Hello! I know it's been quite a while, but I've had absolutely zero inspiration whatsoever. So I ended up finishing this little fic. Enjoy!
"Severus! Severus, tell us a story!" The children mobbed him as he walked out the door.
"Maybe later…" Severus, sixteen now, was reluctant to tell them a story at this moment. He was headed for the old playground. Hopefully, Lily wouldn't…
He was suddenly struck with an angry, vengeful thought. "Sure, I'll tell you a story. In fact, come on." Severus struck out for the old playground, taking a difficult and confusing path that was easy to get lost on.
He turned around and walked backward, as he knew the path very well. "You see, children, something terrible happened in this very playground." He came out into the open. Out of the corner of his eye, Severus noticed Petunia and Lily sitting on opposite sides of the swing set, both startled by his sudden appearance. No doubt their mother told them to spend time with each other. He ignored them, and stopped in front of the jungle gym.
"Once there was a little boy whose name was…Simon," Severus began. "He used to go everyday to this park. One day, he came here, by the same path that we went through-"
"How could he find his way?" Lillian asked.
"He came every day, and he was the one who made the trail in the first place. You see, he had parents like most of ours. This was his escape." Several of the younger ones didn't understand, but those who were seven or eight or thirteen all nodded.
"Anyway, he came to the park one day, and there were these two girls, two sisters," Petunia's attention was definitely caught, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "They weren't ordinary girls. Sisters. They were witches."
"Witches ain't real," one little boy said. "Thought you said you was telling us a real story." Lily looked at him, daring him to say it. Severus glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and all doubts vanished.
"Oh, but they are. They have to hide themselves from normal society. The Muggles, as they call us." Lily gave an inaudible gasp. "But they are real, broomsticks and everything."
"An' how do you know this? Unless yer a witch?" the boy asked.
"Of course not. Who in their right mind would be? Normal folks would hate you, and then unless you're from the longest, most purest line of wizards, most wizards don't like you either."
"B-but why?" Lillian had tears in her eyes. The sight aroused some protective instinct in Severus.
"Because they're idiot jackwagons, that's why," his eyes flicked to the other Lily, who gave him an accusatory glare. You still chose them, it seemed to say. "But on with the story…"
"The older one had been looking for a stupid Muggle to practice curses on, and Simon seemed to fit the bill. There is one curse, one curse that wizards aren't allowed to use because it causes such pain. It's like-" Severus thought a moment. Most of them wouldn't know what the Medieval Age was. "It's like home on a bad day," he finally concluded. "Except a thousand times worse." The older ones shuddered. Lily frowned, whether from pity or puzzlement he didn't know.
Now looking depressed, Severus continued quietly. "Once the older sister had her fun, she ran off. The younger one stayed behind." Severus walked over near a bush. "Simon was lying here, the pain still wearing off. The younger sister came over to him. To Simon, she looked like a guardian angel. She told him this," he paused, making his voice go higher. " 'I can protect you from her. I can protect you, but I need something from you.' Simon was still just a child, no older than perhaps Jacob." Jacob was nine. "He had never known anything so terrible as the older sister. He said that he would give anything. She asked for his love, forever and eternal, without wavering."
"Eww, gross! You ain't gonna make them kiss, are you?" Eddie, a six-year-old asked.
Severus smiled, "No, they never kiss."
"Good, 'cause I bet she's got witch-cooties," the others laughed.
"He promised his love, and from that day on, she protected Simon. Eventually they became close as brother and sister, and Simon even sometimes forgot that she was not his friend, but a witch whom he had a deal with. He started to make different friends, ones that the sister didn't like, and she constantly told him so. She nagged him always, until one day when he lost his temper."
"Oh no!" Lillian whimpered. Jacob snorted.
"He called her an awful name, children, something so terrible even I can't repeat it," a few kids laughed. "And he regretted it immediately, and tried to apologize. But the damage was done. The witch's eyes narrowed in anger. She felt that he had broken his promise, and put a curse on him."
"Was he turned into a frog?" Lillian asked.
"No, dummy," a boy said. "They only turn into frogs if they're gonna get kissed, and Grindel said no kissing."
"Then is he turned into a tree?" Lillian asked.
