April 13th, 1974

After we eat breakfast and say goodbye to Joseph, Clarence, and John on the first day of Easter Break, Evan and I head back to the common room to play some chess while we wait for it to warm up outside. I catch a chill waiting outside for the train to come for our friends, so Evan lends me his comfy turquoise sweater. It's so big on me, I feel like I'm drowning in it. I hold the ends of the sleeves in my fingers, making sweater-paws, and tuck my chin and nose under the collar. It smells like Evan. When we get back to the common room, Evan throws a big blanket over both of us, and we sit down by the fire. Shivering, I look out from Evan's sweater and watch him set up the chess board. The fire dances in his eyes as he looks up and grins at me.
"You ready? I've been practicing, so I'm going to win!" he says.
"I don't know, I'm pretty sneaky!" I smile under his sweater, "And besides, you get distracted! Don't be so sure of yourself!"
"You might be sneaky, but I'm not going to get distracted! Hey, Sev?"
"Mmm?"
"Do you wanna make a bet?" he says, tossing his king from hand to hand.
"Maybe. What are the terms?"
"I don't know! I want you to fly with me up high by the goal hoops so I can practice keeping, but I know you don't like flying that high."
"How about if you win, I'll fly up high with you, and if I win… I don't know! What do you think?" I ask, then, remembering how it was raining earlier, I exclaim, "If I win you have to come splash in the puddles with me!"
"What?" he asks, confused.
"Yeah, nevermind, it was a stupid idea. Just forget I said anything," I mumble, blushing.
"No! It wasn't stupid! I've never done that before. I didn't know we could!"
"What?! What do you mean you've never splashed in puddles before?"
"My parents never let me," he shrugs, "they always said it's not proper."
"Oh, right. You're a pureblood and all. I never really thought about it like that. My parents were never around, so I always just played in the woods and stuff growing up. My dad always whooped me real bad though if I tracked any mud into the house!"
"Sev?"
"Yeah?"
"If I win, will you tell me more about your parents and growing up in your town? I'll splash in puddles with you even if you don't win," he says, lightly touching my hand at the edge of the chess board.
"Do you promise?" I ask quietly, meeting his eyes with my own.
He nods, not looking away, then takes his hand away. For some reason, I wish he hadn't.
"I'll go up high with you even if you don't win, too, then," I smile. As we play, I notice a few crucial moves I could make that could help me win the game later on, but I don't make them. Evan is so excited, and it makes me happy to watch him laughing in the firelight. When he wins, I congratulate him, clear off the board, and put it away under the coffee table where it belongs. We decide that, since it's raining, we'll hold off on quidditch till tomorrow, and go outside and splash in the puddles now. Then we can come back inside, take warm showers, and put on our sweaters and blankets by the fire to talk.
"You gotta go change if you're gonna play in the rain, though!" I laugh, looking at Evan in his nice pants, button-down shirt, sweater, and fancy leather shoes.
"Like what?" he asks, puzzled.
"Like what I'm wearing! But obviously we're gonna take off our shoes. Don't you have jeans and an old sweater or something like me?"
"No, my parents would never let me dress like that! Are you crazy?" he laughs. As his words register in my head, I can feel my smile slipping from my face like wax melting down the side of a candle, and there's an awkward silence, "Sorry, Sev. It's just that— I didn't mean— you know how my parents are. How all of our pureblood families are!"
I shake my head, then, trying to ease the tension, I say, "Well, maybe just wear your quidditch uniform. That's meant to get wet."
"Good idea! I'll go change! Do you want to wear one of my uniforms, too?"
"They'd be too big on me. I can just wear my dad's old sweater from the factory."
"Don't be stupid! That's got holes all over it! Why don't you wear my old practice sweater from last semester?"
I agree, and Evan goes to change.

When he comes out, he throws me his old practice sweater. I take off his turquoise sweater and put on his quidditch practice sweater. I roll the sleeves up twice and hug myself awkwardly. I feel odd wearing a sweater that has Evan's last name on it, but it's okay. It's not weird or anything— he's just lending me his sweater so I don't have to get mine wet. We're just friends.
"That looks nice on you," he says quietly.
"Thanks, I like how soft it is on the inside, too! If I was good at flying, maybe I'd try out for the team just to get a sweater!"
Evan laughs, and we head off for the grounds.

