บท 1: Severus Snape
Today, me, Lily, and the girl, Petunia, would go out to play. I watched as Lily and Petunia conversed, from my spot under a tree. I was sitting on a picnic blanket, surrounded by food and plates. As I was about to nap, I heard a screech.
"Lily, don't do it!" Petunia. Gosh, that screeching! I frowned and looked at the scene before me.
Lily let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally flown, launched herself skywards with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, and landing far too lightly.
When I processed this information, it was too late. It was already done. "...Ah! Lily! You alright?!" I asked. Ah, this reminded me of the time I nearly got hit by a car, but I survived.
Petunia blinked her eyes. "Mummy told you not to!" She stopped her swinging by dragging the heels of her sandals on the ground, making a crunching, grinding sound, then leaped up, hands on hips. "Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"
"But I'm fine," Lily said, giggling. Though, still... I deadpanned. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."
Petunia glanced around. The playground was deserted apart from us. Lily had picked up a fallen flower from the ground from a bush. Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and disapproval. Lily waited until Petunia was near enough to have a clear view, then held out her palm. Even I stood up and approached them from the side-lines. Lily smiled as I inched closer. The flower sat there, opening and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many-lipped oyster.
Wow, that is cool. "Stop it!" Petunia, of course, had a different opinion.
"It's not hurting you," said Lily, but she closed her hand on the blossom and threw it back on the ground.
"It's not right," said Petunia, but her eyes followed the flower's flight on the ground and lingered upon it. I furrowed my brows. What type of person reacts differently from what they say? Right, hypocrites. "How do you do it?" She added, and there was obvious longing in her voice.
Suddenly, the leaves from a bush rustled, and out came a boy. "It's obvious, isn't it?" Petunia shrieked and ran back towards the swings. Lily, on the other hand, though clearly startled, remained where she was, and so did I. I have to admit, Petunia was acting like the normal human here.
A dull of colour mounted the cheeks of the boy as he looked at Lily. Really? I mean...
"What's obvious?" Lily asked him. Okay, we are talking to a stranger here.
The boy seemed to be hesitating, and he had the air of nervous excitement around him. With a glance at the distant Petunia, now hovering behind the swings, he lowered his voice so only we can hear. "I know what you are." My brows furrowed even more, if possible. What does this kid think he's saying?
"What do you mean?" Lily and I asked, in sync. The boy seemed startled at the coordination, but quickly reserved himself.
"You're... you're a witch." He whispered.
...I kicked him in the shin.
"Huh? What are you saying about my sister?" I glared at him as I hid Lily behind me.
He groaned and fell back. "Owww..."
Lily's eyes widened in fear and shock. "Apologize, Nalesh!"
I looked at her, shocked. "W-why?"
"For hitting him!" She glared at me.
I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Fine." I looked at the boy. "Better be grateful for my sister's kindness." Lily glared at me, thus I quickly apologized. I sat down and helped him stand up.
"Still, that's a... bad thing to say about people." I murmured as I returned to Lily's side.
He looked at her seriously. "But you are. You are a witch! I've been watching you for a while-"
He was cut off as I was about to kick him, where the sun doesn't shine, only to have Lily stop me. "Nalesh! Stop that!" She scolded.
"Why? He called you a witch!" I retaliated.
He moved backward and continued. "Bu-but! There's nothing wrong with that! My mum's one, and I'm a wizard." He exclaimed. I looked at him with disdain and pity. He must've run away from a mental institute...
Petunia's laugh echoed, like cold water. "Wizard!" She shrieked, her courage returned now that she had recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. "I know who you are. You're that Snape boy! They lived near Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily and I. It was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation. "Why have you been spying on us?"
"Haven't been spying," Snape said, hot and uncomfortable and dirty-haired in the bright sunlight. "Wouldn't spy on you, anyway." I snorted. Lily looked at me as if to tell me to stop. "You're a Muggle." He added disdainfully.
Though Petunia evidently did not understand the word, and neither did Lily and I, she could hardly mistake the tone.
"You two, come on! We're leaving!" She said shrilly. We followed her immediately, Lily glaring at him and I looked at him with pity. He didn't ask to be born with a mental illness, anyway.
~ 1-2 Years Later ~
I panted as I ran. Gosh, do those two expect me to fly after them? They ran so fast, I couldn't believe it.
I ran past the bushes and trees, the wind blowing past my face. I looked in front of me, hoping to catch, at least, a glimpse of the pair. As I saw nothing, I looked back down and stopped running.
I held onto a branch as I rested for a few seconds. I had always been the least athletic in the trio of Severus, Lily, and I. I should've exercised more...
"Severus! Lily!" I called out. Soon, I saw a silhouette of a pair of children running towards me. I waved back, as the two did, too.
The sun's rays were blocked by the clouds, making it a nice, soothing scene. It is peaceful here.
"Nalesh, are you alright?" Lily asked. Ah, she was always the gentle one.
I looked up at her and grinned. "Yeah, just tired."
