Lily had glared at the Snape boy as her sister pulled her from the playground, but she wasn't truly upset at him. In fact, she was curious. With her natural curious nature, Lily was very intrigued by the boy's words. A witch, he had called her, and himself a wizard. But it couldn't really be true, could it? Yet…it would explain so much– the flying, the flowers blooming at her command, the cake from five years ago on Petunia's birthday.
And it would explain much about him too. Lily had heard rumors about him before. Severus Snape, she believed was his name, was the boy who lived in the downtrodden house at Spinner's End. There was a curious rumor that Lily had once heard. Severus was being teased by a much bigger boy once, and somehow a very sturdy tree had fallen on the bigger boy. He was sent to the hospital right away, and had never been quite right since.
Lily needed to speak with him again. She needed to find out if he was telling the truth. And so, a few days later, when Tuney was at her sewing class, Lily made an excuse of visiting a nearby friend and instead, ran straight to Spinner's End. As she neared Spinner's End, the houses became smaller and older, and everything turned grayer. Finally, at the very end of Spinner's End, there sat a house that Lily knew to belong to the Snape household. Lily timidly knocked on the door.
A hook-nosed man wrung the door open and demanded, "What is it?"
"I'm looking for Severus, sir. I'm…a friend, sir," Lily whispered, certainly not used to be addressed in this tone of voice.
"What? A friend of his?" the man barked. "The boy has no friends. Oh! You– you're one of them, aren't you?" His lip curled in disgust as he spit out the words.
"I–I," Lily stuttered.
"Oh, it's you!" a happily surprised voice called out from behind the hook-nosed man. Lily gave a half-grin and a wave. Severus ran over to her, took her by the hand, and pulled her away, throwing a few glares at his father who was ordering him to return home. Lily followed the greasy-looking boy, whose coat was flapping out behind him, all the way to the playground. They finally stopped near the play structure and plopped onto the grass under the shade of a leafy tree. "You were looking for me?" Severus asked eagerly.
"I was," Lily hesitated, "because I was wondering…about what you said the other day."
"About witches? And wizards?" Severus asked, urging her on.
"Yes," Lily declared, "and I wanted to know… are you lying to me?"
"No, no," Severus assured her as he threw up his hands defensively.
"You promise? You pinky promise?" Lily asked, offering her pinky. When Severus locked pinkies with her and nodded, she finally relaxed and smiled. "Then tell me," she urged, "tell me everything."
And so he told her– everything he knew about magic, about Hogwarts, about the wizarding world. He told her about the letter from Hogwarts, and how it was delivered by owl. He told her about the sorting hat, and all the rumors he'd heard about the test. He told her about the four houses, and each of their attributes, although he did play up Slytherin a bit. "What if we're not in the same house? Will you still be my friend?" Lily asked, and Severus replied, "Of course I would! There's no way I'd ever leave–" but he stopped and picked up a handful of leaves and started tearing them apart. He told her about each of the subjects, and Lily remarked, "I think I should like Charms." He told her about the Dark Arts, but they didn't dwell long on this subject, for Lily did not take well to it.
He told her about the Ministry of Magic, and how it managed the entire wizarding world. It even sent letters to misbehaving children who used magic outside of school, which Lily worried about desperately but Severus assured her it was alright. He told her about Azkaban, and the dementors, and what they did to you, and Lily was terrified but intrigued all at once.
He even told her about the different bloodlines, but only a little bit. He did, however, take care to assure her that being Muggle-born was perfectly alright, and she rewarded him with a warm smile.
And they got to know one another better. Lily learned that Severus's parents were always fighting and that this was a delicate subject. Severus learned that because of all their little park meetings discussing magic, Petunia was very upset with Lily. Sometimes, the two had little quarrels, but eventually they smoothed things out and once again, began fervent discussions about Hogwarts.
They got to know one another better, and began to truly enjoy each other's company. The two looked forward to their little meetings– Lily loved learning new things about the wizarding world everyday, and Severus loved to see Lily's bright and eager eyes as she drank in his information. Severus, also, had gained his first real friend, someone who liked him despite his hand-me-down clothes and shaggy appearance. Lily knew that he appreciated her for this and really did like this boy, who, despite all the rumors, was very kind and caring to her. And this was the bond of friendship that kept them together.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans became curious of Lily's new friend, and asked their daughter to bring him over for dinner. Lily invited Severus over, and after a big of urging on Lily's part, he accepted. It went fairly well. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, meanwhile, took to the shabbily-dressed boy, who was truly trying hard to be polite in order to impress his best friend's parents. They questioned him about his family, and upon learning his situation, pitied him, took to him even more, and told him he was always welcome. Lily was overjoyed. Petunia sat through the whole dinner pouting.
–––
"Good day, I am Minerva McGonagall, professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," a tall, thin-lipped woman recited as she stood in the front door of the Evans household.
"I-I'm sorry. What?" Daisy Evans asked, staring at the woman as if she were demented.
"I am Minerva McGonagall. I am from Hogwarts, a school dedicated to teaching young witches and wizards. I was in the area, so I was sent to present a letter accepting your daughter, Lily Evans, to our school."
"Well, come in then," Daisy ushered the strange woman inside to their living room.
After a cup of tea had been made and Professor McGonagall had explained every little detail about witches, wizards and Hogwarts, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were satisfied. No, more than satisfied. They were elated– they'd always known that their daughter was special, but today they'd found out she was a witch. Henry and Daisy Evans were brimming with pride, positively overjoyed for their daughter. After they'd inquired after school supplies and learned of Diagon Alley, the couple was itching to take a peek into the wizarding world. "Perhaps Severus could come with us?" they suggested.
