AN: Hello all! I would like to take a moment here to remind you that the adult characters in the HP series as described by JKR are usually much, much younger than the actors that portrayed them in the movies. So remember that the two characters in the following scene are probably in their mid-thirties. Also, remember that the Evans sisters do look somewhat alike, so Petunia is a blonde woman that probably looks quite different when she doesn't scowl. Enjoy :)

The following Saturday Petunia was feeling uneasy before her second potions lesson. Last week during the brewing she had felt a lot of tension growing inside of her as if it was pulling at the tight bun on her hair. She had waited until Snape left and then loosen it up, and the sense of relief had been astonishing, calmness filling her body like a warm bath. So this time around she did her bun using only one clip, so it wouldn't be that tight. To her, that was challenging in itself, as she always wanted to feel fully in control and that was reflected in every inch of her appearance. When she heard the pop of apparition she moved too fast to open the back door and almost burst onto the wizard that had just arrived.

"Good afternoon, Petunia," drawled the dark-haired man, looking down at her, so close she stood. This time he was wearing a dark shirt and suit with a green tie and a delicate Snake tie pin. Petunia found herself almost touching it before she hastily pulled back her hand.

"Good afternoon, Severus, please come in," she said turning quickly to hide the flush she could feel on her face.

He kept his usual composure and walked in at an even pace, taking in the fact that Petunia had obviously designated her pristine kitchen island as a potion brewing area. He had not seen such carefully arranged display save his own personal brewing space and he pursed his lips to avoid the smiled that tugged at them.

Snape instructed Petunia on the steps for the day's potion but mostly let her do all the work, watching her like a hawk, so he noticed how she kept jerking her neck slightly to one side or the other, and the potion didn't seem to respond well to that.

"Why do you keep bending your neck? It's affecting the potion," he said tersely

She stopped what she was doing and looked at her hands, opening and closing her fists, taking uneasy breaths

"I...I feel weird," is all she could say, rolling her neck in obvious discomfort.

Snape put his hands on her shoulders to stop her jerky movements and carefully undid the bun on her hair. When it fell free she felt relief run down her shoulders to her spine and she closed her eyes. While she soaked in the sensation it took her a minute to realize that, one, he was talking, and two, his hands were still on her hair.

"This is not cooking, Petunia, it's potion brewing. It's a delicate, refined and magical art. You need to let your magic flow, even if it is limited," he said while carefully releasing strands of hair over her shoulders and back. "Trained witches and wizards usually don't have a problem allowing the flow because they learn to brew as children when their bodies are in constant motion and they act more freely. Yo need to learn to let go, so the magic can flow."

She had unconsciously let her head hang back a bit and he noticed the pleasant smell of her shampoo. He almost never allowed himself this kind of proximity to anyone and for some reason, it was not unpleasant. When Petunia restarted her work the potion seemed to take on a life of its own, slowly creating hypnotic patterns of blue and silver around the cauldron.

"It's magnificent," she said, mesmerized. Severus felt his heart pick up the pace. He had never seen such a reaction to this basic concoction, no one ever admired the beauty of it. Of course, this brew was usually thought to terrified eleven-year-olds, but still, brewing was the passion of his life, and to share a small part of it with someone that appreciated it was priceless.

When they were done and the brew was packed in little vials Petunia collected the used instruments, then waved her stirring stick and said "scourgify!"The cauldron and cups cleaned themselves. Severus lifted an eyebrow

"Impressive. Even most Squibs cannot do that."

She lowered her gaze but smiled, satisfied. He produced a miniature book from his pocket and enlarged it.

"Here. take a look at this book." It was a copy of Fifty Basic Brews For Your Home Pantry. "Do not try to brew any of these on your own until you have talked to me. Common ingredients should be safe enough on their own but you do not know how some of the magical ones would react. This week read the chapter in brewing the cure for boils. That is something an 11-year-old is capable of doing, so I expect by next Saturday you will have an idea of how the procedure goes, and I will just observe you do it," he said trying to be dismissive but it came out forced.

She was of course taken aback by the name of the brew, and her face contorted in disgust when she saw the list of ingredients: snake fangs, horned slugs, flobberworm mucous… she closed the book and looked away to contain the feeling of nausea that crept on her throat. Snape was impassive. He pulled a set of miniature vials and powder boxes from his pocket and enlarged them, then left them on the kitchen counter.

"Here. these are the magical ingredients for it. Other things like nettle and ginger root you can find on your own. Owl me if you have any questions," he said and gave a curt nod before walking towards the apparition point in the backyard. Petunia felt a strange sense of uneasiness at his sudden departure.

