Author Notes: Oneshot- The Death that enabled me to see Thestrals
Lily Evans stuck her head out of the living room window, allowing fat water droplets to fall on her face; it was dark and raining heavily outside. Lily could see the town's dirty river overflowing into the nearby lanes, those roads were going to be unwalkable for days. Her parents were happily cooking a celebration dinner in the kitchen; Lily had no idea where Petunia was, she hadn't seen her older sister the whole evening since she arrived from Hogwarts and her parents weren't very informative about their older daughter's whereabouts.
Lily was lonely, she had just sent a long letter to James, one she had spent hours writing, simply because she had nothing better to do, through Snubby, the Barn Owl that she had bought for herself during her Seventh Year. She regretted sending the Owl now, it was raining mercilessly, the atmosphere was foggy and Snubby was sure to get drenched, might even bang himself on some random pole.
She was pulled out of her thought by a crashing sound that came from the kitchen.
"Mom, Dad are you guys alright?" asked Lily, peeking into the kitchen to see a pile of broken plates on the floor.
"Oh, we are alright. I can't say the same for the new dinner plates, which we bought just two days back." grumbled her father, before giving her a conspiring smile, "At least it wasn't my fault this time."
Her mother was looking apologetically at the both of them, "Dear me, I absolutely loved this set!"
"So did I, you should be more careful-"
"Oh hush you, you must have broken a hundred plates yourself, Martin."
"Does that mean I have no right to give advice, Mary?" asked her father in good-humour
"Well, I could fix it" said Lily, smiling at the delighted expressions on their faces. She took out her wand from her coat pocket.
"Is it alright, I mean, is it allowed now? You told us that your Head of the House informed you that-" began Mrs Evans, looking worried.
"I am 17 already, I can do magic whenever I want!" grinned Lily
Mr Evans looked at his wife laughing joyously, "Let's celebrate that as well then, along with the completion of your magical education!"
"That's what you two have been doing? For me? Thank you, that is so sweet!"
Her parents traded secretive glances with each other, "You'll see, dear." said her mother
Lily shrugged, "Reparo!" she said pointing her willow wand at the broken plates. All the broken pieces of various sizes skillfully arranged themselves back into plates, looking pristine and without a single crack.
Her mother beemed with pride while her father patted her on the back, "Wonderful, so wonderful as always. How brilliant magic is,Lily."
It made Lily slightly uncomfortable, her parents had never gotten used to magic, always delighted when they saw the simplest magical tricks that wouldn't attract a single glance in the Wizarding World. They were immensely proud of her, she really was lucky to have such lovable people as parents.
"And the plates, all good as new" her mother said, happily starting to pick them up.
"They were new, Mary"
"Let me, Mom" said Lily, non-verbally levitating them and placing them on the table, "Can I help you both with this celebration dinner?"
"No" said her parents together, "Its a surprise, I made your favourite, thats all I am saying. I don't want you to help us make a celebration dinner which is for you. It just won't feel right!"
"I agree with your mother, Lily" smiled her father
"Alright, could you at least tell me where Tuny is? I haven't seen her all evening, I mean I just arrived today and I would like to see her."
"You will see her at dinner time."
"What am I supposed to do till then?" asked Lily, she couldn't send any more letter until Snubby arrived back. She wasn't interested in watching Tv, it just seemed too boring after she had got hooked into Witching Hour, a popular wizarding wireless network. And the one close friend...well there was no point thinking about him.
"Well," said her father winking at her, "You could talk to that, what do you call him, that arrogant toerag?"
"Martin!" said Mrs Evans, slapping her husband's arm playfully
"But why not, she has only been complaining about him all her Hogwarts years, go on Lily send him the explosive letter, its called a Howling letter, isn't it? The red colored one?"
"Oh, but Martin, we haven't heard a single complaint about him in those letters she sent back home this year." chuckled Mrs Evans
"Yes, you are right Martha, I didn't take that factor into account."
Lily stared at her laughing parents unamused, "Great, have one on me, I don't mind" She turned to leave the room, her mother's last comment placing a small smile on her face, "You certainly shouldn't, all these years of complaining about him, and you go and fall in love with him in the end."
