Severus stood out like a sore thumb among the crowd of muggles, he forgot that robes were not exactly common to wear in this world. He’d heard whispers behind him more than once during his journey, he rolled his eyes whenever he heard the word “emo” especially. He wasn’t sure what it exactly meant, but it seemed to be some sort of fashion based insult…maybe.

Eventually the bus ride had ended and Severus stepped onto the pavement, he felt strangely woozy for a while, he’s not prone to motion sickness but it has been quite a long since he’s entered a moving vehicle.

Most of his days he now spends at his abode, sometimes he tries to force himself into going out to forage fresh herbs and mushrooms but ever since this year began he had nearly become a hermit, pretty much having anything that he needs delivered. It’s been a while since he had any motivation to step out and actually do anything outside of work.

As he walks down the foggy streets he glances at unspecific places, his mind almost empty as he was about to reach the address Lily had given him in a follow up letter. He thought about what he would say, then scratch that and think of something else, then scratch that and that and that and that. He has no idea what words should come out of his mouth when he finally sees her again.

I’m sorry? It’s lovely to see you? Hello? Perhaps she might take over the conversation, that might make things easier.

Oh. It’s here.

Snape approached a cottage-like home. The garden seemed messy and overgrown, but in a purposeful way. Little animal clay figures were set up in the grass to look like they’re hiding. Severus looked at the door for a while, raising his hand and swallowing the large amount of saliva that had formed in his mouth.

There was a melodic dinging before it opened, revealing a man with oval glasses and what seemed to be mustard dripping down his chin, in one of his hands he held a half eaten hot dog. Severus and James stared at each other for a while, until James slammed the door closed hard enough to make a gust of wind that blew Severus’ hair back. Snape rang the bell again, simply rolling his eyes. He almost forgot just how Potter unashamedly loathed him. To be fair, it is completely mutual, preferred almost. He rang twice, thrice, spamming the button until James finally came back.

“What the hell are you doing here?” James spat, his mouth no longer covered in condiment.

“Are you going to invite me in or do you want to have a screaming match for the whole neighborhood to hear?” Severus asked in return.

James scoffed, opening the door just enough for Severus to squeeze inside. The long haired man took off his shoes and put them on a nearby rack before entering. Several boxes were still around the home, completely empty though as the house seemed fully furnished.

“Cozy.” Severus ultimately spoke, choosing not to mention the litter for now.

James met him with a glare, different from the usual cocky expression he wore as a teen. “Stop checking out my home and get explaining, Snivellus.”

“Don’t call me that, Potter.”

“Make me stop then, Prince.”

“Jeez, already with this?” Lily spoke as she came down the stairs. “I thought you two would act a little warmer after so many years.” She came to James from behind and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hi, Sev!”

“H- Hello, Lily…” Snape squeaked out.

The short haired man looked between the two for a while, suddenly sputtering as he turned to face his wife. “Hold on a minute, is this the mystery guest you were talking about?”

“Well, I knew you weren’t gonna be too keen on me inviting him if you knew so…Surprise!”

Snape seemed confused, staring at the couple. For one thing, he was glad to not feel this sting in his chest when he saw the two close together anymore, for second, he was confused as to why Lily had not told James anything about this seemingly. The couple continued whispering before turning back to him. Lily looked at him with a soft smile while James seemed more neutral.

“I’ll put on some tea for our guest…” James said before leaving the two.

Lily grabbed Severus by the sleeve and led him to the living room, shoving some of the boxes away…Severus really wanted to ask why they had random empty boxes lying around but it still didn’t seem like the right time to focus on that.

“Gosh, it’s been forever! You’ve grown pretty tall, Sev.”

“Err…yes, you too.” Wait no- “I mean you- You’ve grown as well, you look more mature.”

“Hmm, true, I’ve noticed more and more wrinkles growing every day. I’m an old lady already~!”

“That’s not…I mean…Uh…” All his thoughts seemed scattered. This was the moment, if he messes this up Lily will never talk to him again. He cannot upset her in any way. “How uhm- How is it living in the muggle world permanently? Have you adjusted to the changes?”

“Certainly, in fact it’s kinda nice being back. We spent so much time in the wizarding world that I almost forgot what it was like to live among regular people.” Lily fiddled around with loose threads on the couch. “It was a surprise when James told me about the new job. He always went on about how he doesn’t wanna get shackled to some crappy boss for the rest of his life.”

“It was a shock to me too, I expected Potter to simply lay back and live off his family fortune…” Severus said. “It still feels strange knowing you’re part of his family now.”

Lily shrugged her shoulders. “To me it feels like no big deal really, after the marriage not much has changed between us…Aside from one thing.”

Severus raised a brow. “That is?”

She stood and looked through the boxes for a while, going from room to room. As she opened one of the boxes her face beamed and she bent down to pick up something inside. She came back up with a toddler now held in her arms. “This little guy!” Lily spoke with pride, shoving the kid’s face directly up to Severus’. “Sev, meet Harry.”

A chubby faced boy with dark curly hair and absolutely massive green eyes. The little boy tried reaching out with his stubby arms but Severus found himself flinching away.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of a widdle baby.”

“Scared, no. However very, very surprised.” Severus reached out a hesitant finger which was promptly grabbed by Harry with both of his tiny palms. “I never knew that you two…Just how old is this boy?”

“He’s turning three soon.” Lily put the boy down next to Severus, and as soon as he was freed the toddler moved to enter one of the boxes again. “He’s got quite the strong personality too, always gets into some new phase.”

“Ahh…I’ve been meaning to ask why there was so much litter around the house.”

Lily rubbed the back of her head, a short blush on her face. “He’s been like that ever since we moved. Anytime we try to throw one away he starts crying and tries to stop us.”

“Oh…I see…” Perhaps Harry still hadn’t adjusted to the new place quite like his parents. He slightly opened the box the child crawled inside in and saw those massive green orbs looking up at him from the dark inside. The boy raised one of his arms and waved at Snape from below. The long haired man slowly raised his hand and waved back before letting go of the box lid. “...Lily, there is something I want to say.”

The redheaded woman tilted her head. “Oh? What is it?”

Snape took a deep breath and held direct eye contact. “I apologize for…what I called you. It was completely inappropriate and I…I’ve regretted it ever since.”

Lily’s smile had faded and she looked to the side for a while. Snape felt his lungs go tight, was his apology inauthentic? He was thinking of maybe writing a script and practicing his apology but it seemed more sincere to come up with something in the moment.

Lily opened her mouth to say something…Just then James had come back, bringing a tray with three cups of jasmine with him.