When We Were Young
A young boy with dark, greasy hair sat and watched as two girls played in a park near his home, if he had the audacity to call it a home. He had been watching them for a few weeks, well one of them; she had red hair and had a talent not many of her kind possessed, magic. He knew that she had it because he had it as well, though his mother was a witch so he was expected to be a wizard, but she shouldn't be a witch, her family was all non-magical he knew from looking at her sister. Today, he decided, he would approach the girl and tell her why strange things were always happening around her.
The boy turned his attention back to the girls; a fight was currently ensuing between the two of them. The elder blonde one called the younger one, the one he was enamored with, a freak because she could make things happen that were impossible. The boy knew she was jealous that her sister could do things and she couldn't, her reaction was the same as the other Muggle children's reactions to him in the village when he accidentally did magic. The blonde girl ran away, leaving her little sister crying in the park. The boy knew it was time to tell her why she was so special.
He walked down the grassy hill, at a decent speed as to make his approach as random and nonchalant as possible. His heart began to beat faster as he approached the girl; he had waited so long and couldn't understand why his insecurities came to front now rather than before. After what seemed like days he was just behind the red head.
"H-Hello" he said with a slight stutter.
The girl turned around and looked at the boy, her eyes red and puffy. He examined her more closely and noticed that her eyes were not only red and puffy but also a brilliant green. She still hadn't said anything to him so he thought that she probably wanted nothing to do with him. He opened his mouth to speak again but she spoke before he got the chance.
"Hi, I'm Lily. Who are you?" she said with complete composure despite her current situation.
"I?" the boy questioned. After a moment he realized that she must be speaking to him and went on, "I'm Severus, Severus Snape."
"Do you live around here? I've never seen you before, so I suppose not."
"I do. I live in the town next to this one, Spinner's End."
"That's lovely!" she said but was unable to go on as a tall red haired woman with blue eyes came up to her.
"Lily!" the woman said, only sparing a short glance at Severus before turning her attention back to her youngest daughter. "We must be getting home, it's late and Petunia has a friend arriving in less than an hour. Tell your friend goodbye and come along."
"Of course, mum" Lily said before turning her attention back to Severus. "I hope we can meet here again, my mother brings Petunia and I here often and we'll be here on Wednesday. Maybe you can make it here too?"
"Yes, I think I could, maybe if father allows me too."
"That's good. I'll see you then, Severus, I have to leave now." Lily said. And with a slight wave of her hand and a polite smile she was gone.
"Bye, Lily" Severus whispered seeing no point in saying it aloud as she was already gone. He couldn't believe that he had finally had enough courage to speak with her and that he would be doing it again on Wednesday.
He walked to his house where he was greeted with his drunken father beating up his already unconscious mother. He snuck past the ruckus and into his haven; his room that often became his mother's room as well; she couldn't stand sleeping with his father and no longer tried to convince Tobias or Severus that she did. Severus' life was never easy but it was slowly becoming harder and he felt that Lily may, somehow, become his new refuge.
Between then and Wednesday Severus' father, Tobias, had gotten drunk everyday but only managed to beat Severus up once. He now sported a black eye and a huge cut down the side of his face that was now scabbing over. As he went to exit the house he looked at himself in the grimy mirror by the door and could only think of how she wouldn't want to be his friend because of what his father did to him. He left despite this.
As he entered the park he looked around for her and kept looking until he realized that it was just after noon and she was never in the park before one, at least not since he had been watching her. He walked over to a swing, with a twinge of familiarity despite never actually playing in the park, and begun to go back and forth. Eventually the swing sped up and Severus found himself nearly enjoying it. And then Lily came. Severus spotted her hair right away and hurled himself off the swing, barely even noticing the way he gracefully flew to the ground.
"Hello, Severus! Oh by the way, I was wondering if I could call you Sev. It's not that Severus isn't a nice name, it is, it's just Sev is nicer!"
Severus was taken aback at first, he had never had a friend to call him Sev before, but he approved. "Of course you can call me Sev, Lily."
Their friendship only blossomed from there, Severus told Lily exactly why she was so special and she, unbelievably, believed him telling him that she knew something was up since she was much younger. They discovered that they were both nine years old, and he told her that in two years they could attend Hogwarts, the school for magical children, together. This continued for those two years, they met at least once a week except when Lily had too much homework or when it snowed too hard in the winter but nonetheless their friendship grew stronger. After the two years had passed both children found it hard to even imagine life without the other.
