The river that ran parallel to Spinner's End was cold even during one of the hottest summers Cokeworth had ever seen. It was also a private spot; most people avoided the murky, litter-filled water. Severus Snape and Lily Evans, however, won't most people. Most people wouldn't be discussing the uses of being an Animagi, or scratching Potions essays on scrolls of parchment with eagle feather quills. Most people wouldn't be laughing about a boy named James Potter nearly falling off his broom in a game of Quidditch. Most people weren't preparing for a return to Hogwarts. Most people weren't wizards.
"Y'know, Sev," Lily said loudly, slamming her copy of 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi shut and kicking her feet out of the murky water, "I think the uses and properties of dittany can wait. There's going to be enough time to work later." Her vibrant green eyes lit up as she turned to face her best friend, who was lazily scrawling a conclusion to his essay. He scratched a few more words on the parchment before looking up, his black eyes eager.
"I'm already finished," he said, the barest trace of pride in his voice. Severus was an uncommonly gifted wizard, and Potions was his best subject. He laid down on his back, and looked back up at Lily. "But, what did you want to do?"
"Anything but Potions," she said simply. "We'll have enough of that this year, with O.W.L.s and everything." O.W.L.s were some of the most important exams they would take at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The results would determine their future. "I don't want to go home-"
"Me neither!" Severus interrupted. Returning to his house meant dealing with his Muggle father, and he would rather copy every page of 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi than leave Lily for that. "We could go to the mill," he suggested, looking at the abandoned textile mill far off in the distance. "There's shade, and we won't risk catching some kind of disease from polluted water." He shot a glance at an empty can of tomato soup that floated merrily past them.
Lily was on her feet in an instant. "Let's go!" She held out her hand to Severus. He happily took it, enjoying how it fit so warmly in his. He allowed her to pull him along, dreading that moment when she would let go.
Lily yanked his arm hard, pulling him to her side, but kept holding his hand. What she meant by it, Severus wasn't sure. He could invent a spell in five minutes, but the way girls' minds (specifically Lily's) were foreign to him.
"Tuney has a boyfriend," she said. "His name is Vernon Dursley, and he's the biggest Muggle I've ever met."
"Bigger than your sister?" Severus asked. He hated Petunia Evans almost as much as he loved her far more desirable sister.
"Immensely." Lily rolled her eyes. "In all ways. He's very…" she scrunched her nose as she searched for an accurate word, "round. And he's excruciatingly passionate about the most boring things, like cars and his intern ship at a drill company. Drills!" A rant was coming; Severus could sense it. "Don't even get him started on drills!" Lily continued. "He could talk for hours about drills. Until he's purple in the face, which really makes him look like a plum."
They had reached the mill. Majority of the windows were broken, cobwebs covering up the holes. The door was removed from the hinges, most likely taken down to one of the houses at Spinner's End. None of the people there were rich, including the Snapes. Severus tugged on his ill-fitting shirt disgustedly, remembering how it used to be his father's. The floor of the mill was covered with dust, converting the once red bricks to a dirty grey. Dirty tables filled the room, almost giving it a look of an ill-cared-for Great Hall. Lily marched up to one table, cleaned herself a spot, and jumped onto it, tucking her legs under the bar underneath her new seat. Severus leaned against the opposite table, resting his skinny elbow in a mountain of dust.
"You're going to meet the Vernon bloke, Sev," Lily chimed, a mischievous smile twisty on her thin face. "He's at my house every day, and I know you want something new to laugh at." Her green eyes pierced him knowingly. "How is it at your house?"
Severus sighed. "Same. My mum yells. My dad yells louder. I stay in my room until I can leave again." He looked at the floor. A beetle was twitching on the ground, covered in grime. "He hit my mum the other day," he said softly. "That was the first time, I think." He stepped on the beetle, putting in out of its misery.
The scene replayed in his head, like one of those Muggle movies Lily always dragged him to. He had been writing his Transfiguration essay, when he heard a crash, which normally signaled one of his father's rages. He had been shouting about something, most likely money, or Severus, or his job, or Eileen, or magic. Occasionally he shouted about the government or weather, but those never had crashes involved.
"WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO SEND THE BOY TO THAT DAMN MAGIC SCHOOL, EILEEN? WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR IT ANYMORE?"
Severus and magic. A new bloody record. Severus had run down the stairs, as his mother snapped something unintelligible. He had intentions of stopping the fight, or at least calming the waters if he could.
"GODDAMMIT, BITCH." Tobias Snape had been livid. Whatever Eileen had told him must have struck a nerve, because he was turning a very violent shade of red. "I ALREADY WORK EXTRA SHIFTS TO SEND HIM TO LEARN MAGIC TRICKS. AND YOU WANT TO BUY HIM SOMETHING ELSE THAT HE DOESN'T NEED?" He had raised a trembling hand, and struck Eileen across her sallow face. She had crumpled delicately to the ground, like a puppet cut from its strings. Severus had just stood there, and suddenly he was a little boy again, crying as his parents yelled about his future. He had burst out the door and ran to the river, just wanting to escape his house. Not his home. Hogwarts was his only home.
"Sev?" Lily's soft voice brought him back to the present. His foot was still on the beetle. He regretted killing it now, even though it would have died eventually in the same spot, never being able to flip around.
Lily leaped down from her seat, and threw her arms around Severus. He embraced her eagerly, resting his forehead on the top of head, momentarily intoxicated from the flowery scent that wafted from her fiery red hair. He could have stayed there forever and would have been happy.
