Chapter 7- Summer's End (Age 9)

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The summer was passing far too quickly for Severus' liking. Ever since joining Lily and her family for lunch, he had seen Lily nearly every day. They'd spent countless hours reading and talking together in the park glade and had even ventured around the village outskirts in search of magical herbs and plants. Spending time with her was a welcome escape from his miserable home life. By spending most of his time away from Spinner's End, he had managed to mostly avoid his father and was spared from his mum's oppressive melancholy. He still couldn't believe that Lily wanted to be his friend, and never teased him for his ridiculous clothes or unkempt appearance.

That morning, he went about his normal routine, preparing to meet Lily at the park. He threw on a pair of shabby jeans and regrettably, one of his mum's old shirts. He wrinkled his nose, scowling, and lifted the offending article of clothing out of his drawer. He tried his best not to wear them around Lily, but it was his last clean shirt. He knew Lily wouldn't tease him, but a chance encounter with Petunia or the boys on Spinner's End wouldn't be pleasant. He grabbed the book he and Lily were currently reading, The Standard Book of Spells, and tossed on his overly large coat to cover his shirt.

It was still early, and Severus could hear his father's loud snores coming from his parent's bedroom down the hall. Deciding he was safe enough to leave the house, he hurried down the stairs, stepping lightly to avoid the creaky spots on the rickety staircase. He darted to the washroom to freshen up, hoping the noise wouldn't wake his father. With the house still quiet, he finished in the washroom and went to the kitchen to take something small for breakfast, just to get him by until he and Lily had lunch together. That had been another pleasant side effect of being Lily's friend. Mrs. Evans religiously sent Lily to the park with lunch for the both of them, and her sandwiches and occasional baked goods provided him with at least one satisfying meal a day. It made the days when there wasn't enough food in the house for dinner much more bearable.

He stopped abruptly as he entered the dimly lit kitchen, noticing his mum sitting at the table in her tattered dressing gown with a chipped teacup. Severus rarely saw her in the morning, typically disappearing from the house before she left her bedroom. She could have passed for a ghost, he thought, slumped at the table in the early morning light with her pale skin, lank hair, and worn gray clothing.

She glanced up, noticing him in the doorway, "Good morning, Severus," she whispered.

Surprised she acknowledged him, he whispered back, "morning, mum," before grabbing two small apples from the bowl on the counter, and turning to leave the room.

"See you tonight, mum," he murmured.

He met her eyes briefly, then left the kitchen, not waiting for a response.

Severus hadn't told her about his visit to the Evans' house or anything more about Lily. She had been so despondent lately, it was easier to shut her out than to get his hopes up that she might return to the person she had been during his early childhood. If he was honest with himself, his mum's lack of care hurt him far more than any abuse from his father ever could. He tried his best to pretend he didn't care, it was better that way, and once he went off to Hogwarts it would only be a few more short years before he could be out on his own. Leaving the house without another word, he tried to push the thoughts about his mum out of his head, hoping that Lily would never let him down the way his family had.

(***)

Lily rolled out of bed, rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to the bright morning light streaming through her bedroom windows. Still in her pajamas, she shuffled down the stairs to join her mum and sister for breakfast.

She entered the dining room just as her mum was putting steaming bowls of porridge on the table.

"Morning, Lils! Just in time for breakfast! I'll be right in to join you girls," her mum said cheerily, wiping her hands on her apron before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Lily plopped down in her seat, glancing over at Petunia. Ever since Severus had come to visit, Petunia hadn't been very nice to her. She'd taken one look at the magical, moving photograph that Severus had created and scoffed, muttering about how Lily and their parents were wrapped up in some kind of hoax that the Snape boy had devised to take advantage of them. Even after their mum had reprimanded her, Petunia had continued to make rude comments about Severus and tease Lily about magic.

"Morning, Tuney," Lily said, attempting to be pleasant, suddenly very self-conscious of her frizzy hair and pajamas.

