Summary: After Severus and Lily's falling out at the end of fifth year, Lily is feeling regret for not hearing out her best friend of so many years. While working in the garden alone (and in a place where she can't be seen), she sees Severus watching her house, on the edge of a decision and comes to one of her own.

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns the characters of Severus Snape and Lily Evans, plus anything else you recognize. Thanks to Stalker of Stories for the challenge that inspired this story, posted on the Harry Potter Fan Fiction Challenges forum, located at .net/topic/44309/6884398/5/#11704026.

The Serpent in the Garden

Lily smiled, breathing in the earthy smell of the garden in the clearing behind her house, located in a beautiful Muggle town. For the first time in months, she felt truly calm, sitting in the garden, knees imbedded in soft, brown, dirt. With her hectic life at Hogwarts consuming her nine months out of the year, it was nice to be able to come home each summer and escape from it all, creating life using only her bare hands. The manual labor felt quite satisfying after the years of simply waving her wand to accomplish so many simple tasks.

Lily hugged herself as she finished planting a row of yellow daisies, and looking around to admire her handiwork. This was her favorite place to be, secluded in this clandestine spot she had discovered when she was nine years old. She had only ever shown her secret to one person, and he – well, he would not be invited here again, to say the least.

***

Severus clutched a small clump of dandelions in his awkwardly long, misshapen fingers, and took another small step towards the house of the girl he had worshiped for months before he had worked up the courage to approach her, so many years ago…

***

Lily cursed herself. Why, why must she start thinking about him now, ruining the first moment of peace she had managed to find in so long? Sometimes she felt that she should have given him another chance, but… calling her that vile word had simply been the last straw. How could anyone continue being friends with someone like that? Her friends had thought she was crazy from the start… ever since he started hanging out with those thugs, Avery, Mulciber and the rest of them, her best friend Amelie had flat out told her she was acting insane. One afternoon by the lake, Amelie had confronted her. "I mean, what could you possibly see in him?" she asked incredulously. "The whole lot of them go around teasing Muggle-borns for fun! The only reason he hasn't done the same to you is because of some weird obsession he's got with you… it's not normal, Lily!" she had tried to tell her.

Lily had sighed. "I know. He's certainly hanging out with a bunch of creeps," she admitted. "But… oh, you just don't understand. We've been best friends since we were nine years old. It's a hard thing to forget."

***

Soon, he came in view of the house. It was traditionally built, with chipped white paint on the front door and bright green ivy snaking around walls, around the side door and up, up, up… his eyes traveled to where the thick leaves covered the window on the second floor that Severus knew went to Lily's bedroom. How many evenings had been spent standing in front of that window before he finally worked up the nerve to throw a pebble at the windowpane, and climb the oak tree that stood next to the house to climb through the window that she so eagerly threw open for him…

The house was small, modest, but still beautiful... "Just like the girl who lives inside," Severus said to himself quietly. Perhaps she would simply never forgive him, no matter what he did, but he just had to try. Seeing the look on her face after he blurted out that horrible word was just about the worst moment of his life… She had told him their friendship was over, but he couldn't seem to come to terms with it quite yet. Even though all the other Slytherins told him to just let her go, he knew that would be impossible for him. He had almost slugged Crabbe that night in the Slytherin Common Room… "Come off it, you were right, she's just a stupid little Mudblood. What do ya need her for?" Crabbe had said, looking up from the snogging session he had been going at with his new girlfriend, Narcissa Black.

Severus had gripped the arms of the chair he had been curled up in by the fire, and breathed deeply, telling himself that Crabbe wasn't worth the detention that Dumbledore would jump at the chance to give him. "She's my best friend," he said quietly. "You don't understand. She's special."

After Lily threatened to talk to Professor Barginston if he didn't bug off, Severus stopped trying to approach her at school last year, but now the summer was almost over, and he could wait no longer. He had realized today that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't try, at least one more time, to show her how much she meant to him.

