previous interrogations. I had to go into vivid detail about the most revolting acts of torture I witnessed during the war. He said he just wanted to ensure I wasn’t holding anything back. It is hard being forced to relive those experiences with no way to escape.” Severus said firmly. He was fighting to remain in control of his emotions.

“Oh Sev,” she explained. “And here I am demanding you tell me…”

“No,” Severus objected. “You are fine. I would not have answered if I was not. You wanted only to know what happened. The Headmaster, however, wished to relive the entire morning’s testimony and all. That is far far different. No, you are fine.”

“What about you?” Lily asked.

“I will be,” Severus replied.

“Honestly,” Lily questioned.

“Honestly,” he confirmed and he almost believed it.