Severus Snape sat on his bed, his knees drawn up to his chin. He was twirling his wand listlessly in his hand, though every so often, he would point it towards the ceiling at an irritating fly that had landed there, and the fly would fall, dead, onto the coverlet. He had been thoroughly miserable since he had seen Lily walk out of the playground with that Muggle a week ago. She had been laughing and joking with him, whereas only a few minutes before she had looked sad and desolate.

His heart had leaped in his chest when he had first glimpsed the thick red hair protruding from under a woollen hat and realised who it was entering the playground. Finally, she had come! He couldn’t believe it. He had been coming to the park and the little copse at the end of the road every day since he had arrived home, just in case she was there. He hadn’t really had much hope; they hadn’t spoken since the summer and she hadn’t so much as glanced at him all term, but here she was, sitting down on the swings! Surely she had come here for a reason. She looked so morose, Severus wondered what was wrong.

He had so nearly emerged from the bushes to talk to her, but before he could, the Muggle with the ridiculous hair and the leather jacket had vaulted over the gate and made a beeline for her. Lily didn’t seem to notice him until he spoke, and she jumped in surprise. Severus had expected her to bristle with anger and demand that the boy leave her alone when he started spouting ridiculous lines, just as she used to do to Potter when he fawned over her, but to his shock and indignation, she blushed and smiled coyly up at him. He had never seen her smile like that at a boy before. And then she had left with him, laughing at his jokes and blushing at the compliments.

Severus had stared after them in indignation, regretting that he had not taken his chance to speak to Lily while she was alone. For a fleeting moment, he thought about following them, but decided he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. She could go gallivanting around with filthy Muggles if she wanted, he couldn’t care less, he told himself firmly. And so he had gone home and hadn’t left its confines since. His mother had raised a wispy eyebrow at the presumably bad-tempered look on his face when he crossed the threshold, but she hadn’t said anything. She just left him alone, as she usually did these days. Ever since his father had died two years ago, his mother had retreated into some sort of shell. Severus didn’t mind much. He had never been one for cosseting and meaningful conversations, but he had hoped she’d claw back a bit of pride after the death of the man who had oppressed her for years. He hoped she’d make attempts to rejoin the magical community, but she had refused.

He sat up abruptly and strained his ears. He was sure he could hear someone talking downstairs. That was odd in itself; he and his mother rarely had visitors now that he was no longer friends with Lily. Yes, there it was again. There was definitely someone else in the house who his mother was talking to. He began to edge himself off the bed with the idea of creeping onto the landing in order to discern who it was, when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

From the light sound the steps were making, Severus guessed that the person did not want to be heard, and he tightened his grip on his wand and slid carefully off his bed, his heartbeat increasing slightly. There was a knock at the door. This surprised him; burglars and assailants did not stop to knock at their victim’s doors. He crossed the room and opened it, peering out. On the other side stood a broad, thick-set man in long, jet black robes that were stretched taut over his barrel-chest.

‘Severus,’ the man said in a low voice, a smile spreading over his rather pudgy face. ‘May I come in?’

‘Who are you?’ Severus said, still clutching his wand and wondering what on earth was going on.

‘Ah,’ the man said, glancing nervously over his shoulder back down the stairs. ‘You do not remember me? We met once, some years ago, in Hogsmeade. You knew my brother, Rabastan, at Hogwarts, though he was a few years above you.’

‘Rodolphus Lestrange,’ Severus said, relaxing his grip on his wand somewhat. He remembered the meeting, which had taken place in his third year, though, as Rodolphus has kept his hood up the entire time, Severus thought it was unreasonable to be expected to remember the features underneath. He stood aside and allowed Rodolphus to enter and closed the door behind him. He could still hear voices downstairs and wondered who else was there.

Rodolphus walked in, looking around the bedroom with an unreadable expression on his face. He did not sit down, rather he just stood in the middle of the room. Severus could feel his eyes boring into his back while he shut the door. He turned to face him, his expression guarded.

‘What’s going on?’ Snape asked when no explanation for Rodolphus’ appearance seemed to be forthcoming. ‘Why are you here? Who else is downstairs?’

‘I’ve been sent to talk to you, Severus,’ Rodolphus said. ‘They’re the diversion.’ He nodded towards the floor, and Severus took it to mean the people talking to his mother.

‘Sent? By who?’

‘The Dark Lord,’ Rodolphus said, watching Severus’ face carefully with his beady eyes. ‘But you knew that, already, didn’t you? A boy of your intelligence...’

