Three months later, anticipating nothing more than a hot bath awaiting him, Snape glanced towards the slightly opened portrait that guarded the entryway to his rooms and walked in. It had been a long day. First and Second-year Potions had been nothing short of disastrous. The little horrors had done everything in the power to blow up the dungeons and then some. Top that off with having to supervise Harry's detention for his continued escalation of blatant disrespect in the middle of the class, well, he seriously considered taking up drinking. His thoughts of being immersed in steamy water were cut short, however, when he saw a redhead poke up from his couch. The curly red locks turned towards him to give him a tired smile.

"Hey, Sev," Lily softly spoke. "I hope you don't mind me dropping by like this."

"Of course not," he answered automatically. As if he would ever mind her presence. He quietly walked around the couch and collapsed next to his best friend a moment later. "Though, I will warn you that I am not in the best of moods at the moment," he said morosely.

"Join the club," she responded just as sullen as he felt.

He raised an eyebrow. "I take it that Tuney is being her normal…self?"

Sighing, she glanced at him with dull green eyes. "I had to get away for a bit, Sev. She's just been downright horrible lately, and I just couldn't stand it today."

Biting his tongue, he merely nodded in acknowledgement. After all, he was well aware of Petunia and her horrible self. He had witnessed it for years when they were children.

Suddenly, she flung her head back against the couch to look up at the ceiling. She remained silent, just thinking about what had gone wrong. Had her death really affected this much? She then sighed before she turned her head ever so slightly to glance at him.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

He didn't even have to think about it. He recalled exactly what occurred on that day just over fifteen years ago. "Yes," he replied simply. He then sighed when she didn't respond. "I shall never forget them, Lil. Your parents after all were kinder to me than my own." Still, she did not say anything. "I always make a point to visit their graves every year."

"Then you'll come with me tomorrow?" she asked, emerald eyes full of hope.

"Of course," he responded without a drop of hesitation. His eyes then narrowed when he noticed the hurt in her eyes. He had agreed, hadn't he?

"Petunia refused," she said quietly, turning her head from him to resume her staring at the ceiling. "She said that she had better things to do than to visit some old graves."

While positively seething in the inside, he remained silent. How could anyone be so selfish and cruel to her own sister, especially to Lily! Not to mention how disrespectful it was to the dead.

"I can't stay there any longer, Sev," she admitted, barely above a whisper. She then drew in a quick sharp breath before turning back to him. "I'd rather be out on the streets than there."

"Then I take it that you haven't had any luck finding a suitable place?" he inquired gently.

She immediately scoffed. Her emerald eyes hardened. "Either they won't accept I am who I say I am, despite what the identification papers I have state, or the places are so run down that I wouldn't let a rat live there."

He felt his stomach do back flips instantly. This was the opportunity he was waiting for. Now, he just had to open his mouth and say the words. He could do it. He could. He was the premier Potions master in all of England. He could say the few short sentences that he had been rehearsing nightly into the mirror in his lavatory.

"Well," he started to say. "You can always stay with me," he offered nervously, "that is…if you'd like…I mean…you could…we…you and Harry that is…as friends…" That had sounded a lot better all those times in the mirror and his head. Why was he so nervous about this? He was just asking her as one would do for any close friend.

"I couldn't ask that of you, Sev." she replied, smiling at his obvious embarrassment.

"You aren't, though. I'm offering," he quickly responded, regaining his composure finally. "As you know, my house on Spinner's End is small. Only two bedrooms, but you can stay there for as long as you need. And if you haven't found a place to live when school ends, I'll find someone to add an extra bedroom then. It wouldn't be too difficult to do. And it's the least I can do." He then sucked in a large breath. "I'll even sleep on the couch. You won't have anything to concern yourself over."

"Are you sure, Sev?" she asked softly, giving him a calculating look.

"I wouldn't have offered if I weren't, Lil."

