Author's Note: I repeat…these characters are not mine (though I wish they were). Read on!

Chapter 2 – History is in the Eye of the Beholder

Charity looked at the clock. Maybe it's time to go. She sighed and shook her head. This is too hard! Things shouldn't be this difficult between a man and a woman. But this was she and Severus now, wasn't it? A jaded Slytherin and temperamental Ravenclaw attempting to find their way to each other. They were the epitome of difficult.

Neither of them moved. If they hadn't been interrupted by the sound of small feet on the stone floor, they might have sat like that for hours.

"Harry, sweetheart. You must be cold! Where are your slippers?" Charity asked, startled by the young boy's appearance.

Clearly still half asleep, Harry rubbed his eyes and yawned in return.

Severus rose and picked up the Batman blanket Harry had trailed along with him. He placed a firm, but gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Ms. Burbage asked you a question, Mr. Potter? Where are your slippers?"

"I forgot them," he replied sleepily. Harry shivered. "I'm cold!" he added with a whine.

Charity smirked at Harry's reversion to juvenescence. "Come here, luv. Let's get you warmed up!"

Harry smiled and padded onto the rug and over to the armchair in which Charity was sitting. She scooted over, took the blanket from Severus and wrapped it around Harry's shoulders, hugging him tightly to herself. Severus walked over to the front door of his rooms and found Harry's slippers. Returning to the sitting room, he sat on the short edge of the coffee table and placed them on Harry's exposed, dangling feet.

"Better?" Severus asked.

Harry nodded.

"Ok, luv, now, someone…I'm not going to say who," Charity teased, nodding her head at Severus, "but…someone told me you were dead to the world. So, why are you out of bed at this time of night?"

Harry took time to consider his response.

"I heard someone laughing," Harry said carefully, looking only at Charity.

"Ah," Charity replied, nodding her head slowly in understanding "you heard someone laughing. But that doesn't explain why you got out of bed at this late hour? Did someone's laughter frighten you?"

Severus was not amused. He really hated being teased but waited quietly for Harry's response.

Harry smiled brightly. "No, Miss. I liked it."

Charity shot a knowing look at Severus.

"Maybe someone should laugh more often," Charity quipped, turning back toward Harry.

The child beamed, while Severus scowled.

"OK. I think that is more than enough for this evening. Off you go!" Severus announced, nodding his head in the direction of Harry's bedroom.

Harry yawned, his eyelids dropping heavily.

"Will you sit with me?" he asked Charity sheepishly.

"Of course I will, as long as you promise me one thing," she replied.

"What?"

"When we're here, just the three of us, you'll call me Charity."

"Really?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Really!" she replied. "Now off you go. I'll be there in two seconds."

Harry slowly padded back to his room, his blanket sweeping the floor once again behind him.

Charity watched Harry walk down the hallway and stood to follow. Silently Severus took one of her hands in his and brought it to his lips. She lightly ran her hand across his cheek, resting it at the base of his jaw in response.

She looked deeply into Severus' obsidian eyes and whispered, "I'll be right back."

A butterfly took hold of his stomach as she spoke, but he simply smiled softly and nodded evenly in acknowledgment.

Harry was in bed when Charity arrived. The light from the sitting room was faint but she could still make out the child's form. She walked over and sat down on the side of the bed. Pulling up the covers, she made sure they were properly tucked. Harry rustled, his eyes fighting to stay open.

"I thought you were asleep," Charity said a little more sternly than she intended.

Harry's eyelids dropped immediately.

"No, no, luv," Charity recovered. "I didn't mean it that way."

Harry sighed in relief and snuggled down into his quilts. Charity placed a hand on his arm and gently massaged away the child's tension. As the sound of Harry's deep and even breathing filled the room, Charity halted her hand. Turning to go she noticed something shimmer on Harry's bedside table. Hesitantly, she took the object in her fingers. It was a ring – a family heirloom to be precise.

The ring was unlike anything Charity had ever seen. It was antique and beautiful, and most definitely magical. The slim band was solid platinum, topped with a teardrop emerald. Surrounding the larger stone were thirteen smaller black diamonds. Encrusted at the top of the band were six more black diamonds, three on each side. Charity shuddered. It looked like the eye of an asp.

"Why would Severus allow Harry to keep such a valuable object out in the open like this?" she whispered to herself. Oh! That's why! Just the thought set Charity's teeth on edge.

She moved to place the ring back on the night table but reconsidered. Steeling her nerve, Charity held the ring between her thumb and two fingers and quietly walked back to the sitting room, suddenly thankful that Severus had once taught her how to cast Muffliato. It had come in handy over the years and tonight would be no different. As she approached the sitting room, she saw Severus was stoking the fire. His back was to her, so the young witch quickly shoved the ring into the front pocket of her jeans.

