Pretend

Severus Snape/Lily Evans

Scene 1: Play

Her green eyes sparkled with laughter, taunting him, daring him to come closer. He shoved his hair out of his face and jumped on the platform, just as she turned and flew down the slide.

"Lily! You are such a cheater." Severus ran after her, breathing fast, but she gave up the chase and let him tag her. He smiled, and she returned it happily, flopping down on the grass. He lay beside her.

There were only a few clouds in the sky today. Lily traced them with her fingers, held high above her body. He couldn't help watching, mesmerized. She turned to him, her small face bright and excited in the summer sun.

"I know what we should do." Her eyes glinted mischievously, surveying the empty playground. He recognized that look. He loved it, and the ideas that succeeded it. Well, he loved all of Lily's ideas, and all of her expressions. At least 'till now.

"What?"

"Let's play pretend."

"Pretend?"

"Yes, silly. Imagination, you know? All those things you told me about the magical world. Let's imagine we're there. In … Diagon Alley. We're shopping for school together. We can make up stuff. Like maybe, I have to go buy robes, and you want to look at all that boring Potions stuff. And then, I'm going to go buy a wand. And you refuse to come in because you're sure I'll blow everything in shop to pieces, but I pout at you, and you hate it when I do that, so you come in for a while."

"Lily?"

"Mmm?"

"That's ridiculous."

She didn't even bother to look offended. Her eyes were glazed over, lost to the world as she sank into her dreams. He tried a different approach.

"I would never be allowed to go to Diagon Alley with you."

"Oh…" She didn't ask him why. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to know, "But that's okay! There, it's just another reason we should go now. In our imagination. Come on, Sev, it'll be fun."

He surrendered, as he always did, permitting her to drag him to the slide, where the "Apotasary" would be.

"Apothecary, Lily," he corrected exasperatedly.

She shot him a filthy look, as though he was the one pronouncing names wrong. He held up his hands in apology. Lily nodded and her face broke out into an overlarge grin as she brought over a water bottle and began setting up his Potions station.

"Let's play pretend…"

xxx