And Severus' story starts on a cloudy afternoon, about 18 months after we left off with the prologue. The past eighteen months had been interesting. Eileen had stayed at home to care for young Severus, who was developing as he should. He was ahead of his age, especially considering that he was born a month early. He was an active little boy with far too much energy. But even at this age, he was well aware of how to behave around his father.

It was best to be silent and invisible when it came to being around Tobias.

Eileen had tried to provide everything she could for her son over the past year and a half. And it hadn't been easy, not with Tobias' constant arguing, and him wanting to know where all the expenses went, and him not caring for or about his son. It was just a waste of money to him.

Sometimes Eileen wondered if it was better to take Severus and make a run for it, but in the end she always decided against it. They had nowhere to go, and it wouldn't take long before Severus would be off for Hogwarts.

That's why it was so surprising that yesterday evening, when Tobias had come home, he wanted Severus to meet someone his own age. One of Tobias' co-workers had a son and they were coming over today so the two toddlers could meet.

Eileen had been cautious with Severus and outsiders. Accidental Magic could be dangerous, and she couldn't have him exposing the Wizarding World. But he hadn't shown any serious magic at all yet (only normal baby stuff, like redoing a blanket or something, nothing of any use nor concern on a playdate), she reasoned, so it would be reasonably safe for the both of them to have this playdate. Plus, it would keep Tobias happy, and a happy Tobias, is a happy... life. Alright, that doesn't rhyme, but it is true.

So, today was the big day. One of Tobias' colleagues, some John or whatever his name was, and his wife would come over with their child. Their child would only be a month or so older than their son, so they would be great for each other (their words, not hers. She wasn't sure if Severus should meet any children before he could understand magic a little better. For everyone's safety). They arrived around noon and Eileen, being the good housewife she was, let them in and offered to make some tea. She had been preparing for this moment all day. These people would be the first non-family members she'd seen since she married Toby.

In the meantime, young Severus was busy scribbling with a crayon on some paper (hopefully, if not it was the floor, which wouldn't be good. Eileen did not look forward to having to scrub the floor because an 18 month old couldn't stick to the paper. Again.) in the corner of the living room.

"Severus, come here," she said as she was busy preparing the tea for the guests. If this was to introduce him to a child his own age, it was best he was introduced to the child, or else this meeting had failed before it started.

Severus quickly got on his feet and practically ran towards her. He had always been a fast walker, so it was no surprise he got the hang of running quite early, a few months back. He was always so full of energy. He looked at her with his big, dark, expecting eyes. The boy's eyes always fascinated Eileen. She could swear he knew much more than an average toddler was supposed to. But with his limited language skills, it was all guesswork for her, what was going on in that tiny brain of his. But she was sure he was a little genius. Her little genius.

"There's someone you need to meet," she said and pointed at the little boy sitting on his mother's lap on their couch. "Go say hi. Be nice."

Severus walked over to the boy, cautious of the strangers in the house. He never saw anyone except his parents. Mostly his mother.

The other boy wasn't paying attention to him, he was looking around him at the walls and ceiling as he sat on his mother's lap. Severus simply stood in front of the strangers, staring at them, not knowing what to do next. Luckily, the woman took over.

"You must be Severus," she beamed at him. "I'm Lisa, and this is little Jimmy. Look, Jimmy, it's Severus," she added to her son. The boy looked at Severus and smiled. "Hi..." he said.

Severus blinked a few times at the new boy that was invading his home. Why was he here? His young mind couldn't understand the sudden change of routine.

The woman, Lisa, asked: "What's your name, dear," even though she already knew it.

This was confusing for Severus. It was bad to state the obvious, that much he had learnt already from living with his father. His father hated it when people pointed out things he already knew. So he stayed silent, unsure how to respond.

His mother, Eileen, then re-entered the living room with tea and biscuits. She had seen her son close off and remain silent. She had feared this would happen. The poor kid wasn't used to seeing new people.

"Severus, have you seen your father," she asked after she got his attention. He appeared to think deeply before shaking his head to indicate that, no, he hadn't, thankfully.

Severus didn't like his father. He was mean and strict. He much preferred his mother. At least she pretended to care if he lived or died, even if it wasn't much, it was all he had. She was nicer.

"Hmm… Strange," she said, but Severus didn't listen anymore. "I haven't seen him all day," she added the last part to herself more than to anyone else, but she had said it loudly enough for the guests to hear as she went around, handing out the tea and the biscuits. It was Tobias' idea to have this playdate. Why wasn't he here for it?

"He'll come 'round," Lisa said to her as she took her tea and biscuit. "Jimmy, dear, why don't you go play with little Sevvy, eh?" she added to the toddler and put her son on the ground and let the two children play.

