The next day I slipped away and went to see Viviana again.
She was waiting for me on the porch of the large, brick house, swaying slowly in a white washed bench swing.
The sundress she wore was a pale green that made her hair seem all the more firey. It amazed me that such a beautiful creature was the offspring of him.
I walked up behind her silently like the shadow I viewed myself to be. Reaching out I tapped her shoulder lightly.
Viviana turned and looked to me with a smile, "I knew you'd come back."
To my displeasure I could feel my cheeks warm up.
"I have a picnic planned for us. Do you have anyplace particular you like?" She picked up a basket from the floor by her feet and stood up, watching him with a cool cerulean gaze.
I shrugged; there was no place I really liked in this world.
"In that case, follow me."
Viviana stepped off the porch and started across the yard. I followed her, keeping a few steps behind her before she turned and motioned for me to speed up.
Falling into step beside her I finally noticed that she was several inches shorter than myself. She seemed so delicate, like a porcelain doll.
Our trip was a short one, within moments she had led me to an open meadow beyond a line of tall oaks that made the border of her yard.
I watched as she placed the basket on the ground and extracted a checkered blanket. She spread the cloth and set to work setting everything up.
"Why do you not use magic? It would be much faster to do it that way."
Viviana looked to me with a smile, "My mother taught me to not always rely on magic."
My brow furrowed, "Your mother was a Muggle?"
She nodded and took a seat on a corner of the blanket, patting the place beside her.
I took the seat and looked down at everything she had brought. I hadn't seen a meal like this since my days at Hogwarts. "Did you do all this?"
"House elves," she said with a sheepish grin. "They're marvelous people. I would starve without them. Can't cook to save my life."
I gave something of a smile and continued to look at pretty much everything but her.
"So Severus, tell me where you went to school," she took two plates from the basket, handing one to me before putting food on the other.
"Hogwarts, I graduated almost three years ago." I traced the pattern of the plate idly.
"So you're the same age I am."
I looked up to her, my face clearly stating my confusion. "Did you go to Hogwarts?"
She couldn't have gone to my school; I would have remembered so lovely a girl vividly.
"Good gracious no, I went to Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic." Viviana finished filling the plate and handed it to me, taking the empty one and repeating her actions.
The day passed by quickly and was filled with such conversations. By the end of the day she knew more about me than any other person in the world did.
And I was strangely pleased by that.
The sun set and, after helping her clean up, I said good-bye and returned home where I once again lost sleep envisioning her.