"He is not going to that stupid wizard school!" Tobias Snape hollered at his wife. Other times, Eileen Snape would cower at her husband's tone, but not this time. Normally Eileen didn't pay much attention to her son, but this mattered– he would go Hogwarts, regardless of what Tobias said.
"I am sending him there, no matter what you– what anyone– says," Eileen asserted firmly.
"I did not raise my boy to go to some freakshow school and learn magic," Tobias growled.
"You didn't raise me at all!" Severus interjected angrily.
"Severus! Stay out of this," Eileen ordered. She turned to Tobias and pulled out her wand, and said, emphasizing every word, "Tobias, Severus is going to Hogwarts, or so help me I will…"
"You wouldn't," Tobias snarled, but fear was intertwined in his words.
"For this, I would."
"Fine! Let the boy go! I've never cared for him anyway." With those words, Tobias growled at his son and stomped away.
A knock on the door and a greeting from Lily forced little Severus to bite back his tears as his mother answered the door.
"Good day," Henry Evans greeted Eileen Prince with a hesitant but still cheery smile.
"And you would be?" Eileen inquired coolly.
"Oh, well, Lily's father," Henry replied.
"Ah, Severus's…friend," Eileen studied the redheaded little girl smiling at Severus.
"You see, Lily's gotten a letter from Hogwarts as well," Henry explained, "and we must make a visit to Dag-Dia-Diagon Alley. So my wife and I were wondering if Severus would like to join us. Of course, you and your husband are very welcome as well."
Eileen mused over his offer before answering, "I do not think my husband will be keen on attending, and I myself am a bit busy. But I am glad to accept your well-timed offer to take Severus off my hands. He has been there many times with me before, so he should be able to take good care of himself. I expect that he will not cause any trouble." She looked at Severus, who nodded eagerly.
"Alright, then. Tomorrow, say…ten in the morning?" Henry asked, to which he received a curt nod.
–––
"Well, here it is, Diagon Alley," Severus gestured proudly at the crowded alley, teeming with wizarding families and prospective Hogwarts students.
"Wow," Lily whispered, as her parents stood agape next to her, all drinking in the scene. Petunia staunchly refused to come, so she was staying with her aunt for the day.
"You can exchange Muggle currency for wizarding currency over there," Severus pointed at a small booth with many open-mouthed Muggle parents waiting in line. As the two children followed Mr. and Mrs. Evans to the exchange booth, Severus leaned over and asked, "Do you like it?"
"Do I like it? Are you joking, Severus? It's amazing! It's- it's everything I'd ever imagined magic to be! Let's stop by every shop! Every single last one!" Lily exclaimed, beaming at her friend. Severus only heard a few of her words– he was too busy admiring how pretty she looked when she smiled.
And soon, they were off. True to Lily's words, they went through shop by shop, stopping here and there to buy some school supplies (mostly for Lily, as Severus had his mother's old ones) and admire toys, books, fancy gadgets, and whatnot (also mostly Lily, as Severus had been here before).
"Willow, 10 ¼", phoenix feather, he says! Look Mummy," Lily presented her wand, for her mother to admire as they exited Ollivander's. "How about you, Severus?"
"Ebony, 10", unicorn hair," Severus answered, holding out his wand for her to see.
Now wands in hand, the two children ran off to continue exploring the rest of Diagon Alley. Lily paused for quite some time in the Apothecary, examining the various potions ingredients. She then made another long stop at Flourish and Blotts. "Mummy, Daddy! Look at this one!" Lily yelled, pointing to a bright red book titled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "I should like a Puffskein," she remarked as she flipped through the pages. Meanwhile Daisy Evans was enthusiastically poring over One Minute Feasts – It's Magic! with her husband as Severus skimmed through A History of the Dark Arts.
Their next stop was Eyelop's Owl Emporium, as Mr. and Mrs. Evans were celebrating their daughter's attendance of such a fantastic school. Lily immediately chose a beautiful, though quite large, male barn owl, which took to her right away. Kasper, as the shop keeper had called him, was a bit wary of the greasy-haired boy at first, but when Severus (at Lily's urging) began offering Kasper owl nuts, the two became fast friends also.
When they finally finished all their shopping, the sky was already turning a fiery red, so the small group stopped by a restaurant in Muggle-London for dinner.
–––
As Lily lie quietly in her bed that night, she could hear Petunia's slow breath in the bed next to her, but Lily herself could not fall asleep. In just a week's time, she would be off, headed for Hogwarts with her best friend. And there, she'd do spells, brew potions, and do things she never thought imaginable. It was going to be a fantastic adventure, every last moment of it.
There was, however, the smallest bit of guilt nagging at her. Lily secretly knew that Petunia had sent a letter to the headmaster at Hogwarts– she and Severus had done a bit of snooping when Severus became curious as to how a Muggle letter could reach Hogwarts– but Petunia had been rejected. And Lily wasn't blind to Petunia's increasing bitterness. But what could she do, other than the promise that she would write and bring back souvenirs of Hogwarts? She had already accepted the invitation, and this had made her parents so proud. Maybe she would even become so good at magic that she could teach some to Petunia next summer.
And this was the thought that eventually put Lily to sleep, as she dreamt of high castle walls and magic spells and simmering potions and every thing.
Reviews would actually be super duper appreciated at this point, because I don't really know how good this is.
