Title: Blue October, Volume One – Chapter Five.

Author: Woodland Goddess.

Rated: M

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading guys. There are adult themes in this chapter.

Chapter Five: Domino Effect

Six weeks passed with hardly any incidents to speak of. Severus worked in the backroom at the Pharmacy from morning until early evening, reading, writing, memorizing new words and definitions, learning historical facts that any child his age would be privy to and much more. All of it was possible because of the gentle guidance of Mr Evans, who was kind but firm when correcting mistakes or inaccuracies. By the time he had to go home, Severus would be well and truly exhausted and he would be asleep long before Tobias would return home from his daily ventures – not all of them working ones.

Finally, after much waiting and unbearable itchiness, it was the day Severus could get his cast taken off. Mr Evans was more than willing to take Severus to the Hospital again and did so with a genuine smile. While they waited, Severus read Five Children and a Dog by Renee Reggiani. His reading had improved a great deal since the day Mr Evans had made that deal with Severus' father, though there were, of course, still words that stumped him from time to time. It was a work in progress, but Severus was pleased nonetheless.

This time, the hospital staff saw to them much more quickly than they had the first time Severus had been brought in. Severus was convinced it was only to have him leave sooner, but he was completely fine with that. He did not want to be stuck there any more than they seemed to want him there. As soon as they were finished at the hospital, Mr Evans took him out for lunch; they both enjoyed soup and sandwiches and a glass of orange juice. During lunch, Mr Evans quizzed him thoroughly, until he was satisfied.

Mr Evans beamed at him across the table, earning a hesitant smile from Severus in return. Even after six weeks of working in the backroom at the Pharmacy, he still found it hard to believe that anyone would smile so much around him. He knew he did not have any lingering appeal, like other children his age did, and he also knew that his personality left something to be desired, so he was often confused why Mr Evans often seemed so happy when he was around Severus. If anything, he thought the man would have grown more sullen from continued exposure to a boy like him.

After lunch, Severus was ready to head to the Pharmacy and continue his learning, but Mr Evans stopped his quick approach to the car. "You've done really well these past few weeks, Severus; I think you deserve a break! How about I let you off at the playground and you can explore for a while, before heading home?" Severus was disappointed that he could not read anymore that day, but he did think it would be nice to have time to explore the playground for a while. He had not been there since he was four and he had a feeling it would be a pleasant experience to go there again.

With a word of agreement from Severus, the green-eyed Mr Evans dropped him off at the playground with a few kind words of goodbye and orders to enjoy himself. In silence, Severus passed through the kissing gate, letting himself into the playground. With butterflies building in his abdomen, he let his dark gaze survey the grounds before him. Changes had been made since the last time he had been there. On the other side of the playground, beyond the fence, there had been a number of trees and bushes planted.

They had been allowed to grow how they wanted and now it looked like the beginning of a stretch of woods. Severus walked through the playground, finding himself next to the swing set. He was taller now and could seat himself on the swing with ease; it brought the slightest smile to his thin lips. The nostalgia still burning away in his mind, he settled onto the swing, wrapping his hands securely around the chains. Pushing off the sand with the tip of his foot, he started the hypnotic swinging motion.

His hair swung back and forth like a pendulum on either side of his face. It was an unfortunate distraction, but he forced himself to ignore it. The wind rushed through his hair, past his ears, cool and clean, stinging his cheeks and his nose, but oh, how he relished the feeling. He had never really had the chance to experience things like a cool breeze against his skin or the sting of ice on his nose. It was pleasant...at least for a while, until it became irritating as he was forced to stop swinging in an effort to warm up his face with his hands.

He supposed the weather outside was affecting him differently than it would another child, who had have a lot of experience with the varying forms of temperatures that would affect the area. He was certain that Mr Evans' daughter, Lily, would have no problem running around in skirts and short sleeves, if she had been there. Severus rather envied the idea. He had been inside more often than he had been outside and it was typically during the warmer summer months, but not now that September was drawing to a close.

Severus shook his head slightly and ran his hand back through his hair. He was about to start swinging again when he heard a noise. It was the sound of approaching laughter and jeering. Severus paled slightly and took off, slipping past the fence, disappearing into the trees and bushes, and hiding from sight. He had only just had his cast taken off; he did not want to risk another broken bone because he had had the misfortune of stepping onto some gang's turf at the playground.