Dear Merlin, when had he turned into some love-drunk Hufflepuff? He was practically on edge, waiting for her response. In fact, he was chanting in his mind her saying yes over and over again. He was just offering his house for her and Harry to live in. It didn't mean anything like they were living together and going to be a family now. After all, there was the little issue about her still being in love with James and being married to him.

"Oh, all right, Sev, you've talked me into it."

"Excellent," he replied, just barely keeping the glee from his voice. "You can stay in the extra bedroom here tonight. Well, tomorrow is Saturday. So we can go over to Tuney's and get your things, then go see your parents before settling you in at my house on Spinner's End." He honestly didn't know where this rambling had come from. It had to be sorely obvious to Lily.

"Perfect." She then cocked her head to the side with a soft smirk. "So, how was your day, Sev?"

"Every day, my first-years become even bigger dunderheads than the last."

When she laughed, he felt himself smile at the sound. He had noticed that ever since her return he had been smiling more and more every day. There was just something about that witch. He couldn't necessarily put his thumb on it, but he hoped that he would always be near her. Sighing in sheer content, he realized that suddenly his day wasn't all that bad after all.

~POL~

The sun's rays barely even had a chance to paint the sky before Snape and Lily appeared on the step of the Dursley residence early the next morning. Snape rapped his knuckles loudly against the door, making sure to amplify the sound magically inside the house. He forced himself to keep the nasty smile from etching his face when Petunia eventually answered the door with a robe pulled tight against her lean frame and a sneer firmly on her face.

"Figures that you'd come back," Petunia snarled. "You can't find a home, so you have to smooch off other people." She then muttered darkly before allowing them in. She of course made sure to glance about outside to see if the neighbors saw anything. After all, appearances were everything to Petunia Dursley. She wouldn't want her neighbors to learn that some sort of freaks showed up at the crack of dawn.

"Actually, Tuney," he said, knowing how much she didn't like the nickname, "I've come to help Lily collect her things. You see, she's going to move into her new home today."

It wasn't a complete lie. He was going to help Lily move in today. However, he caught her look that told him to be nice anyway. She never did let him have any fun with Tuney.

Without a word spoken, Lily pulled her temporary wand out of her jacket pocket and waved it expertly. Within seconds, all of her things had packed and shrunk perfectly to fly-size. She silently grabbed the levitated tiny trunk, pictures, and other miscellaneous items one by one, placing them into her pocket before glancing at her older sister.

Petunia gasped and sputtered in rage at the magic being used so freely in her home. Never in her life had she been so outraged. How dare that witch come into her home and do that. She then glanced towards the man next to her sister. Her outrage instantly increased as she caught his arrogant smirk.

"We're going to visit Mum and Dad now, Tuney. Are you sure you wouldn't like to come?" Lily asked politely, ignoring her sister's anger.

Petunia's eyes narrowed in undisguised hatred. "I have no desire to ruin my day by visiting a graveyard. Now, you've come for what you wanted. So get the hell out of my house."

Lily just shrugged in response. "As you wish, but I'll tell them you said hi." She then walked towards the door with him right behind her. As he reached around her and opened the door for her, she turned around. "Love you, sis," she said as kindly as she could before walking out.

"Goodbye." he said politely, still smirking widely, before he accompanied Lily out. The door then slammed shut with sounds of glass shattering against the floor a moment later. He, however, continued walking, grinning outright now at the sounds of Tuney's screams. It served that bitch right.

~POL~

Standing in front of the two graves, Snape sighed. They had just come from Lily's parents' graves. However, he had thought it would be a nice touch if he also took her to Godric's Hollow to visit her husband's grave. He knew that she had wanted to ask him but couldn't. After all, there were a lot of feelings surrounding those graves for the both of them.

He watched Lily slowly approach her husband's grave. Perhaps he should have gone with her. It clearly would have been a tiring event for anyone. However, he stood his ground near the tree, giving her the privacy she needed. He watched her remove some of the weeds and vines that had collected on the weathered grave marker. When she gently placed her cheek against the grave marker as if was a lover, he glanced away.

