He died during summer. He had spent so many years as a hardened soldier with no home to go back to that he had almost forgotten the warmth the season brought about.

But as he lay dying in an obscure shack, so far from everything he had ever loved he found himself recalling those days. He remembered his love and he remembered his friend. That friend who had stood with through fire and high water and who he had failed to help at the most crucial of times. He had lost the only true friend he had ever had and soon after, when Voldermort had first disappeared thus ending the first war, he had lost his one love forever. Oh, he had gone back to her. But she was gone already. His Petunia was nowhere to be seen in that woman who had married some Muggle and raised the Potter scion in the worst way possible. He had to admit to himself as he watched from afar that he had lost her that day, all those years ago. That one night when he had stolen their time from her. When he had robbed her of her summers.

And in turn, she had cursed him to never know summer again. Or perhaps he had cursed himself.

A cough rattled his body. With a trembling hand, he lifted his wand and muttered a Patronus. His faithful, most beloved doe, appeared. This was all he had left. The delicate and serene animal the only proof that those days had existed. Once he was gone, those summers would fall into oblivion. He did not care truly. He only hoped he would meet Petunia wherever he was going.

He barely heard the voice of that dratted Potter brat, barely felt those hands trying to anchor him to life. He was going. Nothing could keep him. He was leaving now. Towards his eternal summer.

As a man stopped breathing in a beat up shack in Scotland, a woman in a posh house in Cokeworth stilled in her movements. In her mind, a magic that had been set years before was slowly fading, allowing memories long forgotten to stream back into her consciousness. The cutlery she was holding fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

It was Petunia as she used to be who collapsed into tears, fingers clawing at her face in grief, a great scream tearing out her throat. Then, the last memory came. She saw herself filling a beautifully carved vial with a Potion and later carefully storing it in her jewellery box. With a hollow smile she went up to her room and dug out the box. She retrieved the vial and held it up to her eyes.

Now she understood why Lily always asked her in a tight voice if Vernon really made her happy. And she knew why she could never tell that yes he did. Because simply he did not. He did not make her happy. He made her feel settled. But Severus had never made her feel settled. No. Severus had made her happy.

She uncapped the vial and drained its contents. Just as Severus had once taken steps to ensure their survival, she had taken some to ensure that they would be together. Even if it was in Heaven.

The Potion took effect and she felt herself slipping in unconsciousness, falling to the ground with a loud thump. She closed her eyes and started dreaming.

She was an ideal world and Severus had graduated without mishaps. They had gotten married much to her parents' disapproval. Lily however, had been surprisingly supportive. Three years later, their first child had been born. Madeleine Snape took after her father. She was pale skinned girl with hair and eyes as dark as ink. Her brother, Hadrian, born two years after her was much the same way, though his eyes were of the same blue as Petunia.

While Hadrian proved early on to take after his parents in terms of personality – calm and reserved – his sister was an eccentric and outgoing girl whose stubbornness could prove quite tiring. It was in the midst of such a show of wilfulness that she did her most impressive bout of accidental magic and turned her hair to a cerulean blue. Though her father initially believed her hair would grow black and she would eventually be rid of the blue colour, it turned out that she had somehow managed to overwrite her original hair colour and the shade of blue remained with her for the rest of her life. Luckily enough, she was to be fond of it even in her older years.

Severus and Petunia wondered for a while if Hadrian would continue to take after his mother and prove to be a Muggle but he turned out to be magical as well and made a fine Slytherin when he made his way at Hogwarts.

As the ambulance a neighbour had called upon hearing Petunia's scream arrived at her door, Petunia's dream started fading and she drew her last breath.

Far away, a blonde girl of seventeen with doe-like eyes joined a young man with shoulder-length inky black hair and together they walked into the Eternal Summer.

Hello to you all who have read this far!

To my readers who have been following since this fic started, I would like to thank you for the interest you took in this story. I mentioned this before, but I originally wrote this for myself, not really believing that anyone would be interested in it. I was very surprised and extremely flattered to discover that this was not the case at all. I'm thankful for all those reviews that were left and the support I received even though you all had to endure every long waits in between chapters.

I hope every one of you will be happy with this ending, even though it's a bit bittersweet. I would be delighted to get your opinion on it and perhaps your opinion on the story as a whole.

I make absolutely no promises but I have been thinking about a story which includes a setting such as the one Petunia dreams of here. If I ever find the courage and inspiration to make it into a story, I will no doubt inform you all by posting a warning here.

On another note I hope to put this story on AO3 as well very soon so if you're interested look out for it (my pen name is the same there as it is here).

Once again thank you for following throughout this adventure, thank you for the reviews, the compliments and the support and I hope to hear from you again very soon!