Severus tensed, his heart fluttering in his chest. He clutched onto his wand once more, but this time, it was not out of fear of attack. He could tell that Rodolphus was trying to flatter him. Really, it was incredibly obvious, but it didn’t matter. ‘The Dark Lord sent you to me?’

‘Of course!’ Rodolphus laughed quietly. It was almost a purr; he seemed to realise he’d snared Severus’ attention. ‘He knows exactly who you are.’

‘What does he want from me?’

‘The Dark Lord seeks your hand in friendship, Severus,’ Rodolphus said. ‘He can offer you many opportunities... a wizard of your talents will be highly useful to him. I know where your sympathies lie, my brother told me of your... views. Do you wish to serve him?’

‘I do,’ Severus breathed. He couldn’t quite believe he was having this conversation. For years now he had followed... he had dreamed, but it had only been that. Yet now, here was his representative, telling him, Severus, that the Dark Lord himself wanted him. But surely he wouldn’t want someone like him, someone with a parent like his father...

‘You have noble blood in your veins, Severus,’ Rodolphus said as if he could read Severus’ mind. Immediately, he narrowed his eyes. Severus never liked people knowing what was in his thoughts, and he viewed Rodolphus with a new suspicion. ‘The Dark Lord can overlook your, ah, inferior connections for the purity of your mother’s blood. You are the last of the Princes, Severus. Your blood is highly desirable.’ Severus didn’t know if he quite believed this, but the Dark Lord would not have sent one of his servants to him if he did not want him. Surely that meant he would be willing to overlook his half-blood status if Severus would play up his mother’s pure-blood.

‘I will leave you now,’ Rodolphus said. ‘Think about what the Dark Lord can offer you, Severus. He will not accept you until you are of age, but he sees no harm in gauging interest early. He wants us to be loyal to him, and loyalty can only grow over time. Think about what I have said.’

With that, he swept out of the room, and Severus heard him head back down the stairs with the same lightness of step as before. They evidently did not want his mother to know of the Dark Lord’s interest in her son. Severus would prove part of his loyalty now and not tell her of Rodolphus’ visit. But he was intrigued in what they were saying to her. With a much more studied step, Severus moved towards the door and stole down the stairs to see if he could hear anything of the conversation between his mother and the Death Eaters. Voices floated along the hallway, and Severus crept closer to the kitchen door, which he found ajar. He peeped through the crack.

He could see his mother sitting at the kitchen table, her back to him. Seated opposite her was a thin, grey-haired man and standing behind him, leaning on the kitchen units was a younger man with a cruel, twisted face. They were both wearing the same long black robes. Severus assumed Rodolphus was standing near the door, out of sight.

‘Opposition to the Dark Lord is slowly being crushed,’ said the grey-haired man sitting at the table. He had a rather reedy sort of voice that matched his appearance. ‘I take it you saw the Daily Prophet last week, Eileen?’

‘If you’re referring to Cuthbert Finch, of course I did,’ came the soft, hollow voice of his mother. ‘However, my answer is the same, Nott. I will not openly support the Dark Lord. Not now...’

Severus knew she was referring to the shell she had crept into, and for a moment he was disdainful of her pathetic apathy, the way that she was so absorbed in herself that she wouldn’t do a thing to support the Dark Lord’s cause, even though she, more than anybody, had reason to fight for him. The Death Eaters didn’t seem too concerned at her rejection; Rodolphus was telling the truth, the conversation with his mother was only a diversion to get to himself. The man called Nott was getting up.

‘I don’t know how you can stay in this hovel, Eileen,’ he said, peering out of the window at the street.

His mother seemed to take offence at this. Severus knew she had been cut off from her wealthy family without a Knut, and he was pleased to see a small manifestation of pride as she sat up straighter.

‘We can’t all be as wealthy as you, Nott.’

Nott gave her a weak smile. ‘I was not referring to the lacklustre surroundings, my dear. There can’t be another wizard for miles.’

‘There’s a Muggle-born girl who lives the other side of the village with her family,’ Eileen said defiantly.

Severus’ heart leaped into his mouth as he saw Nott whip his head back around to her. The man with the twisted face had stood up straighter, and was looking across the room, presumably at Rodolphus, a nasty glint in his eye. Dread filled Severus. What were they going to do? He guessed how they must feel about Muggle-borns.

‘Well, we must get going, Eileen. Goodbye,’ Nott said abruptly, giving a quick smile to his companions as they moved across the room. Severus did not like this. Why had his mother been so stupid as to talk about Lily?

‘Goodbye,’ his mother said as she ushered them out of the front door. As soon as it swung back into place with a thud, he burst into the room.

‘What did you do that for?’ he shouted, his heart beating wildly.

