The Garden and the Snake

Next morning brought no new revelations with it and Harry allowed himself a breath of relief. He made breakfast, eggs and toast this time. Severus gobbled the meal up hungrily. Harry himself could barely eat; he was worried about too many things at once, not the least of them – Severus. Harry still didn't quite know what to do with him. Everything he said or did seemed awkward and wrong, somehow.

"What do you do?"

"I'm sorry?" Harry mumbled. The question caught him off guard. He pushed his plate aside and stared back at Severus who was studying him with cool curiosity.

"What do you do every day?" Severus demanded. "Do you go to school? Do you work?"

Harry shook his head, not quite sure how to explain what he did to Severus. His life was busy enough – but he didn't seem to be accomplishing much. In fact, most of the last year was spent making public statements about the dangers of the Second Chances program and trying to figure out how to get Snape out of trouble. He was too distracted for anything else – school was out of the question, work too. Even Ginny somehow faded from his life when Harry didn't answer one firecall too many.

And then, in spite of himself, Harry found himself scowling, irritated that he was now cornered by the reasonable question, the question that the "old" Snape had never bothered to ask.

Severus continued to watch him.

Harry took a deep breath, deciding how to best explain this. "I.. uh. I'm a public figure of sorts. I'm involved in politics."

"What does it mean?"

"I... I meet with people and talk to them about what they do."

Severus stared at him. "But you yourself don't do anything."

"I guess not, no," Harry muttered, his irritation growing.

"You must be very rich or very lazy," Severus summarized, his contemptuous tone suggesting it didn't have to be an "either/or" thing.

Harry bit his lip, resisting the urge to shout at him like he would have, had Snape still been an adult. Across the table from him, Severus smirked, clearly satisfied about being able to get under Harry's skin.

Harry stood up and began to clear the dishes. "Want to go to Hermione's place again?" he asked, as non-confrontationally as he could manage.

Severus shook his head. "I don't like her."

Surprised, Harry turned to look at him. "Why not?"

"She acts like she knows me. I don't like that."

"Oh." It was difficult to argue with that; but Harry was surprised that Severus noticed. He cursed under his breath. He wanted to see Hermione and Ron badly, but the prospect of forcing Severus to do anything didn't sit well with him. "Well," Harry made another attempt at negotiation, "you like Bellatrix, don't you? Would you like to see her again?"

To his relief, Severus gave a slow, guarded nod at that.

They took off to Hermione's a few minutes later.

o-o-o

It was a bright Saturday morning – warm, and not a cloud in the sky. Hermione opened all the windows, allowing the fresh air to course through the little house. The aged wood, warmed by the morning sunshine, smelled like something from her childhood – sunny and carefree. Even Ron, home from school, seemed to be in a lazy mood, his Transfiguration textbook forgotten on the floor by the couch.

She knew the carefree mood would be gone the moment the guests arrived and conversation inevitably turned to "business". Still, it felt good to indulge for the moment.

Bill was the first to arrive and joke that he just wanted to see if his baby brother had wrecked the place yet. Ron laughed at that and for a while they talked about work. Gringotts' security had tightened dramatically since the war.

"Gee, I wonder why," Ron said wryly. Hermione smiled, nostalgic in spite of herself. Their adventures and misadventures during the last year of the war seemed something from another lifetime now.

Neville arrived late, looking sullen and uncomfortable. Things have been strained since he'd dropped Bellatrix at their place, and Neville seemed barely able to meet their eyes, as if expecting to be scolded. Ron noticed that too and said, with his usual directness: "Mate, look – what's done is done. Still friends, right?" The smallest of smiles touched Neville's lips and he let out a long sigh of relief.

It was late morning by the time Harry and Severus arrived. Severus did not spare a single glance for the adults, as if he couldn't be bothered with any of them. He gathered up Bellatrix and the baby bottle in his arms and went outside. Hermione watched him, as he walked steadily and slowly, never looking up. Once in the yard, he found shelter in a tiny gazebo, overgrown with vines. He settled there, holding the bundled up infant in his lap and turning all of his attention to her.

Once Severus seemed comfortable – and out of the way – the conversation resumed and eventually turned to Whispers of Freedom.

"It's a relief like I don't know what – to be able to open a paper and not see her face," Bill said candidly, leaning back on the couch. "That woman is a psycho. I don't understand why so many are listening to her."

Hermione gave him a long, calculated look. "Why do you say that?"

Bill shrugged. "I hear things. Last summer she drove the goblins absolutely crazy – she wanted the best vault in the bank, with zero chance of break in. Some sort of government stuff. It took two weeks to come up with something suitable. When the vault was finally set up, she wasn't happy because it was too expensive – thirty galleons a month. But what did she expect?"

"What does she care, her Second Chances program pays for it, I'm sure," Harry pointed out.

"That's the thing. She insisted on paying for it herself." Bill shrugged again. "Said it was her small way of making a difference, or something. Must leave quite a dent in her personal budget – but what do we care?"

Hermione found her heart skip a beat. "Do you know what she keeps there?" she asked.

"Afraid I don't. I doubt there's a way to find out, either – if the program paid for it, she'd need to be accountable to someone as to what the money was going for. But paying for it herself – she doesn't need to tell anybody."

"Shady," Ron muttered under his breath.

"Putting it mildly," Harry agreed.

"Can you find out what she keeps there?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Bill said. "I'm not that involved in Gringotts' London affairs – I just do field work."

"But you could ask!" Hermione insisted, trying not to sound too desperate and not succeeding. "Oh, please, Bill! Ask around – this could be important! This could be the break we need!"

