Severus Snape fixed his eyes hard on the ground. “Trust me, you don’t want to play by my house.” He pressed his pale lips firmly together and continued to look away, hoping that she wouldn’t press him. It was horrible enough living with his parents’ screaming in his ears.
Reaching out a tentative hand, she touched his arm; he winced, but relaxed quickly. Her fingers were warm on his skin.
“Why wouldn’t I want to play there?” Her voice was more inquisitive now, and she squeezed his arm harder, but the pressure was still gentle.
He looked up to meet her eyes. “You really want to know?”
She nodded, not concealing her eagerness.
Severus sighed. “All right, but don’t blame me for anything you hear.” He beckoned for Lily to follow him and plodded down the road.
As they approached Spinner’s End, he placed a finger to his lips. “Not a sound.”
Solemnly, Lily nodded, covering her mouth with a hand.
The twosome crept closer to the small brick house. A breeze was ruffling Severus’ hair, but the harsh voice could still be distinctly heard.
“The boy knows nothing and deserves nothing, woman! There’s no use defending him like you do. He wants to end up like you? Fine. He’s well on the way to, because you”“
Lily heard no more after that point, because Severus’ hands clamped over her ears. Her breath caught and she let him grab her hand as they tore down the street, away from the shouting.
They stopped in the clearing they usually played in, both panting. “You see why we don’t play by my house?” Severus blinked back tears that were forming in the black depths of his eyes. “That’s the reason, so now you know.” He was going to cry; he could feel it. But he forced himself not to”he couldn’t make a fool of himself in front of her.
Sniffing and then wiping her nose on her sleeve, Lily whispered, “I’m sorry, Severus. I didn’t know…” She studied the boy sitting near her feet, not looking up, but looking away”away from his house where he wasn’t wanted, away from his insecurities. She wondered what he was searching for over the horizon. “Do they always”do they always do that?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said sharply, startling her.
“Oh…okay.” Lily bit her lip. “Do you want to play house, like last time?”
The black-haired boy paused, then nodded. “Yeah.”
It was easier to step into a role that was far from where his normal life lay, where he was the dad and Lily was the mum and they had a lovely little cottage in the clearing of the forest.
“I’ll fry the bacon,” Lily announced, taking out her invisible frying pan. “Why don’t you go fishing so we can have some fish too?”
“Okay.” Severus opened the door (he had wanted it to be rock, but she wanted it made of marble, so it was half-marble, half-rock). Within seconds, he was back in the house.
Lily looked up, surprised. “That was fast!”
“I used magic,” Severus explained, holding up the fish.
“I thought we were normal people!” Her hand stopped frying the bacon.
He shook his head adamantly. “Nope, I’m a wizard and you’re a witch. Why would we want to do things the Muggle way?”
Her brow furrowed. “Because that’s the way it’s supposed to be played!”
He didn’t like it when she was angry with him, so he nodded. “Okay, we’ll be Muggles. But next time can we be wizards?”
She hesitated, but nodded her consent.
“I’ll cook the fish, then.” He plunked them on the counter and started scaling them.
The two were hard at work when Lily piped up, “Since you’re the dad and I’m the mum, I’m supposed to kiss you, aren’t I?”
Severus stopped dead, heart racing. He blinked rapidly. “I…uh…are you?” His parents never kissed each other. But he couldn’t deny that receiving a kiss from Lily would be beyond words.
“Yes, I think so,” Lily said thoughtfully, then smiled. She put down the frying pan, reached up on her tiptoes, and planted a swift kiss on his cheek. “There! Now we’re for real.” She giggled, seeing his face glow pink, a color that she never thought she’d see on his pallid cheeks.
He laughed nervously, wanting her to kiss him again. The spot where her lips had touched his face felt like it was burning steadily.
“Your face is still red,” Lily laughed. Severus offered her a wan smile and dipped his head downwards.
Biting one side of her lip, Lily tapped his shoulder. He looked up at her and she touched the tip of his hooked nose lightly. “I like your nose!” Laughing merrily, she resumed frying bacon.
Out of the corner of his eye, he observed the sunlight dancing in her auburn hair and the way her eyelashes curled upwards. When he was sure she wasn’t looking, he touched his nose reverently, grinning.
“I’m bored of frying bacon.” Lily tapped a finger against her chin. Sitting down on the grass, she invited Severus to join her, which he did.
There was a weight in his pocket that he had forgotten about. “I”I have something for you.” He drew out a crude wooden carving, holding it out to her. “For now, we can hang it up in our house, so every time you fry bacon, you can see it.”
She reached out for it and took it from him. There was a snake set into the wood, with the word Slytherin scratched underneath. Her fingers ran across the letters. “It’s nice,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper, eyes still locked upon the serpent.
“You can put it in your dormitory when you’re sorted into Slytherin,” Severus explained. “I hope you’re sorted into that house, anyways.” His eyes lingered on the tip of her nose. “I made one for myself too, so it can be our best-friend sign.”
A smile crept to Lily’s lips. “Thank you.” Lifting her eyes, she smiled at him, making him glance away bashfully.
The Sorting Hat had passed its judgment. Lily slid off the stool, feeling slightly confused. She glanced back to the line where the other first-years were waiting to be sorted, finding Severus’ dark eyes immediately. The expression on his face was a mixture of confusion and sadness.
Shrugging her shoulders, she offered him a minute wave. He touched the tip of his nose and she smiled forlornly, hand closed around the wooden carving in her pocket.