"Good morning, Lily," Petunia said coldly. "I suppose you'll be meeting that boy again today, as always. Does he bother to wash his hair for you, or does he always come looking like a gutter rat?" She sent Lily a nasty smirk.

Lily blushed, feeling embarrassed for Severus, and opened her mouth to retort when her mum returned from the kitchen.

"Petunia!" she said sharply. "That isn't a very kind thing to say about Lily's friend. I'm certain you would be upset if she talked about your friends that way."

Petunia gave them both a haughty look, "She doesn't need to. All of my friends come from respectable backgrounds! May I be excused now, mum? I've already finished my breakfast."

Rose looked between her two daughters for a moment, then gave a defeated sigh and waved Petunia off, "yes, I suppose Petunia, but apologize to your sister first and then do your dishes."

Petunia shot Lily a dirty look. "Fine, I'm sorry Lily," she said, and stormed out of the room.

Lily frowned, "I don't know what I did to upset her, mum. Ever since Sev came to visit, she's been really mean to me. Sev can't help that he doesn't have nice clothes and stuff like Tuney's friends, and we both can't help that we have magic. I want to share what I've learned with her but she says she doesn't believe me," she said glumly.

"Don't take what she says to heart, Lils. Petunia is going through a lot of transition right now, and I'm sure she feels that she needs to be a certain way to fit in with the girls at her new school this fall."

Rose gave her youngest daughter a reassuring smile, "besides, she might be a little upset that Severus has taken her place as her little sister's favorite teacher. That doesn't excuse the rude things she's said about him, but try to think about it from her side too. She probably misses you tagging along after her all the time even if she doesn't say so. You know your father and I like Severus, he's always welcome here."

"I'll try my best, mum," Lily murmured. She sighed, based on how Petunia had been acting the last few weeks, she didn't think that there would be improvement anytime soon. It hurt that her sister had suddenly started treating her like there was something wrong with her.

"Good! It's important to me that you girls get along, don't forget that. Even if you are very different, you're always going to be family."

"I'm trying, mum!" Lily sighed with exasperation. It hurt that Petunia didn't seem to have any interest in learning about the magical knowledge that Sev had shared with her. She missed spending time with her sister, even if Petunia could be a bit of a nag.

"Lily?"

"Yes mum?" Lily said, snapping back to attention.

"You looked a bit far away for a moment. Why don't you try to talk with your sister for a bit? I think she'd appreciate you spending time with her even if it doesn't seem that way. I'd like you to wait until after your father gets back this morning to go see Severus in the park today too. We have a surprise to share with you girls!" She smiled brightly at Lily.

"Now go get yourself dressed and make up with your sister, I'll call you girls down when your father is back!"

(***)

Lily dragged a brush through her hair and threw on a clean sundress. She figured Petunia would only scoff at her further if she set foot in her room looking unkempt. Ever since their parents had announced that Petunia would be starting at a private girl's academy in Manchester in the fall, Petunia had become a stickler for manners and appearances.

She hoped that people would be kinder at Hogwarts because she hated how Petunia teased Severus for his shabby appearance. She could tell how much it bothered him, and she knew he suffered enough at his own home as he was frequently covered in all manner of cuts and bruises. Lily had quickly stopped buying his excuses that he was frequently clumsy, and Severus had admitted to her that things were not good at his home when his father was drunk. It scared her that someone could be so cruel to their child and she hated seeing Sev in pain. She and Petunia were lucky to have loving parents and nice things! She still felt guilty for not telling her parents about Sev's situation, but he had strictly told her not to say a word to anyone else and she couldn't betray the trust of her only friend. She hoped that Sev wouldn't mind her being late to the park this morning. They'd met almost every morning this summer by 10 am at their secret spot by the river.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Lily finally put her brush down on her dresser, deciding she shouldn't put off seeing Petunia any longer.

She padded down the hallway and gently rapped on Petunia's door, "Tuney? Can I come in?"

There was silence for a few seconds and she half wondered if Petunia would just ignore her, but then she heard her sister sigh loudly.

"Fine Lily, you can come in."

