Summer 1975

Summers at Spinners End were always unbearable at the Snape household. It had been a few weeks since Severus had returned to his hometown for his holidays and the situation was just as he had left it the previous summer.

His parents were arguing well into the night and in an effort to ignore their constant bickering, he tried to focus on his Potions textbook. The endeavor was useless, as usual and as a result, Severus was extremely under slept.

He heaved a sigh as rummaged through his untidy trunk looking for something half- decent to wear.

Once changed, he opened the door anxiously and was relieved to see his father sleeping downstairs in front of the Television, surrounded by empty bottles of beer. He slowly began to walk down the wooden stairs, his heart racing with fear whenever his step caused a creak. He was careful not to wake his father, Tobias, whose bad moods had recently become worse. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation with the man.

He glanced at the kitchen and saw his mother sitting by the table, staring absentmindedly outside the window, she look disillusioned. The very look she always had whenever she fought with her husband. Both of his parents had probably not moved since their row last night that carried on into the early hours of the morning.

With one last fleeting look at his mother, he rushed out of the house into the bright summer day and out of Spinner's End.

He wore a muggle t-shirt which was much too large for his tall, skinny frame – so much so that the sleeves reached below his elbows. He subconsciously hunched as he walked and tried ignored the glares of a woman across the street, clutching his wand in the deep pocket of his large jeans. He recognized the woman immediately from the day before when he sought refuge in a nearby playground from his dysfunctional home life.

He had been sitting on one of the swings, when a young boy came to sit on a swing besides him. Within seconds, however, the woman called the young boy back and cast a distrustful look at Severus. It was not the first time a mother reacted to his appearance that way.

To hell with her! Bloody Muggle! he thought. He had something to look forward to and upon this realization a sudden nervous excitement overwhelmed him. He began to walk faster as he approached the thicket of trees.

And there she was.

Lily Evans was sitting with her back towards him as he walked towards their spot by the river. He was never one to be late but given the events of the night before…

She turned to face him upon hearing his footsteps.

'Sev!' she said as she got to her feet. She walked towards him and gave him an unexpected hug.

He hesitated initially, caught off guard by the sudden greeting but slowly wrapped his shaking arms around her delicate waist, crouching slightly as he was taller than her. His heart was hammering in his chest – it was good to see her again, to smell the scent of hair, to feel the warmth of her presence. These moments had his head stirring and he closed his eye for a split second as he tried to take in the moment. When they finally let go, he felt a flush suffuse his thin cheeks and tried to suppress the foolish smile that was beginning to spread across his face.

He immediately put a hand to the back of his neck, feeling conscious under her steady gaze, he knew he looked shabby but her beam seemed to reduce his worries and he found it difficult to tear his eyes from her face.

He quickly looked away.

'H-how was Spain?' he asked finally.

She settled herself on the cool grass and ushered for him to sit besides her. She began chatting animatedly about her trip. He watched her intently. He usually wasn't bothered about her obsession with Muggle art museums and the like but he listened attentively to each and every word. He was just relieved to finally have her company again. It was a reason to bear the intolerable summers.

They conversed well into the warm summer afternoon. About her trip, Hogwarts and the Wizarding World.

Despite his previous bad mood, he felt relatively at ease in her company as he watched her brows crease as she looked at the playground in a short distance ahead of them– that look was undeniably endearing, as if she were confused over a statement in a textbook. It was moments like these, as simple as they may have been which Severus treasured as he would subtly observe her. These moments ensured him there was always someone, no words were necessary between the two. They sat in silence which spoke volumes. It was a comfortable silence between two very good friends – best friends.

Best friends.

It was a bittersweet fact. Sweet, because he valued her friendship. Bitter, because he always longed for much more. But was it worth risking her friendship? He was always quite decisive with most matters in life but his heart and mind were constantly at odds when it came to Lily Evans. He constantly dismissed the thought as it left him in nothing but utter confusion.

He glanced at her once more to see her with the same expression.

'Something troubling you?' he asked.

She quickly looked at him. 'I read about a recent attack on some residents in Surrey in a muggle newspaper. You don't think it has anything to do with…what's been happening, do you?' she asked unable to disguise the evident concern in her voice.

Ofcourse .He thought. He knew Lily would bring this up.

They had been numerous attacks on families over the past few weeks – muggle families in particular- caused by the Death Eater Rebellion.

Severus was least pushed by these attacks.

'I believe…it has everything to do with that.' He answered firmly. 'They attacked the head of the Misuse of the Muggle Artefacts Office luckily, the foolish swine – '

'My God, Sev! Just because he's a fool that doesn't mean he deserves to be murdered!' she cut across angrily. Her green eyes blazing as the summer breeze played with her hair.

Lily, as pleasant as she was, was painfully headstrong when it came to matters regarding her principles. Severus admired and disliked this certain attribute for it was constantly the cause of their many arguments but it also emphasized the fact that he had someone solid in his life. Something he needed, he knew very well at the back of his mind but would never readily admit it to himself or to anyone else for that matter.

He could depend on himself.

They did not speak for a while but he understood her concern. She constantly worried over the security of her family. Not that he genuinely cared about her family – least of all for Petunia, but it bothered him to see her upset. And so, he did not risk bringing the topic up.

Lily finally broke the silence. 'Started any homework?' she asked casually.

'No, we agreed to start together.' It was a partial lie. He was eager to start his homework, anything to keep his mind off his bitter home life but it had been difficult to concentrate. As well as this, he preferred doing his homework with Lily. It was their thing after all.

'Haha! We agreed to do work on Potions together, Sev. ' she said grinning '..because I was going to be away for a while .. You're- you're not one to leave your homework to the last few weeks?'

Severus frowned. He usually avoided this topic. But she seemed to have caught on.

'Are they arguing?' She asked.

'As always,' He answered irritably.

'But I thought– '

'Never mind, Lily' He snapped.

She seemed to be taken aback by this but did not press any further. This time, it was his turn to break the silence.

'The essay topic is the properties of moonstone and its use in potion making, yes?' he asked stupidly. He knew very well the topic of the essay but did not know how else to break the silence.

'You should know.' She answered slightly annoyed, but he was relieved to see Lily look up at him with a mocking grin, a spark in her eye. 'You are the Potions master of our year, aren't you?'

'I think that would be you, Lovely Lily!' he sneered irritably.

She blushed.

It was common knowledge amongst their batch, that Slughorn's class favorite was Lily Evans or 'Lovely Lily' for that matter. Severus, along with many other students, knew Horace Slughorn to be quite the flirt.

The sleaze ball! he thought to himself.

'Right.' She said briskly. 'Let's start the essay tomorrow?'

Same time. Same place.

The sun was beginning to set as they got up to part their separate ways. She looked up at him, reached for his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. 'It's good to see you again, Sev.' She said softly. Her hands were small and the squeeze was delicate but managed to send a strong tingling sensation of warmth through him. He did not answer but merely held her hand as well. Finally, her hand unconsciously slipped out of his and he watched her set off to the house across the playground. She turned back to give a final wave.

'See you!' she called out brightly. And with that she set into a light run towards her house, her thick red hair swinging as she did.

Summer in Spinners End wasn't so unbearable after all.