Chapter One: Out of the Muck

Severus Snape, who had just finished his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, knew the upcoming summer was going to be downright miserable. Throughout the preceding school year, Lily Evans—who had been his best friend since he was nine—had started treating him coldly, which meant that he had no one to talk to when he was home. Lily had also started really paying attention to boys, Severus had noticed—and none of those boys was him. Since he had been in love with her since he first met her, this stung deeply. To top it all off, when he arrived back at Spinner's End, his parents' squabbles had turned into full-fledged warfare.

Since his home was uncomfortable and Lily's house was no longer an option, Severus took to wandering the streets from early morning until just before dinnertime. People tended to give him a wide berth, often crossing the street when they saw him coming. He didn't blame them. With his long, greasy hair, trademark scowl, and tattered Muggle clothes (now too short at the ankles and wrists, since he'd shot up several inches since he was last home), he was hardly a sight for sore eyes.

On the particular Saturday on which our story begins, Severus had decided to explore the area around the canal. Back in the glory days of the Industrial Revolution, it had been used to haul barges of coal up to the factories, and the Muggles had recently discovered that it had also been used as a dumping ground for all sorts of industrial waste—coal tar and the like. The Council had recently ordered it drained and planned to do some sort of remediation project to get rid of the carcinogens. Severus hadn't read the flyer that had come in the mail; he assumed that the process involved would be ridiculously complicated by the fact that magic was not involved.

His father would no doubt complain that it was unsafe for him to be walking along the empty canal, lined as it was with gooey toxic sludge. That was precisely why Severus had chosen to be here today. Besides, it was interesting to see all of the junk that people had decided to throw into the water—shoes, bikes, an old wagon, and…what was that?

Severus had caught a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye, about five feet from the old tow path that he was walking along. Looking around to see that no one was watching, he cautiously stepped into the mud. He reached down and found a gold-colored chain with some sort of pendant at the end. If it was real gold, it would be worth some money! Severus reached into the pocket of his jeans with his clean left hand and retrieved a handkerchief to wrap the grimy necklace in. He stuffed the handkerchief back in his pocket, then walked up the bank and wiped his muddy shoes and right hand on the grass. That thing he found had better be worth something!

~~SS~~

Back at home, the shouts from the basement indicated that his parents were still fighting over their project, which still wasn't working after all of these years. Why didn't they just give it up? He'd never understand. Still, this allowed him enough privacy to barricade himself in the single lavatory without being disturbed. The muck washed off of the chain fairly easily, but the pendant—which seemed to be shaped like an old oil lamp or something like that—had some crevices that might be difficult to clean. Snape held one end with his left hand and rubbed it a little with his right thumb and…

POP!

Out of the end of the lamp whooshed a tiny translucent figure (wearing a tunic, trousers, and a turban) which quickly grew to the size of a man.

"AAAAAAHHH!" squealed Snape in a very undignified fashion.

"Don't fear!" rumbled the figure in a friendly voice. "I'm Aziz, and I'm here to serve you!"

Severus scowled at the apparition in front of him. "Are you…are you a genie?"

"I am."

"Great! In that case, I…"

"STOP! Let me explain first." Aziz tapped his ghostly foot on the tile. "I've served enough humans in my time to know that there are all sorts of myths going around about what we djinn can and can't do."

Severus rolled his eyes. "So I can't just ask for money and suddenly have a fortune?"

Aziz shook his head. "You seem like a smart lad. Surely you know about Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration? I'm not exempt."

A thought suddenly struck the gangly teen. "But making someone fall in love—"

"Unfortunately, I'm only about as effective as a love potion—it's not real love," replied the genie.

"What sort of useless genie are you?" demanded Severus angrily.

"I'm not completely useless," retorted Aziz.

"Just somewhat useless?" replied Severus acerbically.

"That's one way to look at it," said Aziz. "I have been pretty helpful to my last masters. But since I'm with you now, that means they're dead and you can't ask for a reference. I know I'm not as exciting as fairy tales but—well, it would help if I knew what you were hoping for. Then I could tell you how much I'm capable of. Really, the best wishes are about changing you, and not your environment. Do you understand?"

Snape scowled. "Maybe. It explains the love thing."

"I can help other people too, but it's easier if you wish you could help them better. Does that make sense?" Seeing his master nod, the genie continued: "Please don't use the two magic words at the beginning when you tell me what you want—if you don't say them, I can help you phrase it properly before you make it an official wish."

"Sounds wise. So, if this is going to be a conversation, can we move from the bathroom so I can think better?"

Aziz smiled. "Now that you've rubbed the lamp once, so long as you have it near you, all you have to do is call me by name and I'll appear. Your bedroom might not be the best place—your parents might overhear you talking to me. Is there a more private spot?"

"There's a park nearby," Severus said quickly. He, Lily, and Tooney were the only ones who ever went there anymore, and he was pretty sure that Lily would be avoiding the place from now on.

~~SS~~

As he walked to the park, Severus thought about what he could wish for. He didn't want obsessive love from Lily—he wanted her to see him for what he was and love that. He could ask for better looks, but he knew she wasn't completely superficial. He needed to impress her!

Having checked that no one else was around, Severus hid inside a clump of rhododendron bushes and sat on the ground. "Aziz?"

"Here!" announced the ghostly figure, materializing out of nowhere.

"You don't live in the lamp?" asked Severus curiously.

"Only between masters," Aziz stated confidently. "I can be visible, which most people prefer, or invisible when it's most convenient."

Severus nodded. "Good to know. So I've been thinking, and I've decided I would like to be the most powerful wizard on earth."

Aziz sat cross-legged on the ground next to him. "Look, I don't want to discourage you or whatever, but I've had a couple of masters do that and it never turned out well."

"You mean, you couldn't actually do it?" scoffed Snape.

"No, they absolutely were the most powerful at the time," replied Aziz sadly. "But think—who's the most recent wizard in history who everyone said was the most powerful?"

"Grindelwald."

"And what happened to him?"

Severus thought a bit, frowning, and then nodded knowingly. "Now I see. When you're the most powerful, everyone goes after you. And the person who goes after you is usually the second most powerful. But I don't care so much about being at the top—I just want to be impressive."

Aziz smiled. "That, I can do. Would you say that you wish to be an 'impressively powerful wizard'? If so, say the words!"

Severus got to his feet. "I wish to be an impressively powerful wizard!" he stated boldly. Then he looked around in dismay—he didn't feel any different.

"Great! So let me explain how this works. I don't snap my fingers and make you instantly powerful—that's actually counterproductive. Being powerful means understanding the processes that make you powerful. Instead, I'll be your coach, so you progress faster than everyone around you."

Severus nodded thoughtfully as images from fairy-tale books ran through his mind. "You're right. If I got power suddenly, I might not be able to control it."

"Exactly. Like I said, I've done this before, hundreds of times. You have a strong magical aura and show clear signs of intelligence, so it should go relatively easy for you. It's best if we work on one field of study at a time—do you have a favorite?"

Snape scratched his head thoughtfully. "I'm already pretty good in the Dark Arts—that's not what I'll ask for. What I really need is a truly marketable skill."

A thought came to his mind—his mother, hunched over a cauldron; his father, shouting angrily at the results. Yes, he could make money that way. He could also please his mother and gain his father's respect at the same time. "Let's start with Potions," he said simply.