It was late when Snape apparated into the emergency stairwell at Lily's apartment. He'd gone immediately to Dumbledore after the Death Eater meeting, assuring him that at least for the time being, his position as a spy was in no threat to being discovered.

He'd then demanded to know how the wards surrounding the Burrow had so easily fallen, to which Dumbledore had replied, "For months, I have known that the house elf living at Order headquarters has been passing information on to Bellatrix Lestrange. It is actions taken directly by Kreacher – on Bellatrix's orders – that led to Sirius' death. You must remember that, before she was Bellatrix Lestrange, she was first and foremost Bellatrix Black, and the bloodline is still valued very highly by the elf."

"But—How?" Snape raged. "How could she know the exact wards and how to destroy them?"

"Although I have given orders not to discuss details around Kreacher since that night at the Ministry, before then we never exactly made our plans a secret at headquarters. In fact, they were usually discussed freely and in detail, as we believed that it was safe to do so. Kreacher could have easily overheard our past arrangements and guessed our intentions when Harry was moved to the Burrow. All he had to do then was give that information to Bellatrix."

Snape would normally have been enraged by this knowledge of the betrayal that could have easily cost his son his life. But after everything, he was just so tired. Tired of the darkness that ruled his every move; tired of the duplicity; tired of the fact that he couldn't just settle down with his family and lead a normal life with the people he loved.

And so it was in that exhausted state that he had apparated back to Lily's apartment – a place he was quickly starting to think of as home.

Or perhaps it was the people that made him feel that way…

Reaching her apartment, he placed his palm against the wooden door and whispered the Latin enchantments, relived when it popped open without any warnings or alarms. The evening had gone smoothly, then. Thank Merlin.

The house was quiet and dark as he pushed open the door, the only light coming from the candles that Harry had magically lit earlier that evening. Had Lily even bothered to blow them out? Or had she allowed them to burn as a reminder of the strange and dangerous new life that she was now an integral part of?

He padded quietly into the sitting room and could clearly see through the open bedroom door on the opposite side of the sitting room. A small strand of twinkle lights strung above the bed illuminated Harry, who was sleeping soundly among pink pillows and a Disney Princess bedcover. The site made Snape chuckle. Jilly was asleep on the trundle pulled out from underneath her bed, and he realized that it was a scene he might have come across in any normal family home – a brother and sister sleeping peacefully near one another. His heart swelled at the thought.

A slight movement on the other side of the sitting room caught Snape's attention, and his eyes immediately flicked to Lily sitting on the sofa with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was staring into the light of the candle in the middle of the coffee table, her face looking anxious, and she was so entangled in her own thoughts that she hadn't even heard him come in.

"Lily…"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, but immediately rose with a look of immense relief. "Severus! Oh, thank God." She threw herself into his arms, and Snape held her close as he buried his face in her lavender-scented hair, taking a moment to allow her goodness and purity to wash through him. It was a comfort after the evil presence that he'd been forced to endure inside his mind. She was still pressed up against him with her face in the crook of his neck as she murmured, "After Harry told me about Voldemort, I was so worried about you…"

Snape flinched at her words – not at the name, which to this day he couldn't bring himself to use – but in surprise at the fact that she knew about the Dark Lord at all. He pulled slightly away, and his face must have betrayed his confusion because she quickly explained, "Harry and I talked…"

"Of course," he murmured, shaking his head. "The boy doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut."

She glanced up at him, nibbling anxiously on her bottom lip. "Don't be angry with him, I was the one who—"

"I'm not angry with him," he said with a sigh. "I just… wish that all of this could have been avoided. I never imagined having to introduce you to your heritage in such a way."

She hesitated. "Severus… I… I think you're wrong about us. What you and Harry are… it's amazing. But Jilly and I… We're not. There's no way we could be! We're just… us. Plain old us."

Snape's eyebrows raised as he looked at the remarkable woman in his arms. Even now, after everything, she didn't recognize her own worth. Cupping her face in his hands, he hesitated a hairs-breadth away from her lips and whispered, "Even if the two of you were not witches, I'd gladly spend the rest of my days proving to you how wrong you are. You are amazing… And you are certainly anything but plain."

His lips melded onto hers, catching her gasp as the kiss quickly escalated and he crushed her body to him. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in her and not think about all that had happened that day. But as he caught site of her small, pale hand tangled in his Death Eater robes, he suddenly pulled away, disgusted with himself.

