Disclaimer: This character belongs to J.K. Rowling, not to me. I'm just having some fun allowing to explore the possibilities he never had in canon, and I make no profit in doing so.



The Good Earth


Severus had once sneered at Herbology. There was nothing to it but plodding busywork, the sort only Hufflepuffs relished. Only an idiot could prefer handling manure to creating dazzling hexes or brewing liquid luck.

Yet after years of facing the destruction wrought by flashier forms of magic, Severus thought he finally understood the soothing pleasures of the garden—the warm sun and cool, damp grass, the meditative rhythm of the tasks and the unexpected miracle of tucking a seed within the earth and coaxing something fragile into full, glorious flower.

It was quieter, it was subtler, but it was undoubtedly magic.



Baptism


Dizzy and half-delirious from blood loss and his life-saving potions, Severus staggered away from the Transfigured 'corpse' that wore his likeness.

He owed Potter nothing more; from this point forward, his destiny would be his own. Without regret, Severus reached for Portkey in his pocket and vanished into his new life.

It was storming when he reappeared in Calais. The downpour plastered his robes to his body, rinsing away filth and blood and guilt and pain as though none of them had ever existed.

Laughing in delight, Severus grinned up at the rain and let it wash away the past.



She Doth Teach the Torches


Lily Evans glowed.

Severus had noticed this the very first time he'd glimpsed her, but time and the maturing of her magic had only heightened the effect. Now, Lily gleamed with the intensity of an inferno, fierce and bright and pure, with her hair a shimmering veil of red-gold flame.

The very sight of her warmed Severus from the inside out, bringing heat to his cheeks and other places. At times, her light was so bright that it hurt his eyes to look—yet he couldn't turn away.

He wondered what it would be like to burn in her fire.



Breathe


Something had gone wrong.

Severus remembered pain and green eyes and finally, blessedly, peace. Yet abruptly, he'd been torn from that solace by the sensation of somebody pounding at his chest and the buzzing of voices.

Breathe! Just breathe!

His lungs refused to obey. Absent of oxygen, his chest burned like fire, whilst dizzying darkness threatened to swallow him once more.

Please, you have to live!

Suddenly something jerked in his chest, fluttering like a trapped bird. Cries of shocked happiness sounded around him as Severus gasped in the sweet, fresh air, taking the first breath of his new life.