The next thing they knew, Severus and Lily were standing in the sitting room of Severus's old home. Not having been used for the past three and a half months, it smelled of dust and the general odor of stale air. Severus coughed a couple of times, setting his bags down.

"I guess this place needs a bit of cleaning," he remarked wryly.

"I'd say more than a bit," Lily said with a laugh.

"It's times like this I'm glad I'm a wizard," Severus said, and with a wave of his wand, he nonverbally cast a cleaning spell on the room, eradicating the pile up of dust.

"How do you manage to do nonverbal spells so easily?" Lily inquired. "I know we've been taught defensive spells for the past couple of years, but you've managed to perform all sorts of spells without saying a word."

Severus tried to appear nonplussed. He shrugged. "Practice, I guess. Before I started spending almost every hour of my free time with you," he said, smiling, "I had a lot more time on my hands." That much was true. Severus had spent much of his time alone, especially in his other life.

"Hmm," was all Lily said. "Well, do you want to head over to my house or spend more time here?"

Severus considered this, realizing they would need to tell her parents about the engagement.

"Er, have you given any thought as to how you want to break the news to your parents?" Severus asked nervously.

As much as Mr. and Mrs. Evans and he liked each other, Severus wasn't sure how they would take the news. Their youngest daughter was only seventeen, after all, and even Severus himself needed to be reminded of this from time to time. By his estimation, he would technically be turning forty in a few short weeks, seeing as this would be his second birthday since returning to life, but he didn't suppose that was really how it worked. Severus wondered for a moment if there would ever be a time when his body would catch up to his mind, or would he always be mentally over twenty years older than his physical appearance?

Lily noticed Severus's hesitation, and she honestly didn't know what to reply. She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It will be fine, whatever happens, Sev," she said. "I think it would be best for us both to be there and for it to be perhaps at a dinner or something. I would want everyone... yes, even Petunia, to be present. I wouldn't want to have to give any additional explanations later as to why I had left someone out of the important news."

"All right," Severus agreed. "How about I walk you home, then, and we can go from there?"

Lily nodded, and together, they left the house and began heading down Spinner's End. Walking was the preferred form of transport in a Muggle neighborhood, and besides, Lily's parents wouldn't appreciate being scared out of their skin because two people suddenly Apparated into their home. Petunia would most likely never let Lily hear the end of it. They turned the corner, going past the old playground, which was covered with snow. A few minutes later, they came to Lily's street and eventually to her house.

Lily opened the front door and announced, "I'm home!"

Mrs. Evans came down the hall toward them. "Lily... and Severus! How wonderful to see you again!" She embraced her daughter for a long time, and Severus gazed upon Lily's hand, noticing that she had taken the ring off. He hadn't noticed when that had happened, but she must have slipped it off sometime during their walk to her house.

Mr. Evans was upon them a moment later, heartily shaking Severus's hand. Severus didn't escape receiving a bone-crushing hug from Lily's mum, but when he could finally breathe again, he nodded and smiled back at them. His nerves didn't leave him the whole time, and as Lily began discussing her past few months at Hogwarts, they walked farther into the house and into the sitting room. Taking seats, Severus kept more space between himself and Lily on the couch than he normally would have.

"Where's Petunia?" Lily inquired.

"Oh, she's not due back for a couple of days yet," Mr. Evans explained. "She's finishing exams this week at the university."

Lily nodded. As much as she wanted to tell her parents about the engagement, she was also dreading it. With Petunia not due back for a couple of days, she wondered how she could wait. She kept glancing over at Severus, wondering what was going through his mind. Severus was thinking the same things Lily was... What was she pondering?

"So, what's new with you, Severus?" Mrs. Evans suddenly asked.

The question forced Severus out of his reverie. Blinking a few times to clear his head, Severus sat up straighter and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Oh... you know, nothing but the usual," he lied.

"That's good, I suppose," Lily's mother replied kindly.

Severus only nodded, and a pregnant pause fell between the four of them.

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight, Severus?" Mrs. Evans posed.

Severus gazed wide-eyed at her, then looked askance at Lily.

