There was one week left before the start of term and Eliza was determined to make it a very enjoyable and productive week. She also knew that at some point during the next few days, her brooding neighbor would leave and only return intermittently throughout the year. For once, she was looking forward to him leaving so she could go back to living her magic-free life without looking over her shoulder, worrying that he had discovered her secret. She was also looking forward to not having a constant reminder of the threat that Voldemort posed. Eliza figured that if her neighbor wasn't there, staring at the dark mark on his arm night after night, she might be able to put the rumors she had heard in Diagon Alley out of her head.
Taking advantage of the sunny day, Eliza headed out to work in her garden. Her plants had been severely neglected since the last awkward encounter with her neighbor, and there was a lot of work to be done in order to restore the garden's previous splendor. Furiously digging weeds out from around her dittany plant, Eliza didn't notice when a dark shadow was cast over her.
"Well, this is an interesting way of hiding your magic abilities from muggles," said a soft, cold voice above her.
Eliza jumped, dropping the gardening tools she was holding. Slowly she stood, not turning around to face the intruder. She knew who it was without looking at him.
"They don't know," She whispered, her breath catching slightly in her throat. "They don't know what these plants can do."
"Even muggles aren't too thick to realize that plants shouldn't sparkle or move on their own accord."
Eliza finally turned to face him, her face growing very pale when she saw his hard, black glare. "How long have you known?" She asked.
"For quite a while. Did you really think that I wouldn't know what you were growing back here? I am the potions master at Hogwarts, of course I know what these plants are for."
"Hogwarts," She said gleefully," that's where you go at the end of summer." He rolled his eyes and frowned at her. "What's your name," She continued. "We must be about the same age. What house were you in? How long have you taught a Hog-"
"We should take this conversation inside," He interrupted, eyeing the old ladies on the sidewalk who had stopped to stare at them, amazed that the black-cloaked man was actually speaking to someone.
Eliza nodded quickly and beckoned him to follow her through the backdoor and into the kitchen of her cottage. Motioning for him to sit, she busied herself by getting tea ready, anything to hide her nerves. The man was so cold and bitter that poor Eliza didn't know how to act around him. Sure, she knew others with similar personalities, being a Slytherin and a member of the Black family tended to draw an unsavory crowd, but Eliza found her neighbor to be unpredictable and unnerving.
"Well," She said, finally putting a cup in front of him, "What is your name?"
"Snape. Severus Snape," He said coolly. "And you?"
Eliza didn't reply right away. She knew that name from somewhere. Racking her brain for a memory, any memory, she didn't immediately come up with anything. She did however, remember her cousin, Sirius, calling some boy a name, what was it.. Snivellus….Oh god, the horror dawned on her. Now she remembered him, the dark Slytherin boy who was a year above her. The same boy she used to follow around and watch from the sidelines. Hopefully he wouldn't remember her.
"Your name," came Snape's voice cutting through her thoughts. He was giving her a hard scowl while tapping his fingers impatiently on the table.
"Eliza Slope," She answered. Embarrassment washed over her again and again as memories from their school days flashed by in her mind. She had been a quiet, reserved student in those days, so perhaps he wouldn't recognize her. Besides, as she remembered, he had been too preoccupied with that Gryffindor girl to notice anyone else.
Eliza sat upright in her chair, nervously jiggling her leg under the table. She chewed on a nail (a recently developed habit) and watched Snape as he looked at her thoughtfully, trying to connect her name to any past acquaintances.
"I remember a Uriah Slope in my year, Ravenclaw I think, any relation?" Snape asked.
Eliza looked away for a moment. After all these years, his name still choked her up. Swallowing hard, she turned to answer him.
"He is – was – my husband," She answered, her eyes getting a bit watery.
"I'm sorry," Snape said swiftly, a little color creeping onto his sallow cheeks.
Eliza shrugged, desperately wanting to get off the topic. "Well, it has been several years since he passed. Anyway, tell me more about you. How long have you worked at Hogwarts?
Picking up on Eliza's attempted diversion, Snape resumed his hard glare. "I believe we were discussing your poor muggle disguise. Tell me, why would you continue growing magical herbs, and brewing potions I assume, if you are trying to be a muggle?"
Eliza bit her lip as she tried to come up with an answer to his question. "Um, well I guess the best answer would be that muggle medicine is terrible and I don't want to leave the fate of my health in the hands of these 'doctors'."
Snape's eyes flashed at this answer and his snarl intensified. Eliza whimpered slightly and drew back in her chair. She quickly became very interested in the burn mark on her wooden table, anything to avoid meeting his vicious glare.
"So it was you that night. I knew it was but I couldn't believe that a common witch could heal those wounds," he said, his voice low and menacing.
Eliza was angered by his words. "A common witch indeed," she snapped. "I worked at St. Mungo's before I came here. My research was some of the most advanced in my department and I was made a healer before I had even graduated Hogwarts!"
Snape stared at her, quite surprised by her spirited reaction. He was more shocked by the gentle woman's sudden change in demeanor that he was by the news about her prodigious healing abilities. For just a moment, he allowed a smirk to touch his lips as he watched Eliza huff in irritation at him. Her pale green eyes where wide and fierce, which reminded him a bit of Lily's emerald eyes. He always like seeing her fired up about something she felt strongly about, especially when she was ranting about the pompous Potter.
The memories of his former friend wiped away the brief smirk and he narrowed his gaze once again.
"You expect me to believe that the ministry actually licensed you to practice medicine before graduating Hogwarts? As I recall, healers must complete seven additional years of medical training and another three- year apprenticeship before licensure. "
"I don't really care what you believe and I am not going to explain myself to you. For your information, you weren't complaining the other night when saved your life!" Eliza was now quite angry and was ready to remove the infernal man from her house, even if she had to use her wand. Snape sat back in his chair and regarded her for a moment.
"You're right," he replied softly ", and I thank you for saving me." Snape looked up at Eliza and watched her eyes soften with surprise. She relaxed slightly and glanced away from him. He was being his unpredictable self again and Eliza couldn't handle it. She preferred his sneers over the sincerity that his face now held. She wanted him to growl, snarl, yell, anything but let his guard down even if it was for a moment of gratefulness for the service she had rendered.
"I would have done it for anybody," she murmured, still looking away from him. Under the table, her leg began jiggling again.
Snape stiffened as he noticed her response. It was rare that he thanked people or showed any sort of appreciation. He felt a sharp pang in his chest as he absorbed the rejection. She had pushed away his genuine self in favor of his harsh impenetrable exterior, just as every other person he had ever dealt with did.
Snape quickly stood, his height and black robes making him loom intimidatingly over Eliza. She also stood, returning his expression with one equally as fierce. He was slightly taken aback by her glare which suddenly seemed so similar to the same biting expression that he often saw on Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy.
Without so much as a goodbye, he swooped out of the tiny kitchen and marched across the yard to his own house. Eliza released the breath that she had been holding and melted into her chair. This had been the worst encounter yet and Eliza could not find anything redeemable about the man. She felt bad about brushing off his recognition for her saving him, but it was so unnerving for her to see him in such a light.
Peeping through her window, Eliza saw Snape pacing angrily in his living room. She knew that this wouldn't be her last encounter with her disagreeable neighbor, but she prayed that it would be the last time she ever had to converse with Severus Snape.