Chapter 4: The Girl Next Door

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

The last two years had passed monotonously for Severus. Things had been much the same in the Snape house ever since the day his father had snapped his Mum's wand. His Mum would shuffle around the house like a sad phantom, and spent her days sluggishly cleaning and cooking whenever they had enough food for meals. She only ever left the house to tend their small garden in the backyard, which had been added out of desperation as a source of cheap food, or to go to the local market when there was money to spare. She rarely spoke to Severus and looked as though she had aged five years in the last two. Eileen had always been a slim woman, but now she appeared gaunt and tired. Her raven hair that she shared with Severus was now lank and oily. She had taken to wearing long sleeves despite the hot summer weather to cover the bruises Tobias frequently left on her arms.

On the other hand, Tobias was unchanged. Two years had done nothing to temper him, and he still regularly took out his frustrations on his wife and son. He too had aged substantially in the past two years due to his constant abuse of alcohol. When he was younger, Eileen had told Severus that Tobias had once been a handsome man. Severus certainly could not see any trace of that now, and felt that his father's outward appearance accurately matched his nasty demeanor. Tobias was a tall man of over six feet who towered over his wife and son. Years of labor at the mill had made him broad and strong too, although his drinking habit had diminished his physique. Unlike his wife and son, he had chestnut hair and stormy gray eyes, although unfortunately, Severus shared his rather prominent nose.

Tobias had managed to find a job again down at the old mill and was earning a meager, yet steady paycheck. However, Severus knew the situation all too well to think that his father was getting back on track. His father would get a job, hold it down with mediocre regularity for a few months at best, would return with regularity to the pubs, start skiving off more and more shifts in favor of the bottle, and eventually get sacked for not showing up. In fact, regardless of whether or not his father was working, he'd find some seedy pub that would let him rack up a tab until the cash was flowing again. His father also distrusted the government, and therefore refused to go on the dole and gaining reputation as a government scrounger. Severus wasn't sure what reputation his father was trying to uphold, as he was certain anyone reputable in Cokeworth thought the Snape's were gutter trash along with the rest of the downtrodden on Spinner's End. He knew the only reason why nobody had thrown them out on the streets was because the house had been purchased outright when his parents had first moved to Cokeworth, thanks to his Mum's sale of some of her family heirlooms.

It was not uncommon to hear the shouting and banging that accompanied the domestic disputes of neighbors down the street, so Severus learned early on that no one was going to help him or his Mum. Rather, the residents of Spinner's End seemed to take great pleasure in knowing that though their own homes were unpleasant, none was regularly as bad as the Snape house.

(***)

Severus had woken up early before either of his parents. He wasn't even sure if his father had made it home last night, but had learned it was better to be up and out of the house early. This summer was shaping up to be one of the hottest of the last decade in Cokeworth. He'd overheard the news on the telly last night that this whole week was expected to reach temperatures of over 30oC. That news had decided for him how he would be spending his week, as it was far too hot to be cooped up in the attic bent over a hot cauldron. He dressed in his lightest pair of trousers and white long-sleeved blouse that had once been his Mum's. He knew he looked ridiculous, but it was the most comfortable clothing he could find to wear in the extreme heat without displaying his bruised arms. He grabbed his oversized, secondhand overcoat to cover the blouse, figuring it would be worth suffering in the heat for a short amount of time to avoid becoming a target of verbal abuse by the neighborhood boys of Spinner's End. He perused the selection of books on his desk that he had brought down from the attic, and decided on one detailing hexes so that he could imagine how he would get revenge on his father and the boys down the street. Thankfully, his father never bothered to look closely enough at the books to realize that they were magical if he came up to Severus' room.

Severus left his room, quietly shut the door and walked down the short hallway to check on his Mum before he went out for the day. He cracked her door open soundlessly, and saw that she was still asleep, his father nowhere to be seen. He shut the door, and then padded down the stairs to the small washroom. He brushed his teeth and ran some water through his hair, taking a moment to study himself in the cloudy mirror. His obsidian eyes stared back at him like two dark tunnels. He glared at his overlarge, hooked nose that he had unfortunately inherited from his father. His raven hair had gotten quiet long, slightly past his collar bones, but he was rather fond of it because he knew his father couldn't stand his son having long hair.

He thought about how he would introduce himself to Lily, and practiced smiling in the mirror so he wouldn't scare her off. He couldn't help but think the expression looked unnatural on him, as he had not had much to smile about the past two years. He took one last look at his crooked smile, scowled at his reflection, and made his way to the kitchen.

