Those Whom I Could Not Save

by S_Flovios

Summary:

When young Elizabeth Hughes takes in the Snape boy from next door one rainy night after he is injured and thrown out by his abusive father, she hadn't expected to become friends with him and Lily Evans and learn about an entire magical world hidden from Muggles like her.

When she attends Lily and James' wedding years later, she hadn't expected that she would eventually be targeted by the so-called "Death Eaters" and become a victim of a war she had only heard about since her childhood. She hadn't dreamed that she would lose her friends because of this war, nor that she would end up helping raise their orphaned son.

Looking back, though, Elizabeth has to admit that of all the unexpected developments, she had least expected herself to be sleeping with Severus Snape and falling in love with him.

Notes:

This fic is born out of a need to have someone be there to catch Severus in all of his darkest hours (which is, I don't know, his entire life???) and just give him a hug.

I expect to be updating weekly, but I am working off a very rough outline that is still a work in progress itself, so please bear with me! I'll do my best to see if I can post more frequently; hopefully inspiration will flow well as I get deeper into the story.

Chapter 1

Cokeworth, 1970

The neighbors were at it again.

Elizabeth Hughes closed the novel in her hand with a sigh, too distracted by the sound of a man’s drunken yells and his wife’s fearful cries to keep reading. The noise had managed to penetrate even the downpour that slammed down on Spinner’s End as though intent on drowning the entire street.

Not that she had been reading anything important or, as a matter of fact, interesting. It was one of the tattered books she had been allowed to claim from her school’s library, which had intended to dispose of them for being too old. As the summer holidays began two weeks ago and she owned no other books, she had taken to reading them to while away the days. But she was a quick reader, and none of the books were lengthy, so she had no choice but to reread them again and again. The stories were enthralling in the beginning; but having read them so many times by now, Elizabeth had lost interest.

She perked up when Tobias Snape’s voice became much louder and clearer all of a sudden, reaching her through the front door.

“—teach you a fucking lesson—”

There was a pained yelp of a young boy, and then the slamming of a door so powerful that even Elizabeth could feel the tremor.

With a frown, Elizabeth got up from the sofa and opened her front door. The boy, having just been tossed out of his own home, lay in a heap on the narrow, filthy street, whimpering. She gasped as she noticed traces of blood flowing from him and into the muddy puddle he was partially submerged in.

Throwing a look towards the Snape residence, the door to which was shut firmly, she rushed over to him.

“Severus! Are you all right?” she called with some might so as to be heard over the rain. As gently as she could, she held his shoulders to help him sit up. She gasped again when she saw a deep cut on his cheek; she looked down to check him for other injuries, and found more gashes—on his forearm and his palm. All wounds were bleeding profusely. “Good gracious,” she muttered, throwing a glare over her shoulder at the closed door of her neighbor.

She turned back to Severus, who continued to shiver and whimper. “Come on. We need to treat you.”

The two of them stumbled back into her house, and Elizabeth sat Severus down on a kitchen stool before rushing to get clean towels and what little first-aid supplies she could find. She ended up finding half a roll of gauze and some alcohol disinfectant under the bathroom sink and could only hope that both were still useable.

She placed the items on the kitchen table. Severus had calmed down somewhat as he eyed them with suspicion.

“We should probably clean the wounds first,” Elizabeth said, chewing on her lip.

She guided Severus to the faucet and rinsed the cuts on his arm and hand, wetting the towel she had found and dabbing at the cut on his cheek, which, thankfully, was the smallest and shallowest. Severus still winced as she dabbed, though.

With the towel, she also dried his arm and hand before ushering him to sit back down on the stool. She took another towel and opened the bottle of alcohol, sniffing it and scrunching up her nose at the stab of alcoholic odor. At least it was still alcoholic, she thought as she poured all of the remaining contents onto the towel.

She looked apologetically at Severus. “This will hurt.”

To his credit, he simply nodded; he flinched a little when the fabric came into contact with his wounds, but he did not let out a squeak. Elizabeth could see his uninjured hand balled into a white-knuckled fist.

When she was done, she quickly wrapped his hand and arm with the gauze. “There. It’s done.”

Severus nodded again as thanks and looked down. The wound on his face she couldn’t do much about, but it had stopped bleeding, at least.

“What happened?”

Severus did not answer initially. But then he caught Elizabeth’s eyes, which made it clear she wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

“Broke his whiskey bottle. He pushed me into the glass,” he replied.

Elizabeth sighed, taking note of his drenched clothes and making to leave the kitchen. “You can stay over for the time being, I guess. I’ll go see if any of my clothes fit you.”

“Where’s your mother?”

She turned her face slightly to throw the boy a look. “At work.”

“At this hour?”

“At all hours,” she called as she walked out.

---

Elizabeth could feel Severus looking around curiously but silently as she led him through the house and upstairs, a set of her clothes and a worn-out bathing towel folded over her arm.

“It’s basically the same house,” she said, opening the bathroom door trying to hide her amusement.

Severus was all seriousness, however. “Not really.”

Unsure what to make of his reaction, Elizabeth gestured towards the bathroom and stepped aside to let him in. She really did not know the boy that well, truth be told. Before today, they had spoken perhaps three times. They had been nothing but neighbors who acknowledged each other’s existence now and then. She knew his name and his father’s abusive tendencies, but that was about it.

It was enough for her to sympathize with him, though.

“You’ll have to turn the knob for hot water very hard; it’s quite stuck. And be quick, hot water runs out within ten minutes. Try not to get your bandages wet.”

Severus nodded and closed the door, locking it from the other side. Elizabeth went back downstairs to the sitting room and put her book away, making a mental note to make sure to get more books from the library next year.

She cleaned up the living room and the kitchen, made sure the doors and windows were locked, turned off the lights and went upstairs to her room.