Hearing her return, Severus walked toward her, the soft smile from earlier still lingering on his face. Looking down at her, he gently ran his hands through her hair, stopping them at the nape of her neck. Tilting her head back, just slightly, he quickly caught her lips with his mouth. Charity didn't respond. Undeterred, he tried again. Nothing! Severus frowned.

"Gods' woman!" he exclaimed. "Must you run hot and cold in a matter of minutes? What in Merlin's name is wrong now?" he snipped.

Charity stared at him blandly. Pulling the ring out from her pocket, she held it up under Severus' hooked nose.

"This is what's wrong!" she replied.

Severus groaned loudly, dropping his hands away from her neck. If he hadn't, he might have strangled her.

Without thinking Severus tried to snatch the ring from her fingers, but Charity was too quick. The ring made its way into her back pocket. He contemplated taking the heirloom from her by force, but she gave him a severe look. Rifling through her pockets without her consent was definitely not a good idea. Even without her wand, Severus knew she could hex him with a severe jelly leg jinx – he probably wouldn't walk properly for days. He backed off, wallowing in righteous indignation.

"How dare you?" he sneered.

Charity was unruffled.

"How dare I what?"

"How dare you come in to my rooms and take something that isn't yours?" he spewed with fury.

Charity scoffed.

"First of all, I didn't take your precious ring, Gollum!"

Severus grimaced at the Muggle literature reference.

"And second," she said deliberately, shoring up her courage, "I thought that if I brought it out here it could help us talk things through."

Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the ring and offered it back to Severus.

"Here! Take it!" she directed.

Severus glared at her and then swiped the ring from her fingers. He stuffed it into the front pocket of his trousers.

"I think you should leave," he said quietly, still infuriated with her.

"No!" she said defiantly. "I'm not leaving until I get something off my chest."

Severus growled and took her by the arm to usher her toward the door. She wouldn't budge.

"Move, woman!" he shot contemptuously.

"No!" she repeated. "I'm not leaving."

"Professor, it is past midnight and I don't have time for this game anymore!"

Severus stomped toward the door and turned the knob.

Before he could open it, Charity calmly said her piece as she gazed into the fire.

"She didn't love you, you know."

Severus clenched his jaw.

"What?" he spat.

Charity turned around to face him. "She didn't love you. At least not in that way! She couldn't. You simply did not fit who she was."

Severus seethed.

"Honestly Charity, what the fuck do you know about anything that has to do with this?"

"Language, Severus!" she chided, noting the return of her name on his lips.

Seating herself on the sofa, and brushing her legs nonchalantly, Charity set herself to explain. She motioned for him to take the otherwise unoccupied armchair. Severus was stunned at her nerve in his rooms, though he should not have been. She had acted similarly at Spinner's End as well. He took his seat, albeit grudgingly.

"Severus, I know you don't want to hear this, but your devotion to Lily Potter is unwarranted."

Severus snorted with derision.

"Don't believe me?" she inquired. "Fine! Permit me to enlighten you."

"Say your piece," he snarled and turned toward the fire, giving Charity his back.

The young witch sighed.

"I have wondered for a long time, Severus, why Lily chose James over you. Throughout my 1st and 2nd year, I used to watch you two. You were best friends, even though you were sorted into different houses. It was something to behold really. You both set a good example, in many ways, for us younger kids. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor who were thick as thieves? It was unheard of! But you two managed it. Then, suddenly, she dropped you like a phoenix on fire and I have always wondered why…until I saw that ring."

Severus looked back at her. He didn't want to admit it, but he was curious.

"Go on," he urged, ire still lurking in his voice.

"I told you. She wasn't in love with you." she shrugged.

Severus furrowed his brow.

"Well, that was helpful, oh great Mage!" he said as he rolled his eyes.

"Severus, what kind of girl marries the arrogant git of a high school quidditch star at eighteen, and then has his baby barely a year later?"

Charity took note of him – awareness crept into his eyes, and then, just as quickly, disappeared.

"It was wartime," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Wartime?" she scoffed. "C'mon, Severus! Just admit it! The girl just wasn't that into you! You weren't…well…her type." Charity's voice trailed off.

Severus pursed his lips together.

"You are treading on thin ice, Charity. Lily is the boy's mother!" Severus warned.

"Oh believe me, if Harry asks me anything about her, I will sing nothing but her praises. But I'm not wrong when it comes to the two of you!" she quipped.

"Are you, honestly, suggesting that Lily was not good enough for me? Me?" Severus pointed to his chest, eyebrows raised in certain shock. "Do you know who I am?" he continued. "I am Severus Snape, branded servant of the Dark Lord!"

Charity snorted. "You are as much of a Death Eater in your heart as I am."

Severus' eyes narrowed. "You don't know the things I've done, Charity. What I'm capable of."

