coSS ch3 The Letter

As it turned out, however, Severus saw Lily Evans before the day to leave for Hogwarts came.
Severus Snape was eating his lunch in the kitchen when there was a knock at the kitchen door. He went to go open it, and Lily Evans was standing there, out of breath and holding an envelope.
“Lily! What a surprise,” Severus exclaimed. “What brings you here?”
“It’s my sister,” Lily replied. “She wrote to Hogwarts, begging to be accepted.”
“A Muggle …writing to Hogwarts?” Snape said, looking puzzled. “That’s unbelievable, unless… yes. There must be wizards working in the post, that way the rest of them don’t get suspicious about letters to Hogwarts.”
“Yes, that must be how it is,” said Lily, looking thoughtful.
Severus took a closer look at the envelope, gently taking it out of Lily’s hand.
“To Petunia Evans, from Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School,” Severus read out loud. “So this is the envelope that…”
“Yes,” answered Lily, “but I left the letter, it wasn’t in the envelope, which was in the rubbish bin in the kitchen.”
Severus thought, So that’s how she got the envelope without Petunia noticing. Aloud, he said “It’s a shame, as I would have liked to see what Professor Dumbledore wrote her.” He looked at her, wondering if she had seen the letter.
As if she was a Legilimens, Lily said “I saw the letter that Professor Dumbledore sent my sister, before she threw the envelope away and took the letter to her room. She was crying, but the letter was very kind.” She paused, thinking. After a moment or two of thought, she added “I could tell you what the letter said, Severus, if you want.”
Severus, who had been waiting for this moment since Lily said that Petunia had written, said “If it’s not too much trouble, I would. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.”
Lily laughed and said “Of course it’s not too much trouble; I wrote it down on a piece of parchment I had in my room.” So she began to read the letter that Professor Albus Dumbledore had written to Petunia Evans.

“My Dear Miss Evans,” the letter began, “I appreciate your sincere inquiry into being accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that, although you may be eager to go, you must be able to perform magic, unintentional or otherwise, to be admitted to the school. I ask you, therefore, to ask your sister what the school is like. Again, I deeply regret that you are not qualified to join.
Sincerely,
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry”

Severus looked up from the letter and caught Lily’s eyes, as she had just finished reading the letter as well. “That letter makes me feel that Professor Dumbledore is very kind; since that’s a rejection letter, I wonder what other correspondence with more positive news is like from him?” He suddenly realized that her envelope was still in his hands, and he returned it to her, grinning sheepishly.
Lily took a moment before responding to Severus’ musings. “I suppose that they are full of all sorts of information and courtesy,” she said, tucking the letter into the envelope. She added, “Thank you for the envelope back, I suppose it’s as good a place as any to keep the letter.”
Severus watched as she left the house, wishing that she could stay longer, as he always did when they parted. He turned around and walked back to his room, keeping the image of Lily laughing, her green eyes shining.