EXTREME SPOILERS FOR DEATHLY HALLOWS! THIS IS YOUR WARNING!

Disclaimer:Harry Potter and all things associated with it are owned by JK Rowling. The only thing I own is this laptop and my little brother. :D

[ C i e u x . V e r t s
Green Skies
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Chapter Two:
Fort

Hiver
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Christmas hadn't proved to be an excitable one for Severus nor for Lily.

His gifts had been the royal blue fleece blanket he'd eyed in the muggle store the weekend before and a set of books on werewolves, vampires and other magical beings. The latter had to be hidden from his father and were only to be read when he wasn't home or when Severus was outside and away from the easily displeased man who had given his mother an apple-sized bruise for Christmas.

Lily had received a sizable amount of boxes ranging in sizes, colors, textures and shapes but none had been filled with the things she'd slaved writing her Christmas list for. Nonetheless, she was pleased with the movies, dolls, books and various gizmos and gadgets she'd received. Her Magna Doodle, she told herself, would come for her birthday and her Space Hopper would be a 'back to school' gift of grand proportions.

She wasn't worried.

Winter that year, however, was nothing like the previous one. It was shockingly warm, only calling for layered clothing, light coats and a flimsy scarf and hat if you wished to wear one.

Lily and Petunia took advantage at such lovely weather and wandered down to the neighborhood park with small bags of the trinkets they'd received for Christmas. Lily's tools, though naturally intended for gardening, worked well in the freshly-filled sandbox and Petunia's large, mean friend was quite the fan of chopping viciously at the hair of her pretty new dolls with scissors she had nicked from her teacher.

It was a constant pattern with that throughout winter. Together, they'd march towards the park, speaking peaceably about their parents, the gifts they wanted and had received for Christmas and returning back to school in the near future and then, when they'd reach the gate that creaked to alert the empty park of their arrival, they'd go their separate ways to wait for their very different friends.

Petunia would sit on the swing set, push herself back and forth before the large girl would call, "Oh, Tuney!" and drag her away to a place Petunia didn't speak to Lily of. She'd come back an hour or more later with broken dolls and a crestfallen face but the next time they arrived at the park, the situation repeated itself all over again. Lily had tried to tell her sister to do otherwise but the girl had snapped at her, telling her to leave her be and to play with herlittle friend.

Lily would sit beside Nate, the gentle boy she'd met in fall, and help him create castles like none had ever imagined in the cold, hard sand. There was very little talk between the two. He was shy and she was not the type to pressure anyone, least of all him. When they did speak, it would be of her sister and his latest sand creations. Always in awe of what he managed to do with the messy substance, Lily would listen attentively with a look of pure rapture on her face.

It was at one of these moments that Severus found himself peering at her from around the withering bushes of the playground. The leaves were wet and brown against his face but he pressed his body ever further into the brush to catch the pretty redhead at just the right angle. He watched closely as the chubby boy shook his hands wildly in various directions to describe to Lily the way his dog had destroyed the masterpiece he'd created the day before and as Lily moved minutely to miss his waving fists while still smiling brightly at him.

She was too beautiful. Her hair, up in a tight ponytail, was waving slightly in the cool winter breeze and her hands, though covered in grains of sand, were perched under her chin so comfortably that she closely resembled that great works of muggle art he'd seen in the museum the year before. In fact, the only uncomely thing about the entire scene was the boy, Nate, who seemed so wide that he obscured view of the merry-go-round and the gate not far behind him. His hair was sticking up in odd directions and his cheeks were smudged with brown from playing in the sandbox so often.

Severus' nose wrinkled slightly in distaste but he kept his silence as the two played.

It wasn't until darkness drew over the sky like a protective blanket that he rose from his position. The leaves stuck to his hair, skin and clothes but he didn't bother to swipe them away as he trekked quickly through the sandbox, down the stone stairs and prepared to exit through the iron gate. He swung it open, stepped quickly through it and collided with a warm, cushioned body.

The frown formed quickly on his lips as he pushed his body up from the cold concrete he'd landed on. He was in a sour mood after watching the beautiful girl he could only watch from a distance play with an ordinary muggle boy who played with nothing but sand.

Said muggle boy gazed at him with shocked and nervous blue eyes. "I-I…My shovel, I...," he stuttered.

Glancing coldly at the boy, Severus turned away from the boy to continue his walk back only gracing him with a snarl, "Then go get your shovel. And watch where you're walking!"

"But you-," Nate started, "You're…"

Severus stopped, only a step away from where he'd been previously and said, "I'm what?"

