The Envelope by Ghoul In Pajamas
Chapter Notes: Thank you, Mistletoe for betaing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
At nearly sunset, a pale, thin boy swiftly made his way down an empty street, his overcoat flapping bat-like in the wind. He was clutching an envelope protectively against his chest; he had worked too hard to let anything happen to it. Rounding a corner, he slowed as he went through the rickety park gate.
The sight of the pretty ten-year-old girl made him catch his breath. She sat by herself on the swing, twirling her thick red hair and dragging her feet as she slowly swung back and forth. As he sat down beside her, she smiled up at him.
“Hi, Severus!”
“Hi, Lily.” Severus held the envelope in his lap as he looked up at Lily eagerly.
“How was your day?” Lily asked.
“It was good. I was busy,” he said, and his eyes flitted to the envelope, “with potions.”
“Potions? Like magic?” she asked, her emerald eyes round with awe.
“Yeah, I’ve been teaching myself with my mum’s book,” said Severus proudly.
“Wow,” Lily breathed. “It would be great if one of my parents were a wizard.”
Severus nodded. From what he knew about the Wizarding World, it would be much easier for her if she were not Muggle-born.
For the first time, Lily noticed the envelope and studied it curiously. It was made of thick parchment and her name was written in small, scratchy handwriting on the front. “What’s that?” she asked.
Severus could tell the envelope had peaked her interest, but he wasn’t quite ready to share it with her. He smirked and said, “It’s a surprise.”
Lily blushed. They were silent for a minute, the gentle swaying of Lily’s swing making the only sounds. Her eyes never left the envelope.
“It’s going to be great when we go to Hogwarts,” said Severus.
“I hope I get sorted into Slytherin.”
“I think you will; my mum told me that Slytherins are cunning.”
“What does Hogwarts look like?” asked Lily, as she spun her swing around in a circle.
“It’s a huge, old castle with dungeons and secret passages.” As always when he told Lily a story, Severus leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. “The grounds are really big, too. There is a forest filled with magical creatures and a lake and a Quidditch field.” At her questioning look he said, “Wizard sport.”
Lily pulled her swing as tight as it would go and picked her feet up off the ground. She laughed as she spun around, and she nearly fell over from dizziness when it stopped.
“You’re acting like a child,” Severus teased, though he was laughing as well.
“I am not a child. Why don’t you ever swing?”
“Why would I?” asked Severus.
“It’s fun! I bet I can go higher than you,” Lily teased.
Severus did not want to swing and he especially did not want to do anything that might harm the envelope, but when Lily looked up at him with those pleading emerald eyes, he could not refuse. After wrapping his overcoat around the envelope, he placed it on the ground beside the swing.
“If I can go higher than you, though, you have to finally show me what’s in that envelope.”
“Fine,” said Severus, “but what do I get if I win?”
Lily considered this for a moment, and then said, “A kiss.”
Severus’ eyebrows shot into his hairline and his face turned even paler than before. “Okay,” he croaked.
The prospect of a kiss was enough reason to try to swing higher than Lily. He kicked off from the ground and started to swing back and forth, but he couldn’t get more than a few feet off the ground. Lily was already flying through the air, zooming past him and swinging high on the other side, her bright red hair billowing behind her.
“Sev, you’re not doing it right! You have to bend your knees and kick, like this,” said Lily, and she demonstrated.
Severus tried doing it the way Lily was, and after a minute he was doing much better. When Lily cheered him on, his cheeks turned pink.
He kept trying to get higher than Lily, but he couldn’t do it. When he was too tired, he finally admitted defeat, even though it meant he would not get his kiss.
Lily gracefully jumped as her swing reached its highest point. When his swing had slowed a considerable amount, Severus jumped down beside Lily.
He took the envelope from where it was wrapped in the overcoat and tried to recall the speech he had planned, but something seemed to have wiped it from his memory.
“I’ve been working on this potion for the past couple of days…I found it in my mum’s book and I finally got it right, so, here.” Praying that she would like it, Severus handed Lily the envelope.
She took the envelope tentatively, and slid the seal open with her fingernail. After peeking in, she took out a small photograph of her and Severus. They were lying on the grass in front of a river, laughing and joking. It was a moving Wizard photo. Lily looked up at Severus, obviously shocked.
“You took this photo a couple weeks ago, and the potion can develop Muggle photos into Wizard photos,” Severus explained. “Do you like it?”
“Yes, I love it!” Lily exclaimed. “This is amazing. It’s the first magical object I’ve ever seen!”
Lily watched the scene in the picture replay over and over again, a wide smile etched on her face. Severus was also smiling broadly, pleased that she was so happy with the gift.
“Oh no! I’m going to be late for dinner,” Lily said as she jumped in a rush to get home. “Severus, thank you so much for the picture! It’s the best present I’ve ever gotten!”
In a moment that happened all too quickly, Lily leaned forward and kissed Severus lightly on the cheek. She turned bright red, before turning to leave.
Severus couldn’t believe it; Lily Evans had just kissed him! He slowly reached his hand up to touch his face where Lily’s lips had been only moments before.
He took the long route home that night, walking with a small bounce in his step.