Intrigues within Intrigues

Christmas Holiday

(Lily POV)

Awe filled Lily as she and Severus arrived at Potter Manor. She had known that James and Hermione were purebloods, that they came from an old family and old money, but seeing it was something else altogether. The front foyer, with its ornamental floo fireplace was breathtaking. There was more marble and gilding than she'd ever seen outside a museum. She glanced at Severus and saw a strange, tight look on his face. She knew him better than almost anyone else, perhaps better than Hermione, and she knew what that look meant. It was longing, desire. Severus wished that he belonged to this completely, fully. He was only a half-blood, and that fact bothered him more than she liked to think about.

"Lily! Severus!" Hermione was running down the grand staircase waving at them. She flung herself into Severus' arms and then hugged Lily tightly. "I can't believe you guys came."

"I can't believe we did either," Severus muttered irritably. Stuck in the same house as James Potter. What the hell had he been thinking?

Hermione pulled back from them, and beamed at them both her happiness making her hazel eyes glow. Lily suddenly felt out of place, which was an uncomfortable feeling for the normally self-assured witch. Hermione was wearing silk. Silk! It was an old-fashioned looking dress that fell to mid-calf with a high neck and long sleeves. She looked completely natural wearing it and the style flattered her peaches and cream complexion, and Lily realized that Hermione must dress like that all the time. She must wear silk every day. Lily looked down at her jeans and thick wool sweater and flushed slightly. She glanced at Severus in his slightly shabby black robes and realized that he was slightly flushed as well.

"Hermione Canopia Potter! How many times have I told you that a lady does not gallop down the hall, nor does she tramp down the stairs. A lady floats, a lady glides effortlessly." A stern voice floated down the stairs and Hermione blushed furiously.

"But mother, James and Sirius sound like a herd of elephants and you never criticize them!" Hermione complained. Lily could tell that this was a common argument. A lady descended the staircase in a manner similar to that which she had described; she seemed to glide effortlessly down the stairs until she was standing in front of them, smiling gently.

"Lily and Severus, welcome to our home," Her voice had softened, and Lily could see the infinite kindness there. "My husband Charlus took the boys to find a tree, they'll most likely be back in a few hours."

"Thank you for having us, Mrs. Potter," Severus said with stiff formality and executed a painfully correct bow. Mrs. Potter smiled affectionately at him.

"The pleasure is ours," she said firmly. "Now follow me and I shall show you your rooms. Normally, I would have put you with the other boys, Severus, but Hermione became quite upset and insisted that James and Sirius might attempt to make your stay unpleasant. In light of that, your room is closer to the girls' rooms."

They followed Dorea's graceful form back up the stairs and down a long hall. Lily's room was first. It was an exquisite room, tastefully done in a pale green. There was a canopy bed, with pale green fabric decorating the top of the canopy. It was the largest bedroom Lily had ever seen, and Lily was a little overwhelmed. She'd never seen anything like this…ever. Severus' eyes were wide, but Hermione just looked happy. Dorea was smiling fondly at all of them. She showed Severus to his room and then left the children to amuse themselves. The two guests followed Hermione to her room, which was just as beautiful, and just as tasteful as Lily's room done in cream, gold, and dark burgundy.

"What do you want to do?" Hermione asked them as soon as the door closed behind them. Lily stared helplessly at the delicate wallpaper of Hermione's room and shrugged.

I've never been anywhere like this, what is there to do?" Lily asked carefully. Hermione frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

"Well, we could go pester the house elves for some cookies and cider and think about what we want to do," Hermione said at last.

"House elves?" Lily asked curiously. Hermione nodded. Lily glanced at Severus and saw that he knew what she was talking about. "What is a house elf?"

"Magical beings that are bound to serve a particular magical family. They're rather like brownies, but they're bound to the people not the house itself," Severus said quietly. Lily frowned for a moment.

"Bound? As in enslaved?" She asked sharply. Hermione laughed, she could not help herself. Apparently, Lily and Old Hermione would have gotten along famously. Hey! I resemble that remark!