She was idly sitting on the sofa, flicking random Tv channels when her thoughts drifted in the direction of her old friend. How was he? Lily hadn't seen much of him in her final years at Hogwarts, and the times when she had, she wished she hadn't, because Severus was always, always deeply entrenched in the group consisting of Mulciber, Avery and other pure-blood bigots. His fascination with the Dark Arts and the seemingly harmless tricks played by his group on the other students with him turning a blind eye to it all, made it even more harder for Lily to seek his friendhip again.
And it was only fair to put some blame on James Potter, most of her attention had been directed towards him in her final years, she couldn't help noticing that James was trying, and succeeding in being less pig-headed and arrogant than before. In the end he turned out to be quite likeable.
Lily sighed, Severus was an old friend wasn't he, they hadn't even met in King Cross Station- wait, couldn't Lily just go now?
"Mom, I'm going out, will be back for dinner, is that alright?"
"In this weather? Lily! Where are you going?" asked her father
Lily looked at the thundering skies, biting her lip. It didn't matter, Severus was her childhood friend, the weather was not going to get in her way!
"I'll be fine, dad. Witch remember?" said Lily, not telling them her choice of destination. They would probably try to dissuade her, as Spinner's End would be a nightmare to walk through in this weather.
"Still, take my coat, its better suited for this weather then yours...and take an umbrella just in case."
"Maybe some goggles too?" suggested her mother
"Mom, come on!"
...x...
The street was horrible, waterlogged and full of rubbish, Lily found herself wishing she had borrowed her father's sturdy boots as well. Her transfiguration of her slippers into black boots was successful, but it didn't give the footwear the right quality of a boot. On a normal day, Spinner's End would resemble a trash town, one could only imagine it's condition on a day like this.
Lily soon reached the end of Spinner's End, stopping near the door of the last house. She knocked at the door, waiting anxiously. Truth be told, she had never visited his home, Severus had never liked it in the first place and preferred the outdoors instead, never introducing Lily to his family. She knew the reason of course, Tobias Snape was mostly drunk, it would be sheer insanity to introduce a friend to that man.
The door remained firmly closed, Lily started to knock again when she heard a gruff voice behind her, "What are yer 'ere for?"
Tobias Snape looked drunk, sounded drunk and walked in a drunken manner as well. He looked a bit different though, his hooked nose was broken, twisted to the side making Lily wonder if he had got into some kind of brawl. His eyes and cheeks were sunken and bruised; his hair was matted and his clothes worn and torn.
"I was err...hoping to see Severus" answered Lily politely, watching the man stumble his way towards her. Where was Mrs Snape and Severus?
"Sevelus? Whose that?" slurred the man, taking out a key from his shabby pant pocket.
"Your son." said Lily feeling sorry for Severus, she had never formerly met Tobias Snape so she had never known what the man was really like.
" Hah! If yer say so, come in then ehh? Was that 'ick?"
"Nothing." answered Lily, pushing her wand back into the coat pocket. She waited patiently as Tobias Snape tried to unsuccessfully get the key into the keyhole.
"May I?" she offered
"Fink I can't do it, do yey? "Proddy lad, I can, see, hah!" the drunk man managed to finally get the key in and opened the door.
Liliy followed him in seething, the drunk had just called her a boy! She looked around the room, there were broken bottles everywhere, a single frayed-looking armchair, a broken closet and a tiny Tv, there was no evidence that showed a child grew up in this place.
"Do you know where Severus is?" questioned Lily delicately
"Hah! Yer come 'ere, tell me I 'ave a son, 'an then ask me where he is? Yur funny laddy!" and the man collapsed into fits of laughter.
"Mr Snape...do you know where your wife is?" Lily tried
"Woman's bin dead, long time ago, Laddy. Yer 'ere for the funeral expenses, well guess wat? I ain't payin' you!"
She was getting nothing out of this man, Lily turned to leave out of the open door, when a hooded figure suddenly blocked her path. Before she could remove her wand, she felt ropes binding across her.
