They Didn't Know We Were Seeds
The rest of Severus's school year is spent receiving a mixture of sympathetic and searching looks from professors (no doubt all are related to his father's death) and being rabbited about or harassed by other students about the jinx he used on Lily in the Great Hall. It's annoying, but Severus is a seasoned veteran when it comes to irksome children and teenagers.
He scares off younger students who want to know the spell's incantation by threatening to use it on them for demonstration. It works, for the most part, anyway. There's one oddball of a Ravenclaw (a long-nosed girl he doesn't recognize by face or name, so, a nobody that likely died in the first war or fled the country to never return) who's all for having her fingers disappear and makes a habit of begging Severus to jinx her whenever they're in the same vicinity. It only takes a couple of encounters before Severus starts avoiding anywhere she might be at all costs.
As for older students, his methods vary. If it's a Ravenclaw or Gryffindor asking for the spell, he scoffs and asks them why they don't know it. It's so simple! It usually causes enough affront or embarrassment on their parts they leave in a huff to never bother him again. Hufflepuffs are fairly easy to turn away, he just tells them no. Though, some are persistent and ask him again and again. After a boy asks him for the fourth time, however, he casts a levicorpus on him and leaves the boy to hang upside down for a few minutes before canceling the spell. All it takes is a raised eyebrow afterward to make the boy scurry off. He never asks Severus for the jinx again. Nor does the majority of Hufflepuff.
And Slytherins… They don't need to ask. As far as jinxes go, a finger-removing one is rudimentary knowledge for anyone thirteen and older. If Severus didn't already know how very warped the many of the families his fellow Slytherins come from are, he may have spent several afternoons brooding over their poor upbringings.
Some fifth and sixth year Gryffindors attempt to corner Severus at one point to "pay him back" for what he did to Lily at one point. They come out a lot worse for wear than he does once Sirius and Potter (of all people) come across them and join in the fray to fight on Severus's behalf.
"Those are your housemates," he points out after the upper years run off to lick their wounds.
Potter scowls. "Daft wankers, is what they are. Lily told everyone that she was fine and you hadn't meant to jinx her. Besides that, you fixed her hands right after!"
"Yeah, they're just being arses. They're only singling you out 'cause you did it in front of almost the whole school. Other Slytherins have been hexing and jinxing people all year on purpose in the corridors and you don't see them going after those ones."
Severus has never been very good at being gracious, but he nods and says, "Thanks, by the way."
Potter grins devilishly. "What would Lily think if we'd just let her boyfriend get beaten up, huh?"
"I'm not her boyfriend," he huffs.
Sirius and Potter just laugh.
After that day, disliking Potter becomes more difficult than ever before. Severus stays adamant, however, that they will never be mates. At least not close ones, if they must be mates at all. It might be impossible not to be friends someday if Lily marries him once more he realizes.
-o-O-o-
The Express a pleasant rumble beneath his feet and the world outside an inoffensive blur of green country scenery, Severus turns his attention to his companions in the train compartment. Lily sits beside him, her feet tucked up by her side, reading a Madam Loving's romance novel. He doesn't understand what she sees in the books. It's a bunch of drivel and rot, as far as he's concerned. He looks across the compartment. Sage and Regulus are playing a game of Exploding Snaps. Occasionally, Sage accuses Regulus of cheating. Which the Black spare always brushes off with a bemused, dissenting cry.
Severus almost wants to interrupt them to inform Sage he really is just that awful at the game. But now may be his only opportunity to have one last pep talk (as much as he loathes to call it one) with Lily about his mother. Severus turns to his friend once more and says, "What am I going to say to her?"
Lily closes her book and gives him her full attention. "Whatever you want."
"Like it's that easy."
She sighs. "Sev, it's her who should be doing the talking. She just let you go! Alone, at that."
He looks away from her and to the view outside. "I could have gone back to her. It wouldn't have been difficult."
Lily pokes him in the shoulder. Hard. "And I would have told you to go right back to the Montagues! You deserved better than Spinner's End. And you've finally gotten it. If she expects you to apologize or something, she's nutters."
"Lily," he growls. Severus knows his mum's been behaving poorly lately, but he still doesn't want her insulted. Even by Lily.
His friend pouts at him, unhappy at the rebuke, but apologies nonetheless. "I'm sorry, I know she's your mum, but…"
"Yes," he agrees. "I know." Then, just once more, he asks, "Do you truly believe I should let her talk first?"
Lily encases his fingers with her hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. "I really do."
He nods once at her, showing that he understands, before returning his attention to the uncomplicated blurs outside their train compartment's window.
-O-
When he sees her, his first thought is she looks both better and worse than when he last saw her. His mother is dressed in a gray robe that appears to be made out of velvet. it's fitted around the middle, yet flares outwards around her knees; it's an attractive cut. Something he's seen many slim witches tall enough to pull off wearing around Hogsmeade on weekends he's spent out traipsing the village with Lily, Sage, and Sirius. Her hair is cut shorter than his own in a bob. It makes her worryingly thin face look fuller. When she sees him, she does not smile. If anything, her eyes become even more distant. It feels as if she's trying to hide away from him in her mind even if she can't physically.