He grabbed a bruised apple from the icebox, and a slice of stale bread, then returned to his thoughts about Lily. Severus had wanted to introduce himself to her many times since he had first seen her that day in the park, but had never worked up the nerve. He had spent so much time daydreaming about what a friendship with her would be like, he did not want to bugger it up with a terrible introduction. He knew her sister Petunia was going to mock him for his shabby clothes and judge him for growing up on the wrong side of the river too. He wasn't sure if she would even let him approach Lily at the park.

He laced up his trainers and made his way out the door. Spinner's End was always deserted early in the morning so Severus almost enjoyed his walk down the rubbish strewn street, listening to the flow of the murky river that paralleled the street. He crossed the bridge and continued a quarter mile to the park in the nicer part of Cokeworth. The park was adjacent to a cleaner branch of the river, that was shallower and ran more swiftly than the sluggish murky one in Spinner's End. This side of town hadn't suffered from the pollution of the mill, although he could still see the tall brick stack of the mill over the treetops. The river bank was lush and was home to the glade under the beech tree that Severus frequented. Most of the park-goers never bothered to navigate through the brush down to the river bank, so he was left undisturbed under the shade of the old beech tree. Down the hill on the other side of the beech tree was a set of swings and some other playground equipment. Lily and her sister often played on the swings, allowing Severus to overhear their conversations while he sat on the far side of the tree.

He propped his book open and tossed the apple core remaining from his breakfast into the brush. He hoped Lily would come to the park today. Listening to her always made him feel less alone.

(***)

Severus had been reading for a few hours when his focus was jarred by a shrill voice, signaling the arrival of Lily and her sister.

*"Lily, don't do it!" he heard Petunia shriek.

He peered out from behind the tree and watched as Lily let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flew into the air, launching herself skyward with a great shout of laughter, much like he'd watched her do two years ago, and landed lightly on her feet.

"Mummy told you not to do it anymore!" Petunia shouted, dragging her feet in the gravel, and stopping her own swing to march over to Lily, hands on her hips.

"But I'm fine," Lily giggled. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."

Severus watched as Petunia glanced around, as if expecting someone to walk by and be appalled by Lily's behavior. He watched as Lily picked up a fallen daisy from one of the bushes near the beech tree. Petunia curiously approached her, looking disapprovingly down at her sister. Once Petunia had gotten within clear view, Lily held out the flower in her palm, with the petals opening and closing like some bizarre oyster.

"Stop it!" Petunia shrieked.

"It's not hurting you," he heard Lily say quietly, but she closed her hand and let the flower fall back to the ground.

"It's not right," Petunia said, studying the flower on the ground. "How do you do it?"

Severus could hear a note of longing in her voice. He didn't know what came over him, but he felt the need to defend Lily from her sister. Without thinking, he emerged from the bushes in front of the beech tree, throwing on his coat to cover his ridiculous shirt despite the midday heat.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" he stated.

Upon seeing him suddenly appear from behind the bushes, Petunia shrieked again and ran back towards the swings, but Lily, though clearly startled, remained where she was. Severus felt heat rise to his cheeks as he looked at Lily, already regretting his decision to suddenly talk to them.

"What's obvious?" Lily asked.

He glanced down at Petunia standing next to the swings, he really didn't want her to drag Lily home. He lowered his voice, "I know what you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You're…you're a witch," he whispered.

Lily looked affronted, and sent him a dirty look.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!" She glared at him one last time, stuck her nose in the air, and marched off toward her sister.

"No!" Severus nearly shouted. He was certain his pale face was now completely flushed now, and not just from the heat. He didn't want to lose his chance with Lily. Making sure his oversized coat didn't expose his shirt underneath, he started down the hill after Lily and her sister. Both girls shot him disapproving looks as he approached them, holding onto the swing set poles.

He tried again, "You are. You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

At his declaration, Petunia let out a cold laugh. "Wizard!" she shrieked, seemingly recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. "I know who you are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily, her tone emanating her disgust for his part of town. "Why have you been spying on us?"

"Haven't been spying," Severus said. He was hot, uncomfortable, and thoroughly embarrassed by Petunia's words. "Wouldn't spy on you, anyway," he added spitefully, glaring back at her, "you're a Muggle."

Petunia clearly didn't understand what he meant, but he could see the hurt on her face from his rude tone.

