Hi guys! So, I got involved in this Quidditch competition and it's awesome! This is my first entry for it. Hope you guys enjoy it. Review, please!
Caerphilly Catapults vs. Puddlemere United
Thanks, Rosie
The base of the tree near their lake was covered in soft moss, glistening with dew, as it was still early morning.
"Hi."
"Hey, Sev," A petite auburn haired girl turned and flashed her pearly whites at the young male, who sported shoulder-length black hair.
"How has your sister been since she found out?"
The girl stared at him, bit her lip, and finally concentrated on the ground before glancing up at her companion one last time. She walked to the edge of the lake, removed her shoes and socks, and dunked her feet in the water, shivering a little. She motioned for Severus to sit next to her. Finally, she replied, "She's fine, I guess. I don't think it's really sunk in for either of us yet. But when she remembers what she saw… she gets quiet and avoids me. When she's really angry, she calls me a freak…" Here, she trailed off, chin quivering a bit, as if she was trying to hold off tears. "I—I'm not a… a freak, am I Sev?"
"No, of course not. You could never be a freak, Lily." She stared at him, as if trying to figure out if he was telling her the truth, or just trying to appease her. In a rush, Lily had her arms around his torso, nearly knocking him backwards. He thought she would have released him soon after, but she held tight, shoulders shaking slightly. He picked a piece of grass and concentrated. Slowly, he watched it transform into a small, white flower in his palm behind her back. He pulled away from her embrace, and tucked the flower into her hair.
She smiled weakly and wiped the remaining tears from her face. "How'd you do that?"
Severus shrugged, "Mum showed me."
"Sev… how come you only talk about your mum?" Now it was his turn to be silent. "You don't have to say… Sorry. That was a dumb thing of me to ask… We don't have to talk about it. Will you teach me how to do that flower thing?"
"It's alright. Should I start from the beginning?" Lily nodded and rolled onto her back, cradling her head in the crook of her elbow so she could look at him while he was talking. Soon, he followed, lying down and hooking his arms behind his head. She laughed at some parts, and offered her apologies when he reached the sad, difficult parts.
"Okay, enough of this sad stuff. Let's go back to my house and you can meet my mom. My dad's at work right now. Maybe you can stay for lunch!" She giggled, grabbing his hand. She pulled him along. "Come on!" They laughed the whole way home, sad memories forgotten.
Lily stopped on the stoop of her house and faced Severus.
"Sev, will you help me do something?"
"What would you like help with?"
"I want…" She paused, struggling with her decision. Looking up with determination written across her face, she finished, "I want to show my mum that I'm a witch."
"Okay. We can do that. I'll help explain things, you just do the magic."
"Mummy! I'm home!" The redhead shouted, tugging her companion through the door behind her.
"Perfect. Just in time to—oh, hello. Who's this, Lily?" Her mother stopped in the hallway, greeting them.
"Severus, ma'am." Dropping Lily's hand, he extended it towards the woman in front of him. She wiped her hands, wet from cleaning dishes, on her apron and grasped his hand.
"Violet Evans. Petunia, come help me with lunch!" A brunette girl stumbled down the stairs, stopping short when she saw her sister and the weirdo who always seemed to hang about her.
"Oh, it's you." She sneered, rolling her eyes and turning to go back up the stairs.
"Don't be rude, Petunia." Mrs. Evans reprimanded her eldest child.
"It's fine, Mrs. Evans." The visitor interjected, shooting Petunia a pitying look.
The matron of the house seemed to debate internally before sighing in resign, "Oh, alright. You can go back upstairs. I'll call you when lunch is ready." Then, turning to the pair still standing in the doorway, "How would you two like to help me get lunch ready?" After receiving a nod from each of them, she led them down the hall to the kitchen. "Alright, wash your hands." The children did as they were told. Lily went to sit backwards on a barstool by the counter where her mother was cutting celery to put in the tuna sandwiches.
"Mummy?"
"Yes, sweet?" A hand was pushed in front of her face. "Oh, that's nice. Did you pick that at the park?" Before her eyes, the flower became a bud and then re-blossomed. She gasped. "Lily? How—what?"
"I'm a witch mum." Lily replied. Severus was observing in the background, deciding when was best to step in. Usually, Muggle parents of witches and wizards didn't know until their son or daughters Hogwarts letter was delivered. Lily never took her eyes off the flower, which kept budding and blossoming over and over again. Once the girl glanced at her mother, it stopped. Shock was plastered all over Mrs. Evans face. Gently, Severus guided her over to a chair.
"How… could this even happen? I—I thought witches were only fictional."
Lily, at a loss for explanation, allowed Severus to take over the conversation.
"You see, somewhere in your heritage, there must have been some sort of magical folk. Maybe a Squib was born, and married a Muggle, and the magic factor in your family was forgotten, only to reappear unexpectedly somewhere along the line. Lily here inherited that magical ability. A Squib is someone whose parents are magical, but he or she possesses no magic talent whatsoever. A Muggle is someone like you. Just an ordinary human being."