Her soft words slowly floated over to him as she spoke to her husband's grave. He heard her tell him all about their son together how Harry was growing into a man. She even told about Harry's Seeker abilities. He could hear her voice breaking as she continued. However, Snape said nothing. This was her moment. He would not intrude.

"Oh, James, I wish you were here with me. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm trying to be strong. I am." Sounds of her sniffling then echoed around the quiet graveyard. "Sev is taking good care of me. I know. I know, James, but please. He is a good man. I know that you two didn't see eye to eye on anything." She then sniffled some more. "But I want you to know. I won't ever forget you. I won't, James. I think about you always. I know it doesn't seem like that now, but I do." Her voice then wavered slightly. "Oh, he's so beautiful, our baby boy is so beautiful, James. He has that unruly Potter hair." Her quiet sobs filled the air. "Sometimes I feel like you're there with me, watching Harry and me. It's horrible I know, but I've woken up some nights and said your name when Harry, our little Harry, walked past. Oh, James, you'd be so proud of our son."

Snape then glanced at her when it suddenly became quiet. She was hugging the grave marker as if it was James. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut. He then watched her wipe the tears away, standing and turning. She gave him a soft sad smile before walking back to him.

~POL~

An hour later, the two friends walked up to the front door to Snape's small childhood home on Spinner's End. Once again, he opened the door for his best friend. He caught once more her look of mystification at him. However, he only flashed a soft smile, which surprisingly was coming easier and easier as time went on, and motioned her inside.

"Thank you for today, Sev," Lily said, removing her jacket and setting it on the hook beside the door. The sadness and grief was still very much evident in her voice.

"It wasn't a problem," he replied quietly. "I'd have gone to visit your parents today anyway." He then bit back a sigh. "And visiting Godric's Hollow seemed to be the right thing to do today, Lily."

"Yes, I know, but still." She then turned to face him with barely a foot between them. "It meant a lot to me, Sev," she said, placing a kind hand onto his arm.

"In that case," Severus replied, widening his grin, "you're quite welcome, Lil."

They stood facing each other for a moment in complete silence, enjoying the lost time. Each lost in his and her own thoughts. They hardly even noticed that they had leaned closer to one another until their lips met. The kiss only lasted a second or two before they quickly pulled apart with flaming red cheeks in sheer embarrassment.

Clearing his throat quickly, he decided that he needed to do something. "Well, I trust you remember where everything is?" he asked, forcing the smile to remain a soft smile instead of the horribly cheesy grin that wanted to escape.

She nodded in response, grateful for the out he was giving her. Where had that kiss come from anyway? She stared at him for a moment, realizing a second later that she was supposed to respond vocally. Oh, God, what was happening to her?

"Yes, yes, well, I-I suppose I need to go," she replied. When she caught his flinch, she realized her words, "Oh, no! Not go, I mean, um, I need to go, um…" She let her voice trail off as she attempted to figure out a plausible reason. It then came to her. "I need to go grocery shopping. That's right. I need to go grocery shopping," she said, feeling proud for coming up with that excuse before it became too horribly awkward for the both of them.

He shrugged in response, looking everywhere but her. Dear Merlin, why had he kissed her? She still had feelings for James. He wasn't going to force her into breaking her vows for him. She loved James. He was sure of it. Her pulling back from him proved that. Oh, why did he always try to botch things up with her? Why couldn't he just be her friend or, hell, suave?

"There are a couple tins of soup that are still good, but nothing else," he quietly said. Actually, on second thought, he wasn't necessarily sure there were a couple of tins or that they were even good. Realizing that he likely sounded more of an idiot than before, he turned to face her in determination to end the awkwardness that had descended upon the room thanks to his assaulting her with a kiss. "You can have the master bedroom, and when your son arrives, he may have the other one." He caught her eyes narrowing on him, clearly wondering where he'd sleep then. "I have potions to brew this summer so I likely won't require nearly as much sleep as necessary. In fact, I likely would have just been on the couch anyway this summer had you not returned." He nearly groaned at how foolish that sounded. However, Lily only smiled at him and nodded in understanding.

