CHAPTER 02: THE LETTER
"Severus," a voice said from outside his room. "There's a girl at the door. She says she's your friend."
"What's her name?" he asked, remembering that he told Lily to come by if she wanted to hang out.
"I think its Lily." His mother said slowly. "I swear, if this is another prank I'm going to talk to her paren…"
"No mum!" Severus said quickly. "She is my friend."
His mother looked stunned. For the first time in years, her son had a friend. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she only said the obvious. "Don't forget your coat and be home for dinner."
"You told me I could come…" Lily started when she saw Severus leaving his house. "I didn't mean to both…"
"You're not bothering me." He answered quickly. "Not at all."
If there was one word for what she felt when he said it was relief. It'd been two days since he said she could show up and she wasn't sure that he wasn't joking around about hanging out with her. He never hung out with anyone.
"What do you wanna do?" He asked in a friendly way, and he noticed that his voice had never sounded that way before and he liked it. Still, he looked down at his hands and twittered his fingers, feeling a little shy.
"Can you tell me more about Hogwarts?" Her eyes were glowing again.
"Sure. What do you want to know?"
'Everything!' Lily said in a way only an eleven year old kid would.
"As I told you, we'll soon get a letter saying that we've been accepted to study there. Then, we have to buy our things."
"What things?"
"My mum says that we need wands, ingredients for potions, cauldrons, books…" He looked up. "uniforms, and that sort of stuff…"
'Where do we find them?' Lily asked, fascinated.
Severus told her everything he knew about the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley and all the amazing things that were there.
"But I don't have any wizard money…" Lily said disappointedly. "How am I supposed to buy my things?"
"I think you can change your Muggle money in Gringotts, but someone will explain everything when your letter comes."
"So when is my letter coming?"
"Very soon." Severus said after a few seconds of thought. "I'm not sure when. But we're both eleven, so we start Hogwarts this September."
The hours passed by so quickly, so when dinnertime arrived, they both felt as if they had only talking for a few minutes. Severus walked Lily to her house and, just before the door opened, he disappeared.
Lily made their encounters a daily routine. Every day right after lunch, she'd go to his house and they'd spend the whole afternoon talking about Hogwarts and magic. But one day, Lily was scared.
She and Petunia had a fight before she left to meet Severus. And, even though she didn't want to hurt her sister, as she got madder and madder, Petunia was hit by a vase that had flown across the room.
Frightened, Lily fled. She didn't say anything to Severus, but then he started to say something about underage wizards performing magic outside school. "… and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters."
"But I have done magic outside school!" Lily said, remembering the fight she had with her sister that morning.
"We're all right." Severus said. "We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven," He nodded importantly, "and they start training you, then you've got to be careful."
Lily was silent; he hadn't convinced her that it was ok to do what she had done to her sister. She didn't deserve whatever that vase did to her. The worst thought was that she – Lily – was the one who made that vase do that.
It'd be nice to have a wand, since when she had one, she'd probably be able to control those strange things. With that thought, she picked up a fallen twig and started to pretend to do a spell. Then, remembering everything her sister said that morning she dropped it. "It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?'
"It's real for us." Severus answered. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."
"Really?" she whispered with that dreamy look she had every time he mentioned the letters, the school, Diagon Alley…
"Definitely," he said, making Lily feel even more confident than him.
"And will it really come by owl?"
'Normally; but you're a Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."
"Does it make a difference," Lily started to ask the one thing she didn't have enough courage for the answer, "being Muggle-born?"
Severus hesitated. Normally, he'd say that there was a difference. A big difference. But, looking at Lily, with her bright green eyes, her dark red hair, he couldn't see anything wrong at all. "No," he answered, "It doesn't make any difference."
"Good," she said, relaxing, unaware that Severus would never say that there was something wrong.
"You've got loads of magic, I saw that. All the time I was watching you…" He stopped; it was obvious that she was not listening to him anymore. She looked up to the trees that surrounded them. He stared at her.
"How are things at your house?" She asked, aware of how uncomfortable he was on that subject. Severus didn't like talking about his family, and whenever Lily tried to find out something about them, he started do explain another fantastic topic on magic.
She, did, however, know that his parents fought a lot.
"Fine."
"They're not arguing anymore?" Lily asked, slightly hopeful.
"Oh, yes, they're arguing," he answered mechanically as he grabbed and destroyed a bunch of leaves. The change of subject didn't please him at all. "But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."
'Doesn't your dad like magic?'
'He doesn't like anything, much."
"Severus?"
He smiled as she said his name. He loved the way she said it.
"Yeah?"
"Tell me about the Dementors again."
"What d'you want to know about them for?"
"If I use magic outside school –"
"They wouldn't give you to the Dementors for that!" Severus said quickly, trying to calm his friend. "Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too –"
He stopped as his face got red, and ripped some other leaves. Lily's expression became questioning, but then they heard a rustling noise.
When they both looked to see what had made that noise, they saw Petunia. "Tuney!" Lily said surprised, but welcoming, wanting her sister in their talk.
Snape reacted differently. "Who's spying now?" he shouted with the same tone she used before at him. "What d'you want?"
Surprised and bitter, Petunia tried to come up with something hurtful to say.
"What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at his chest. "Your mum's blouse?"
Snape was mad. And when wizards that haven't been properly trained get mad, bad things happen.
This time a branch cracked and caught the intruder on the shoulder, and she started to cry just before running back home.
