It was raining that day. Except it wasn't. Only a few thin rain drops scarcely dropped on Hogwarts Grounds, allowing a small mist and a thicker fog. He definitely didn't fail to notice her, though. No, he could never not notice her. After all; who wouldn't notice how her beautiful red hair was illuminated against the rain, and how it was curled on the ends from the mist, or how a few rain drops landed on the top of her head, and her eyelashes were dewy? And who wouldn't notice how her green eyes, majestic as emeralds and bright as day, were smiling? Because after all; her eyes were always smiling.
And who wouldn't be smiling if they were in her position? Who wouldn't be smiling if the most wanted, funniest, nicest, most handsome bloke in the school fancied her? Who wouldn't be smiling if she was, in fact, dating that bloke? And who wouldn't be smiling if that exact bloke were to ask her a question that day? That one special question, which would change the fate of all, and yet neither knew?
Of course, Lily Evans was smiling. And that was because James Potter was supposed to ask her something, but she didn't know yet. And neither did he, really. He didn't intend to all out ask her in that way, and neither did he intend to even mention it, but it just… happened.
And so together they walked, Lily Evans and James Potter. They walked and moments passed before Lily was about to answer the one question which would be the death of her.
The death of James Potter as well.
And the start of the Second Wizarding War.
And with one answer to one question, all hell erupted from one cracked egg. One event lead to another, and Severus was forced to sit and wait. Sit and wait as Lily Evans, now Potter, would be murdered as well as her husband as well as their son.
And so fate played its own fame as Lily Evans, now Potter, would be murdered as well as her husband as well as their son.
But not on that day. This day was the day that set all those events into motion.
Well, not exactly.
If you wanted to be technical, it all started quite earlier. Many years earlier, in fact. It was January 31st, 1970, the day after Lily Evans's eleventh birthday. It was before she even met James Potter. In fact, it was the day she met Severus Snape.
Chapter One
Constants and Variables
"Lily, get back here!" Petunia called for her sister. The redhead didn't listen, but instead continued to watch as the boy sat on the never-ending field. Dragonflies buzzed around him, and along the path that his fingers traced, butterflies appeared as well. "We should be heading home, mum said not to be out too late."
"Tuney, Don't you see that?" Lily whispered in astonishment. How could her sister focus on returning home when she could be staring at the surreal boy? He was scrawny and pale and his shaggy black hair covered most of his face, but the girl found him as the most fascinating boy in the universe.
At that time, at least.
"What do you mean?" Petunia went to her sister now, both some distance away from the strange boy. Her arms were crossed and her face was fixed in a tight frown and a twitch in her nose. "Oh, you mean that stupid boy tearing out the grass and with the flies around his head? That's the Snape boy… he has a dysfunctional family, that boy. Don't go near him, Lily. " Then Petunia paused and her voice got softer, as if ashamed of her outbreak. "Come on, Lily, we really should head home."
"No, no." Lily insisted. She took a step towards the boy now, but Petunia grabbed her arm. "Tuney, don't you see? It's as if those butterflies and dragonflies are… "Lily searched for the right words to describe the boy's actions. She finally murmured, "…following his command."
"Lily, you are going crazy!" Petunia shouted now. The girl's blonde hair stuck in places that it wasn't supposed to, and wrinkles formed in between her brows and next to her nose. "Let's go home!"
But of course, Lily took her arm from Petunia's grip and walked towards the boy. Petunia gasped and stood where her sister left her. Petunia had many feelings stirring up at once; anger, jealousy, betrayal… The elder sister was shocked most of all. Because how could her sister betray her like that?
Lily sat next to the boy, ignoring her sister's warnings. In the act of it all, Petunia couldn't help but wonder how brave her sister was; to just go up to the boy like that.
Snape looked up from the butterfly, and when he noticed the girl next to him, he gasped and almost jumped up like a cat. In reaction, the butterflies and dragonflies also flew away in fright. Lily frowned. Feeling bad that because of her the animals flew away, she took out her hand and greeted herself. Or at least, that's what she intended to do. Instead, a flower sprouted from her palm. It was a white gerber daisy, with the yellow pollen as vibrant as the sun.
