(Disclaimer: This story is based on situations and characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers, including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Translation: If I owned this, do you really think I'd be posting it here?)
(Author's Note: Any text that is recognizable in this chapter belongs to J.K. Rowling, for I have lifted text directly from chapter thirty-three of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Prince's Tale. The borrowed text can be found on pages 663 through 665.)
SEEK NOT MY HEART
By persistently desiring the unattainable,
one weakens oneself without attaining anything.
UNKNOWN
I. Isn't Obvious, Isn't It?
JULY 1969
"Evan, no – don't do it!"
From the secrecy of the clump of bushes she kneels behind, her dark eyes watch avidly as the two siblings swing together on the rusted swingset. The young boy goes higher and faster than his older sister, his face glittering in the sparkling summer sun with joy. As his legs pump faster and faster and his swing soars higher and higher, the boy seems to be preparing himself for something.
Then, just as his swing reaches as high as it is able to go –
His hands release their secure hold on the dull grey chains and he sails lithely into the air.
For a brief moment, she thinks that he might plummet downwards and crash onto the loose asphalt below him – yet, he doesn't. Instead, he continues to arc towards the wide expanse of ocean-blue sky, his face alight with an utter sense of enjoyment, and then, far past the time which he should have dropped from the air, he gracefully touches down upon the warm grass several meters away from his sister. He spins around once, musical laughter bubbling from his smiling face.
His sister, however, does not seem to share his unabashed joy, and now stands with her hands on her narrow hips. "Mummy said you weren't supposed to, Evan!"
"Ah, nothing happened to me, Tuney." Evan says, waving a dismissive hand towards her but retaining his joyous smile. His brilliant jade green eyes, which she can see clearly even at her distance, searches the playground keenly, and then his eyes land on what he seems be looking for. "Come and see this, Tuney – watch!" She has no time to move or get out of the way as Evan sprints towards her, his rich auburn hair rippling away from him in the breeze and his face alight with anticipation.
He has noticed her and is now coming to pick on her, she is sure.
She is certain that the eager look on his face as he skids to a halt is because he is about to do as all the other kids in the neighborhood do whenever they spot her. However, as his hand reaches out and grazes the bush, instead of grabbing her by her lank, greasy hair and jerking her from her hiding spot, his fingers pluck a budding rose from the bush and holds it out to his sister.
"Look at this, Tuney!" he beckons to Tuney, who is standing a little ways away with her hands still on her hips. But, blended with the obvious look of disapproval is a certain hesitancy. Evan seems sense this, and assures her, "Come on now, I just want to show you something."
Tuney walks towards her brother. As soon as she is close enough, Evan extends his hand even further towards her; he is turned towards her enough that she can see the budding flower he holds it in his open palm, and her stomach leaps with excitement as she observes the previously unremarkable flower. Its rich crimson petals are now opening and closing lazily in the sunlight, much in the same way that the magical photographs in her grandparents' house do.
"Stop that!" Tuney takes a step back, but is still unable to tear her eyes away from the enchanted flower. "Quit whatever it is you're doing!"
Evan rolls his eyes, and clamps his hand around the flower. "It isn't as though it's hurting you."
"But, it isn't right!" Tuney declares, her eyes watching as Evan tosses the crumpled blossom down to ground. She stares flower for a moment, then wistfully asks, "How…how do you do it, Evan?"
Now – the perfect opportunity is right here, the perfect moment to do what she has been planning to do for months. She makes her decision at the exact moment that Evan opens his mouth, and before he can say a word, Severina Snape leaps out of the bushes in a burst of leaves and flowers.
"Well, it's quite obvious, isn't it?" Severina declares, her heart thudding against her chest excitedly.
Neither Evan or Tuney expects her sudden appearance, as is obvious by Tuney's shriek. But where the blonde girl runs back towards the swings, Evan stays where he is. He is clearly startled, though, Severina can tell – especially if his widened jade-green eyes and the step back he takes is any indication.
"What's obvious?" he asks her, warily.
She spares at glance at Tuney, and gauging that she is far enough away, Severina steps closer to Evan, and in a low voice declares, "I know what you are."
Evan wrinkles his nose in confusion. "What d'you mean you know what I am?"
"You're…" Severina is beginning to realize that this might have been a terrible idea, as her sallow cheeks flush a deep pink. "You're a wizard."
For several seconds, there is an intense silence between the two of them. And, then, just as Severina fears, Evan takes another step back, this one wider and more pronounced than the first.
His expression quite plainly tells her he considers her to have gone around the bend.
"Yeah, okay." Evan snorts. He turns and runs back towards where his sister stands holding onto one of the swing poles, throwing another disdainful glance at her over his shoulder. "Come on, Tuney – let's go home."
"No, wait – " Severina takes off after him, the overly long skirt she wears dancing around her feet wildly. "You are a wizard. I know – I know because I've been watching you a while now, and I've seen what you can do – and I'm a witch, and so is my mum, but you're a boy, so that means you're a wizard – "
Tuney's derisive laughter slices through Severina's rambling words, sharp and piercing like a blade. "A witch!" Her hands are still curled tightly around the swing pole, but she seems to have gathered her wits about her again, and is now sneering at Severina with no little amount of contempt. "I know who you are. You're that awful Snape girl! They stay down on Spinner's End, by the river," she directs towards her brother, who is looking at Severina with an unreadable expression. "Why have you been spying on us?"
Severina colors, heat flaring in her face in a combination of indignation and embarrassment. "I ain't been spying on you!" It is her turn to sneer now, as she stares down her prominently hooked nose, and adds, "Not that I would want to spy on you – you're nothing but a Muggle.:
Tuney blinks her ice-blue eyes, clearly not understanding the word, but definitely catching on to the tone in which Severina has said it. Evan, too, realizes the contempt in the unfamiliar word. Where there was once an unreadable expression, there is now a blistering glare.
"You leave my sister alone, Snape!" Evan draws himself up to his full height, and reaches for his sister's hand. "Come on, Tuney. We're going home."
Evan and Tuney begin briskly walking towards the playground gate, leaving Severina standing alone by the swings. However, as he walks through the gate, Evan glances over his shoulder and appraises Severina with the same unreadable look as before, his jade-green eyes sparkling with something that she can't quite put her finger on. As the gate slams close with a ring of finality, Severina sighs heavily, and kicks a rock with the worn tip of her Mary Jane.
Well, that had gone quite pleasantly, hadn't it?
(Author's Note: This fic is a response to a challenge over the S.S. Always over at FictionAlley Park, wherein Severus and Lily switch genders – having been born that way, as oppose to a magical accident – as well how their relationship might have been different if they were the opposite gender.
This is also my first attempt at Severus/Lily fanfic of any kind, so let me know what you think – although Severus is Severina and Lily is Evan…)
