Lily Evans measures the year in celebrations and seasons, in cycles of going to school and hols. While summer is her favorite season in terms of having the best weather, the best time to run around outside in the sun, there aren’t many days to celebrate. There’s the Queen’s official birthday and Father’s Day in June, but other than that summer is a season of being free from school and playing. In the summer, she stays out as long as possible. She only comes home to eat, and then runs back out again. The days blend together in a pleasant haze.

Winter is the coldest, most miserable season, when some days Mum and Dad won’t even let her go outside. Winter also has the best celebrations. First there’s Christmas and Boxing Day and the smell of pine and the taste of Christmas pudding and brightly wrapped presents for everyone. Then comes New Year’s and getting to stay up late, drinking cider and Dad singing “Auld Lang Syne� off-key. Then she goes back to school for the new term, and life slowly starts going back to normal, but the celebrations aren’t over yet.

Third is Severus’s birthday on 9 January. Sev doesn’t like to talk about his family, but she thinks that if she didn’t celebrate with him, he wouldn’t celebrate at all. So she gives Sev a little something that she picked out with her pocket money. She would invite him over for pudding, but Tuney and Sev don’t like each other, and Mum has to side with Tuney. She is close to Sev in a way that she can’t be close to Mum or Tuney or anyone from school. Sev is the only one who can tell her anything about the world that she is going to enter, the magical world.

Last is her birthday on 30 January. She get her favorite dishes and pudding, and a few more presents and gets to invite friends from school over. Afterwards, she tries to see Sev if she can. He doesn’t like her Muggle friends from school, and they think he’s weird too, so it’s safer, better if he’s not there. She wonders sometimes if any of them will also turn out to be Muggle born witches or wizards. Wouldn’t that be nice, to have more students from Cokeworth going to Hogwarts together?

Usually, she just relaxes and enjoys the winter. She sits at home and reads and hopes that it will snow. This year is different. Christmas is lovely, as usual. She gets a new wool coat in bright red. Thankfully the red of the coat complements her red hair instead of clashing terribly. Father sings “Auld Lang Syne� as poorly as ever on New Year’s and Mum’s cider and Christmas pudding are still delicious. She goes back to school for the new term and it’s lovely to see her classmates again, but it’s hard for her to concentrate. She’s nervous. She keeps fidgeting in her seat.

Finally, her teacher asks her to answer a maths problem, and she can’t respond. She sits there for a moment before saying quietly, “I don’t know, ma’am.� She should know the answer, but she can’t figure it out. She needs to focus, but she won’t be attending regular school for much longer. Very soon, she will be leaving all of this behind for a castle in Scotland where the stairways move and the portraits speak.

This year, 1971, Lily Evans will turn eleven. She’s been waiting for this birthday since she was eight and Sev told her that Hogwarts letters arrive on a young wizard or witch’s eleventh birthday. Next September, she’ll be going to King’s Cross with Sev and they’ll be riding on the Hogwarts Express to the big magical Scottish castle of a school they’ll both be attending until they’re seventeen.

This year, Severus’s and Lily’s birthdays are both on Saturday. The morning of 9 January, Lily leaps out of bed despite the cold. She almost jumps back into bed, once she fully realizes how cold it is. Though her bed is nice and warm, and she doesn’t really have to be awake in the morning, it’s an important day. It’s Sev’s eleventh birthday.

She looks out the window. There’s snow on the ground and more is steadily falling from the sky.

Sev will be getting his Hogwarts letter today. She wonders if snow would trouble an owl. Sev would be so disappointed if his letter were late at all. It doesn’t seem to be falling too heavily. There are big owls that live in snowy countries that are used to flying in the snow, surely Hogwarts will have some of those. She nods to herself, satisfied. He’ll be so happy to get his letter.

Lily gets dressed, making sure to put on plenty of warm clothing. Then carefully she puts Sev’s present in the pocket of her wool coat. She peeks in Tuney’s room but she’s still asleep. She considers waking Tuney but she would probably prefer to have a lie-in. So Lily runs downstairs to her parents. She barely notices what breakfast is, just that she eats something.

Her father mutters something about the vim and vigor of youth, over his cup of tea, as she pulls on her new coat, wraps a scarf around her throat, shoves her hands into gloves and runs out the door. She only stops long enough to pat her pockets to make sure that Sev’s present is still safely tucked inside.

The snow is soft and powdery. It’s the perfect kind of snow. She scoops up some snow and packs it down into a snow ball. Experimentally, she throws it at a nearby sign. She misses.

Lily sighs, and pulls up her hood to keep her hair dry. The snow is still falling slowly. She begins walking slowly in the direction of the park that she and Sev like to play in. Lily likes the snow. It makes everything clean and beautiful. At least, for a little while, the world is remade.

She reaches the park, but no one is here. Maybe it’s too early. Maybe it’s too cold. All Lily knows is that she has the park to herself. She flops on a snow bank and makes a snow angel. She gets up and looks at her creation.

Someone behind her coughs and she turns around. Sev is coming towards her. “Sev!� She runs up to him and is about to hug him, when she stops abruptly in her tracks. Someone has beaten him. One of his eyes is blacked and he has another purple bruise on his cheek. He’s not wearing a coat, even though it is still snowing, just a jumper and trousers. He isn’t even wearing socks with his trainers. “Are you... okay?� It’s a stupid question to ask, of course he’s not okay, but she has to anyway.