"I bet she spells him crazy," Jacob said. "Like 'Lina and Mr. Snape. In fact, I bet this whole thing is about Grindel's parents." Petunia stared at him, trying to decide if that was so.
Severus gave a mysterious smile and shook his head. "My mother doesn't even know this place exists," he said. "She's no vengeful witch. But on with the story."
He took a breath. "Jacob was the closest. The witch cast a curse so that Simon could never stop thinking about her. Not when he eats, not when he sleeps, not when he's trying to get a date. And then she disappeared, just like that," he snapped his fingers.
"It drove him mad. He constantly searched for news of her, or a sign. He even tried talking to the older sister. Even the pain she put him through could not stop his thoughts." He gave a crooked smile in Petunia's direction, and suddenly, the story clicked in her mind. She gasped.
"Mind you, he was only sixteen at the time, still too young to travel out on his own. But he asked everyone, every day. Then one day, a traveler came to town. He had a long white beard and news of the witch." He paused, and everyone leaned forward, even Lily and Petunia. " 'She is on the Island of the Griffins,' the traveler said."
"Griffins aren't real!" Jacob said.
Severus cocked his head to the side. "Did we not just discuss this? That's what they want you to think. Science is largely wizards trying to get normal people to not find out about griffins and flying and all that stuff. But we digress. 'She is on the Island of the Griffins,' the traveler said, so Simon packed up, because he simply had to get to her. You see, there was only one way to break the curse."
"Kiss!" Lillian said.
"No dummy, no kissing!"
"It wasn't a kiss," Severus said sadly, and the attention was once again on him. "She had to be killed. With this knife," he pulled a knife from his pocked and unsheathed it. It had an ivory handle, a bronze hilt, and a serrated edge. Petunia glowered at it and automatically judged how far it was from him to her sister.
"But he can't kill her!" Lillian said. "He's s'post to love her!"
Severus gave her a sad smile. "Simon packed up and asked his only other friend, Raymond, to travel with him. And so they went. To the Island of the Griffins."
He took a breath. "Once they had set foot on the island, swarms of rats attacked them. Raymond had a slingshot and Simon had brought a gun, but even those were not enough. They ran to the boat and pushed off, but the rats followed. See, the witch had enchanted all the animals on the island to do her bidding, so the rats couldn't help it. They followed until they could follow no more, and then the rats drowned."
"Oh, how cruel!" Lillian shrieked.
"You kill rats yourself, Lily. How is that different?" Jacob asked.
"I give them a chance to run away. She didn't even let them choose," Lillian said, tearing up.
"You're right," Severus said, glaring into the distance. Merlin, he hated when girls cry. "The boys went back onto land then. They walked on to the center of the island, where the witch was, but they heard growls. Great gray wolves and huge black dogs had come to eat them."
"Like in Red Riding Hood?" Lillian asked.
"Yes, except they were under the witch's control. Simon and Raymond climbed up trees, where the animals couldn't get them. Raymond grabbed a branch that broke in his hand. He angrily threw it as hard as he could-"
"And the dogs chased after it," Jacob finished.
"Very good. Have I told you this before?" Severus asked. "Before the dogs came back, Simon and Raymond jumped down and ran like crazy. Some of the dogs and wolves chased after them, but they went through a quicksand pit and the animals weren't stupid enough to follow them. Simon and Ray struggled, but only managed to dig themselves deeper. So they gave up, thinking they were going to die."
"They just gave up?!" Petunia finally burst out. "What is that? Heroes don't give up!"
"Are they heroes?" Severus asked, genuinely curious. "I always thought they were just cursed."
"Well, of course they're heroes! Every story has a hero!"
Severus smiled. "Well, I'm glad you think of it that way. So, they decided to give up. What they didn't know is, if you stop moving in quicksand, you float to the top. It's easier than floating in water."
"Really?" Lillian asked.
"Really. So they floated to the top and got to the edge and climbed out. The castle was in sight now. They hurried to it. Then all of a sudden, something fell from the sky and knocked Simon to the ground. Ray got to him and saw that his face was all bloody, then looked up and saw-?"
"Griffins." Jacob said. "They have to be somewhere on the damned island."