"What-" Lily started to ask, but was interrupted by a scream… more like a shriek. Both the redhead and the boy turned to see Petunia. Her eyes were filled with horror; she saw the whole scene. She pointed at both her sister and the boy with disgust and disbelief.
"You… you… you…" Petunia stuttered. Before Lily could answer her sister or even breathe, the elder girl ran off by herself.
Lily looked back to the boy now. Her eyes were wide and searching for answers, for a friend, for help, for anything.
"Don't worry." The boy whispered as if reading her mind. His words were soothing enough, and he spoke calm. He picked up the gerber daisy from the girl's palm and held it up in the sky, with the stem between his thumb and his pointer finger. "She's just jealous. She's normal, and we're special."
The boy was much calmer than Lily was. "But… but I don't get it!" Was all Lily managed to say.
"Don't worry." The boy repeated again. "What is your name?"
Lily stared at the boy. How could he ask such a question now? "I'm Lily… Lily Evans."
A soft gust of January wind passed through the boy and the girl. With a wave of his left hand, the butterflies and the dragonflies returned. One particular butterfly, with black wings and emerald spots, landed on Lily's finer. The gerber daisy drifted away with the breeze. "I am Severus. I will answer whatever you want to know."
The words were written in emerald ink and perfect penmanship. The parchment was already yellowed and frail, despite it being new. Although he perfectly knew what the words said, because he had been waiting for his moment for his entire life, his eyes scanned over the letter in a heartbeat.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
And behind the letter was another parchment, a list of all the supplies he was required to arrive with on his first day to Hogwarts. He couldn't even believe it. With lthe etter still in hand, James Potter stepped backwards and fell on top of his bed, staring at the ceiling. His room was decorated with Quidditch badges and moving posters. There was a Gryffindor emblem hanging high and mighty above his bed. It was regal with its golden and red trim, and the brave lion clawing at the edges.
James couldn't wait to join Hogwarts. James couldn't wait to be placed in Gryffindor (after all, why wouldn't he be? Both of his parents and his cousins were placed there, after all.) And he couldn't wait to join the Gryffindor (because he would- obviously- be placed in Gryffindor) Quidditch Team (second year, of course).
His life was set ahead of him.
So, the next week, he wrote a letter in reply and sent it with his mother's owl. A week after that, he went to Diagon Ally with his mother and father slowly trailing behind him. His parents were too old to have such a young son, even for wizarding standards. They were already in their forties while James, their only son, was a bouncing tyke only with eleven years of age. The story was that both parents found love for each other at a young age, and married shortly after their graduation from Hogwarts. They waited to have children. First, they travelled together and experienced things together that only young people enjoyed, until they realized that they longed for a child. But then they learned that Eve Potter couldn't conceive. Neither Eve or Tybalt Potter knew how, but their story was that they were blessed by the angels, but Eve became pregnant years after the news, and soon after, the miracle child, James Tybalt Potter was welcomed to the world.
Lily stood in front of the supposed platform, with Petunia behind her. Lily already recited her farewells to her mum and she was waiting for Petunia to see her sister off. Stepping away from their mum and closer to the platform, Petunia followed her sister with her arms crossed and a wrinkle between her brows and a frown implanted on her face.
"I can talk to Dumbledore, Tuney!" Lily promised. "He must have made some sort of mistake!"
"No." Petunia snapped much faster than intended, and much more bitterly than expected. Lilly jumped back from the sudden response, and her heart fell. "No, Lily. Why would I want to go to your school? You and your stupid school of freaks!" Some families turned around to see Petunia's shouts, but returned to their conversations.
"I'm not a freak." Lily looked her feet. "That's a horrible thing to say."
"That's where you're going. A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy… weirdos, that's what you two are…" Petunia said. Her voice was soft, but as if she was trying to convince herself as well that her words were true.
"Goodbye, Tuney." Lily said now.
"Goodbye, Lily."
