The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Not Yours To Have

Not Yours To Have

Severus Snape stood at the edge of the park, two blocks from Lily Evans' house, staring across the empty play equipment at the swing where he'd first met her, and his wand gripped in his fist. He closed his eyes, listening with his mind, knowing James Potter would come. He breathed deeply as he stood in the pool of the street lamp... and when he heard James coming closer, he waved his wand and the bulb flickered out. He slowly blew every lamp that lit up the park, one by one, and the street lamps, too, watching James's figure come closer. He saw it when James's wand tip went out, when all the light they had was the slowly clouding-in moon, the dark hovering between absolute and vague illumination... Severus slipped into the shadows behind a large climbing wall and he waited.

"Alright Snivellous, I know you're here," James called and Snape could hear his feet on the gravel, crunching as he walked. Severus slipped 'round the third corner as James came closer, passing Severus as he looked around in the low lighting. James's eyes flashed through the dark and he just managed to catch a glimpse of Severus's robes disappearing 'round the corner of the equipment...

"Nosdrexa," Snape suddenly called, shooting the spell through the rungs of the equipment. James didn't recognize the spell - so he didn't know what it was he had only narrowly missed, but he managed to dodge it.

"Stupefy," he muttered, but Snape blocked that easily with a lazy flick of his wand.

"C'mon, you're not even going to get creative with me?" Snape whispered. "You have to earn your prize, Potter. Lissessium!" He'd just spotted James coming 'round behind him and he shot the spell at a funny angle. It was less James's leap to the ground and more Severus's poor aim that made that one miss.

James barrell-rolled across the woodchips that covered the ground easily, popping back up to his feet a few feet later and he nearly tripped into a bike rack, but he turned and aimed a spell for Snape. "Podantis."

Snape blocked it.

"Lemoatia!" Snape breathed.

"Protego," James blocked, and countered, "Ziaferin!' This one caught Snape and a welt rose up on his wrist as though he'd been stung by a very large bee and he hissed at it, then looked up at James.

"Trudo."

James was shoved backwards by the force of the spell and he tripped over a metal rooster on a spring. The rooster's spring swung the stupid thing back at him with velocity, too, hitting him in the shins quite hard as payback and James winced and crawled away before it could hit him a second time, the spring squealing loudly.

Snape pushed his way through the swing set, shoving the swings aside like curtains, their chains rattling as he went.

"Flippendo," James waved his wand as he limped after Snape.

Snape ducked and turned, walking backwards as James followed after him. "You know, Potter," he said lowly, "This is where I met her. Right there, on that swing. That third one from the left. I was the one that told Lily Evans she was magic. It was me. I was the one that showed her magic the first time."

James followed after him, glaring.

"I stood right there -" Severus pointed to a bush, "And I told her all about Hogwarts. And we planned to go together, to ride the train together, to have classes together, to do homework together.We planned to be together, Potter. Lily and I. We were meant to be together. She -- is -- not -- yours -- to have..."