This takes place the summer before the Horcrux hunts. Can be read with the others but does not have to be.
The only thing about Cokeworth that Severus could truthfully say he enjoyed, was this small cafe that was located in the heart of the polluted cesspool of the town he still resided in. But it was home, and though it was bleak and unforgiving, the memories he had kept him returning to the Godforsaken town each summer. Making this summer no exception.
However, he now had to play host to the damned rat under the Dark Lords orders. He wondered if it was a punishment, or perhaps it was just the Dark Lord wanting to make Severus suffer, playing host to the man that caused the death of his one and only friend.
Once a week he would leave Spinner's End to have time to himself at the cafe. He found his weekly trips had increased since the arrival of the rodent, more and more he found himself wanting to strangle the disgusting creature, all Wormtail ever did was grovel. Trying to make good with one of the Dark Lords most trusted. To think this was once the same being that had been the bane of his existence, now it was for different reasons entirely. He was angry at the worm and the Dark Lord for this situation, though they would never know it.
The rodent was a nuisance and Severus was glad to take time away from him. There was no need for him to worry about the rat in his home, Severus had nothing of importance laying about, and what may have been personal was well protected from the imbecile. So he felt confident in himself to leave the pathetic excuse of a being for a short amount of time during the day, as he went about his business. He wore muggle clothes of black when he ventured to find his small amount of peace.
"Hullo." The young girl of no more than seventeen greeted as he entered the cafe, the chiming from the doorbells having alerted her of his presence. He gave her a small glare, and the owner, an old woman, spoke up.
"Dear, what have I said about your greetings?"
"Oh right, sorry. Good afternoon sir." The girl blushed, Severus stopped his glare, she corrected her mistake and was learning how to properly greet customers, he gave a slight nod of his head as a response.
"Have a seat dearie I'll have your tea brought to you in a moment." The glare returned, this time meant to the old woman who ignored it. For years she called him endearing names, such as dear, sweetie, darling, she continued with the irritating pet names even though he was now a grown man, it infuriated him. He sat at his usual spot, which was located in a corner of the cafe, it gave him access to observe the whole of the shop with his back protected.
The woman walked over to him placing down his cup of tea as well as a newspaper. He paid for his tea in silence and she did not speak to him, one thing he appreciated about the old woman was the routine they had formed, in the years that she had known him she had perfected his choice of drink, and the manner in which he enjoyed to spend his time. "Silent and brooding, best to leave him to himself." He remembered her explaining to the young girl at the start of the summer. "Don't give me that look young man, you know it's true dear. It was true when you were a boy and it's still true now, go on take your seat I'll have your tea for you in a moment." As embarrassed as he was he forgave her the moment she placed the cup down in front of him, and she had yet to disappoint him since. The door to the cafe chimed again, Severus paid no mind as he flipped through the pages of the newspaper.
"Hullo Sarah!" The girl called out from behind the counter. He rolled his eyes at this, blasted girl will never learn, he waited for the old woman to correct her again.
"Welcome back darling have a seat, have a seat, anything in particular you would like?" Severus looked over the top of his paper, the exception from the old woman was odd to say the least, he saw only the back of the woman that just walked in as she sat down across from him, with her back to the door and at a spot where she could glance out the window. She had long dark brown hair, that he almost mistook for black, and her muggle clothing was vibrant colors and far too bright and rich for a town such as this.
"Anything you make is fine with me, but I was hoping for something soothing, I think I might be coming down with something." The new woman responded, the accent not escaping his notice. The girls continued to chat on, over nonsensical things. He did hope they would shut up.
"You staying long then Sarah?" The youngest asked. The woman gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.
"A few more weeks here, and then I'm off to London, but I have been thinking about staying in England, there have been a few offers for work, that I have been debating about."
"Won't you miss New York." The younger asked again.
"Well, it won't be permanent, perhaps a year or two." Severus had had enough of their chattering, he finished his tea and stood leaving the now folded newspaper and headed out the door without a word. The entire time he refused to look at the face of the woman who ruined his time to himself. "Was it something I said?" He overheard the woman ask.
"Not at all dear, he is a very private person that one, I'm sure he had something important to take care of, never mind him." Severus did not finish listing to what was being said instead he continued on toward his house.