Severus looked at me and replied, "Obviously!" Lily and I laughed along with him, it is obvious, after all.
I looked at Severus, his eyes filled with relief. "Severus, you had something to say to us?" I asked.
He scratched his cheeks and confirmed it.
~
I was sitting in the middle of the clearing, gazing over the duo near the tree. It's been around a year since the... peculiar meeting between us.
Severus had already removed his coat; his odd smock looked less peculiar in the half-light.
"...and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters." Severus continued his sentence. The two have been chatting non-stop now. The original purpose of this talk has gone sideways.
"But I have done magic outside school!" Lily groaned.
Severus sent a reassuring smile. "We're all right. We haven't got wands, yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven," he nodded importantly, "and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."
There was a little silence. Lily had picked up a fallen twig and twirled it in the air, and I knew that she was imagining sparks trailing from it. Then she dropped the twig, leaned in towards the boy, and said, "It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?"
Gosh, that Petunia is really...
'"It's real for us," said Severus. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."
"Really?" whispered Lily and me.
"Definitely," said Severus, and even with his poorly cut hair and his odd clothes, he struck an oddly impressive figure sprawled in front of Lily, brimful of confidence in his destiny. He looked like a hero from a romance and fantasy novel.
"And will it really come by owl?" Lily whispered.
I gagged. What? Why haven't I heard of this?! Was it because of my frequent naps..?
"Normally," said Severus. "But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."
"What does 'muggle-born' mean, Severus?" I asked. When did they talk without me?
"The offspring of two non-magic users." He replied. I nodded, understanding. I turned to look at Lily, who seemed to understand from a long time ago now.
"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?" Lily asked.
Severus hesitated. His black eyes, eager in the greenish gloom, moved over the pale face, the dark red hair.
"No," he said. "It doesn't make any difference."
He looked as if he was to lie. I am suspicious of this answer.
"Good," said Lily, relaxing: it was clear that she had been worrying.
"You've got loads of magic," said Severus. "I saw that. All the time I was watching you ..."
I choked. Wait... Wa-watching my sister?
His voice trailed away; she was not listening, but had stretched out on the leafy ground and was looking up at the canopy of leaves overhead. He watched her as greedily as he had watched her in the playground.
Well, this is quite... creepy. I looked at him, obviously creeped out.
"How are things at your house?" Lily asked. Oh, right! I forgot to ask after all that exercise.
A little crease appeared between his eyes. "Fine," he said.
"They're not arguing anymore?"
"Oh, yes, they're arguing," said Severus. I chuckled. Lily looked at me disdainfully, thus I quickly mouthed a sorry.
He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. "But it won't be that long and I'll be gone." By gone, I am pretty sure that he doesn't mean dying, but arriving at Hogwarts.
"Doesn't your dad like magic?"
"He doesn't like anything, much," said Severus. I chuckled again. Gosh, today seems pretty good, despite that exercise.
"Severus?" Ooh, she called him by his name. I looked at Severus, anticipating his reaction. Let's just hope that it isn't anything weird...
A little smile twisted Severus' mouth when she said his name. "Yeah?"
Well, it is not that weird, so I assume it's okay.
"Tell me about the Dementors again."
"What d'you want to know about them for?"
"Yeah, Lily. That's pretty weird." I said in the background. Though, they didn't seem to care nor notice. Oh, am I a background character now?
"If I use magic outside school-" She was cut off by Severus' rambling.
"They wouldn't give you to the Dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too–"
He turned red again and shredded more leaves. Oh well, it is obvious that he likes her. Deeply, so.
Then a small rustling noise behind made us turn: Petunia, hiding behind a tree, had lost her footing.
"Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Severus had jumped to his feet. I just glanced at her; she is quite annoying, honestly. We don't get along.
"Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?" I nodded my head to that! Tell her, Severus!
Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. We could see her struggling for something hurtful to say. I glared at her. If she so even attempted to hurt them...!
"What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at Severus' chest. "Your mum's blouse?"
I stood up quickly, glaring at her with all my might. How are we even related?! Why hasn't Mother and Father disowned her?! "You...!"
There was a crack: a branch over Petunia's head had fallen. I was shocked, and Lily screamed: the branch caught Petunia on the shoulder and she staggered backward and burst into tears.
"Tuney!"
But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Severus.
"Did you make that happen?"
"Now, now, Lily-" I started. I moved in between them as if I was some peace-bringer. Though, I was cut off.
"Don't "now, now" me, Nalesh!" She shouted, still glaring at the gloomy boy. I shut my trap and went back to my original post, as I was scared of her. Kind people are scariest when angered. I looked at Severus apologetically. He didn't seem to see as he was focused on the auburn-haired girl.
"No." He looked both defiant and scared. What is one supposed to do in a situation?
"You did!" She was backing away from him. "You did! You hurt her!"
"No – no I didn't!" He staggered.
"Lily!" I screamed. I looked at Severus and mouthed an apology, before running off after her.
But the lie did not convince Lily: after one last burning look she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Severus looked miserable and confused.
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