Nate didn't reply immediately. He folded and unfolded his hands as he looked in every other direction but the one Severus was standing in. "You're," he started again, "the boy who- the one who's always…"

"If you can't talk, then I'm not going to waste my time."

"You're the boy who watches Lily all the time! You- you sit in those bushes, past the- in front of the swings!"

Glaring, Severus stalked quickly towards the boy. The two inches he'd gained in height since the year before helped him immensely as he looked down at the fidgeting boy and said, "Tell her and you'll regret it."

"No, no. I- I wasn't going to- I mean, you can…I don't…you can have her!"

Greasy black hair gathered quickly around his face as he lowered it to stare with unadulterated anger at the little boy before him. To treat her as anobject! As though she belonged to anyone!

"I don't," Nate began again, "mind her not being…She can be friends with you, instead. You… You like her a lot."

"What are you-?"

Nate shook his head quickly as he muttered, "Petunia goes with Elisabeth to a house on Spinner's End. It's…there's no one there. Bugs and dirt but… She…Elisabeth she…hides things and makes Petunia sit in the closet and…"

Easing away, Severus stared again at the boy with kinder eyes. He could see that it was not as though he wished to not be Lily's friend but that he was willing to pass up his friendship with her for him. For Severus to take the place of the small space Nate would leave in Lily's life. Nate, with his stutter and his chubby hands, wanted Severus to take care of the bully that made Lily worry for her sister because he couldn't do it himself.

It was almost as if heknew.

Nodding, Severus turned away again to walk home. This time, he stopped only to say, "Thank you" before continuing on his way.

-----

Nate did not return to the playground again the next day.

Nate did not return to the playground again that week.

Nate did not return to the playground ever again.

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Elisabeth was found a day later, wandering down Spinner's End with chopped hair and no true sense of what she was doing. It seemed almost as if she had gone slightly mad over night.

Petunia claimed foul play. Lily said the girl had always seemed a bit off in the head and Severus could only sink further in the bushes to keep back the small bout of laughter that threatened to bubble past his lips.

Printemps
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They met for the first time in spring. The leaves of his bush were green and strong as he'd leapt out of them and as he settled into them again after she had run away. The feeling that had settled in his stomach was not one he was unacquainted with. It was the same feeling he experienced when he angered his father or caught a glimpse of a new patch of black and blue on his mother's fair skin.

The disappointment and feeling of failure was there, tightening quickly around his heart and thickening in his muscles, making movement impossible. There was no physical or emotion escape from such a powerful emotion, he knew. It was something that rested and festered beneath the skin of its prisoner, tormenting them with their every breath and moment of life.

Disappointment was the parasite and he was the wounded bird resting sickly on the grime of-.

The leaves of his bush shook causing a few of its branches to slide achingly against his stark white skin. The streaks they'd created burned but the feeling was cast aside as his eyes gathered the sight of thick red hair and verdant green eyes.

"Were you just joking with me?" she asked tightly, her lips forming a straight line against the flushed skin of her face.

Severus stared up at her in shock, the tightening on his heart easing as he grasped desperately in his mind for the appropriate response to her question.

"N-no! No, I'm not. You're a witch, like my mum! You… You were doing magic, earlier! Real magic," he said quietly but with enthusiasm like he'd never shared before. "Magic like grown wizards and witches do. You couldn't be a muggle. You can't be one of them."

The distaste in his voice was poorly hidden and vaguely reminded Lily of the way he'd spat at her sister earlier. The obvious adoration he held for magic didn't carry over to those who didn't possess the ability to create it, it seemed. Momentarily, she wondered if all the wizards and witches he'd spoken of were the same way...

She caught her thoughts and stopped them; bracing her hands on her hips and wondering why in the world she'd choose to believe such a story. It was entirely impossible; and was most likely a ridiculous trick formulated by the older boys down the street, who had teased her for her red hair and chubby body at the neighborhood pool in the summers previous.

"Prove it," she found herself saying with patience.

"How?" the boy asked, leaning forward to pull himself free of the bush and out into the open once more.

"I don't know," Lily responded, easing herself backwards as he pulled himself free of a branch that had caught onto his tattered coat, "Tell me something super secret!"

Severus noted the step back she took and took a step of his own closer to the bush, giving her space. "About the wizarding world?"

"Yes, something only wizards would know."

"…How would you know if it's true or not," he questioned, "I could tell you that your Prime Minister was Grindelwald himself and you wouldn't know if it was true or not."

"Grindel-..."

"Grindelwald," Severus finished matter-of-factly, "he's known as the most dangerous wizard of all time."