‘Severus!’ his mother exclaimed in surprise. ‘Have you been eavesdropping?’

‘Forget that!’ he yelled. How could she have been so thoughtless! ‘You told them about Lily!’

‘So what?’ she said, evidently unaware that she had done anything wrong.

‘So what? THEY HATE MUDBLOODS! Can’t you imagine what they’re going to do now?’

He felt a thrill of satisfaction as her face fell and she clapped a hand to her mouth.

‘I’ve got to go and see if she’s okay,’ he said, throwing a last look of contempt at his before he threw open the door and sprinted out.

‘I won’t be able to see you ‘til after Christmas,’ Mark said as he and Lily approached her house. ‘The family are descending tomorrow, and between my gran telling me I need a haircut and my little cousins wittering on about anything and everything, I won’t have time to escape.’

Lily smiled. There was something very appealing about the picture he painted of loud, boisterous relatives clamouring over one another, and despite his complaints, Lily suspected he wouldn’t change it for the world. ‘That’s okay,’ she said. ‘I have presents to wrap and some schoolwork I really should have a go at.’

‘Schoolwork?’ Mark said. ‘You’re on holiday!’

‘I know,’ she replied, ruefully. ‘But it’s a ridiculously long essay and I always struggle with Trans- I mean chemistry.’ Her heart thudded loudly in her chest for a few moments, reeling in the aftermath of her near slip up, but luckily, Mark hadn’t noticed.

‘I’d offer help, but I was always terrible with chemistry. Sorry,’ Mark said. ‘Well, here we are, then.’

They had stopped outside Lily’s house, and Mark turned to face her. Lily didn’t want him to leave; she’d had a wonderful time that evening, first with bowling and then going to the pictures, something she hadn’t done in years.

‘I had a great time tonight,’ Mark said, stepping closer. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, could see each individual eyelash and her breath caught in her chest, her heart beating steadily faster.

‘I really like you, Lily.’

He was leaning towards her, and Lily’s heart had reached such a tempo that it appeared to have stopped completely. She couldn’t say anything, her breath wouldn’t come. She closed her eyes as he bent his head and slowly, their lips met.

When they parted, Mark was grinning. ‘Thank you for a lovely evening,’ he whispered, leaning his forehead on hers. Lily looked up into his deep brown eyes and couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

‘Not a problem,’ she said, and then felt rather stupid. ‘I mean...’

‘I know what you meant,’ Mark said with a grin. ‘Well, goodnight, Lily.’

He gave her one last smile and turned to go. ‘Merry Christmas.’

Lily shivered, a reaction that had nothing to do with the chilly December night that was closing in about her. She shrank further into her coat, still grinning as she watched him walk back up the street, illuminated by the orange glow of the streetlamps.

She felt giddy with happiness as she began to walk down the garden path, Mark finally having faded from view. She could hardly believe that barely a week ago, she had been depressed and gloomy, finding it hard to partake in the festivities taking place around her. Now, however, the brightly coloured lights and candles and bearded Father Christmases seemed to bolster her buoyant mood, as did the warmth that flooded out to meet her when she opened the front door.

When she had left Mark at the village chip shop, she had never expected to see him again. He was a fleeting ray of sunshine in her life, but no more. She had not intended to go looking for him, but, to her shock, he had turned up on her doorstep the next day, wearing his cheeky grin and holding up a bag of toffees.

‘Fancy going for a longer walk this time?’ he had said. Flustered that he’d actually come looking for her, Lily had agreed, determinedly ignoring the nudges and indulgent smiles her parents were exchanging as they peeped through the living room door. Since then, she had seen or spoken to Mark on the telephone every day. Tonight had been their first proper date.

In the back of her mind was a small voice that nagged her to be careful with what she said, or uttered small questions about what was going to happen when she went back to school, but Lily ignored them and pushed them firmly back into the recesses of her mind, where the image of the grieving young boy had taken refuge. She was not going to think about those things now, not when she finally had found something that made her forget all the things that were going on in the hidden world she was part of.

‘Who was that, then?’

Lily whirled around, paused in the act of beginning to climb the stairs. Petunia had come out of the living room and was leaning on the frame, arms folded in disapproval.

Lily felt her cheeks flush. ‘His name is Mark, he lives on Baunton’s Avenue,’ she said, defiantly gazing at her sister, trying to retain a vestige of dignity. Petunia raised an eyebrow.

‘Deigning to go out with one of us non-magical people, are we?’ she said. ‘Miggles, wasn’t it?’

‘Muggles,’ Lily said calmly. She had long ago given up getting upset over Petunia’s spiteful remarks. ‘And yes, I am.’

