'You loved me once. Remember?'
'I'm still seven. In my head. I'm still sitting by the lake bank, pushing my fingers into the sand, letting the sun wash over me, thinking nothing would change.'
'If you take my hand, will you promise not to let go this time?' 'This time.'
'I misunderstood you, didn't I?'
'It's not the same anymore.'
'I wish you'd stayed.'
'You still miss me, don't you?' 'Of course not.' 'Don't lie to me. I could always tell, with you.'
'Some of us have to grow up sometimes, alright?!'
'But that wasn't now. That was a different time, a different place. Things have changed since then.' 'So have you.'
'I always hated goodbyes.'
'You don't forget how to know a person.'
âSeverusâs things,â McGonagall said, eyes falling on the boxes that sat outside of the Potions Room. âHe has no family, Mr. Potter. His things will be collected and vanished.â
There was a pause as Harry contemplated the few cardboard boxes.Â
âCould I take them?â he asked.
âCertainly,â McGonagall said, not hiding her surprise.
He unshrunk the boxes at Godricâs Hollow and methodically unpacked the contents. After visiting Hogwarts, he had also gone to Spinnerâs End to collect the rest of Severus's things. Everything else was free to be vanished or taken by the Ministry.Â
Most of the items in the boxes were old and falling apart, clearly well-used. Harry tried his best to be gentle with these things. A lot of the books he was tempted to lend to Hermione, but ultimately decided that she wouldnât have appreciated all the little notes in the margins.
It wasnât until he reached the second box from Spinnerâs End, that he found something interesting: a handful of letters.
He flipped through them â all unsent, and all addressed to his mother.Â
Harry held the letters tightly as he ran upstairs, bursting through his parentsâ office door. He went straight towards his motherâs desk and found the set of letters in the upper right drawer. Pulling them out, he set them side by side to Severusâs letters and began to read them.
âIâm still seven. In my head,â his mother had written. âIâm still sitting by the lake bank, pushing my fingers into the sand, letting the sun wash over me, thinking nothing would change. Youâre there too.â
In the back of his mind he saw them there, together in Cokesworth. Harry flipped through Severusâs letters.
âYou loved me once. Remember? I donât expect you to do it again, but Iâm asking you to understandâŠâ He skimmed further down. âBut that isnât now. That was a different time, a different place. Things have changed since then.â
âBut so have you,â Harry found in his motherâs unsent letters. Further down, âI wish youâd stayed.â
âSome of us have to grow up sometimes, alright?!â Severus had scribbled furiously in his elegant font. This letter had been crumpled and from the stains on it, wet. âItâs not the same anymore,â it read.
âDo you remember,â his mother had written, âwhen we held hands as we contemplated about running away together? If you take my hand, will you promise not to let go this time?â
âThis timeâŠâ Severus had written, âthings will be different. Things will be better.â âBetterâ had been underlined twice.
âI miss youâŠâ This letter was riddled with tear stains. Harry trailed his hand gently over his motherâs letter. âYou still miss me, donât you?â
âOf course not,â Severus had written somewhere in one of his letters, and it was almost like they were talking to each other right before Harry.
âDonât lie to me,â she said. âI could always tell, with you.â A line or two further down, âYou donât forget how to know a person.â Harry looked at the date. It was a night before she would die. âBut maybe⊠I misunderstood you, didnât I? I thought that youâŠâÂ
âLily, please,â Severus begged. âYou know me. You know me better than anyone . You know that Iâve always hated goodbyes. For you Iâd say it endlessly if it meant I could see you again. Please, donât let this be our lastâŠâ
They had written to each other on the same night, Harry realized. Both of their last letters to each other. All of them, unsent.
âHarry?â he heard a voice down stairs. More quietly, âWhatâs all this?âÂ
He raced down the stairs, heart pounding in his chest.
Ron and Hermione were there in his kitchen surrounded by Severusâs things. Harry couldnât help the relief flooding his body and the smile invading his face.
âBloody hell, Harry,â Ron said, making room for Mollyâs cooking. âItâs like youâre moving in all over again.â
âWhat is all this, Harry?â Hermione asked again. âOof â ! Whatâre you doing?â
She laughed as Harry engulfed both of his best friends in a hug.
âNothing,â he said quietly. âJustâŠâ
