Dumbledore gently closed the door of the cottage, as he had other matters to attend to. Before leaving, he informed Snape and Lily that he would pick them up promptly at noon the next day.
Snape brought Lily a brand-new feather pillow and a set of dark blue dressing robes. "Perhaps you'd like to sleep in the guest room tonight?" he asked softly.
Lily nodded.
Just as Snape turned to leave, he felt a slight resistance. Lily was gently holding the corner of his robes, her grip so light it was almost imperceptible. He looked down into her dull, emerald eyes.
"You rest well tonight," Snape said gently. "I'll be right here with you." With that, he left the guest room, intending to fetch an armchair from the living room. When he returned, Lily had already changed into her dressing robes and was curled up under the rather thin covers, her red hair scattered across the pillow.
Snape placed the chair by her bed, adjusting it so he could watch over Lily without making her feel pressured. He sat beside her, and after a moment's hesitation, reached out and took her cold hand, which was exposed outside the covers.
Lily suddenly gripped his hand tightly, with surprising force. "Later... later, I did notice your change..." Her voice was so low that Snape had to lean in to hear her. "But... I'm sorry..."
"It's all right, it's all in the past," Snape said, gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "It was the old me who should be saying sorry to you."
Lily turned slightly to face Snape. Moonlight, filtering through a gap in the curtains, illuminated her pale face. She looked at him for a long time, her gaze mixed with an emotion Snape couldn't quite decipher.
At the first hint of dawn, faint footsteps startled the two who had been lightly dozing. Only then did Snape realize he had fallen asleep too, his neck stiff and aching from the awkward position.
Eileen stood at the guest room door, surprised at the sight before her: Lily lying in bed, and Snape sitting beside her, their hands still tightly clasped.
"Oh, Mrs. Snape." Lily, as if shocked, released his hand and sat up in a flurry, muttering apologetically, "Good morning, I..."
"It's quite all right, quite all right." Eileen took two steps back, seemingly uneasy about having disturbed them, but a hint of understanding in her tone. "I'll go prepare breakfast."
Snape then stood up from the chair, rubbing the stiff muscles in his neck. "I'll go out first," he told Lily, then exited the guest room and closed the door.
Lily quickly changed and left the guest room for the kitchen. She tried to help but was stopped by Eileen.
"No, just sit down." Eileen waved her wand, and a steaming cup of milk appeared on the table in front of Lily. The table was laden with more food than usual.
Snape watched Eileen continuously add more food to Lily's plate and cleared his throat. "Mum, Lily will be staying here for a while. Is that alright?"
"Of course it is," Eileen said, cutting a few slices of white bread for Lily and spreading butter on them. "Lily, it's been so long since I last saw you. You were just a little girl then..."
"Thank you, Mrs. Snape," Lily whispered. "I can't eat all this—"
"Eat more," Eileen insisted, adding two sausages and three fried eggs to Lily's plate. "I'll go tidy up a bedroom upstairs for you later; the guest room downstairs is too simple."
"You really don't have to bother!" Lily nearly knocked over her cup. "The guest room is perfectly fine—"
"Don't be a stranger, Lily," Eileen said firmly.
After they finished breakfast, Eileen suddenly turned to Snape and said, "Perhaps you should move to another room? Your bedroom has the best view outside the window."
Snape stared at her, confused.
"No," Lily quickly interjected. "Really, it's not necessary, thank you so much, Mrs. Snape. I can stay in the guest room."
"Nonsense," Eileen said, casually tapping her wand on the table. The dishes automatically flew into the sink and began to wash themselves, clattering and clinking.
While Eileen went upstairs to tidy the room, Snape accompanied Lily to the small garden in front of the house. The two stood quietly side by side.
Morning dew condensed into sparkling droplets on spiderwebs, and bees busily flitted among the flowers. In the distance, the faint murmur of a stream and the chirping of early birds could be heard. Last night's storm seemed to have left no mark on the world; everything before them was just as it had always been.
"Lily!" After a while, a window opened upstairs, and Eileen poked her head out. "It's all ready, would you like to come up and see?"
Snape waved to the upstairs window, then he and Lily turned back to the cottage and headed for the stairs. When they reached the second-floor landing, Snape saw Eileen standing at the door of his room, happily beckoning Lily over.
"Hmm... all right," Snape thought. It seemed Eileen had indeed changed his room for him.
"Come quickly," she said enthusiastically to Lily. "See if there's anything you don't like."
"No," Lily said, shaking her head gently. "It's perfect here." She walked into the room, looking at the newly changed bed linen, the neat and tidy desk, and the sparkling floor. A hint of sadness flickered in her eyes.
"Could I be left alone in here for a moment?" Lily asked softly.
"Of course," Snape said, stopping Eileen with a look and pulling her out of the room. "Just call us if you need anything." After closing the door, Snape thought it best to give Lily some privacy. He and Eileen went downstairs to the living room.
"Mum," he began after a moment's thought, glancing towards the staircase, "something happened yesterday... Mr. and Mrs. Evans... they passed away. That's why Lily is here."
Eileen gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief. After looking towards the staircase herself, she lowered her voice and asked, "What happened?"
"An accident," Snape shook his head, deciding not to tell Eileen the full truth. "Just be careful not to mention it later, and pretend you don't know anything else. Also, Professor Dumbledore will be here at noon today to pick up Lily and deal with yesterday's unfortunate incident. I'll go with her then."
Eileen nodded slightly, a look of pity on her face.
The midday sun, dappled through the clouds, fell on the lawn in front of the cottage. Dumbledore knocked on the cottage door precisely at noon.
"Eileen, long time no see." The Headmaster's face had returned to its usual composure and tranquility.
