"Lily, come inside!!" Lily popped her head up from the bush she was crouching behind when her mother called her name.
"I SEE YOU!!!" screeched her sister, Petunia.
"Petunia, game's off, mom needs me."
"Wanna bet?" Petunia's eyes flashed in excitement as Lily stood up straight. Petunia was directly between Lily and the house. She would have to be very fast to make it past Petunia. Very fast indeed. She was about to take off running, when Severus appeared at her side.
He leaned toward her and whispered, "She can't catch both of us, Lils."
Lily smiled menacingly at Petunia and then muttered, "Okay" to Severus. He took off running, to the left of where Petunia was standing. Lily followed close behind him, and just when Petunia began to move toward the two of them, she changed directions. Before she knew it, she had tumbled into the house, and lay on the kitchen floor laughing. A few moments later, Severus and Petunia had joined her. Petunia and Lily were merely a heap of giggles, while Severus watched his best friends in amusement and curiosity. Lily had moved fast outside; perhaps even too fast. For a moment he thought she had…
Severus shook his head to clear it—he was imagining things; no one had ever disapparated before going off to school, aside from Lord Voldemort. He ran a hand through his hair, which he had left thoroughly unmanaged when he had seen Lily and Petunia playing in the backyard. Granted, he and Lily were 11, and Petunia was 12, but they enjoyed goofing off in childish ways.
Lily rolled her head to the side so she could peer at where Severus was sitting on the kitchen floor, "When did you come over, Sev? I didn't even see you come outside."
"Oh you know how he likes to sneak around and surprise us, Lily! Don't be so shocked." Petunia sniffed and then stood up and walked to the kitchen counter, "I think it's time for some cookies and milk." Petunia busied herself pouring glasses of milk, while Lily and Severus made their way to the plate of cookies on the counter.
"Severus, are you sure you have to go away to school this fall? Things will be so boring without you around." Lily frowned at him, as she had been doing often for the past few weeks. She wasn't pouting; she genuinely didn't want him leaving. The three of them had been inseparable ever since Severus had moved in next door when he was 8.
"Yeah…I'm going to a…special school, Lils. I told you that already." He shrugged, and grabbed a cookie off of the plate.
"You haven't told us anything about it, though! We don't even know where you'll be." Lily got a curious look on her face, as if excited to be gleaning new information.
Severus stiffened as Lily's mom strode into the kitchen, in a white peasant blouse and tight, colored pants. She prattled on for a moment, informing Lily that she and her father were going out, and Lily was to obey Petunia. Mrs. Evans gave Severus one sidelong glance before scurrying out of the room. She was a kind woman, but she'd never liked the girls being friends with Severus. Lily acted as if nothing had happened, and turned back to Severus.
"Well? Where are you going?"
"I'm not sure. No one really knows where it is."
Petunia rolled her eyes, and the three of them moved to sit in the living room with their cookies and milk.
"What do you mean 'no one knows'? Certainly someone knows where you're going. Mum and Dad would never let me go to school if they didn't know where it was." Lily continued to pester him.
Severus rolled his eyes and stuffed his mouth full of cookie. They'd been prying for a few weeks now, and even though he wasn't supposed to tell Muggles, it couldn't hurt to tell Lily.
"Fine, I'll tell you what I know, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even your parents."
Petunia snorted loudly, "As if this is even real. You'll show up at school on the first day, just like the rest of us, Snape." She didn't even bother sitting down in the living room, but instead moved toward the stairs, "I'm going to go read in my room. Yell when you want to eat, Lily."
Lily completed ignored Petunia, and began to play with her auburn hair, while staying perfectly focused on Severus, "Please tell me?"
"It would be easier to show you." Severus waved his hand toward Petunia's cat, Cynthia, who was reclining in the nearest chair. The cat slowly began to rise, and then drifted through the air to Lily's lap. She didn't react in the way he thought she would—she didn't recoil or flinch, she didn't glare at him or ask questions. She merely petted the cat and gave him a somewhat confused look.
"Lily, my parents and I…are magical. I'm a wizard, and my dad is a wizard too. My mom is a witch. I'm going to a school called Hogwarts." Lily's eyes widened at the word 'school', but still said nothing.
"I'm going to get a wand, and learn how to cast spells and make potions. I'll learn how to travel between two places in an instant, and I'll learn about shielding myself and how to change teacups into rats." A rare smile appeared across his face as he continued.
Lily sat and observed her friend. He was wearing his usual large stained t-shirt, and his jeans were too short for him; he was fairly small for his age, and his hair was long and uncut. Today it wasn't as oily, though. She knew Petunia would mumble something about him making up a make-believe world because he wanted to get away from his father, but she didn't think that was true. Yes, Tobias Snape was a horrid man, and he treated Severus horribly, but Sev wasn't delusional. Besides, she had seen him do things before, out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly a few of his words drew her attention.
"Lily…here's the thing. I think you might be a witch."
Her hands began to shake, and she stared at him in a panic, "Why do you think that?"
"Close your eyes, Lily." She cautiously closed her eyes, and felt him lift her hand, and point it toward something. "Think about something that makes you angry."
"Okay…"she spoke softly, uncertainly. It wasn't like her at all. Severus worried that he was scaring her.
"Really think about it, Lil. Let it make you angry."
He let go of her hand, and she focused on the time her mother had made her take a family picture when she was sick this summer. The anger began to seep through her, and she could hear herself shouting at her mother. Suddenly a sharp crack sounded through the room. Lily Evans opened her eyes to see the picture frame across the wall shattered, and the family photo she had been thinking about was lying uselessly on the floor. Lily's hand was pointed directly toward it, and her finger was slightly shaking.
"How did you know that's what I would think about?"
Severus just shrugged, his eyes wide, "I thought so. You'll be getting a letter soon, Lily."
"A letter? From whom?"
"From Professor Dippet. He's…"
Before he could continue, Petunia rushed into the room, wailing loudly, "What did you two do? Mother will have a fit!" She sighed dramatically, and then turned to Severus, "I think you should go, Sev. See you tomorrow?"
Severus nodded toward Petunia, and then rushed out the door.
"What happened, Lily?"
Lily didn't respond—she walked in a daze up to her room, and locked her door. There would be many times she would look back on that one action, and wish that she could take it back, but it was the only way she knew to respond. However, it was that moment that began the rift between Lily and Petunia. From that day on, they would cease to be best friends, and begin to be sisters. They would become sisters who fought and screamed, instead of sisters who giggled and chased each other around the house and yard.
