5sentence_fics # 11 - 25
Title: Random Crush
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #11; hostile intent
"Drop dead, James Potter," hollered Lily Evans in the midst of the worst fight she and her adolescent House mate had ever experienced.
Tossing a murderous glare over her shoulder in his direction, she stepped forward, directly into Severus Snape's path. Shy though he was, and dressed in rumpled clothing, he was a Potions god, not to mention the best friend she had ever had, and before she could think it through properly, she had tossed herself into his startled embrace.
James' mouth fell open in undisguised horror as Lily wrapped her arms around Severus' neck, her fingers stroking his dark, lank hair. As for Lily, she forgot all about the subtle cruelties of jealousy, hostility and provocation, preferring instead to concentrate on Severus' urgent kiss.
note: this one is posted out of order owing to the fact that it was the first one written. please just ahead to read chronologically.
Title: Absent
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #23; hot water
How long he had been sitting in the bath, Severus was not entirely sure, but he supposed it had been hours at least, owing to the fact that the water had turned cold around him. His pruned skin ached, but the real, gut-wrenching pain came from his heart and the undeniable truth that she was gone. Despite his urgent requests of mercy from the Dark Lord, and the fact that he had appealled to the unstoppable Albus Dumbledore, Lily Evans rested in a grave in Godric's Hallow, the victim of the Avada Kedavra and Voldemort's relentless march to power. Severus stilled his shaking breath and fought against the tears that burned his reddened eyes. Lowering himself beneath the water's surface, he peered up at the wavery bathroom around him, wondering if he had the courage to die, and join her.
Title: Severus' Girl
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #12; change of hands
Within the next twenty-four hours the rumours flew fast and furious around Hogwarts, and before the day was completely over, every student, irregardless of House affiliation, knew that the beautiful and popular Lily Evans was going out with Severus Snape, a quiet, Dark Arts-obsessed Slytherin and the self-proclaimed rival of James Potter and Sirius Black. What no one could figure out was how this extraordinary turn of events had happened, or why, when, in the eyes of her classmates, Lily was ideally suited for James Potter, or at least Remus Lupin.
The problem irked Sirius Black to no end, and he began to discourse on the subject at length in his loud, bolsterous voice whenever anyone was around to pay him the slightest attention. "What is wrong with you, Lily?" Sirius demanded of her one day as the Gryffindors filed into their common room after supper.
The serene smile Lily flashed him stirred up a great many more questions in Sirius' perplexed heart, none of which would ever be properly answered.
Title: Heat
Rating: R
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #13; trial by fire
When she led him into the deserted classroom, pointed her wand at the shining grate and established a roaring fire before wrapping her arms around him, Severus Snape thought he might have found a glimpse of Heaven. He was fairly sure he had merely tumbled headfirst into some delightful fantasy a moment later, however, as she drew back, bit her bottom lip sensuously and regarded him with a breath-taking stare before shrugging her robes from her shoulders. Flames crackled, throwing a shadowy orange light that made her skin shine ivory before him as she reached her hands into his trousers and flashed him the most mischievous smile he had ever seen cross her face. Shuddering a little, the force of his sudden erection stealing his breath, he let his hands roam her body with painstaking slowness, not wanting rush the exploration of her skin. He made up his mind that Heaven would pale in comparison a few minutes later, when she guided him to the floor and took him into her, her nails raking his back as she cried out his name.
Title: O, Fortuna
Rating: R
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #14; rvsp
The second time they slept together they did it properly, starting out the evening with a visit to Madam Puddifoot's tacky tea shop, followed by a sumptuous dinner at the best restaurant in Hogsmeade, finally checking into a tiny, albeit private, room above the Three Broomsticks.
"You're sure?" Severus asked when they were finally alone together, preferring to err on the side of civility despite the lust that coursed through his body and the fact that Lily's eyes answered the question plainly, shining with wanting as she gazed at him.
"You know I am."
Since they were going about it in a dignified fashion, Severus politely refrained from ripping away the delicate robes that covered her, and Lily decided not to kiss him hard enough to leave bruises, at least at first. After all, as they both knew, this was not their first time and would not be their last.
Title: Secrets and Lies
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #15; weighing options
He had planned on attending the meeting for months, ever since Lucius Malfoy's gilt-edged, hand-written stationary had been dropped onto his breakfast platter by a large tawny owl, and he intends to go, whatever obstacles fate throws in his way, even when fate decides to thrust the ultimate weapon upon him, Lily Evans crossing his path.
She gives him a quizzical look that he cannot answer properly and steps off to the side with her laughing Gryffindor friends, letting him pass as he strides in the direction of the Hogs Head, where he has been instructed to meet the lot of them. He ought to feel bad for deserting her, he knows, and for lying to her at noon, pretending to feel too ill to accompany her on their usual tour of Hogsmeade candy stores, and he does feel awful about not telling her the truth, but the voice that rings in his head is Lucius Malfoy's, telling him he is a new breed of wizard, ready to take on the challenges of a transforming world, equipped to side with the rising force that will seize control of the wizarding world and destroy all enemies.