***

Lily grimaced. After he had shown his true colors, she had told him it was over. That was simply the last straw; there was no way around it. "Now will you believe me?" Amelie said, exasperated. "I've been telling you he's bad news right from the start." Of course, Amelie was right. She had always been right. Severus wasn't good for her, and it was best that she learn that now, before she got hurt any more than she already had. She glowered at the row of flowers she had just planted, and then resumed her work, now digging a hole with her trowel for some hyacinths that she was planning on planting around her youngest elm tree.

***

Severus was about to go knock on the door, but realized he knew where she would be on a day like this. He walked slowly to the back of the house, and approached a thicket of evergreen trees, behind which he knew lay a gorgeous clearing, filled with young trees and flowers that she had been planting herself since she was a young girl. He remembered how happy - how special he had felt the first time she had shown him her secret...

***

Lily looked up suddenly. She thought she heard something, but now all she could hear was the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the robins singing. "Stop it, Lily, you're imagining things", she said aloud to herself firmly. For a moment, she had actually thought that she heard him, but that was silly. She even thought she had seen the swoosh of a black cloak behind one of the trees, but of course she had just imagined it because she had been thinking about him. Lily was furious at herself. Of course, he would manage to ruin this too, without even being here! He was invading her very thoughts, and that simply could not go on. Gardening had always been a source of comfort for her, and now…

***

Severus stared, transfixed, at the exquisite site that met his eyes. Lily was sitting next to an elm tree in the middle of the clearing, digging a hole for a purple flower that lay by her side. He did not know what it was, but suddenly the dandelions in his hands looked decidedly inadequate in comparison. Lily looked positively stunning (even more than usual, if that was possible) beams of light gleaming in her radiant red hair, her brilliant green eyes sparkling in the morning sun...

Severus frowned at the flowers in his hands, furious at himself for even thinking this was a good idea. This is ridiculous... he thought to himself sadly. I shouldn't have come. She won't forgive me. Maybe I should have just listened to everyone when they said I was just... Oh forget it. Come on, Sev... he told himself firmly. If you ever want to have a chance of her forgiving you, you've got to act now. With that thought, he took a deep breath, and stepped bravely out from behind the last tree and into the clearing that housed Lily's garden.

***

Lily stared up at the figure before her in shock. "It's... you," she said, bewildered. Dark, matted, always greasy hair; black eyes that always looked like they were looking right into her soul; and... He was holding dandelions. Dandelions! Most girls would have been insulted, but not her. Contrary to popular belief (also known as the beliefs of one James Potter), Lily Evans did not actually like lilies. She found them rather repulsive. The flowers she truly liked were the ones clasped so tightly in the hands of Severus Snape.

Even so, she could not believe that after what he had done, and all the chances she had given him, Severus could possibly have the nerve to come visit her here. Here, where he knew she always went to be alone... How dare he interrupt her and destroy her rare moment of peace and tranquility.

***

"I know you probably aren't crazy about seeing me...," said Severus nervously, already regretting his impulse to come, as he saw the look of shock and fury etched in her beautiful face. "But... well, I missed you." he said meekly. He never was able to speak English very well when confronted with that face... he had forgotten. "I needed to see you again. And I... I needed to say I'm sorry. Just one more time. Lily..." Severus took a deep breath, and summoned up all the courage in the world. "You mean the world to me, Lily. I won't ever forgive myself if I lose you."

***

Lily forced herself to keep the same look on herself, but inside, she knew she was melting. What he had done was horrible; there was no doubt about that. He needed a serious personality adjustment, but then, didn't all boys? One of these days, she knew he would get his priorities straight and stop hanging around with those imbeciles from school, and then... well. Severus was - had always been - her best friend, and there was simply no changing that. Perhaps they would never be able to fully recover from the turmoil that certain people had put their friendship through recently... (and she did have to admit to herself, it wasn't just on his end - James Potter and the rest of his so called "Marauders" were certainly not helping matters in the slightest), but there was one thing that Lily was absolutely certain of. Looking into those black eyes, as she had done countless times since she was a young child, Lily knew that their future together was far from over.