Sitting on her bed, Elizabeth was suddenly unsure of herself. What was she doing, taking in a boy like this? She was twelve, for Heaven’s sake! Even if she was a lot more mature for her age—which was a fact all of her teachers agreed to—there was barely anything she could do to care for an abused child, let alone one she barely knew!

Now that she thought about it, she was frankly astounded that Severus had allowed her to bring him into her home at all—although it was also true that the boy had been quite shaken up when he had been thrown out onto the street.

A few minutes later, the water in the bathroom turned off, killing the groaning of the house’s old pipes. Severus emerged from the bathroom and stepped hesitantly into Elizabeth’s room, the only one in the house left with a light source. He was dressed in a grey T-shirt of hers, which was a bit too loose and long on him, as well as a pair of old cotton shorts that reached his knees.

Noting his dripping hair, Elizabeth beckoned him over and took the towel from his hands to rub it over his head.

He tried to squirm away. “I can do it myself!” he said.

When he removed the towel, his hair was already completely dry, much to Elizabeth’s surprise.

“Wait, how—” she said in wonder as she leaned forward, intending to feel his hair.

Severus rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, ducking away from her touch. “Muggle.”

“Hmm?” Elizabeth let out absentmindedly, drawing her attention away from his hair. She flipped over the covers on her bed, scooting to make space for him. “Come on, then. It’ll be a bit cramped, but uh, we’ll figure something out later on, yeah?”

For a moment it seemed that Severus was unhappy about the arrangement and about to refuse—but then it passed, and he clambered up the bed and tucked himself in. Elizabeth reached across him to turn off the bedside lamp, plunging the small room into darkness.

“Good night.”

She turned her back towards the boy, closing her eyes to sleep.

Before she drifted off, however, she heard, in the dark, a small voice.

“Thank you.”

---

The next morning, when Elizabeth woke, Severus was still deep in sleep. She carefully maneuvered herself off the bed and went downstairs to the kitchen—to find her mother had come home.

Suzanne Hughes glanced up at her daughter before quickly refocusing on the cup of coffee in her hand.

“Have you… had anything to eat?” Elizabeth asked quietly as she approached the table.

“No. Is there anything?”

“We’ve got eggs and the last of the bread you brought home the other day.”

Suzanne nodded tiredly. Elizabeth went ahead and turned on the stove, placing the one skillet they had in their home on it. She then opened up the cupboard to get three eggs from the carton—leaving only one untouched—some butter, and the bag containing the bread. She frowned at the bread; there was only a slice and half left. Less than she had expected.

Without a word, she placed the bread before her mother, who silently pulled out the pieces and began tearing at them, stuffing the smaller bits in her mouth.

Elizabeth turned back to the skillet, scraping off whatever bit of butter that was stuck to the side of the package and adding it in. She cracked an egg and fried it before serving it to Suzanne and returning the skillet to the stove to repeat the motion. When she got to the third egg, however, Suzanne spoke from behind her.

“Why are you frying three eggs?”

She turned around; her mother was watching her with furrowed brows.

“How many eggs do we have left?”

Elizabeth turned back, swallowing before answering. “One.”

“Then why are you frying an extra one?”

“Severus is here. He’ll have to eat, too.”

“Who?”

“Severus. Snape. From next door.”

“Why is he here?”

“He was thrown out by his father yesterday. He was hurt, and it was raining. So I took him home.”

Suzanne did not respond then, but Elizabeth knew what she was thinking. The extra egg meant an entire meal that they didn’t have.

She heard her mother heave a great sigh.

“I’ll go get some grocery tomorrow.”

Elizabeth nodded, scooping up the last fried egg. “Right.” She turned around and placed the second plate containing her egg and Severus’ on the table before sitting down across from Suzanne.

Suzanne looked at her with the same tired eyes, dark circles under them. There was the slightest hint of apology in those eyes. “I’m just really low on money for the moment, Liz. Hopefully in a week or two it’ll be better.

Elizabeth nodded again. This wasn’t new to them. Ever since her father died two years ago, leaving behind a huge amount of debt, her mother had struggled to make enough money to cover their living expenses. Not that they had ever been well off to begin with—but the change in their circumstances had been drastic enough that Elizabeth was forced to grow up too quickly.

There was a shuffle at the doorway to the kitchen, and Elizabeth looked up to see Severus standing there, peeking in warily.

“Severus,” she greeted with a smile, getting to her feet. “I fried an egg for you.”

The boy trudged over, his eyes darting between Elizabeth and Suzanne. Suzanne watched him with some curiosity.

“Good morning,” he mumbled after taking the seat that Elizabeth had just vacated. He glanced around quickly. There were only two stools in the kitchen.

Suzanne was caught off guard for a split second. She cleared her throat. “Good morning.”

Elizabeth pushed the plate towards Severus, who eyed the eggs and looked at her in a way that told her he must have overheard the conversation she had just had with her mother. She pushed the plate towards him even more. “Go on.”

Severus looked down. “Thank you,” he said quietly, before picking up the fork laid out for him to stab the fried egg.

---

The following week, the rainy weather miraculously ceased for a few days, and Elizabeth took full advantage of the sun, spending her days outside. Cokeworth was not a pretty town by any means; the industry and pollution plagued it, and were likely to continue plaguing it for the foreseeable future. Yet there were small corners of nature that Elizabeth liked to visit.

It was on one of these outings that Elizabeth spotted Severus, hiding behind bushes and evidently watching two girls on the playground. One of the girls she recognized as her classmate, Petunia Evans. The other must be Petunia’s younger sister, whose name escaped her.

Quietly, Elizabeth snuck over to Severus. “What’s so interesting about these girls?” she whispered, crouching beside the boy.

Severus jumped. For a moment, his eyes were ablaze. Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at him, not sure what she had done to warrant his anger.