"How do you know all this?"
"My mum's a witch. I'm a wizard, and discovered so at an early age. She didn't want me freaking out, so she taught me everything there is to know about the wizarding world." Spotting a notepad and pen on the opposite side of the table, he mentally picked up the pen and wrote something on the pad. The pad then zoomed across the table, stopping in front of Mrs. Evans. 'I am a wizard.' it read simply.
"Ooh, teach me!" Lily shouted.
Severus laughed, "Well, it might take a while to learn, if you can even learn it before we go to school. That took me a year to perfect. My mum's been teaching me wand-less spells, considering I don't get my wand for another two years. She's not really supposed to, but it's a good way for us to both forget."
"That's amazing!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "Lily, show me the flower again." A few minutes later, the matriarch was squealing with excitement. "Can you make it change colors?"
"I can try. Right, Sev?"
"Just like when I taught you to transform the grass to a flower. Just tell it what you want it to do. Don't think about anything else, just focus on the color you want it to be."
The young girl giggled with delight when she finally changed it from purple to blue to green to pink to white and back to purple.
"You can transform grass into flowers?" Her daughter nodded.
"Since this was originally a piece of grass, I'll just reverse the spell." Her mother laughed when the spell was complete.
"Oh, I can't wait 'till your father hears about this! He'll be—"
"—Humiliated that his youngest daughter is a freak? Repulsed? Disgusted?" The eldest Evans daughter cut in.
"Petunia!"
"It's true mother! This is—it's unnatural! No one should be able to do this! It's—I don't… UGH! I come down for lunch because I'm hungry, only to find it's not even half made and that you're rejoicing in their FREAKISHNESS! I always knew she was the favorite! You always thought she was so special! I HATE YOU, LILY! You're a freak, and no one will ever like you!" And with that, she stomped back upstairs to sulk.
Severus glanced across the table at his friend and saw a tear slip from her eye.
"Lily, it's okay. She's just jealous that she doesn't have her powers yet. She'll get them eventually, and this'll all blow over." Her mother patted her hand in consolation. Without a word, the young girl slipped out the back door, leaving a dead piece of grass on the table in wake of her sadness.
Mrs. Evans sighed. "I guess I should go after her." She started from her chair, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"No. I've got it. Go console Petunia, she needs it more."
"Thank you, Severus. She needs a friend." He nodded once, gave her a small, tightlipped grimace then headed out after Lily.
"Lily, come down! Please?" The black haired kid stood at the base of their tree, looking up into its branches.
"No! I refuse to speak to anyone!"
"Alright, then." He said more to himself than to her, and began climbing up the trunk, reaching her in a matter of minutes. "Lily."
"What do you want?" The redhead crossed her arms in anger, making the leaves of the branches around her turn a brown color, quake and drop, as if it were autumn already. "You probably don't want to talk to me either! Everybody thinks I'm a freak!"
"Do you honestly think I would have climbed up here if I didn't want to talk to you? Lily, you're my only friend. Petunia's just jealous because she wishes she were you. How old is she?" At this remark, she shot a scathing glare at him.
"Why the sudden interest in her? You like her more than me, don't you?!" She shrieked.
"No! I want to know how old she is because if she's older than eleven, she's not getting any powers!"
Her facial expression softened a little, her arms became looser. "She's twelve."
"Well, then you'll be the only person in your family with powers. You'll be special."
"You think so? What if I get mad at school and make something happen? Kids won't like me anymore."
"Lily, you don't have to go to Muggle school. And, anyway, if this afternoon was any indication, you already have control over your powers. I don't know how someone couldn't be your friend. I mean, who would even want to be friends with me? You only want to be because I can teach you stuff, we wouldn't actually be friends if you were Muggle as well."
"That's not true, Sev, and you know it!"
"Yes, it is, Lil. Why would you want to be friends with me otherwise?"
"Because you're great. You can make anyone feel better, and you know a lot of stuff. When I'm with you, it helps me forget things."
"And that's why kids would still like you even if you accidentally slipped, and they thought you were a little strange. You're too nice for someone to not like you."
"You really think so, Sev?"
"I know it." He offered her a smile. She returned the favor, and he folded an arm around her in a side hug. Noticing the sun hanging lower in the sky, he stated with a sigh, "Well, I gotta get going. My mum's due home in a few hours and I need to get the house cleaned and start dinner. See you tomorrow." He began climbing down the tree, nearly falling once or twice.
"'Bye, Sev! Same place tomorrow?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah. Always. Thanks for lunch!" And with that he turned away from the tree and began running, stumbling over his own clumsy feet. She waved wildly after him before shimmying down and going back to her own house to face whatever insults her once best friend had to throw at her.