"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" she said shrilly, grabbing Lily's hand and tugging her towards the park gate, glaring back at him as they left.

Severus stood, miserable in the midday sun, watching after them as they left the park and headed up the street toward their home. *

(***)

As soon as the girls were out of sight, he angrily kicked the gravel around the swings. He couldn't believe himself! He'd imagined the day that he would finally work up the nerve to speak to Lily for years, and he'd completely buggered it up. To boot, he knew he looked absolutely ridiculous and was now dripping with sweat under his heavy coat. He was painfully aware of how dirty and greasy his hair was against his face, and was certain that Petunia was now convincing Lily to stay far away from disgusting gutter rats like him. It probably didn't help that he'd been rude to her sister as well, but he was so tired of people choosing to judge his character based on where he'd been born. It wasn't as if he'd had a choice in the matter!

Having lost all motivation to continue reading, and not able to stand being in the park any longer after his humiliating attempt to meet Lily, he pushed back through the bushes, collected his book, and finally conceded to removing his overlarge coat. He figured between ridicule and heat stroke, he'd chose the teasing, it wasn't as if today could get any worse. Of course, he should have realized with his luck, that was a risky bet.

Severus started his walk back to the end of Spinner's End. On a normal day, the park was only a fifteen minutes' walk away from his home, but in the oppressive heat, he felt like every step took twice as long. He crossed the bridge to Spinner's End and lush front gardens faded to weeds and dry grass. Spinner's End was no longer as deserted as it had been that morning. Its residents were now milling about in the dirty street, or sat on their stoops having a smoke, anything to avoid the broiling heat indoors. Severus had folded his spell book inside his coat, and clutched the bundle closer to his side. It was rare that he went out during midday, and was incredibly uncomfortable with the number of people in close proximity. He bent his head forward, staring at his feet as he walked, letting his long hair cascade around his face like a curtain, hoping he could make it home without anyone noticing him.

"Hey Snape! What'd you raid your Mummy's closet?"

Severus snapped his head up and glanced over his shoulder. Three older boys were approaching him from the other side of the street. He recognized the leader as Thomas Clarke. The Clarke's lived a few houses down from them and he knew Clarke Sr. was one of his father's drinking buddies.

"Hey Snape? You hear me? Where does you Mummy get your clothes? She think you're a girl? With hair like that it's hard to tell."

Clarke closed in on Severus and grabbed his shoulder, smirking down at him. Although they were a few years older, Severus wasn't much shorter than the boys, but they were twice as wide. Thankfully, he was a lot faster than them.

"Your ears working Snape?"

Severus had had enough; this day didn't need to get any worse. "Shove off Clarke," he spat, twisting out of Clarke's grip and slamming him in the stomach with his coat wrapped book.

"You little…," Clarke seethed.

Severus took off running to the end of the street before Clarke's friends even realized what had happened. He heard them shouting after him, but kept running, sweat pouring off his forehead.

"You run home to Mummy, Snape. Next time we see you, we're gonna shove your greasy head in the river!"

He heard the boys laughing as he reached his door. Desperately wanting to escape after being thoroughly humiliated for the second time today, he wrenched open the front door, not caring if his father was home. Thankfully, his father was nowhere to be seen, and he bolted up to his room. He flopped down on the floor, staring at the plaster cracks on the ceiling. The air was so still, there wasn't any reprieve from the stifling heat. He rolled up his sleeves but it hardly made a difference. After his impromptu run-down Spinner's End, he felt like he was melting into his floorboards. He remembered a cooling charm in one of the books he'd read recently and focused on the incantation and intention of the spell, trying to channel his magic. To his amazement, it actually worked. Suddenly, a wave of coolness washed over him, like he had just jumped into an icy lake.e

As he began to cool down, he began to think about how horribly his day had gone. In the two years he had watched Lily at the park, he'd gotten his hopes up thinking that he had finally found someone who could understand him because she had magic too. He'd felt so alone in Cokeworth for so long. Her magic was strong too, similar to his own, which had greatly excited his Mum when he was younger. Her ability to manipulate objects with her magic like the daisy she'd held today indicated that she could already channel her abilities, rather than exude random bits of accidental magic. Severus had been able to do the same since a young age, and his Mum had been impressed and told him that he would be a powerful wizard. He wished he could tell his Mum about Lily, but was rather glad he hadn't now that things had gone so poorly.