"Oh," Lily replied with wide eyes.

"He was defeated by Dumbledore in 1945."

"How do you know all this?" questioned Lily.

Severus sighed and lowered himself to the ground. He sat with his legs crossed, pulling a leaf from his off of his shoulder as he answered, "Chocolate Frog cards have information on great wizards and witches throughout time."

After a moment, Lily lowered herself to sit on the grass as well. Her shorts would have stains on them, she knew, but that was okay. It was worth it, she thought, for the strange boy's stories of evil wizards and chocolate frogs.

"And are they real frogs? The ones you were talking about?"

"No. But, they do jump a lot. You have to be careful when you pull them out of their boxes. My grandmum gave me one once and it hopped off into the kitchen. We couldn't find it once it got in there. I suppose it melted, after a bit…"

Lily smiled brightly, "Jumping candy! Impossible!"

"Not at all," Severus countered, "there are lots of candies that move. My mum told me of these things called ice mice. When you eat them, your teeth squeak and acid pops burn holes through your tongue."

"That's-!"

"It grows back," Severus said, pushing a lock of greasy hair away from his eyes to watch the way her eyes seemed to glow with wonder and excitement at the idea of such treats.

"You'll be able to find them in Diagon Alley or on trips to Hogsmeade Village," said Severus thoughtfully, "I don't know of anywhere else you can find sweetshops, though."

"Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village… Are they like the shopping malls?"

Severus shrugged, lifting his lanky shoulders with a look of mild curiosity. "I've never been in a shopping mall," he said, "or to Hogsmeade Village. Hogwarts students go there. My mum said they take trips there on special weekends."

"There's a school? For people who can do magic like your mum?"

"There are a few. Hogwarts is where I'm going. My mum went there with her sisters. But there's Durmstrang somewhere up North and Beauxbatons in France…"

There were dozens of questions boiling brightly in Lily's head, threatening to pass her lips and hold her at the darkening playground all night, listening to the dirty boys stories of magical schools and treats.

She stood up suddenly, pushing her hair away from her face and setting her body straight. Severus looked up at her, the unexpected movements catching his attention.

"Tomorrow," Lily said with a determined tone, "meet me at the end of Spinner's End, where the forest begins at the end of the street."

Confused at her request but more than happy to agree, Severus nodded to show he'd be there waiting for her.

She smiled, turning to run to the iron gate. Her footsteps were heavy in comparison to the park's silence and the pause she took before stepping through the gate resounded just as loudly.

"I'm Lily, by the way," she called back, smiling before continuing on her trip home.

Severus sat still, his hands resting on his knees and his eyes staring fondly at the swinging gate. He'd known her name since the winter previous, yes, but it seemed to mean so much more now that he'd heard it come directly from her pale pink lips…

Été
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He stumbled out of the wooded nest he and Lily had created in the early days of spring to glance moodily at the glaring sun. It was a bright, fiery mass in the sky that seemed to follow his every step and push him closer and closer to the edge of exhaustion with every step he took away from the shaded heaven he'd been in before.

To be honest, he regretted the anger he'd felt that had caused the branch to fall. He knew that his emotions fueled his untrained magic and that he anger created especially dangerous situations but it had been so very long since he'd lost control that the idea of something happening to Lily's boney, sneaky, spying older sister wasn't something he'd counted on. She had fueled his anger before and nothing had happened at those times so… why now? Why this time?

He could see the rotting lawn of his house, the curtains drawn shut tightly and the screen door lying dead next to the cracked walkway from the street.

He imagined that it was most likely the idea that she'd found the place that only he and Lily were meant to know of. She'd found their secret and ruined the single thing he shared with the redhead he was so entranced by.

Or maybe it was the idea that she'd heard something that was meant for only Lily's ears. He told her things that he'd never shared with anyone else, spilled his brain through his lips and into her ears on more occasions than he could remember and had shown her the bruises and cuts he'd received while explaining to her that no, they didn't hurt but his mother's were so much worse…

He'd told her all he knew about Hogwarts, brought her Chocolate Frog cards and brought her the books on magical creatures he'd gotten for Christmas. His mother had refreshed his memory about wizarding fairytales and mysteries that he'd told Lily while she lay out silently on the dry Earth of the forest, eyes closed and images flashing wildly behind her eyelids.

Perhaps it was the nervousness that came from the idea that Petunia may tell… That perhaps she'd open her big, fat mouth to Lily's parents and tell them of the dirty boy from Spinner's End who sat in the trash-strewn forest along the dirty river waiting for their beautiful daughter to trip and stumble inside and find him to hear more stories of a world they wouldn't begin to believe existed. They would react as most muggles do: deny the stories, chalk them up to being children's tales and forbid Lily from returning to their secret place ever again.