On our way, we pass Professor McGonagall. She asks us where we're off to, and I tell her we're going to splash in the puddles outside. She gives us a rare smile, and tells us to make sure we dry off afterwards so that we don't catch a cold, and Evan says we will. When we make it outside, we leave our shoes and socks under the overhang and immediately run out in the pouring rain straight into the largest puddle there is. Laughing, I look back at Evan. He is standing awkwardly by a smaller puddle, tapping it with his bare foot as if he's never seen one before in his life.
"Come on, Evan! Jump in this one! It's real big!" I yell over to him, stomping my foot into the center to make a point. He walks cautiously over, watching the ground for stones and gravel. Once he gets close enough, I jump hard into the puddle, splashing him with the muddy water.
He laughs, and kicks the water back at me. Giggling, I run off to a different puddle. My feet have lots of calluses from running around Cokeworth barefoot every summer, but Evan must not have many calluses, because he steps gingerly. After a while, I get him to loosen up a bit, and once we're both thoroughly soaked, we head back inside, making sure to wring out the excess water from our clothes before putting our shoes and socks back on. We stop by the great hall to grab some sandwiches for lunch, and, shivering, we eat while we hustle back to the common room.

Once we've showered, changed, and have wrapped ourselves up in blankets by the fire, Evan says, "Well?"
"Well what?" I ask.
"You said you would tell me about your family and your town!"
My heart drops, but I promised him I would, so I have to, "Um, it's okay, I guess. There are some woods right near us, and a little river. There are lots of big pipes in the woods that lead to the old steel mill. My dad used to work there, but it shut down and now everybody works in the car factory instead."
"Wow! I wish we had woods! I thought your family didn't have any money— how do you have woods?" he exclaims.
His comment about my family not having any money stings, but I brush it off, "We don't own the woods, stupid," I say, lightly punching him in the shoulder, "they're just there. Lots of deer and animals live in there. My dad's always talking about getting his hunting license renewed and fixing up his dad's old gun, but he never has the time or money," I shrug, secretly grateful.
"What's a gun?"
"It's like a metal wand that has bullets inside that come out like spells and hit things and kill them."
"Wow! Your dad must be really strong and cool then!"
"I guess," I say quietly, "He sure is strong, but I don't know how cool he is. He's got a real bad temper."
"What do you mean? Like he gets mad easily?" Evan turns around to face me, brow furrowed.
I just shrug, looking into the fire.
"Come on, you promised you'd tell me!"
"I don't wanna talk about it anymore. Tell me more about your family."
Evan shakes his head, "I've already told you everything. You promised you'd tell me everything about your town and your family!"
"I did! My town is a poor, shitty little muggle town where everybody works in the car factory, and the dads drink too much and hit their kids, and the mums don't care! What else do you wanna know?!" I snap. Then, seeing the shock on Evan's face, I take a deep breath, cover my face with the sleeves of Evan's turquoise sweater. After a few quiet seconds, I ask, "Does your dad drink?"
"Wine, I guess. My parents say that drinking hard liquor is trashy, but they're super old-school, you know?"
"My dad drinks a lot, but he doesn't drink wine."
"What does he drink?"
"Whiskey, gin, vodka, tequila, rum," I shrug, "shit like that. Stuff that gets you drunk real quick."
"What's he like when he gets drunk?"
"He gets real mean. He finds reasons to be mad at me. Sometimes I guess I deserve it, but mostly I don't think I do. Once I just went downstairs to get some crackers and he said I was too loud, even though I was being real quiet, and I know his hearing's not that great 'cause he works in the factory, and he whooped me so bad. And once I came home from a friend's house late on Christmas and he was drinking and he whooped me just 'cause I walked in the house and he didn't want me there! I don't understand why he's like that! and and and and…" I feel as if all the secrets I've been pushing down for so long are leaking out of me, like a balloon with a tiny hole somewhere, and I just can't stop myself.
"What do you mean he whooped you? What does that mean?"
"He always hits me with his belt or... nevermind," I mutter.
"What do you mean? Like, he spanks you?"
I turn around and lift up the back of my shirt, "You know all these scars I got? That's from his belt. I told you he's real strong," I pull my shirt back down over my back and turn back to Evan.
His face is pale, and he looks shocked, "And if he's drunk he sometimes he hits me, too. That's why I'm always coming back to school with all bruises and stuff. That's why I gotta take potions for my head. 'Cause I've had so many concussions."
"I always wondered where you got those scars and bruises from, but I never thought it would have been your dad! Merlin, Sev, that's terrible!" Evan exclaims, scooting over and wrapping me up in a hug.
I know I shouldn't, but I relax into his embrace, "You gotta promise not to tell, Evan."
"But how will you get help if nobody ever tells?!"
I shrug my shoulders, "He always manages to stay sober for a couple months every year. Maybe someday he'll stay sober for good. He doesn't hit me too bad when he's sober, he just whoops me with his belt."
"What about your mum?"
I laugh coldly, and say, "Oh, she doesn't care. She's never home anyways."
Evan squeezes me tighter and whispers, "I'm so sorry, Sev. Is there anything I can do to make it better?"
I shake my head, "Uh uh, I just gotta stay out of his way when I'm home."
"Sev… I'm so so sorry," he murmurs, and I nuzzle my head into his shoulder, "I wish I could do something to protect you."
With a jolt, I realize how much I like the way he smells, "It's okay. Let's play some more chess or something. I'm ready to beat you this time!" I say, lifting my head up and smiling at him. His face is too close to mine, and before I can say or do anything stupid, I pull away from him. We decide to play a couple more games of chess before supper, then after supper, I teach Evan how to play 7-Card Stud. He picks it up quickly, and even wins a few hands.