Before either of them could say a word, there was a shrill cry—“Stop it!”—which drew both of their attention.

Elizabeth frowned; she couldn’t see what Petunia’s sister was showing her, but it seemed to disturb Petunia greatly.

“It’s not hurting you,” the younger of the girls said, throwing away what she held. A flower.

“It’s not right,” Petunia retorted, her eyebrows knitted together as though in disgust. However, after a beat, she licked her lips, and asked enviously, “How do you do it?”

At this point, Severus stood and walked out from the bushes. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Sev—” Elizabeth tried to stop him, but she was too late. For a split second, she wondered if she should follow him. She tried to remain crouched as the other children conversed, but then realized just how stupid she felt, still hiding behind the bushes. She huffed and got up herself, emerging from her hiding place.

Petunia let out a strangled shriek at her appearance, but then caught herself. “Elizabeth?”

“Hi,” Elizabeth returned awkwardly.

“What are you doing, hiding with—with this boy—”

Elizabeth shot Severus a reproachful look. “I was saying hi to him, before he ignored me…”

Severus rolled his eyes at her. She had to marvel at how well he conveyed his disdain for a ten-year-old. But then she noticed how focused he was on the younger girl; his entire body language spoke of excitement.

“You are a witch. I’ve been watching you for a while. And there’s nothing wrong with that. My mum’s one, and I’m a wizard.”

Elizabeth blinked, wondering just what in the world the boy was talking about. Was this part of some game?

On the other hand, Petunia scoffed. “Wizard!” She puffed up her chest and continued, “I know who you are. You’re that Snape boy! They,” she pointed at Severus and Elizabeth, addressing her sister, “live down Spinner’s End by the river. That girl there’s my classmate.”

The thinly veiled contempt in her tone made Elizabeth frown. She was by no means close to Petunia, but she hadn’t thought Petunia regarded her with judgement.

Petunia’s next question was directed at both Severus and Elizabeth. “Why have you been spying on us?”

Severus responded before Elizabeth could. “Haven’t been spying. Wouldn’t spy on you, anyway. You’re a Muggle,” he sneered.

Once again, Elizabeth was left befuddled by what the boy was saying. If not for the clear emnity from Petunia, she would think she had interrupted an elaborate game of make-believe between the three children before her.

“Lily, come on, we’re leaving!” Petunia ordered, turning on her heels and marching away.

Petunuia’s sister—Lily—threw them a glare while running to catch up.

Severus visibly deflated. He turned to Elizabeth angrily. “It’s all your fault!”

“I’m sorry?” Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up.

Severus seemed to struggle to find the words. In the end, he gave up, pushing past her and trying to stomp away.

Elizabeth caught up with him easily though. She grabbed his shoulder. “Wait!”

“What?”

She looked him up and down, eyes lingering on his cheek, which somehow showed no signs of the injury from the week before. She looked down at his arm and hand—unbandaged, unblemished.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “I just… wanted to check that you’re… How did you heal so quickly?”

Unable to help it, she picked up his hand to examine it closer. There was no mark on his pale skin at all.

Severus pulled his arm free. His anger seemed to have dissipated somewhat as he rubbed where the cut had been on his arm. “Like I said, my mother’s a witch. She healed me instantly when I got home.”

Noticing the look of complete confusion on Elizabeth’s face, Severus rolled his eyes expertly once more, then plucked a pair of leaves from the nearby willow treee to demonstrate. He opened up his palm, and the leaves flapped—as though they were the wings of a bird—and flew off. Elizabeth gasped in surprise and wonder.

“How do you do it?” she asked in awe. She looked down to find Severus watching her, much more relaxed.

“You wouldn’t understand. You’re a Muggle,” he said.

Elizabeth noted that this time, his voice held no spite. “What does that mean? Muggle?”

“It means you’re not magical.”

“Oh.”

Severus turned to look towards where the Evans sisters had left.

Observing this, Elizabeth put two and two together. “So you’re saying, Petunia’s sister is magical?”

He nodded wordlessly.

Elizabeth sat down on the ground. “Do you know any more tricks? Where did you learn them? From a magician?”

This made Severus irritable. He looked down at her with clear annoyance. “I’m a wizard, not a magician.”

“Um. Sorry?”

Cearly offended, Severus sat down beside her with a look of determination in his eyes. “Watch.”

He raised a hand, and there came a breeze. More and more leaves detached themselves from the willow tree, fluttering in the air. They danced a choreographed dance, approaching and surrounding Elizabeth, who became still and nervous. But the leaves simply danced around her, tickling her, before fluttering away.

“Can a magician do that?” Severus asked smugly.

Chapter 2

Notes:

The first few chapters are a bit slower but thing will pick up soon!

Cokeworth, 1971

“How was your trip to Diagon Alley?”

Before Elizabeth, Severus and Lily were spreading out their new school supplies, both grinning in excitement. Elizabeth spent some time admiring, with wide eyes, Lily’s new pet owl, which stared back at her from inside the cage with equally wide—if not even wider—eyes. Amused, she looked away, and picked up a book titled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them from Lily’s pile, eyeing the cover with interest.

"That wasn’t on the book list, but I couldn’t just get only my schoolbooks. There were so many books I wanted to buy… in the end Mum let me pick five," Lily explained.

It had been a year since Severus had discovered Lily’s magical abilities. Over the past year, the three of them had bonded over magic, with Severus and Lily showing and teaching each other little things they could do and Elizabeth watching in amazement. Whenever Severus would explain how the wizarding world worked, not only Lily but also Elizabeth listened with rapt attention.

And now, Severus and Lily were days away from attending Hogwarts.

Elizabeth watched as the boy and girl each pulled out a long, thin box reverently. “Are those—”

“My wand,” Lily breathed, opening up her box and pulling one out, marveling at the wooden stick.

“And yours?” Elizabeth asked Severus.

