Prologue, Part II: Lachesis's Solution
"You see, it happens sometimes," Lachesis said as Severus stared at her. "It's difficult, you know, all those strings to measure, and I was never much good with numbers…"
"Do you mean to tell me," Severus said slowly, "that you told your sister to cut my string too early?"
"Well…yes, in a manner of speaking," Lachesis said. "Technically, there wasn't enough venom in that snake's bite to actually kill you. It was just supposed to leave you with a bit of limp, that's all."
"What snake?" Severus asked, bewildered. Was that how he had died? A snake's bite? How pathetic.
"Nagini, of course," Lachesis said. "Though I don't suppose you remember anything about that. You've been in purgatory a long time. It tends to make one forget."
"Purgatory?"
"Yes. This is a sort of waiting place, before a soul moves on. But you never could move on, because you died too early. The afterlife wouldn't accept you."
"So purgatory is…a run-down playground?" Severus asked, his lip curling. He was not much impressed with the gods.
"Just for you," Lachesis said. "Everyone's purgatory is different. This playground represents something from your past, something that was once vitally important to you. That's why you came here."
"Must not have been much of a life," Severus muttered.
"I wouldn't say that," Lachesis said, smiling slightly. "You were loved, after all—greatly loved, for a time."
Severus looked up. Someone had loved him?
"In fact," Lachesis continued, "we've had a bit of difficulty keeping her from coming down from the afterlife to see you. She keeps trying to visit, you know."
"The girl with the green eyes!" Severus said. Lachesis nodded.
"Who—" Severus wanted to ask who she had been. Was she his sister? His mother? His wife? But Lachesis cut him off.
"I can't tell you any of the details. We couldn't have you going back to earth knowing everything about your past life, now could we?"
"Back to earth?"
"Of course," Lachesis said. "I always fix my mistakes, you see. It's taken me a while to track you down—there were an awful lot of purgatories to search through—but I've found you at last. And now I'm going to grant you a second chance at life."
Severus stared. A second chance at life? Was that really what he wanted? The girl with the green eyes was already dead, after all. Maybe he would be better off in the afterlife with her than back on earth alone.
Severus told Lachesis as much, but the goddess shook her head.
"I've told you, you can't go to the afterlife. It's not your time."
Severus sighed.
"Alright," he said. "So what, do I just pick up where I left off?"
"Not possible," Lachesis said, looking slightly embarrassed. "Like I said, it's taken me a long time to find you. Five years in earth time, to be exact. So you'll be starting fresh five years after you died. Of course, we can't just return you to your old body," Lachesis added, looking thoughtful. "That would cause quite a bit of alarm, as you can imagine. So I'll have to fashion you a new one." The goddess suddenly looked excited. "I love designing bodies! Let's see, how shall I form you?"
Severus looked on in confusion as Lachesis closed her eyes, apparently lost in thought. She didn't speak, except to mutter the occasional phrase like "clean hair, this time around," or "a smaller nose for sure."
"Got it!" she said, opening her eyes. "I know exactly what you'll look like. Now, are you ready?"
"What—ready? Of course I'm not ready! You've barely explained anything!" Severus said, alarmed.
"Oh well," Lachesis said, shrugging. "I've got to get back to my sisters soon—I've left Clothos in charge of the measuring, and she's even worse with numbers than I am. I suppose you'll just have to be ready."
She raised a slender hand and gave him a small smile. Severus was about to protest again, but Lachesis suddenly snapped her fingers and everything around Severus went dark.
A/N: Does this make sense so far? Please review and let me know what you think!