The next day, as promised, I fly up high with Evan and toss him the quaffle so he can practice his goal-keeping. He wants to be Keeper next year, but he doesn't think he'll make it, since we'll only be fourth-years. I tell him that if he practices enough, I'm sure he'll get it. And even if he doesn't, being a Chaser isn't that bad! He agrees, but begrudgingly. As much as I like helping Evan practice, I'm extremely pleased when my feet hit the ground. Once we've put away the quidditch supplies and the school broom I was using, we pass by the Great Hall, but since nothing looks good there, Evan pulls me past.
"Where are we going?" I whisper.
"You'll see!" he says.
We head down a staircase that I assume leads somewhere beneath the Great Hall, and stop by a painting of a bowl of fruit.
"Why are you showing me a painting?" I grumble.
Evan shushes me, then tickles the painted pear in the fruit bowl. Immediately, a door handle appears, and I gasp as Evan opens the door to the Hogwarts Kitchen! There must be a hundred house elves running around!
"Charles showed me how to get in here when I knocked Black off his broom in the last quidditch match! Isn't this awesome?!"
"Wow, Evan! This is so cool! You know," I say as a house elf comes bobbing up to us with a platter of roast beef sandwiches, "I bet Dobby'd love working here."
"Yeah? Why do you say that?" he says, grabbing a sandwich off the platter and thanking the house elf.
"I know the Malfoys don't treat him that good. Lucius isn't too mean to him when I'm around 'cause he knows it bothers me, but I can tell he's not treated good."
"How can you tell?"
I shrug, thinking about the way Dobby always seems to tense up whenever any of the Malfoys come into the room, and remembering how I do the same with my dad, "I guess I can just tell. He's always nervous around them, you know? But all the house elves here look happy."
Evan glances at me knowingly, and hands me a sandwich.
"Would young masters like some tea?" another house elf squeaks.
"Sure, that'd be nice! Thank you!" I respond before Evan can say anything. I'm still a little chilly from flying earlier, and I can't wait to cuddle up by the fire again with Evan.

After we drink our tea, we take our sandwiches and the apples and cupcakes we grabbed from the kitchen and head back to the Slytherin common room. We both grab a big, cozy blanket and curl up on the couch to eat our sandwiches. As I go to take a bite of my sandwich, a tiny voice in my mind tells me that I should skip supper because if I eat too much, I'll get big, and nobody will pay attention to me anymore. I hesitate and look up at Evan.
He glances at me and smiles, saying, "The sandwiches are good! What kind did you get?"
I push the thought out of my mind, and check inside of my sandwich, "Mine's turkey! What's yours?"
"Roast beef! You want to trade your other half for my other half?"
"Sure! I like the roast beef here!" I exclaim, happily handing over the second half of my sandwich and biting into my first half. It's good, and before I can stop myself, I finish my sandwich. For the rest of the evening, we play 7-Card Stud, betting on the crisps Evan took from the kitchen.

After a while, I start yawning, but I don't want the night to end, so I rest my head on my hand and keep playing. Evan scoots closer to me, but I don't move away. My eyelids feel heavy.
"Do you want to go to bed?" Evan asks.
"I guess," I shrug.
"Sev?"
"Mmm?"
"Do you… maybe do you want to… nevermind," Evan mutters. I open my sleepy eyes to curiously look at him. He's looking down, blushing.
"What?"
"I said nevermind," he mumbles.
"Whatever you say," I smile, yawn, and stand up, "Wanna just leave this stuff out tonight? We can finish playing tomorrow."
"Sure, that's fine. Are you going to bed now?"
"Yeah, I'm tired. You coming?"
"Yeah," Evan stretches, stands up, and follows me into our dorm. We quickly change into our pajamas and curl up in our beds.
"Evan?" I ask. My voice seems loud in the silence.
"Yeah?"
"Are you having a good break? I'm sorry you didn't get to go home this year."
"Of course! I told you I wanted to stay with you, didn't I? This is the most fun Easter Break I've ever had! I want to do this again next year, too! Unless you maybe want to come to my place?"
"That'd be nice! It depends, though," I murmur.
"What do you mean?" he says, and I can hear him shift in his bed.
"My parents probably won't want me to come home, so it just depends on what Lucius wants me to do. If he wants me to come to the manor, or if he wants me to go somewhere else. It just depends. I hope we can spend break together, too, though!"
"Why don't you just tell him what you want to do?"
"It's not that simple," I mutter, and turn around.
"Whatever you say, Sev, but I feel like you should be able to stay where you want for your breaks."
"At least I don't have to be at home, though, you know?" I say.
"I suppose so," he yawns.
"Goodnight, Evan," I turn back around and nuzzle my face into my pillow, cuddling my rabbit plushie tight.
"Goodnight, Sev."