"No, I don't! You're right," she nodded in agreement. "But I want to know, if it will help you to tell me." Leaning forward, she scrutinized him. "Did Lily ever understand your darkness, Severus?"

Severus' dark eyes grew darker and wetter.

"She tried," he replied weakly, "I scared her…a lot."

"Oh Severus," Charity implored, "I remember Lily Evans! She was a good student. Pretty, popular, kind, and rather ordinary. I suppose you want to believe that under your capable tutelage, her magical abilities would have flourished, but it's clear from her choices that that's not what she wanted. If it were, that's what she would have chosen. Instead she chose to be James Potter's doe-eyed, teenage bride!"

Severus cringed inwardly at Charity's comparison of Lily to cervidae.

"You would make a good Death Eater with that hateful attitude, Charity," Severus sneered.

"I didn't know Death Eaters had a propensity for truth-telling," she retorted.

Severus observed her intently, narrowing his dark eyes.

"If you thought so lowly of Lily Potter, why do you care so much for her son?" he inquired.

Charity's hazel eyes darted away from him toward the fire. Looking back, she made her answer carefully.

"I care about Harry because he is his own person and he's a lovely child, especially considering everything he's been through. But I also care about Harry, because you do."

Severus considered her words, his anger slowly abating. She really did know how he felt about Lily's son.

Charity continued, "I have always, always, respected your feelings for Lily, Severus, but if she loved you, she would have accepted that ring you just safely stowed in your pocket."

Slowly Severus pulled out the ring and examined it. The ebony diamonds sparkled in the firelight.

"I never gave it to her," he said, observing the setting. He placed it down on the table.

"What?" she asked in shock. "Why?"

Severus shrugged. "My mother fell ill early on in 6th year. I had to go home to take care of her – Merlin knows my father was useless! When I got back a few weeks later, James had moved in."

Charity rolled her eyes. "Lily Evans was not a piece of property. But if she truly loved you, as you believe, a few weeks would not have allowed James a foothold in her heart."

Severus looked away.

"That wasn't the only reason," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

Severus sighed.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

With lips pursed, Charity nodded a resolute no.

"When I got back to Hogwarts," he continued, "I could tell Lily was starting to really like James." A look of disgust spread across Severus' face. "She would laugh at his jocular humor and infantile pranks. I could tell she wanted to be near him. And the fact that she returned his affections, simply made him and his cronies more brazen."

A strained look appeared on Severus' gaunt face. He searched for understanding in her eyes.

"Charity, you know how the Marauders treated me."

She nodded.

"Do you remember when James hung me upside down from that damned tree the spring of 5th year?"

Charity nodded again, her eyes widening.

"Lily tried to help me that day, to defend me. But I was angry at her for betraying me by remaining friends with the Marauders and I called her a terrible name."

Severus sighed reflectively. "She never forgave me for that incident."

"What did you call her?" Charity asked quietly, though she could well have guessed. Lily was Muggle-born.

"Don't make me say it," he lamented.

"Did you mean it?

"No! I just wanted to hurt her, as I had been hurt! It was childish, I know." Severus shook his head.

Charity pursed her lips, considering him carefully.

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes, of course!" he exclaimed. "Profusely! I begged her for forgiveness over and over."

Severus sat back in resignation. His voice suddenly became cold as if he was speaking to himself.

"I tried so hard to explain my anger, and why I mouthed off. I told her I needed her in my life and that she made me want to be a better person, but she would hear none of it! None of it!" Severus frowned. "She claimed I was "going dark" and that she wanted nothing more to do with me."

He returned his gaze to her.

"That's why she stopped loving me; that's why I never gave her that ring," he concluded.

Severus brought his fingers to his forehead, trying to loosen the tight band that had formed across his brow. Seeing him so wounded and vulnerable, Charity couldn't help but go to him. She sat down in front of him on the edge of the coffee table and replaced his ministrations with her own. He closed his eyes and covered her hands with his. She softly kneaded his temples.

Charity ran her thumbs across his brow and cupped his face in her hands, lifting his face to hers. She took a moment before responding, gazing at him intently as she prepared herself for his wrath.

"No Severus, that's not why," she stated. "The truth is, Lily was already in love with James. Your calling her that terrible name simply gave her the out she needed."

Severus clenched his fists.

"You are just jealous of her!" he snapped.

Charity placed her hands on the arms of the chair.

"Yes! I! Am!" she declared, looking him square in the eye.

"Why would you be jealous of Lily Potter?" Severus cried.

"Because I, Severus, I am the one who is trying to understand why this woman haunts your mind and shuts up your heart. I am the one who is here right now making a complete fool of myself, in the middle of the night, no less, not her! And yet you still defend her after she utterly rejected you. Why, Severus? Tell me, why?" she finished, wholly exasperated.

Swallowing hard, Severus buried his face in his hands.

"Because I killed her!"