Silently, he removed his from the box, too.

“They’re so pretty,” Elizabeth couldn’t help but remark, her eyes lingering on the delicately crafted handles.

Lily looked at Elizabeth, pouting a little. “I wish you could come with us to Hogwarts,” she said.

Petunia rarely made an appearance over the last year while the three of them convened. She had refused to talk to Elizabeth at school, too, although Elizabeth couldn’t say that she minded. They had barely interacted with each other to begin with.

However, Elizabeth could tell that Lily was crestfallen at her sister’s rejection. It could be why Lily seemed to become attached to her so quickly.

Elizabeth waved her hand. “I’m as Muggle as I can get, Lily, and I’m already going to a school, remember? The one your sister goes to? Besides, as Severus said, I’ve already missed my chance. I never got the letter.”

“Well, now that I have an owl, I can write letters to you!”

“Please do!” Elizabeth said with a wide grin. “It will be so cool! I can’t wait to see how this little chap,” she poked a hand into the owl’s cage, “delivers mail!”

Severus let out a light scoff, drawing both girls’ eyes to him.

“You must write to me too,” Elizabeth said with a frown.

He rolled his eyes. “I certainly will not.”

“Of course you will!” Lily piped up. “We’ll write them together and have Fairy send it!”

“Fairy?” Severus scrunched up his nose.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m calling her,” Lily replied defiantly, pulling the owl closer to her by the cage. “You have a problem with it?”

Severus grimaced. “No…”

Elizabeth stifled a laugh. She really had enjoyed spending time with her new friends, even though they were younger and more childish than her. She found their interactions adorable. It also did not take long for her to see just how smitten Severus was with Lily. She felt like a proud older sister.

Somewhere behind her, a twig snapped. Elizabeth turned around to find Petunia there, looking annoyed.

“Dinner’s ready,” she sniffed before trudging off, not even sparing the three of them a glance.

Lily sighed lightly and began to pack her things up.

“She’s just jealous,” Severus said contemptuously, earning him a slap on the arm from Elizabeth.

To her credit, Lily did not respond to Severus’ taunt. She allowed Elizabeth to help her put her books into her bag.

“Don’t mind Petunia—or Severus, for that matter,” Elizabeth consoled her.

Glumly, Lily nodded. She stood and picked up her bag and owl. “I’ll get going. See you around.”

Elizabeth and Severus watched her walk off. She noticed Severus’ disappointed and disgruntled expression.

“You know she loves her sister,” she couldn’t help but chastise, “Why do you keep saying these things about Petunia?”

“I don’t know why she cares so much. Her snobby sister’s just a Muggle.”

“Well, so am I,” Elizabeth retorted, crossing her arms.

Severus winced a little. “You’re different. You’re…”

With a cocked eyebrow, Elizabeth waited for his answer. But his voice trailed off, and he looked away.

---

Elizabeth was glad that her school started just a day before Severus and Lily went off to Hogwarts, because even with school to occupy her and the excitement of meeting up with her friends, she felt bereft without the two kids’ presence in her life after school.

It was surprisingly difficult to get back to the routine of keeping to herself at home, which remained mostly empty save for the few hours Suzanne spent between jobs. Nowadays it felt too quiet—save for the occasional shouts from Tobias Snape she could still hear through the wall.

Whenever she heard the noises, she was glad for Severus’ sake that he had gone to boarding school, and would be for the majority of the next several years.

She got her first letter from the kids just before her birthday near the end of September. When she had heard the knock on the glass of her bedroom window as she prepared to turn in for the day, she could not help gasping in disbelief at the sight of Fairy perched on her window sill, an envelope in its beak, despite having been told that what wizards’ owls did.

With some difficulty, she managed to push the window open enough for the bird to come into her room and drop the letter. The bird then watched her with those big, round eyes expectantly.

“I—I don’t have anything to give you!” she stammered, a little panicked. What did one give an owl after it had flown who-knew-how-many miles?

Her mind whirring, she finally came up with an idea.

“Wait a minute,” she bid the owl, hoping that it understood her, and dashed downstairs into the kitchen. True to her word, she was back in her room within the minute, holding a bowl of water and a plate of bread, crushed into crumbs, which she offered to Fairy.

Fairy immediately started drinking from the bowl, much to Elizabeth’s relief.

With amazement, she picked up the letter—the paper was such heavy parchment that she had never felt before—and opened it. Inside was Lily’s neat writing:

Dear Lizzy,

Happy birthday!

Sorry for the lateness of this letter. Life at Hogwarts is much busier than I expected! I’ve been focusing very hard to adjust to classes and so much magic and secrets and mysteries at the castle. There are literally ghosts here, and the staircases move, and the paintings move… Oh, how I wish you were here to see!

I’ve been sorted into Gryffindor, and Sev Slytherin. At first I was a little disappointed that I didn’t end up in the same house as Sev, but the people in my house have been nice enough.

The classes have been very interesting. There’s Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic (which is taught by a ghost!). Oh, and we have flying lessons too, on broomsticks! I can’t say that it is my favorite, though. I always feel so wobbly on the thin piece of wood!

I really, really wish you were here with us, Lizzy. I miss you a lot, as much as I miss Tuney, even though she had been quite mean to me before I left.

How is school going for you? What are you learning? Sometimes I find myself wondering what I’m missing by coming to Hogwarts. I hope at least it is as interesting for you as Hogwarts has been to me!

Happy birthday again!

Love,

Lily

Elizabeth smiled as she pulled out a second, much smaller piece of paper from the envelope. The handwriting was much smaller, cramped into the page as if the writer worried about not having enough space.

Elizabeth,

Happy birthday.

Hope you have a good one.

Severus

And she had to laugh at just how brilliantly the letters reflected Lily’s and Severus’ personalities.

