What If, The Purgatory Of Lily

Missing Moments 1 (Chapter 2)

Tension

Women, can't live without them, can't live through shopping with them...

Author's Note: In order to understand this short story, it is preferable to have read the second chapter of my fic 'What if, the Purgatory of Lily'. However, to those who haven't, here is a quick summary of the time-line from that chapter: instead of Severus and James arguing on the train, Lily asked Severus if he would promise her that he would join her in whatever house she went to. As such, Severus is a Gryffindor in this time-line, and Lily and James are enemies to about the same extent that James and Severus are. There are other changes that you will have to read the main fic to recognize.

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, nor do I own the Harry Potter Series.

"You know, Sev," Lily said with a grin, walking beside Severus with her hand on his shoulder, making him feel quite warm in spite of the frigid December weather, "If you keep that frown on your face like that it'll freeze that way. You'll be the only Gryffindor this year who can't give a proper cheer when we can't win the House Cup. Come on, give us a smile, Mr. Doom and Gloom!"

Severus tried to fight it, but he couldn't help but smile slightly at the teasing expression on Lily's face. Glaring at her, something which sadly hadn't worked on her in years, he then snarked back, "Oh yes, what a beautiful 'cough' freezing my bum solid 'cough' day it is! I'm so happy, NOT!"

Lily's expression then grew somewhat chilling, and Severus felt a bit of thrilled panic begining to course through his veins as she said in a dangerous tone of voice, moving her face slightly closer and glaring at him as she did so, "Today is a nice day for shopping, Severus, and you wouldn't want us girls to have a bad time now, would you?"

Severus shook his head frantically, causing Lily's smile to return as Alice butted in on their conversation, giving Severus an apologetic wink as she did so, "So, Lily, how are things going with you and Jason lately?"

"Dunno, he doesn't seem to have much to say lately... It's no big deal though; I think he would prefer to have a conversation with my bust rather than me anyday. And with how he's been complaining about my friends lately..."

Severus smirked slightly as he, Lily, Mary Macdonald and Alice Nesbitt slowly walked down Diagon Alley together, turning into The Liberated Witches' Paradise so that the females of the group could check out dresses and such. While he normally preferred to avoid the topic of Lily's latest 'squeeze', he couldn't say that he disliked hearing about how Lily's relationship with Jason Morris was crashing and burning, as long as Lily didn't end up hurt that is.

Severus' face fell though as he considered how little it would help him with Lily if she and Morris broke up though; although the two of them were the best of friends, Severus couldn't help but be just a little frightened by the possibility that romantically pursuing Lily would sour their friendship, something which had always kept him from making a move when she was in-between boyfriends...

His musings were interrupted by Lily suddenly speaking up from the door of the dressing room that their group had borrowed, and Severus looked up to see her holding a dress in each arm, clearly weighing their attributes even as she asked, "So, guys, what do you think? Green or Blue?"

"Hmm, I dunno..."

"Maybe the..."

As the other two girls began to speak, clearly dubious about both of her choices, Lily said definitively, "I think I prefer the green one myself; I think that it brings out my eyes better, and Jason would probably like what it does to my chest when and if we go out on another date together, the little perv..."

Severus frowned; he liked the idea of what it might do to Lily's chest, as it sounded quite...fascinating to imagine, but he didn't think he would like it much if it was Morris who got to see it. It would be a difficult choice whether or not to recommend the green dress if it acted as Lily seemed to think it would, and would bear much thought...

However, his capacity for thought was instantly destroyed by the fact that Lily had started changing before even entering the room, and had removed her top right before shutting the door behind her. His mind suffered a complete meltdown at the sight of the creamy skin of her shoulders and back, as well as the fact that Severus could have sworn that he had gotten a side-view right before the door shut...

It would have been possible to hear a pin drop in the room as his mouth hang wide-open, meanwhile Alice seemed to be fighting the urge to laugh, while Mary's eyebrows had nearly entered her bushy, brown hair.

A couple of minutes later, the door to the dressing room opened to reveal that Lily had apparently been right in her predictions, as she was incredibly hot, err...very attractive in the sleeveless, green dress with a single slit running up the right side. It fit her body very nicely indeed, giving Severus an incredible view of her legs and revealing a fair bit of the upper part of her breasts... Severus truly cursed Morris' luck right then...

While Severus was torn between being scandalized and dissolving into a puddle of drool, Lily said, bending over slightly and revealing far too much of her bust for Severus' comfort level as she did so, "So guys, what do you think? Too trampish?"

As Alice burst into mad giggles while watching him, Mary gave Lily a disapproving look as she said dryly, "Lily, as you were the one to invite Severus on this little shopping trip, I suggest that you...'comport yourself appropriately', as mum puts it."

Meanwhile, Severus had finally gotten some level of control over himself as he said in a scandalized near-shout, cursing his voice for its squeaking, "Lily, I can't believe that...breasts! You...you flashed me...? I'm a bloody guy!"

Lily looked from one of them to the other while clearly fighting an embarrassed grin, then she turned to Mary and asked, "'Comport myself appropriately'? I think that your mum needs to enter the sixties sometime within the next decade, Mary..."

As Mary gave an indignant 'hmmph!', Lily then turned to Severus, drawing her eyes up and down his body slowly as she leered rather lecherously. At the same time, Lily said in that incredibly seductive purr that she had started using around him whenever she wanted to tease him, bending toward him as she did so, "And Severus...I'm well aware that you are most definitely 'a bloody guy'. However, sometimes I wonder if you realize that I am 'a bloody girl'..."

Even though Severus was blushing furiously, as was normal when Lily used 'the voice', he managed to deliver his retaliatory reply with a bit of a sigh, "I can't argue with that; given your scrawny thighs and tiny tits, you could pass for twelve, Lily. Now Mary on the other hand..."

For a moment, everyone in the room stood still in shock, Alice halting her giggles and turning to look at Severus as Lily mouthed Severus' words as if she were trying to make sure they were the ones he had said...

In hindsight, Severus should have realized that provoking Lily was not a good idea, but it was too late for him when he got a handbag hurled at his head by the outraged female. While he was still wincing, Lily gave him one of her patented icy-cold glares and said, hands on her hips, "Well, Severus, as punishment for picking on us poor, defenceless females, you are going to have to be our pack-mule for the rest of the day...and we're going to a Muggle department store..."

Severus swore mentally at that, as it meant carrying a great many bags, without the possibility of shrinking them because they would be around Muggles. Vowing never to provoke Lily again when she was in such a state, Severus growled and stomped off, needing to use the facilities anyway...

As the dark-haired boy walked away, Mary looked at the still-glaring Lily and asked curiously, "Weren't you planning to have him be our pack-mule anyway, Lily?"

Lily flashed her girlfriends a mischievous smile, then said, making sure no-one else was nearby, "Yeah, but he didn't know that..." As the other two girls laughed for a moment, Lily then whispered quietly, glaring in slighted fury off in the direction that Severus had gone, "'Scrawny thighs and tiny tits', ha! I'll show you, Severus Tobias Snape...just you wait..."

Author's Note: For those of you who may be wondering, this is going to be a collection of scenes designed to flesh out each of the alternate time-lines in my fic 'What if? The Purgatory of Lily'. Updates may be infrequent, as this is mostly for my own entertainment, as well as answering some of the questions that have popped up in my reviews...