The following week Petunia put more effort than normal on her appearance but in a different way than usual. She got a haircut, as she would now let her hair down for brewing, and Dudley had commented that she looked quite young with the more relaxed appearance. She also decided she could give a try to brewing the cure for boils on her own. There were bo explosion warnings on the book and she had in a way Severus' permission to do it, though he probably didn't expect her to actually try. After reading the instructions five times carefully she got to work. The potion came up exactly as described in the book: blue, and it emitted pink smoke. She bottled in the little vials and waited excitedly for Saturday to come.

When Snape next came she had the brewing setup ready, and the little vials were primly lined in front of it. Severus gave her an eyebrow lift and opened a vial. It emitted pink smoke. He sniffed it, then took a drop on his finger and apply it on a small bump on his arm. The bump disappeared.

"You brew this? By yourself?"

Petunia nodded, feeling intimidated by his tone. He left the vial on the kitchen counter.

"This brew is complete. It is acceptable. You do not need me to have a lesson with you today. Read the formula for the next brew in the book and mind the warnings before you attempt anything on your own." He gave a curt nod and made to leave but she held his arm

"Severus. I was wondering if instead, you may have time for dinner"

He stared at her, blank-faced but after a minute of heavy silence, he gave another nod.

"Have a seat, please," she said pointing to the kitchen stools, it will be only a couple of minutes."

He watched her move flawlessly through the kitchen, it was obviously the place where she was more at ease. She had something prepared that only needed 10 minutes in the oven before being served. After putting the roast in to warm she asked

"Wine?"

"Please"

She had an excellent bottle of french wine and poured two generous glasses. Not knowing what courtesies would do in this awkward moment she simply raised her glass and he mimicked. She took a very large gulp, one breath and then another gulp. It was very much out of character for her, but she had things to say. Snape's usually impassive face showed a hint of something that resembled curiosity.

"I wanted to say thank you. For helping me. I don't know how to explain this, but I feel a great sense of relief from brewing. It gave me peace in a way I had never felt before. I thought it was going to help me to get over my period of mourning, but there is something else about it that has made me feel better than I had in years.

"You made peace with the magic in your family. The years of denial surely took a toll. Usually, muggles from families with dormant magic don't have a reason to deny it, as they are ignorant of its presence. Squibs are actively aware of the presence of magic around them. You, on the contrary, spent years actively hiding and denying it. That's why it developed into the shadow of an Obscural. But now the magic is being freed. The more you acknowledge it the better it will feel."

Petunia chocked on a sob but nodded in agreement and tried to continue talking

"I am sorry. About the past. It was just so hard to watch Lily drift away; I was jealous but I was also hurt. She was moving towards a world where I could not follow, and you were pulling her even further that way. The magic was an ethereal thing, I could not direct my anger to it. But you, you were a real presence. And that is why I focus all of my resentment and the pain of losing my sister onto you. Please forgive me, Severus. I know you are doing this for Lily, you have no reason to help me. And yet here you are, even if you do not want to. Thank you. Thank you very much," she said extending her hand to loosely touch his.

Snape felt a knot in his throat. The times he had been showed gratitude in his life were few and far between. He knew it was his own making, so for someone to risk trying to scrap his icy exterior was an overwhelming experience. He gave a small squeeze to the hand and said in a bit more than a whisper

"You're welcome."

Petunia cleared her throat and blinked her prickling eyes, then busied herself with the roast and setting up the table. It was not only a delicious dinner but for Severus Snape, the experience of someone serving him food was strange and weirdly intimate, used as he was to the invisible attention of the Hogwarts house-elves. He found himself explaining brewing to his heart content, and she had questions, lots of questions, probably coming from her experience as a great cook who paid a lot of attention to detail.

When dinner was over Severus helped her clean up using magic, and she smiled ad shook her head, thinking of how many years she spent denying that this wonder existed.

"Dinner was outstanding, Petunia," said the wizard and then he decided to do something he usually did out of obligation when visiting pureblood households: he took her hand and kissed it. Some sort of emotional dam broke inside of them and their rational minds were no longer in charge.

"Mom! I'm back! I told aunt Lily I would take the train back and ring her when I got home so she didn't have to stay in London with me."

Petunia jerked herself off the kitchen counter on which Severus Snape had been snogging her thoroughly. The wizard caught her before she fell on the floor and they both heard with relief the heavy steps of the boy going directly upstairs. He helped her up, whispered in her ear "I'll owl you," kissed her one more time and disapparated with a loud pop.

"Mom? You alright? What was that noise?"

"A car backfired on the street, Diddikins, nothing to worry about," she answered, straightening her clothes. She caught her reflection on a glass cabinet. Her hair was a mess and her lipstick was gone. And she had not felt so giddy in years.