"Hi, Severus!" Lily bounded over to him as they walked into the Great Hall for their last breakfast before everyone went home for Christmas.

"Hi." Severus replied, smiling.

"Mum sent me an owl this morning. She and Dad are going to be at the train station to meet us and take us home." Lily pulled out the letter and showed him. "Your mum said it was alright for us to take you home."

"Yeah." Severus handed the letter back to her without reading it. That was one problem he didn't have to worry about. He would be lying if he hadn't spent the last few days wondering how he was going to make it all the way home after getting off the train. His Dad had to sell their car a few months before he started school because he had drank away their mortgage payment.

"Do you think your parents would let you come over for Christmas dinner?" Lily stopped just inside the door clutching her books to her chest. Backing up slightly as students rushed between them.

"I don't know." Severus shrugged.

"Well, will you ask? We just stay at home and Mum cooks a big dinner. It would be alright if you just popped over. I know my sister is a bit of a pain but she probably won't bother us too much." Lily laughed, her green eyes were sparkling. He knew that Christmas was her favorite holiday, and he felt a bit guilty that he hated it so much.

"I'll ask." Severus nodded. He didn't know how he would ask, but if Lily wanted him there he could summon the courage to make the effort.

"Great!" Lily bounced on the balls of her feet. "Well, I'm going to go eat. I'll see you later, we'll sit together on the train! If you see Sybil before I do, please ask her to sit with us if she's going home?"

"Yeah, ok, I'll ask her." Severus frowned, he was still upset with that nervous little pest. He walked over and lowered himself onto the bench at his table. He wasn't very hungry. The excitement of the other students could be felt in the air, the hum of their voices buzzed around his head like bees.

He lifted his eyes up to inspect the other students, keeping his face down in hopes his hair would hide his eyes. Everyone was smiling, laughing and joking with one another. A few students were exchanging small gifts with one another. He hated Christmas. His eyes moved from the students to the Christmas décor. If looks could kill the Christmas tree would have turned brown and fell over, smashing the obnoxious glass balls that were stuck all over it. Severus smiled to himself as he imagined the tree falling, the shock on all the faces in the Great Hall, no one knowing it was he who had killed the tree.

"Severus, right?" Lucius sat down beside him, and began filling his plate.

"Yeah." Severus watched as the boy who hadn't spoken to him since the sorting ceremony smiled down at him.

"Are you going home?" Lucius asked as he took a dainty bite of egg.

"Yes." Severus decided he should probably attempt to eat something.

"My mother sent your mother an invitation to attend our world famous Christmas Eve party." Lucius lifted his chin slightly as he spoke emphasizing the importance of what he just said. "My mother said it was proper to invite a Prince to the party, after all they ARE still a pure-blood family."

"Oh," Severus wasn't sure what to say. His mother never spoke about her life before she married his father.

"She has yet to receive an R.S.V.P, but I assured her it was no doubt a simple oversight on the part of your mother. She must receive so many requests, I would imagine." Lucius narrowed his eyes.

"I'm sure that's it." Severus nodded. "I'll bring it up to her when I get home tonight."

"Wonderful!" Lucius flicked an eyebrow upward. "It's a shame your friend wasn't sorted into Slytherin. It's rumored she is quite intelligent."

"Lily?" Severus looked over to the Gryffindor table and spotted her speaking to another girl, whom he didn't know.

"That's her name?" Lucius asked as he followed Severus' gaze to the Gryffindor table. "It's of little consequence. I bring it up, merely to help you of course…It's my duty to inform you that it isn't wise to continue your friendship. I don't believe anyone has taken the time to fully explain the history of our houses to you?"

"No, no one's said anything to me." Severus shook his head, concerned.

"Gryffindor is our rival. It wouldn't bode well for you among the other Slytherins to be seen continually conversing with a Gryffindor. It's usually nothing your first year. I would say the rival isn't even that strong second or third year, but by fourth year you'll see it."

"I've known Lily since before coming to Hogwarts." Severus explained. A few of the older Slytherin students were now staring at him, having been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I'm not saying you're in the wrong. I'm telling you those other Gryffindors are going to turn her against you because you are a Slytherin. The sooner you accept that the better off you'll be to be honest." Lucius turned and took the hand of a girl who sat next to him. Severus watched as he pressed a kiss to the girls' hand. "Dearest, this is Severus he's a first year. Severus, this in my Narcissa."