He's hand gripped the creaking doorknob to his home, turning it sharply before pushing it open to enter the darkness. Leaning down, he untied and removed his battered shoes before tiptoeing to the kitchen where he saw his mother pushing a wooden spoon through a sauce of some sort that simmered in a beaten pan atop their muggle oven.

"I thought we already had a discussion about this heat," she said, not taking her eyes away from the steaming sauce.

Severus nodded, "Yes."

"Is there a reason that you continue to disobey me, even after I've told you so many times that there is no muggle girl worth dying for?"

Shaking his head, Severus lowered himself into a chair beside their tired table. It creaked and wobbled as he leaned his head atop it, showing its old age and instability.

"She's not a muggle, Mum," he said quietly.

She sniffled a laugh as she pulled the spoon from the pan to press it against her lips quickly. Tasting it, she nodded her approval and removed the thick red topping from the heat.

"Not a muggle? Then what is she, Severus? A dog?"

"A witch."

His tone was strict, not appreciating his mother's sense of humor (he hardly approved anyone's sense of humor when it came to Lily), and his eyes hardened as he glared at a crack in the tabletop.

Her cleaned spoon tapped his arm slightly, warning him to watch his tone before she took a seat across from him. Her eyes, just as dark and striking as his own, gazed at him as though trying to find the truth within him. Though she knew Severus to be anything but a child with a hobby of telling lies, the idea of the fair-skinned little muggle girl she'd seen through the cracks between the curtains being a witch seemed absurd.

"Is she, really? How do you know this?"

"I saw it, that day. She tripped on the black ice and should have fallen flat on her face like the rest of the muggles but she… She floated. Then, she got right back up and ran back down the street as though it hadn't happened. And! And during spring she jumped from the swing set and didn't just fall back down. She-"

"You've told her, haven't you?"

Severus glanced up, noticing the way her voice tightened and transferred quickly from patient to being annoyed, "Yes."

"She's the reason you've been asking me about Hogwarts and only tales, isn't she?"

"Yes," Severus said again.

"Foolish," she muttered harshly, "and what will you say when she doesn't receive a letter as you will? What will you do, then?"

Shaking her head, she pushed herself away from the table to busy herself at the counter. Her son was silent, once again. He only seemed to find things to say when they involved that girl, somehow. It had been nice to hear his voice every once in awhile but to know the truth now was disappointing and stirred just a bit of anger inside her.

"She won't talk to me ever again, anyway," she heard from behind her, "I got angry and her sister was hurt…"

"You hurt a muggle child!?"

The anger seemed to be boiling, now.

"It was an accident. I didn't wish for the branch to fall. She was spying! Trying to-"

"Severus, this girl cannot control you. Stop this nonsense, now! Childhood crushes do not last and I will not allow this to ruin your chances to become something, you understand!?"

He eyes were lived, hardened to onyx gems that glowed in the darkened room and burned a hole through his resolve. His plan had been to deny that he cared at all for Lily, only that he found her to be a pleasant friend and that there was no need to cut all ties with her because the girl most likely hated him now, anyway. But, looking at his mother now, her hair tied up in a messy bun and her clothes tattered and dirty as his own, he could find no strength to deny his mother the single thing she most desired.

"I understand," he said firmly, "I will do my best."

Automne
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He'd tried his very best. He didn't return to the forest hideaway, opting to stay home in his room flipping through pages of his book on werewolves and memorizing the ingredients of potions he thought seemed mildly amusing. His mind was never left to wander to thoughts about where she might be, what she might be doing and if she missed him at all.

He'd done everything he could.

In the end, however, it had been she who came to search for him.

His Hogwarts letter had arrived just a week before in a crisp envelope and on heavy parchment was his invitation to become a part of the school his mother had told him of so long ago. In his head, he could see the ancient building she'd described in detail, could outline the passageways he'd take to and from classes and feel the knot that would form in his hand from essays of all sorts.

He did admit to his mother, after dinner when his father had retired drunkenly to bed, that he wondered if Lily had received a letter like he'd thought before. She had glanced at him momentarily before turning back to the thick muggle novel before her.

"I'm sure she'll be on the train if she did get a letter," was her reply before she turned the page signaling to him that she was done with the discussion.

He was wondering again, despite his wish to wonder about anything but, when the tap against the door sounded through the darkened living room.

There had never been a knock on the door of the Snape home.