About halfway through Easter break, Evan and I both get owls at breakfast. Evan's is from his parents. It contains a small bag of coins for him to spend at Hogsmeade, some chocolate, and an Easter card. Mine is from Lucius! Last year he didn't send me anything because he didn't know I was going to be staying at school over break, and my dad doesn't like when owls bring things, but this year he sends me lots of nice things! Along with some chocolate, he sends a few of my favorite lollipops, a knitted cream-colored sweater that Narcissa made for me, a new hairbrush, and a card!

Dear Severus,
Happy Easter. I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry you had to stay at school over break again this year, but hopefully you enjoy these gifts. Narcissa knitted this sweater for you, and she says she hopes it fits you. I know you have a comb, but I don't remember you owning a hairbrush when you were at the manor over Christmas, so I sent you a new one. I want you to make sure you're washing your hair with the shampoo and conditioner I gave you every other day, and keeping your hair neat and free of tangles. I am considering dropping in to visit sometime before your exams at the end of the year. If Narcissa is free, she says she will come with me and trim your hair while we're there. I hope you are enjoying your break, and that you're not too lonely. Keep studying hard, and try to eat enough.
Sincerely,
Lucius A. Malfoy

"Is that from your mum and dad?" asks Evan through a mouthful of chocolate.
I shake my head, "No. They never send me anything. This is from Lucius and Narcissa."
"Oh! That's nice of them!"
"Yeah! Narcissa made the sweater herself!" I smile, taking my own sweater off and slipping my new one over my head. It's a bit big on me, but otherwise it fits fine, "It's real soft. She did a good job. He also sent me some candy and a new hairbrush. He says to wash my hair every other day and to keep it neat and free of tangles."
"Why is he telling you what to do with your hair?" Evan says, frowning slightly, "Doesn't it bother you that he tells you what to do all the time?"
"I dunno, I'm used to it by now, I guess. The way I think of it, at least somebody's looking out for me, and he's a good friend to have. I'm lucky he likes me. My mum always says to do everything he tells me to do and to be good for him. And he usually treats me real good, so I don't mind."
"Your mum told you to do everything he says and to be good for him?" Evan says incredulously, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. Why?"
"I don't know, Sev, that seems weird to me, but I don't know."
"I'm just poor trash from Cokeworth, Evan," I say, remembering what Potter told me before break, "I'm lucky Lucius pays any attention to me at all."
"Don't say that, Sev! You're not just poor trash! You shouldn't listen to anything Potter says. He's the one who's trash, not you!" Evan exclaims.
"Keep your voice down!" I hiss, looking up at the main table where a few of the professors have stopped to look at us.
"Sorry, it just bothers me when you say stuff like that. But like you say, it's whatever, I guess."
I shrug and pull out a quill and a piece of parchment to write back to Lucius.

Dear Lucius,
Thank you so much for the candy and the new brush! And please tell Narcissa I say thank you for the sweater! Its super soft! Its a little big but I can grow into it! I promis I'm washing my hair every other day like you said and I promis I'll try harder to make it neat. Thank you for remembring me and sending me a card and everything even thogh you were busy. I really appreshiate it. I'm eksited to see you and Narcissa again and I hope your having a good Easter too. Evan stayed here over break too so I'm not lonely!
Sincerely,
Severus

I attach the letter to the leg of Lucius' eagle-owl, and give her a pat on the head and a piece of bacon before she flies back off. When I look over at Evan, he's sending his owl off with his letter as well. We finish off our breakfast, and head outside to walk around the lake and talk. I bring some bread to feed to the giant squid.

The rest of break passes uneventfully. We play cards, chess, and I help Evan practice quidditch. We do some exploring, and even go to the empty classroom by the potions labs to practice our spells and dueling once in a while. When the last day of break comes, I'm a bit disappointed. Normally I'd be excited to start school again, but, surprisingly, I don't want this break to end.