Forever Yours

1. Taken

"Keep this.  Let it be a reminder that if you ever find someone you love, don't let them go and make sure you tell them how you feel, because you never know what you've got until it's gone."  

Severus got up from the bar and staggered out the door.  She watched him until he was out of her sight, wondering where he was going and how he was going to get there, or if he would get there.  She opened her hand.  Lying there in her palm was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, a sapphire.

Lucy opened her eyes slowly.  The morning sun was streaming through her bedroom window, hitting her in the face.  She smiled from the memory of the dream.  It was getting easier and easier for her to remember because she had experienced the same one for many months now.  It was always the the same, but that was because it had actually happened.

Lucy sat up in her bed and threw the covers off, basking in the rays of the warm sun.  Severus Snape was on her mind again.  She didn't even really know the man, but their encounter had stayed with her for ten years.  She would never forget the sadness in his eyes or the pain that had been etched on his face.  A part of her wanted to talk to him, to see him again just to see how he was doing now.  But that was silly, wasn't it?

She got up and walked across the hall to the next room.  Her friend and roommate was already out of bed.  She planned on running the plan by her to see what she thought.  She closed the door to her friend's room and continued on into the kitchen.  Jo was sitting there reading the morning's edition of the Daily Prophet.  A big smile ran across her face when Lucy walked into the room.

"Good morning, sunshine," she greeted her.

"Good morning," Lucy said.  "Why are you grinning at me like that cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland?"

The smile on her face never faltered.  "Because I'm in a good mood for a change and I'm going on a date with Chad this evening when I get off work."

Her eyes widened.  "Really?"

"Really!" Jo squealed.  "I'm so nervous."

Lucy sat down in the chair across from her.  "Well, you shouldn't be.  He's going to love you."

"I'm still nervous.  I just met him at that dinner party at the Recreation Center downtown.  Him and his boss Adam Winston.  You remember, right?"

How could she forget?  It was the most boring night in the world.  She smiled.  "I'll never forget it.  Chad with his dirty blonde hair and those penetrating eyes.  The two of you are perfect for each other."

"Thanks, Lucy.  You know I love you, right?"

"Yes, I know."  She giggled.  "I'm going to do something spontaneous too, Jo."

Her friend looked at her skeptically.  She never did anything without a plan.  "And what's that?"

"I am going to write Severus Snape a letter."

"What?"  Jo's mouth fell open in shock.  "You're joking!"

"No, Jo.  I'm serious.  I can't get him or that night out of my head.  You didn't see how completely broken he was.  I have to know how he's doing."

"That is completely insane.  It's a guy you met in a bar."

"I can't help it.  I have to do something.  I dream about that night over and over again.  It's going to drive me insane."

Jo shook her head.  "He won't write you back.  I think it's a bad idea.  He's liable to turn you in to the Ministry of Magic or something for stalking."

"I don't care if he doesn't write me back.  And the Ministry of Magic?  Really?  I'm not stalking him."

"You are in your dreams."

Lucy rolled her eyes.  "Well, I don't care.  At least I'll know I tried.  I just wish I knew how to get a hold of him."

She frowned disapprovingly.  "You're going to kill me, but he comes in the shop once in a blue moon to get supplies.  He teaches potions at Hogwarts."

Lucy's eyes were wild.  "All this time you knew this and you didn't tell me?"

"In my defense, you've never mentioned his name before," Jo reasoned.  "But I recognize the name now that you said it and I've had a little time to think about it.  You've never even told me anything about what happened that night.  How was I supposed to know?"

Her features softened.  "You weren't.  I'm sorry.  I just-  I'm so-"

"Obsessed?"

"No.  Taken would be a better word.  I'm just so taken by him and his story.  I want to know more about him."  Lucy shrugged.  "And who knows?  Maybe we could become friends."

Jo got up from the table.  "He's going to think you're crazy.  It's been ten years.  A normal person would have forgotten him by now."

"I don't care.  I have a photographic memory.  No matter how hard I try, I can't forget.  You didn't see the shape he was in."

"You will be lucky if he doesn't turn you in for stalking."

She laughed.  "Still don't care."

Jo shook her head.  "Well, Lucy, I have to get to work.  Let me know how that goes for you."

Lucy grinned.  "You will be the first to know."

As Jo grabbed her purse and went out the door, Lucy hurried over to the desk in front of the window.  She plopped down in her chair and pulled some parchment from one of the drawers.  Dipping her quill in the ink, she touched it to the paper and began to write anxiously, thinking carefully about what she wanted to say.  She didn't want to scare him away with the first letter and she wanted him desperately to write back.  Of course, there were no guarantees.

She just prayed he would write back to her, that it wasn't all for nothing.  She needed someone to talk to anyway, someone who didn't know her personally.  That way she could tell him what she refused to tell anyone else, a secret she had carried with her for years now; the reason why she was at Madame Rosmerta's pub that night herself.  It was the main reason she couldn't get him out of her head.  Severus wasn't the only one that had a reason to feel guilty.