Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here. They belong to JK Rowling and company. I just use them for my own wish fulfillment and amusement.
Summary: It's sixth year and Severus Snape is dying to get Lily Evans to give him a chance at being her boyfriend. He challenges her to two weeks over the Christmas holidays to give him a shot. And if it doesn't work, he'll leave her alone forever. Will he be able to win her heart? Or will her burgeoning crush on James Potter win out over her friendship with Severus?
AUTHORS NOTE: This is a re-posting of this story. I took it down before due to several negative responses and decided I wanted to tweak a few parts, especially the ending. But this is the same story as before, thus far, so no need to read it again. The new parts will be posted as I finish them. But do remember this story is posted under 'angst'. I have taken some liberties with the characters because frankly we don't know that much about James and Lily and Severus as a boy. But this is not an AU story. It's more of a 'what if' scenario that this holiday could have happened and we'd never know about it. So if you're looking for a fluffy story, this isn't it. Be prepared for some tough stuff for my favorite characters. Snape wouldn't be Snape if he didn't suffer. So with that said, I am putting this story back up, but am re-doing the last part I posted (that not many of you probably saw) And if this is your first time reading this, welcome to my story. I hope you'll enjoy it. And if not, that's okay too. This is the story I wanted to tell. I just think I can tell the ending better than I originally did. Thanks for reading along.
Holiday of Hope
Lily was lying in her room on New Year's Day, just listening to her records and thinking about things. It seemed like she'd sort of made a choice, even if that wasn't really her intent. But Severus urged her to pick happiness, and she had to admit he gave that to her. But she still felt somewhat weird about the prospect of dating her friend. It would have a lot of backlash in all directions and it wasn't as simple of a choice that he made it seem like. She was going to be ostracized. And her parents weren't going to approve. And even if she knew she was old enough to make her own decisions, she still felt pressure from outside sources. It hadn't helped that she received another owl from James, this time wishing her a Happy New Year. He hadn't said much else though except he hoped he'd see her wearing the necklace at some point. That made her stomach drop and do that flippy thing again. She decided to get up and look at the necklace again, just to contemplate her options. Only when she went to her drawer and uncovered the box, it was empty. She tossed all her socks out and searched through the drawer and it was just gone. She got a very angry scowl on her face and stormed out of her room and pounded on her sister's door.
"Petunia! Get out here now!" she screamed loudly.
"What is your problem?" Petunia asked flinging the door open widely.
"Where is my necklace?" she asked her accusingly.
"What necklace?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You know the one. The one I got for Christmas. The one you coveted and thought was so beautiful," she said with her hands on her hips.
"I didn't take your dumb necklace! As if I'd want a stupid lily around my neck. It's not my flower. And besides, I don't want something some magic weirdo gave you," Petunia scoffed.
"Well then where is it? It's gone. I've looked through my entire drawer."
"How should I know? Maybe it's a magical necklace and it disappears when you don't wear it?" Petunia offered.
"There is no such thing. I know you took it. You're the only one who knew about it. Maybe you did it just to spite me, not because you wanted it?" Lily shot back.
"Dream on. I never touched it! I don't even know where you put it. Last I saw it was on the dresser. And I never went in your bloody room. So piss off!" Petunia yelled, trying to shut the door in her face.
"I'm getting Mummy and Daddy! I know you took it! It had to be you! They'll search your entire room!"
"You're mad! Stop it!" Petunia pleaded with her.
"Mummy! Daddy! Petunia stole something of mine and won't give it back!" Lily screamed down the stairs for her parents.
"Will you shut up? I did not take it!"
It took a moment but their parents appeared and both girls started yelling in unison and they were treated to a chorus of 'she stole it!' and 'I never touched anything!' until they both just demanded silence.
"Now Lily, what's it you think Petunia stole?" her mum asked calmly, as their father scowled.
"It was a necklace. Someone gave it to me for Christmas. And she's the only one who knew about it!"
"Petunia is this true?" her father asked.
"No! It's not true. I wasn't the only one who knew about it, Lily. Remember your greasy boyfriend? You told me the entire row on Christmas was over that stupid necklace! I just remembered that. So I wasn't the only one who knew," Petunia said smugly.
"Is this true, Lily?" her father asked his other daughter.
Lily stopped and thought for a moment and realized Petunia was actually right. Severus did know. And furthermore she'd told him it was hidden in her sock drawer.
"Oh God…" she muttered sadly, the pieces finally falling into place. "Yes, Petunia is right. Severus did know," she whimpered softly.
"Well then there you go. That dreadful poor child probably took it and pawned it. Now leave your sister alone. If she said she didn't take it, then she didn't take it," her dad said with a sigh.
