Summary: July 17...23 years apart
July 17 1975
Severus was sitting on the swings at his local park with a potion book in hand; Bruce Mulciber let him borrow it over break. He was enjoying as the cool summer breeze pushed his hair back, making it easier for him to read without it in his face. All the different potions fascinated him; they were far more advanced than anything he had seen in Hogwarts, and he wished they could learn them in class, but Dumbledore would never allow it. Still, as he read the book, he made mental notes on improving these brews and making them even better.
He had just gotten to a chapter about how adding different kinds of blood to potions can dull or enhance different concoctions and the history of using it to change the effects of a potion when he heard a small click; then, a bright flash caught his attention. Looking up, he saw a redheaded girl holding an old Sx-70 Polaroid camera, a smile on her face, while the small film rolled out.
"Lily, what are you doing?" He asked his friend, a little flustered from being caught off guard but happy to see her nonetheless.
Pulling away from the camera, she proudly showed off the small contraption: "Look, Sev!" Her voice was full of excitement. "My neighbour's grandson got a new Polaroid, so he let me keep this one. Isn't it cool?!"
He smiled at her; Lily's happiness was contagious. "And you decided that I was the perfect model?" he asked in a slightly sarcastic tone, but there was no real bite to it. Saying nothing, Lily walked past her friend, stopping so that she could stand behind him, resting her chin on the crown of his head and showing him the photo. He quickly closed the book, its glamour charm making it appear as an ordinary school book. "You looked so studious, reading your book, and quite handsome, I couldn't help it." Her voice was playful. Severus was glad her head was on top of his so that she couldn't see the blush creeping on his cheeks at her compliment.
Looking down at the photo, he doesn't think he looks too bad. The angle helps make his nose look much smaller; his long hair falls next to his face, and a few wisps are blown back in the wind. He has his knee propped up, using it to rest the book on as he reads dutifully, giving it 100% of his attention. Unlike our magical cameras, these muggle contraptions' photos still completely capturing a moment in time. "Is this you telling me you want to pursue a career in photography?" he teases, rolling his eyes up to look at her. She just laughed at his joke; it was light and reminded him of bells.
"I don't know. It seems fun, but I don't think it's my calling," she tells him while still admiring the photo. "I've been taking pictures with it all day, though, see?" She grabs her purse, pulling out a handful of Polaroids. She sat down the swing to his right and then twisted the chains so that they were facing each other. Lily was right; she had taken photos of various things: her mother cooking breakfast, her new ginger kitten napping on the couch, a picture she took of herself in the mirror, and her family's small garden.
"These are quite impressive, Lils." He tells her, admiring her talent. "How much film did you get with the camera?" Severus asks curiously.
"I got two packs; I can use Geminio for an infinite supply once we graduate. That way, it doesn't cost too much."
"I can ask my mum to cast the doubling charm on them for you if you want. That way, you don't have to use up all your allowance."
"Really?" she asks, eyes wide and hopeful. "You're sure she wouldn't mind, right?"
"Not at all," he tells her softly with a smile, and before he knows it, Lily takes another photo of him. He looks at her, surprised.
"I'm sorry", she giggles, "I couldn't help it. You have such a nice smile, Sev." She beams at him, and her eyes are filled with warmth; his breath is knocked out. Luckily, she didn't see his reaction, as she was too busy flapping her new photo. Taking a second to calm down, hoping she won't hear how flustered he is in his voice, he picks up the picture she took of him earlier, inspecting it before turning it around to show her.
"You know, Lily Evans, you have quite the habit of snapping photos of me when I least expect it," he tells her in an amused tone. "One might think you have an obsession with me."
Lily's cheeks had a slight blush to his comment, but luckily, her hair was covering her face so Severus wouldn't notice it. "You're just very photogenic."
"Well, Miss Evans, I'd prefer a warning next time" his voice is light, and both of them are on the brink of laughter. She shakes her head before handing him the photo. "And I expect a payment."
"A payment?" She responds, amused.
"Well, you seem to like practising your photography skills on me. I want something in return." He leans forward, and the old swing creaks at the movement.
Shaking her head, Lily leans forward, their faces only inches apart. "Well, then, what do you want, Severus?"
Looking at her, Severus couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was. Her green eyes were the most striking, a deep green full of life and happiness. Her pale skin had little freckles scattered all over her heart-shaped face. Her long red hair looked almost like fire under the summer sun. Her nose was scrunched, and her lips were curved into a smile. They were so close, and if he just leaned forward..."-I want you to take a picture with me."
She blinks at him in surprise, processing what he said before smiling. "Alright then," she tells him, twisting the swing around and holding her camera up. Severus moved his swing closer to her so that he was right behind her, resting his head on her shoulder. "Say cheese!" The camera has a bright flash before the white film rolls out. Lily grabs the small paper, fanning it. Once the photo was visible, Lily placed it in the pile with the rest of the pictures. The two of them are smiling; part of Severus's face is covered by his hair, and his eyes are soft. Lily is beaming, looking straight into the camera, her eyes shining and her hair carefully framing her face.
The two of them spent the whole day at the park, taking pictures of different things all over the park: a frog on a lily pad, some ladybugs, the clouds in the sky, etc. Soon, the sun was setting, and it was time for the two of them to head home. Severus decided he would walk Lily home as it was late. They said their goodbyes once they made it to the red door at the front of her house.
"Oh, before I forget, can I borrow a spear film so my mum can make you the extras?"
"Yes, thank you, and tell your mum I say thank you too."
"Of course; goodnight, Lily."
"Goodnight Sev"
Once she is safely inside, Severus spears a final glance at the house before making his way back to his house, with the photos Lily took of him safely in his pocket.