"I'm sorry your dad is such a git," she said solemnly. "Whenever I turn seventeen, I'll hex him into oblivion for you. Everything—from the Bat Bogey Hex to the Jelly Legs Jinx."
Severus chuckled weakly. Lily was the only person that could make him feel better.
"Come on," she said, taking his hand again. "We're going to get you a nice laugh."
He must have looked confused because she answered, "Time for you to meet Vernon Dursley."
"Lily," Petunia Evans hissed from her spot on the sofa of the Evans' living room, "why did you bring him?" He jerked her head towards Severus. She looked like a horse shaking her mane. The thought made Severus smirk.
"To meet Vernon," Lily shrugged and plopped down in an empty an empty lounger. She winked at Severus and patted the arm of the chair, gesturing for him to sit. He obliged, flashing a wide grin at Petunia, who was turning a very impressive shade of pink. She hated Severus with a burning passion. Alright, so he did cause a branch to drop on her when he was eleven, but he could barely control his magic then. She also deserved it.
"He's not the kind of person Vernon wants to meet," Petunia said loudly, turning to the fat bloke beside her. Lily was right; if he was purple, he would look remarkably like a plum. Severus made a mental note to ask him about drills later. He turned to Petunia, who was remarkably lucky there wasn't a branch around, and that he couldn't use magic.
"He's also not deaf," Severus shot back. He leaned across to Vernon. "Hi, I'm Severus Snape. Lily's best friend." The pride was in his voice, he could practically taste it.
"Huh?" Vernon snorted. Real charmer, Severus thought. "Vernon Dursley." He shook Severus considerably smaller hand, nearly crushing it in his ham sized one.
"Er," Severus stole a glance at Lily. She pinched his thigh and twisted her mouth into a crooked smile. "Lily tells me you work for a drill company."
Petunia glared at her sister. Vernon, however, looked very pleased. Severus suspected he enjoyed feeling superior. Maybe that's why he let himself get so large.
"Well, Snapple," Vernon began, his beady eyes looking ecstatic. Severus gritted his teeth, but ignored the mistake. If Vernon's undersized head was any indication of the size of his brain, Severus' name could easily be forgotten for a second time.
"…Mr. Grasion, however, says he'd rather see me become manager than one of the other low-lifes that apply. They should just imprison the lot…"
Severus snorted, but he was able to pass it off as a sneeze. Lily was right; this Muggle was good for a laugh. Petunia continued to glare. She really looked like an angry horse. He couldn't wait to tell Avery about this Muggle. He would definitely be entertained.
"Snade?" Vernon's obnoxious tone shook him out of his thoughts. Severus cocked an eyebrow.
"Yes?" His sarcasm was registered, and Vernon glared, his face turning a pleasant purple.
"Come on, Vernon," Petunia cooed. "You don't need to waste your time with freaks like them." She pulled Vernon to his feet (it seemed like quite a struggle on her part), and they were gone. Her parting comment was obviously meant to offend, but Severus ignored it. She didn't know what he could do. Lily, however, seemed deeply perturbed.
"Don't worry about her, Lily," Severus said. "She's just jealous. You remember the letter." He was, of course, referring to the letter from Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, that he and Lily had found right before their first year at Hogwarts. Petunia had begged to be admitted, and declined. As she should have been, Severus thought bitterly. Hogwarts with Petunia Evans would have been a living hell.
Lily looked up at him, and hooked a piece of red hair behind her ear in an almost defiant nature. "She's still my sister, Sev. And she hates me."
Severus ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, instantly reminding himself of James Potter. He stopped immediately, his hand still on top of his head. Lily looked at him curiously. He jerked it down and put it on her shoulder instead.
"Look, in a few days, we'll be at Hogwarts, and you won't have to deal with her at all," Severus told her in what he hoped sounded comforting. Lily didn't look convinced. Severus guessed that telling her he'd hex Petunia wouldn't help either.
"It's all going to work out, Lily," Severus said, glancing at the clock. "Damn!"
Lily followed his gaze. "Are you late again?" she asked. "You better go before your dad blows a fuse."
Severus rushed for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" he shouted over his shoulder, already running to Spinner's End.
"You're late," Tobias Snape growled at his son. The hooked nose he had so humbly bestowed to his son crinkled in anger. "Were you with that bloody girl?"
"Yes," Severus answered sullenly. "And she's a sight better than you," he mumbled under his breath. Tobias appeared to not have heard, or he would have shouted some more. Severus sprinted up the stairs to his room, happy to escape without too much conflict, especially his tardiness.
"EILEEN," Tobias thundered downstairs. Severus put his head in his hands. Three more days until the much anticipated return to Hogwarts. He could handle it.
Of course, at Hogwarts he had to deal with James Potter, who was, in Severus' humble opinion, a bloody git. He and Severus had hated each other ever since their first trip on the Hogwarts Express. Snivellus, Potter had called him. And unfortunately, the nickname had stuck, even five years later. He also fancied Lily, which only heightened Severus' enmity toward him. Luckily, Lily loathed him, which was a small compensation. James and his followers, mainly Sirius Black, also wasted no time in hexing Severus in the corridors. This year, however, Severus had a few more hexes up his sleeve. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a battered book, titled Advanced Potion-Making. He had nicked it from his mum's stack of old textbooks the previous summer. Severus had improved the book immensely, adding in his own directions, which created much better potions. He had also invented some new spells that he was itching to experiment on James Potter, Levicorpus especially. It caused the victim to be hoisted up in the air by his ankle. Just the thought of Potter dangling in the air made Severus grin.
Potter would regret the day he made an enemy of the Half-Blood Prince.