"Well, how about you accompany me to the grocer then, Sev? After all, this house is as much of your place as it is my place now."

His heart leapt at her words. Dear Merlin, he had become a goddamn Hufflepuff. She clearly didn't mean it in that way. Though, there he was, thinking that she was all but offering him to join her.

"I would like that," he replied, forcing his emotions back. Clearly, he hadn't done a good job in this, though, because a moment later the following slipped out of his lips. "And then we can have lunch together, Lily." He snapped his mouth shut instantly and just stared at her. Oh, why had he said that?

"I'd like that, Sev," she responded with a soft smile. Her green eyes were alight with happiness. "Well, I think I'm going to go settle in now. Thank you for offering your home to us." She then leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You were always so sweet on me." Turning, she then silently walked out of the room with her items to head upstairs to the master bedroom. She couldn't keep the smile from her face. She loved James, didn't she? She then laughed. Then why was she so happy being here with Sev?

~POL~

For the first time ever, Harry was actually excited for the summer. His mum had told him just the other day that she had found them a new home that was far away from his aunt and uncle. They'd have the whole summer together without so much as a peep from Snape. Harry was sure of it.

As the train came to a halt at King's Cross, Harry was the first to jump out of his seat. He was followed quickly by an equally excited Ron and slightly less excited Hermione. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't have to be searching desperately for the Dursleys and listen to the recitation of the rules again. No, no, he'd have his mum. That was all a boy like him needed.

Once off the train, though, his mum was not as easy to find as he had thought. Her red hair blended in with the Weasleys' hair. However, he saw her standing right there next to Ron's parents and Hermione's, talking quietly and happily with them. Harry made a beeline straight for the group with Ron and Hermione close on his tail.

After greetings were exchanged and each child had been engulfed in the arms of his or her parents, the kids began talking excitedly to one another, already making plans for sleepovers for the summer. After all, this was the first summer that Harry could participate.

"What's he doing here?" Ron asked loudly with disgust oozing from his words.

"Who?" asked Harry. Turning around, he immediately caught sight of whom Ron was talking about. Severus Snape, the man he thought he'd escaped from until next year, was walking determinedly towards the group. The man's usual robes were nowhere in sight.

"Oh, dear," Lily whispered, obviously not expecting anyone to hear her. She didn't notice Harry's puzzled look, but everyone noticed her shaking her head from one side to the other in what she hoped were small movements.

Narrowing his dark eyes on the redheaded witch shaking her head at him, Snape wondered what it meant. Was something wrong? He had thought his sudden appearance would be a surprise to her. He hadn't meant anything by it. She had told Harry that they were living with him. He had heard nothing but from the boy for the past month that he and his mother were living elsewhere than the Dursleys. She had told Harry, hadn't she? Before he could make sense of the situation, he was already standing directly in front of her. He raised a single eyebrow at her. "Is there some sort of problem, Lily?

Lily just lowered her head and massaged her temples. Oh, this was going to be nightmare. Why hadn't she just told Harry the other day that they were living at Sev's house? She then sighed. She knew why. Clearly her son and Sev didn't get along.

"Just you," muttered Ron, but the shocked silence that had fallen over the group caused his voice to reach all their ears.

"Ronald Weasley," Molly scolded harshly. "You will apologize this moment."

"Oh, Sev, we have got to work on our signals," Lily said, finally stopping her intense massage of her temples. She slowly lifted her head up to meet his eyes.

Before Snape could reply, Arthur asked the question on most of their minds. "Why are you here, Severus? I've never seen you take the train home before."

"Lily dr—" Snape begun, but was cut off by Lily.

"I haven't told him yet, Severus."

Snape looked at her for a moment. They seemed to carry on a whole conversation with their eyes, but a moment later, his eyes glided from Lily to her son.