"What th-" she was about to say, when her voice disappeared. Furiously she glared at the hooded figure, searching for the eyes, nothing, there was only blackness. Lily found herself levitated off the ground, flying backward-
"What yer doin to the laddy? Let 'im go!" Tobias Snape's voice rang clear in the room.
The closet! She was getting shut inside the closet, what was the hooded wizard thinking? She struggled valiantly against her bonds, soundlessly hurling various obscenities before finding herself locked in.
The hooded wizard then turned his back on her, moving out of the way to admit three more hooded ones. They leisurely pushed their hoods back, lips curled upward at the sight of the drunk man in front of them. Peeking through the tiny keyhole of the closet and through some of its cracks when required, Lily managed to glimpse the tell-tale features of Avery and Mulciber with some difficulty. She didn't recognise the third, only being able to see the person's dark hair, and the manner of walking which was neat if not graceful. She could hear their voices very clearly though.
"What's the filth on about? What laddy and what was that sound?" that had to be Mulciber, there was something about his voice, so full of cruelty, that made it unique and immediately recognisable.
"Tried to struggle." answered a very familiar voice
Lily had a sinking feeling she knew who the first hooded wizard was.
"Muggle filth," spat a deep voice; Lily guessed it belonged to the unknown dark-haired wizard.
"In their rightful place, this dunghill!" said another
"Enough! The smell is getting to me, finish off this fool and let's go!"
"Ah, come on Snape, don't tempt me, you know I'd do it gladly, but the Dark Lord wants you to do it-" Mulciber's voice sounded regretful.
"I ain't temptin' 'ey laddy" Tobias Snape giggled loudly
"Well this won't be any fun, he is already insane-"
"Traveled all the way for just one filthy insane muggle, and without a reason!"
"Severus, finish him off and be done with it." said the deep voice reasonably
"What's this I hear from you Regulus?" asked Avery in an outraged voice
What's killing without taking pleasure in it? Eh?" Mulciber put in
Lily tried to meet her old friend's eyes, "No, Severus, you can't kill him!" she thought desperately as the hooded wizard aimed his wand at Tobias Snape, who was completely oblivious to the threat. The man didn't even recognise his own son, too drunk to think properly.
Lily could do nothing, she was tied up and though with some effort she might be able to reach her wand, she couldn't single-handedly take on the lot of them. And would Severus help her, he who was already getting ready to kill his father? And could they take on the three of them? She was a Gryffindor but not an idiot to fight them all alone. She just had to wait, wait for them to leave.
His hood was still on, making it impossible for Lily to see his coal-black eyes. Seeing through the keyhole again, Lily waited to see him turn in her direction. "Don't do it, don't do Sev, don't do it." she chanted in her mind.
The hood slightly turned, and for a moment Lily foolishly thought Tobias Snape might just live, "Avade Kedavra!"
The killing curse was uttered in a cold, emotionless voice, one Lily had never heard before coming from Severus; the curse shot out of the wand hitting Tobias Snape in the chest, who had childishly lifted his hand to catch the green light. The man fell, his head hitting the floor; he lay still with an intrigued smile on his face.
"Severus how could you!" mouthed Lily soundlessly.
"Perfect, let us leave now."
"Aww, that was so...boring, Snape!"
"You do it next time then." growled the hooded wizard
He was the last to leave, not even giving Lily a backward glance. The door slammed shut.
...x...x
"You're completely drenched! What happened? Did your wand stop working, sweetheart?"
Her mother hurried to get a towel, while her father holding a steaming mug in his hand, watched her with his eyes narrowed.
"You're upset." he pronounced, "She is upset" he informed his wife, who came carrying a fluffy white towel.
"That is not the right word," muttered Lily, taking the towel from her mother, not even thinking of using magic to dry herself.
"What happened Lily? Where did you go?" asked her mother
Lily shook her head, "I really don't want to talk about it right now." she said giving them an apologetic look and walking towards the living room sofa.
"Dear, the boots." her mother reminded
Lily grumbled, then took them off, and used her wand to send them flying towards the shoe shelf near the door.
"Are those my boots, they look horrible soggy"
"No, those are my slippers, I...changed them, that all."