He thinks of James Potter and his spine tingles; he thinks of Potter's bruised and bloodied face, his body bent in submission, of watching Potter kneel on the ground before him, helpless and in agony, devoid of Lily's affections, of which Severus is extremely jealous even now. Letting his mind flirt with the potential for control, he pushes open the door to the grimy pub, forgetting, in his excitement, that Lily is of Muggle heritage and that Malfoy's little group is dedicated to destroying every last one of her kind.
Title: Hold Sway
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #16; blue ribbon
Severus returns to her that very same night in a panic, with his robes in a state of disarray from running all the way back to the castle as though chased by demons, his hair sticking up awry like Potter's after a particularly trying Quidditch match and his breath frantic and quick as he drums his fists against the painting that guards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, desperate to see her. After a few minutes of listening to the frantic tattoo of his fists against the door, Lily disentangles herself from Sirius, who is relating some sort of horror story about a recent holiday with his family that she rather doubts is true, and steps out into the hallway. She barely has time to open her mouth and acknowledge him before Severus is in her arms, burrowing his face against the nape of her neck like a cat, his entire body trembling, his clothes soaked in sweat, his fingers clutching her hair and his mouth muttering promises of never leaving her, never letting anyone harm her.
She thinks to ask him questions about where he went, who he saw, but she has heard the rumours of a Death Eaters recruitment meeting repeated throughout the school in the past hours, and knows, in spite of all reason, that Severus joined the pack of mostly Slytherins in their prejudiced gathering. All she doesn't know is why he would do such a thing, and she fears the sleepless nights she will someday have to spend lost in wonder and unanswerable questions.
Title: Broken
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #17; the writing on the wall
"You promised you would never lie to me again," Lily snaps a few weeks later, shrugging off Severus' hand when he moves to touch her shoulder and turning her back on him to deny him the privilege of seeing her stricken face.
Despite the fact that she caught him leaving another Death Eater gathering, he pleads and he lies; he offers meaningless promises that all have the false ring of Leprechaun gold, each more dazzling and worthless than the next, and then he tries a false alibi -- Zonko's, which he hasn't set foot in for over a year -- before finally directing improbable insults at Sirius Black in an attempt to distract her.
Of course, this only infuriates Lily further, since it was Sirius who stayed behind to comfort her when the rest of the Gryffindors spread out across Hogsmeade to do their Christmas shopping, and because it was Sirius who finally dragged her out to the Three Broomsticks in the name of good cheer, the only fun she's had all day. She slaps Severus across the face when he leans in to kiss her and steels herself against offering sympathy when he slumps against her body, sobs wracking his frame, his arms encircling her neck. She lets him remain like that for hours, holding her, murmuring confessions and falsehoods, but she no longer knows why she bothers, because he isn't the same Severus, not anymore.
Title: Away
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #18; Achilles’ heel
He thinks of her with every waking moment and with every half-remembered dream that flits through his head in the merciless hours before sunrise, and every time her name occurs to him the memory of her face hits him like a bullet, because she is no longer his girl, but James'. Twisting in agony, he often jerks awake in the middle of the night, his bedsheets pooled around his lap and his hands fisting the covers, remembering the day he first saw them together, right outside of the basement Potions' classroom, their hands reaching into each other's clothes. He had almost been expelled for the curses he had directed Potter's way, although Slughorn had come to his rescue with a myth about being overtaxed in his studies; no matter, the worst punishment was watching as Lily bent over James and ignored him, all her care and crooning directed to the fallen Gryffindor.
"I see all, Severus," Voldemort whispers in his high-pitched voice before casting the Crucio on his favourite recruit, his tone sinuous like a snake as it wraps around Severus' mind, just a penetrating as the Legilimency.
Severus lets the torture continue, lets the man see into the darkest recesses of his mind, because he could not blot her out of his thoughts even if he wanted to, and if he has to suffer for something, he would prefer to suffer for Lily's memory.
Title: Circles
Rating: R
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #19; flat line
Lily drags him up to the owlry one blustery day in the mid-winter of their seventh year, and as she presses her body against him, Severus believes it is almost like old times. He shudders with pleasure as he combs his fingers through the curls he has missed so much, and he trembles as he undoes the buttons of her Muggle-style blouse, Voldemort's cruel hissings about Mudbloods and blood traitors all but forgotten in the rush to reclaim her. Of course, it isn't exactly the same as he wishes it could be, because Lily stares up at the old wooden ceiling instead of into his eyes, and she turns her face to the side slightly when he leans in to kiss her, and when Severus finally enters her, he notices she is crying, which is definitely not the reaction he hoped for. Still, the sex is good as only sex with Lily can be, so he does not protest when she leaves off touching him and concentrates on counting the dropped owl feathers that make up their uncomfortable bed. The only problem is that, after she dresses and bids him a civil but cool farewell and runs back to the dormitory to catch up with Remus and Sirius, Severus realises he has never stopped loving her.