His heart racing in his chest, Severus peered through the leaves, eyes fixed on the kissing gate. He watched in silence as a girl, with red hair flying behind her like a crimson banner, came hurtling through the kissing gates, her skirts billowing around her. There was a gash on her forehead, blood trickling down her face, staining her cardigan. She looked frightfully familiar and for a moment Severus was unable to name her, but it soon hit him as she turned momentarily in his direction, her emerald eyes shimmering in the sunshine.

Lily.

Mr Evans' daughter.

Severus' breath caught in his throat. Speak of the devil, he thought, his eyes widening at the sight before him. She was being chased by a group of boys and girls that were all roughly the same age as Severus was, give or take a year. The crowd were laughing and jeering at her, cruel expressions on their faces. A part of him hoped they would leave her alone, but another bigger part of him hoped the girl would not lead them in Severus' direction. He did not want to get involved; this was not his fight.

One of the boys in the group – a short, chubby one – threw a rock, hard and fast, and Lily shrieked as she dived to the ground, in order to get out of the way. She had clearly heard the movement of air as it came at her. The rock hit the ground, a mere inch or two away from her head, with a hard thud, before it bounced away. "You'll get yours, Peter!" Lily yelled, fear and anger lacing her voice, as she pushed up from the ground. She picked up the rock, spun around and hurled it as hard as she could.

Her accuracy surprised Severus, for it collided hard with the chubby boy's shoulder, knocking him flat on his arse with a shocked and pained exclamation. "She used her powers to make that rock hit me! Just look at her arms; she's a weakling," he cried, his watery blue eyes – quite similar to those of a rat – narrowing wickedly. Severus blinked, his breath escaping him in a rush. Lily was a Witch?! Why did Mr Evans never say so? Then it hit him; Mr Evans was a Muggle. The man more than likely thought his daughter was just exceedingly gifted. What would a Muggle know of Magic, after all?

Lily took off, hair whipping around her as she turned away from her pursuers. She was headed right for Severus' hiding place. Paling even further, Severus let out a curse and moved off quickly to the side, throwing himself behind a tree just in time. The girl tore through the wooded area, her hair miraculously avoiding any and all branches, brambles and leaves that might have ensnared it. Or...perhaps not so miraculously if she was indeed a Witch. Only time would tell, Severus supposed.

The group of children followed her, the chubby boy, Peter, at the back of the group. Smirking wickedly, Severus thrust his foot out and tripped the boy. With a loud cry, Peter fell forward and collided with the backs of the boy and girl ahead of him. They, too, fell and knocked into the ones in front of them. Like dominoes, their group continued to fall until there was a large pile of angry kids in between the trees, their hair caught in brambles. Severus looked around for Lily, but the girl had been clever enough to do a run around and was now fleeing back out of the playground, grinning like a fool.

Severus' heart tightened a little at the sight of her please, but he beat it down with an internal stick and focused on what surrounded him. While they were still a confused pile, he took the opportunity to slip out from behind the tree and take off. He sprinted from the playground to his home at Spinner's End, a feeling of smug satisfaction settling within him even as his heart pounded in his chest and his lungs fought for breath as he fled. He was utterly breathless when he reached home, but that did not stop the silly little smile from crossing his face as he rested his forehead against the front door.

Could it really be possible that he had found someone like him? Could Lily Evans really be a Witch? A giddy sensation rippled through him at the thought of making friends with her, of having someone he could relate to, even if she was a Muggleborn. He could tell her things...teach her about their world, before they got their letters. It would give her a good head start compared to the other Muggleborns who would get their letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As soon as Severus caught his breath, he opened the front door and slipped inside, shutting it after him. Smiling, he dashed into the kitchen, to find his mother brewing a number of Potions in three separate cauldrons. She glanced up through the steam at him, her expression momentarily stern before a small smile graced her mouth. "What's put you in such a good mood? And why are you home so early?" Her nose had never seemed so much like a beak as it had in that moment. Severus found himself wondering if his own nose would look like that one day.

He held up his arm and waved it around a bit, showcasing his lack of cast. "Mr Evans said that since I've been working so hard these past few weeks, he'd let me have the afternoon off, to enjoy my newly healed arm." Eileen's smile broadened slightly and her eyes glittered. Severus knew the woman was extremely pleased, though her expression of happiness was never extreme. "Also, I think I might have found a Witch my age. Her name's Lily; she's Mr Evans' daughter. I saw her in the playground on the way home. She was running away from some kids, one of them claiming she was using her powers."