Looking at their gloomy daughter, Mr and Mrs Evans exchanged unhappy glances, "Well Petunia will be here any minute, dinner will be served at eight" her mother sighed, leaving the room.
A Deatheater, well Severus hadn't denied it when she had questioned him about his involvement. But it was like seeing a whole new side of him, a ruthless side. How could Lily ever see him or talk to him again? How could he join a group that hunted down people like her? He hadn't given her away in his home when the others had arrived, but he had killed. There was no way Lily was ever going back there, the realization then set in, she had seen a man die, seen him get killed and had done nothing! She couldn't find any redeeming feature in her once old friend, he had come all the way just to kill his father.
Severus now belonged to the other side, the side that was against people like her, the side full of bigots.
...x...x...x...x...
Speaking of bigots...
"Indeed, a junior executive in Grahams & Lars, in London. Its a very good start, its fairly a big company, lot of work to do-" said Petunia's fiance reminding Lily of Gilderoy Lockart, a boy four years younger to her, and who loved talking about himself as well. Lily had only met him once in Seventh Year, and Lockart had wasted 20 minutes of her time informing her of useless details about him, when all she had wanted to know was his excuse for loitering in the corridors after curfew.
"Vernon might get a promotion soon." added Petunia smiling at Vernon. They were all seated in the living room, while her mother arranged the dining table, once again refusing Lily's offer of help...as well as her husband's; both with the same motive of not having to put up with Vernon Dursley's company anymore then necessary.
"I have to, Mr Mcguire, thats the company chairman, was very impressed with my work."
"I am just going to see if mom needs any help, alright?" Lily said, getting up.
"Didn't she already refuse?" questioned Petunia narrowing her eyes at her younger sister.
"You know your mom, Petunia, tries to manage things all by herself." said her father also getting up, "I'll be right back."
"So will I, there is like a lot of food, Mom will need help."
Dursley was a glutton, if his eyes were any indication. Lily entered the kitchen to find her mother wielding a small spatula threateningly at her father.
"Mom, put that down, your going to hit the cake!"
"Lily, your not supposed to be here."
"We were planning to give Lily a surprise and Petunia gives one for us instead." grumbled Mr Evans
"You have to go!" hissed Mrs Evans, pushing her husband out of the kitchen
"But he doesn't even like football!" whined Mr Evans
Lily who had been about to laugh at her father's antics noticed an owl fly by the kitchen window.
James!
"That owl is a beauty!" exclaimed her father
"Tell it not snatch anything Lily!" said her mother looking panicked at seeing the owl eye her chocolate pudding tray hungrily.
"Lily took a wafer from a bowl placed on the small kitchen table, dipped it in white sauce and offered it to James' owl. It happily snatched the wafer, balanced it on top of the window silll and made a mess out of it with its eating skills; the owl allowed Lily to take the letter attached to it's leg.
She had just opened it, when the letter shook off her grip and flew away, stopping below an inch of the ceiling. Both her parents looked astonished at the letter's behaviour.
"Is it a Howling Letter?" her father asked curiously
"Evans!"
"No, dad it isn't." replied Lily realizing it was a charmed letter
" I can't write down what I feel-"
"Oh, what a charmer!" laughed her mother, while her father discreetly closed the kitchen door.
"-on a piece of parchment, so I'm going to say it!"
"Lily jumped trying to catch the letter, but it evaded her. This was private!
"Let me start with saying, I heard a muggle saying-"
"Hey Evans!"
That was definitely Sirius Black!
"Who is that?" asked her mother
"Sirius! Get out of-this is private mate and what do you mean by "Hey Evans"? Its a letter, you're not going to be in it!"
Lily didn't know what to make of the letter, it certainly wasn't anything like the normal ones, which wouldn't allow random people to just butt in with their thoughts.
"I came across this saying, it's like-"
"You came across, Prongs, really, Mrs Lupin was just talking about fairytales then, was she?"
"Shut up Sirius!"
"Give credit where credit is due, right Moony?"
"Err-"
"Can you give me a moment alone, this is private!"