She looked around her desk, and reached down to pull out a notebook from her school bag. Ripping out a page, she began writing a reply.

Beside her, Fairy pecked away at the breadcrumbs.

-

Dear Lily,

Thank you for the letter and the birthday wishes. It was very interesting to hear about life at Hogwarts—you must share more with me when you get the chance! But of course, you should be focusing on your studies as you have, so don’t worry about writing to me too frequently. I’ll be right here at Spinner’s End and not going anywhere.

The lessons you listed all sound very fun, although I must admit some I don’t understand. What is Transfiguration? Herbology? Also, I think I agree with you, flying lessons do sound dangerous. I hope you’re being safe.

School for me has been all right. It’s the same routine, isn’t it? Maths has been getting harder. I really don’t look forward to putting up with the subject for so many more years. Whatever job I end up getting after I’m done with school, I hope it isn’t maths related.

Petunia’s been doing fine, too, by the way. Not that we speak much. But at least from what I’ve been able to see, she seems to be well. I’m sorry about how she treated you. Hopefully she’ll come around.

I’m hoping Fairy won’t be too tired delivering these letters back and forth between us. Where is Hogwarts, anyway? Somehow I imagine it to be a faraway place. If it’s a castle as you say, won’t tourists go visiting?

Excited to hear more about your magical life!

Best,

Elizabeth

-

Dear Severus,

Thank you for the birthday wish! I get the impression that Lily probably made you write the note, but I appreciate it anyway. (And if she didn’t and you wrote it on your own—SORRY and THANK YOU!!!)

From what Lily told me, everything seems so exciting at Hogwarts. I hope you’ve been enjoying your time there? Making new friends?

Well, whatever you do, take care of yourself.

Best,

Elizabeth

---

Cokeworth, 1972

At 13 years old, Elizabeth should be very used to the routine of school. Every year, starting in September, taking breaks now and then during those months, and then summer break. It was a cycle that she had lived through repeatedly already.

The year her two friends went off to the magical boarding school, however, seemed to drag on forever.

It wasn’t as though she was constantly hung up about them; she had her own social life of course, and she spent quite some time focusing on her studies, too. It was just that every now and then, she found herself just wondering what life at Hogwarts, filled with magic, would be like. And in those moments, she longed to see Severus and Lily.

Lily did return to Cokeworth during Christmas holidays, but Severus had opted to remain at Hogwarts, much to Elizabeth’s disappointment. But she enjoyed hearing from Lily about how incredible and magical everything was at Hogwarts.

“It’s literally a school of magic, Lily,” Elizabeth commented, and they both giggled.

Another few months later, Severus finally returned along with summer. Glad that finally their little group could get together properly, Elizabeth excitedly awaited her friends’ return to the playground where they always met up.

Severus was the first to show up, and Elizabeth noted almost immediately that he did not seem very happy for someone who had just returned from a school he had been so excited to attend.

He sat down by Elizabeth and let her pull him into a hug somewhat reluctantly.

“How are you?” she asked warmly, her eyes going over him with a hint of concern.

He shrugged.

“Hogwarts not to your liking?”

“It’s fine,” he muttered.

Elizabeth turned in her seat to face him properly, eyeing him curiously. But Severus just avoided her gaze.

“C’mon, Sev. You know you can tell me. Something’s happened at school, hasn’t it?”

Severus sighed in resignation. The way he contemplated his answer made Elizabeth think that perhaps he really did want to tell her, but just didn’t know how to open up.

“Why would someone hate another person for no apparent reason?”

The question surprised Elizabeth, and her immediate reaction, rather than thinking up an answer, was to wonder what would prompt Severus to ask such a thing.

“Well…” she began slowly, thinking she needed to be careful with her response, “I think it depends on the person. I don’t see myself hating someone for no reason. And I don’t think you are that type of person, either, or you wouldn’t have asked me that question.”

Severus listened on, a frown on his face.

“But… well, some people’s personalities are just… not that pleasant, I suppose?” Elizabeth suggested with a slight grimace, feeling a little guilty that she was speaking ill of people, even though she thought she wasn’t being unreasonable about it. She looked around to check that no one was coming, then leaned in, adding, “I mean, you’ve met Petunia…”

At that, Severus let out a light snort. “I guess that makes sense.”

“So who was it at school that’s been unfriendly to you?”

Severus’ face darkened. After a moment, he began speaking, and it was as though he could not stop once he started.

He told her about James Potter and Sirius Black and their cronies, how they were in the same house as Lily, how they bullied him, verbally and physically and magically, how they made him feel small and dirty.

By the last bit of his little rant, Elizabeth’s heart was aching for her friend, her little brother. She knew that that—feeling small and dirty, worthless—was something that had plagued Severus since he was far too young. Living on Spinner’s End tended to make one feel like that… and living in a Spinner’s End household with an abusive and alcoholic father surely imbued that feeling within one’s very soul.

“And Lily? Has she helped defend you?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. But she’s in Gryffindor,” Severus grumbled.

Elizabeth understood what he meant. Even though he could make new friends in his own house, he had known Lily before starting at Hogwarts with her; he was very attached to her. Not to have her by his side must make him feel bereft.

But she could do nothing but offer sympathetically, “I’m sorry you’ve been unhappy, Sev. But I hope at least you’ve been enjoying learning magic.”

Nodding a bit glumly, Severus pulled a grass from the ground and starts peeling it into shreds.

“Elizabeth! Severus!”

The two of them looked up to find Lily running happily over. She immediately threw herself at Elizabeth, almost toppling her over.

“Sorry, I was chatting to Mum and Dad, they had so many questions about our final exams!”

The three of them spent the afternoon just chattering away, catching up on everything they missed during the school year. Elizabeth thought that her time spent at her ordinary Muggle school was nowhere as exciting as what Severus and Lily shared about Hogwarts, but surprisingly, the two of them also listened intently to whatever she had to tell them. Lily seemed a little disappointed that she didn’t get to study some of the Muggle subjects, while Severus seemed very interested in her scientific subjects.

