A/N: This is my Round 9 submission for the Qudditch League Fanfiction Competetion. Captain of the Ballycastle Bats. My prompt was to use Peter Pan!

Qudditch pitch: "I want to go home."

Drabble Club: fly

Warnings: a slightly dark moment involving a child.

Final word count: 1448 (Google)

"Come on, Sev, let's go to my house and watch a movie!" Lily begged as she tried to tug her friend with her.

"No, thank you," the small, dirty child muttered. "I don't care to hear Petunia complain that I'm making your home filthy." It was just an excuse, though not entirely a lie. In truth, being at her house made him uncomfortable. It was so clean, and big, and nice and… happy. And it made him never want to return home.

"Sev, please! We just got a new VHS. Oh you'll love it! There's pirates and fairies and mermaids."

Severus rolled his eyes, it sounded pathetic really. He knew from several other similar situations with Lily that the depiction of all things "mythical" (ridiculous muggles and their obliviousness) was ridiculous. Everything was still human, as if it were impossible to depict a creature of the sea as more fish than human. Yet the look on her face, and the early hour of the day both played into his final answer.

"Fine, we can watch whatever movie you just got."

"Oh thank you, Sev!"

She practically skipped with joy as she took his hand and dragged him along behind her. Her smile and the idea of not returning home for a couple of hours were the only thing that made it worth it.

Severus watched the movie in utter disbelief. The ridiculous movie, Peter Pan, followed a little girl and her brothers after they were taken from their bedroom by a boy who had lost his shadow (how did that happen and how did Wendy simply see it back on?) who could fly (who could fly without a broom? He didn't know of a single witch or wizard who could). There they fought Captain Hook. Honestly, Severus didn't really grasp the concept, but sided with Hook. The boy had caused his hand to be eaten by an crocodile. Who wouldn't be rightfully angry?

Yet Lily was so absorbed by every second of the film. Her eyes glistened with joy and she laughed and smiled at every moment she could. He didn't understand why she could idolize any idiot whose one desire in life was to remain young forever.

By the time the movie had ended, Severus had stopped paying attention and had laid back, closing his eyes.

"What did you think, Sev?" Lily asked, turning to face him.

"I don't get it," he replied coldly.

"What do you mean?"

"Who wants to stay young forever? What good is that?"

He opened his eyes to see Lily's cocked head staring at him confused. "Who wouldn't? We all see how stressed our parents get, and they have to work every day. We get to have fun and play. There's no worries."

"For some, that might be the case. I for one, can't wait to leave home."

"Why not?"

Severus sat up and met her gaze. He knew that she knew his parents fought a lot, and that they were poor, but she didn't know the full extent of it. And she was so young and happy and naive, that he almost didn't want to crush that happiness within her. And yet, a small, selfish part of him wanted to crush it and open her eyes to the cruelty of the world. But more than that, he just wanted to tell someone.

"Sev?"

"My parents fight all the time."

"I know, but they're just stressed."

"No, I mean fight. My dad hits my mum. On a good night, she manages to hit him back, on a bad night he… he's not a good man. He broke her wand shortly after he found out she was a witch. She stays home all the time to hide the bruises."

"Oh Sev, that's terrible. I couldn't imagine if he did that to you."

Severus felt tempted to roll up his sleeve and show her his own bruises. Tempted to show her the blossoming bruise on his ribcage.

"That's why I doubt want to be young forever. I want to be able to get away."

"We'll just find a way to Neverland, Sev. I promise. You and I, we'll find a way there one way or another."

For weeks Lily's comment had stuck with Severus. Neverland. A place with no parents. No one to tell him he's worthless. A place with no screaming fights every night. He'd wake up without new bruises.

Neverland could mean freedom. He tried to tell himself it wasn't real. He tried, but on a trip to the library he found several of the original thoughts and beliefs. And a desire grew within him. A desire so deep and strong that he began to formulate a plan.

He looked mad. He looked certifiably mad. In his hands he held a lifeless, blue body with wide, beady, black eyes staring into her own.

"Sev, is everything okay?" Lily asked, sitting up in her bed as her friend stood at her open bedroom window. Had he crawled in? Or snuck in through the back door?

"I figured it out, Lily," he said, his voice a little off. "I figured out how to get to Neverland."

"What are you talking about? It's just a movie."

"No, it's not. Neverland is real. And I know to get there."

"What do you have?" she asked, gesturing to his hand.

"A Cornish pixie. They're incredibly difficult to catch. But I think if we use it's blood, we can achieve broomless flight. Just like pixie dust."

Before she could respond, Severus pulled out a knife and slid it across the small creature's body. The blue blood leaked into his hand and onto the floor. And then he smeared it on himself, the blue glistening in the moonlight.

He then held out the corpse to her. "Your turn."

Lily was terrified to follow his lead, but even more terrified of what would happen if she didn't, so she crawled out of bed and reached over. She placed her fingers gently on the creature, it's blood uncomfortably cool, and then she smeared it up her arms.

Severus dropped the body and pulled her over to the window.

"Now we just have to jump, and we can fly to Neverland."

"Sev, I don't want to, I'm scared."

"It's okay, I'll go first. Then you can follow."

"No, Sev, wa-"

Severus jumped out of the window and a scream tried to escape Lily's mouth, but found no voice to accompany it. She watched her friend fall, heard his scream and watched him flail as the ground neared. Though she only lived on the second floor, he seemed to fall forever.

And then he stopped. There was no thud, no cracking, no blood. Instead, Severus floated back up to her.

"S-sev, you're flying."

He only nodded, looking at her and then the ground.

"How?"

"Magic."

He flew around a moment before coming back to the window.

"Do you wanna try?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't think it will work for me."

"I'll hold you," he said, holding out both hands.

She looked at him for a moment, contemplating his blood soaked offer.

"Fine, but turn around."

He did as he was told and she wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped, allowing him the chance to catch her legs with his arms. And then they flew. They flew up towards the trees until Lily cried out after looking down. They flew from roof to roof and to the tops of trees. And then Lily excused that she was done.

"I want to go home."

Severus only nodded and started for her home.

He left her after she stepped through the window and the high of flying disappeared as she looked down to see her blue stained carpet and the life's creature, still staring wide-eyed at her.

And then the tears began to flow freely down her face as she grew afraid for and of her best friend. She crawled into her bed and rolled away from the window, crying softly as she tried to fall asleep.

The old man had watched as the little boy sneaked in through the little girl's back door. And he watched as the window opened. He heard the conversation and watched the boy jump from the window. He followed as they flew around and watched as they returned.

Once the boy had left the old man set to work, a soft tear in his eye.

Lily woke up, thinking of her odd dream about Severus and her flying around London. She looked to her window. Finnding it open, she ran over to close it.

She didn't even notice the odd, perfectly clean spot on her floor.