"Did you make that happen?" Lily asked, very angry.
"No."
"You did!" She said, horrified, and took a few steps back. "You did! You hurt her!"
"No – no I didn't!" Severus said, feeling hopeless because he knew that she wouldn't believe him. In fact, it was only a matter of seconds before she ran home, back to her sister and away from him.
He'd been there for a while. His fingers touched the doorbell, but he lacked the courage to press it. What if Petunia answered? Or what if Lily didn't want to see him?
That thought made him feel sick. Now that he had Lily, he couldn't afford to lose her, it would just hurt too much.
Severus pressed the doorbell.
A tall red haired woman answered the door. She appeared to be Lily's mother. "What do you want, dear?" She asked kindly.
"Can you get Lily, please?"
"Oh, she isn't feeling quite well today." the woman said. "But, if you come in I can get her. Would that be ok?"
"Sure." He said trying to hide that he was on the verge of bursting into a happy dance.
"You can wait here while I get her." Lily's mum said as she climbed the stairs and headed to Lily's room.
In the meantime, Severus looked at the picture frames. They all contained family pictures and, in a lot of them, Lily and Petunia were together, as close as best friends and for a moment he felt bad for being the one thing they disagreed about. He didn't care much about his friend's older sister, but she did and it hurt him.
Lily's mother came back. "Lily says she doesn't feel like getting out." she said sadly and Severus felt his heart break. "Please, follow me."
The boy went up the stairs, and stopped at the third door and waited for Lily's mum to announce his presence. As soon as he was in a chair next to Lily's bed, she left to make some cookies.
"Lily, I'm sorry for the other day." He said after a few seconds. "I got mad, but I swear to you I never meant to hurt her."
"But you did hurt her, Severus. You did and now she's so mad at me." Lily said, tears filling her eyes.
"But she shouldn't be."
"Maybe, but I'd probably be mad if someone sent a branch on me." Lily said.
"I've already said I'm sorry for that, I couldn't help it. I was so mad at her, for trying to keep me from being your friend, Lily. I was so scared I'd lose you." Severus said, but he regretted saying it immediately. What if she took it the wrong way?
"You won't lose me, Severus. We're friends." she gave him a shy smile. "But I love Tuney as well. You don't know how I wish she liked you too."
He thought about saying he wished that too, but it'd be a lie and he felt bad about lying to her. So he just smiled back. "I'm so sorry, Lily."
"Severus!" His mother's voice yelled from downstairs. "You've got mail!"
Severus knew what this meant. The day he'd longed for so long had finally arrived. He had his own letter to Hogwarts. He had all he ever dreamed of.
The envelope had his name handwritten, and was closed with the school's emblem – the snake, the lion, the eagle and the badger. He opened it slowly, trying to make the moment last as long as it possibly could.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Snape,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all
necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore,
Headmaster
Severus felt like jumping and dancing and screaming and telling to everyone who was alive that he had been accepted into Hogwarts. It was the single happiest moment of his life.
Being accepted into Hogwarts felt like fitting in.
Lily thought it was weird when the doorbell rang. It was about the time Severus usually showed up for their daily encounters, but he rarely rang it. When she answered the door, it was not her friend who stood there.
A woman who looked older than her mother stood there. She wore a long black dress and her hair was in a bun "Good afternoon." she said politely. "I am here to speak with Lily Evans and her parents."
Lily called her mother before letting the stranger in, but she was sure she was from Hogwarts.
"My name," the stranger said, "is Minerva McGonagall. I am a professor."
"What brings you here today, Professor?" Lily's father asked.
"Your daughter, Lily, has a place at our school."
"You must be mistaken." Her mother said, bringing a cup of tea for the professor. "We never signed her up for anything."
"I see." Professor McGonagall said very calmly. "But there's no need to sign her up in order for her to be accepted into Hogwarts. She was in our eyes since the day she was born."
"I beg your pardon, but I don't follow." Her father said.
'Hogwarts is a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry – we teach children magic."
"I'm sure there's been a mistake here," her mother said, not understanding why they seemed to think her daughter was a witch of some kind.
"There isn't one, mum." Lily said. "I've known about Hogwarts for a while."
"You have?" Minerva looked astonished.
"Yes." Lily said, realizing that it was not normal for a kid to know that.
"Who told you that, Lily?" Professor McGonagall asked after drinking a little more tea.
"A boy who lives nearby. He's my friend and is going there too." She answered ,afraid that Severus would be punished if the professor knew it was him.
"Oh, I see. He must have told you everything about our world." The Professor said kindly. "Normally, we send someone (like me) to help students who do not come from wizard families to buy their material, and if you want me to do so, I'll be happy to schedule a day, but I believe you'd rather do it with your friend." Lily smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "And I think you want to go out right now and tell him the great news while I explain everything else to your parents."
"I would love to, Professor!" Lily said, and she rushed out of the house to tell Severus that she was going to Hogwarts as well.
A/N: Hello there (:
This chapter was hard to write and I really mean it, took me almost six months to do it (because I spent five and a half months not paying attention to it). See, I don't really like copying the book. I have to read the piece about three times before plotting how I'm doing it…
I like it better when I can make it all up!
Even though I'm not really fond of the first part of this, I really like it when they receive their letters, and Professor McGonagall going there. I just thought she was the best person to do it…
As always, special thanks to shadow6116, and everyone who has read this.
Review me, and live forever!
DISCLAIMER: Everything in the Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling.