An idea that claimed me. What do you think?
I don't own anything related to Harry Potter.
Chapter One
Endless Field, Endless Ocean
Can you hear me Lily?
Lily? Don't break eye contact, remember?
Look at me.
There was no other field like it. Vibrant reds, blues, pinks and yellows blurred softly in the rustling wind. The field went on forever in one direction and in the other it ran seamlessly in a gently rolling sea. The wind and waves pulsed together quietly, but the wind carried another sound. Somewhere two children were laughing.
The first was a little girl. She was wearing a gauzy white summer dress that looked as though it had been made from clouds. Her red hair floated behind as she ran. Her little pink toes felt good on the soft earth. A boy chased her. He was wearing red robes with silver trimming and tassels decorating the edges. His inky black hair flew wildly regardless of the wind. He caught up to the giggling girl and grabbed her hand.
Now jump.
The two floated up into the endless cloudless sky. Higher and higher until they emerged from the earth and amongst the flowers.
I told you that you were a natural. You're an amazing witch!
It's not that hard if you try. Let's go to the sea!
Wait!
The girl broke into a weightless run. She reached the sea, tinged orange and pink by a sunless sunset. She skipped happily across the water, slapping it with her feet and sending silver droplets soaring upward.
Wait!
C'mon slowpoke! The girl looked back but continued to run. When she looked forward again she stopped. The sight chilled her; it cast a fearful shadow over her. She stepped back.
"Hey!"
The sea, the field, the children, and the dark thing swirled sickeningly out of focus. The two children looked up to see a blond girl with her nose scrunched cruelly.
"Mum says it's time for supper," the girl snipped and marched away, "Freaks," she muttered under her breath.
The green-eyed girl looked up at the black-eyed boy sadly, half-tempted to reestablish their connection. She was not wearing a white summer dress but a plaid, fur-lined parka to protect her from the bitter November chill. The boy was almost unrecognizable. His layers of clothing were brown, frayed and ratty. His fine hair had clumps of dirt in it. His left cheek bore a fading purple bruise.
"I finally found my mum's book," he said slowly, "I'll bring it tomorrow."
The girl nodded but she looked troubled, "Sev, what was that--"
"Nothing!" he snapped before realizing his mistake, "Nothing," he repeated more softly.
The two stood up from the hard ground, "I had better go," she sighed but noticing his crushed look she said, "But we'll see each other tonight of course. Just make sure to dream about me," she pecked him on the cheek and turned in the direction of her home.
He watched her go with hunger and longing and a dozen other emotions no eight-year-old should have been expected to understand before he shuddered. A violent hacking cough overtook him and wracked his bony little body. After several moments it subsided, and shivering he made his way back home.
Severus Tobias Snape withdrew deeper into himself as he walked. Why couldn't he and Lily be left alone in their world? Why did people like that damn Petunia have to come along and ruin it? A harsh gust of wind blew and he sniffled his hooked nose. He wished he could just sit in the gutter and pass out and not get up like father did sometimes. But thoughts of her—her kind words, her gentle touch, her beauty, her mind—kept him trudging toward the last house on Spinner's End.
They were fighting again. Mum and Dad were shouting cruel things at each other. Dad slapped Mum. He slapped her a second time, and a third. Severus crept up the stairs to go hide in his room. That's what Mum had always told him to do.
He plopped on his mattress and wrapped the threadbare sheet around himself. He tried to drown out their shouting by focusing on how hungry he was. He shoved their fight away to that special corner of his mind. The part he hadn't meant for Lily to see.
He picked up a dusty old book from the floor—The Dark Art of Legilimancy—and tried to read it. He had successfully devoured several pages before he heard a terrible shriek from downstairs. He snapped the book shut and lay down.
Severus Snape closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to take him.