"But can't you search her room?" Lily wondered half-heartedly.
"No. I see no need. I think you've gotten your culprit," her dad remarked.
"I agree with your father, sweetie. If he knew where it was, then he must have taken it," her mum said softly.
"I'd like to know when he took it though if you're just now missing it," her dad wondered idly.
"He stopped by last night. Real quick. Just to say Happy New Year. It must have been then," Lily lied softly, unable to believe this turn of events. She felt certain it was her sister. But now it was making sense that it wasn't her at all.
"Well, I think you know who you need to speak to. Common thief. Darling, do check our silver and your jewelry box to make sure nothing else is missing," her dad told his wife.
They rushed off to check their other belongings but Lily knew Severus didn't take any of them. He only wanted the necklace. She just couldn't believe he'd stolen it. After all the progress they made last night. She was fuming inside and marched back to her room and slammed the door. She sat on her bed and cried and listened to sad music about lovers lost and men who did you wrong. Anything to fuel her sadness and anger. She got up again and looked through the drawer and realized the note James sent was gone too, along with his card. It had to be Severus. No one else would take those two things. She was just trying to find some loophole where it wasn't him. But she couldn't find one. She got up and got a piece of parchment and scribbled off a note to Severus.
"We need to talk ASAP. I'm going to our spot. Be there. And if you know what's good for you, bring me back what's mine."
She huffily tied the letter to her owl's leg and then she sat on the bed again and cried some more. Why would he do something so childish and mean? Did he really need the money? Did he pawn it? Or did he just steal it and hide it in his room? She didn't know but she wanted it back. Not so much because it meant something to her, but because it was hers. He had no business even touching it, much less stealing her private correspondence with James. She was beyond hurt and seething with anger.
Severus saw her owl arrive and at first he was really excited. He hoped that maybe she wanted to see him again. But when he read the note, he felt sick inside. It was obvious she missed the necklace and the letters. What else could she be talking about? And what was he going to tell her? He could try lying and say it wasn't him, but he knew she'd probably not believe him. A thief would have taken more than just her necklace and some love letters. He was a dead man. He only hoped she wouldn't miss it this quickly. But that had been utterly foolish of him. He was afraid to go meet her since he didn't have the items anymore, so he couldn't give them back. He nervously pulled on his oversized coat and his boots and headed downstairs.
"Where are you going, Severus?" his mum asked idly from her chair.
"Just for a walk. I won't be long."
"Are you going to town?"
"No, I wasn't. But I can if you need me to," he said politely to his mum.
"Yes, I've got this terrible cough and I need some brandy to soothe my throat," she told him.
"Mum, I can make you a potion for your cough if you'd like," he offered.
"No, no. I've gotten one already. Brewed it this morning. The brandy just helps soothe my throat. There's money on the table over there."
He went over and took the ten pounds and shoved it in his pocket.
"I'll be back later, Mum. Feel better," he smiled at her.
"Yes, yes. Run along. See you soon," she waved him off dismissively.
He headed out the door and walked as slowly as possible towards his and Lily's favorite spot. For once, he wasn't eager to go there and see her. And when he showed up, she wasn't even there yet. He thought about leaving, but she emerged quickly and she came running up to him with her wand out. She shoved him back and pointed it at his throat.
"Give me back what you took or I will make you puke salamanders for days," she threatened him.
"Lily! First of all, I don't know what you're talking about. And second, you can't do magic outside of school!" he reminded her.
"Watch me. I figure the most they'll do is give me a stern warning. And you'll get what's coming to you all the same," she screeched at him.
"What are you even talking about? I'm very confused. What did I take?" he feigned innocence.
She lowered her wand and gave him a glare.
"You know what you took. My necklace and my letters. Did you pawn it?"
"Pawn your letters? No. I don't think anyone would want that those," he said trying to make her laugh fruitlessly.
"You know what I mean! Did you pawn the necklace?" she shot back at him.
"No."
"Empty your pockets. Right now!" she shrieked and he jumped away from her.
"Alright, alright," he held up his hands and then reached in his pockets and produced some lint and the ten pound note from his mum. She grabbed the money.
"This! Right here! You never have money. And now suddenly you do?" she said accusingly.
"It's not my money! It's my mum's. She wants me to get her some brandy. God Lily, you're acting mental," he said grabbing his money back. "Besides, I think the necklace was worth more than ten pounds."
"Where is it then? The money? The rest of it?" she asked icily.
"I didn't pawn the fucking necklace! God, you think I'm that desperate for money? I wouldn't take money from anything James bought anyway!" he shouted at her.
"Then what did you do with it?" she demanded.