Severus does his best not to be hurt by it. It has to be hard for her to see him after so long. After he left her all alone with Dad. Sage grabs his hand for the briefest moment and gives it a squeeze. He turns his head and gives his cousin a quick smile, which Sage returns with a wider, reassuring one of his own. When they stop in front of Severus's mother, Aunt Vesta, and Boyd, they all just stare at one another. Or, rather, the Montagues stare at him and his mother.
"You've grown since I last saw you," his mother finally says.
He tempers the urge to roll his eyes and snarks, "I hear that's common with teenage boys."
Aunt Vesta hisses through her teeth, "Severus!"
His mother reaches out and places a hand on her cousin's arm. "It's fine." Then, she falls silent for a moment. "May I hug you?" she asks Severus. "It's been so very long."
"Yes," Severus agrees, reluctant. His mother's bony arms reach out and pull him against her skeletal frame. Gingerly he wraps his own arms around his mother, afraid if he squeezes too hard he may break her.
He stiffens when he feels her lips brush across his ear. "Meet me in the kitchen at one in the morning," she breathes.
Severus's eyebrows shoot toward his hairline as his mother abruptly pulls away. "I love you, too," he murmurs, trying to play off the look of shock he knows is on his face.
Mother nods, a pleased sort of expression on her face. It makes Severus's heart swell just a little (even though he should know better than to let it), knowing his mother approves of his quick thinking. Aunt Vesta then reaches out for him, pulling him in for a strong embrace of her own. He returns it, hugging her a little stronger than he did his own mother. She can not only take it, but probably appreciates it as well.
"So, how was the ride?" Boyd asks, eyes scanning the crowds still waiting for their children to find them. Severus knows he's looking for the Parkinsons. He wonders how much longer it will be until he announces his engagement to Violet.
Sardonically, he replies, "Horrid."
"That's nice," he mumbles absently.
Aunt Vesta slaps the back of his head. "Pay attention to your cousin. If the Parkinson girl wants to see you, she can seek you out!"
Boyd gapes at his mother. "How—"
The Montague woman scoffs in an entirely unladylike way. "I know my sons." Then, with a wry little smirk, she adds, "And the two of you are so besotted that you're just awful at hiding your intentions."
Nervously, he asks, "You don't think her brother or father have noticed, do you…?"
Giving her older son's cheek a playful pinch, she assures him, "It's quite unlikely, my dear. Men are not very good at noticing these sorts of things. Don't you agree, Eileen?"
Severus's mother blinks like she's stepping out of a fog. "Mm," she says in a way that Aunt Vesta can easily take as agreement (but might not be at all).
Which she does. "See?" she says. Then, looking at the crowds, she says, "Now, I know you want to see Violet, but we really need to be going if we want to make it to our reservation at Giovanni's on time."
-o-O-o-
"Mum?" Severus calls into the darkness of the kitchen.
The room becomes illuminated by a small, dull yellow light. An illuminated wand. Severus quickly spots his mother sitting at the room's table, staring at him. Without missing a beat, she says, "Your Aunt Vesta wanted me to give you a couple of days to settle in, but I'm certain you wouldn't have appreciated it."
Padding into the room, he slips into the chair across from her. "…This is about Dad, isn't it?"
"The Muggles couldn't find an obvious cause of death," she informs him. Then, she looks away and releases a small sigh. "Your father confounded them, actually. They wanted to run more tests than I was comfortable with."
She falls silent after that. It takes less than a minute before Severus becomes uneasy with the quiet and decides to ask, "What does this mean to us?"
His mum's eyes snap back to him, a spark of life in them that's been missing all day. "It means nothing to you," she tells him sharply. "I just felt you ought to know. I know you have no love for your father, but he was still important to me."
Severus ignores the sting of her words and nods. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find the bitch or bastard who killed him," she snarls.
"Mum—"
She stands swiftly. "No! Don't you say anything! He was my husband. I will find his murderer if it's the last thing I do!"
Before Severus can say anything else, a pop sounds to the left of them. They both turn their heads in the direction of the room's stove to see the Montagues' house elf, Topper, standing there. Sleepily, the creatures rubs at his eyes. "Mrs. Snape, Master Snape, is there something you be needing?" Topper inquires.
Severus shakes his head. "No, Topper. We just both happen to have come down here after not being able to sleep."
"I can make yous some tea," the elf offers.
"No, thank you," Mum says. "I'm starting to feel tired." Coming around the table, she pats Severus's head as she passes. "I'll see you in the morning."
Once he's sure she's gone, Severus returns his attention to Topper and pleads, "You'll keep an eye on her for me, won't you? I don't think Mum is well."
The elf nods. "I can do that, Master Snape." Then, hopefully, he asks, "Tea?"
Severus sighs. House Elves live to please, who is he to deny Topper the chance? "Yes, please."
The end of year three! Yay! What did you all think? Managed to slip in some of the Marauders and we got some confirmation on Tobias being murdered.
Thank you for reading!