"No," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "It's rather complicated, but I've got some books that discuss it in detail and I'd be happy to lend them to you. I think once you meet our house elves, you might understand a bit more."

"Cookies and cider sound nice," Severus said cautiously. Hermione doubted that Severus had ever had a pleasant winter holiday. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"Come along then!" Hermione said cheerfully and dragged them down to the kitchen.

"Mistress Hermione!" A house elf was smiling widely at Hermione. Lily thought that they didn't exactly look the way she thought they would look. They were wrinkly, and pink, and had great bat-like ears. Hermione smiled back at the house elf with genuine affection.

"Notty, these are my friends from school. This is Lily Evans, and this is Severus Snape. I want you to treat them with the same courtesy that you treat Sirius and Remus." Hermione said firmly. Notty nodded and smiled at Lily and Severus.

"Of course, young Mistress," Notty agreed. "Now is the young Mistress and her friends wanting some snacks?"

"Oh, yes please! Cider and what kind of cookies did you bake today?" Hermione asked eagerly. Notty danced in place and clapped her hands.

"We is making ever so many cookies today Mistress Hermione. There were gingersnaps, chocolate crinkles, sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, gingerbreadwizards, and macaroons."

Severus and Lily's eyes glazed over as Notty brought out a fairly large platter piled high with cookies. Lily glanced at Severus who looked as though he were having fun, but couldn't quite credit that any of this was real. The cider was just hot enough, and more delicious than anything she'd ever had before. Lily was feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment. She wasn't sure what to think or feel, and it was sort of surreal to see Hermione looking so natural and comfortable here. Hermione had been Lily's friend since first year, but she had never really thought about Hermione's home life. Maybe that was because she knew how horrible Snape's home life was, and from several sarcastic comments she'd overheard she could guess that Sirius and Regulus' home life wasn't all that great either. She'd felt smug, she realized with embarrassment, that her home life was so much better than children raised in the wizarding world. Hermione and James didn't brag or boast or complain like that, so she just hadn't thought about what their home might be like. Dorea Potter was so gentle and sweet that Lily felt instantly drawn to her. One could only assume that Mr. Potter would be just as wonderful.

"So now that we've eaten, do you guys want to see my favorite room in the whole house?" Hermione asked with a wicked smile and a glint in her eyes. Uncertainly, Lily and Severus nodded.

"Merlin," Lily whispered as she stared at the Potter Manor's library. Severus' face was blank, unreadable.

"You're more than welcome to borrow any volume you want to," Hermione said graciously. "I believe we have several volumes that Hogwarts does not have."

The rest of the morning was spent reading companionably, the three friends spread throughout the library. At one point, Hermione ended up on a small couch curled up against Severus. He had one arm wrapped around Hermione, his hand playing absently with her curls. Her head was on his shoulder, and they both were reading quietly. Lily was curled up in a nearby chair so that she could occasionally reach out and touch Severus's hair. It was not greasy, not since Hermione permanently charmed it. It was soft and silky and inky black. Lily idly twirled a lock as she read. A throat cleared uncertainly.

"Er, your father asked me to come get you," Remus said. Hermione glanced up and smiled at him.

"Father's back? Oh, splendid! Come on you guys, let's go!" Hermione jumped and grabbed Lily and Severus' hands.

Decorating a Yule tree at Potter Manor was one of the most interesting experiences of Lily's life. Hogwarts was so magical that you got used to it, but then when you went back to the muggle world it was so different…it was so not like Hogwarts. This was like being at Hogwarts. Lily wondered if that was the reason that she didn' t care for James or the other marauders. They had seemed arrogant to her, and far too full of themselves. What if it was a misunderstanding? Hermione didn't seem full of herself, but she seemed to understand on some special level that certain things needed to be explained to Lily. She always took the time to carefully explain certain facets of the wizarding world to Lily. She never did it with a superior air, and she never acted stuck up. Lily kept sneaking glances at James while they decorated the tree. Here in his own home, with his own family, he seemed natural. He was a teenage boy, so he still managed to be brash and a little wild, but here it was endearing rather than irritating. He obviously loved his family, and respected his parents greatly.