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PATH to DARKNESS by Tyde
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Author's note: Yay! Two more reviews. I think that unpronounceable disease is clearing up.
Hey bluemeanies you cool reviewing type person! – Well I think most people would agree that Binns is weird anyway but seeing as they didn't bother with alphabetical order in the movie I didn't bother with it either.
CrinkleCutRuffles you anoymous type reviewing person – Do we really know how it ends? *evil grin* I could just re-write the entire history of the brilliant JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. Ah hem – but I won't, hell I couldn't do it! She's too fabulous and so are the books! I could never compete with that.
Oh and Kelly – how could I not mention the very first reviewer in my notes? Plus you keep saying nice things about my writing so that makes me want to put you as the beneficiary in my will :oP
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Chapter Five – A Pretty Flower
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Lily Evans. The name was so simple, so delicate and could so easily turn Severus to mush when he heard it called out in class. He used to think parents that called their children after flowers were a little daft but Lily really suited her. It wasn't as common as Rose and it wasn't as weird as Petunia. Not that he'd ever met anyone called Petunia and if he did he may not have been able to control his laughter.
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His very first night in the depths of the school where Slytherin house resided was interesting. He'd met all the other first years and his circle of acquaintances had now grown from just Quirrell to include Lucius Malfoy, a fellow named Goyle who couldn't seem to remember his first name and a second year called Macnair he'd been sitting next to at the dinner table. Macnair talked for ages about all the magical creatures he'd had as pets and how a lot of them didn't live very long. Sev thought the reason they didn't live very long had nothing to do with natural causes and everything to do with Macnair. They had played Exploding Snap and wizard's chess by the fire until it was time for candles out. Clambering down the ladder to his chamber Severus was amazed to find a giant wrought iron bed covered in a dark green velvet bedspread with matching pillows embroidered with silver serpents. An opaque silver material could be pulled around the four poster bed for privacy from the other bed in the chamber. Quirrell fell down into the chamber as his foot caught in the ladder and when he looked up Snape saw that he too was mesmerised by their room. A Slytherin tie was slung over the back of his chair and his robes had been unpacked and magically embroidered with the serpent crest of Slytherin. Funnily enough the serpent was the only creepy crawly that Severus had never been afraid of.
His dreams that night were filled with fields of lilies that were being mowed down by an evil looking tractor wearing black rimmed glasses.
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His very first lesson that Wednesday morning at Hogwarts was Potions. Snape felt like this school was made for him, apart from that mistake that the Sorting Hat obviously made. Walking up to the outside of the classroom with Quirrell in tow they discovered a clutch of Gryffindors waiting outside to be let in. His dark eyes immediately sort out Lily and he was happy to discover that she wasn't house-ist when she smiled at him. A row of perfect white teeth emerged from her sweet pink lips and Severus thought he might faint. She was dreamy, positively dreamy. He sighed happily and then as they filed into the classroom promptly walked straight into the doorframe. A tall boy with shoulder length black hair laughed at him and nudged a boy with dark blonde hair that was by his side. Severus just looked at his feet and shuffled into class. He sincerely hoped that this wasn't going to turn into Muggle school all over again. He didn't think he could stand seven years of bullying from wizards.
He found the Potions teacher at the front of the classroom directing people to seats while tracing a seating plan into the air with her wand. She had mixed them up thoroughly and to his immense delight (and a bizarre stroke of luck) he saw his name appear beside the seat of L. Evans. Lily looked up at Severus and smiled. 'I'm glad we're sitting together. I'm Lily. I saw you were wearing Muggle made shoes and I thought I must have found another fellow magic person that is the first of their kind in the family. My sister thinks it's all very odd but my parents are so proud.'
It was almost painful to admit the truth. 'Severus Snape, but you can call me Sev. Actually my parents aren't Muggles, only my Grandma is a Muggle. Long line of wizards. Sorry to burst your bubble.'
'That's okay. So Mister Snape what do you think of Hogwarts so far?'
'It's brilliant isn't it? My parents used to tell me all about it and I just couldn't wait to get here. You must be impressed though, what with living in a Muggle world all your life.'
'As soon as I got my letter we followed the instructions to get to Diagon Alley and I think I spent just an hour staring at the signs in the street, there is so much to see isn't there? I didn't want to miss any little detail. Finally Mum told me to get moving cause we had to start buying my supplies. You should have seen my sister Petunia' Snape guffawed 'kick up a right royal stink about it. She sat down outside the Leaky Cauldron and refused to go anywhere with her abnormal sister in that abnormal place as she called it. I almost gave her a sock in the..' A glare from the Potions mistress caught her in mid-sentence and she meekly shut her pretty mouth. 'Sorry Professor Pomfrey'.
'Never mind my dear, just don't do it tomorrow or I may brew a potion to turn you into a toad' her merry eyes twinkled behind square pince nez as the class chuckled under their breaths.
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Severus walked out of Potions in a dream. He'd not only impressed Professor Pomfrey with his knowledge of ingredients but Lily's eyes had also taken on a little haze that was known as admiration. They'd organised to meet up in the library the next evening to look at some Potions books. His thoughts were interrupted by Quirrell running to catch up to him.