"I see," he stated dryly without taking his eyes off Harry, who squirmed as though under a microscope. He held his hand out in front of her before saying, "Keys?"

"Why?" Lily asked, not daring to look anywhere but Severus.

With his hand still outstretched towards her, he turned to look at her once more. "There's a saying about 'having to sleep in the bed one has made.'" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sure you've heard it. So I'm going to go get the car, and you are going to…handle this…situation."

With a glare, Lily threw the car keys at him. How dare he just walk away from her! How was she suppose to know he'd show up, looking like that, all sexy in his gorgeous black—Oh, God, she sounded like some hormonal fifth-year girl again.

"Thank you," Snape replied, ignoring her obvious anger. With a flick of his wand, Harry's trunk reduced in size and flew into his outstretched hand. Turning on his heel, he walked away from the group. He was rather glad he didn't have to be near those Weasley anymore. One could only stand them for so long.

"I'm so going to fill his shampoo bottle with a depilatory," Lily said, still glaring at his back.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face her son. "Harry, I couldn't stand living with your aunt and uncle any longer. However, most people know that I'm supposed to be dead so I couldn't find a suitable place for us to live. Severus has been my very best friend since we were children so he offered to let us live with him until we could find another place." She ignored her son's growing anger. He'd just have to deal with this one way or another. "I accepted his offer, Harry. I was going to tell you on the drive to his house." She then frowned. "Trust me. I didn't know he was going to meet us here."

Harry stood, staring at his mother with wide eyes. This simply could not be happening. He was going to live with Snape! Snape! Of all people, why him?

The entire group seemed to have lost the ability to speak for a moment until George found his vocal cords. "It might not be that bad, Harry."

"Yeah," continued Fred, "he's sure to have tons of Potions books—"

"—and if we need some, shall we say 'information' from some of the older books—"

"—you could maybe sneak a look at some of them for us."

"And just why don't you just ask him yourself, gentlemen?" Lily asked, glancing at the twins.

"We have," the twins replied in unison.

"He always gives us this speech," Fred began.

"About this being a school and such," finished George.

"You're both idiots," Lily deadpanned. "He was trying to tell you to contact him outside of school, you idiots."

"Oh," they said together.

Lily rolled her eyes in a manner she obviously picked up from Snape. "In fact, I happen to know that if you were to ask him for an apprenticeship, he would accept you both. He seems to be under the misconception that the two of you are very talented in Potions and with a bit of expert guidance could easily become the next big names in Potions. And, just so you know, whoever he accepts as his apprentice will have instant recognition, which could come in handy as far as sales and marketing go. But first you have to ask."

Looking at the faces around her and taking in Harry's mixture of shock and anger, Lily sighed. "Let's go, Harry. You and friends can discuss plans for the summer later."

They had barely taken a step when Fred asked, "Why wouldn't he just tell us that himself?"

Lily turned back around to face the group, giving them a small sad smile. "I'm sure he did."

~POL~

The first ten minutes of what was turning out to be a very long car ride was spent in silence. A couple of times, Lily had opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again without uttering a sound. Finally, when the silence was too much, Lily managed to say something.

"So, how was school, Harry?" she asked politely.

In the back seat slouched down with an elbow propped up on the door, Harry shrugged. "Okay, I guess," he replied noncommittally. What did she care anyway? She had moved in with her boyfriend.

"Well," Lily prodded, "what have you and your friends been doing since Christmas? What did you learn in class?"

"Stuff," Harry said petulantly.

"You mother tells me," Snape started to say casually, "that your Potions professor is a right bastard with a stick jammed up his ass."

Harry's mouth fell open at Snape's words. He quickly sat up a bit straighter before a small grin spread over his face. Fine, if the man wanted to play it like this, he'd play along.

"That's putting it mildly, sir," Harry replied, mustering somehow a respectful tone for the first time in months. "You see, he's a complete jerk. He picks on everyone, except his Slytherins. Nothing anyone does is right, except his Slytherins. In my opinion, he's a complete and total ass."