As dinner time approached, Severus left the girls a bit earlier as he had been assigned chores by his mother. Elizabeth and Lily watched him walk away, silent for a moment.

“He was telling me about those boys who’ve been bullying him before you came,” Elizabeth told Lily quietly as Severus disappeared around the corner.

“He was?” Lily replied, the corners of her lips turning down. Then she sighed. “I suppose he needed to vent…”

“Are those boys really that awful?”

Lily nodded. “Absolutely obnoxious. But they’re popular, somehow. Potter and Black—they come from old wizarding families. You know, rich, posh… They act like they own the school.”

“Do they bully you too?”

“Not really. They usually leave me alone. But it’s annoying, because they keep picking on Sev.”

“And does Severus have other friends in his own house?”

“Yeah.” Lily winkled her nose in slight distaste. “But they’re… they’re not good people.”

“What does that mean?”

“I only learned this after arriving at Hogwarts. Slytherin is known for producing… Dark wizards. Like, they practice… Dark Magic. And apparently Severus knows a lot of curses. I didn’t know that. It’s… disturbing.”

Elizabeth frowned, processing the information. She said slowly, “We both know how Severus is, Lily. He’s not… bad.”

Lily didn’t answer for a few moments. When she finally did, it was a murmured, “I just worry.”

Silence fell upon them, broken by magpies’ caws.

“Well,” Elizabeth said eventually, “At least you’re looking out for him. I’m sure he’ll listen to you.”

Lily nodded, though she looked a bit uncertain. “I hope so…”

---

That night, Tobias Snape had one of his episodes again.

Suzanne was working late again, so Elizabeth was home alone. She was woken up shortly after she had gone to bed when there came banging on the wall.

With a huff, Elizabeth got out of bed, trying to make out what it was that the drunkard was upset about again as she trudged downstairs towards the front door. All she could hear was intelligible yelling and the sound of things being thrown around, though.

When she opened up the door, she was not surprised at all to see Severus standing outside, looking so alone and lost. He looked over to her the moment she pulled the door open, and she beckoned for him wordlessly to go over. He did so without protest.

Silently, the two of them went upstairs to Elizabeth’s room and got in bed, taking their usual positions.

For the longest time, though, neither of them fell asleep. But they didn’t speak, either. They just lay there, in the dark, listening to the argument rage on next door like it would never end.

Chapter 3

Notes:

Some of you have raised concerns about the Remus/OC tag that I've added. I don't want to spoil the story, but I thought I'd address this in the notes to say that this story has always been meant to be Severus/OC, and *grumbles* I haven't spent the past months hyperfixating on Severus and his salvation to mistreat him further in my fic.

I hope you're still willing to give me and this story a chance!

Trigger warning for this chapter: sexual harrassment, referened sexual assault attempt.

Cokeworth, 1974

In the following couple of years, Lily became increasingly worried about Severus and his Slytherin friends, often venting her frustrations to Elizabeth via letters. Elizabeth did her best to ease her friend’s worries, and at Lily’s request, always included a separate letter for Severus when she replied—Just to ground him, according to Lily—though she never received a response from him.

Severus never spent Christmas at home, while Lily was often invited to go stay with other friends during summer break. The time the three of them could spend together was becoming increasingly precious. And yet when they were able to get together in Cokeworth during summer, Severus and Lily more and more frequently argued before Elizabeth about their differing views on Dark Magic.

Elizabeth knew that Severus was becoming frustrated and lost as to how to patch things up with Lily. Even she could tell that the two of them were drifting apart. Yet she couldn’t find it in herself to really blame Severus for wanting to belong at school.

She was thankful that Severus, at least, didn’t shun her. She had been worried that his moodiness would deter him from spending time with her when Lily was not around. Perhaps it was presumptuous, but she liked to think that she did help him feel less alone and abandoned. Thankfully, he still came to her whenever his father was acting out; he let her patch up whatever wounds he sustained with her Muggle ways and stayed with her those nights. Only now, Elizabeth’s bed was becoming too cramped for them to both fit, and he would kip on the floor.

During those dark, long nights, they shared with each other their deepest fears and hurts, but also their desires and hopes for the future. They vowed to one day leave this dreary town of Cokeworth behind and forge a better life for themselves.

Some of those nights, when Severus fell asleep before Elizabeth did, she would stare at him in the dimly lit room, saddened by how he only looked peaceful in sleep.

She knew that he was strong and trying to be stronger, to lift himself up from the darkness he was born into. But she also knew how suffocated he felt all the time, though he never explicitly said it.

“You don’t judge me like Lily does about who I hang around at school,” Severus muttered one night, after the Evanses had left town to travel abroad. “Why?”

As she contemplated her answer, Elizabeth turned around in bed so she could peer down at him from the edge.

“I think… in a way… I feel like it’s not my place to comment, because I don’t actually know any of these people. I don’t even actually know what Dark Magic entails,” she said slowly.

Severus remained quiet.

After a moment, she added, “Also… I know you, Severus. I don’t believe you to be capable of evil.”

A soft huff came from the floor, and she frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“People at Hogwarts all think Slytherins are evil,” Severus replied. “Potter and Black and—”

“Why are you even considering their opinion?” Elizabeth cut in. “If Potter and his friends truly are as bad as you and Lily say they are, their opinions shouldn’t matter. So why are you defining yourself on their terms?”

That shut Severus up.

Elizabeth continued. “Like I said, I know you, Severus. Longer than any of these people. And I’d like to think that my judgement isn’t completely worthless. You’re not a bad person. I suppose you just… you just need to be careful not to cross certain lines, that’s all.”

“And what lines are those?”