'Hey Sev, what did you think of Potions?'
'It was good. Who did Professor Pomfrey put you next to?'
'Some tall bloke named Sirius Black. He got very frustrated when we were doing the wart remover potion I thought he was going to explode. Pretty f-f-fiery temper but I really liked him. I don't know what all this talk about animos-amimis-anomos..'
'Animosity?'
'Yeah, aminosity is between houses. On my other side was one of Sirius's friends, Peter something. Very quiet bloke, thought he'd give me a run for my money in the stuttering stakes at one stage but we seem to have become firm friends.' Severus realised that he hadn't even looked at the person sitting on his other side. For all he knew it could have been that black-rimmed glasses boy that had congratulated Lily the first night. It seems Snape had eyes only for Lily in that class, it was a miracle he'd managed to concentrate on the lesson at all.
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That Friday night there weren't a lot of people in the library. In fact when Severus walked in to meet Lily at the allotted time there was only Madam Pince the librarian in view magically binding the padlock onto the door closing off the Restricted Section. She looked up sharply at the young boy as he clomped into the wooden floored library. She pointed her wand at a sign that said 'Quiet Please' and motioned for him to take a seat so he'd stop clomping around in such a loud fashion. He slipped into a seat that was away from Madam Pince's prying eyes and found that Lily had already arrived and was behind one of the book stacks with her nose buried in a book called Charming Charms.
'Psst. Lily!' he hissed through the book shelf.
She looked up immediately and smiled that wonderful smile. 'Sev you made it' He flushed a little as she used his nickname. 'I thought we could look up some charms as well as potions. Professor Flitwick said I was quite the charmer.' She threw a book entitled Pumpernickel's Potions at him and then joined him at the table.
'What are we looking for in particular?' he asked her while thinking that Professor Flitwick's comment was dead on.
'Anything and everything! Haven't you ever wanted to ensnare the senses, or bottle fame, brew glory? We could sell it for thousands of galleons.'
Catching on Severus joined in 'Or even put a stopper in death.' She looked him right in the eyes when he said that.
'A stopper in death? Now that would truly be a potion to treasure. Do you think we could really do it Sevi? You and I could put a stopper in death? All my grandparents died before I was born. My uncle died last summer and my dad hasn't been well for a while. Do you think we could truly put a stopper in death? That way no one could ever leave us' A small tear appeared in the corner of her eye and Sev felt her pain. His Nanna, Jyliana's mother, had died two years ago and he missed her bear hugs and her gifts of Fizzing Whizbees and when she'd take him out on her Nimbus 1000 for a spin around the village high above the clouds. He reached out to put a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder when suddenly she flung up her wand hand and pointed it at the book shelves in front of them.
'Chorea bibliotheca!' she enunciated clearly but quietly while swishing and flicking. A good distraction always cheered her up and this was one of her better ones. Suddenly all the books in the shelf had jumped out and were dancing a merry jig up and down in front of their desk. She smiled through her tears and Sev tried to stifle a giggle but couldn't hold it in and burst out into a loud chuckle which echoed loudly in the empty library.
'MISTER SNAPE! MISS EVANS! What do you think you are doing?' Madam Pince's voice exploded across the room from her desk. She magicked them into a side room and proceeded to give them a telling off like they'd never had before and deduced 10 points each from their respective houses. She then banned them from the library for a month unless they were in the company of a prefect or teacher and sent them on their way back to their dormitories.
Sev and Lil (as she'd now insisted he call her) made their way to the end of the library corridor before bursting out laughing.
'Did you see the Charming Charms book doing a charming foxtrot?' Sev giggled holding his sides as they ached with laughter.
Nodding her head up and down and trying to talk Lily managed to spit out 'Pumpernickel's Potions did the funniest Charleston I've ever seen, I thought it was about ready to split it's spine.'
'We didn't really get any homework done, or find out anything about Potions or Charms though' Sev lamented.
Lily dipped into a curtsey in front of him. 'I don't think it mattered Lord Snape, I thoroughly enjoyed your company and we must do it again sometime' He grabbed her hand while he bowed to kiss it.
Putting on his best plummy accent he replied 'Absolutely Lady Evans, I had a positively spiffy time.' Noticing the Gryffindor ghost hovering around near one of the windows he gestured to Sir Nicholas and said 'Sir Nicholas will take you home Ma'am'. Nearly Headless Nick grinned at the charming Slytherin and offered Lily his cold, transparent arm so he might escort her safely to Gryffindor tower. It was no secret that the young Miss Evans was the prettiest girl in first year, Gryffindor or no!
'Good night Lord Snape, perhaps we might have high tea on Sunday?'
'I will arrange it with the chef, my dear'
As Snape trotted back to the Slytherin dungeon he found himself whistling a little Muggle tune under his breath. Something along the lines of holding her hand and letting him be her man.
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Author's note: The song was The Beatles – I Want To Hold Your Hand (circa 1963) if you're interested.