Author's Note: I know much of this story has been fluff so far, but trust me when I say that this fic is most certainly not a "they lived happily ever after" one. I have some ideas in mind which will prove to be dark paths ahead. I had to indulge for a little while in pure fluff, though... Can you blame me? ;)

And a big thank you to all my readers and reviewers! I'm motivated to write more by all the reviews I've been receiving, so thank you so much!

Chapter Four

As Severus entered his house on Spinner's End, it was with dread. He didn't want to see his father again. Even Potter's infuriated look he'd given him when Severus had stepped off the train with Lily was laughable compared to his bloody father. It was ridiculous, really, to be filled with such dread, but the grown Severus had no fond memories of the man who had been the reason he first starting hating Muggles.

When he entered, his mother, who had come to the train station to pick him up, silently stepped into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. Eileen Prince Snape hadn't so much as met her son's eyes or spoken one word of greeting to him. Severus regarded her retreating form with a mixture of sadness and anger. It was because of his father that his mother had become a shell of her former self.

Severus glanced into the sitting room, finding his father lounging on the couch, whether asleep or awake, he couldn't tell. The television was on, but the volume had been turned down. Several empty glass bottles were strewn about the floor in front of the couch, and even more littered the end table near Tobias Snape's head.

Severus scowled at the pathetic man. Everything was just as he had remembered: It was typical to find his father passed out on the couch after another drinking binge. As Severus turned away and made his way up the stairs to his forlorn bedroom, he remembered that by the time he was sixteen, his father was only going to work at the mill half of the time. His drinking had consumed his life, which meant dealing with a violent, raging alcoholic who mentally, and sometimes physically, abused his wife and son.

Severus entered his old room and threw his things thoughtlessly on the floor. He fell onto the bed with a heavy thump and closed his eyes, releasing a long-held sigh. He didn't want to go back downstairs. He wanted to run away and convince Lily to do the same, but he knew putting Lily in that amount of danger was beyond foolish.

Lord Voldemort was a real threat again, and two underage wizards roaming the countryside on their own was ridiculous. Despite Voldemort and his Slytherin "friends" trying to convince him toward the Dark side, the Marauders with their relentless taunting and tormenting, and his abusive drunk of a father, Severus was happier than he had been in a long time. He had Lily. Perhaps that was all that mattered.

x x x x x

A few days later, Severus was having his doubts. Two days after returning home, Lily had gone on holiday with her family, so he hadn't seen her in three days now. As much as he had been looking forward to being away from Potter and his gang this summer, he now realized he couldn't have complete peace.

A part of his mind raged at the unfairness of it all. I choose to relive my damned life, and what good comes of it? Sure, I have Lily, but nothing else has changed! I thought having Lily would make everything else... better... but who was I kidding?

Severus spent most of the days either taking long walks or pacing his room. He didn't have the inclination or the patience to sit and read, which would have normally brought him enjoyment. He refused to eat meals in the presence of his father, and so, despite the pain he guiltily knew it caused his mother, he would retreat up to his room, a small plate of whatever sustenance had been provided in his hands, only to listen to his father's threats to the back of his head.

Today, in the midst of pacing his bedroom, Severus stopped, thinking he heard banging coming from below. It was growing louder, and he knew that Tobias Snape had finally grown intolerant of his son's petulant behavior. The incessant noise grew in intensity until a resounding knock came from the door. By instinct, Severus reached for his wand.

"Go away," he told the door, trying to sound bored, as if his father were merely wasting his time.

"Open the door, boy," Tobias's deep voice boomed.

"I said," repeated Severus pointedly, "to go away. I have nothing to say to you... Father." He spat the last word contemptuously, like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Tobias kicked the door, which rattled it, but it didn't open. Severus, knowing it was pointless to ask the man to go away a third time, went to the door and opened it with a violent tug. Standing there, slightly taller than his son, was Tobias Snape. His eyes were bloodshot and narrowed as he peered down the end of his hooked nose at his son. Severus, on reflex, shoved his wand directly into his father's face, touching the end of said nose.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone," Severus hissed. While he would have rarely had the courage to address his father in this manner before, Severus was a changed man now. He'd dealt with far worse.