Severus lay on the floor for hours, not finding the motivation to do anything else. Sometimes weeks at a time would pass without him speaking anything but a few words to his Mum, perhaps he was doomed to eternal loneliness. Eventually, as it was approaching dusk, he peeled himself off the floor to go in search of food downstairs. He saw his Mum was outside tending the vegetable garden, but didn't feel like speaking to her. He grabbed a piece of cheese and another two slices of stale bread from the icebox, wolfed it down, and gulped down a glass of water. He quickly rinsed the glass, and hurried to the washroom to take a shower before his father came home.

Severus always prided himself on being as clean as possible despite the squalor of Spinner's End. Although decrepit, his Mum always kept their clothes and home clean despite his father's best efforts to soil it. However, despite his best efforts to keep himself looking tidy, his hair always hung lank and oily around his face no matter how many times he washed it. He suspected it was due to the fact that bars of soap where the only bath product they could afford. He figured his father wouldn't take kindly to his Mum picking up fancy bottles of shampoo at the market. Though his hair never looked nice, at least he could pride himself on smelling clean unlike some of the other inhabitants of Spinner's End.

He finished his shower, toweled off, and threw on his nightshirt. He opened the washroom door to find the living room still pleasantly Tobias free, padded up the stairs, and collapsed in his bed. He lay there for a long time, trying to avoid thinking about how awful the day had been. He heard the front door slam downstairs, and his father's muffled shouting followed. He drifted off to the sound of his parent's argument, promising himself that tomorrow would be a better day.

(***)

He woke early the next morning, around 5am, covered in a sheen of sweat. The oppressive heat had not abated during the evening and the air felt thick with humidity. Severus groaned, in this weather he couldn't bear to stay cooped up inside all day long. He knew that once the sun came up, the temperature would become even more unbearable inside. Although he wasn't sure that he could stomach returning to the park after yesterday's disastrous introduction, the cool shade of his river glade refuge was too tempting to pass up. It wasn't as if he had anywhere else he could go.

The house was silent, but he knew that his father had made it home last night. He quietly threw on a faded pair of jeans that were a bit too short on him, and an oversized grey long sleeve shirt that his mum had picked up at the local consignment. It was heavier material than the shirt he had worn yesterday, but hopefully he looked less ridiculous and would draw less attention than he did the other day. He perused his selection of books and decided on one detailing magical herbs and plants of Britain. Though it was too hot to work on his brewing experiments, he had been contemplating searching the area around Cokeworth for replacement ingredients. He figured learning about what he could find locally and spending a few days hunting for magical plants in the area could be a good distraction from thinking about Lily.

Severus quietly padded down the stairs and peered into the living room, hoping his father wouldn't be there so that he could rinse off in the shower before heading to the park. Unfortunately, he saw his father sprawled out over their worn sofa, snoring slightly. He glanced at the kitchen, but decided not to risk waking his father by rummaging for something to eat. Going hungry was preferable to the assault he would likely endure if he were responsible for waking his father this early in the morning. He snuck past his father's sleeping form, avoiding the squeaky floorboards, made it to the door, and laced up his beat-up trainers. He very slowly eased the front door open, cringing when it squeaked ever so slightly. He saw his father move slightly on the sofa, but thankfully his eyes remained shut. Grinning at his unusual luck, Severus hurried out the door before he could tempt fate.

Spinner's End was deserted again, with no sign of Clarke or any other unsavory individuals. He planned to walk back later tonight to avoid having to deal with anyone. He knew his father wouldn't care where he was, and in fact would probably be thrilled if he never turned back up at home. He wasn't sure if his Mum even noticed he was gone most days, since the day he had come home to find her slumped over her broken wand, she hardly acknowledged much of anything, as if she was off in her own world.

Severus' luck improved even further that morning. When he reached the main gate of the park, he noticed a crumpled paper on the sidewalk. Picking it up and unfurling it, he was shocked to find a five-pound note, with nobody in sight. His stomach grumbled, and he decided before settling in at the park, he would walk down to the main village of Cokeworth for a spot of breakfast from the local bakery. He stashed the herbology book in the brush by the glade and set off along the river in the opposite direction of Spinner's End.

Severus had only been down to the village once before with his Mum a few years ago when things had been a bit better at home. They'd been to the local bakery together, and Severus remembered the pastry he'd eaten there being one of the best things he had ever consumed. The village center was quiet as Severus approached it. It was too early for the morning commuters to be on their way to Manchester and all of the shops were closed with the exception of the bakery.