"Its going to be a very long moment if he is composing a letter for Lilyflower."
"Don't call her that!"
"He is a very amusing boy, Lily. You should bring him home." said her father smiling
"Roses are rue" the letter sang; accompanied with a twirl making her parents laugh in delight. James' owl hooted, flapping its wings about.
"Er-Prongs-"
"What are you still doing here? Padfoot please, I'm saying please!"
"Leave him to it then"
There was a sound of a door slamming
"Alright cut that part out, hmm,
Evans so this is the saying I came across, I hope you like it
Roses are rue
Violets are few
Lilies are lovely
and you're the loveliest in hue!
I changed the last two lines-"
"He spent hours agonizing over those lines!"
"Merlin help you James, if you're going to plagiarize, do it right"
"Prongsie boy got it wrong"
"What did I get wrong?" that was James' demanding voice
"I changed my mind, Lily" her father said, "Bring them all to dinner one day"
There was a hard knock on the door.
Lily made another swipe at the letter but it had brilliant dodging skills.
Petunia entered the room, looking thoroughly put out, "What's going on, father, Vernon and I have been-what is that?"
"Never you mind Petunia, here take this tray to the dining table." her mother handed over the chocolate pudding to Petunia.
"That's an owl, and the letter is flying! Mother, Vernon can't see this!"
"Vernon already knows doesn't he?"
"Thats not the point!"
Petunia had all of them try and get the letter down, while it continued shouting its message, which wasn't very understandable with all of them running and jumping around. In the end, all it took was for James' owl to fly up and grab the letter, which felt instantly silent.
"Oh, well I suppose you should go to your bedroom and read...er listen to it." said Mr Evans, he didnt sound very happy though
"Its eight already, Vernon has his dinner at exactly eight! She-"
"Forget about surprising her with the food, Mary, let Lily help you or the food will never reach the dining table on time." said Mr Evans, before pausing, "Let me help you as well."
"No Martin, you and Petunia can leave, one extra hand will be quite enough."
Lily looked at them leaving, she put the now struggling letter inside her pant pocket, then turned to her mother "Well I have two, feel free to use them." she said raising both her hands.
...x...x
They were watching Tv, sports channel and trying to make small talk, Lily could hear their voices very well from the kitchen.
"You can change it if you like, Vernon." said Mr Evans, quite graciously in Lily's opinion. Mr Evans was mad about sports, an interest that hadn't passed on to any of his daughters.
"I like watching the sports channel, I like all British sports." said Vernon, waving away her father's offer
"Vernon knows everything about sports, isn't that so Vernon?"
"That's true, I go by the policy, you can know a man by knowing what sports he watches."
"Right," Mr Evans said, "Alright, Vernon, do you watch cricket?"
Vernon looked at her father like he had asked whether he would like to see some magic tricks. It was no secret that Petunia's fiance thought magic was abnormal, they didn't discuss about it when he came over.
"What is that, father?" questioned Petunia, just as confused
Lily blinked, she had no idea either, but an unclear image popped into her head that showed her a bat and a ball with an upraised leg.
"It is a bat and ball game?" she asked, sticking her out of the door.
"Yes, it is, Lily you remember, you must have seen me watching it at night, someday."
"I have never heard of it" said Vernon perturbed
"It must be some other country sport." assured Petunia
Vernon shrugged his shoulders like it explained everything.
"Actually, it originated in England, it is our country sport." her father said evenly
An awkward silence hung in the air, broken quickly by Mrs Evans, "Dinner's ready!"
...x...
Watching her sister's fiance gobble fat sausages and turkey slices with bits hanging onto his bushy moustache made it difficult for Lily to even chew on her food. Her mother seemed not to mind though, apparently very happy with the food getting over so fast.
They all quietly ate, unable to pick a topic that was acceptable for everyone. Lily's mind wandered from Severus to James, Severus and then back to James. She reached for another turkey slice from the dish, just as Vernon Dursley did the same. Both hands lingered undecidedly above the last slice left, Lily looked into those determined small blue eyes and gave in.
"You-" Vernon began
"It's alright." cut in Lily, giving him a "take it" gesture
The beefy man needed no more encouragement.
