I sit with Lily's arm around me, crying quietly, for about fifteen minutes. Finally, I take a deep shuddering breath and, wiping my face with my sleeve, started to stand up. Lily moved her hand off my shoulder and takes my arm, raising me up to my feet. I wince in pain.
"Severus?" she whispers, quietly, looking shy and unsure of herself for the first time I have ever seen.
"Yah?" I ask, wiping my nose with my sleeve, trying to catch my breath.
"… thank you," she says, grabbing her left arm with her right hand awkwardly as she bites her lower lip.
"F-for what?" I ask. What is she talking about?
"You… well, you protected me… even when…" she looks away, tears filling her eyes. I take a step toward her and touch her arm gently. She turns to look at me, tears now falling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Sev. I-I didn't do anything to stop him." She says, her voice breaking, and breaking in turn my heart.
"You tried to, Lily." I tell her "which is more than I have done." I admit sheepishly. The bells start to chime in the distance from the church in the town. One… two… three… four… five… six… "Oh no!" I exclaim, as I begin to run off.
"W-where are you going?" she calls after me.
"I'm late!" I cry out, I can't get in trouble again… not twice in one day. "I'm late for dinner!" She nods, and then takes off in the other direction.
I make it to our road about ten minutes later. Number 19… 18… 17… the houses whiz by as I run so fast I think my lungs will pop. I slip and fall, catching myself with my hands, as I go too fast around the turn into our front walk. I reach the door, grab the handle… it's locked. My house is locked. I know that I have to get inside, or I will be in even more trouble for being later than I already am. The later I am, the worse I will get it, I know, so I give a small sob, though no tears come, and knock on the door, taking two steps back immediately.
The door swings open, and my father glares down at me. He looks angry… very, very angry.
"I-I…" I begin.
"Inside," he hisses. "Now!" he reaches out and grabs my wrist, yanking me forward, and into the house. He closes the door behind us, and locks it again.
He begins the trek through the house to reach the dining room.
"Why the hell were you late, brat?" he asks as he delivers a few smacks to my rear end. I cry out quietly with each blow. I know this is just so he can take out some of his immediate range. I am really going to get it later. "You kept your mother and me waiting on dinner. I am hungry, boy." He stops walking, pulls me down over his arm, and says "And for that little… muggle… bitch?!" punctuating each word with an especially hard smack.
"I'm sorry!" he hits me again, and I cry out. He brings down his hand again. It hurts. I just want him to stop!
"Don't lie to me, brat!" he roars, pulling me back up and shaking me hard. A few tears roll down my face. "Tell me the truth!" He holds my upper arm with one hand and grabs my ear with his other. I hiss as more tears fall. "Look me in the eyes, brat." I slowly do what he says. "Now… tell me the truth." He spits.
"I… I a-am telling the truth," I say. I am lying to his face, and he knows it. I could never regret spending time with Lily. No matter how much trouble I get into. He let's go of my ear for a moment and hits me across the face, than grabs my chin, hard, and makes me look at him again.
"How dare you." He hits the other side of my face. "How dare you!" he roars again, squeezing my face. "You would risk being seen with that little muggle girl, risk our family's reputation, boy?" I shake my head furiously as tears start streaming in earnest. "You love that little muggle bitch! You prefer filthy muggles to your own kind!" he throws me away from him. "You… I don't…." he begins raving. I'm scared… I'm scared for her. If he gets the idea in his head that she is a temptation, I don't know what he will do to her. "I won't have to remove the distraction, will I, brat?" I shake my head rapidly.
"No!" I scream, "N-No, I'll never see her again! I'll do whatever you say! Please! Please, sir, don't! P-please!" I fall to my knees and grab the edge of my fathers robe. He kicks my side.
"We'll see, boy. We'll see. Perhaps if you can find the strength to stay away," he says mockingly, pulling my to my feet by my hair. I cry out in pain. He smacks me a few more times, really hard, and than drags me the rest of the way to the dining room. I sit down, uncomfortably, and look at my empty plate. I reach for the food to serve myself some, but my father interrupts saying
"And what do you think you're doing?"
"I… I'm just…" I stutter, still trying to calm down. My mother looks at my father in shock.
"He's getting food, Tobias." She says quietly. "Look at him, poor boy's exhausted. He's been through… too much today." Father must have told her that he found me with Lily today. She doesn't like what he does to me, but she can't say anything, or he'll hit her too. I don't want that to happen.
"Get upstairs, brat." My father says, with a nod toward the stairs. "I'll be up later to discuss your punishment."
"But… I thought you already…" What was all that that just happened if not punishment? I should have known he wouldn't be finished yet.
"You thought that was all you were going to get?" he asks in disbelief. "Even I thought you were smarter than that. What you did today is almost unforgivable, boy. I have to make sure you truly understand that what you have done was wrong and that I never see you doing it again." He says, beginning to eat. I'm so hungry. He looks at me. "I said get upstairs… unless you need some more discipline…"
"No!" I say, rising, "I'm going." I walk toward the stairs. My mother looks at me with tear filled eyes and mouths 'I am so sorry, son' when my father isn't looking. I hesitate by his chair when she does this, an obvious mistake, because he stands up abruptly, grabs my wrist, smacks my bottom a few more times, and drags me up the stairs to my room, where he sits me in a hard chair, and locks the door behind him.