“I got my letter,� he responds slowly. The parchment is still clutched in his hand, as if he’s afraid that if he lets go, it will vanish. His right wrist is bruised like someone has grabbed it tightly, individual fingers showing up in high relief.

Lily doesn’t understand. “But that’s great news! It’s your birthday and you got your letter!� She reaches out slowly with one gloved hand towards Sev’s face.

He turns away. “Father said it was a good thing that they’ve kept me out of Muggle school all this time. He had been looking into enrolling me at the high school. He was hoping that I wouldn’t get my Hogwarts letter, that I would turn out to be a Muggle like him. When the letter came this morning, he said that it was just proof that I’m a freak.� His hands are clenched into tight fists and by his last sentence he is speaking through gritted teeth.

Lily bit her lip. She had never met Mr Snape but she doesn’t particularly want to. “At least we’ll be going together to Hogwarts together?� She doesn’t mean for it to come out like a question, but it does anyway.

Sev relaxes his grip slightly. “That’s true. A brilliant witch like you, you might even have the foreign schools asking for you to attend.� He turns back towards Lily and smiles slightly.

“I never studied French or German, Sev.� Lily responds. He had told her about Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. “You’re trying to change the subject.�

Sev’s smile fades. “I should... go home.�

Now Lily is incensed. “What for? It isn’t fair at all. It’s your birthday and you’ve gotten your Hogwarts letter and he’s bloody upset for no good reason!� Before she can rethink her actions, she’s almost launched herself at Sev and hugs him tightly. “He should be happy for you.�

“I don’t have anywhere else to go. Besides, I ran out of the house without any of my winter clothes.� Despite his words, Sev’s arms are still around her and he shows no sign of letting go.

“Maybe you can come to my house?� Lily suggests quietly. “I know you and Tuney don’t get along but at least you won’t have to go home immediately.�

Sev holds her a little tigher. “It’s ok. Just let me have this for a moment.�

Lily wishes that Sev would fight back. Instead he just takes everything. Even if it is against his father, it just isn’t fair. “It’s not fair,� she murmurs into his shirt.

“Life isn’t about fairness, Lily. It’s about survival.�

She huffs at that. “Life has got to be more than surviving. Surviving isn’t the same thing as living.�

Lily can almost hear the smile in Sev’s voice when he responds. “My brave Lily, would you go fight a dragon if it did something unfair?�

She pulls away enough to look at his face. “Maybe,� she responds, with a grin. “Depends on how big it is.�

He returns the smile and Lily’s heart contracts. It really isn’t fair. Sev certainly isn’t the nicest or kindest person she knows, but he is a good boy and his father shouldn’t have beaten him for something he could not help at all.

“And here I thought I was the Prince,� he murmurs very quietly, hugging her closer again.

Lily hugs him again, wishing she knew the magic to heal his bruises. “Well... if you don’t want to go to my house, do you want to go to the library?�

Sev puts a hand under her hood and strokes her hair. His hand is freezing. “Oh!� Lily pulls away from Severus to put her hands in her pockets. A moment later she triumphantly pulls out a package. “Happy Birthday, Sev.�

The boy blinks for a moment at the non sequitur. He stuffs his Hogwarts letter into his pocket, to free up his hands. “Thank you,� he says, taking the package hesitantly.

“Go on, open it,� Lily chirps. This isn’t the first year that she’s gotten him something, but Sev always looks a little surprised to receive anything. So every year, she insists on getting him something, even though Tuney doesn’t like it.

He slowly unties the ribbon. The paper falls apart to reveal a pair of gloves and a scarf.

“Put it on,� Lily insists. “At least this will keep you a little warmer.� The scarf is a cheery Christmas colored green and red. The gloves are a plain black. When Sev hesitates, she plucks the scarf out and wraps it around his throat. “You’re so cold, Sev... Maybe we should go to the library? Or to a restaurant and get a cup of tea?�

Sev puts on the gloves, slowly. He stretches his hands a little to test the material. They’re a little too big for him, the ends of the fingers flatten out completely. Still, the look on his face makes her heart ache. He looks like he’s waiting for someone to take his presents away. No one should look like that, least of all Sev.

“Yea, let’s have tea.�

Lily wonders if Sev even got to eat breakfast or if his letter had shown up a bit before. They walk slowly to a cafe near the park. Impulsively, she grabs his hand. Sev seizes her fingers tightly. She feels herself start to blush. Sev... isn’t good looking. His nose is too big for his face, and his hair is too long. So why...

“I hope... when we go to school, things won’t change between us,� Sev says, hesitantly.

Lily feels herself blushing even more. “Of course not. You’re a good friend, Sev.�

He embraces her tightly for a moment, surprising her. “I care about you more... more than anyone else,� he whispers into her ear. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you.�

She pats him on the back. “You won’t.�

Sev pulls away a little, to look at her face. For a moment, they stand there, black eyes gazing into green ones, like he’s trying to memorize this moment. She doesn’t know who moved, but suddenly, his lips are on hers. He’s cold, and she’s confused, but Sev is kissing her and somehow everything seems right.