Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 7

Prompt: Write about a witch or wizard trying to combine magic and Muggle technology into one device.

A/N: This will be a bit less tragic than usual...maybe.

Word count: ~2750

"I greatly appreciate your help in retrieving the mirror, Severus," Dumbledore said, his tone light and conversational as he led them down the southeastern corridors of Hogwarts.

Severus frowned, stealing a sidelong glance at the foolhardy Headmaster. Torchlight and moonlight played between the numerous wrinkles on his face and glinted off the half-moon spectacles that were perched on the end of his nose. "It was nothing."

"Nonsense," Dumbledore chuckled. "I've been trying to track down the last of the Backwards Artifacts for the larger part of three decades now. I was beginning to think I'd never complete the collection."

Severus' frown deepened but he didn't bother commenting on the—rather obvious—lie. Whatever stories the Headmaster wanted to purport to his subordinates was none of Severus' business.

The two continued their walk in silence, save for the whispers that danced between the portraits they passed. Despite his tenure, most of the portrait subjects adamantly disliked him. Somehow, he had a feeling that they all knew about the mark that still marred his left arm.

The corridors grew steadily darker and thinner as Dumbledore continued to lead them onwards. Severus had been on the cusp on inquiring about their final destination when the Headmaster finally reined them to a stop in front of a nondescript door. He pushed it open — and Severus couldn't help but note that the door hadn't even been locked — to reveal an old, dusty classroom.

A few broken desks were scattered haphazardly about, tucked against walls and waning under the weight of too many books. And there, sitting in the center of the room, moonlight glinting off its surface, was the Mirror of Erised.

As if under the influence of the Imperius Curse, Severus felt himself drawn forward, his feet sweeping him past the Headmaster and drawing him into the room on their own accord. The mirror itself was no spectacular thing. It was obviously old — its face clouded and its frame rusting at the edges. It certainly wasn't what Severus had expected from the ancient artifact that Dumbledore had charged him with finding, and yet, there was something undeniably alluring about it.

Severus' eyes scanned the inscription along the top, wondering. "What does it do?"

The sound of the classroom door clicking shut echoed in the small, silent space. "Why don't you step in front of it and find out," Dumbledore said.

Severus barely contained a scowl. He'd never understood why Dumbledore always avoided directly answering even the simplest of questions. Tentatively, he stepped in front of the mirror.

His own reflection stared back at him, grim and disappointed.

"I don't see—" He'd started to turn when he first saw it—a flash of red in the darkness. Severus' eyes snapped back to the mirror.

His heart nearly stopped.

Lily was standing next to him, her arm draped over his neck and her head leaning against his shoulders. She was smiling, her green eyes glistening and radiant and alive.

"Severus?"

Tearing his eyes away from her was like ripping out a part of his soul. Severus didn't even notice that tears had formed in his eyes until he felt them fall over his cheeks. "What sort of magic is this?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and raw in his throat.

Dumbledore was smiling at him knowingly. "I'm really not sure. That's what I'd like your help with. There's something that I need to store inside of it..."

It was not often that Severus Snape found himself somewhere that he had not precisely planned on being. He had always considered himself a formulated, albeit pragmatic, sort of man, who tended to avoid dalliances whenever possible. It was, therefore, something of an odd occurrence that Severus found himself in a strange Muggle pub one hot June evening.

"Come now, Severus!" Charity Burbage clapped him on the back, giggling as she ushered him through the doorway alongside Rolanda Hooch and Septima Vector. "If you keep making that sourpuss face no ladies will talk to you!"

Severus glared at her. "Is that a guarantee?"

"Severus," Charity chastised, "you lost the House Cup bet fair and square. Now, you'd best not spend the evening being a sore loser or I'll really give you something to glower about."

Severus stared at her.

Charity stared back.

Huffing, Severus relented and turned to survey the pub. Besides the bar and cramped together chairs and tables that were quintessential to such an establishment, there was also a number of strange, boxy machines. They were colorful and bright, and many of them were omitting an obnoxious amount of synthesized music. It was by far one of the strangest sights Severus had ever seen.

"Have you never seen one before?" Charity questioned, nodding at one of the nearest machines. "An arcade game I mean?"

"Can't say that I have."

Severus continued to study them as they made their way towards an empty table. Of course, he'd heard of video games before—he hadn't grown up in a hovel — but he'd never been interested enough to pursue seeing what one actually looked like. Severus' gaze caught on a man and held. He had a heavy looking contraption covering the larger part of his head, a black tube jutting out of the back and connecting to a belt around his waist. His arms were locked out in front of him, his hands clasped tightly around an oblong, plastic ring as he twisted and turned around the raised platform he was standing on.

