Spun
It all starts to be spun at the tender age of eight, when they are children. Just like every other love story it begins when they are young.
But unlike every other love story it doesn't end happily ever after.
But they won't know that for a while, will they.
And hopefully, maybe, the spindle won't unwind and tumble to the floor.
oooo
"Can I use this?"
The boy's voice breaks her out of her thoughts, the red-headed girl glancing up at him briefly. She shrugs, tightening her grasp on the chains of the swing.
"Sure," she replys, smiling softly at him.
She knows who he is of course, Tuney talks too much about the trash living down the road for her not to know. But he seems nice enough, polite enough to fit in with her family. His only downfall is his clothing and appearance, but she can see past that. Looks really don't matter when you are eight.
He returns the smile, sitting down and beginning to swing. The wind rushes through his long black hair, pushing it off his face so she can see his eyes. Black, so dark she cannot believe, dark like the night.
The pair swing in silence, pumping their legs back and forth to gain momentum against the swing. Her heavy braid thumps against her back in time with her heartbeat, and the boy swings softly, grubby hands around the chains.
There is a mark down his shirt, and a tiny hole in his too-long pants.
But apart from that, he is perfect.
She grins against the setting sun, legs flying up in the air, and back down again.
ooo
The park is their meeting place now, the place where he can escape from his family, and the only place Tuney doesn't like to come along to.
She absolutely deists getting dirty.
But it works out fine; they spend the spring days playing in the grass and the playground, sliding down the slides, chasing each other around the paddocks. She obtains more freckles than ever during those days, nearly every inch of her skin covered in pale spots. That is the one thing that annoys her about her colouring.
But she is too young to worry seriously about that. That will come later.
Severus is actually quite intelligent, for an eight year old. He stuns her with his conversation, and makes her feel quite dumb in comparison.
And some days she thinks, they would make quite the pair, the red-haired girl with the stunning green eyes and the black-haired boy with the darkest eyes possible. She almost wants to take him home and play house with him like she does with all of her other friends. But she doesn't, because he is not like her other friends.
He is different.
That makes her like him more than ever though.
ooo
"I can't believe you!" Petunia shouts, shaking her head wildly. She narrows her eyes down at Lily, taking in the mud slopped down her shirt messily and the way strands of her hair have fallen out of the tight ponytail their mother put it into this morning. "You're seriously going to let her play with that, that piece of trash!"
"Petunia," her mother scolds. "I'm sure the boy is very nice, regardless of his situation in life. Don't judge a book by its cover dear, you might be surprised about what you find underneath."
"So you two are going to let her?" Petunia questions, eyes wide. "Honestly, what will the rest of the street think? We do have a reputation, you know!"
"I'm not listening to you whine about this Petunia, not again," her mother says softly, sighing. "Lily will be playing with him whenever she wants, and if you see him on the street, you are to be nice, okay?"
"Fine, whatever." She waves the comment off with a hand, and with a toss of her hair, she stomps away.
Lily sighs, crossing the room to her father, who instantly opens his arms for a hug. She crawls onto his legs, shaking her head softly.
He places a kiss on top of her head. "Don't worry about your sister, Pumpkin," he tells her, smiling softly. "She'll come around."
"Soon, I hope," her mother says, stirring the meat in the pot on top of the stove slowly. "Honestly, the sooner she grows up, the better."
Petuina glares at her, eyes wild, from her spot on the stairs.
ooo
"Severus?" she calls, trying to block the summer sun out of her eyes unsuccessfully. Her dress flaps around her knees annoyingly, the pattern bright in her eyes. "Are you here?"
Obviously not, she thinks.
This is the third time she has turned up to the park, to find that no one is here, that he isn't waiting for her by the swing like he normally does. It's annoying honestly, thinking that he will be here but turning up to an empty park, the swings creaking with the wind.
She wonders where he is sometimes, waits around for a while, but normally she just turns right back around and walks home, ignoring her mother's concerned look and stomping up to her shared bedroom.
On this very occasion, Petunia glares at her, looking up from painting her nails and snarls, rather like a dog, "He didn't show up again?"
Lily scowls at her, flopping onto her newly-made bed tiredly. "It's none of your business, alright, if he did or did not."
Petunia scoffs softly, returning to painting her nails pink. "Okay," she says, blowing softly on them. "It's not like I even care about that gutter trash."
Lily sighs, closing her eyes and turning away to face the wall.
When she wakes up, Petunia is gone and tears wet her comforter.
The smell of nail-polish stays in her heart until the night.
ooo
On the day he returns to the park, he is limping slightly, and his face is bruised. She can hardly recognize him, his hair has been cut short messily, patches still long around the back. It looks like one of the bad home haircut her own mother used to give before she realized that they weren't that good, and took her too a proper hairdresser. One of his eyes is nearly closed up, and there is a deep scratch on his arm.