He just stared at her and realized he wasn't getting out of this one. He knew he'd done something stupid, but he couldn't take it back now. And throwing the necklace in the river seemed like a good idea after drinking almost a whole bottle of wine. But now he sort of regretted ever taking the dumb trinket at all. But he just stayed silent because he didn't know what to say.
She repeated herself.
"What did you do with my necklace?"
He sighed and sat down on the snowy ground and held his head in his hands.
"I threw it away, alright? I tossed it in the river," he admitted quietly.
"What? You tossed it in the bloody river? Are you out of your mind?" she asked, going over to him and smacking his arms angrily as he held them up to defend his face.
"I'm sorry! I just didn't like you having it! So I got rid of it. You said yourself you didn't want it but James sent it back. So I just got rid of it for you!" he said defensively.
"Ugh! That was not your decision to make. It was mine. And you had no right taking my belongings. My necklace, my letters. Those were private! And mine!" she said, tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry! It was stupid of me. But why do you care so much? I thought you didn't want it? And the letters? Were you keeping them for sentimental reasons? I thought you'd never miss them anyway," he explained.
"I keep my letters. No matter who sends them. And the necklace meant something, even if I didn't want to wear it. James gave that to me. And you just stole it like a common burglar and threw it away? Ugh! I can't stand you right now. I can't even look at you!"
"I only did what you should have done. If you don't want to be with him, then you don't need the necklace. Keeping it implies you're going to pull it out and look at it longingly. Which apparently you tried to do or else you wouldn't know it was gone!" he shot back at her.
"I wasn't looking at it longingly. I just wanted to see it. And it wasn't there! Now it's at the bottom of the bloody river! You're sick, you know that? Sick and selfish and disgusting and presumptuous and a huge liar! Now I don't believe anything you've told me. You say James and Sirius are awful people, but look at you? You're no better. You think you are, but you're not!" she screamed at him.
He stood to his feet once more.
"That's not true at all. I am better than them! I'm way better than them! You think if I gave you a necklace and James found out you accepted it and wore it he wouldn't rip the bloody thing off and destroy it? He would! You know he would. And he'd make fun of you for even having anything from me. Just like the time in fourth year when I brought you the flowers I'd picked on the grounds. He found out I gave them to you and he lit them on fire in the hallway. Do you even remember that?" he spat at her.
"I remember! But he wouldn't do that now! I wouldn't let him!"
"Right. Think what you want. I did you a favor getting rid of that piece of garbage. It probably wasn't even real," he retorted.
"Hardly. You're mad because it was real. If it cost five pounds, you wouldn't be so mad that you couldn't buy it for me instead! That's what this is about. Your jealousy! And I'm sick of it. You don't own me. And you don't get to choose what possessions I keep or not."
"Fine! I made a mistake. And I'm sorry for it. But I can't go get it back now. It's gone. I'm not scuba diving in the river. So just let it go. It's gone," he told her, trying to calm down.
But she refused to calm down. She was pissed beyond belief. More than she ever was when he called her a Mudblood. She'd been hurt then. But now she was mostly just really, really mad. He knew she would be, but he hadn't thought out the consequences before he did what he did. It was an impulse. A whim. And part of him thought she'd find it at least a little amusing that he'd thrown it in the river. But he was sorely mistaken. Obviously she wanted the necklace more than she let on.
"You sicken me right now. I can't believe I actually was considering being with you. But forget it, Severus. You blew it. I don't want to see you anymore. So just leave me alone," she said, with tears in her eyes.
"You don't mean that. It's a dumb necklace. It's not like I threw your cat in the river. We were making such progress! Don't just throw it away because of this," he pleaded with her.
"I feel like I don't know you. Or rather, I do know you. And I know you're not a nice boy normally. Maybe to me you can be, but you're not really nice. You make up dark spells, you want people afraid of you, you steal people's property and you're just as big of a jerk as James ever will be!"
"I am nice! I'm always nice to you!" he retorted.
"Liar! You called me a Mudblood! That wasn't nice. And stupid me, I forgave you. But now you've crossed a line. We're done. Over. And I want you to stay away from me."
"Lily, you don't mean that," he pleaded.
"Watch me," she said as she turned on her heel and left him standing alone in the snow.
He just sunk down to his knees and began weeping into his hands. She sounded like she really meant business this time. He'd lost her. He'd done another foolish thing and now she hated him again. Why was he such a colossal fuck up? Why couldn't he just be normal? Why did he let his pettiness make him stoop to a level lower than even he thought he'd sink? And now she was gone again. This time maybe forever. He wasn't sure if she'd ever forgive him this time. And he wasn't sure if he deserved the forgiveness or not anyway. He had been foolish, and now he paid the price for it.
To be continued…please leave comments to let me know if you're liking this story or not. Thanks for reading!