"I suppose you're right," replied Eileen, but she seemed unhappy about this news. Normally when Toby was late, he had been drinking. She hoped this time that wasn't the case. She didn't want a drunk Tobias while they had visitors.

"I'm Jimmy," the little boy said after he'd waggled to Severus, who had resumed his drawing on the paper.

"I know," Severus said. His mother had introduced him already. This would be the third time he would introduce himself, and he wasn't going to do that. He had better things to do, such as completing this drawing.

"Aren't they cute together?" Lisa asked Eileen, smiling at her son who was talking to Severus.

"Yeah… Perhaps they could be friends. That'd be fun, eh?" Eileen smiled, too.

Lisa hummed something in response.

"They my cawes," Severus told Jimmy who had picked up a red crayon and examined it closely. They were his, and his alone. "MY cawes!" Severus repeated as the boy didn't give it back. Why didn't Jimmy leave his stuff alone?

"Aww, look they're sharing!" Lisa squealed. Eileen looked at what Lisa was talking about, and saw Severus was glaring at Jimmy, who was moving to colour on the paper Severus had been colouring on before. This wasn't sharing at all, this was bordering on a fight. She held her breath.

"STOP," Severus yelled, fighting back tears. But Jimmy continued to draw, ruining Severus' drawing he had worked on so long. Severus grabbed Jimmy's arm to stop him. "MY!" he yelled. Jimmy started to cry.

"Jimmy! Jimmy, dear, what happened? Did the mean little boyhurt you?" Lisa asked, hurrying toward her son.

Eileen stayed put, eyeingher son, who was still trying to get the crayon back from Jimmy's hands. She was curious how this would play out, and believed the boys were more than capable of solving this themselves. Nobody had gotten hurt yet, and wizarding toddlers often caused far greater havoc than just grabbing the other's arm. Jimmy was weak.

Lisa was hugging her son now, and Severus was jerking Jimmy's hand so he could get it back. The front door opened, and Eileen's attention shifted from her son to her husband, who was clearly drunk.

"Severus," Eileen tried to get his attention to do some damage control, but it didn't work. Severus was focused on one thing only, and the rest of the world ceased to exist. It was something she noticed happened a lot with the boy. Multitasking wasn't his strong suit, and once he got focused on something, there was nothing else he cared about.

"Severus!" Severus looked up at that sound. It was a bad sound. The voice sent shivers down his spine. His father had appeared in the doorway, together with a stranger who rushed over to the two other strangers in his house.

"What the devil is going on here?!" his father inquired. Severus stopped trying to get his crayon and tried to get to the stairs on time, but he was far too late.

"Stay here," his father yelled, but Severus didn't listen as he tried his best to get upstairs, but he wasn't a good climber and the stairs were long. His father had picked him up with both hands and he tried to get out of his father's grip but failed. He sought the room for his mother, who he saw was sitting on the couch, doing nothing.

Eileen watched her husband as he carried Severus back to the living room. "Apologise to Jim," Tobias said.

"sowwy," Severus muttered.

"Good. Now that's been enough. John, take your family and leave."

The three strangers seemed confused but they did leave their house, never to return after such a strange, unwelcoming visit. And it was all Eileen's fault, even if Tobias targeted poor Severus. Severus was only a baby. It wasn't his fault at all. It couldn't be. 18 month olds weren't aware of the world enough for anything to be their faults.

"Now you're going to listen very carefully," Tobias grumbled, turning to the young Severus, "because I'm only saying this once. Whenever I get you a bleedin' friend, you don't make 'em bloody cry, got that?!" he was shaking Severus and Severus found it hard to concentrate on his father's words.

Eileen got to her feet. She wasn't about to just sit back and watch. "Toby –" she tried.

"Shut up!"

"Tobias, please, that's enough. He's only a child, it's not his fault. I should have kept him in check. If anyone's to blame, it's me. Not him."

"Fine. But I'm not done with you." He let Severus down and Severus ran to his mother and hid behind her legs. His father left the living room and marched upstairs, and Eileen could only hope it was to sleep it off, though she knew better than that. He'd be back for her.

But that was okay. Because this was the very first time ever that Eileen had managed to win, at least for Severus' sake. If she could keep her son safe, she was happy enough to take the blame, the beatings, the fighting...

She had been able to get Toby to give her son a rest, for the very first time she hadn't had to physically tear him away from the poor kid. She hoped it wouldn't be the last. Severus deserved better.

She couldn't wait for the day he would get his letter, for the time he would be able to escape this life once and for all. To Hogwarts.