Memory Lane:
By August, Lucy and Severus had made significant progress toward their goals. Severus had nearly given up on his brewing schedule, but Lucy was exceeding his expectations for her reading and math. Her writing still struggled, so he had assigned her an essay on her favorite story. She was to summarize the story and create her own story for the characters. He wanted her to enjoy the topic in the hopes that she would take it more seriously. She didn't know she was working for her ability to start school in a year, but he refused to burden her with the same worry that consumed him.
Lucy sat in the backyard against the stone wall that separated her from the neighbor boy's backyard. She was attempting to write a summary of her favorite story without simply copying the story itself. Severus had warned her that if she didn't write in her own words, he wouldn't accept the essay.
"Excuse me, but are you doing homework in the summer?"
Lucy jumped at the sound of the voice above her. On the wall, the boy was half laying and half hanging. He watched Lucy on the ground, curious.
"Uh, I'm practicing my penmanship and sentence structure." She set the parchment down, making sure to obscure it with the book cover side down.
"But it's summer! Why do you have to study now?" Lucy shrugged. Huffing, the boy jumped down to her side. "Wanna go to the park? There's one I like to play at."
Lucy grinned, nodding enthusiastically.
"Good, homework can wait. Put your foot on my hands, I'll help you over the wall so we can go through my house. I want to grab my bike, too."
xXx
Severus was bottling his latest batch of Skele-Gro, lamenting all his choices that led him here. Here, where he had not enough workspace to comfortably brew throughout the summer. Here, where he took care of a child who reminded him of his past mistakes. Here, where he prepared to teach the child produced from one of his mistakes. Here, where he had no choice but to do as he was told by the only man who could have given him the second chance he'd received.
It did no use to dwell on things he couldn't change. He knew that. Something about sitting in his small bedroom, brewing potions he'd have to send off in the mail, had him in melancholy.
Lucy was making great progress, but he feared it wasn't enough. Was it ever enough? He scoffed as he filled out the address for the package he'd shrunk down to be delivered to Poppy. Would his life ever not revolve around Hogwarts?
After he sent the package off, he got started with the next brew. Though it was hardly used, he made sure the hospital wing always had blood-replenishing potion in stock. Quidditch games and the whomping willow tended to set up scenarios far less than ideal for children to remain unharmed. If he remembered correctly (he did), there were a couple bottles left. However, summer was the best time to brew and he knew Poppy would rather have extra than not enough should an emergency arise.
Once the potion was stable enough to be left under stasis, Severus finally left his room. He was in dire need of a warm meal and a warmer drink. He didn't hear Lucy in her room, so she was probably in the backyard. He didn't enjoy the thought of her being confined to the property, but he didn't have the capacity to bring her anywhere else with his brewing schedule.
As he prepared dinner, he realized it was later than he originally thought. The light coming through from behind the curtain signalled the evening. He paused his task and went to the door leading to the backyard. The backyard wasn't dangerous, but Severus felt better if Lucy came inside before dark. When he peered into the garden, he found her assignment by the bushes he'd planted adjacent to the stone wall to gain some additional privacy from the neighbors.
The dinner was forgotten as he rushed out of the house.
xXx
It turned out the neighbor's name was Michael. Michael was very energetic and spent most of the time on their way to the park biking around Lucy, weaving around the road as he guided her to their destination. In some ways, he reminded her of the Weasley twins, but seeing as there was only one of him, Lucy found him much more tolerable.
When they reached the park, Lucy wasn't sure what to do. She followed Michael's lead as he ran to one of the pieces of playground equipment. He sat on the seat held up by chains, walked back, and then let himself go. He pumped his legs as the seat moved back and forth. She walked over shyly, carefully sitting on the seat next to him.
"You like the swings, too?" Michael was gaining speed and air, so he sounded funny as he swung past her. "They're my favorite - after my bike!"
"It looks fun." She smiled a little as she mimicked what she had seen him do earlier.
He tried to look at her, but he was swinging too fast to really see her. "What? Is this your first time on the swings?"
"Yeah, I've never done this before!" She was starting to gain speed herself, and she wasn't sure if she liked the feeling of her stomach as she moved on the swing.
"Watch this!" Before she could react, he flung himself off the seat, flying into the air. He landed a little roughly, but he recovered quickly, getting up to see her reaction.