July 17 1998
Harry Potter was waiting in a muggle coffee shop in Cokeworth with his best friends, Ron and Hermione. Surprisingly, it was Draco Malfoy who invited him here, saying that he had something important to give him. He usually wouldn't have agreed to do something like this, which is why he invited Ron and Hermione, who say he is an idiot for accepting the invitation. After all, despite their somewhat strained truce, he and Malfoy have a troubled and hate-filled history, fought on opposite sides of a war, and the last time they saw each other was at the Death Eater trials. Still, they saved each other's lives multiple times, so they had some sort of understanding between them. The location is what really caught his interest and convinced him to meet up with Mal f oy; this was a muggle neighbourhood. Draco Malfoy invited him to have a coffee in a muggle neighbourhood and, more importantly, the muggle neighbourhood his mother grew up in.
"He's late", Ron grumbles, clearly on edge with this meet-up. "Are you sure this isn't a trap, Harry?"
"Ron, Malfoy is in no position to harm us in any way," Hermione told her boyfriend after sipping her latte. "His family is on thin ice with both The Order and the Death Eater loyalists. Harry's testimony is the one thing keeping him and his family out of Azkaban."
Before they could continue the conversation, the bell on the door rang, and the platinum-blond wizard entered the coffee shop. He gave a quick scene of the building before finding the green-eyed wizard he was looking for and making a beeline for their table. "Potter, Granger, Weasley." He gave them a stiff greeting before sitting down across from them.
"Malfoy," they nod in response. There is an awkward silence, and Malfoy is visibly uncomfortable sitting in the small booth and wearing, surprisingly, muggle clothes. He is stiff, his eyes darting around as if waiting for someone to attack him, and his right hand is grasping his left arm. A scone is pushed to him as a peace offering.
"So Malfoy, you said you had something important for me.?" Harry asks, breaking the ice.
"Um, yeah, I do." He pulls up a small bag, looking for whatever he brought. "I don't know if you know this, but Professor Snape was my godfather. My parents and I were responsible for sorting through his things, and I found these." He places six small pieces of paper on the table before them. They are pictures—pictures of Snape and Harry's mother as teenagers.
If Harry had to guess, these photos were probably taken around the same time as the memory he saw in his fifth year, during his Occlumency lessons. The first image was of his mother sitting in front of a mirror, holding up a peace sign. Her face is youthful and happy, free of worries, pain and war. The next one was of a young Professor Snape, sitting on an old swing reading some sort of potions book. After that, there was just a picture of him smiling. It was weird; Harry was so used to seeing his potions professor scowling, but here, his face had the same carefreeness as the earlier picture of his mother. The final three photos were ones that his mother and professor had taken together.
In one, they were sitting on the swings, Snape leaning his head on her shoulder, their body language showing how comfortable and familiar they once were with each other. Next, they were in a house, his mother's, he guessed, sitting on a couch, reacting passionately to whatever they were watching on the TV, unaware of the mysterious person taking the photo. Finally, it was them at platform 9 3/4. His mother was holding onto the lanky teen's arm, smiling widely at the camera. On the other hand, Snape had a softer smiler and was looking at the redheaded girl.
Ron and Hermione were silent, looking at the pictures. Harry had told them about what he saw in their former potion professor's memories, clearing the man's name. Seeing actual evidence of this relationship though, was bizarre. Harry grabbed the photo of them in front of the train before turning it around. It had a small note in his mother's writing: Severus Snape & Lily Evans, our first day of fifth year. May this be our best year yet. With little hears around it. Tears threatened to leave his eyes.
Seeing these moments captured in time, Harry realizes that there is a part of his mother that he never knew about, and there are few people left to tell him about her. Professor Snape knew more about Harry's mother than he did; he had so many stories that he could have shared but didn't. He understood why he didn't, but it still stung. Sirius and Remus had to have known about his mother and Snape's friendship and dynamic, but never said a word. The chances of Aunt Petunia telling anything about his mother were slim to none. Maybe some professors, such as McGonagall or Flitwick, could tell him.
The three other Wizards looked at Harry worriedly, and he realized that he had not said anything in quite some time, lost in thought. "I," he gulped. I'm fine, guys." He reassured his two friends before turning to the blond man before him. "Thank you, Draco."
Draco is surprised by the use of his first name but quickly hides it, "No problem, Po-Harry. I thought that you deserved to have these." He took a bite of his scone and seemed to be deep in thought before continuing. "I...I don't know if you're interested, but some more things might belong to your mother. I'm not 100% sure. But there were a few trinkets, and Mother said she recognized a green ribbon that, and I quote, 'that muggle-born girl used to wear.' So there might be more, but I don't know for sure." He trails off with a shrug.
"I-I would. Like to. Check them out, that is." Harry responded, tripping over his words. The thought of learning more about his mother, even if it was through Professor Snape's house, was exciting and too good to pass up.
"All right, here is the address." Draco slides a small piece of paper across the table, with his small scribbles of writing, "I have to go to a meeting with my lawyer right now, but I am free on Sunday at 11 am."
The Golden Trio nods in agreement. "That works for us," Hermione tells him. Well, see you then." The three of them say their goodbyes; Harry reaches for the photos, debating for a minute whether he should keep the ones of their professor, even though Malfoy just left them there, before ultimately deciding to put all six of them in his pocket. The Trio makes their way to an alleyway before apparating to The Burrow, as Harry has much more to consider.
Notes: This was inspired by a tick-tok made by poitionsprince check them out they are AMAZING. I do not own the Harry Potter franchise or any of its characters, this is just for fun. Please don't sell or make any profit of my work. Please remember to leave comments and likes; they give me life energy. Also, if anyone wants to draw these photos, PLEASE DO. I have no artistic talent, but I would love to see if anyone liked my work enough to do this. also, tell me in the comments if I should write a chapter two for this.