Severus stilled on the couch, his book on vampires clutched tightly in his hands, as his mother rounded the corner from the kitchen.

"Was that a knock on the door?" she asked, eyeing him questioningly.

He nodded.

She reached forward slowly, releasing the lock on the door and pulling it open with a creek that resounded against the thin walls.

"Hello, I'm looking for Severus…"

Startled, Severus looked up to stare at the cracked doorway. The voice was undeniably Lily's. It hadn't changed at all in the time he'd avoided her and he wondered how he hadn't realized it was her before.

Surprisingly, Severus saw his mother smile mildly at Lily before nodding and saying, "One moment, Lily. I'll go collect him."

The door slid shut with a thick click before silence filled the space between them.

"She has a Hogwarts letter in her pocket," she said quietly, "it seems you were right, Severus."

"Mum, I didn't-"

"She's waiting for you, Severus. It's rude to make a lady wait."

Turning away, she walked slowly back into the kitchen without another word. Though, to Severus, that seemed like just the acceptance he needed.

Slipping his feet into his ragged shoes, he collected the vampire book from the armrest of the couch before sliding quickly through the door. She was sitting on the doorstep, back in his direction, looking silently at the dilapidated homes around them. It was nothing like her street where the lawns were always freshly cut and the children were dressed in pastel colors and clean white shoes.

"I was angry, you know," she said, not bothering to turn to face him, "and it took so much to convince Petunia not to tell mum and dad about you…"

He stood silently, waiting for her to continue. Though he would have liked to give her a response of some sort, what could he say to such a thing? 'I'm sorry' was a plausible idea but apologies were complicated and meant nothing in his mind. They were lies told to convince others to leave the topic alone. 'I'm sorry' meant nothing if he couldn't really mean it.

"But, I went back to the woods the next day to talk to you and you weren't there. The day after you weren't there, either. I went everyday for a week and you never showed up. I got even angrier and thought that you'd been nothing but a liar all along. That you'd told me stories just so you could have a friend."

It stung that she'd realized that he had no one but her. He wondered if she thought he was a freak for his lack of friends, if she'd like him more if he had lots of friends and was popular like the boys he saw her walk to school with.

"Then, I got this letter from Hogwarts and… I wondered if you were all right."

"I'm fine," he said, speaking for the first time.

She nodded, "I'm glad."

There was a moment of silence between them. It wasn't stifling or uncomfortable as silence often was. Instead, it was comforting and sincere. It gave them a moment of peace to realize that perhaps their spat had not been as important as they'd each made it seem. That, maybe, their friendship was stronger than one that could be broken on a whim.

"We'll be going to Diagon Alley this weekend to buy my supplies but I was wondering if you'd be able to come with us… My parents, they'd like to know more."

"I don't know if that would be such a wise idea," Severus said quietly, leaning against the chipping door and remembering his tattered coat and his mothers battered dress.

Lily nodded, standing up and turning to face him with an understanding smile, "You're probably right. Maybe next year…"

"Maybe then, yes."

"I'll see you on September 1st, then?" Lily wondered, waving her Hogwarts letter slightly.

He nodded, once, "Yes, I'll be there."

"We can sit together, then. There's still so much I want to ask you…"

"You have plenty of time," Severus said quietly, glancing past her towards the wooded area they'd claimed as their own, "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Neither am I," Lily said with a smile before turning with a flicker of red hair and walking bravely down Spinners End; a single beauty in a desolate wasteland.

Chapter Notes:
Chapter Begun: July 30th, 2007; 4:23 PM
Chapter Complete: March 7th, 2008; 9:56 PM

Young!Severus is a evil little bastard! Okay, not really, but he truly is a hassle to write. He is so much of a hassle, in fact, that this chapter took me more than 6 months to get complete. Thankfully, during those six months, I completed chapters three and four. Now, I only need to edit them a little and have then BETA-ed so they should be up shortly. It will not be another 8 months before you see them, I promise!

I am not incredibly proud of this chapter, to be honest. I'm hoping to make up for it with future chapters especially chapter 4 which I believe is my favorite thus far! Things have started to roll in this one, will shake a little in the next and will finally blast off in four which I think you all will really enjoy. But, enough of chapter four! Chapter two was a ridiculous pain and I am sorry it wasn't worth the wait. However, trust me, I will make it up to you all!

"-hides things and makes Petunia sit in the closet and…" – She doesn't do anything extreme to Petunia. It's just the fact that she deserts her in such a scary place. I know that as a child, I was terrified of being alone in places I wasn't used to. I put a little of that in Petunia in this.