"How nice to meet you, Severus." Narcissa smiled and tilted her head the way rich people do when they don't really want to interact with you. Severus recognized that look from the people in the shops back home, they all looked at his mother that way.

"Nice to meet you too." Severus swallowed hard.

"I can appreciate how difficult this must be for you, but being a Malfoy I must take the younger Slytherins under my wing and teach you the ways of Howgwarts, after all I won't be a student here forever. I must ensure I will be leaving the house in good hands as it were." Lucius sipped his juice, pinky out.

"Uhh…thanks?" Severus pondered over everything he was just told.

"No need to thank me." Lucius gave a curt nod before turning to his girlfriend.


The ride home was long and boring. Severus had watched the night sky for most of the trip. Lily and Sybil had been completely engrossed in their own conversations about classes and homework. They spoke about things he didn't know about, he wasn't included in their 'inside jokes' because they had more classes together than they did with him.

He wanted to strangle himself with his school issued tie after their twenty-minute discussion about how cute some of the magical creatures they were learning about in Care of Magical Creatures were. That class seemed to be almost as useless as Divination. Like he wanted to grow up and spend his life mucking out some stable for a Hippogriff.

"Severus?" Lily pulled him out of his thoughts. "What are you hoping you get for Christmas?"

"I don't care." He shrugged.

"You have to care! Everyone cares what they get!" Lily laughed as she gave Sybil a nudge with her elbow. Sybil jumped at the sudden poke, looking down at her olive green sweater.

"I really don't, I don't need anything." He replied. Of course he cared, but what was the use? Christmas never came to the Snape household, it was just another day. Sure, his mother would try, usually giving him socks or something. It was definitely not like the Christmas' he heard the other students describing. His mouth salivated at the memory of the Christmas dinner descriptions he had listened to in Charms class. They had the same meal every year, cabbage and potato soup. Severus grimaced internally. Calling it soup was a generous description, it was usually more water than anything else. Of course following the Snape family Christmas tradition, his father would sit down look at the soup and start yelling, asking where the meat was. Eileen would try to explain there wasn't money for the meat, and he would accuse her of spending it on frivolities. All of it was a load of bollocks, his father never gave the money to his mother to buy the damned meat. The money went, where most of the money tended to go, down his father's throat in the form of whatever alcohol he could buy with that amount.

"There has to be something you want. Everyone wants something, even if it's impossible." Lily pulled her legs under her.

"I don't know, I guess I would like some potions stuff. I like that class the best, so far. Maybe a little kit or something so I could practice?" Severus grabbed the first thing he could think of.

"See, you want something!" Lily was beaming.

"I want my own owl." Sybil interjected. Lily and Severus looked to her as she smoothed down a portion of her hair. "When I went to Diagon Alley to do my shopping they were out, so I didn't get one. Well…they weren't out so much as all they had left was one really old sad looking owl. My Dad wouldn't buy it. He said it was a waste of money to buy something that looked one flight away from death."

"That's terrible, the poor thing." Lily frowned. "I wonder why they don't just set them free once they get old?"

"They've been dependent on people too long, I'd imagine. If they let them go they would probably just keep coming back to be fed." Severus offered up the best explanation he could think of.

"That makes sense." Lily nodded. "Hey! Look!" She pointed out the window. Large fat snowflakes had begun to fall. "Oh, now it really feels like Christmas!"


"Thank you, Mr. Evans." Severus got out of the vehicle slowly. Lily was looking past him at his house. It didn't look like much, and not in that nice way either. He heard his mother say 'It doesn't look like much, but it's home.' No, it didn't look like much because it was an intolerable shithole. Lily's Dad followed him and opened the boot to retrieve his suitcase.

"It wasn't a problem, Severus. We hope you can join us for Christmas dinner!" He smiled. He had the same green eyes as his daughter.

"I'll try to make it." Severus replied as he turned to walk up the battered and uneven walkway. He heard the car door close and turning back slightly he spotted Lily waving slowly at him. Severus waved back before starting back towards his house.

Making his way up the rickety snow covered front stairs he hesitantly opened the door. There was dead silence. Severus sat his suitcase down and continued forward further into the house. Finally, he found his mother sitting in front of a small fire. His father was nowhere to be found.

"Hi, Mum, I'm home." Severus cleared his throat. He watched her startle and turn, a fresh bruise on her cheek.