Bill laughed out loud. "You sound like you're out to overthrow the government." When nobody else laughed he looked around and shook his head. "You're crazy, all of you."

Hermione didn't deny it. "Will you help?" she asked bluntly and held her breath, waiting for his response.

It took Bill a long time to answer. When he did, he spoke with a mixture of resignation and amusement. "You realize, if I get fired for violating a client's confidentiality, the bank will take this house away."

"Not to worry," Ron quipped, clearly bothered by the prospect of creating trouble for his brother, but doing his best to keep his tone light. "We'll just all move to Harry's place."

o-o-o

The gazebo was small, shaded and chilly, but Severus didn't mind. The vines created a thick wall that made it a cozy shelter. It was just like being inside – his head didn't spin from the world that was too big for him.

Bellatrix slumbered in his arms, and he stroked her hair carefully with his index finger. She smiled in her sleep.

Something stirred in the thick of the vines and Severus turned his head. The sight made his blood run cold. A snake – a big one, much bigger than him, wormed its way through the wall of the gazebo. The snake's eyes stared at him, watching him intently.

He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. He wanted to run, but his entire body shook and he could barely move a muscle. All he could manage was to turn sideways, curling up to shield Bellatrix with his body.

The snake would strike any moment, he knew that – he saw it slither through the vine, getting ready to attack. And then, just out of the corner of his eye he saw someone's wand, pointing at the snake. No sound was made, but the snake deflated, changed shape, turning into a tiny critter of some sort, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. The critter scurried away, disappearing behind the vines.

Severus let out a deep, painful breath that came out with an embarrassing whimper. He lifted his eyes, feeling lightheaded and dizzy and stared at the man holding the wand. It was the tall redhead he'd seen in the house briefly.

"Nothing to worry about," the redhead said. "Just a Scuttling Chameleon. The yard is full of magical vermin – they really are quite harmless, they just try to make themselves look big and scary. And somehow they always know what'll scare you."

Severus nodded. He briefly wondered how the chameleon knew a snake would scare him. In fact, he wasn't too sure why he just froze in one place, instead of running for his life. He felt heat rush to his cheeks and glanced at his rescuer, embarrassed. But the man didn't make fun of him.

"My name's Bill. You must be Severus."

Severus nodded, hating that everyone seemed to know who he was. He looked at Bill intently, studying his face. His attention was drawn to the gruesome scars, crossing all of Bill's face – as if a giant claw had ripped through his flesh from ear to lips.

Bill didn't seem offended by his staring. He even smiled slightly and gave Severus a small nod, as if inviting a question.

"Are they cursed scars?" Severus asked. Mum had told him that cursed wounds never fully healed.

For a second it seemed like he asked too much: Bill appeared to be surprised by the question, but answered, just the same. "I hope not. I think – I think, if you're a good person, nothing about you is cursed."

A moment later he was gone.

o-o-o

It was late when Harry finally took Severus home. To his own surprise, once they were back at Harry's place, Severus found himself wishing he could have stayed at Ron's and Hermione's place. Harry was weird and quiet, and when Severus asked questions, Harry seemed bothered. Severus didn't like that. He didn't like Hermione much either, but he was getting used to her, like an unavoidable annoyance.

In fact, the only one Severus liked so far was Bellatrix.

It was probably weird that his only friend was a baby – but then again, he never had friends his own age. Except for Lily, he thought wistfully. Something ached inside at the memory of the two of them playing together. He wondered why he hadn't thought of her sooner and now that he did, he wondered if he should try and see her again.

He half-suspected it wasn't a good idea. She's all grown up now, he thought, quickly counting up the years. She was thirty nine! She probably got married and had children. He wondered if she'd remember him.

He sulked silently for a while, feeling cheated by the fact that Lily was an adult and grew up without him. Even if she still remembered him, he wondered if they'd have anything to talk about. For a while he wasn't sure what was worse – for her to have forgotten him, or for her to remember him and not care.

Still, he reckoned there was only one way to find out.

Slowly he walked to the couch in the sitting room. Harry was lying on his back, his eyes shut. Acting quickly, before he could change his mind, Severus poked Harry in the shoulder, hard. Harry flinched but didn't open his eyes.

"I need your help," Severus managed to say. He hated saying it, it embarrassed him. But he couldn't find Lily all on his own, and he continued on, determined. "I have a friend. She is a witch."

Harry went all rigid at his words, as if, even with his eyes shut, he'd seen a snake of his own.

"Her name is Lily!" Severus blurted out. "Lily Evans, she's got red hair and she's a witch! I want you to help me find her."

Slowly, Harry propped himself to sit up. His head was bowed and he didn't look at Severus.

"She's dead," Harry said in a weirdly calm voice that made Severus' skin crawl. "I'm sorry."

Somehow, Severus didn't think Harry was lying this time. There was something in Harry's tone that made Severus believe him.

Still, he didn't know what to make of it. It scared him to think that Lily wasn't around. Somehow, the world without her seemed wrong - and he couldn't understand why something would pull him out of the world where Lily lived and push him all the way into the future without her.

"Why is everyone dead?" Severus asked in a small whisper. Harry didn't answer. "How do you even know she's dead?"

It took Harry a very long time to reply, as if he was trying to work something out. Eventually he spoke. "She was my mother."

Harry lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking directly at Severus without blinking.

It seemed unreal, but for a second it felt like Lily herself was looking at him, her gaze finding him across all the lost years separating them. At first Severus couldn't understand it, but then, he realized why: Harry had green eyes, too.

To Be Continued...