Chapter 4: Severus Times Two

Golden lashes spread out in a bird's tail pattern over the thick red sky. The morning sun was as pretty as it was powerful, engulfing the English landscape in its pastel shroud.

Lily had just awoken from a long night of succeeding dreams, each stranger than the previous. She had felt like Alice, caught in a strange world that knew no logic, and where Lily knew no place. She stretched out her arms with a satisfied sigh; it had been a good night's sleep regardless of the nonsensical nature of her subconscious. She sat up and observed the room quietly in its rosy hue, only to find her back within the realms of the inexplicable.

The bright, gaudy wallpaper was unfamiliar, as was the shabby rug on the wooden floor. It was first when she recognized her own trunk among the alien objects she recalled the day before. How she had gone to retrieve it from the Evans garden with her heart in her boots as she walked by her family huddled together in front of the TV. And how the sweet Mrs Senapati had kindly offered her a spare bedrooms for a tempting price.

The clock radio read 05:47 but Lily wasn't tired. She probably would be later though but right now she felt fully awake. She opened her trunk and rummaged through it until she found her bathroom kit. A cold morning shower provided solace to her mind as she tried to make sense of it all. Why didn't anyone recognize her? The only reasonable explanation she could come up with was that she had hit her head hard somewhere and was now actually in a coma.

Once wrapped in towels and clad in her darling perfume (jasmine mingled with lily-of-the-valley and a note of mossy oak…) Lily sat down on the bed. What to wear? The first garments she came across were her Hogwarts uniforms and she decided that she could probably wear the pleaded skirt. Luckily there were some Muggle clothes in her trunk as well, those she had carried on to the trips to Hogsmeade and the beautiful dress she had worn the evening of the Slug Club's Christmas party. She held it up, her eyes ran over the sheer layers of chiffon. Lily recalled the night vividly although the last hours of it were a bit hazy, only lost fragments consisting of music and haphazard dialogue.

She had been entranced by the splendour of the room, the crystal chandelier, the beautiful people around her and the narcissistic thoughts she had entertained that night. The world had seemed hers and she had enjoyed it; that was until James Potter had appeared out of nowhere. He had tried to ruin her night but she hadn't let him. He had been on and on her about a dance but Lily refused; she hadn't fancied being spun right into the punch bowl.

Lily put the dress as well as the night aside. She picked up a white top to go with the black, it felt a bit classic. Lily closed the bedroom door and locked it with the key Mrs Senapati had given her. She could hear snores coming from the adjacent room. Lily guessed there was yet another inmate. Lily walked down the hall to the little kitchen area she had been shown yesterday. For every step she took the floorboards responded with a tiny creak.

With a guilty face Lily approached the cupboard; perhaps the other inmate had left something there. She could clearly see the contours of a packet of crackers. She moved a rickety stool towards the cupboard and stepped onto it. With her hand stretched out and standing on one leg she could almost reach the package.

"What are you doing?" Lily who had finally grabbed hold of the precious packet jumped around startled, her foot landed a bit too far out on the stool rocking it out of balance. The next thing she knew she was laying sprawled out on the floor with the crackers securely in her grasp. Lily held up her aching head to look for source of the disturbance. Her eyes fell on a round face peeking through the door. Lily half expected the girl to come and help her but she stayed put firmly on the threshold.

Lily pulled herself up and straightened down her shirt. Just below the hemline she could see that her knee was scraped and a few blood drops forming. She watched mesmerized as the drops grew bigger and bigger, sliding down her pale leg… A bit confused she registered the unknown girl leaping towards her.

Then, seconds later, Lily saw a broad smile, warm brown eyes and dyed black hair. She felt a warm hand streak away the hair from her face.

"You've got a problem with blood, eh?" The girl smiled down at her but Lily couldn't figure out why. She sat up with the help of another warm hand on her back. Lily nodded absent-mindedly. A rush of panic went through her brain. Work!

"What time is it?" Was she late? The silk of the purple pyjama bottom rustled as the girl stood up. Lily followed her example and raised herself to sit at the small square of a kitchen table.

"Bloody! It's 6:33, in the morning!"

"I've got to get to work" Lily braced herself and then glanced down at her leg again. To her surprise the small scratch was covered with a plaster and there was no trace of blood.