“I don’t know. I’m just a Muggle.”

“You’re not ‘just’ a Muggle—”

“I’d say listen to Lily. I know you don’t like to hear her badmouthing your friends, but listen to what she’s trying to tell you beyond that. Those are the lines, I would guess.”

Severus didn’t seem entirely happy with the answer, but he also seemed to see sense in them.

Just then, there came the sound of the front door opening downstairs. Suzanne had finally come back from work, but she was not alone. There was the low murmur of a man’s voice.

“Who’s that?” Severus asked quietly.

“Mum’s been seeing someone she met at work,” Elizabeth answered. “I’ve not really met him yet but he sometimes comes back with her.”

They listened as two pairs of footsteps trudged up the stairs and entered the bedroom across from Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut, cringing in the dark, knowing what was coming. The thin walls of the house did nothing to block the adults’ moans and their bedframe’s creaks.

Utterly embarrassed, Elizabeth looked down at Severus, meeting his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered in humiliation.

Severus, however, was calm.

“It’s not your fault.”

---

Lily had been staying with a friend for the last weeks of summer, and Severus’ mother deemed him now old enough to travel to London on his own to get the Hogwarts Express, so in the end, it was Elizabeth who rode the train with him to King’s Cross to see him off. She nearly yelped when Severus dragged her through the wall that led to platform 9 ¾, and then she found herself staring at the huge space that had not existed a second ago.

“What the…?”

The corner of Severus’ lips quirked up ever so slightly at her reaction.

The platform was crowded, and no one paid them any attention. Severus stood by Elizabeth’s side silently as she took everything in—the train, students dressed in Hogwarts robes, screeching owls of all colors and sizes, wizards and witches waving their wands and casting spells…

Elizabeth realized that her mouth was hanging open and snapped her jaw shut.

“Can’t believe it’s real?”

She turned to see Severus smirking at her.

“I—I mean… I’ve listened to you and Lily talk about magic, I’ve seen you do it, even. But actually seeing all this…”

Severus looked over where she was staring at a witch directing her son’s school trunk to float towards the train. The boy was carrying what was unmistakably a broomstick... that had a seat and footrests on it.

“It’s great, isn’t it?”

Elizabeth nodded dumbly. But she was jolted out of her reverie by a loud voice.

“Oi! Snivellus! What are you up to, harassing a pretty girl?”

Beside Elizabeth, Severus tensed. The two of them looked over to see two boys strutting over to them, one quite handsome with a carefree air about him, and the other grinning boyishly, his dark hair growing all over the place.

Subtly, Severus shifted on his feet so his body partially shielded Elizabeth’s.

Sirius Black’s eyes roamed over her features with interest. “You don’t go to Hogwarts, do you? A beauty like you would no doubt leave an impression.”

“Back off, Black.”

Understanding washed over Elizabeth. She looked from Black to the boy next to him, and she knew in her gut who that was.

“You’re a Muggle, aren’t you?” James Potter asked, his tone friendly.

“Don’t tell me you’re with Snivellus here? What kind of misfortune must have befallen you to have to endure that?”

Elizabeth drew a deep breath and gently stepped around Severus just before he could retort.

“I happen to be Severus’ friend,” she replied calmly. “And I know who you are. I would prefer that you leave us alone.”

Black’s smirk only widened. He cocked an eyebrow. “A friend, you say? You can do better, darling. Much better. In fact you really should find friends who… suit you better.”

“I suppose you mean I’m not worthy of being her friend either, then?”

The group turned to find Lily standing to the side, looking annoyed.

“Lily,” Elizabeth sighed as the girl gave her a quick hug, relieved. “How was the rest of summer for you?”

“Good,” Lily answered curtly with a tight smile. Quietly, she added, “I’ll take care of those two. Just take Severus elsewhere.”

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. Lily planted herself before Black and Potter with her hands planted on her waist.

“So. Where were we? Ah yes, worthy friends.”

As Black began to retort and Potter attempted to reason with Lily, Elizabeth tugged Severus away from the three of them. They slipped into a corner some distance away, where she hoped to say a proper goodbye, but Severus had become distracted. He was looking around a little nervously, as though worried that more people would notice him standing with her.

“I should go,” he piped up suddenly. Then his eyes met Elizabeth’s, and he faltered. “I’m sorry, it’s just… If my housemates see you… they uh…”

It took Elizabeth a moment to understand. But she remembered. His house was famous for not liking Muggles—people like her.

“Oh. I see,” she said, blinking and taking a step back from him. “Yeah.”

Severus looked guilty, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he told her curtly, without looking her in the eyes, “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth replied automatically. “I’ll see you next year.”

He nodded and started walking away.

Elizabeth watched him as he disappeared into the crowd, feeling a bit crestfallen, left alone in that little corner. Back in Cokeworth, for so many years, nothing came between them. They had this understanding of each other that surpassed language… because they belonged in the same world, the bleak and dreary world of Spinner’s End. It was something that only she and Severus shared, something that even Lily was not part of.

But now, for the first time, Elizabeth was realizing that that wasn’t true anymore. In fact, it had ceased to be true since Severus had gone off to attend Hogwarts—or perhaps it had never been true at all. As Severus had been so eager to make clear to Petunia Evans years ago, wizards and Muggles were different.

The thought made Elizabeth feel small.

Thankfully, before she could start to feel too bad about herself, Lily appeared again.

“I can’t believe Black and Potter,” she huffed, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Their audacity knows no bounds, I swear.”

Elizabeth smiled, and it felt forced. Lily didn’t seem to notice though.

“I’ve just put my things away in a compartment. Where’s Severus gone?”

“He went to find his friends, I think. He might already be on the train.”

“And he just left you here?”

“I’m here to see him off, not the other way around,” Elizabeth replied with a small laugh. “Although, come to think of it, how do I get off this platform?”