"What happened?" she asks, looking at him. He waves a hand, shrugging the comment away.
"I'll cope. I always do."
Lily scowls. "You shouldn't have to cope, not with this!" she exclaims, shaking her head. "Honestly, you can tell me. What happened to you, Sev?"
"My father lost money in a bet, went to the pub and got drunk, came home, and I argued with him," Severus explains, shrugging. "I suffered the consequences of my actions. End of story."
"He beat you?" she questions wildly, shaking her head. "Seriously?"
"It's nothing, really. The bruises will fade and my eye will get better. It happens."
"It shouldn't happen!" she shouts, standing up. "Fathers shouldn't beat their sons for something they didn't even cause!"
Severus shakes his head, rubbing his good eye. "Maybe in your world, Lil, but trust me, anything goes in Spinner's End. Anything."
"That's stupid," she mutters, sitting back down.
He sighs softly, smiling. "It's life. Get used to it, that what I say."
Spinner's End is a whole world and time away.
ooo
He is true to his word. Sure, soon enough, his bruises start fading and his eye goes back to normal. He is able to push her down the slide and run faster to the swings, but it takes time. Severus tries to deny it, but she can see from his slight limp and the fact that he has to pause to take a deep breath, that this beating will take longer to heal than the other.
But she doesn't mind.
It gives her a chance to practice playing nurse, after all. She's always wanted to be a nurse with the white dress and hat, and the way they glide around like angels, always smiling, always cheerful.
She wants to help people, craves it almost.
She nicks bandages and cream from the cabinet in the bathroom, and stuffs them underneath her wooly jumper. Severus goes home that day covered in white bandages, one around his arm, one on his leg, one covering half of his face. Splotches of half-dried cream are stuck to his skin.
Lily finds the bandages sitting on the only bench that hasn't been destroyed by vandals in the park the next day.
Smiling, she runs home to return them.
Somehow, someway, she's helped him.
The matter of how much is the only thing she is uncertain of. And for Lily Adrienne Evans, that is very unusual.
She's never uncertain.
Never.
ooo
But then one day everything changes.
She's nearly eleven, and one day she returns from the park to find a letter sitting on the bench. She eyes it curiously, wiping her dirty, muddy hands on the front of her dress before handling the letter. Lily couldn't stand to sully the crisp, fresh whiteness of the envelope.
It has a red seal on the back, and she feels sad to even break it.
But she does, and she pulls the letter out.
Reads it, and promptly screams excitedly.
Hogwarts, really?
ooo
"I'm so glad you're coming with me," she murmurs, still grinning. "It really wouldn't be the same without you. I wouldn't know what to possibly do, for instance!"
He scoffs. "I think you'd be fine," Severus remarks. "I'm just going to be a burden to you. No one will want to befriend the one and only Lily Evans who could possibly associate with the lowly Severus Snape." He mock bows from his seated position, smirking sarcastically.
She slaps him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't be so mean to yourself!" she cries out, shaking her head softly. "You're fine, and you know that."
Severus scoffs softly, playing with the grass underneath his legs. "Your sister doesn't think so, in fact I rather think that she hates me."
"Tuney's silly, all she cares about is makeup, and boys. Don't worry about her, she wouldn't know a good person if you hit her in the face." She laughs quietly. "Look at the boy she's dating now! He's like a brick, honestly, very stupid."
"He could be your brother-in-law one day," he remarks calmly.
She pretend shudders. "God, I hope not!" she says, giggling. "I don't want to be related to that!"
Severus arches an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"
"Oh, yes!" she replies, standing up. Brushing the dirt off of her knees, she shots him a coy look. "First one to the swings is the winner!" Lily darts away, legs pumping, already halfway there before he has a chance to stand up. She pokes her tongue out at him from her spot on the first swing, laughing.
"That wasn't fair," he remarks, walking over casually, hands in his pockets. "I didn't even have time to stand up, it wasn't a fair race."
"Only losers say that sort of things," she says, swinging happily, legs pumping back and forth. "And really, Sev?"
"Mmm?" He looks up from staring at the ground, his feet shuffling in the pieces of ripped up tree bark.
She grins cheekily at him, teeth flashing. "You'd better get used to it!" Her red hair flies back from her face, and she closes her eyes against the wind.
Severus shakes his head, resting it on the cool metal pole covered in scratches.
He never ever wants to experience the feeling of not being used to her, you know?
For the Review's Lounge Too Humble Beginnings Challenge. Check the forum out, I must say! ;) Review, yes?