"I need a shower," he murmured apologetically. "I can't stand to be near you with the vile stench of those evil bastards still on me."

Lily's eyes were hooded with desire but also flooded with understanding. Breaking away from him, she moved to Jillian's room and softly closed the door. Then, grasping his hand, she pulled him across the other side of the sitting room and into her own bedroom.

Closing the door behind them, she looked at him greedily but made no move to touch him. Instead, she made her way to the bathroom, turning on the shower so that steam billowed from the spout and began filling up the small room. Knowing that his eyes were watching her every move, she slowly – deliberately – peeled her shirt off above her head. Then she stepped out of her jeans with her back still to him. Unhooking her bra, she let it and her lacy panties fall to the floor before she turned to stare at him. The look on her face could almost be described as a challenge – or an invitation.

The site of her took his breath away, and the memory of Bellatrix's beaten, broken, and bloody body was scrubbed from his mind, replaced instead with the vision standing before him.

Snape held his breath when she reached for him. Her hands immediately slipped beneath the heavy fabric of his robes and pushed it over his head. He tossed them aside, wishing yet again that he could simply burn them to ash and never think on them again. But any rational thought was suddenly impossible as Lily's fingers fiddled with the waistband of his trousers, pulling them down and away from his body so that the only darkness left between them was the dark anticipation of their desire.

Snape kissed her, and she sighed into his mouth, igniting his passion. With a growl he lifted her easily onto the sink countertop, stepping between her thighs and delving into the crook of her neck, gently kissing and nipping a trail across the petal-soft skin and down to her collarbone. Moaning at the contact, she tried to wrap her arms around the back of his neck, but he grasped both wrists and pushed them up against the mirror, effectively trapping her as he pressed his hard planes firmly into her soft curves.

He took his time kissing her, taking control and directing each position, each place that he wanted to lavish attention. She seemed to instinctively know that he needed this – needed to be in control after having such lack of it throughout the horrific day. She didn't fight him, only urged him on with soft moans and pleading, insistent kisses.

He took her earlobe between his teeth, reveling in the sounds of her heavy panting and soft sighs and allowing them to scrub the horrific memory of Harry's agony and Bellatrix's screams from his mind. Every controlled movement that he worshipped along her skin elicited a sweet, satisfying reaction. He allowed them all to replace the horror that he had witnessed that day, releasing the darkness that could not survive in the light that was Lily's presence.

When he finally pulled her into the shower, it was not only the water but also the feeling of Lily's soft skin sliding against his own that finally allowed him to feel clean, as unsoiled and pure as the woman he held tightly in his arms.

. . . . .

Snape awoke on his side in the early hours of the pale blue dawn, Lily's head pillowed on his outstretched arm with his other arm draped protectively around her middle. It was a wonderfully delicious way to drift back into consciousness, with her magnificent bottom tucked firmly into his front. He could feel every inch of her pressed against him, from her shoulders all the way down to her tiny feet. Their bodies fit together as if they had been made for it. The wave of love that washed through him made him tighten his arms around her, and he lay there for long minutes simply listening to her breathe and feeling more at peace than he could ever remember.

But he sighed as the rising sun began to light the room. He was loathe to leave Lily's side but knew that if he didn't get a move on, he would not have time to complete all he had planned for today. Sliding out from behind, he looked down at her beautiful sleeping form for a long moment before conjuring a single white lily flower and a note that read: "Gone home for a change of clothes. Be back soon. –S". Placing these on the pillow beside her, Snape turned and quietly dressed in the bathroom, then apparated to Spinner's End directly from there.

Landing on the front stoop, he glanced quickly up and down the deserted-looking street. All seemed undisturbed in the early morning sun, and he placed his palm against the door and murmured the incantations. The door popped open without any warnings or alarms – all was quiet.

First thing's first.

Knowing what was to come later that day, he went immediately upstairs to his wardrobe, not looking forward to what he was about to do. Sliding his normal button downs all the way over, he pulled out something that he'd never actually worn before now. It had been a Christmas gift from his Lily – the last she'd ever given him, as the fight between them had been only a few months afterward. She'd gifted him with it in the hopes of breaking him out of his habit of only wearing black, perhaps hoping that it would be the first step in getting his attention away from the Dark Arts. It hadn't worked. But he'd never been able to bring himself to throw it out.

Looking at the dark brown leather jacket, he wondered if he was losing his mind.