Title: Promised to Another
Rating: PG
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #20; generation
On leaving day, the silence of the castle is punctuated with farewell tears, promises to write, explanations of the complicated forms required of all applicants to Ministry internships and the occasional shriek of delight at finally being shot of seven years of magical study, all of which conspire to raise the hairs on the back of Severus' neck as he hauls his heavy trunk down flights of stairs by hand, not using magic, though of course he could if he wanted to, as he is seventeen and of age.
He waits in one of the carriages pulled by Threstrals, glaring at anyone who dares draw near, including his fellow Slytherins, even those who intend to become Death Eaters before the summer is out. The coach is reserved for Lily and her alone, because Severus intends to ride the Hogwarts Express home with her, as is only fitting, seeing as how they arrived together on their first ever trip to the school. To his surprise, she spies him from the crowd and joins him there, even giving him a hug that lasts a beat too long and permitting him to clutch her hands all during the long train ride home. It would have been perfect, Severus later thinks, if she hadn't had James Potter's ring on her finger.
Title: Nightfall
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #21; override
Somehow, almost a year later, Lily finds herself strolling down the cobblestone walkway of Knockturn Alley, her head held high in pride despite the voluminous whispers that billow from the wizards in her wake, all of which insinuate suspicion of the taint she carries beneath her skin, the Muggle blood that runs through her witch’s veins.
She thinks of husband James at home with the baby, and smiles; Harry is a few months old now, and James is the consummate father, bursting with pride at every feeble cry that rises from the child’s lips. Unspeakable tenderness suffuses her at the thought of the two of them, and of the crazed and wonderful Sirius Black, the appointed godfather, his eagerness to induct Harry into the world of Quidditch and chatting up birds tempered only by Remus Lupin’s gentle reasoning.
She thinks of the lot of them and loves them fiercely, but nothing stops the eager gait of her legs as she cuts, quick as a gazelle, down the alley that separates Borgin and Burkes from the Black Stone Inn, where she has promised to meet Severus. He meets her on the steps of the hotel, his glare silencing the talk that rises from a knot of onlookers as they stride inside, hand in hand.
Title: Aurora Shining
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #22; oasis
He has endured months of suffering that have all but numbed him to the subtle differences between pleasure and pain, but Severus finds himself slowly coming back to life in Lily’s arms, renewed by her touch. As much as he wishes it, he cannot blot out the fear that causes him to cling to her like a man lost at sea, and he trembles as he curls his body around hers, thinking of the prophecy he overheard and Lord Voldemort’s terrible interpretations.
“It’s okay, Severus,” Lily promises, guessing at the motives behind his urgency.
He nods, foolishly allowing himself to be comforted by her gentle tones, and he tells himself it is all a mistake - the Death Eaters, the prophecy, Lily and James. Abandoning himself to decadent kisses, he assures himself there will be a solution and that somehow, irregardless of karma and logic, Lily will be his once more.
Title: Weight
Rating: PG
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #24; illusion of control
Over a decade later, Severus watches from his lofty position in the Great Hall as the battered, old hat is set upon the head of a boy who looks so remarkably like James it makes his skin crawl. As anticipated, the child is thrust to greatness as a Gryffindor, to the deafening cheers of his fellows. Severus leaves before the feast begins, stomping through the old corridors with Lily’s memory haunting him and the old hatred of James burning a wildfire in his chest.
“Arrogant, just like your father, aren’t you, Potter?” he spits some weeks later when the boy draws his attention due to some minor infraction, and he can tell from Harry’s blazing, accusing face that the young man believes him to be in control, only Severus has never been further from control. He retreats to his office, hands shaking violently, and thinks of the improbability of Lily’s beautiful eyes flickering up from that defiant, despised face.
Title: At Last, Surrender
Rating: PG
Fandom: HP
Pairing: Severus Snape/Lily Evans
Challenge: 5sentence_fics
Prompt: Table 5, Claim #25; tag team
A bubble bursts and the snake falls upon his chest with a great weight, already biting, its curved fangs slashing through the meagre protection offered by his robes. Instinctually, he attempts to bat the thing away, fighting for his survival, but Severus is not guided by a strong desire to live and he succumbs almost at once, holding out just long enough to share those long-hidden memories of Lily with the teenager who so resembles James.
Harry gazes down at him in confusion, the green eyes he has inherited from his mother flickering with the impossible weight of all he has been forced to bear, and Severus feels, for the first time since catching sight of the young man, a sense of admiration, maybe even something close to pride. He releases the ancient recollections to Harry, infused with a mysterious lightness and something that nearly resembles peace as he watches the boy gather up the silver strands of memory. Then he releases his grip on the cold world, not troubling to explain himself, because he hears the voice of Lily calling, and it is time to go.