Severus stood up and dusted off his robes. He looked around. He couldn't tell where he was, but it looked oddly familiar. The sky was blue and the grass was green; almost to green. He could see vaguely familiar-looking yet apparently deserted houses in the distance.
Just as he was about to figure out where in the world (or perhaps another world) he was, someone ran at him and threw her arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you for all you did for Harry, Sev."
Lily stepped away from him, smiling a little nervously. Severus tried to breath. "Lily, what?"
"I saw everything you did for Harry," she explained. "Thank you."
"Where are….?" He began, but before he could finish his question, he heard James Potter (who, until now, had remained unnoticed) cut in.
"You're dead," he said blandly. "The snake killed you."
"Oh," Snape stared at his old enemy with a mixture of disgust and bitterness on his face.
Lily looked nervously between the two of them.
"Thank you," James said, "for everything you did for Harry." He held out his hand. Clearly, he had trouble saying this, but he seemed sincere. Normally, Severus would have supposed that Lily put James up to saying this, but now, James looked liked he truly meant it; not that it made saying it to his school enemy any easier.
Severus stared at James' hand for a few moments, unsure of what to do. Then finally, he shook his hand. He let go as soon as he could. James did not. Severus was painfully reminded of the time after the Dark Lord came back and Albus Dumbledore forced Severus and Black to shake hands as they were on the same side. He and Black had both let go as soon as they possibly could and he didn't know about Black, but he, Severus, washed his hands very thoroughly afterward. However, when he and James hand, it was nothing like back then. James genuinely wanted to thank him and no one had put either of them up to it.
Lily looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what to do or say. Severus decided that it would be a good idea to voice the question he'd had ever since he got here.
"Where are we?" he asked.
Lily looked around, clearly glad of something to say or do. "Um, I think….yes, it is! This is the playground where Petunia and I used to play as kids. Apparently, you just didn't imagine the swings or slide."
Severus looked around. "Imagined?"
"This is all in your head, you know," James shrugged. "Come on, Sirius can't wait to see you!" He grinned.
Severus suddenly wished that had stayed a Death Eater.