Knowing it was sized for a teenage boy and that it would not fit across his now broadened and more muscular arms and shoulders, Snape took out his wand to expand and enlarge the soft, supple leather. He changed into his normal white button down and trousers, then slipped into the jacket so he could finish his morning routine.

As he headed into the bathroom, he caught sight of himself in the mirror and stopped short. Although he felt ridiculous, he had to admit that he didn't necessarily look horrible. The jacket was cut to accentuate the shape of his body, which he had to admit looked somewhat decent when not covered by all those layers of fabric. His arms and shoulders were corded with muscles that he'd never paid much attention to, but being faced with them now he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride. Perhaps he was not quite the ugly duckling he'd always thought himself to be…

Making his way back downstairs, he saw that someone had kindly thought to bring over Harry's trunk from the Weasley's. After shrinking it down to fit within his pocket, Snape retrieved the bag of gold that he had given Lupin to take Harry shopping. It was somewhat lighter after that shopping trip but not considerably so, and he knew it would be more than enough for the day he had planned. And so, after setting the wards in place, he apparated back to Lily's apartment.

He heard the commotion of breakfast being cooked when he walked in the door followed swiftly by the laughter of children, and he smiled to himself as he took a moment to savor the normalcy of it all. This is what life should be – filled with moments of passion, the love of a family, secure in the knowledge that his loved ones would be safe from all evils. He knew the thought was only a wish in that moment, but vowed that he would continue fighting until he could make it a reality.

Walking around the corner, he saw Lily at the stove wrapped in her long silken dressing gown. He approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her and placing his mouth against her ear as he murmured, "That smells good."

She tilted her head to the side, exposing more of her neck to his mouth as she paused in her cooking and whispered with a smile, "It is good. I'm an excellent chef, remember?" Snape chuckled. "Thank you for my flower," she said, and as she turned in his arms a look of utter shock crossed over her features. "Holy…! Wo-o-ow… You clean up nice."

His only answer was a gruff snort as he released her and peered into the sitting room at the kids. He didn't care what he looked like, he told himself, as long as he wasn't recognized today. But he had to admit that deep down, her words secretly pleased him.

Harry and Jillian were playing a board game, and he watched them for a moment. Snape was relieved to see that the boy looked stronger, and his pallor was a much healthier color than the day before. He noticed with a frown though when Harry's hand shook ever so slightly as he reached to move his piece across the board.

Snape walked around the corner into the sitting room, and as Harry caught sight of him, his reaction was much the same as Lily's.

"Morning, Dad—whoa." The boy's face was riddled with shock for a moment before a grin spread across his features as he looked him up and down. Snape rolled his eyes.

"It's a leather jacket, Potter. Stop looking at me as if I'm wearing a bucket on my head."

"For you, it may as well be a bucket on your head," Harry muttered with a smirk. But then more loudly, "It looks good on you! What's the occasion?"

Snape eyed him sternly. "First I want to know how you feel."

Harry's face sobered. "Better. Still a little weak," he admitted. "And my hands are trembling a bit. But definitely a lot better than yesterday."

"Come," Snape said, motioning for him to sit on the sofa. "Let me take a look at you."

Harry had trouble rising as his knees kept buckling beneath him, but Jillian immediately jumped up and helped him to his feet. "Thanks, Jilly," Harry murmured, accepting her assistance as she led him over to the sofa, scooting over to make room for her next to him.

Snape perched himself on the edge of the coffee table in front of Harry. He put the boy through his paces, having him move and stretch in certain ways so that Snape could assess his condition. He was lucky – the Cruciatus Maxima was strong enough to do serious lasting damage both physically and mentally, as proven by the Longbottoms. But judging by Harry's movements, he would recover.

"I think another nerve potion is in order," Snape announced after watching Harry's fingers twitch when Snape asked him to move them each individually. He pulled the leather doctor's bag off the floor and into his lap. "Are you in any pain?"

"No. Well… Nothing like yesterday. I'm just a little sore."

"Like you got run over by the Knight Bus sore, or like you are recovering from a strenuous work out sore?" Snape asked.

"Mmm… More like I had to fight off a Gindylow sore," Harry said.

Snape nodded. "Yes, well… I believe you would know firsthand what that feels like, after stealing a large portion of my Gillyweed." He smirked when Harry sputtered in indignation, but cut him off before he could say anything. "Another pain potion as well, then." Harry scowled at him as Snape handed over the appropriate potions.

"You know that wasn't me…" he grumbled as he tossed back the glowing liquids.

