I know, I know, I shouldn't be writing another story when I'm working on two others, but this little one wouldn't leave me alone. I don't own anyone or anything, just trying out an idea that's been running around in my head.

Severus laid inside the hallow of his tree, worried. It was long past the time Lily was supposed to meet him. She was never late.

So where was she? Did something happen? Was she alright?

The sound of someone walking up the hill brought him out of his thoughts. His heart leaped with hope. Was it Lily? But then he listened closely and frowned. The footsteps were too light and cautious to be Lily's.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" The girl's voice most definitely did not belong to Lily. It was too soft and almost birdlike.

Severus kept still and hoped whoever it was would go away. Instead, he heard the footsteps come closer until they stopped at the entrance. A shadow blocked the sunlight. Grimacing, Severus turned to face the intruder.

He found himself staring at a girl with honey brown hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. She was wearing a pale blue dress and a white cherry-patterned sweater that was too large on her. At the moment, she was bending forward with her arms folded across her chest while looking at him curiously.

"Uh, hello. Sorry, I don't mean to bother you, but um, are you Severus?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. How did this girl know his name? "Yes," he answered cautiously.

A flash of relief crossed the girl's features. "Oh good," she breathed as she sat on the grass in front of him.

Severus's frown deepened at the girl's actions. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

"Oh...sorry. Of course, how silly of me. I should have introduced myself first. I'm Molly. Molly Hooper. I'm Lily's cousin."

Cousin? Severus looked at the girl in confusion. Then he remembered a conversation he had with Lily the other day.

"So I can't tell anyone that I'm a witch? Not even my family?"

"Your parents will know, once you get your letter. And your sister already knows. But no one else."

They were sitting in their special place, down by the lake. Lily had many questions about magic that Severus was only too happy to answer.

"What about my cousin?"

Severus frowned at the unexpected question as Lily quickly explained.

"My cousin, Molly, is coming over to visit for a couple of weeks, while her parents are on a trip. Would it be alright if..?"

Severus shook his head before Lily could finish. "You can't tell anyone, outside of your close family, about magic."

The memory faded and Severus studied the girl sitting in front of him. So this was the cousin Lily was talking about? He wasn't impressed.

The girl, Molly, looked down at her lap and nervously fiddled with her fingers.

"So, um, Lily asked me to give you a message. To say, uh, she's very sorry that she couldn't make it to...er that is...she couldn't come and she hopes to make it up to you."

"Why couldn't she come?" Severus impatiently asked. Really, this muggle's stuttering was annoying.

Molly glanced up and frowned, no doubt at his rudeness, but Severus didn't care. He just stared back and waited for an answer. Finally, she looked down at her lap again as she shrugged apologetically.

"I'm afraid she's not feeling well."

"What?" Severus quickly sat up and scooted closer to the entrance, his eyes wide with concern. "What's wrong with her?"

"Oh it's nothing serious," Molly held up a hand reassuringly, "just a common cold. But my aunt insisted that Lily remain in bed."

Now it was Severus's turn to breath in relief.

"Molly!"

Both children turned their heads toward the voice and saw Petunia standing at the bottom of the hill. She glared at Severus briefly, then turned to her cousin.

"Come on Molly. You said you wanted to go to the swings."

"In a minute, Tuney." Molly looked at Severus and smiled shyly. "So, would you like to come with us?"

Severus raised his eyebrows, startled at the invitation, but shook his head.

"No."

As if he would like to spend time with Petunia. Or any muggle for that matter.

"Oh, well then, um, is there any message you'd like me to give to Lily?"

Severus shrugged nonchalantly. "Just tell her I hope she gets better."

"Okay." Molly stood and dusted herself. She started to walk down the hill, but then paused and looked back at Severus.

"It was nice meeting you, Severus." She smiled and gave him a small wave before running down the hill to her cousin.

As the two girls walked away, Severus heard Petunia whispering, "What were you doing, talking to that Snape boy? He's a weirdo!"

Molly responded, but unfortunately the girls were now too far away for Severus to hear. Though judging from her frown, he could guess that she didn't approve of her cousin's statement.

Severus slid back inside the hallow of the tree. He missed Lily terribly. At least he now knew the reason for her absence. Though that didn't make him feel any less disappointed. As he laid on his back, he found his mind drifting over to Lily's cousin.

Molly Hooper.

Honestly, he didn't know why he was thinking about her. She was just a muggle. Certainly not worth his time. And yet, there was something about her.

Perhaps it was the fact that she actually talked to him in the first place. Then again, she was delivering a message from Lily. So he could easily dismiss her talking to him as simply doing her cousin a favor.

But then she offered to deliver a message for him. Doing a favor for her cousin was one thing. But to do it for someone else, a complete stranger, was another matter entirely. Apart from Lily, he couldn't think of anyone who would willingly do something like that.

But what surprised him the most was when she actually invited him to play with her. Him of all people!

Why would she invite him? Most children simply avoided him. Though that of course didn't stop them from whispering and looking at him scornfully, due to his dreadful clothes and messy hair.

But as Severus thought about it, he realized that he saw none of that scorn on Molly's face. In fact, her expressions and manners had been nothing but...shy and friendly.

She had even smiled at him!

Why would she smile at him on their first meeting? Even Lily hadn't smiled at him on their first meeting.

As the afternoon wore on, Severus's thoughts kept replaying the incident. Especially Molly's smile. For reasons he couldn't explain, the image gave him a strangely warm feeling.

A/N: So what do you think? I have some more ideas for this one. Should I continue? If I do it'll probably be a short story covering Molly's visit, no more than five chapters. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.