"There are some more slices left, in the kitchen, I'll bring it-" said her mother, having watched the exchange
"I'll get it-sit down mom."
...x...x
Back in the kitchen, Lily took out James' letter which characteristically flew out of her hands, and started talking.
"Right I changed, ouch... alright! With a fair bit of help from Moony...and Padfoot this muggle saying-"
"Roses are thorny
Violets are horny
Lilies are 'lornly
By Merlin! I sound corny!"
"Padfoot I'm supposed to say that!"
"He changed it, Prongs"
...x...x
Change in POV:
Martin watched Petunia's fiance talk, and talk, and talk...about himself. He sighed inwardly, his daughter could do so much better. He looked at his wife, who winked back at him. She felt the same way.
"Are there any more slices?" asked Petunia, looking at Mary
"Why don't you find out if your sister has left you any?" chuckled Mary
He watched his first daughter head towards the kitchen door and open it...and let out a shriek as a familiar letter zoomed out of the door, followed by his dear second daughter. Vernon Dursley looked shocked as Lily ran around the room after the letter trying to catch it.
"What is that?" he asked panicking
"Sit down, Vernon, just a letter." Mary said trying to pull the young man down.
"Damn it...James...Merlin...get here right now...ouch!"
"Careful Lily." Martin cautioned as Lily rubbed her sore toe.
"It's always the toe." sighed Mary dramatically
"Evans!"
Oh, there we go again. Vernon Dursley was becoming purple, alarming Martin. He hoped the man wasn't going to have a heart-attack, Petunia would be devastated.
"Father!"
"Petunia-" he tried to calm her but the letter proved more louder than all of them.
"So what do you say, Evans. Out with me, full moon night? We can watch the werewolves and dance out of their sight!"
"Damn it!" said his younger daughter eloquently
"That was corny, Padfoot"
"You're right, its not your type, only Moony should say that."
"Does it have a tape recorder inside?" asked Vernon, trying to put a rational explanation to it.
"Maybe, but that doesn't explain the flying." Martin pointed out
"We might even help you become an animagus, then you can turn into female-stag!"
"Doe"
"Female-stag, Moony!"
"That is called a doe, Padfoot."
"I can't even send a letter without you two butting in!"
"Well, Evans I hope to hear from you soon, rain or whine! By the way, your owl, Snubby might have to stay here for a while, he took -"
"quite a bang!"
"Padfoot! He dashed into our wrecking tree, which as you can guess wasn't very pleased and tried to eat Snubby up. Don't worry! He is fine now, all we had to do was throw a few bat spleens and armadillo bile at it, let the owl go instantly. How's your family, give them my early Halloween wishes-"
"Maybe we could drop by with a vampire or two eh, Evans?"
Petunia broke into furious shrieks right there, Vernon was completely red and purple, dear Mary's eyes were shining brightly with hidden laughter. And his younger daughter was still running around the room, trying and failing to catch the wily letter.
...x...x
Different POV
A hooded figure watched silently as the Evans family erupted with shrieks and laughter, eyes intently watching a red-haired girl running around hopelessly trying to catch a letter.
How he had wished he could turn on all three of them, do as Lily had hoped he would, but he simply wasn't that powerful to take them all. He had entered a life he couldn't get out of, for power. He was already having doubts about that power, could it give him what he wanted, when it drove away the one person he really cared about?
For a moment he had forgotten about what he was supposed to do; when he had seen those green eyes peeking at him through the keyhole...he had just wanted to hug her. But he was not stupid, one wrong move and there would have been three dead bodies instead of one.
He did nothing but watch silently, hidden behind a leafy tree until the fat piggy muggle left. Watched them all say their goodbyes, shuddered a bit when Petunia kissed the fat muggle and inwardly raged as Potter's owl flew out of the window. He wouldn't kill it, Lily seemed to have taken a liking to it so there was no way he would take revenge on it.
The green eyes looked in his direction, for a moment his heart stopped, but then Lily shook her head, going back inside the house.
At this point in his life, Severus Snape didn't know what he had even gained out of joining the Deatheaters.