Lily opened the door with cautious optimism and noticed that Petunia was folding a stack of jumpers that were part of her new school uniform.

Hoping that starting with a fresh topic of conversation would do them some good, she said, "Are those for your new uniform? I'm really going to miss being together at the village school with you, Tuney."

Petunia scoffed, "Really Lily? I thought you had the filthy Snape boy to chase around now, you'll hardly notice I'm gone."

Lily frowned, she didn't understand why Petunia hated Severus so much, but thinking of her conversation with her mum, she tried again, "Severus doesn't go to the village school, Tuney. And besides, I still want to spend time with you. You have lots of other friends, why can't I have one too?"

Petunia just glared at her, "my friends don't come from the wrong side of town, Lily. You know what some of the boys from Spinner's End are like at school, and the Snape's are the worst of the lot. That's probably why he doesn't even go to our school, and now he's putting all kinds of strange thoughts in your head, I don't know why mum and dad are entertaining it for your sake! Mark my words, he's going to be bad news for you! You don't want to be a freak like him, Lily!"

At this point, Lily could feel tears starting to spill from her eyes, and she felt her anger rising with Petunia. It not only hurt to hear her say bad things about her friend again, but now she was insinuating that Lily was lost in some sort of fantasy world going on about magic when Petunia had seen her do incredible things!

"Magic is real, Tuney", Lily said firmly, meeting her sister's glare with her own, "and Severus and I are not freaks!"

At that moment, the small glass bottle of perfume that Petunia had sitting on her desk exploded.

Lily, still standing in the doorway, looked at the ruined bottle and the remaining perfume that was now slowly trickling down the side of the desk. She was shocked, "I'm sorry Tuney, I don't know how I made that happen."

She genuinely felt bad, and hadn't meant to ruin any of Petunia's things. It definitely wouldn't help things between her and her sister. She glanced at Petunia. Her sister also looked shocked, but recovered quickly, fixing Lily with a nasty look.

Lily was expecting the worst, but just as Petunia opened her mouth to tell Lily off, their mum shouted from downstairs, "Petunia, Lily! Your father just got home, come downstairs please!"

Petunia huffed, shot Lily one last glare, and pushed past her to meet their parents downstairs. Lily slumped her shoulders, feeling like she'd only made more of a mess of things with Petunia, and dutifully followed her sister downstairs.

(***)

When the girls made it downstairs to the living room, their parents were waiting for them on the sofa, looking incredibly cheerful in contrast to Petunia's scowl and Lily's frown and red rimmed eyes.

"Why the long faces, girls?" Hank asked, confused, glancing at his wife with concern. "Your mum and I have a surprise for you girls, so hopefully we'll see some smiles back on those faces."

Rose looked skeptically at her daughters, she assumed Lily's talk with Petunia hadn't gone well. It hurt her heart that her two daughters seemed to be at odds with each other lately. Trying to stay cheerful, she said, "your father and I have decided to take you girls on holiday before the start of school! We've rented a cottage on the shore in Yorkshire for four days, and you can each bring a friend."

Lily was excited, although their family lived comfortably, it was rare that they went on holiday. She glanced at Petunia, assuming that she would be excited too, but noticed that her sister was still frowning.

"Lily doesn't have any friends other than that Snape boy. Are you really going to let him come on our holiday? What will my friend think? I don't even know who would want to come if that boy is there!" Petunia wailed.

Lily noticed that both her parents looked rather shocked by Petunia's outburst. Her father nodded to her mum, and her mum promptly led her out of the living room to the kitchen. She could hear her father scolding Petunia followed by what sounded like her sister's sobs.

"Why don't you go see Severus in the park now Lily? I was hoping that this would be exciting news for our family, but it seems like Petunia is very upset." Her mum gave her a quick hug, "I don't like to see my girls fighting."

Lily just frowned, "I don't know how to make things better with her, mum," she said softly. "I don't want Tuney to hate me."