Eileen stared at her son, the potions in front of her seemingly forgotten. There was something strange in her eyes that Severus could not decipher, but it disappeared when she seemed to remember her potions, stirring each of them several times. "I wouldn't advise seeking her out, Severus," she said quietly. Severus' eyebrows rose, disappearing into his hairline, with the strength of his surprise. "The Wizarding World won't be a friendly place for those like her and it won't be for you either, if you decide to befriend her. It's bad enough as it is that you have a Muggle for a father."

"But I –"

Eileen Snape slammed her stirring rod down upon the kitchen table, her hands curling into fists as she glared at him through the fumes from the potions. Severus took a frightened step backwards; he had never seen his mother act like this – not towards him, at any rate. "I said, no, Severus! I am your mother and you will do as I say; it may not seem like it, but trust me when I tell you that I know what's best for you. When you come of age at seventeen, feel free to override anything I ask of you now, but until then..." Eileen let out a breath, her expression softening. "Until then, honour my wishes, please."

Severus crossed his arms across his chest and hung his head, glaring at the floor in anger. Lily was the first person Severus had felt he had the chance of being friends with and his mother would rather him have no one at all. The truth hurt something terribly and something suspiciously like tears stung his eyes. He blinked them away, however. He did not say anything to her that would constitute as a positive or negative answer; he just shrugged at his mother and marched out of the kitchen, slipping upstairs in sullen silence.

In a fit of anger, he went into his parents' room and took a hold of the lamp at his father's bedside. His face contorting in anger, he hurled it at the wall, watching in grim satisfaction as it shattered, the shards flying across the room. Glaring, he marched out of the room once more and disappeared into his own bedroom, slamming the door shut. He stomped across his room and threw himself onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow. He opened his mouth and let out a scream of intense anger, which was, thankfully, muffled by the pillow beneath his head.

Severus screamed himself into exhaustion, falling into a deep slumber, gripping the pillow beneath his head with both hands. He might have slept through the night had Tobias Snape not come home and found his lamp in pieces on his bedroom floor. Severus was rudely wakened when Tobias hauled him from the bed, throwing him down upon the hard wooden floor with a snarl of unveiled rage. "How dare you?" Tobias demanded of him, towering over him. "How dare you treat my property with such disrespect?"

"I gave it as much respect as you deserve!" Severus snapped, feeling the tiniest bit of courage as he glared contemptuously up at his father, giving the man a hard kick in the shin. The man inhaled sharply, flinching backwards briefly before Tobias' nostrils flared with his fury and then, with jerky movements filled with anger, the man began pulling off his belt. Severus scrambled to get away from his father, but Tobias caught a hold of him, shoving him down onto his belly on the floor, planting his heavy booted-foot upon Severus' rump.

"That's two sins you've committed today, boy," the man growled darkly, even as Severus struggled to wriggle free. Tobias pressed down harder, earning a pained whimper. "Vandalism and disrespecting your father – that's easily worth twenty lashes!" Severus let out a sound of fear, which turned into a yell of pain as Tobias brought the belt through the air, like a whip, onto his back. It stung his flesh something horrible, but Severus closed his eyes tightly against the pain and refrained from making anymore sound until the ordeal came to an end.

With each lash of the belt, it became even more of a struggle to remain quiet. At first, his skin had merely been reddened from the blows, but now the tender skin was splitting upon impact. Blood was surging up from the wounds, soaking into his frayed shirt, causing the fabric to cling to him. He knew it would hurt terribly to remove the garment later, but there was little he could do except to clench his teeth tightly and brace himself against the intense pain being inflicted upon him.

When, at last, Tobias dealt him the twentieth lash and disappeared through the door, slamming it shut behind him, Severus allowed himself to give into his weakness. Tears, hot and wet, spilled down his cheeks as he lay there, alone in his room, his body riddled with pain. A choked sob escaped him, but he forced himself to get up from the floor, to make his way over to the bed. He could not heal his back and he dared not leave the room, in case Tobias found him and decided to punish him further.

There was little that he could do, at all, but to climb into bed. His sheets were scratchy, so he knew it was best to leave his shirt on while he slept, but he knew it would cling to the wounds while he slept and they would rip open once more in the morning. But...at least then he might be able to get his mother to help heal the wounds, even if it was just to spread a salve over them. He did not care if they scarred, but he did not want to suffer the pain of them for too long after a night's sleep.

With a resigned sigh, he climbed into bed, lying on his stomach, struggling to pull his blanket up without stressing the wounds on his back...

To Be Continued..