“Where the bloody hell is my whiskey?
Lily Evans hand froze inches away from the door she had been about to knock on.
“Gone,” came a forcibly strong voice. “I dumped it down the sink last night after you passed out.”
Lily jumped as she heard a loud crash from inside. She knew she should do something, but she was paralyzed with fear. Severus had told her he and his dad didn’t get along, but she hadn’t thought it was anything like this.
“It’s your fault I’m like this, you freak! I wouldn’t have to drink if you and your stupid mother were normal! ”
There was another crash and footsteps came towards the front door. Lily gasped and then ran as fast as she could around the corner of the house and hid out of sight.
Severus came running down the stairs and Lily was shocked to see tears glistening down his face. Not once in their six months of friendship had she ever seen him cry. Her friend was in pain. This, more than anything else, made her resolve to talk to him.
She knew where he was going because it was where he always went when he was upset: the park where they first met.
Five minutes later, she found him on the swing, slowly rocking back and forth, his eyes staring at the sunset beyond the hill.
She sat down on the swing next to him, but he didn’t even notice her until she gently grabbed his hand. He jumped.
He instantly put on a fake smile. “Hey, Lily, what are you doing here?” he asked her.
“That looks like it hurts,” she replied without answering the question .
As she looked at him closely, she noted the truth of her words. The skin under his right eye down to the cheekbone was red and puffy. It would definitely be bruised in the morning.
“It’s nothing,” he told her, turning his face away.
“It’s not nothing, Sev. What happened?”
“I tripped over a rock.”
“You’re lying,” she told him flatly, waiting for him to tell her the truth.
When he didn’t say anything, she continued, “I stopped by your house earlier to see if you wanted to play.”
His eyes widened and he looked like a deer in the headlights.
“Please, please, don’t tell anyone,” he begged as his swing came to a jolting stop.
“But maybe it would be better if we told,” Lily said, her eyes pleading.
“No,” he snapped so sharply she flinched.
“Why not?” she asked
“You wouldn’t understand!” he spat.
“Why wouldn’t I?” she said defensively. She didn’t like it when he was mean.
“You just wouldn’t,” he said slightly softer.
“I will if you tell me,” she insisted
They both stared at each other for a few long moments before he took a deep breath
“If I tell, I’ll be taken away. Then my mum will be there all alone with him.” Severus started shaking as he continued, “My mum’s not as strong as I am. I don’t know what she’s going to do when I go to Hogwarts…”
He couldn’t finish and looked away so his face was hidden, but she saw a tear running down his face in the small glimpse she got.
Lily stood up, went over to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone,” she promised.
After what seemed like no time at all, Severus had composed himself enough to look at her and they were sitting in comfortable silence. Lily looked up and noted the sun had completely disappeared.
“Come on. It’s getting late.” She grabbed his hand and they started walking towards her house.
“Will your dad notice that you’re not home?” Lily asked tentatively.
Severus looked down at his watch. “No… he’s probably passed out by now.”
“How long?” Lily asked and Severus didn’t need to question what she meant.
“He’s always been bad, but it’s got worse after I started doing accidental magic. He never wanted his son to be a freak like his crazy wife,” he finished bitterly.
“I’m sorry.”
There was nothing more she could say, so they walked the rest of the way without saying a word.
When they walked in the door, Mr Evans greeted them, “Hey, kids, what are you up to?”
Lily didn’t want any questions about Severus’s face, so she stepped in front of him covering the noticeable marks.
“Nothing. Just going to hang out in my room for a while,” Lily told him.
“Severus, do your parents know you’re here?” Mr. Evans asked.
“Yeah, they told me to be home in an hour,” Severus said.
Lily’s eyes widened at his ability to lie under pressure, but she kept her mouth shut.
When they went upstairs, Lily ran to the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and let the cold water soak it. She wished she could get ice but she knew she wouldn’t be able to without her dad asking what it was for. She wrung out the extra water and went to her room where Severus was waiting.
She sat down beside him on the floor and Severus winced as she gently applied it to his face.
“This should help with the swelling and bruising,” she told him.
“Thanks,” he told her. “And Lily, I promise that I will never hurt you.”
She smiled at him. “I know. We’re best friends forever.”
“Forever,” he agreed.
Promise by Golden_snitch91
Chapter Notes: This is a Snape and Lily friendship story Pre-Hogwarts . It includes alcohol abuse, child abuse and very mild cursing.
Thank you, to my beta thegirllikeme.
*Disclaimer* Sadly I am not JK Rowling so I do not own the Harry Potter series