Lucy was still on her swing, though not pumping her legs anymore. Watching him fall had startled her, making her feel like suddenly this wasn't the best idea after all. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, grinning wide. "Yeah! Do you wanna play tag?"
"Tag?"
"Come on, don't tell me you don't know how to play tag either?" Michael looked scandalized. Where did this girl come from?
Lucy was moving slow enough that she dragged her feet on the ground to fully stop. She hopped to her feet, glad to be off the swing.
"Okay, it's better if we have more than two, but we can still play. One of us will be 'it' and have to chase the other. If the one who's 'it' touches the other person, the other person becomes 'it' and chases the other person."
His explanation was a little shaky, but she decided to give his game a chance. Michael was faster than her and never stayed 'it' for long, and Lucy became winded easily. After a few times of exchanging who was 'it', they rested by the river. Lucy was catching her breath while Michael picked at a plant.
"So what school do you go to? Maybe we'll go to the same one."
Lucy exhaled. "I doubt it. I'm going to a school far away."
"Oh." Michael seemed disappointed, but he didn't press the issue further. "Why don't you ever leave your house? I don't see you in the backyard a lot either."
Lucy shrugged. "Severus is busy so he doesn't have time to take me places. Plus, I have to study to get ready for school."
"Your school sounds awful - sorry." He was glad they didn't go to the same school - summer homework sounded like the worst thing he could come up with.
"Lucille." Lucy's stomach felt worse than it had on the swing. By the sound of Severus' voice, she was in trouble.
She turned to see her guardian with the hardest look on his face she had ever seen. She looked back to Michael, who looked just as scared as she felt.
"I'm sorry, I have to go back with him." Michael nodded sympathetically, understanding what it meant when parents came looking for their kids.
xXx
Severus didn't say anything to her that night. He finished making dinner and served it without a word. Lucy didn't look up from her plate through the whole meal and went upstairs to get ready for bed as soon as she was finished. Severus sat at the table for a good portion of the night, debating how to handle disciplining her. He was angry that she went off without telling him. He was angry that he didn't realize she was gone. Mostly, he was angry that he was scared.
In the morning, she didn't come down for breakfast. He spent the morning brewing and brooding. He had to remember the bigger picture. He remembered sneaking off to that same park to play with the Evans girls when he was young. Cokeworth was much more alive back then, though the industry was no longer profiting. Now, he didn't spend enough time in his hometown to know how safe it was for kids to roam unattended.
He knocked on her door at noon. She answered with a quiet invitation for him to open the door. He stood in the doorway, not wanting to invade her space but knowing she didn't want to be in his. He waited until she finally looked at him to speak.
"There will be no more gallivanting off with strangers - here or at Hogwarts. You don't have the ability to protect yourself should anything happen and I don't have the capacity to keep watch over you constantly." He took a deep breath, seeing her shrink into herself. "I have no doubts that being confined to the property lines is less than ideal for a child such as yourself. Might I remind you that you did ask to stay here for the summer."
Lucy nodded, defeated.
After lunch, Severus returned to his room to brew and she made her way to the only place she didn't feel suffocated on the property - the backyard. She tried to finish her assignment, but she couldn't focus. She quickly found herself laying down on the grass, looking up at the clouds. It was going to rain soon. While it was still dry, she'd soak up the fresh air and sunlight.
"Are you okay?"
Lucy startled, sitting up. She looked at Michael hanging onto the stone wall and shrugged.
"Did you get in trouble?" Lucy nodded. "Sorry, next time we'll ask before going to the park."
Lucy smiled, not knowing how to tell him there wouldn't be a next time.
"Well, do you wanna come over and play? I have some games and toys I can bring to the backyard."
Lucy grinned. She used the sturdiest branch to help herself over the wall. The children played for a couple hours before it was nearing dinner time. Lucy used Michael's cooler to get back over the wall to her side. She collected her book and barely started essay as the first raindrops fell.
The last few weeks of summer passed in similar fashion. Lucy and Michael played when Severus was busy brewing and Lucy was supposed to be studying alone. Occasionally, Michael would be out in the street or park with some school friends, so Lucy would play with Mittens or actually study.
As a way to give her some sense of freedom, Severus didn't even forbid her from going into the neighbors yard. Lucy could tell he knew, and was thankful he gave her permission by ignoring her defiance.