"Tiddles! Oh, my boy! I'm so happy to see you!" She got up and came toward him, engulfing him in her arms.

"Mum, what happened?" He spoke into her chest.

"It's nothing," Eileen laughed. "Really, don't worry yourself over it. Tell me how school is going!"

"It's terrible with an occasion non terrible day." Severus replied blandly.

"Oh now, it can't be all that bad." Eileen tutted. He watched as he bustled around the stark room, fixing a tattered afghan that hung on the back of the patched up couch. There was nothing in their small house to indicate it was Christmas.

"Mum, I have something for you. I know it's not quite Christmas yet, but…I can't wait." He smiled widely. It was the sole reason he wanted to come home. He found out that most of the people in his house came from wealthy families, and they didn't like writing feet of parchment. For the past month, he had been charging people to do their work. Sticking his hand deep into his pocket he pulled out 1 galleon and 12 muggle pounds, he opened his hand palm up for her.

"Oh, Severus! Where did you get this?" Eileen reached out quickly and closed his fingers over the money.

"I earned it, for you." Severus thrust out his hand once more to her.

"Thank you so much, but I can't take it sweetheart." Eileen smiled sadly, wisps of gray and black hair falling from their tether.

"Mum, please take it. I worked really hard for it, use it to buy meat for Christmas dinner." He couldn't stop the hurt look from forming on his face. Eileen sighed softly before sitting down on their gray sofa. She gently patted the area next to her inviting him to sit, he obeyed. Looking up her eyes suddenly looked far away. Severus looked in the same direction, all he saw was the paint peeling from their walls and the thin curtains hanging from the rods like old rags. "I appreciate that you did this for me. Truly, I do. You're such a sweet boy. I can't accept it because your father would ask where I got it."

"I'll tell him I earned it!" Severus leaned forward enthusiastically.

"Darling, my sweet little Severus." She reached up and cupped his face. "He would only get angry. No, Tiddles, keep your money."

"Mum…" He pleaded, desperate to help her.

"I said no, and that's final, sweetheart." Her voice was firm but gentle as she shook her head. "Now, go and take your suitcase to your room and clean up before your father gets home."

"Fine." He stood up, defeated as he went to retrieve his things. As he lugged the suitcase up the creaking staircase and entered his lonely little room, which contained nothing more than his cot he finally allowed himself to cry. Severus plopped down atop his familiar brown coverlet and allowed the tears to fall freely, sniffling he wiped his nose on the back of his hand.

No matter what he did, he couldn't help her. He thought back to how Lily's family was. They smiled at one another. They looked happy and content. Forcing himself to stop crying he wiped his face.

"I'll never be like this when I grow up. I'm not going to be like him." Severus vowed to himself. The front door slammed, shaking the floor of his room.

"EILEEN!" His father's voice boomed sending a bolt of fear to his very core. "WHERE'S MY DINNER?"

"Tobias, dear, I have it waiting for you on the table!" Eileen replied, her voice dripping with kindness. Severus cringed. How could she be so nice to him? "Severus is home for the Christmas holiday."

"Little ingrate! He should have stayed where he was, dammit! You know I didn't want him going off to that freak show of a school! The boy knows how to read and write, that's all a man needs to know. He should be out working with his hands. But, NO, the little fuck is too bloody good to be like his old man!" His father was yelling at the top of his lungs now. "Where is the little shite?"

"He's putting his things away, Tobias." Eileen replied. He heard a crash, a glass striking the wall if he had to venture a guess.

"BOY! Get down here!" Severus jumped up, wiping his face once more to ensure there were no signs that he had been crying, before making his way down the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. He rounded the corner and saw his father sitting at the table, his mother standing at the stove stirring something.

"Hello, Father." Severus spoke hesitantly.

"Sit down." Tobias pointed to the chair opposite him. Severus moved quickly and quietly to pull out the chair and lower himself into it. His eyes never left his fathers leathered face. "Why did you come home?"

"It's…Christmas, sir." He replied, casting a furtive glance to his mother. Eileen walked up beside him and placed his dinner before him.

"It's Christmas…sir." His father raised the pitch of his voice and mocked Severus. "Don't bloody think you came back just to sit around here all day and eat my food, boy! You came back and I'm going to put you to work, you can bet on it!"

"Yes, sir." Severus lowered his face as he picked up his fork.