"Good afternoon, Professor," Eileen said, opening the door and instinctively wiping her apron, a little constrained. "You're here, will you stay for lunch before you leave?"
"Thank you, Eileen," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Time is a bit tight, so I apologize that I can't sample your wonderful cooking today. Next time I have the chance, I absolutely must."
When Dumbledore appeared, Snape and Lily had already picked up their cloaks. After bidding Eileen farewell, they followed the Headmaster out of the little wooden house.
The three walked down the hillside, Dumbledore's robes fluttering in the wind. After walking a short distance down the slope, they left the area covered by the Anti-Apparition charm.
"Where are we going?" Snape asked.
Dumbledore didn't answer, but instead offered an arm to each of them. "Hold on tight," he said softly. "This might be a bit uncomfortable."
They each took one of Dumbledore's outstretched forearms, one on his left and one on his right. When their feet touched the ground again, they found themselves on an unfamiliar street.
The street wasn't very wide, lined with various old buildings, mostly made of brick and stone. The walls showed signs of age, with some areas of plaster peeling off, revealing the rough stones beneath.
There were all sorts of shops on the street, the most eye-catching of which was "Winstanley's Books and Stationery." Its storefront was small, with the display window filled with books, stationery, newspapers, and magazines. The sign above the door was faded, its lettering indistinct. Soothing piano music played inside the shop, creating a strange contrast with the dilapidated surroundings.
Besides the stationery shop, there were other small shops on the street, such as a grocery store, a tailor's shop, and a shoe repair shop. Business in these shops didn't seem to be thriving, with very few customers. Occasionally, one or two elderly people in worn clothes could be seen entering or leaving.
"Where are we?" Lily asked, releasing Dumbledore's arm.
Dumbledore took a piece of parchment from his robes and unfolded it before Snape and Lily. "Read it, and commit it to memory."
On the parchment was a line written in a handwriting Snape had never seen before: "The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at 421 Vauxhall Road, London."
After they had finished reading, Dumbledore set the parchment alight with his wand. The paper curled and burned, its ashes falling to the ground.
Lily looked up at the surrounding houses, her brow furrowed in confusion. They were standing in front of Winstanley's Books and Stationery, with "422" written below its sign. She looked to her left and saw the old apartment building numbered 420. To her right, however, was a tailor's shop numbered 423.
"Where is it?" Lily asked, puzzled.
Is this the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War? A flicker of understanding crossed Snape's dark eyes. "The Fidelius Charm," he whispered to Lily, then looked at Dumbledore. "421 Vauxhall Road. Professor, you're not the Secret-Keeper?"
"No, this is the Prewett family's house," Dumbledore shook his head. "Gideon Prewett himself is the Secret-Keeper."
No sooner had he spoken than a dark brown oak door materialised out of thin air between numbers 420 and 422, with the number "421" clearly engraved on its brass doorknob. Immediately afterwards, windows with tightly drawn curtains appeared above the door, looking as though an extra house had suddenly inflated and squeezed the two buildings on either side apart.
The music was still playing inside Winstanley's Books and Stationery, and the few Muggles sitting by the window were still intently flipping through their books, clearly feeling nothing at all.
"Come," Dumbledore said, walking first towards the door of 421 Vauxhall Road. He drew his wand and tapped the door three times. Snape heard many loud clanging sounds of metal, and a clattering like gears turning. The door groaned open.
They stepped over the threshold into a brightly lit hallway.
"Albus, you're here." Moody's distinctive figure stomped out from a door at the other end of the hallway. "Hmm, they're with you too. You're adults now. Come in, the meeting's waiting for you."
They followed the corridor towards the door Moody had just emerged from. Snape noticed some portraits hanging on the corridor walls, all depicting wizards and witches with dark gold hair. Some were dozing, while others opened their sleepy eyes and smiled kindly at Snape and his companions.
The door opened, revealing a room full of wizards and witches. On the wall directly opposite the door hung a huge, pale red tapestry. The gold threads embroidered upon it shimmered in the lamplight, depicting a sprawling family tree that could be traced back to the Norman Conquest. At the top of the tapestry, large letters spelled out: "The Valiant Prewett Family - Unyielding."
Snape looked at the bottom line of the family tree. Beside the names of the two brothers, Fabian Prewett and Gideon Prewett, a double golden line connected Molly Prewett to Arthur Weasley, and then three single vertical golden lines led from their names to William (Bill), Charlie, and Percy. Further up, the names Ignatius Prewett and Lucretia Black were also connected by a double golden line.
Fabian Prewett, with his short dark gold hair, winked at Snape; they had met before at Professor Slughorn's party. Beside him sat a man with equally dark gold hair, who looked remarkably similar to him. That must be Gideon Prewett, Snape thought.
Dumbledore strode to the side of the family tapestry and sat in the middle of the long table. "Take a seat," his voice caused the murmur of conversation to cease instantly.
The wizards and witches present immediately made two empty spots for Snape and Lily.
"I wish to introduce two new comrades to you," Dumbledore said in a low voice, "Severus Snape and Lily Evans. They are still students at Hogwarts."
"They are already of age," Moody explained to the puzzled members of the Order of the Phoenix. "They will be entering their seventh year soon."
"But," a wizard with a round face and light golden hair at the other end of the long table said to Dumbledore in a lowered voice, "they are still students." A beautiful witch with soft features sitting beside him gently squeezed his arm.
"Frank," Dumbledore raised a hand, his voice gentle but firm. "They both have reasons to join the Order of the Phoenix, just like you and I."
Frank Longbottom offered no further objection, nodding amicably at Snape and Lily.