Without another word, Lily ran into the wall with her trolley of items for her new school. Snape found her, and together they stepped into the Hogwarts Express. But of course before that, on her way inside with Snape in front of her leading her into a compartment, Lily paused. A boy was practically pushed into her, and she would have stumbled backwards if Snape did not hold her shoulders in place. Lily stared at the boy waiting for an apology, but none came. He did not even seem to acknowledge her presence. Instead, he along with a group of upperclassmen stepped into the nearest compartment, all of who which couldn't care less that the boy nearly trampled Lily over. Before Lily could react, Snape was quick to stop her.
"Come on, Lily." Snape tugged the sleeve of her shirt. Lily sighed and followed Snape to the other end of the train.
"Is this compartment taken?" James looked away from his compartment window. Only moments before through the window he witnessed a fellow unknown first year stumbled into a girl, and didn't even acknowledge her presence. James would have stepped in, but he knew the group the boy was with. All the purebloods knew the group the boy was with. Before James could think further, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. A boy the same age as he was standing there, with another behind him. One wore a grey sweater, and the boy behind him wore a green shirt. Both looked young. The one who asked James had striking green eyes. The other boy had brown eyes, but still seemed to have quite some baby fat left in his figure.
"No, help yourself." James nodded and scooted further to the window to allow space for the boys. When they both situated himself, with the skinnier boy next to him and the plumper one across, he introduced himself. "I'm James Potter."
"Remus Lupin." The skinnier ginger wearing the grey sweater sitting next to James smiled.
"Peter Pettigrew." The one sitting across from them joined in.
After the longest trip Lily could remember, they finally arrived at the castle; Hogwarts. Lily couldn't believe her eyes. The castle was more amazing than she even began to imagine. The sky was dark and lanterns illuminated the lake the rest of the first years were sailing across. When they reached land and they were closer to the castle, Lily only kept her eyes glued onto the scene as if she was scared she would wake from the dream. Severus made sure she didn't bump into anyone, however.
When they arrived in front of the Great Hall, Lily was still entranced. Two of the grandest double doors Lily couldn't even conjure in her dreams stood in front of her. They were the first to arrive of their group, trailing closely behind Professor McGonagall. It only took a few seconds for the rest of their class to catch up, and when they did they were just as amazed as Lily.
"Behind these doors, awaits the sorting hat. When it is placed upon your head, it will sort you into the house you will stay in for the rest of your time in Hogwarts. The rest of the people in your house will be your family, so do try to be civil between each other." Professor McGonagall announced. That seemed to scare Lily. What if she was sorted into the wrong house? Then she shivered. What if she was sorted into a different house than Severus?
The rest of the speech dragged on with Lily too nervous to walk in the line they were placed in as the double doors opened. Severus has to tap her shoulder behind her to remind her to keep moving. The Great Hall was amazing, as was everything else about Hogwarts. A false night sky was floating above them as well as candles. Without the slightest answer as to how there were false skies and candles floating above them, Lily decided to just keep on walking and focus on the ceremony.
"Black, Sirius!" The elder witch with silver hair and emerald robes known as Professor McGonagall called from the never ending scroll. Given his last name, Sirius was one of the first to be called. Sirius reluctantly fell out of the line to sit on the stool. The boy was quite skinny, but at an average height for an eleven year old. He had long unkempt black hair, and an emotionless stare as the hat was placed on his head. Lily crossed her arms over her chest when she realized Sirius was the boy that almost knocked her down on the train. After a long while of silence, the hat bellowed out its final decision.
"Gryffindor!" The hat announced. A chorus of gasps filled the hall. Sirius was frozen on the stool, wide eyed and horrified. Even Professor McGonagall seemed to be caught off guard by the hat's decision. Sirius nearly grabbed the hat out of the professor's hands as if to place it back on his head and be re-sorted, but she gave him a gentle nudge off the stool to make room for the next student. The boy hung his head low to avoid the stares and whispers as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. The table on the other end of the hall seemed to be giving him sneers and ice cold stares. Lily's first impression of the boy was faltering, as pity was quickly replacing her hatred. She uncrossed her arms and watched as a spot was cleared for Sirius, and a few students next to him gave him a pat on the back, but nothing else. Lily wasn't offered too much time to wonder on why it was such a big deal, because her name was soon called after.