"I wiped the blood off, don't worry it was tiny" She gave extra power to her statement by measuring up a small distance in the air between her thumb and index. "You just overreacted"

"Thanks, ?"

"It's Moira" The girl sat down with one leg crossed over the other. Lily watched stupidly as her fluffy bunny slippers bounced in the air. She still wasn't a 100% sure she wasn't dreaming.

"I'm Lily, pleasure to meet you. Listen, I really got to get to work now" She said, all in one breath.

"Calm down a bit it's only like 6 in the morning. If you like you can borrow my bike" A bike would be great Lily reflected.

"Besides, don't you want to at least eat those first?" Moira said grinning and gestured at the crackers on the table. "Took you such a big effort"

Lily felt her cheeks redden to the dark shade of her hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to steal or anything" Lily lied, that had been her plan all along. Her moral code wasn't as crystal clear as it had been before her family had rejected her.

"'S not mine" Moira answered. Lily raised her eyebrow. Was there perhaps another inmate?

"It's been there like forever" Moira took the packet and started opening it with her black nails cutting like knives between the folds of plastic. Her face contorted into one of disgust and she was on her feet again. "Mould" She dropped the packet unceremoniously into the bin under the sink.

"Fancy some toasts instead?"

Severus had not slept well nor eaten much since he first learned of Lily's disappearance. Despite his attempts to remain calm and reason his way through this, his every thought seemed to sail to his childhood friend and what could have happened to her. The few hours he had slept he had been plagued by visions of Lily dead. The uncertainty was unbearable. She could pretend all she wanted that he was nothing to her, but he knew and they both felt differently. He would give up anything for her to be alive and well. The other was unthinkable.

A loud popping noise caused Severus to startle. "Is father home?" Severus asked himself. He hadn't heard Tobias enter earlier. He could hear footsteps outside his room and mutterings as well. When the footsteps grew louder he could make out a few words. "Mugglescum… Filthy little… If Mistress saw me…" Severus took out his wand and pointed it towards the closed door. He watched the handle turn cautiously. Severus lowered his wand when a house-elf entered dressed in a rag.

"My master has received your letters" Severus nodded impatiently. "Master Black thinks you should visit him in London" Severus smiled; he had thought it was one of Malfoys's elves.

"I am to take you there by apparition" The elf stated somewhat reluctantly and stepped out of the room again. Severus started packing his trunk. It wasn't hard since he didn't have much to put in to start with. With pretty much all that he owned carelessly threw into it he closed it. He then walked over to the window and shut it carefully taking in the pitiable view. Severus joined the elf, who was busy making faces, by the staircase and shouted a short explanation to his mother although he half-doubted she had heard a word. Severus felt an icy touch on his left arm and how the elf's long nails sank into his skin much like a snake sinks its fangs into a prey.

Severus Snape was late for work. He hadn't been late before and he was almost certain they would make a big deal out of it. Or Nigel would anyway. His fellow colleague never failed to remind him of the universal pecking order that somehow always seemed to feature him last. He had noticed how employers seemed to hesitate when they saw him. His strange name was probably enough to put them off really. If your name was Severus and you wanted to work in a Muggle restaurant you simply had to be early.

As Snape turned around the corner and entered the small space behind the restaurant he noticed a metallic green bicycle parked next to the trash bins. Great, another employee to get along with. Shrugging his shoulders he walked down the few steps to the back door.

It was chilly inside, providing a sharp contrast to the muggy summer's day in the rest of Cokeworth. Severus sighed; he could already hear Nigel's raspy voice bossing someone around in the kitchen. He took a few breaths before entering; this would be a long day.

"I look ridiculous" Lily grimaced at her reflection in the employee's bathroom. The outfit was okay, she was relieved to not have to wear a silly dress or anything. The cause of her profound exasperation was the silver tie draped around her neck. After ten or so attempts she still hadn't made an acceptable knot. Lily swept away a few strands loose of hair and redid her ponytail. She finished by tying the black wait apron matching her pants, in a nice bow on her back. That at least was a knot she was familiar with.

The perpetually sour waiter was in the kitchen leaning against a kitchen desk, dressed identically to Lily, except he had his tie in a perfect Windsor knot.