‘Where’ve you been with him?’

Lily sighed. What was it with the interrogation? ‘We went bowling and then to see Pink Panther.’

Petunia snorted, and Lily felt a rush of anger. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that!’

‘I never said there was,’ Petunia replied. ‘Just that, oh Lily, do you really have to go... gallivanting around with a boy you’ve only just met? You’re rather young for that...’

Lily noticed that she took the care to show off her left hand when she said this so that the diamond on her engagement ring flashed and winked in the light. She was trying to make Lily feel ridiculous and immature, but Lily wasn’t going to stand for it. She wouldn’t let her snide and bitter older sister ruin her happiness.

‘You’re only three years older than me!’ Lily retorted angrily. ‘And if I remember rightly, you went to the pictures with Andrew Hartford, Glenn Keedle and Humphrey DeLongio when you were my age! You can hardly lecture me!’

Lily was pleased to see Petunia’s cheeks turn a pale shade of pink, and with a satisfied grunt, she turned to climb the stairs.

However, she had barely reached the third step when there was an almighty bang and Petunia screamed. Lily whirled around in shock and surprise to see the front door swinging wildly on one hinge. In the doorway stood three men in long black robes, large hoods pulled over their heads so most of their face was in shadow. The lower part of their face was uncovered however, and each man was wearing a cruel smile, leering at the two terrified girls in the hallway.

The man at the front stepped over the threshold.

‘Which one of you is the witch?’ he asked in a reedy voice, looking from Petunia, who had shrunk back against the wall, to Lily, who was still frozen to her spot on the staircase.

‘Oh, I wouldn’t quite call her that, Nott,’ said another softly, stepping forward. ‘Scum, more like.’

‘What’s going on?’ Lily’s parents had come careering out of the living room but skidded to a stop, horrified looks appearing on their faces, as they took in the men standing in the doorway.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lily’s father stepped in front of his wife and drew himself up to his full height.

‘Who are you?’ he demanded. ‘What are you doing in my house?’

The three men burst into malicious laughter as Lily’s father squared up to them, a move that may have been intimidating to a Muggle, but would have no effect against wizards. The men knew they could blast him aside in an instant. It was their jeers more than anything that jerked Lily into motion. Anger penetrated through fear. How could they laugh like this at her father, the bravest man she knew, as if he was a small child trying to stand up to older playground bullies?

‘I’m the witch,’ she said boldly. All three men turned to look at her, almost as if they were stunned she had spoken out at such a moment. They quickly recovered themselves.

‘Ah,’ said the man named Nott who appeared to be the leader, stepping forwards past the place where Petunia was cowering. He reached out a pale white finger and traced her cheek. Lily tried not to flinch at his icy-cold touch. She did not move from her place on the stairs. ‘You’re quite pretty, for a Mudblood. We could have some fun with you.’

‘I think you should leave,’ she said firmly, staring at his hooded face, resisting the terrible urge to shudder at his touch and pull away.

‘Oho!’ Nott said, retracting his arm and reaching into his cloak. ‘You think you can order us about, Mudblood? We who carry out the work of the Dark Lord?’

‘Don’t you dare talk like that to my daughter!’ Lily’s father shouted.

It happened in an instant. Lily saw her father rush forward, and one of the other men brandish his wand. There was a bang and a bright flash of light, and her father flew through the air and hit the wall opposite the wall with a sickening thud. All three women screamed and Lily tried to jump forward in horror to where her father lay groaning at the foot of the wall, her heart thumping loud in her ears, but Nott held her back, a brutal smile on his face.

‘Think you can stand up to us, Muggle?’ said the man who had fired the curse, looking down at Lily’s father, who lay unmoving on the floor. He had thrown back his hood to reveal a cruel, twisted face. ‘You’re a pathetic piece of vermin, not fit to wipe dirt from our boots.’ He spat on the ground at Mr Evans’ feet.

‘That’s the trouble with Muggle scum,’ Nott said, still barring Lily’s way but looking with disgust at Mr Evans. ‘They’ve spent so long thinking they lord over everything, they don’t know when to shut their dirty little mouths.’

He turned his face back to Lily and breathed, ‘Well, I tell you something, Mudblood, you’ll all get what’s coming to you, soon enough. Oh yes, the Dark Lord will see you get your just desserts.’

‘I think we should start on the Dark Lord’s plans. A bout of the Cruciatus Curse would do you some good,’ the man with the twisted face said still looking down at Mr Evans. He raised his wand again.

