By HPOS Sufferer
Chapter One
Invitation
Severus sat in the chair, thinking of his Hogwarts days. There wasn't much to think about, and O in every subject…including Defence Against the Dark Arts – not that he would be needing it. He, and the rest of his friends had joined the Dark Lord.
All, except one. A Gryffindor.
Lily Evans.
Severus felt a slight twang, but ignored it. Lily Evans, the only Potions student who matched his intelligence in that area; the one who didn't live too far from here with her whiny Muggle sister; the one who had hated James Potter even more than he did, then back stabbed him and went out with him; the one who disapproved of all his other friends.
His only truest friend.
The love of his life.
Lily Evans.
Lily Evans.
Lily Evans.
No matter how many times those two words were said, Severus could hardly feel the ease he had once felt with those two words.
A squawk outside the window brought Severus back to his inherited home in spinner's End. Severus let the owl in, and the light chocolate owl stuck out her leg. Severus untied the letter and shooed the waiting owl outside.
A letter.
He never received letters these days. Not after he had other ways to communicate with his 'collegues', not when he had finished Hogwarts two years previous, and certainly not when Lily Evans had broken off their long-term friendship.
Severus lit a fire and sand into an armchair by the fireplace. He summoned a lit candle and clumsily placed it on the armrest, then opened the letter, a strand of red hair fell out.
February 15, 1979
Dear Severus,
Recognise the handwriting? It's Lily, from Hogwarts. It's been ages since I've written to you. Remember when we were younger? We always sent owls to each other when I was grounded. It feels a bit like that now…
Well I hope that you listened to me in school, when I told you not to hang out with those Slytherins Mulciber and Avery. Oh I do hope that you've changed back to how you were before Hogwarts! Those Slytherins were a very bad influence on you. Sev, I don't think that you were Slytherin-y enough to be in Slytherin. I think that the Sorting Hat put you in the wrong house!
So, what have you been up to after school? Something useful? Maybe something with that extraordinary Potions talent of yours? If you have just been lounging around at home doing nothing, don't be embarrassed, that's what I did in my first months out. After that, I did odd jobs, you know, like working a bit in the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon alley, doing a bit of cleaning people's homes in my neighbourhood (with magic of course!). I completed my Healer training not too long ago, but I'm tossing up between being a Healer, and working in the Ministry (but judging from my background…). You know how I hate to see people getting hurt, so if the Ministry, I want something helpful. Auror maybe – you know, Dark wizard catcher. We could do with some.
Petunia, my sister, if you can remember her, still isn't speaking to me much. She really did want to go to Hogwarts (we shouldn't have read her letter)…She returned her invitation blank, still sealed.
Invitation? What invitation? This invitation.
Dear Severus,
You are invited to the (small) wedding of James Potter and Lily Evans
Due to certain circumstances, please notify Lily or James by writing your response on the back off this invitation and send it off with the owl.
Somehow, we will manage to give you the details without it getting 'lost'.
Love,
James and Lily
I really hope that you'll be able to attend Sev. It's been a while since we've seen each other and I do wish to talk to you again like we used to.
Unless of course, you're acquaintance with those Slytherins have extended.
Well, I hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Lily
Severus read the last two words.
Lily Evans used the word 'love' too generally.
Without warning, he tore up the letter, violently ripping the letter to shreds, scrunching up that quality parchment, majestic cursive writing and the familiarity in his fists. After four years of the silent treatment, how could she just write to him like that? And it just happened to include an invitation of her marrying Potter!
Severus marched to the window, pulling out his wand ready to blast that owl of hers to smithereens. Why would he go to her and Potter's wedding? The owl had disappeared. He fumed. He turned around and threw the letter pieces into the fire, watching the parchment rain, then curl into ashes.
It had been one mistake, one slip of the tongue that had changed his life. Changed their life. He wouldn't never use the word again, even f he were to be tortured or killed, he would die without having uttered that word again. The dirty word filled with shame and guilt.
Severus sat down again and rested his head in his hands. How did his life turn out like this? He father fighting with his mother? Potter and Black insulting him when they first met? The Sorting? After the OWLs? No, it started way before that, long before.
Yet Severus continued to admire her even more. Love her even more, if that's what it was called.
Life had to go on. Lily Evans was going to marry Potter and she would live happily ever after with her handsome prince, and eventually forget about that pale, greasy-haired Slytherin.
Severus opened his eyes. At his feet, on the floor, was a thin red strand of hair, curled into an S shape. Well, that could have of course been an accident. The S wouldn't signify anything important, her hair naturally had loose curls.
A red strand of hair.
She had used the secret protection they had discovered in Second year and developed on. This letter had not been intercepted or read by anyone else.
Well, maybe Potter read it. Her soon-to-be husband.
It had been a while since he had come into contact with her.
With his thumb and forefinger, he picked up the hair strand and laid it in the palm of his right hand. He carried it up to his room. In the darkness, he saw faces of the same person, all around him, smiling, laughing.
Severus stuck his arm under the bed and felt a sharp bump scratch his hand. He laid the wound on top of it, the blood, slowly trickling onto the bump. A few moments later, the wood melted away, leaving a hole. Severus reached inside and carefully brought out the richly decorated wooden box.
Te whole thing was covered in s thick layer of dust. Severus blew on it and a cloud formed, then settled on the floor. The box had been bought by Lily from a Muggle Antique shop. She had given it to him for Christmas a while back, after she saw him looking at it in the shop window. He wanted to buy it for her, but the price on it was too dear. She must have thought that he wanted to buy it for himself.
Severus cut of some of his hair and poked it through the lock. He knew that it sounded and looked stupid, but it was the one least suspecting thing to break a charm, or reseal one, and that was why he left his hair in the state. He had had more than enough of his share of insults at Hogwarts that he had wanted to throttle everyone, but he withheld himself. This was for a good reason.
Not long after he was given the box, Severus had decided to put a charm on the lock so that only his slime ball of a hair would grease the rusty lock so that the key would turn.
Severus put the strand of hair into a conjured clear plastic bag and tucked it safely into the box of collected treasuers.
A/N I know, I know, I still have to finish Hazel-Green Eyes...I've kinda...abandoned it...for the time being. I'm greatful for everyone who has still got it on their alerts and favourites list,..or have been checking back to the story just incase has stuffed up. Really greatful because I CAN go on with it... I suppose I just can't be bothered.
Dear Severus is a short story with five chapters. Yep that's right, I know for sure how many chapters, because I have written the whole story out. I just need to type up the last three up.
Well, you all know the drill. Review