Chapter Text
Augusta had stuck around not for James's sake, but because she wished to speak with Severus. But seeing as the boy had not turned up with Lily, she was left to stand waiting alone as the boy and girl fought and cried and made up.
With a bit of amusement, she wondered if someone shouldn't have done this for the two all along. They had, from what James had told her, been communicating poorly for the past several months and he had made it quite clear he wanted to see her in person so he may get her to listen and to talk to him in a straightforward manner.
She couldn't be sure, but Augusta was quite certain that face-to-face communication was vital for any true relationship to survive - especially one that had just taken a blow like Lily and James's had. For all intents and purposes, they'd not only lost a baby, but had been forced to live apart for all of these months. And Lily, she suspected, had feared or not wanted to write about their son or what happened over a letter.
If it was out of fear or caution, Augusta commended the girl. One never knew what could happen to a letter or an owl between being delivered. And these days, she suspected something much worse was afoot anyway...
Something caught her attention from the corner of her eye and when she turned her head, Augusta's interests were piqued ever further at what she saw. It was Severus, but beside him tramped a boy of the same age. He had been talking, but upon seeing where Severus was looking, he stopped.
Gazing in the same direction, Augusta sighed. James and Lily were sitting across from one another, but their legs were outstretched and feet touching as they spoke about whatever it was that needed discussing. From the look of things, they had yet to notice Severus or the other child, either.
She pondered if stepping in was the right course. After a moment, Augusta decided it was best leaving this to be sorted out amongst themselves unless it took an unsavory turn toward punching, continuous screaming or accidental magic.
The boy grabbed Severus's hand and as he'd always, Severus kept her guessing when he did not immediately shake off the hold and instead used it to bring them both closer to Lily and James.
When they came within a half foot of the duo, the pair stopped. Augusta fought the urge to move closer. This was not her business and unless they started yelling, she should would have to make do with knowing nothing.
Lily looked away from James when she heard the threshing of feet through the grass. Glancing upward, she realized it was Severus and Dirk. Her pseudo-brother had an unreadable look in his eye and Dirk seemed a bit shy.
"Who's this Lily?" Dirk asked, "Is he a friend of yours?"
Casting a cool eye at her boy-husband, she nodded her head in agreement, "Yes, he is." Pointing over to Augusta, she told him, "That's his aunt, she brought him here so I could see him today."
"Oh, um, is he coming to lunch with us too?" The fair-haired boy asked.
Lily's brow furrowed. Lunch. Us. Had Severus? Her attention whipped to the other boy and the question was on her lips, but he seemed to know she was going to ask because he told her, "It only seemed polite when I said I had to come get you for it."
"Ah," she replied. Truthfully, she wondered if he wasn't starting to like the child. Dirk was, after all, impeccably sweet and showed a knack for catching onto things quite quickly.
James, who'd been far too silent, fussily snapped, "You can't wait over there until we're done talking, Snape!"
Severus tensed and Lily began to scold the bespectacled boy, "James that's not-"
"He's rude!" Dirk exclaimed with obvious shock.
Lily rolled her lip between her teeth, "Erm, I wouldn't say he's exactly that-"
"It's more like he's an arse," Severus finished with a satisfied gleam to his eyes.
Scowling, Lily shouted, "Stop!" She was not going to get stuck in a middle of a fight between them.
Pointing a finger at James, she ordered, "You belt up for half a minute and you-" her finger wagging in Severus's direction, "Keep those smart comments to yourself while I finish speaking with James and say goodbye if you two refuse to be civil!"
Getting on her knees, then, Lily leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her husband's cheek. "James, I really have to be getting back home. It's lunchtime and my mum will come hunting for us if we don't show up soon. I love you, I will write you and we'll see about setting up another meeting."
Looking very dissatisfied, James grabbed her wrist and whined, "Can't you tell them to go on ahead and say you're spending lunch elsewhere?"
"No, James, my mum and dad know Dirk and Severus are the only mates I have here," Lily explained with a lot more patience than she thought she had in her.
Holding out a hand to help her up, Severus said, "Let's go, Lily."
Just as she was about to take the offered digits, Severus went tumbling into the ground as James cried, "Don't touch her! She's my wife!"
"James!" Lily screamed as Dirk jumped in and started fighting James too.
Lily was about to start forcing herself between them when Augusta appeared and pulled them apart. "And here I thought I was being dramatic thinking you'd get in a fight," she remarked as she placed them on either side of her and rummaged around in her purse so she could hand Severus a handkerchief for his nose.
Pressing it to his appendage, Severus grumbled, "It's probably because Potter is an irrational dunderhead!"
"You slimy-!" And James might have leapt again if Dirk hadn't stepped in front of Severus as Augusta held him back.
Lily shook her head at them. "James, this is one of the reasons I haven't been writing you. Look at you! We're just living in the same house! It's not like we're sharing a bed!"
"Not anymore, anyway," Severus brought up unhelpfully.
Pupils dilating, the bespectacled boy made a low growling noise and Lily could have thrashed them both for the way they were goading one another. Stamping her foot, Lily cried, "Severus!"
He blinked at her and Dirk's head swiveled between their expressions.
Feeling very angry, Lily said, "Sometimes, I wish you lived with somewhere else. Then maybe James would stop turning into a big, possessive jerk all the time!"
"Do you really mean that, Lily?" Severus asked and he actually looked a little hurt if the way his shoulder slumped was anything to make a big deal of.
Dirk, who, despite his ability to grasp things at an admirable speed, still looked confused and seemed to feel Severus's hurt at a keener level than the furious girl in front of him and so, he swung an arm around his friend's shoulder and declared, "You can live with me, if you want, Sev!"
The dark-haired boy looked at the fair-haired child touching him and Lily back-tracked quickly, "No, no. I was just a little upset, my parents would be very sad if he didn't live with us anymore, Dirk."
"I wouldn't be!" James grumbled and Lily might have shouted at him, but Augusta cuffed him around the ear just rough enough to make him wince.
Glaring, she told James, "You, sir, hush!"
Sulkily, Lily's husband did quiet. Turning her attention to her wounded friend, Lily almost touched his face, but thought better of it when she felt James's stare burn into her hand.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "You know I didn't mean it..."
Not quite in a mood to let it go - especially with James and Augusta and Dirk watching, Severus sneered, "Funny, I remember saying the same thing once..."
"Sev!" Lily groaned, "Oooh! We don't have time for this! Come on you two, we can fight this out later, Augusta, thank you for bringing James and James-" she met his gaze and considered kissing him, but thought better of it. Let him know all wasn't forgiven just yet.
Grabbing both Dirk and Severus's hands, she began to drag them away for her and Severus's home.
Augusta called after, "Excuse me! Severus?"
Stopping, Lily impatiently waited for the woman to speak with Severus. "Yes, Misses Longbottom?" he inquired
"I have several things I need to speak with you about on the D.E. front and I feel it is too sensitive for letters. Will you agree to some meeting in the near future?"
Bobbing his head, Severus agreed, "I will write you with possible times."
"Thank you," Augusta concluded and finally, the two boys and girls set off for home.
As they came closer and closer to Lily and Severus's home, Dirk remarked, "You guys aren't normal, are you? Besides being magic, I mean."
Realizing he's understanding more than he ought to, Lily and Severus share a look; their frustrations and fury toward each other forgotten at the moment. Figuring out what to do with Dirk was going to need their combined effort and they knew that it would only be more difficult to deal with if they let their fighting get in the way.