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Vernon's new car slowly drove into the garage of Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
The familiar house.
The familiar garden.
The familiar everything.
Petunia was not used to living elsewhere. The villa Dudley had given them was large, with servants everywhere and nothing for her to do each day, but she could not settle there. She felt most comfortable in the place where she had lived for more than ten, nearly twenty years.
Petunia was a very nostalgic person.
When little Lily was around five months old, she wrote to tell Dudley, and they moved back here.
Now little Lily would turn one in a few weeks.
Dudley and the others had come to celebrate her birthday.
Naturally, the Grangers were also there.
After all, it was a family gathering.
Vernon parked the car in the garage, greeted the Grangers warmly, then slung an arm around Mr. Granger's shoulders and secretly opened two bottles of beer.
"Honestly, Wendell, I think you should move to Privet Drive. The environment here is far better than London streets. At least no one relieves themselves in public."
Yes.
Relieves themselves in public.
As Vernon liked to complain, London streets had their share of unpleasant sights.
Mr. Granger took a satisfying gulp and did not answer Vernon directly. Instead, he asked, "I heard the houses next door are for sale?"
The moment Vernon heard that, it was as if a floodgate had opened. He said with some gloom, "Yes. You would not believe it. Little John's family next door moved away suddenly two days ago. I heard they found better work."
"Strange, really. That is already the seventh household on this street this month."
"I hope the new neighbors are easy to get along with..."
Vernon suddenly thought of something and turned to Mr. Granger. "Wait. Wendell, are you planning to..."
"Yes, we are considering it."
"Perhaps we will be neighbors in the future."
Mr. Granger smiled, confirming Vernon's guess.
What could be happier than having an old friend as a neighbor?
Vernon laughed loudly, finished the beer in one gulp, and gave a long, satisfied belch.
"That hits the spot!"
Hermione looked at her parents in delighted surprise. "Dad, Mum, are we moving here?"
Mrs. Granger teased, "Yes, Hermione. Do you not like that? You used to complain often that we lived too far from Dudley's family."
Hermione's face flushed red.
On the other side, Petunia had put little Lily to sleep and came out of the room. She greeted Snape, who looked completely out of place in the surroundings.
"Long time no see, Severus."
"Long time no see, Petunia."
Snape greeted her stiffly, his expression somewhat unnatural. Although he was excellent at insulting people, he was not very good at dealing with them.
Even if the person was a childhood neighbor.
After the greeting, both of them fell silent.
"You have changed a lot," Petunia finally said, breaking the silence.
Many times, that was how it was. Childhood companions who had not contacted each other for years met again, and everything had changed.
Perhaps you had not changed, but they had. Perhaps you had changed, but they had not. Perhaps both of you had changed.
Returning to the old way of getting along almost never happened.
Snape had indeed changed a great deal.
He had grown larger, grown older, and his hair had grown oilier.
Much oilier.
"So have you," Snape managed after a long while.
Then the two fell silent again.
No one disturbed them. Even Vernon chose to chat with the Grangers, leaving the two enough time alone.
"I still remember when..."
Petunia took the initiative again and began talking about the past.
When they were children, to keep Snape from getting too close to Lily, Petunia had followed them like a guard watching a thief. Lily, trying to avoid her older sister, would always find ways around her.
They had not been wealthy as children, but they had been happy.
Snape said nothing, but his expression clearly sank into memory.
"If only I had been able to enter Hogwarts back then," Petunia sighed.
"..."
Snape did not speak, but part of him agreed.
If Petunia had been there, if Lily had her older sister beside her, perhaps he would not have said that word back then. Even if he had said it, perhaps there might have been a chance to make up for it.
"Waa..."
A loud baby's cry interrupted their memories.
"Ah, Lily."
Petunia hurriedly apologized to Snape. "Sorry, Severus. Wait here a moment."
With that, she rushed into the room.
Snape froze.
What had he just heard?
Lily?
At that moment, he had only one thought:
'Go into the room and see.'
Snape strode into the room like the wind.
Then he froze as if struck by lightning.
Petunia was holding a baby in her arms, patting her back while coaxing her to stop crying.
"Severus, she looks very much like Lily did as a baby, doesn't she?"
Petunia smiled at him while comforting little Lily.
The instant Snape saw the baby, his gaze seemed caught by a magnet. He could not move it away.
Like?
More than like.
She was almost exactly the same as Lily.
The baby's eyes, expression, and features were simply Lily as a child.
Lily's face had long been carved deep into Snape's heart. Whether years, decades, or a lifetime passed, he would never forget it and never mistake it.
This.
How was this possible?
Lily was dead. He had seen it with his own eyes. She had died in his arms.
Snape rushed to Petunia by instinct.
Without realizing it, he reached out as if to hold little Lily. But the moment his hand touched her, he withdrew as if he had touched red-hot iron.
'How could I deserve that?'
'I killed her.'
'I am the murderer. I should be dead.'
Then something magical happened.
Little Lily, who had been crying, stopped when she saw Snape. She opened her large green eyes and looked at him curiously. Then she reached both hands toward him, asking to be held, and giggled.
It was as if Snape were truly family.
If this had been a fantasy novel, Snape would have had to say, "This child and I are bound by fate."
Her laughter seemed to carry a strange magic that struck straight into his heart.
'I will give her the best things in the world.'
'I will make up for everything I failed to protect.'
"I want... to be her godfather!"
Snape's expression had never been so serious. His tone had never been so sincere. His posture had never been so forceful.
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