‘NO!’ Lily screamed, twisting frantically in Nott’s arms, trying to get free. If only she had her wand! She might have been able to do something, but it was upstairs in her trunk, along with the rest of her school things. Until now, she had never needed it during the school holidays. She cursed her naivety that wands could be disregarded in times like these. How foolish she was...

‘It’ll do you some good to watch this, Mudblood,’ Nott sneered at her. ‘Might teach you a thing or two about who to respect in this world.’

The wizard with the cruel face raised his wand, but suddenly, he gasped and clutched his left arm to his chest. At exactly the same time, Nott released Lily, who instantly jumped past him to get to her father.

‘The Dark Lord,’ Nott muttered, looking around at his companions, rubbing his forearm as if it pained him.

‘You’ve been lucky, this time, Muggle,’ said the brutal faced man, gazing down at Mr Evans, who was moaning as he tried to struggle into a sitting position. ‘The Dark Lord has spared you. I wouldn’t count on your luck continuing, though...’

He spat one last time at Mr Evan’s feet, before all three men disappeared in a swirl of robes.

‘Dad!’ Lily cried, leaping off the stairs and rushing to his side.

‘Are you all right, Patrick?’ Lily’s mother whispered, her voice shaking. Mr Evans could only groan in pain.

‘Get him onto the sofa,’ Lily said, looking around for Petunia to help. Her sister was shaking from head to foot, but nodded mutely as Lily’s look and came to help her mother as she assisted her husband gingerly to his feet.

As Lily, Petunia and their mother helped Mr Evans to take a few, shaking steps, there came a voice behind them.

‘Lily?’

All four Evans’ turned towards the speaker. Lily’s mouth fell open in shock as she saw that, standing in the ruined doorway, was Severus.

Shock was quickly replaced by irritation, and then anger. ‘You two take over,’ she said to her mother and Petunia, as she turned away from them.

‘Lily, I-’

‘What do you want?’ she demanded, cutting across him. She didn’t have time for this now; her father could be seriously injured. They had to phone the doctor, and most importantly, Lily had to arm herself. Who knew when those Death Eaters would return?

‘I came to see if you were all right,’ Severus said, gingerly stepping over the threshold. His eyes never left her face. ‘I’m so sorry, I...’

‘Well, I’m fine,’ Lily said shortly. She couldn’t be dealing with Severus, not now. ‘A few of your Death Eater pals came to visit. My father has probably got several cracked ribs and was nearly tortured, so you’ll excuse me if I’m not in the best of moods.’

‘Lily, I know about the Death Eaters,’ Severus said. ‘They... my mother accidentally let slip that you lived here. I never meant for this to happen...’

‘What were the Death Eaters doing at yours?’ she said. Severus finally looked away from her face. He was shifting uncomfortably where he stood. Suddenly, realisation hit her. ‘Oh, I see.’

She turned away from him, disgusted, and made to go and check on her father, but Severus had leaped forward and caught her arm.

‘Let me go,’ she snarled, turning back to him.

‘No,’ Severus said. ‘Hear me out. I came to see if everything was okay, and to apologise. I never meant for this to happen, I was furious when Mum said that stuff about you. I knew what they would do; I came over as soon as possible! I wanted to make sure they didn’t hurt you. I’m so glad you’re okay...’

‘But they can torture the rest of my family?’ Lily demanded, wrenching her arm out of his grip.

‘I didn’t mean that!’ Severus said quickly. ‘Lily, it doesn’t have to be like this...’

Lily couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘Of course it’s going to be like this!’ she shouted. ‘They targeted me because of my blood! They were going to torture my family because they’re Muggles! Nothing is going to change that!’

‘If you were with me, nobody would come after you or your family, I’d make sure of it!’

‘How?’ she said sceptically, rocking back on her heels and folding her arms. ‘How exactly are you going to do that? Is You-Know-Who really going to take into account the wishes of a sixteen year old boy who hasn’t even left school?’

Severus flushed. ‘I’d make sure nobody would come after you,’ he repeated. ‘And even if they don’t listen, we can still try and protect-’

‘Severus, I don’t want to be tolerated because I'm dangling off the arm of someone else!!’ Lily was nearly shouting now, she could feel her cheeks flushing with anger and knew she must look demented and mad, but she didn’t care. She was beyond caring. ‘I’m a witch, I have as much right to be respected as they do! I am their equal! You want to know why I’m not friends with you anymore? You want to know why I’m not going to accept your offer? Take a look at my father! I’m not going to spend time with someone who thinks doing that is okay!’

‘But Lily-’

‘I don’t care what you’ve got to say, just get out. I need to make sure my father is okay.’

She turned around and stormed into the living room, leaving Severus standing in the hallway, staring sadly after her.