Tobias sneered at Severus. "I should've snapped your wand years ago like I did your mother's. You're a disgrace, the lot of you wizards and witches. Your filthy mother never told me what I was getting myself into, and then, nine months after she forced my hand, she spat out you. A waste of space if I've ever seen one."

"Shut up!" Severus yelled, pushing his wand farther into his father's face. "The only one who's a disgrace around here is you. You've ruined Mother, but you're not going to touch me, Father. And next time you touch Mum, I'll make sure you thoroughly regret it. You've no idea what I'm capable of."

Tobias now looked slightly frightened and took a step back. Pointing a trembling hand at his son, he stuttered, "You won't dare use magic outside of school. You think I don't know what they'll do to you if you do? Pathetic, little freak you are. Disgrace. A disgrace."

Tobias turned away, muttering under his breath. Every word Severus had just been forced to endure had been slurred. The air had been tinged with bad breath and alcohol just moments ago, making Severus wrinkle his nose in disgust. He slammed the door shut and almost warded his room, but stopped himself in time.

"What good is having a wand if you can't use it?" he asked bitterly, throwing it to the floor.

Furious with the whole situation, Severus flung himself onto his bed once again and drifted into a fitful sleep.

x x x x x

Three days later, Lily was back. Severus met her near the playground in their usual spot. He hated having to wear Muggle clothing, especially mismatched things that had been tainted by his father's filthy skin, but Severus knew wearing robes in a Muggle neighborhood would be further cause for people to give him strange looks.

The first time he had stepped into a pair of his father's old jeans and pulled a faded, holey red shirt over his head, Severus had felt extremely odd. He hadn't worn Muggle clothing in years. Whenever he was home, he insisted on wearing robes, which gave Tobias yet another reason to bad-mouth him. Now, with Lily's green eyes there to greet him, Severus tried to push those negative thoughts to the back of his mind.

Lily immediately threw her arms around him, and he hugged her in return.

"I've missed you," he said softly into her red hair.

"I've missed you, too," Lily replied. "But I'm back now, so we have the whole summer ahead of us."

Severus nodded, still distracted by thoughts of his father. One cynical thought led to another, and before long, Severus was dwelling on all matters of negativity. He was quiet as they walked along. Severus noticed a man working in a nearby yard glaring at him.

"Sev, what's wrong?" Lily finally asked.

"Nothing worth talking about," he muttered. You'd just think I'm feeling sorry for myself, and I'm tired of looking like such a sodding weakling in front of you, Lily.

"You're a bad liar, Sev," Lily said.

Actually, Lily, I'm a pretty damned good one. You just don't know that yet. Years of employing Occlumency in the presence of the Dark Lord made Severus Snape one of the best liars around, but his sixteen-year-old self wasn't supposed to know how to block his thoughts and feelings from others.

"Look, it's nothing," he insisted vehemently.

Lily, taken aback by the bite in his tone, withdrew her hand from his. She had seen him in sour moods on several occasions, but just a week ago on the train, he'd been incredibly open and sweet toward her.

"I... I don't know what to say to you, Sev," she said, clearly disappointed. "I thought you had changed... that you were turning over a new leaf, but if you can't be bothered to tell your best friend," she sneered the words in a very uncharacteristic fashion, "the truth, then perhaps I'll just leave you alone until you're ready."

"Lily-" Severus started to say, but it was too late. Lily had already left him standing there, alone and pathetic.

Severus scowled and mentally berated himself. The man in the nearby yard was still glaring at him as if his presence on the sidewalk were somehow contaminating it.

"What're you looking at?" Severus shouted at the man. "Come to have a good look at the neighborhood freak?"

The man flushed and turned his attention to pruning a tree once again, and Severus retreated into the shadows of the forest. He found the spot he used to visit whenever he needed to be alone in his youth. Sitting down, he leaned against the rough bark of a tree.

Nothing had changed. He was wasting this life just like he had his earlier life. No matter what he did or how hard he tried, he always managed to ruin things. Lily, for whatever insane reason, had claimed to see the good in him, but as he thought about his father, the neighbors, his classmates, and everybody else but Lily, Severus came to the stark, cruel realization that they had to be right about him: He was a freak.