Jillian looked curiously at them both before asking, "What's a Grindylow?"

"Food is ready," Lily announced from the kitchen.

"Let's go help your mom set the table, and I'll tell you over breakfast," Harry said to the girl with a smile. Snape noticed with satisfaction that he already looked stronger, as his knees didn't seem to trouble him as he rose from the sofa.

Sitting around the round table like a proper family, Snape couldn't help but smile at the feeling it evoked. Lily's gaze met his, and she seemed to understand his contentment. She reached out to him under the table and squeezed his hand with a smile. Then she turned her attention back to Harry, who seemed to be enjoying regaling the girls with tales of his adventure in the Black Lake during the TriWizard Tournament.

"He turned his head into a shark?" Jilly gasped.

"You can actually do that?" Lily asked in awe.

"Oh yeah!" Harry replied eagerly. "I have another teacher that's an Animagus. She can transform herself at will completely into a cat."

"Wow…" Lily murmured, still seeming a bit overwhelmed with everything.

"I wish we could go to your school!" Jilly sighed wistfully.

Snape felt that it was a good moment to chime in. "Well, about that… I believe it's time for you to learn a little about the world you come from. I'd like to take you to a very special place today – Diagon Alley."

"Oh wow, really?" Harry said excitedly. "Jilly, you're going to love it! It's filled with all sorts of amazing things! Gringotts, Florean Fortescue's… And just wait until you see the twins' joke shop!" At the thought of the Weasley twins, he looked seriously, almost sadly at Snape. "Do you know how Mrs. Weasley is doing? Have you spoken to anyone?"

"I spoke to Dumbledore last night. She will be fine, Harry. She may have a few scars, as Dark Magic always leaves an unremoveable mark. But I doubt that she'll have any lasting damage other than that. Mrs. Weasley was lucky – all she needed was a few blood replenishing potions." Harry looked extremely relieved to hear it.

Lily's eyes flicked back and forth between them in surprise. "Weasley? As in… As in my second-cousins? You know them?"

"Your cousins?!" Harry gasped in surprise, but a large grin stole across his face. "Mrs. Weasley is one of my best friends' mum!" His eyes twinkled mischievously as he gazed at Snape out of the corner of his eye. "You're dating a Weasley, Dad…" He snickered. "Just wait until Ron finds out."

Snape threw his waded up napkin at his son's face, but Harry just laughed. "Go get ready, you two. Oh, and here are your things, Harry," he said, pulling the matchbox-sized trunk out of his pocket and enlarging it after placing it on the ground.

Jilly giggled and Lily's eyes were the size of saucers. "This magic stuff is going to take some getting used to…"

As the children dressed and readied themselves for the day, Snape helped Lily clear the dishes from the table. "What happened to Mrs. Weasley?" she asked quietly after a moment.

"Did Harry not tell you?"

"I could have kept him up all night asking questions, but he was exhausted."

"Well… She was attacked yesterday by a Death Eater named Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry sustained his injuries by trying to fight her off."

Lily's eyes had widened with worry. "Oh… She'll be alright though?"

"I'm sure she's a little shaken. But she will be fine."

Lily was quiet for a moment. But as Snape carried the last of the dishes into the kitchen and she piled everything into the sink she asked, "Am I missing something about you and the Weasleys?"

"Well, let's just say that the Weasleys are… uh… the last family that you would ever imagine me being a part of." She nodded, still looking a little confused.

When she went to start washing the dishes, Snape halted her and said, "Allow me." With a flick of his wand, the first of the dirty dishes rose into the air and began washing, then drying itself before disappearing back into the cupboard from which it came.

"Now that I could get used to," Lily murmured in wonder. She maneuvered into his arms and placed her own around his waist. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he said with a kiss. He growled as her mouth opened beneath his, then pulled gently away. "Unless you want the children to find you bent over the side of that sofa when they come out, you'd better get ready too." He gently smacked her backside, promising to continue where they left off at a more appropriate time. With a sassy smile and a pretty flush to her cheeks, she too disappeared to get dressed.

When the entire family was dressed and gathered in the sitting room, Snape pulled Harry to his feet and announced, "Now for the Glamour."

"The what?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, I don't want Harry or myself to be recognized out in public today, so we're going to change our appearances. The spell that allows us to do so is called a Glamour."