"Right again, griffins. The griffins were smarter than all of the rest of them, and only went for Simon. Ray couldn't use his slingshot for fear of hitting his friend, and Simon was having trouble fending them all off. Seeing that it was useless, he begged Ray to take the knife and continue the quest. Ray refused, but Simon threw the knife in his direction and was soon hidden by the griffins. Thinking that Simon was dead, Ray ran."
"He just left him?" someone asked.
"There was nothing he could do," Severus said. "Except continue on."
"That's stupid," Jacob said.
"You're stupid," Severus retorted. "But we're digressing again. Ray escaped the griffins and went on up to the castle, thinking that if he couldn't break the curse on his friend, he could at least avenge his death." Severus stopped a moment, thinking. "You know, I don't think you want to hear the rest of the story. It has a really depressing ending. You wouldn't like it."
There was instantly a great cry of protest, and Severus sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He gathered his train of thought and plunged into the story once more. "Right, well, Ray got into the castle without any trouble. All of the defenses were out on the island already, because the witch thought no one would get past them. Raymond got all the way into the throne room and found the witch sitting their, staring at a hole in the roof."
"Why was there a hole in the roof?" Lillian asked.
"I'll get to it," Severus said, holding up his hand to tell the kids to be patient. Petunia thought about it for a second before realizing the probable purpose of the skylight.
"Suddenly overcome with fury, Raymond surged forward with the knife, straight at the witch! She didn't see him coming until the last minute, there was no time to cast a spell. Just as Raymond was about to kill the witch, he heard someone cry out behind him." Severus made a disturbing, wailing "Nooooo!" that really scared Lily Evans. She was very caught up in the story and wondering where Severus came up with these ideas.
"Raymond looked back, causing his knife only to glance off the witch's arm instead of killing her. Behind him was Simon, dreadfully mauled but otherwise in perfect condition." All of the kids laughed. Severus even allowed himself a quick grin. "The griffins had brought him in by way of the hole in the roof. Even now, at the end of the quest, Simon loved the witch, and couldn't face the prospect of her dying. Knowing that it was in Simon's best interest, even if he would forever hate him afterwards, Ray turned back to the task at hand. The witch had tried to sneak away while Raymond wasn't looking, but he came at her, stabbing her quickly and turning away to his friend."
"So the witch died?" Lillian asked.
"Yes, the witch died. Raymond ran over to his friend. Simon's heart was utterly broken. Even after all the witch had put him through-"
"Which was his fault in the first place," Jacob said.
"—He still loved her," Severus continued as though Jacob hadn't spoken. "And anyway, one name, even a horrible one, is hardly due reason for seven years of utter torment, don't you think?" He kept his eyes completely averted from Lily Evans, who did the same in shame. "Simon asked if he could have the knife. Not realizing what was about to happen, Raymond gave it to him. And before Ray could do anything to stop him," Severus's eyes took on a somber expression. "Simon killed himself, desperate to be reunited with the witch."
"Except he ended up in heaven and the witch went to hell," Jacob said, boredly.
"Would you like to tell the story, Jacob?" Severus snapped. "No? Then shut up or go home."
Jacob glared at Severus, who glared back. Finally Jacob shrugged and looked down. "Simon killed himself, and there was nothing Ray could do to save him. He took the bloody knife from Simon's body, not wanting it to stay there and be an ugly reminder. The griffins, now free of the witch's control, were quite decent, and Ray took Simon's body back home on one of them. He told the people back home that Simon had died in a turf war between gangs, since no one was going to believe the real story. Adults are a lot like Jacob, so you don't really have to imagine how they reacted." Giggles at this. "The only person Ray ever told the real story to was my cousin, Toby, when he passed on the knife. Then Toby told me this story when I was thirteen, and now I tell it to you."
"Are you gonna pass on the knife?" Lillian asked.
"Maybe when you're older," Severus said, smiling. "Right now you're too young to be playing with anything more lethal than a daisy." As the other children started to rise, he looked up at the two older girls on the swing set and nodded to them. They scowled back at him. "Cheerio," he said, smirking. "Come along, children. We don't want you getting lost on the way home. Jacob, feel free to fall in the river along the way." He led the kids back the way they came, leaving a shocked Lily and a rather thoughtful Petunia behind.
Hope you enjoyed!
I hope Snape wasn't too OOC in this story. What do you think of Lillian and Jacob? Reviews, please?