"Erhm, Nigel, could you show me how to tie… my tie…?" The twenty-year old lips gave a slight twitch which Lily interpreted as a smile. He took a few steps closer so that his long narrow figure was towering over her. "Too close" Lily thought. Nigel grabbed the ends of the tie and started tying them. Lily could feel his coffee breath and his hands were only an inch or so from... "Definitely too close" Lily drew away swiftly, thankful that she managed to keep the blush from coming. She had already been embarrassed this morning, hadn't that been enough? The ruling powers of the universe clearly did not like her. If they did she wouldn't have been in this situation to start with, Lily reasoned.

"Okay, then were all set to start your practicing session" Nigel started showing her around the restaurant with the pride of an owner, stopping now and then to make comments on what needed to be done at each place.

"As a waiter one is a cleaner, a server and a cashier all in one" He paused for effect, "sometimes the kitchen staff needs a hand and then we become kitchen helpers and sometimes…" He babbled on but lost Lily somewhere around the manifold mysteries of a mincer. She wondered how Severus would react to her. Was he still following a path irreconcilable with her own future? Was it preposterous of her to hope that he wasn't in for becoming a Death Eater? And that he would remember her?

Lily was so deeply immersed in her own thoughts she hadn't noticed the end of Nigel's rant. She followed his gaze to the doorframe, or rather to the scrawny boy standing there.

"You're late Snape, I'm afraid I'll have to report it to Mr Lesley" Nigel said a bit too joyfully, Lily thought. Severus face was unreadable, he didn't want to contribute to his superior's satisfaction. No bit disheartened Nigel left to make his complaint. Severus took another deep breath and made for the unloaded dishwasher. But his stride stopped short as he noticed the redheaded girl staring at him.

"Severus!" In a whirl of crimson he was squeezed in a big hug. He could hear himself make a silly squeal of surprise. The red head was resting on his shoulder. He untangled himself from the clingy girl immediately and withdrew a couple of steps for good measure.

"Who are you?" Lily winced; those were the innocent words that shook her all the way back to reality.

"You really have no idea, have you?" Lily's defeated eyes locked with Severus's.

"What are you even talking about? And how come you know my name?" Severus asked annoyed.

"I know lots about you" Lily said mysteriously. Severus eyed her cautiously as if she were a wildfire ready to spread. The door from the staff bathroom gave a squeak and Lily was forced to break the eye contact. A round woman hurried in.

"Hello Severus!" She looked at Lily "The new waitress?" Lily confirmed with a nod. "I'm Julie, chef of the early shift"

"I'm Lily. Nice to meet you Julie" She said but eyed Severus while she introduced herself. Still no recognition. She turned to Julie instead.

"Why are we here so early? People don't eat lunch until eleven at least" Julie chuckled. Her face had a natural flush.

"Are you from around here? I thought everybody knew about our brunch"

"It's our speciality" Nigel added upon reentering. "You" He nodded at Severus "go see Lesley"

Lily's day continued without any problems. Soon she had learned the menus by heart, when she was supposed to fetch the plates and how to avoid having to listen to Nigel's acid remarks on the low tipping guests. Lily couldn't blame them; they were lucky to only have to put up with to him for a few minutes. The lunch hour went by quickly, they were really busy and Julie offered her a meal that was just a little burnt. Lily didn't mind and ate in silence in the empty staff room. When the day was up Lily felt happier than she had in a long while, and surprisingly invigorated. The only thing she wasn't content with was that she had barely seen Severus all day. "Speaking of which, there he is!" Lily pushed the pedals on the green bike harder until she was alongside Severus.

"Hi Sev!" Lily giggled at the sight of Severus jumping. It felt so nice to be with someone you knew. Sort of.

"Are you a stalker or what?" He was visibly irritated for being caught off guard. "I'm not the one spying on people behind bushes" She thought.

"Nope, not really. But I know you all the same" Severus face was impossible to decipher. Lily had to struggle to keep her bike even with Severus walk.

"May I ask how you know me?"

"If you think hard about it I'm sure you'll know the answer" Lily answered playfully. Then she turned right and left the boy contemplating.

A/N:

Hopefully it is a bit clearer now. But not that clear ;)

It's so cool how much help I got from so many with inflation and money and stuff, and all the other reviews. Thanks for reading and reviewing:) Reviews should be considered addictive.

An innocent anachronism has been discovered in my story! I'm sorry, a Rubik's cube in Andy's hands is not realistic in the UK 1977...