"Evans, Lily!" Professor McGonagall called from her scroll. Lily was shivering, she now noticed. She was utterly terrified of what the hat would sort her in. When Lily sat on the stool in front of the elder witch, she seemed to notice Lily's nervousness. Before the hat was placed on her head, she gave Lily a small smile. Lily closed her eyes.
Oh, you're muggleborn, aren't you? The hat mused to himself. Lily's eyes shot open. The hat was speaking to her. She was wearing a talking hat on her head. Oh, don't act so surprised. You're in a room with floating candles and a false sky after all, Miss Evans. Before she could reply in answer, the hat laughed. Don't bother; you'll only look like a fool talking to yourself. I'm in your head, girl. Lily now swallowed and took a deep breath. After a few moments of silence, the hat started to laugh again. Let's see, where shall we place you?
The elusive hat paused, seemingly in deep thought. You, Miss Evans, are a tricky witch. You have the potential to grow into the heart of a Hufflepuff, yet you also could gain the wisdom of a Ravenclaw. All constants and variables.
"What?" Lily whispered. She hoped only the hat could hear her.
Constants and variables... You can swim in different oceans, but land on the same shore. In Slytherin you could go down one path, and in Gryffindor you could go down another. Both doors hold the same fate, yet different paths. Both identical, one in the shadow and one in the light. Which do you choose, Miss Evans?
"Gryffindor!" The hat announced to the room. The table of Gryffindors cheered as Lily smiled and practically skipped to her new house. People shook her hand and greeted her as she sat down.
"Lupin, Remus!" Professor McGonagall called for James's new friend. With an encouraging pat on the shoulder, Remus went to sit on the stool as the professor placed the hat on his head. After a few moments, the hat was taken off as was announced.
"Gryffindor!"
More cheers. More greeting.
More waiting.
"Pettigrew, Peter!" She now called. With an encouraging smile, Peter went off to get sorted into his new house. The hat took even longer than Lupin now.
"Gryffindor!"
More cheers.
More greeting.
More waiting.
More nerves.
"Potter, James!" His name was now called. The room went silent, well in his memory it did. As he first sat down on the bench and before Professor McGonagall could even place the sorting hat on his head, he calmed himself. No, a true Gryffindor would be brave. James thought to himself. So be brave, idiot.
"Gryffindor!"The hat announced barely before it was even placed on James' head. And so the boy practically bounced up from the bench and ran towards his new house table.
Time couldn't pass any slower. For James, he only wanted the ceremony to end so the feast could begin. He only heard and dreamed of how marvelous the first feast would be. Lily however, kept to herself while the rest of the list was read off. Until one name was finally called.
"Snape, Severus!"
Snape looked up from his feet and waddled towards the bench for the sorting hat. He seemed to close his eyes as well.
"Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Griffindor." Minerva could her the boy say to himself.
"Gryffindor, Griffindor, Gryffindor." Lily chanted to herself while crossing her fingers. "Please, please let him be in Gryffindor."
"Slytherin!"
Lily was left speechless as her only friend, the one who seemed to replace her sister, the one who was there for her first intentional magic, walked to the opposite end of the hall. Lily tried to remember what the hat said of constants and variables. She wondered if Snape was offered the same choice as well.
A/N: I really didn't mean to edit and revisit this.
I found myself falling in love with Jily all over again, so here I am, once again.
I'm not sure if I'll continue this, but I'm really starting to enjoy this... a lot.
Review help aplenty and always make my day. Please please review if you want me to continue!
I'm not kidding. I am a review whore. I will take anything I can get.
DISCLAIMER: this is NOT a Snape hate fic or by any means a Snily fic! This is a Jily fic! This is merely the very beginning, and Snape just has a very sad life that involves this otp.
Oh and also, yes, I obviously know that James and Sirius are best mates. Just don't worry, if I decide to continue, things will start to make sense and work out.