May 8, 1968 - Little Park and Evans Garden, Cokeworth

For the last month, he and Cassie had been meeting almost every other day. On alternating days they would each bring a book or two, and then spend hours discussing it between them. They soon found two common interests, ones which they could debate for days at a time. Potions, and what Eileen called 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' – curses, jinxes and hexes.

They refined their technique and theory on both, practicing their spells on each other, and their potions on themselves (under Eileen's supervision). And they needed to practice, for Severus knew that it would be difficult for a half-blood to be accepted in Slytherin - the house which he was almost certainly destined for.

Potions were the hardest to arrange. Brewing could only be done at his home, which in turn could only happen with Tobias out drinking, or passed out somewhere. While this happened fairly often, oftentimes Cassie's free days did not coincide with his free days. On night like those, he would usually spend the day in his room, sulking slightly about not seeing his friend.

He could hardly believe it, but over the past three or so months, she had become the second most important person in the world to him. His mum being first, of course.

So, when two days ago he'd been wandering and spotted another witch, Cassiopeia was the first person he told.

"Cassie, guess what I foun', jus' over the hill," he asked his friend excitedly.

Blue eyes glittered in anticipation of the surprise. "I don' know, Sev'rus, potions ingredients?"

He blinked. That was actually also true, he'd spotted some knotgrass beside the tree, but it was not what he'd actually meant. "Yes, but that's not the best part. There's another witch living here!"

Something flashed across Cassie's face, but it was quickly hidden by a smile. "Really? That's wonderful, Sev'rus! D'you know who it is?"

He shook his head, still trying to decipher that emotion. "No, I wanted to tell you before I went and said hello."

He blushed. "Thought you might wanna come wit' me," he added, muttering under his breath.

To his surprise, something like relief showed on Cassie's face.

"So you promise you'll still be my frien' ?" she asked hopefully.

Ah, he understood now - abandonment was not a foreign feeling to him. "Always, no matter wha' ."

"Okay," she declared, grabbing his hand. "We'll go an' investigate."

He felt the blood in his body rush up to his cheeks, as he stared wonderingly at their connected hands.

"Sev'rus?"

"Nothing."

It was a bit of a longer walk than to the fields, unhelped by the steepness of the hill. By the time they had made it to the top both children were completely out of breath and tired.

"Wow," Cassie declared, staring at the now-visible view.

Severus agreed. This was a different part of Cokeworth, almost completely separate from their ratty section of the town. Here, single-storey houses lined the streets, all of them complete with gardens and fences and cars. Even squinting, he couldn't see much litter on the streets, and even the part of the river that flowed through here was somehow cleaner.

He wished he could live in a nice part of town such as this.

"But too clean," she added. "I don' like tha' I'd hafta worry 'bout dirtying up the hous' and the streets."

His brows furrowed, though he could understand where his friend was coming from. To keep everything this clean, those people must be forever tidying up.

"Well, where's the witch, Sev'rus?"

Hand still clasped together, he led her to the house. He'd discovered it while walking through the park, because its garden opened up to it, and he's seen two girls playing near the tree - one of them levitating flowers.

Hearing the witch's voice again, he yanked Cassie down behind a bush.

"But, Tuney," the witch he'd seen whined, "You're always trying to show off for mum and dad."

"I don't show off, Lily. Unlike you," the other girl said, her voice sounding much more mature than Lily's had. The two walked past their hiding place without noticing anything amiss.

Lily was outraged. "It's not my fault I can–I can do those things with the flowers."

The flowerlet in her hand floated up and started to smolder.

Severus and Cassie exchanged looks, and slowly extracted themselves from the bushes, while the two girls argued. By unspoken agreement they walked a little-ways away, to try and make it seem that they had passed by chance.

"You can do those things wit' flowers 'cause you're a witch," Severus said, walking behind the two.

The older girl whirled around and shrieked at the sound of his voice, while the younger glared at him angrily.

"You've been spying on us!" the older yelled, crossing her arms defensively.

Severus was about to yell at her, but Cassie's hand on his arm calmed him down.

"No, I overhear' your conversation. Wha' you're doin' is magic."

"It's rude to call somebody a witch," the younger girl, Lily, remarked, looking skeptical.

Cassie stepped in. "But it's true. I'm a witch as well. An' Sev'rus's a wizard."

Glancing at the older girl, Lily moved a step closer. "So you're saying I have magic? And you know 'cause you saw the flower?"

"Yes," she answered, "Young witches an' wizards do acciden'al magic like tha' all the time. That's how people know who's magical and who's not."

Lily frowned. "So Petunia can't do magic?"

They both shrugged, and Cassie asked the older girl, "Has anythin' ever happen' to you? Somethin' you can' explain? When you were sad, or, angry, o', happy?"

Petunia shook her head, and then angrily stomped off.

Lily seemed unbothered and plopped down on the ground. "So what're your names?"

"I'm Severus Snape and that's my friend Cassiopeia."

His companion seemed to practically glow, when he introduced her as his friend.

"I'm Lily Evans and that was my sister Tuney," Lily said, then started to ramble all of her questions. "So how does someone have magic? How do I learn to do it? Is there more witches? What 'bout my parents, do they have magic too?"

Both of them were slightly shocked by the girl's enthusiasm, but Severus quickly got to answering her questions. "Well, to learn magic you're gonna go to Hogwarts when you're 'leven. It's a school for young magic-users like us. Me ma tol' me there's 'bout a couple thousan' witches and wizard in Britain 'lone. An' do your parents use magic? If they don' they're probably Muggles."

"What's a Muggle?" Lily asked, mystified.

"People tha' don' have magic. Normal people," Cassie answered, placing her elbows on her knees and leaning forward. "Sometimes Muggles have a magical chil' for no reason. That's prob'ly what you're like - it's calle' Muggleborn."

"Are you Muggleborns too?"

They shook their heads. "Sev'rus Da's a Muggle, but his Ma's pureblood, which makes him a half-blood; and my parents are bot' pureblood, so I'm a pureblood too."

"And what's a pureblood?" Lily inquired, trying to learn as much as she could about this new mysterious world.

"The witches an' wizards whose entire family's witches and wizards."

"Ah," Lily said, but then a thought flashed through her head. "But it doesn't matter that I'm a Muggleborn does it?"

The two friends exchanged a glance. It didn't matter to them, but to others…

"No," Cassie declared resolutely. "It doesn' matter to us at all."