"That would be nice, thank you," Severus said formally. He felt something drop inside, and he went numb. Would dinner mean telling Lily's parents about the engagement, and was Lily planning on telling them or leaving that up to him? As the man, he knew he should have asked her father's permission, had he gone by tradition, but Severus hadn't done so. All he could think about when he had asked Lily was how much he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her. Family hadn't come into the picture, but now it was, inevitably.

"Wonderful," Mrs. Evans said. "Well, you two can stay all afternoon if you wish. I am going to the kitchen to see what I need to prepare for dinner and if there's anything I may need to pick up from the store."

Mrs. Evans left, and Mr. Evans flipped the television on. Growing bored quickly, Lily ushered Severus upstairs, where he helped her with her bags.

Once they were in the confines of Lily's bedroom, Severus asked, "How do you want to tell your parents?"

"I'm not sure," Lily confessed. "I had hoped for Petunia to be around, too, but do you think doing it at dinner this soon would be appropriate? I mean, we just got back..."

"Well, if you wait, won't they wonder why you didn't tell them sooner?"

"Good point." Lily reached into her pocket and withdrew the ring. She held it up to the light and examined it before putting it back on. She then held out her hand and gazed upon it. "It's so beautiful, Sev."

Severus's face relaxed into a smile. Hearing her sweet voice confess her love for the ring put him at ease for the time being.

Coming to her from behind, Severus enveloped her and held her close. He breathed in the lilac smell of her hair and the soft scent of baby powder on her skin. Lily sighed and closed her eyes, easing into his touch. A slight smile graced her lips, and Severus nuzzled her neck, kissing her there.

"I want to be with you when you tell them," he said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Sev."

They spent the rest of the afternoon together, going outside for a walk at one point. When it came time for dinner, Severus felt his stomach start a series of flipflops as they descended the stairs and walked down the hall to the dining room. Mrs. Evans had the table set nicely, as she always did, and Mr. Evans was already seated in his usual spot at the head. Seeing the older man, who was probably actually only five or six years older than Severus truly was, Severus felt much younger all of a sudden. He was in this man's house and had already asked his daughter to marry him, to be his instead.

Standing stiffly to the side, Severus held Lily's hand, a cold sweat forming on his palm. Lily felt him shaking and gave his hand a squeeze. Mrs. Evans walked into the room carrying a pot roast and set it on the table.

"Well, everything's ready," she said. Glancing at the two teenagers, Mrs. Evans cast them a quizzical look. "Well, do sit down, you two. Dinner is ready, and I won't have anyone standing in my dining room when there's good food on the table."

Again, feeling like a child, Severus was cowed. He released Lily's hand without protest and took his seat. Grace was said, and the dinner commenced. For five solid minutes, which could have been five hours for all the agonizing time it seemed to take for them to pass, Severus chewed methodically on his food, wishing he could savor it, but not hungry in the least.

"Is there something wrong with the roast, dear?" Mrs. Evans asked Severus, eyeing him curiously.

Placing his fork down, Severus glanced briefly at Lily, then replied, "No, Mrs. Evans, it's delicious. Thank you."

Mrs. Evans's face relaxed, and she smiled. "Well, good then. Now that we're settled, there's something we wanted to tell you."

Lily stopped eating, watching her mum's face closely. While Mrs. Evans was smiling, the smile seemed forced, and Lily thought she could see the telltale signs of tears forming in her eyes. Lily knew her mother couldn't have seen the ring, since she had taken it off again and stowed it in her pocket, so had she somehow found out about the engagement and was now upset?

"Mum-" Lily started to say, but Mr. Evans stilled his daughter by holding a hand up.

"Let your mother speak, Lily," he said.

Normally, when her father used those words, they would have sounded commanding, but his voice had wavered. Lily looked at her dad and saw that he, too, seemed about to cry.

"Mum, Dad... what's going on?" she asked, confused and worried.

Severus watched silently, feeling helpless. His hand searched for Lily's under the table and took it.

"Lily, honey," Mrs. Evans said in a strained voice, "I have something important to tell you. I- I'm sick."

"Sick?" Lily echoed, her voice very small. "How? With what?"