Her mum handed her two wrapped sandwiches and ruffled Lily's hair. "It'll get better Lils, there's just a lot of transition for everyone right now and we'll talk to Petunia while you're gone. Just try your best to be kind to your sister." She smiled gently, "and please tell Severus that we would love to have him along on the holiday, maybe it would be a good chance for you three to find common ground."

Lily was doubtful that Severus would even want to come if Petunia and her friend were going to be there, but she nodded, still sniffling a bit. She gave her mum one last hug, slid on a pair of sandals, and bolted out the back door of the kitchen. She needed to see Severus, he always made her feel less alone.

(***)

Severus had been waiting in the park for hours without any sign of Lily. He always got to the park long before her in efforts to spend as little time at home as possible, but today the sun was already high in the sky, and it was well past midday.

He was sure that she hadn't mentioned having something else to do with her family today, otherwise he would have planned to spend the day brewing in the attic. The longer he sat alone, the more doubts began to seep into his mind. Maybe Lily had finally started to listen to Petunia and didn't want to see him anymore.

Just as he was starting to contemplate the possibility of spending his days alone again, he heard the telltale rustle of branches as someone entered the glade. Severus turned to see Lily walking towards him, although she was lacking in her usual exuberance. Even at a distance, he could tell that she was upset, her shoulders were slumped, and she was missing her bright smile that always made his day. As she drew closer, he noticed her eyes were red and puffy, making her vibrant green irises look even more vivid.

Severus suddenly felt very guilty for assuming the worst of Lily. He stood to greet her, realizing he had no idea how to comfort her. Whenever his mum was upset or hurt after an encounter with his father, she always wanted to lick her wounds in solitude. He figured her remaining pride made her too ashamed to seek comfort from him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd hugged his mum, but it was probably sometime before her wand had been broken. She used to be affectionate and caring when he was young, but he barely remembered that these days. Lily was the only one that seemed to care about him or his well-being now.

Unfortunately, that didn't help him very much now. Lily's current pain wasn't something he could fix with his homemade bruise salve or the muggle antiseptic she would bring for him after a rough night with his father.

They sat down together, nestled in the roots of the beech tree, when Severus noticed Lily was crying again.

Awkwardly, he reached his arm around her shoulders, and gave her a gentle squeeze, "it's okay now Lily, err… we can talk about it when you feel better", he said calmly, hoping he was coming across as soothing.

However, it seemed to have the opposite effect, as Lily began to cry harder and suddenly shifted her body so that she was now fully hugging Severus with her face squished against his shoulder. He nearly panicked at the sudden physical contact, he felt his heart rate speed up and a sudden urge to get away. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was not caught in his father's vice grip, but just the arms of his upset friend.

Lily continued to cry, her tears dampening his shirt. Not knowing what else to do until she calmed down, he awkwardly patted her back. He focused on studying Lily's deep red hair to keep himself calm, noticing that it smelled lightly floral now that she was so close to him. It was very strange to have another person touching him without the threat of physical harm.

The two of them remained together in silence for a few minutes, save for Lily's quiet sobbing. Finally, she took a deep breath and lifted her head from Severus's shoulder, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry, Sev," she mumbled, looking a bit embarrassed as she untangled herself from their awkward embrace.

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked gently, not really sure how to help her.

"Tuney hates me!" Another tear slid down her cheek.

Severus was torn. In a way he was glad Petunia and Lily were fighting because it was clear that she despised him and he didn't want her to take Lily away. He couldn't stand how Petunia treated him like filth that was slowly poisoning her little sister. He may have grown up on the wrong side of Cokeworth, but he was magical and she was not. When they grew up, he and Lily would have amazing magical abilities and Petunia would still just be plain old mean Petunia! However, he didn't want Lily to be upset, and he certainly did not want her to stop spending time with him in efforts to repair the relationship with her sister.

He tried his best to keep his tone even, "I'm sure that's not true, maybe she's just jealous of our magic."

Lily squeezed her knees to her chest, as if trying to make herself as small as possible. She leaned her cheek against her knees and glanced towards Severus, "I don't know, Sev. I've never seen her like this before," she murmured.

