The Butterfly Effect
A/N: Thanks to everyone who put this story on alert, I wasn't expecting so many! It would be nice to have some feedback on the story, though :) This chapter brings my word count up to 2446, leaving me with 3554 to go for the challenge! The story shouldn't be finished by that word count however, I expect it to go on for a lot longer :)
Part 2
"Sev?" a familiar feminine voice called softly from behind him. Severus turned around, surprised to see Lily standing behind him. She hadn't called him that for a long time. He didn't say a word as she sat down opposite him on the small library table, and regarded his pile of books, which he was studying for his last OWL, potions.
He hadn't seen Lily in about a week, which, whilst he wouldn't imagine possible during their first years at Hogwarts, was now a common occurrence. He felt awful at himself for insulting her during The Incident when she was only trying to help him. He didn't know why he did it, he just though for a moment that she was going to go along with Potter. And that hurt him more than anything else ever had before.
"I wasn't laughing at you, you know," she said softly. "Potter and his friends aren't funny. I just think they're cruel."
"You weren't?" he said, looking up at her for the first time. Her bright eyes were glossy; she looked as if she was going to cry. That scared Severus; he didn't know how to act around crying girls.
"I would never laugh at you."
"I believe you. I'm sorry for saying I didn't want your help."
She blinked away the tears which were forming, before observing him. They sat in silence, neither knowing what to say, when Lily broke it a few minutes later.
"We were best friends, Sev. We were inseparable. What happened?"
"I don't know," he said quietly.
"I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too," he admitted. It was the first time he had ever admitted any sort of feeling to another person. He truly had missed Lily's friendship.
"Let's not let ourselves grow apart again, hm, Sev?" Lily said.
"Sure," he gave a small smile, which he reserved for only her.
A few days later and Severus found himself on the Hogwarts express, returning home. He would miss Hogwarts over the holidays, especially the dungeons and the extensive library which he spent so much time in. Whilst he disliked some aspects of Hogwarts, mostly the other people, home wasn't any better. He didn't want to return home, with his father drinking too much and his mother powerless to stop him. The only good thing was that he would be able to see Lily often over the summer, as she lived on the other side of town from him.
He found an empty compartment and sat alone, looking back through his potions textbook from that year. It was covered in cramped, messy handwriting, much like the rest of his textbooks, although his Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts textbooks had considerably more notes in the margins than the rest of them. He was reviewing the changed he had made to one of the more complicated potions he had learnt during that year, which Professor Slughorn warned will come up again in their NEWTs, but with an extra step.
He looked up as the door slid open, and a familiar red-head popped her head in.
"Hey, Sev. Mind if I sit with you?"
"Sure."
"You write in your textbooks?" she asked, shocked. Severus almost smirked at the look of horror on her face. To Lily, defacing a book was a terrible crime.
"Yes, I write any improvements or modifications which can be made to the spell or potion."
"Mind if I look?" She asked, taking the book as he nodded. He watched her face change as she read.
"Wow, Sev!" She said, looking up at him in wonder, "I didn't realise you were so good at potions, we don't even need to modify our own potions until seventh year, and not even much then. Not unless you do a Potions mastery."
"Thanks," he said, glowing at her praise. If he was one to blush, he would be red as a tomato, but luckily for him he was not one to do so. Lily was, however, and he smiled at the flush creeping up her cheeks when he pointed out that she was one of the best at Potions in their class, too.
The summer passed in an unusual way for Severus, who usually felt it dragging and couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts, away from his father and the altogether depressing mood which settled over his gloomy house and engulfed anyone who entered the building. The days spent at home dragged excruciatingly slowly, whilst the days which he saw Lily seemed to speed up and were over before they felt like they even began.
Luckily for Severus, his mother had taken him on a trip to Diagon Alley as she had to buy some more potion ingredients. This allowed him to purchase his textbooks for his sixth year a lot sooner than usual, as she usually took him on the last day, unwilling to leave the house. He was not sure which subjects he would be taking next year as he had not yet received his OWL results, so he just had to guess and hope that he had not wasted their small amount of money on classes which he had not passed. He shuddered, thinking of what his father's response would be if that were the case.
He spent the time he had to remain in the house pouring over his books, trying to adjust to the difference in tone and depth now that they were studying for their NEWTs. The depth of the potions textbook was much more detailed and they were to be brewing much more complicated potions, which pleased Severus greatly. The same appeared to be true for his other subjects, although he wasn't as interested in them. However, the only difference in Defence Against the Dark Arts was the difficulty of skills they were to be practicing, including nonverbal spells, but no difference in theory, which disappointed him greatly, although he hadn't expected otherwise.
He woke up late on sunny morning to a loud tapping at his window. He jumped out of bed and opened the window, letting the tawny owl fly into the room and perch on his desk, holding out its leg. As soon as he untied the letter, the owl flew back out of the window, and he watched it go, flying into the distance.
He felt his heart speed up as he regarded the envelope, as if it were a monster rather than a harmless piece of parchment. He had kept himself busy and tried not to worry about his examination results, but every now and then a worrying thought flittered across his mind. He was a Slytherin after all, and he was sorted into that house because of his ambition. He would not end up like his father, a talentless drunk, or his mother, who did nothing to stop him. He wanted to prove his worth, that he was not just the son of a muggle and a less than mediocre witch, which is why he worked so hard. He wanted the name 'Severus Snape' to mean something.
He opened the parchment envelope with shaking hands. He read over the list of grades quickly, his heart slowing as he took in his grades. There was nothing below 'Acceptable,' he had passed every exam he had taken. He had received several O's, including Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts, a couple of EE's and a single A, in Arithmancy, Severus' least favourite subject.
A knock on the door echoed through the silent house. Severus knew immediately who it was, only one person dared to face his father's wrath by approaching the house. He walked down the stairs as fast as possible, opening the door before his father was able to.
"Sev!" Lily announced, "I passed! I passed everything!"
She launched forward and pulled him into a hug.
"Me too," he said, unable to help a rare smile form on his lips.