The village of Cokeworth was quaint, and had been a quiet farming town before the mill had been built a bit further down the river. The village was small, with two pubs, a small theater, the local market, a chemist, the bakery, and a small stone library and church. The village square contained a bronze, weathered statue of Queen Victoria, who's rein had resulted in turning the farming village of Cokeworth into an industrial contributor to nearby Manchester. The district school sat on the outskirts of the village, but Severus had never been allowed to go as his father feared he might exhibit some of his abnormal tendencies in front of his classmates. Past the village, away from the mill, the land was still largely undeveloped, with sloping green farm pastures and intermittent groves of trees. Severus had never been much past the village, but planned to explore the land in search of ingredients.

Reaching the bakery, he pushed open the door, a bell tinkling as he entered the shop. He was pleased to see that the shop was empty save the plump shopkeeper woman behind the counter. He saw her eyeing him suspiciously as he entered the shop, clearly wondering what a gutter rat like him could be up to in her shop at this hour of the morning. He made sure to hold the five-pound note obviously in his hand to assuage the woman's fears of him nicking her precious pastries. He perused the selection of pastries and breads behind the counter, trying to weigh what would keep him full for a good part of the day without spending his entire fiver.

"What would you like, dear?"

He looked up at the shopkeeper, who was now giving him a sympathetic glance, clearly having decided he wasn't here to cause mischief. He decided to get himself a hot-cross bun, as he remembered his Mum purchasing one last time and giving him a taste.

"I'll have a cross bun, Ma'am."

The woman nodded, and turned to pack up the parcel with the pastry.

"Two pounds, dear," she said, smiling at him.

Severus handed over his fiver, happy that he'd spent less than half of the money. The woman handed him back three one-pound notes, which he promptly stuffed in his pocket for safe keeping, and the string wrapped pastry parcel.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Severus murmured, surprised that she was being so kind to him.

She smiled after him as he left the shop, the bell tinkling again as the door shut behind him. Severus was very hungry by this point, so he walked a little way down the street, back up towards the park, and found a bench along the river to eat his breakfast, figuring it was still early enough to remain undisturbed. He hungrily pulled the string off the parcel, unwrapped it, and was surprised to find that the woman had given him two large buns, rather than the single one he had paid for. He was again surprised by her kindness, as he was certain that she hadn't given him the extra bun in error as he had been the only person in the shop.

He tore open the bun, a bit of steam escaping from the middle. It wasn't the best day to eat something so warm, but Severus couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten something so hot and fresh. He savored the sweet, warm bread, trying to make it last as long as possible. He decided against eating the second, figuring it would be better saved for lunch. He wondered if he should save a bit to share with his Mum when he got home later if his father wasn't around. They rarely had sweets in their house aside from the small apples that came from their tree in the backyard. His Mum had told him all about magical sweets when he was small, and he couldn't wait to try them when he finally went to Hogwarts.

Finishing the last of the first bun, he re-wrapped the second one and headed back up the street to the park. Walking on this side of town, he thought Cokeworth didn't seem like such a bad place to live. It was still before 8 am, so he passed a few cars with people on their way to work, and the occasional dog walker. Thankfully, nobody spared him a second glance, so he reached the park without incident. The park was deserted too, and Severus let out a sigh of relief knowing that he wouldn't have to sneak past anyone to reach his glade.

He retrieved his book from where he'd stashed it in the brush, and decided against sitting in the roots of the beech tree in case Lily and her sister returned to the park today. He didn't think he could handle overhearing them mock the strange Snape boy they'd come across in the park the other day. Instead, he made his way down the embankment, and lay down on his stomach on the grassy bank of the river. He cupped his hands and splashed some of the cool, clean water on his face before propping his book open and letting his focus drift to the pages.

(***)

Severus had been reading for a few hours, enjoying the cool breeze coming off the river, when he started to think about pausing to eat the second bun. He was startled from his thoughts by a loud rustling noise, just up the embankment from him, near the bushes that separated his glade from the park. He jerked upright, nervous that someone had found his spot, when he was shocked to see none other than Lily pushing her way through the brush.

She was wearing a pretty, yellow, floral sundress, and her dark red hair was shining in the sunlight. Severus rubbed his eyes, just to make sure he wasn't imagining her. Lily made her way carefully down the embankment to where he was standing, confidently approached him, and stuck out her little hand.

"I'm Lily Evans."

Please Read and Review! Parts of this chapter see (*) have been loosely adapted from J.K Rowling's The Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33, The Prince's Tale. Suggestions appreciated!