"So you're going to make yourselves look like different people?" Jilly asked, and Snape nodded down at her. "Oh, wait, wait!" she cried, and she quickly bent down and opened the cabinet beneath the television. She came back to Snape's side with a thin, rectangular, covered box. She handed it to Snape, who looked down at the pictures covering it in confusion.

"Free Willy 2," he murmured, reading the title of the box. "What is this?"

"A movie, silly!" she giggled. "It's my favorite! Can you make Harry look like him?" And she pointed to a boy on the back of the box who looked to be about Harry's age. He had a huge smile on his face as he rode on the back of a massive whale.

He cocked an eyebrow and looked disdainfully at Lily. "This is what you muggles consider entertainment?"

"Don't ask," she said, laughing as she shook her head.

Harry took the movie in his hand and examined the picture, then groaned. But he had a tolerant smile on his face when he asked, "Ugh, Jilly… Are you serious?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Please Harry?"

Harry groaned playfully again, then sighed. "Alright…"

Snape set to work on Harry's features, broadening his face and mouth, filling in the hollow under his cheekbones, and making his eyes a bit squintier in shape. Jillian and Lily both gasped when Harry's hair changed color, becoming curlier as it grew backwards into his skull.

"Wicked!" Jillian cried. "You look just like Jesse!"

"That is so weird," Lily laughed, and Harry nodded.

"It feels even weirder! Like I'm wearing another person's skin suit!" Harry responded, glancing in the mirror hanging above the sofa, slowly nodding his head in approval as he examined himself from all angles. He looked thoughtfully up at Snape. "Better than Polyjuice Potion, though…"

"Wait a minute," Snape said in alarm. "When have you-?"

"Mum's turn!" Jilly cried. "Who do you want Severus to look like, Mum?"

Snape's guarded, wary gaze shot to Lily. "Wait a minute!" he repeated. "No. That is not happening."

But a wicked grin had taken over Lily's features. "Oh, it is most definitely happening."

"Yeah Dad," The boy from the box chimed in with a cheeky smirk. "Jilly got to choose what I looked like. It's only fair that Lily gets to choose who you're going to look like!"

Jillian just giggled as she bounced up and down, smiling at the rest of them.

"What are you laughing at?" Snape scoffed at the little girl. But she just continued to grin up at him. After looking at all three of their laughing faces in turn, he knew there was no escaping. He sighed in exasperation. "Fine… But just this once."

Jilly clapped before diving underneath the television again.

"Wait… How does she-?"

She came up with another small, rectangular box and handed it immediately to her mother. Harry the whale boy looked over Lily's shoulder with a question on his face, and Lily pointed out someone particular. The boy's eyes grew wide and his eyebrows shot up into his curly hairline as he burst out laughing.

Snape snatched the box out of Lily's hands, reading the cover title.

"Legends of the Fall… Woman, I'm going to make you rue the day you were born if you think this is who you're sticking me with…"

Lily just smirked up at him with a sassy smile as she pointed to the blond man with the blue eyes and scruffy face. "I've always been a Brad Pitt fan."

Snape scrubbed his face with his palm. "Merlin's beard, what have I done to deserve this?"

Curly-haired Harry excitedly held up his wand crying, "I'll do it!"

"I don't think so," Snape grumbled, pushing the wand away from him as if it were a loaded gun. "I'd rather not walk around with green hair and purple teeth all day, thank you very much."

"Hey, I'm not that bad! And I could use the practice."

"I'll let you practice on Lily at another time."

"Hey!" The woman cried, laughing in indignation.

"Be thankful I'm not insisting on something more painful in retaliation for insisting I debase myself like this." And with a resigned sigh he looked at himself in the mirror and began morphing into the man on the box – the unkempt, grubby looking Brad Pitt character.

"Well?" he asked when he was done, and he couldn't tell by their wide-eyed looks if he looked decent or like he's been ravaged by a few of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts.

"You look…" Whale boy started, but tapered off with a shocked expression and a smile.

"I can't believe I get to go on a date with Brad Pitt!" Lily squealed in a teasing tone.

Snape sighed, the blond scruffy stubble scratchy against the palm of his hand as he rubbed his face in irritation. But Lily continued the torture.

"You should be wearing a blue sweater with that jacket. It would bring out your eyes."

"Woman…" Snape growled in warning. But before he could say anything else, Harry had murmured a quick spell, and his white button down morphed into a denim-colored V-neck cashmere sweater.

"I told you I wasn't that bad," he said with a smirk. "And she's right. That color really brings out your eyes."