I think I'm a bit delayed with this chapter, sorry about that. Irl issues took place and it didn't let me write for longer than I anticipated..
Still, thanks for your patience!
Daisy and Harry Evans notice right away there's something off about their daughters' newest friend. The obvious were the too-big and too-small clothes, the uneven, oily hair and the too thin wrists peeking out from slightly moth-eaten shirts.
As parents, they can see the tell-tale signs of a less than ideal homelife. Spinner's End was hardly the ideal place to raise a child, and the Evans hate to pass judgement onto the less fortunate families, but the married couple can tell the difference between neglect due to lack of funds, and outright abuse.
The way the boy didn't look at them in the eye, the way the boy flinches everytime Harry pats him gently on the back, how he avoids being alone with adults, avoids everyone but their daughters in general.
Once, when the boy wears one of his ill-fitting shirts, too short to reach the wrist properly and showing part of his stomach whenever he lifts his arms, Daisy sees the purple bruising peeking from underneath his belt and onto his back.
Between hushed conversations, the couple allow their daughters to bring their newest friend over whenever it is possible. It was the only thing they could do for the time being.
The neighboring kids started to often see a black shadow skulking around the Evans sisters in the shape of a little boy with too big clothes, hook-like nose and unkempt hair. He's not from the neighborhood, and the children hear their mothers' hushed whispers of Spinner's End with thin veiled disdain.
Spinner's End; the nowhere end where nobodies lived among the poorer sector of the industrial Cokeworth.
As cruel as kids are, they do not hold their tongue against the sisters and their newest shadow. From insults, to cruel pranks and playground scuffles.
While Lily participates in a scuffle or two, Petunia reigns her in along with Severus. And Petunia, not bothered in the slightest by the barrage of petty verbal abuse from the kids around the block, spits back crueler insults with sharp words she herself hadn't heard of before.
She might have made a few girls cry angry tears, might have startled an older boy into taking a step back.
Petunia doesn't care, and only puts her nose in the air with as much superiority a ten year can muster.
The cruel sneers don't stop until late October.
The Sullivan twins, after one of their many attempts of bullying the younger kids, start a barrage of insults towards them even Petunia is surprised by. The playground isn't exactly empty, and the other kids look on with surprise and even join in the mockery hurled towards the trio.
Their looks, their friendships, even their homes. The twins take great pleasure in Lily and Severus' red tinted cheeks and eyes pooling with tears. Petunia isn't as bothered, though she is angry, and her spiteful remarks prick at the twins' skin as much as theirs prick at hers.
There is a sharp cracking sound, leaves rustling before a heavy looking branch falls right on Albert Sullivan's shoulder, startling the boy into tears of surprise and pain.
There is shouting and sobs and concerned questions before all kids scatter. Petunia is in a slight daze, her angry blush lessening and leaving her paler than usual. She herds her sister and her friend back towards the Evans household, casting a quick glance at the willow tree they were sitting under moments ago.
"It didn't break on its own," Petunia starts quietly, looking at both Lily and Severus. They look guilty, but not entirely remorseful. "Was it you two?"
[She knows the answer already, and tries hard not to stare at Severus for too long as she does Lily.]
Both of them look down, neither really has an answer other than Severus's quiet remark, "Accidental magic."
Back at the playground, the willow tree remains strong and still as ever.
The periwinkle-blue diary becomes Petunia's most prized possession.
[It didn't hit me.]
The blonde girl scribbles a long, hard line across her past musings, and stuffs the diary back into its hiding spot.
"We need to do something Harry! It isn't right!"
"I know! I know dear, but we can't.."
Petunia and Lily listen to their parents' quiet discussion in the kitchen, ears pressed against the door and not daring to breathe. Their parents rarely fought, much less with them in the house.
Both their parents sound worried, neither can tell about what. Both girls scurry away quietly back upstairs, leaving the adults to talk.
Only two hours later they dare to go back downstairs, Lily shyly asking if they could invite Severus to Petunia's birthday this year. The girl in question behind her sister, not denying or agreeing with the redhead.
To their surprise, their parents agree.
Daisy Evans has half a mind to report the Snapes to the authorities for child neglect and abuse, after months of spotting tiny bruises hidden in moth-eaten clothes.
Harry, however, keeps her from it. He had been in foster care all his life, hoping from foster home to foster home until he was old enough to leave the system as a legal adult.
The abuse suffered in some of the homes were enough to not to trust Britain's foster system ever again.
He does not wish his old life on the little Snape boy, as much as he wanted to take the boy in either as fosters or adoption. Their girls liked him enough, the boy was certainly attached to them both, and after months around the house, the couple could spot one or two rare smiles for them.
Severus, once, had almost slipped and called him dad. He had been nice enough to fake not noticing to not embarrass the boy.
Even still, the Evans didn't know if they could be fit in the authorities' eyes to care for Severus Snape if they brought his homelife into light.
They can't afford another child either.
Angry and defeated, the Evans can only treat Severus with as much care as they can, hoping to undo some of the damage the little boy had been subjected to. A drop into an ocean.
November comes, Petunia turns eleven in one peaceful snow day, surrounded by her parents, Lily, and Severus.
He looks awkward, not knowing what to do until Lily grabs his hands and smears some cake frosting on his nose. He retaliates smearing some on her cheek.
Her gifts will be given tomorrow, Severus didn't have the money to buy anything and neither Evans wants the boy to feel bad about it. Petunia graciously nods in understanding.
Petunia stays up late.
The diary is safely tucked away, the lights are off, and she remains motionless on her bed, gripping sheets tightly as she shifts into a sitting position, staring out at her window with unease.
She is eleven, an important number. She is no longer a child, but there is more than that.
Only as the clock hits twelve does Petunia shift into the covers, closing her eyes with a soft sigh feeling relief and maybe a twinge of disappointment.
No Hogwarts letter comes to her, she is not part of that world and this confirms it.
Her dreams are blank that night, and remain blank for the rest of the year.
Lily and Severus both turn ten in January.
There is a small party, Lily practically vibrating with happiness and Severus blushing furiously, hiding his slightly misted eyes behind a curtain of hair. His mother had already given him her old potions textbook, which he reverently carried everywhere with him.
Lily and Petunia had gotten him candies, Harry Evans had bought him a water pistol to play with his girls in the summer months.
Daisy Evans baked him a cake, just for him.
Severus smiles through the entire day, blinking away the moisture in his eyes when no one was looking, ashamed of crying yet too awestruck to care.
A little boy's happiest memory is born.
Lily's birthday is a daze of gifts and games and smiles. She has a dolly, a Raggedy Andy to keep company to her Raggedy Ann doll. A canary-yellow diary and a new comb. All in all, the redhead was the happiest little girl in the entire block, a noticeable skip on her step.
Petunia smiles, happy yet uneasy. Lily is ten, in exactly another year, she will be stolen away from her, starting with a letter.
A countdown for the inevitable begins.