fic rec: Why Summer Orchids Wither (Severus/Lily, hurt/comfort/angst/romance, PG)

[arcanetrivia]

Why Summer Orchids Wither

This 9600-word fic is a little hard to classify, as you can see in the subject. Lily's been hit with a curse that makes her lose some of her recent memory. She doesn't know why she and Severus are no longer friends, or how she got engaged to James. So she calls on Severus to help her out with it, since she figures her best friend (as she still remembers him) would know, and as he works out a cure for her, things go from there.

This is one of those fics that pulls the rug out from under you. There's such tenderness and love and you glow with what's happening to Severus and Lily and then wham, the end just breaks your heart. My reaction when I first read this fic about three weeks ago was to want to scream out loud. "You bitch, you bitch, how could you do that!!!1!1!" Someone commented on another fic in the exchange that it was a success because it had made her feel an emotion, and wow, did this ever do that for me.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Yeppers. I read that one and it was pretty gut wrenching. Oh Severus....

[lilyevans-snape.livejournal.com]

Ummm... yeah, that was me that just left that anonymous reply. Damn! I always forget to sign in. lol.

I did read this and it was totally gut wrenching at the end. Feeling as I have been the last wee bit, it was definitely not the sort of thing I probably should have been readining, but it gave me a good cry anyway.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Huh. That sounds a little like the situation in Malora's Never Say Remember-- are you following that? Except Snape is the Reason for her condition, and she cycles through remembering her friendship with him to not remembering anything at all-- and she will never be able to remember some things. And she knows it, sometimes. This looks worth a read too, but if you haven't read Malora's fic, you really should.

[elethian.livejournal.com]

Snape is the reason for her condition here too, as you discovered.

I've not heard of "Never Say Remember". If it's SS/HG I'm probably not interested.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Oh, no. It is Not SS/HG at all. Mostly genfic, but an established and heartbreaking relationship between Lily and Snape forms a big part of the story. Heartbreaking, but at the same time, beautiful. Uplifting. Humane. Here, read my rec and give it a shot.

Recs, actually. I think I've recced this more than once as it's gone on-- the second one links off to a longer rec I made for the_new_library:

http://hobgoblinn.livejournal.com/66335.html
http://hobgoblinn.livejournal.com/67301.html
http://hobgoblinn.livejournal.com/81149.html

Go read. I promise you will not be sorry.

[elethian.livejournal.com]

Ugh, long fic is long... *tucks it in with the other like million words she has in queue*

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

But worth it. Here, a bit of dialogue from the last ch (no spoilers, really; our canon Snape has grudgingly agreed to let AU Harry stay with him, and Molly and some of her sons have descended upon Snape to help out):

***
Molly sighed. "No clean laundry, beans on toast every day." She shook her head, but her mouth was set. "Well, I'll do what I can before I leave."

"You'll do nothing. I'm perfectly content with my life."

Molly clucked her tongue disbelievingly.

"Uh oh," said Fred. "Someone just got adopted."

"You'll get a jumper this Christmas," George informed Snape. "Big 'S' plastered right across it. She'll check in to see that you wear it, too."

Snape narrowed his eyes at the twins. "It occurs to me that this would be an excellent time to discuss your sons' academic progress. I believe I have my records in my work room downstairs."

The twins went slightly green. "Would you look at the time," said Fred, not even glancing at the clock. "Best dash."

"Now boys," Molly protested. "I could use your help making dinner."

"Ron can do it," called George as the door closed behind them.

"Wait…what?" said Ron, his mouth full of sandwich.

Molly tilted her head at Snape. "How are they doing, anyway?"

Snape took a bite of his sandwich and leaned back. "Terribly, I'm sure."

"And their records?"

"At Hogwarts. Feel free to leave here and retrieve them."

"Really, Severus. I'd think we weren't welcome here."


***

I've been reading it a bit at a time, as new chapters come out, so I haven't been overwhelmed. How Snape in the AU comes to hold on to and see the good in his life, how much of being able to do it he gets from Lily who both is, and is not the girl he loved, and how he makes a home for Harry-- it's amazing writing. The differences between the canon and AU universes are really well done.

Ok, if you ever do read it, drop by my journal and tell me what you thought. I'd be interested to hear.