"Harry," Lily said sternly, "I'm sure that's a bit harsh—"

Harry snorted loudly. A bit harsh? Why? Did the truth hurt a little too much? Snape wasn't ranting or raving after all. Was it because the greasy git knew that everything he was saying was true? And dear sweet perfect Mum, she couldn't handle the truth, could she?

Lily turned to glare at him. "Well, Harry, Potions can be very dangerous. And teaching a class of twenty students who don't know what they're doing is not good for the nerves. Especially when you know that the slightest mistake could easily cause an explosion or toxic fumes to fill the room."

"Your mother has a point," Snape added. "Brewing potions isn't something to be taken lightly. In my opinion, students shouldn't even begin mixing potions until at least their third year. Regrettably, the Ministry requires first and second-years play with ingredients that even the most experienced brewers use caution with, not the school." Snape paused for a moment before continuing, "On the other hand, you have a point as well. I'm sure this professor of yours could work on being a bit…kinder to his students." Glancing sideways he took the chance to look at Lily, he was immediately rewarded with her beaming smile. He didn't even try to resist. He smiled back. Clearly, he'd have his work cut out for him this summer with getting onto Harry's good side. He then held in his snort of amusement. Here was Severus Snape, the bastard of the dungeons himself, trying to get on the good side of a fourteen-year-old. Wonders never ceased to amaze him.

~POL~

Opening the door, Snape quietly held it for Harry and Lily. Of course Harry only glared at him as he brushed past, but Lily at least smiled at him. He then closed the door behind him before properly noticing his sitting area. His books! Where the hell were his books? He glanced around wildly, noticing that the stacks of books that had once been there were gone. He now only had the bookshelf-lined wall. That was the only place he had books.

Narrowing his eyes, he glanced at the furniture. The threadbare sofa and armchair were long gone. In their place were a navy blue sofa with a green and silver throw on the back and a navy blue armchair close to the cozy fireplace. The desk that had once been shoved into the corner had been replaced with an ebony traditional writing desk that was clearly expensive and moved slightly forward from the window. A traditional oriental rug had been placed under the desk to prevent any scuff marks. A black backed chair with a tan seat cover was pushed in as a large lamp sat on the side of the fine polished desk. He then glanced to the right of the desk, noticing the large dark red walnut stained bookcases that were filled with even more books. One side of the bookcase in fact had black iron bars that guarded his more dangerous books.

"Want to see the best part, Sev?" Lily asked with a devious smile. She then walked full speed towards one of the bookshelves only to disappear a moment later.

He stared at the bookshelf she walked through before walking towards it and reaching for one of the books. He pulled out Hogwarts: A History a moment later. What in Merlin's name had happened to Lily? He then placed the book back in its place and glanced around.

"Lily!" he shouted. Where had that witch gone? It was a bookshelf. It was. He could touch his books. "Lily!" he shouted again.

"Take it easy, Sev. I'm right he," she said, appearing a moment later after walking back through the bookshelf into the sitting area.

"How in the nine hells did you do that?"

"I've charmed this bookshelf to allow anyone who just thinks about going upstairs to pass through it. Think of it like the barrier at 9 and ¾, Sev. However, you have to make sure you walk through this bookshelf. Otherwise, you'll just walk into one." She then smiled. "I've made some changes upstairs also. For example, you'll be happy to note that you are not going to sleep on the couch all summer. You could say I've found some extra space."

Where on earth could she find extra space? There were the two rooms. That was it. Well, unless she pulled out a cot and placed it in the corridor. He supposed that was all right. There'd be room at least, and he'd be close to Lily.

"Would you like to see?" Her smile widened as he nodded. Leaving Harry behind for a moment, they walked through the bookshelf. He said nothing as they walked up the steps and entered the master bedroom. Sure enough, there were two beds, his and hers by the looks of it. "I trust you, Sev."