Chapter 3: A Christmas Present

For half of Severus Snape's life, he had been independent. He learnt not to care when others didn't care. If he still woke up the next morning, he was thankful. But if he wouldn't, then that was it. No need to fear death. No one would probably miss him, he thought. His life was not exactly meaningful. No witch added colour to his life. Not even Lily. Not even his mother.

Yes, his mother cared for him when he was younger. But when he started his Hogwarts education, his mother became distant and mostly quiet, probably because of his father's beatings. Severus learned to stand on his own at the age of 11. He knew he needed to find a way to support himself and thank Helga Hufflepuff for Kingsley Shacklebolt. They had become secret friends since their first year at Hogwarts. They decided to keep their friendship a secret because Kingsley's parents were very wary when it came to Slytherins, and they were called 'blood traitors'. Apparently, Mr and Mrs Shacklebolt were bullied by Slytherins in their younger years, so they became somewhat prejudiced. However, Kingsley saw that Severus, a Slytherin, was worth befriending. For seven years, they secretly met in the basement near the Hufflepuff entrance and the kitchens, and they came up with a way to communicate: the coins with Protean Charm.

Together, they sold different kinds of potions and other inventions to Zonko's, under different names. The two of them earned money and were able to support themselves at 12.

Lily, on the other hand, was a good companion and study partner for the first four years of their magical education. They were friends, but there were things he could not tell her because she couldn't understand. Most of the time, it was Kingsley who understood. Yes, he and Kingsley argued a couple of times, and there was even a month when they ignored each other, but they valued their friendship, so they were forgiving of each other. Always.

He made one mistake; uttered just one word, and Lily decided to end their friendship. He was still thankful to her, though. She was his first-ever friend. Back at Cokeworth, no one wanted to be friends with the boy from the east side who wore his mother's shirts and his father's too-big trousers. No one wanted to befriend the boy who could not even play cricket.

But Lily spent time with him, even if Hogwarts and magic were all she wanted to talk about. She spent time with him even if she had other friends. Muggle friends. At first, Severus thought that finally, he had the sister he had always wanted.

But at Hogwarts, Lily became a popular one because of her beauty and kindness. She also excelled at Potions for four years. The two of them always partnered together in their Potions class. Gryffindors were paired with Slytherins for four years.

But the incident in their fifth year happened, and that was the end of their friendship.

Severus still cared for Lily, even when she married his schoolyard bully. In their seventh year, Severus and Kingsley decided on their future: Severus was going to take the Dark Mark and be a spy against the Dark Lord. Kingsley would be an Auror, and he would pass information to him. No one knew about their friendship, except for Kingsley's witch, Alona Goldstein. But then, they had to change their course. Severus became a spy for Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix instead. No matter, Severus Snape and Kingsley Shacklebolt were on the same side.

For a few years, Severus had only been interested in the well-being of Lily Evans-Potter, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and by extension, Alona Goldstein.

Now, he had another witch he wanted to look out for.

There was someone he wanted to look after: Hermione Puckle.

.

Hermione and Alona found a flat in Muggle London. It was spacious, well-kept, but it could break the bank. Good thing that with the two of them splitting the rent, it was affordable. Most of the time, they would go to the Muggle shops and cafes. Alona's grandmother was half-blood and Muggle-raised, so she wanted to learn how the Muggles lived. As for Hermione, aside from the fact that she was used to the Muggle lifestyle and was fond of Muggle bookshops, cafes, and movie theatres, she had to stay away from the magical community as much as possible. If she lived, shopped, and dined in wizarding establishments, people might know her and question her background. She didn't want that. Luckily, Alona didn't pry. The former Ravenclaw minded her own business most of the time while still being a good friend.

Today, they were planning to go see the movies after work and have an early dinner at a Muggle restaurant. Everything was normal and the usual, until she saw Severus Snape outside the hospital, waiting for her across the street. He was, again, leaning on the wall with his hands crossed over his chest.

Hermione was determined to ignore him as if she did not see him. However, Severus approached and smiled at Alona.

"Hey, Professor Snape," greeted her co-worker and friend.

She turned to Alona with wide eyes.

"Professor Snape and I went to Hogwarts together," Alona smiled.

"That's correct," came his beautiful, deep voice. "Good afternoon, Miss Puckle, Miss Goldstein."

"Good afternoon, Professor," she murmured, not meeting his eyes.

"What brings you to this side of the world?" Alona asked cheerfully.

"I was hoping to invite Miss Puckle to have dinner with me," he replied kindly.

"Oh—"

"We have plans," she replied promptly and sternly. "Alona and I… We already have plans in Muggle London."

"Brilliant! Do you mind me tagging along, Miss Goldstein?"

"No, not at all!"

"But I do mind," she quipped, sounding bored. "Have a great day, Professor." She nodded to Alona and the two of them walked away from the tall wizard. When Hermione looked back, she saw Professor Snape's mischievous smile.

.

"Professor Snape is interested in you," Alona teased as they were walking in the direction of Muggle London.

She snorted. "Surely, he's just intrigued because I'm new and we're in the same field. Maybe it's his goal to know every Potioneer in Britain."

"Maybe, but I hadn't seen him like that before, you know."

"He's a Slytherin and turns out, a spy. He can hide his true feelings and show fake ones." While Hermione believed her statement a hundred percent, she didn't think that Professor Snape was just faking his interest in her. It was weird and awkward, knowing about his past and future, but she knew that he was being sincere. That gentleness he would often show her… She hadn't seen that before.

"Even so… When we were in school, I don't think he had ever fancied someone back in school."

She rose an eyebrow, shocked. "Really?"

Based on experience, teenagers were usually obvious when they liked someone when they fancy a person. Maybe except for Ron. That redhead friend of hers had a different way of telling her that he liked her. But with Ginny, Harry, and her other former classmates, it was easy to know. But what about Lily Potter?

A part of her wanted to ask Alona, but then, she could not tell her what she truly knew.

.

He sent her flowers every day – a small bouquet of three to five roses a day. He had his own garden of magical plants and herbs for potion-making, including roses of different colours and sunflowers. The bouquets had cards inside, of course. He wrote to her, asking her to go on a date with him.

For one week, he did that, hoping that Hermione Puckle would reply with a yes. So, a day before Christmas Day, Severus was over the moon when he received a present from her.

To Professor Severus Snape

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

I hope my little present is to your liking. Solve the puzzle and see for yourself what treasure is hidden inside. It could provide answers to your queries.

Sincerely yours,

1979

He opened the small square gift, revealing a clue box made of birch wood. It looked like a three-story house with a flat roof and instead of windows, there were small keyholes, and there were Runic characters and symbols moving.

It seems I must solve this puzzle to see what's inside and Miss Puckle's response to my requests for a date.

.

It turned out that the puzzle was not easy to solve. Every time he would work on it, the riddles in Runes changed. He learned that he had to answer the riddle right away to open a lock.

Just one lock.

There were six.

Ancient Runes was not a class he was fond of. He chose Magical Creatures (a requirement to be a Potions Master) and Arithmancy as his electives.

Now, he had to teach himself Ancient Runes. He bought five books just to learn the course he did not choose in his school days.

What's inside this puzzle? Severus thought. It is extremely difficult, so what's inside must be extremely important as well. Maybe it's her confession and marriage proposal for me, he mused, imagining himself and Hermione together.