Chapter One

The sun shown down from it's highest position, sending it's brightening and cheerful rays down on the earth below it. The birds sang their summery songs, and a nice cool breeze blew throught the tall, strong trees that surrounded the playground. In the playground were two girls, one girl who was tall and lanky, who's face somehow looked horse-like, and a younger, prettier, red headed one who was jumping up and down energetically waving farewell to a small group on the far end of the playground.

"Lily!"snapped the older one. "What did Mom and Dad say about strangers?"

"I wasn't talking to them, Petunia," Lily responded with a sunny grin towards her older sister. "I was merely waving a farewell. It doesn't involve talking."

"The point is avoiding any contact with strangers," Petunia sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh, that's no fun. How am I supposed to make friends then?"

Petunia sighed again and looked longfully off in some direction. Lily looked at her sister curiously, and noticing a disgusted look on her face, turned her vivid green, almond shaped eyes towards whatever it was.

Whatever it was turned out to be a long, golden blonde haired girl with large, dark blue eyed skinny girl who looked to be younger that Lilly, who happened to be 10.

The girl was dirty from playing in the woods and was now swinging on the swings singing a nonsensical tune.

"That girl was adopted by that boy's family," Petunia muttered, spitting out the word "boy" like a dirty word. "He can't be far behind."

"Hello, Lily," said a voice brightly from behind. Lily turned around, swinging her red hair a bit as she did so. It was a boy dressed in the oddest of fashon, as if nothing fit him well. His greasy long black hair added to the odd spectical.

"Oh, Hello Severus!" Lily greeted with a grin. 'How are things?"

"Oh, you know..." Severus muttered looking down distractedly at his feet.

"Are they fighting again?" Lily asked, frowning at her friend's obvious discomfort.

"Yea..."

"That's what, the third time this week?"

"Sixth, actually..."

Lily looked helplessly towards him. But what could an almost 11 year old do?

"Mom said you're welcome by anytime," Lily offered. "You and.. Um..."

Severus looked up at Lily, and then almost unwillingly tore them off to see why see stopped talking.

"Oh, that's Katie. Her family died so Mom is taking care of her as a personal favor. Katie's godmother couldn't take care of her, and she is Mom's friend, so..." Severus shrugged.

"Katie," Lilly repeated, saving the name to memory.

As if she heard, Katie came running.

"Hey Sev!" she cried happily. "Look what I found! It's a squirmy!"

"A what?" Petunia asked, looking down at the child snidely.

"Squirmy," reapeted Katie as she showed Petunia a long and slimy pink worm. Petunia let out a shreak and smacked it out of her hand as soon as she laid her eyes on it. Katie's eyes filled with shock, then slowly into childish tears.

But she quickly brushed them away to glare at Petunia.

Having watched this spectical, Lily turned to Severus once again.

"Is she, um..." she paused her whispering question, unsure of how to word it. "Is she one of us?"

"She is a pureblood witch."

"Oh, ok?"

"Which means that her family has no muggles or muggle-born in it on her line."

"Ooooh." The red head smiled wonderfully.

"Hey Sev," Katie called out.

Both Lily and Severus collectively gasped.

The silly blonde girl had somehow lifted Petunia up and Petunia had fainted out of fright as she was hanging off the lamp post by her knickers. Severus just burst out laughing, but Lily was absolutely horrified.

"Get her down!"

*****o******o******o******o*******o*******o*******

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans for inviting me over," the greasy haired boy said, embarrassed as well as greatful. Such a clean house. He must really look dirty.

"You and your little friend are welcome anytime, dear," Mrs. Evans said very brightly. "Lily has told us about little Katie Partisha. Also, if you wish, you are welcome to the shower and also to the beach just over that hill. It's a bit of a hike, but nothing too bad."

Oh, why, oh, why did Severus have to be born a Snape. Why not an Evans?

He depressingly contemplated that while he showered.

After a moment, Sev looked down at himself. How on earth would anyone, especially beautiful and cheery Lily, ever like him.

"I'm so..." Gangly. Ugly. Worthless... Hot tears built up in his black eyes, blurring his vision. He leaned his head against the wall of the shower, letting the water hit him uselessly...

"No... How can anyone like you," he hissed to himself. "You are the greasiest, ugliest, git with the big nose and your so... Awkward!" Sev punctured the word with a slam of the side of his fist on the wall next to his head.

When he went downstairs, the husband and wife were both huddled together, their whisperings unhearable beside an urgent tone. Lily was in a green bathing suit top and a pair of short shorts. He drunk her in hungrily with his black eyes, immediantly forgetting everything else.

"Well aren't you going to change into a bathing suite?" Petunia asked. She was wearing an incredibly showing bakini, showing off her thin development. Sev felt like gagging.

Katie borrowed one of Lily's old suites. For seven year-old she was tall. It was a two-peice with an adorable mini skirt which she twirled in happily, her blonde hair pulled back into two ponytails that Lily had made for her, a beach towell tied around her shoulders like a cape.

Lily frowned.

"Hmmm. Sev-"

"I can swim in this. I'll be fine, thank you Lily."

*****o******o******o******o*******o******o*******

The sun was setting, and Severus watched Katie play in the shallow water of the beach happily.

"So what kind of animal do you want to get?" Lily asked.

"Hm?" he looked tiredly at Lily. Then remembered they had been talking about Hogwarts and school supplies. "Oh. I'd either get a rat or an Owl."

"Is Katie going to go to Hogwarts?"

"She will, yea. In three years." Katie tested her speed in the water. "Tomorrow is her birthday."

Katie fell and collapsed into the water, coming up gasping and giggling like mad.

"Are you going to do anything with her tomorrow?" Lily asked.

"Not really. I mean my parents really cant afford much, so I doubt we will be doing anything at all."

For the rest of the beach trip, Lily sat their quietly, watching Katie, thinking.