Mrs. Evans picked up the serviette and dabbed at her eyes, then blew her nose.

Mr. Evans, figuring his wife was too choked up to continue, spoke instead. "Your mum has breast cancer, Lily. We just found out earlier this week and figured we would wait until you were home to tell you, instead of having you left at school to worry. And with Severus here beside you, we knew it would help. Severus, I hope you don't mind. I'm sorry... if this is uncomfortable for you."

"No, it's fine," Severus said, saddened by the news. All of a sudden, announcing their engagement seemed trivial and inappropriate.

Lily began crying, the tears trailing down her face. The plate of food in front of her forgotten, she cast an apologetic look at Severus and stood, going to her mother and hugging her. Mrs. Evans returned the embrace, and for a long time, they held each other, crying into each other's arms.

Severus, despite saying otherwise, felt uncomfortable. He would look over at Lily's father occasionally, but Mr. Evans's eyes were fixed solely on his daughter and wife. Severus wished he knew what to do, but he could do nothing. No words he could say would remove the cancer. He reflected on his other life, knowing that Lily's parents had died before she had been killed, but he didn't know how or when they had died, exactly. He was pretty sure it hadn't been while they were still at Hogwarts, as he figured he would have heard about it.

Finally, Lily broke apart from her mother and sat back down.

"What... what's the plan?" she asked, trying to compose herself, hoping for a solution.

"The surgery is scheduled on the twenty-seventh, and then I will have to go through several rounds of chemo," Mrs. Evans explained. "It's likely I'll lose my hair. I never... I always loved my hair. I know it sounds so petty."

"It's not petty, Mum," Lily gently argued. "But if it winds up working, it's worth it. Better to lose your hair than your life."

"Yes, yes, that's definitely true," Lily's mother conceded. She seemed to be returning to more of her usual cheery self. "Well, now that you know, let's not dwell on it, shall we? Severus, I hope you're okay, dear."

Severus looked upon the older woman in shock. Here she had just told them she had cancer, and she was concerned about him, simply because he might be uneasy?

"No, Mrs. Evans, really," Severus said sincerely, "I'm fine. I'm sorry to hear about your cancer. I hope the Healers, er... the doctors find everything and that you make a full recovery."

Nice people like you don't deserve to die so young, Severus thought depressingly.

"Thank you, Severus. You're a nice boy. I'm glad our Lily has you in her life. You're like part of the family, which is why we wanted you to be here when we told the bad news."

Severus felt warm at her words and simply nodded, his mouth full of food. He wasn't used to such kindness and gratitude. He belonged, which was more than he could ever say about his own family.

The rest of the meal progressed in lapses of silence, but Lily spoke about Hogwarts and inquired after Petunia. It seemed the family was trying not to talk about the cancer on purpose, yet it was there, like a purple elephant standing on the table.

Afterward, Lily and Severus retreated to her room. Lily was oddly quiet, and Severus knew what was on her mind.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he posed gingerly.

"What more can I say?" Lily asked, staring at the wall. "What... what if she dies, Sev?"

Severus felt her heart breaking, shattering to pieces, within his chest. He came to her and pulled her to him, letting her bury her face in his shirt. Rubbing her head and running his hands through her hair, Severus murmured into her ear, "She's strong, Lily. She will fight this, and we'll be there for her. Your dad will be there with her every step of the way, and even Petunia will be there. She's going to be all right."

Lily pulled away a little and gazed into Severus's eyes with hers. "How do you know?" she said softly.

He didn't know, but pressing a tender kiss to her forehead, Severus affirmed, "You taught me the difference between having faith and not. Believing in the good is a much better place to be than letting our fears consume us, don't you think?"

Lily nodded hollowly. "I wish... D'you think magic could fix it?"

Severus shook his head sadly. "There are some things even magic can't fix, Lily; you know that," he murmured gently. "But you love her, and that's stronger than magic."

"How can you be so sure?"

Severus could be sure of love, for he had seen how it had transformed his own life. He was a believer now in powers greater than what man possessed with magic alone.

"Because," he said simply, "I have you."

"And I have you," Lily returned.