"Oh!" Beside him, Charity laughed, a bright grin stretching out her long face. "How brilliant!"

"What is?" Severus asked.

"It's a virtual reality machine. See that thing on his head? Well the inside of it is made up of a highly detailed screen that encompasses the entirety of your field of vision so that when it projects an image you end up feeling like you're actually there. Muggles truly create the most interesting devices."

Interesting, and idiotic. The man looked like an utter buffoon, waving his hands around like that. "Sort of like a pensieve?"

"A bit. Less constrained though, perhaps. You can put anything your mind can conjure up into these new Muggle machines, not just memories. And it's interactive of course—that's sort of the point really."

Interactive. The word played over in Severus' mind.

"Simply fascinating! I'll have to convince Dumbledore to let me get one for my class."

Severus' feet hit the stone floor with heavy purpose as he swept through the seventh-floor corridor. His patrol had run smoothly—he'd only found two students trying to sneak Beauxbaton girls into the dorms. Gryffindors, of course. It was always the sodding Gryffindors.

But his nerves were frayed. Someone kept stealing ingredients for Polyjuice Potion and the school was so overrun with newcomers that it remained difficult to keep a proper eye on his ingredients cabinet. Then there was the other problem; the one he kept hearing whispers about...the one that kept pricking at his left arm.

He needed to see her. Just for a while.

Severus came to a stop in front of the vast, blank wall. His eyes flicked back to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, who was still trying to teach a group of trolls ballet. It was by far the most unique form of torture that Severus had ever witnessed, and it never failed to fascinate him.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he began walking once more.

I need to see Lily.

I need to see Lily.

I need to see Lily.

Magic shifted through the surrounding air. Severus opened his eyes, and saw the door.

Heart pounding, he flung it open and swept inside. A soft breeze stirred his hair as he pulled the door shut behind him and he couldn't help but allow the shudder that was coursing through him to take hold. Anticipation raked across his skin like a feather's touch as a peculiar buoyancy filled him. There was very little that gave him true excitement anymore, and there was no denying that there was something truly addictive about—

A gasp caught and stuck in Severus' throat, nearly choking him. He rushed over to the mirror, his wand out and his heart slamming against his ribcage.

A large crack had split the glass right down the center.

"Speculum Repairo!" Severus' wand trembled as he muttered the incantation.

Nothing happened.

"Speculum Repairo!" he repeated, harder this time. "Speculum Repairo! Speculum Repairo!"

The Mirror of Erised remained broken.

Severus stared blankly at his own cleaved reflection, his chest heaving and his own magic threatening to burst him at the seams. "Lily…"

"You'd like to see what?" Charity asked, her blue eyes large and glinting mischievously.

Severus grit his teeth to keep the looming scowl from his mouth. "You heard me."

"Did I? I'm not quite sure. I'm worrying that I may have hallucinated."

By the slyness of her grin, Severus was quite sure that she was under no such impression. However, if indulging her got him closer to his goal then he would comply. For now. "I'd like to see your virtual reality machine."

She continued staring up at him, her expression growing increasingly annoying with each moment that passed. "Fascinating…"

"What is?" Severus glowered at her.

"You know, Severus," Charity turned and motioned for Severus to follow, "if I didn't know better I might think that you were sweet on me."

Severus nearly choked.

Chuckling, Charity opened a door that adjoined her office. It revealed little more than a storage closet, packed nearly to the brim with Muggle gadgetry. She leaned against the doorway, effectively blocking Severus from entering. "So," she said, one of her blonde brows rising, "what sort secret assignment has Dumbledore tasked you with now?"

Severus merely stared at her, which he often found to be the best reaction to questions that he didn't want to answer. That, and he wasn't quite sure if his throat had recovered from Charity's previous comment.

"Fine." Charity raised her hands concedingly. "Don't tell me. But don't think I'm not on to the both of you. I could help you know. Be sure to tell Dumbledore that."

Severus inclined his head.

"Alright." She stepped aside to reveal a monstrous heap of a machine. It was even bigger than Severus remembered. "What do you want to do with it?"

"Does it work?"

Charity glared at him. "Of course it works! I know it looks like a piece of junk, but it took a lot of effort to magically enhance the imagery and — "

"I'd like to try it," Severus said evenly.

Confusion rippled across Charity's features. "Yeah?"

"It's important that I...understand how it works."

The confusion lingered for a moment in Charity's blue eyes, glimmering like a lake catching starlight. For a moment, Severus worried it might teeter into doubt, but no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Charity was facing the machine and bringing it to life.