He sighed quietly, wishing they could be reading together instead of spending the day discussing Petunia, but no matter how much he hated Petunia, he couldn't bear to see Lily upset, "alright, tell me what happened with her. We'll figure it out together."

(***)

They spent the whole afternoon discussing Lily's unpleasant morning including her use of accidental magic. Frankly, Severus wasn't surprised that Petunia had been so unkind to Lily. He wasn't sure why Lily thought that it was worth trying to fix things with her sister, in his opinion rotten people didn't change overnight, but he supposed he didn't have any siblings for comparison.

However, he had been shocked when Lily shared with him that her family had invited him on their holiday trip. No wonder Petunia was so enraged, he imagined she wasn't pleased that her parents were inviting along the filthy charity case!

"So, will you come, Sev? Please? I don't want to be alone with Tuney and her friend after today," Lily pleaded.

Severus pondered Lily's invitation. Under normal circumstances, his answer would have been a definite no. Spending a few days trapped with Petunia alone, subject to constant verbal assault was no better than sticking around the streets of Spinner's End. He could only imagine how much worse it would be with Petunia's friend there too. Petunia had made clear that her friends were the "right sort", so he was sure that whatever girl she brought along would be equally repulsed by the boy from the wrong side of town dressed in shabby, ill-fitting clothes. He might as well march up to Clarke's door and volunteer to be his personal punching bag while he was at it!

He worried about Lily's parents too. He wasn't used to having adult supervision. As much as Mrs. Evans seemed to like him, he wasn't so sure about Mr. Evans. He didn't seem to be like his own father, and Lily had never mentioned anything bad about him, but Severus wasn't fond of the idea of being alone with him for any period of time. He didn't have any money either to spend on a holiday, and it was laughable to think of his father forking over any of his drinking funds. More likely, he'd get a backhand to the face for daring to ask. Even though he trusted Lily, he couldn't bring himself to become the Evans' charity case either. It would only serve to make himself look more pathetic to Lily if he proved Petunia right and accepted their family's handouts.

On the other hand, the offer was tempting as it was four full days with Lily rather than a few hours a day. He knew she'd be starting at the village school again in the fall and their time would be even more limited together. Selfishly, he wanted her all to himself.

He'd also never left Cokeworth before. He knew his mum had grown up in Yorkshire and he couldn't help but be a bit curious to see more of Britain and where his wizarding family was from. He often tried to imagine the vast Prince estate that his mum had told him stories about when he was very young, wondering about how different his life might have been if his mum had married a wizard from another prestigious family rather than his drunk muggle father.

Plus, he reasoned that the seashore would be optimal to stock up on additional potion ingredients that he wouldn't be able to find anywhere in Cokeworth. He had been wanting to brewing a nutrient potion for his mum that required fresh seaweed, so the trip could be beneficial.

"Sev?" Lily tried again looking hopeful and forlorn at the same time.

"Alright Lily, I'll go with you," he conceded, hoping he wouldn't come to regret it.

She brightened considerably, "thank you, Sev! I promise we'll have lots of fun together. We can bring our books and go swimming in the sea!"

Severus listened as she continued to list all the exciting things they could do on the holiday, glad that his concession to go had cheered her up a bit.

(***)

As evening set in and they parted ways at the park gate, Lily made him promise to come to her house the next morning to prepare for the trip.

On his walk home, Severus tried not to let doubts crawl into his mind. He hoped this trip wouldn't turn out to be a disaster. He was already dreading the eventual run in with Petunia when he went to the Evans' home in the morning. Not only did she hurt Lily, but she had to constantly make him feel inferior when he was the one with magic! He didn't know how he'd be able to stand her presence without upsetting Lily's parents. Perhaps agreeing to the trip was a stupid idea.

He reached his home, and bolted to his room, and collapsed on the bed, exhausted by his thoughts. He stared at the cracks in the dingy plaster ceiling for a long time, wishing he could've been born anyone else before sleep finally claimed him.

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