*Disclaimer: All character names and the song IE The Sorting Hat Song are not my own. The names and Song were created by J.K. Rowling.*
Chapter 2: Lily
When Sev got older he never spent his days at home. He spent them at the park down the street. Shortly after his ninth birthday, he met a girl named Lily Evans. She had beautiful red hair and green eyes. He spotted her from afar swinging on the swing set. There was another girl beside her who looked nothing like her. He could only assume they were more than just acquaintances with how they interacted. They were laughing and swinging as high as they could, giggling gleefully. He began to smile as he watched Lily try to reach up into the clouds and grab a piece of the fluff and laugh even more when she couldn't quite get any.
Carefully, Severus started to get closer. First, he approached the merry go round. He sat there for awhile and just watched, laughing as they laughed and smiling when they smiled. Lily jumped out of the swing set and stumbled as she landed giggling. Soon after Lily's sister came tumbling. They both laughed heartily until one sister nudged the other noticing Severus watching them. Stopping their laughing abruptly Lily and her sister came walking over.
"Petunia, be nice please." The red haired girl pleaded.
"Why should I? This freak has been spying on us this whole time." The girl named Petunia spat.
The red haired girl pushed past her sister and stepped forward.
"My name is Lily Evans. This is my sister Petunia. She doesn't mean any harm really." Lily held out her hand for Severus to shake. Severus grasped it uncertainly and shook it.
"I'm Severus Snape." He said.
"What kind of freakish name is that?" Petunia responded. "Why'd your parents name you that?"
"Petunia! Stop it! You're being horrible." Lily was beginning to look angry.
Sev was slowly stepping back. He was beginning to thing that this was a very bad idea. He should never have come to this park and sat for this long.
Petunia was a medium height, lanky girl with curly brown hair. Lily was the complete opposite. She had bright red hair with a short stature. There didn't seem to be much meat on her bones if any. Their attitudes seemed to be opposites as well. Severus didn't think he liked Petunia very much. Petunia was foul and vaguely reminded him of his father. She was an obvious magic hater. He decided that they wouldn't get along very well right off.
"What are you staring at you pillock?" Petunia sneered.
"PETUNIA!" Lily reprimanded.
Petunia ignored her and began to strut away. After a pitying glance at Severus, Lily ran to follow. He could hear their angry voices as they walked away. With a huff he sat on the swing set. At first he felt angry himself, angry at Petunia's words, angry at her for sounding like his idiot of a father. Shortly after his surge of anger, an image of Lily flashed in his mind. Her red hair. Her charming smile. How beautiful she looked next to the daisies growing in the playground. He wanted her to come back. He shook his head as if to clear the thoughts out of his mind but they didn't work. What did happen was that the swing next to him began to move as if someone were swinging in the opposite direction from him. He glanced over and smirked imagining it was her.
A few hours passed and the sun began to set. He decided that he had to get home but dreaded seeing his father in a state that was sure to be awaiting him. Drunk and angry. When he opened the door and glanced into the living room he spotted his father sitting in a gray, tatty recliner filled with holes and missing fabric. His father was fully reclined with his feet propped up, beer hanging from his hand and seemingly entranced in the mind-numbing television program he was watching. Sev inched the door shut and began to tiptoe to the stairs. After a few steps, he hit a creak in the floor. He stopped midstep, frozen in place, hoping that his father had not heard him. Severus heard the pop of the footrest on the recliner being shut and the twang of body weight being lifted from the seat. His father had heard him and was getting up. He tried to remain calm until he smelt the bitter smell of spirits in the near vicinity.
"Where 'ave you been?" Tobias asked.
"I- I've been at the park. Playing, sir." Severus stuttered.
"Didn't you have chores to do or something? That magic ain't gonna get everything done for you boy. Useless. Out of my sight! GO!" Tobias screamed.
The smell of the liquor was extremely overwhelming for a second as his father was inches from his face. Severus scrambled to be out of sight as fast as he could. He ran to his Mothers room. He sighed as he spotted his mother lying in bed. She had been sick for a few months now. Tobias was unwilling to enter the room as he hated seeing her in such a frail body and had to turned to drink for solace. He had become a drunk shortly after Eileen was diagnosed with Gitelman Syndrome as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Severus lit up at the sight of his mother. On her left sat a nightstand full of bottles that she had been prescribed by muggle doctors as well as potions from the wizarding world. They helped sometimes but Eileen still had her relapses that Tobias just could not stand to watch. Severus didn't quite know the severity of his mothers sickness until the first day that she was confined to her bed and couldn't move without being in severe pain. He went to the bed and curled around his mother. She was the only safety he had from Tobias.
"Where have you been all day my love?" She asked kissing his forehead.
"I went to the park and met two girls. One reminded me of Dad. She was horrible. She called me a pillock. Mum, what's a pillock?" Sev asked curiously.
"Something you are not. I don't ever want to hear you respond to that word, call anyone else that word or even think that word is even the slightest bit true for you."
"But Mum, what does it mean?" He peered up into her face questioningly to find that she was wincing in pain with a slightly angry look etched into her features.
"It means idiot. You are far from an idiot my son. You will be the brightest wizard in all of your class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Eileen breathed.
Severus smiled up at his mother scooting closer. He was already practically in her lap. She chuckled and began humming softly. Sev craned his head to hear her better and looked uncertain as to what she was humming exactly.
"What are you humming Mum?" He questioned.
She smiled down at him and stroked his head, smoothing the stray black locks. "At Hogwarts, any time a new child comes to the school there's an old hat that sings a song. It's called the Sorting Song. It explains the different houses at the school."
Severus was giddy with excitement. He loved hearing about Hogwarts. His mothers story's about the school never ceased to calm him after an encounter with his drunken father.
"What house were you in Mum?"
"I was a Slytherin." She explained proudly. "Best house I could've ever been sorted into. Your Gran and Gramps were also Slytherins. We have generations of them. A few Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws in the family as well though so if you aren't sorted as a Slytherin, don't be disappointed my love."
"But I want to be a Slytherin just like you!" He screeched. "Sing me the sorting song?"
She grinned and began softly, every word resonating through the house. Tobias hadn't heard her sing in years. He set down his beer bottle and listened as he slowly walked up the stairs to stand in the doorway of the room. Eileen smiled as Tobias' eyes began to fill with tears. He traipsed over to the bed taking her hand and smiled at the sight of his wife in the way he once knew before she became ill.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The sorting hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong on Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
Severus smiled up at his mother. His eyes had suddenly become filled with lead. Just before he drifted to sleep, his eyes spied his father pecking his mother on the mouth. It was a moment that would forever be imprinted in his memories.