A faint humming filled the air, low and mechanical, as Charity handed him the large headset. It was surprisingly heavy and rigid beneath Severus' unexpecting fingers.

"Do you need help putting it on?" Charity asked.

Severus frowned as he examined the inside of the—admittedly, somewhat intimidating—device. Without answering, he maneuvered it over his head, only having to twist it slightly before it slipped comfortably on.

The world became black, muffled, and suffocating.

"Ready?" Charity's voice sounded like it was at the opposite end of a very long tunnel.

"Yes."

A blinding light flooded the darkness, so bright and overwhelming that Severus had to shut his eyes against it. Then he heard something: birds? And...water?

He opened his eyes and for a moment, he stopped breathing.

He was standing on the crest of a hill, snow-capped mountains cascading along the horizon and falling into dense waves of pine. A wide river snaked its way between the trees, blue water foaming around jagged rocks and sweeping around fallen brush. The colors were pure and vivid. Not perfect, but close—so achingly close he could practically feel the chill of the wind that stirred the surrounding grass.

Yes. This could work.

Severus closed the door to his office and locked it.

"The deed is done then?"

Severus turned up to face Dumbledore's portrait, his jaw locked and his shoulders sagging. He felt drained. The mask he always wore was getting heavier with each passing day. "Yes. Potter has the sword."

"Good," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling. "You've done well, Severus."

Severus barely nodded before he turned away. He needed a Pepperup Potion, or something—his eyes flicked over to the narrow door on the far side of the room—or someone…

He took a compulsory step forward.

"Severus…"

The sound of Dumbledore's voice called his attention back. The old Headmaster was wearing that same knowing look that Severus had managed to grow used to over the years, but had never quite been able to ignore.

"It's a dangerous road you're walking down. If anyone were to see— "

"How would they see?" Severus just barely contained the bitterness in his voice.

The frown that Dumbledore wore was not without a certain amount of pity and something about it made Severus sick to his stomach. "You should get some rest, Severus."

Severus wrenched his gaze away, only to have the narrow door beckon him again. It was like a siren's call—soft, light, and caressing—holding the promise of every comfort that he craved.

"I don't need to rest." Without waiting for a response, he rushed across the span of the room. I need to see Lily. His hand closed around the door's cold handle and he heard it unlock beneath his touch.

He only opened the door wide enough to squeeze through and shut it immediately behind him. The familiar low hum that met him on the other side was like a salve to an open wound.

Severus turned to face the machine, his nerves buzzing with anticipation. As if he hadn't already done this more times than he could count.

With a practiced efficiency, Severus built up the various sensory charms around him, grabbed the headset and slipped it on.

For a moment there was nothing but darkness and silence.

Then he saw it: the first rays of light, soft and golden as they spread across his vision. A room lit up around him. A kitchen—small and quaint, with cabinets the color of honey and plenty of windows for sunlight to pour through. Magic tickled his nose as the smell of freshly mowed grass drifted on a light wind through an open door.

His pulse quickened as he stared at it. This was always the moment that he feared she wouldn't come.

But she did.

Lily rounded the corner, her lips parted in a smile and her head adorned with a circlet of wildflowers. Then she saw him, and somehow her smile brightened. "Severus," she said, a laugh dancing along the edges of his name.

"Lily."

She glided towards him, all grace and smooth lines. Sunlight suited her well; reflecting off her hair like fire and playing with the subtle spattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. There were no words to describe how beautiful she was to him.

Lily reached up and looped her hands around his neck, tilting her head fondly and placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "And how are you today, my dear?"

Severus sighed, magic fluttering around him once more as he carded his fingers through her hair. It was softer than it should have been, he knew, but he didn't have the heart to change it. "Good, now that you're here."

Lily laughed. "What a chivalrous answer."

Severus' fingers moved to the curve of her cheek. It was as plush and warm as down. "And you?"

"Good," Lily leaned in closer, "now that you're here."

Severus chuckled and felt the heat of his breath pool back against him.

Even still, after all these years, his heart never failed to thaw in her presence. He'd lived this same scene over and over again throughout the years, and no matter how much had changed in the world beyond, this one thing always remained the same.

It was always this house.

Always this kitchen.

Always Lily with flowers in her hair and sunshine on her skin.

Always her smile and the contagious sound of her laughter.

Always her.

Always.

A/N: Just to note, since Snape was born in 1960, I assumed he'd never been to an arcade even though he grew up around Muggles, since those weren't really a big thing until the 70's/80's (according to Wikipedia at least). I would've clarified at the beginning, but I didn't want to give anything away. Hope everyone enjoyed!