The next week Severus found that his trips to the cafe were turning into an every other day activity, the rat was becoming more and more unbearable, and each time he went to enjoy his tea the woman arrived shortly after. However he noticed that she had taken to becoming silent, he saw as she held a book in front of her taking to using the cafe as a damn library.
He did not let her stop him from spending his time at the cafe however. Each time like clockwork he would fold the paper, place it down on the table get up and walk out, and she would close her book as he opened the door and start conversing to the girls behind the counter before the door was closed. He wondered if she was mocking him, all throughout this he had yet to see her face. He pictured her being plain looking, perhaps a brown-eyed bore. She would have to be in order to take pleasure in spending her time conversing with shop girls in a ugly town such as this. Each time he visited the cafe was similar to the last. That was until about the third week. He walked in from the summer rain to seeing the youngest girl in tears.
"Go on home, I'll be fine here, you're needed over there far more than you're needed here love." With that the young one ran into the back of the shop, presumably to collect her things and exit the back of the store. The old one looked at him. "Bit of a scare with her granny, poor child, I sent her home, it would do her no good worrying here when she could be with her family at home. Be with you in a second dear." She finished as she bustled about behind the counter. Severus did not understand why she felt the need to explain anything to him, he assumed that she just enjoyed hearing herself talk. He sat down at his usual spot, and waited for his tea. "Sorry about the wait, I'm going to pop into the back for a moment, need to restock a few things." Once again she prattled on about things he could care less about, instead he opened the newspaper, and went about his routine.
"It's really coming down out there." The voice of the American spoke to no one in particular, as the chimes from the door settled behind her. He could her the soft sound of water droplets hitting the floor, and the shuffling of her clothing as she was probably shaking the water off of herself. He paid her no mind as he continued to turn the pages of the newspaper. Finding the news lacking Severus folded the newspaper and pushed it away from him, deciding to spend the remainder of his time finishing his tea and leaving.
He looked up and was stunned to see the face of the American, she had chosen to sit on the other side of the table facing his direction, so that she was directly in front of the window. A smile graced her lips as she watched the rain drops slide down the glass. Though it wasn't that surprising that it rained in the summer, the woman stared at it as if it was the most magnificent thing she had even seen.
The thought of how peculiar she was was suddenly pushed to the back of his mind when he realized how bright she was. The woman before him, he had to admit was stunning, and in a town of murky grey she was vibrant and colorful, she glowed. Her dark hair contrasted the cream of her skin beautifully and her red lips perfectly outlined stark white teeth. She was enchanting to say the least. She turned her eyes to him and he was met with green eyes he had never seen before. They were deep and dark, unlike the bright cucumber green he longed to look into once more. No, these eyes were a different shade of green altogether, and they had an almost unearth like glow.
For a moment they looked at each other unmoving. She smiled at him, a genuine smile that went from her mouth to her eyes, and he saw her. She was confident, and sure of herself, she was a beauty, and passionate. But her eyes also gave away more, she was stubborn, and proud, and would challenge what she did not agree with. He could read her like a book, without the need to spy in her mind. The thought almost made him smile at how easy it was to figure her out. That is until her smile widened at him, and just as easy as he figured her out by merely looking at her, it was in that moment that he realized that the woman with the emerald eyes saw him too.
He wasn't sure what to make of this sudden turn of events, but the woman gave him a look as though she knew all his secrets, yet silently promised to never speak of them. The old woman returned not long after taking the attention of the American. He finished his tea and left soon after.
The summer was soon to be coming to an end, and when he had returned a few days later the woman had not showed. Severus was numb to how he felt about her absence, which suited him just fine. The time after that he overheard the old woman speak of how the American moved on to London. Severus found the information comforting, she deserved more than this town, it would drain her of her brightness; but Severus remembered her eyes, and he knew that even if she had stayed she would never let anything take away her vibrant color. It put his mind at ease in knowing of her escape regardless, for she deserved far more than grey and bleak.
A/N: For some reason this is in the Point of View of Severus Snape, I didn't notice till I finished it that he never speaks out loud once. I tried to find a way to make this in Sarah's P.O.V but it seemed better to keep it in Snape's P.O.V.
Happy Readings.