WRITTEN FOR THE HOUSES COMPETITION, YEAR 10, ROUND 4
House: Slytherin
Class: Prefect
Category: Standard
Word Count: 1184
Prompts: [Restriction] Dialogue must always end in a question; [Action] Planning a party
Warnings/Disclaimers: none
Severus opened his eyes to the ceiling of his room. He could barely make it out in the bluish light of predawn, but that didn't bother him, as it meant that he had woken up with plenty of time to set his plans into motion. A sense of purpose spurred him to leave the relative warmth of his ratty bed, and as his sock-clad feet met the freezing ground, he mentally recited the list of things he had planned for the day, focusing on that to ward off the cold.
He had never thought he would be able to turn a day into something special—every day had always been mostly the same in his house—but Lily had assured him that some days were more important than others, and it didn't take much to make them special.
Severus hadn't believed her at first. Ever since he'd met Lily, it seemed like she was always telling him about strange and extraordinary things he'd never even contemplated before.
The first time he saw her in the park, using magic to make flowers blossom, he'd thought that would be his role. But the only time he'd felt more knowledgeable than her in the past few months had been in that instance—when he'd gone up to her and told her that she was a witch. He'd revealed a hidden world to her and imagined their relationship would be mostly one-sided as he opened her eyes to the infinite possibilities of magic. Instead, as they started spending time together, she astounded him with things about the mundane world that he'd never encountered before.
Just the previous week, she'd told him about parties.
"—Everyone came over, even Aunt Dahlia from Sussex, and we all exchanged gifts… Why are you looking at me like that?"
Severus had shrugged. He could imagine the expression on his face was very similar to the one she had when he told her dragons were real, but he didn't know how to explain that what she was saying sounded as farfetched to him as dragons did to her.
"Don't you spend Christmas with your family?"
Severus, who had never celebrated Christmas and didn't think he had any family other than his mum and dad, shrugged again.
Lily groaned aggravatedly, and they proceeded to spend an unconscionable amount of time determining that, no, Severus had never been to a party of any kind, never celebrated a birthday or a religious holiday, and the most that happened in his house during Guy Fawkes Day was that his dad drank a little more than usual.
"Not—not even your birthday party?" Lily asked again—like he hadn't already been perfectly clear. Severus didn't snap at her only because the shine of tears in her eyes made him strangely uncomfortable.
"I don't think so. Why does that matter?" he said instead.
Her answer had taken over all their conversations for the better part of two days. Somehow, she'd convinced him that birthdays mattered, and that it was worth it to try and make them special.
Well, today was his mum's birthday, and here Severus was, stoking the small flicker of hope that Lily had kindled.
Even had he been inclined to celebrate anything before, Severus wouldn't have known where to start if it hadn't been for Lily. Thanks to her detailed description of everything needed for a party, Severus had put together a mental list of things he could do.
With the warmth of Lily's support and her trust in his capabilities, Severus felt like he could approach this new and bizarre task without fear.
He would get all the necessary elements for a party. They would celebrate his mum's birthday for the first time in his life, and it would be a success he could speak fondly of—like Lily spoke of her family's Christmas celebrations.
He got dressed quickly with this goal firmly in mind and sneaked out of the house as soon as possible. He went to the park where he and Lily met almost every day and started on the path he knew by heart. He didn't need to see it under the fresh layer of snow to know it was there, between the brown weeds clinging to life and the dead sticks littering the ground. He followed it all the way to the dirty river that traversed Cokeworth. In the most shallow points, the water had frozen, and the rubbish near its bank was covered in a thin layer of snow.
That didn't matter because, not far from the river, hidden under a small grove of trees, there was a patch of grass as verdant as if it were already the end of spring. On top of the impossible grass, impossible flowers of all colours and types grew in spite of the cold.
That was where Severus and Lily went to practise magic together, and Severus had never been grateful for Lily's predilection for flowers before, but now it served him well.
He spent a long time gathering the most beautiful flowers they had grown and protected with their magic, and he was as careful as possible not to damage even one as he made his way back.
~•~
Severus wasn't nearly as silent getting in as he'd been on the way out, kicking the front door shut to avoid using his hands—full of flowers as they were—and scrabbling through the cupboards for a tall glass once he'd laid the flowers on the kitchen table.
Had his dad been home, Severus wouldn't even have risked turning on the tap to fill the glass with water for the flower, but with his dad off to work and his mum having a lie-in, Severus had all the time and freedom he needed to finish the preparations for the birthday party.
He took everything he needed out of the pantry, once again thankful for Lily's suggestions and the recipe she'd made him memorise, and started cooking.
It took him longer than he had expected, but a fuller breakfast than usual was on the table, flowers in the middle brightening everything up, and a small cake in place of honour.
He wanted everything to be perfect for his mum, so he turned back to the sink to clean everything up as soon as the table was set, which was why he didn't hear her come down the stairs and almost jumped out of his skin when she called out to him.
"Severus?" his mum asked. "What's all this?"
Severus turned towards her and tried to hide the clean pots and pans he hadn't put away yet behind his back.
He couldn't read the expression in her eyes.
"It's your birthday, isn't it?"
His mum seemed surprised.
"Yes, but why would you—?" she trailed off, taking in the spread of food and the flowers decorating their chipped kitchen table. Severus fidgeted.
"Are you angry?" he asked when he couldn't stand the silence anymore.
His mum shook her head slowly. Then she walked around the table to embrace him.
Severus sank into her arms.
"Thank you, darling. I never expected—Well, it doesn't matter. Shall we eat?"