One day, almost two years after their initial meeting, Lily came running to the park hoping that Sev would be there waiting for her; he was.
"Sev! Sev! Guess what!" she screamed as she jumped up and down in front of her closest friend.
"Did you get it Lily? Did you get the letter? Are you going to Hogwarts?" he asked her excitedly back.
"A man, he said he was the Headmaster and his name was Dumbledore, he came to the house and explained the situation to my parents and gave them the letter. They're ecstatic, Sev, and I'm definitely going. Isn't it wonderful?"
"It's amazing, Lily! We can both be in Slytherin and then when we're fifth years we can be prefects together!"
"Sev, it's not that I don't want to be in Slytherin with you but I've always wondered why you prefer that house over the other three houses you told me about."
"It's just where my mother was and probably the whole family before that too, and I think I belong there the most and you probably do too. I mean just as long as we're not in Gryffindor."
Lily gave up on trying to figure out why Severus was the way he was and decided to drop it for the afternoon, after all they'd be leaving for Hogwarts in less than a month; she could, possibly, figure it out then. Now, more than ever, she couldn't wait to experience what, she figured, Sev had been experiencing his whole life. The two children continued to meet, and talk, for the next month as September 1st drew closer.
The two had arranged to meet August 31, the day before leaving for Hogwarts, and they did just that. As usual, they met at the park but this time they spoke more of the wonders of Hogwarts rather than the things that Severus was sure of. The rumored varied from how they were put into a House all the way to what the classes were really like. After two hours of speaking both children had to go home, neither wanted to be late for their first day. So they parted and went their separate ways.
Two months later, October 31, 1971
"Sev! Sev, wait up!" Lily Evans shouted as she ran down the corridors of Hogwarts towards a greasy haired boy.
"Oh, hi Lily." The boy said, turning to face her.
"I'm so sorry about what Potter did to you; Sev, he and his friends are just immature jerks."
"You're right. Sorry, Lils, but I really need to get to my dorm; I have a lot of homework as I imagine you do as well." Severus said before turning and walking back to his dorm.
Lily also turned, but she started to walk towards the towers; the opposite direction of that Severus was heading. She began to wonder how their friendship had survived at all, even though they were at a low point, since they were sorted into different houses. The term different could barely even be used, the proper word was opposite. She was in Gryffindor, where the brave at heart dwell, while Severus was in Slytherin, the house notorious for those who were sly and cunning. While she was happy that they were still friends; she doubted that the harmony would last forever, and their conversation today only made her suspicions worse.
Severus was thinking about their friendship, as well, but he was blaming the problems on Lily. He couldn't believe that she had betrayed him and got herself sorted into that wretched place. He had told her, many times, that no matter what she did she couldn't let herself go there. He had told her to beg to be put somewhere else, but she obviously hadn't because there she was; in Gryffindor. Sometimes, when she chased him and begged him to talk, he wished that she would screw off; but he never told her that. He hated the girl he once loved, and he would end up regretting it.
Ten years later, October 31, 1981
Severus cursed the stupid old man who had just ended his world; he had just told him that she was dead, along with Potter but their son survived. The damn coot called it a "miracle"; how it could be so with her death, Severus couldn't figure out. The worst part wasn't her death, it was the knowledge that he could no longer make their relationship right again. She had hated him, in all his Death Eater glory.
He then cursed his eleven year old self for internally wishing that Lily would leave him alone, if he could go back and change that he would; even if it cost him his life. All he wanted was to have her back, as a friend; he didn't even care if she was still with Potter. In fact, he would even wish Potter back if Lily came with him. He began to regret every harsh word that he had ever muttered to her, or even about her. The worst regret was the day, in the end of fifth year after all the exams were complete; when he called her that terrible word. He hadn't said it since then, since he ruined his greatest friendship forever. He surely wouldn't have considered them great friends since before their first year started, but they weren't enemies; that had started that day. He began to not even care about the friendship that could've saved, he was more focused on the guilt of killing, essentially at least, three innocent people; one of whom used to be his best friend.
He wanted to end it all, it was all that he deserved; he had brought this upon her. Without his comment, she never would've even considered Potter as a friend, let alone more. Without his comment, Potter wouldn't have been able to marry her. Without his comment, their brat wouldn't have been born. Without his comment, Lily Evans would be alive.