tumblr prompt (sent ages ago, seriously months) from kreeblimsabs, one of my steadfast supporters of rare pairs. She also writes lovely pieces for rare pairs, please go check her out!
From the 100 Ways to Say 'I Love You' Challenge - "I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice"
Two days of rain washed away what it could from the cobblestone streets outside of Spinner's End. The puddles near the storm drains, choked with leaves, glittered like oil spills in the dawn on the third day. Soot from chimneys and grime carried in the tire treads of the few cars rumbling up and down the streets filled the water, turning it black. Reflections shone as bright as mirrors when the water was that polluted.
Severus didn't mind the rain and how it made the floors of his house creak or his father grumble unhappily as he drew up the collar of his trench coat to walk to the factory. Rain always meant digging in the garden behind their woebegone home to find the magic hiding beneath the stones and scrubby grass.
His hands, long fingers and square palms caked in gooey mud, disappeared into the earth again, a hole he'd dug deep enough his arm disappeared almost to his shoulder. The shirt on his back clung to the dirt and sweat. Though much too large to wear to primary school without it appearing like a dress, which Severus wouldn't quite mind but Tobias boxed his ears for, the discarded shirt from the church donation bin became his 'wizard clothes' when he worked in the garden.
"Gotcha!" he whispered. He couldn't see them, but he could feel his fingers wrapping around the roots of the drooping bushes and flowers along their fence row. As he nearly laid flat on the ground on his stomach, one ear pressed to the ground, a pair of shiny black shoes and sturdy galoshes slid into his vision beyond their crooked wooden fence.
"Hello, Sev," Lily called, her red hair pulled back from her face. Her smile looked as though it might hurt, how deeply her dimples were showing in her cheeks.
Though he'd spent the last hour digging for this particular knot of roots, Severus pulled his hand up and out of the ground. Once upright he acknowledged Petunia as well. "Good morning."
Before he could say anything more, the sisters ducked to go through the fence rails to his yard, Petunia glancing up and down the row of gardens first. Lily's shoes quickly lost their shine, but Petunia's rubber boots protected her from the sticky mud.
"What do you want to do today, Sev?" Lily asked, all bright sunshine and charm. Her eyes scanned the dirty yard and he felt his stomach clench when he saw little diamond studs in her ears, sparkling in the sun, reminding him of the gap between them. He hoped going to Hogwarts at the end of the summer would bring her closer to him instead of further apart.
"He looks busy," Petunia said.
Lily's ponytail fanned out behind her as her head turned to look down at him. "Are you?"
Severus felt a blush bloom on his cheeks as Lily watched him shuffle from one knee to the other, the long dark button up shirt soaked through by now. "Yes, actually. I need to wake up the flowers for Ma."
"You can't wake up flowers, silly!" Lily teased, the same time as Petunia said, "Show me."
Though it seldom happened when Lily was in his line of sight, Severus's attention was drawn to the darker sister, her arms folded and face eager, if skeptical. He felt a swell of emotion fill his chest, causing it to puff out with pride as he put his hand back down into the earth without another word, keeping his gaze locked on Petunia's the entire time. She stared right back, dark eyes against dark eyes. He wriggled his fingers until he found the knot again, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes slightly so he could concentrate on what he felt rather than what he saw.
For several breaths, nothing happened, and Lily's teasing smile continued, her feet carrying her away from where Severus's arm was still concealed beneath the dirt. She'd been friends with him long enough to think she knew when he was bluffing her sister, good natured teasing established over their short lifetimes. The snap of dry leaves and twigs beneath her dirty shoes broke the relative silence in a syncopated rhythm.
Then a patch of grass in the sun got a little greener, a line of color from Severus over to the barren-looking flowerbed, moving like molasses from the hole under the surface. Petunia, for all her staring at the boy on his knees before her, noticed the difference in color not caused by the clouds moving away from the morning sun. The skepticism on her face melted a bit into wonder as she watched little green shoots appear beneath carefully placed mulch until the beginnings of a true garden appeared. None of the plants would be as pretty as Lily's hair in the sunshine, but they would be as practical as Petunia's galoshes, the fruits and vegetables and potions ingredients his and his mother's secret to keeping food on the table. No amount of budgeting could stretch the pounds Tobias brought home, if he brought any at all.
Slowly, Severus pulled his arm out, fully coated now with the evidence of his work outside. He continued to watch Petunia watch the tiny sprouts grow to the length of her longest finger.
Lily was silent as she turned to watch the magic flow through the ground and through the air, quietly observing the sparks of new growth, and feeling a small spark of wonder at what she saw.