Thanks to Padme & Smithback for the early reviews! The idea for this story just popped into my head like, you know, a genie and I couldn't ignore it.

Chapter Three: The Second Wish, Born From Fear

Gloom set in during the summer after Severus's sixth year. When his father was both at home and sober—a combination that seemed increasingly rare—Severus helped him in the small herb garden behind their row house or in the hydroponic bay tucked into one corner of the basement lab. (Tobias had always grown many of the ingredients for his wife's potions.) Unfortunately, his father—now in the depths of depression—no longer seemed to care for what had once been his favorite hobby.

Money was tighter than it had ever been before, now that more than a few pounds from Tobias's paycheck went to feed his whiskey habit. In a fit of desperation, Eileen consulted with Severus before agreeing to ship off more than her usual allotment of potions—five casks of Dreamless Sleep, plus a gallon of Skele-Gro, to be delivered to St. Mungo's before the end of the summer, in addition to the usually weekly allotments of Pepper-Up and Contraceptus and—for the summer only—Blood Replenishing Potion. (The latter potions had an extremely short shelf-life, which is why Eileen had been able to make a comfortable living brewing them the first two. By contrast, Dreamless Sleep and Skele-Gro both had a shelf-life of over a year.)

Severus helped his mother, of course. With the amount of time they had to spend on supporting the family, there was no more time for The Project. Tobias should have understood this, but instead he just got angrier—and drank more. The first few times his father attempted to hit his mother in front of him, Severus jumped in the way. After that, Tobias sent Severus on errands; when the boy returned, it was to find his mother hiding in the bedroom, covered in bruises, or cowering in a dark corner, sobbing.

Six weeks into the summer, Severus was doing all of the brewing—his mother was too afraid of her husband's temper to venture into the lab, even when he wasn't there—and experimenting on the side. Not on The Project; he'd long ago given that up as pointless. Instead, he was developing a bruise balm for his mother's usage.

One night, as he lay in bed listening to his father's shouts, trying vainly to go to sleep, he heard a whisper: "Severus? Have you forgotten me?"

"Oh, Aziz! I'm sorry. I've had so much on my mind, and…well, you can't really help with it." Severus had long ago learned that Aziz couldn't change others into someone they weren't.

"I can't stop your father being angry, or drinking, or any of that. But your mother…you want her to be safe and well, and there are ways that could happen."

Severus sighed heavily. Although he hadn't talked much to Aziz that summer, they'd spent so much time together during the school year that he was sure the genie understood everything he was thinking. "How do I say it, Aziz?"

"Hmmm," the genie said. "No one's ever asked me to do anything quite like this before. Maybe—Help you to find the right connections to keep her safe?"

"Don't know if that would work. Her brother hasn't talked to her in years," the boy scowled. "I've never even met him. And I don't know if my grandparents are alive." His mother had been really, truly abandoned when she married her Muggle lover.

"Hmmm," said Aziz. "Maybe more generically, you should ask to find the way that will keep her safe from harm."

"But you don't know what to do!" cried Severus in anguish.

"I'm more powerful when you invoke the wish," countered the genie.

"I wish to find a way to keep my mother safe—and happy!"

Aziz closed his eyes and was silent for a bit. Finally he said, quietly, "You should talk to Professor McGonagall."

"A Gryffindor!"

"Shhh. I don't understand it. I just have the feeling…yes, that's the right tack. Send her a letter."

"But how?" Eileen hadn't kept an owl for years. She relied on the apothecary's owl to collect her shipment and bring payment.

Aziz stared at Severus somberly. "You already know how to do it. You just don't want to."

~~SS~~

Two days later, while his father was at work, Severus walked as fast as he could, hoping to get his errand done before he could lose his nerve. The letter he'd written the night before was sealed in an envelope, stuffed carefully into the pocket of his jeans, along with two small vials. Gritting his teeth, he stalked up the front walk of a well-kept home and rang the bell.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Severus had forgotten how shrill Petunia Evans's voice could be. "I need to talk to Lily."

"She's busy. With friends."

Severus could hear female voices, one of them Lily's, floating down from upstairs. "I just need five minutes."

Petunia shrugged. "I can try, but what's in it for me?"

Severus smiled and held out a phial. "Love potion?"

Petunia smirked. "Get out! Why should I believe you?"

He uncorked it and held it under her nose. "What does it smell like?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

"It doesn't taste like anything, either. Not sure it will work on Muggles, but it might. Whoever he is, he'll never know, one way or another."

Petunia snatched the cork out of his left hand and the potion out of his right, resealed the phial, and stuffed it in her pocket. "I'll get Lily."

A few minutes later, Severus was being skewered by Lily's cold, green eyes. "What right do you think you have to come here after what you said to me?"

"None," he said baldly. "I just—I need to use your owl. It's an emergency. I'll pay in potions."

She looked at the flask in his hand. "No, don't give me whatever it is you've got there. Just—just help with one potion of my choosing, in Slughorn's class."

Severus nodded. "One potion. No more, no less. No questions asked about the letter."

She held out her hand. "Who does it go to?"

He passed her the letter. "McGonagall."

Lily nodded. "It'll be sent. But never again, Severus."

"Never again. I understand."

~~SS~~

One week later, a Hogwarts owl arrived at Spinner's End with a letter addressed to Severus Snape. It contained his book list, of course, but also a short note with detailed instructions. The first instruction said: "Show this letter to your mother." There was more information: how to pack, where to go, what the keyword was. The last instruction said: "Eileen, memorize this information and burn it as soon as you are able."

~~SS~~

Early on the morning of September 1, before anyone was up, Eileen Snape helped her son carry his trunk out the back door, through the back gate, and into the alley. They were just outside the apparition wards here. She held one handle of the trunk in one hand and Severus's hand in the other. Without a word, she turned on the spot, and the two disappeared with a sharp crack.

~~SS~~

Two figures—a short, scrawny woman and a lanky youth—appeared in the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron.

"Can you make it to the station OK?"

"I took a couple of pounds from the tin. I can take a taxi." Severus breathed deeply and looked down into his mother's eyes. He took in the fading bruise on her left cheekbone, her sad eyes. "You're sure about this?"

"I am."

"All right, then." He reached down, popped the lock on his trunk, and pulled out a bag. "Your things, Mum. Be well." Leaning down, he kissed her forehead.

"Oh Sevvie—I'll try to keep in touch." A tear ran down her cheek. "Be well, little boy. I'll miss you."

A tabby cat appeared out of the mist. Meowing, it twined around Eileen's ankles. Severus acknowledged its presence with a subtle tilt of his head. Then he turned around, picked up his trunk, and walked into the bar, heading for the Muggle world. He didn't look back. He knew if he did, he would cry.

~~SS~~

Coming Up: The Third Wish, Born From Anxiety

In which Severus tries to become a better person, but doesn't quite succeed.