“The same way you came. Just walk through the wall.”

“Right. Okay.”

Lily looked around for a clock to check the time. It was three minutes till eleven.

“I need to go too. The train is always on time.” She threw her arms around Elizabeth, squeezing her tightly. “It’s strange to see you here on platform 9 ¾, but I’m glad you came, Liz.”

“I’m glad I caught you,” Elizabeth said, squeezing her back.

“Safe journey home. Good luck at school. I’ll write to you.”

“Same to you, Lily. Have fun, be safe. Look out for Severus, won’t you? Even if he frustrates you.”

Lily sighed. “I’ll try.”

“He needs you, Lils,” Elizabeth said with a warm smile. “More than you know.”

---

Cokeworth, 1975

Looking back, Elizabeth could just believe that that day in London was just the beginning of the miserable year that followed.

It was so bad that by the time summer finally came around, she was physically unwell. And while she had hoped that the fact would go by unnoticed by her friends when they came home, she could see Severus’ eyes narrow almost immediately when he saw her.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “What’s happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. Have you looked yourself in the mirror?” Severus picked up her wrist, circling it easily between his thumb and index finger. “How much weight have you lost, and why?”

Trying not to flinch at his tone, Elizabeth twisted her wrist from his grasp. “I just didn’t do so well at school and had to put in some extra effort studying, all right?”

Severus didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t press. He just stared at her, his brows furrowed.

“Come on,” Elizabeth urged, “Let’s go meet up with Lily.”

She did her best to hide what was ailing her all summer. Lily was more tactful than Severus upon seeing Elizabeth’s sickly appearance, but now and then, Elizabeth would catch her exchanging worried looks with him.

Lily, after staying just a couple of weeks in Cokeworth, was once again off with her family travelling in August, leaving Elizabeth alone with Severus. Though Severus never asked further questions, Elizabeth was aware that he was observing her very closely. She tried her best to act normal, but deep down, she knew that he would find out the truth eventually.

And when it did happen, it was another tumultuous night in the Snape household. Elizabeth, however, was not there to greet Severus at her door when he came over this time; it took a few minutes for her to come get the door after he had started knocking, and when she did, she was shaking.

“S-Severus,” she greeted, trying and failing to fully hide the look of dismay and relief in her eyes, “Come in.”

“Who’s this?” came a man’s voice behind her.

Elizabeth swallowed, turning around a little rigidly. “This is Severus. He lives next door. He sometimes comes to stay with us.” She looked back at Severus, hitching up a smile. “This is Rob. Mum’s… boyfriend.”

Severus nodded silently. His eyes were sharp, however.

“Let’s go upstairs, I’m tired,” Elizabeth said.

She led the way up to her room and Severus followed. The moment the door closed, Severus spoke.

“Where’s your mum?”

Elizabeth sat down on her bed, pulling the covers, which had half fallen onto the floor, back up. “…at work.”

“What were you doing that took you so long to answer the door?”

“I was… I was asleep.”

“Tell me the truth, Elizabeth.”

“I am.”

Severus’ eyes hardened. “You’re not. Your bed’s a mess, and your shirt’s been stretched—someone’s been pulling at it, hard. There are red marks forming on your neck as we speak. Elizabeth—was that piece of filth trying to force himself on you? Because I will kill him.”

He made to open the door, but Elizabeth grabbed him.

“Sev—don’t,” she pleaded in a desperate whisper.

“How long has this been going on? Tell me the truth,” he said, turning back around. “And does your mum know?”

“She doesn’t,” Elizabeth breathed, dropping her hands and sitting down on her bed, her head hanging.

Severus moved to crouch before her. “Tell me, Elizabeth.”

Bracing herself, Elizabeth drew a shaky breath, organizing her thoughts. She felt scared; ashamed to have to admit what had been going on. But she knew that Severus would not let go unless he got the full truth.

“Mum… introduced me to him shortly after the school year started, and he started spending more time here. He seemed nice enough at the beginning, but then I noticed that sometimes he would… just stare at me. I didn’t think much of it, but the look he had in his eyes…” She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. “And then I noticed that he would seem to find excuses to… touch me in passing. My… my arm… my legs… my waist… And then—and then…”

Elizabeth’s hands were shaking now, even though she did her best to suppress the tremors. Severus remained still, still crouched before her, his hands planted on the bed on either side of her.

“A few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, and he was… he was standing right by my bed. I thought I was dreaming, the first time it happened… but it happened again. And I just had the feeling that… that it’d been happening more often than I was aware. And… and just now… he tried… he tried to…”

Her voice trailed off as a lump rose in her throat, making her choke a little.

“It’s all right, you don’t have to continue,” Severus murmured.

His voice was calm, cool even, but Elizabeth could tell from his expression that he was livid.

“Your mum doesn’t know about this?” he asked.

Elizabeth flinched at the question. “No…” she whispered, “I don’t know… I don’t know how to tell her. And whenever she’s home… he’s here too.”

Severus stood, making her flinch again. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up, apprehensive.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Take… take care of it how?”

“Never you mind. Now go to sleep, Elizabeth. It’ll make you feel better. I’ll be here on the floor, but I doubt that disgusting flobberworm will come tonight.”

---

When Elizabeth woke up the following morning, Severus was awake already, and was lying on the floor, staring up the ceiling. When he noticed that she had woken, he turned his head slightly.

“How are you feeling?”

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, then replied honestly, “I don’t know.”

The two of them left her room and made their way downstairs together. There was the smell of coffee, and Elizabeth figured that Suzanne had finally come home.

But Suzanne wasn’t in the kitchen. It was Rob.

Elizabeth froze for a moment at the foot of the stairs, blocking Severus’ way.

“Good morning,” Rob bid the two of them pleasantly.

Behind Elizabeth, she felt Severus place his hand on her back soothingly. She moved out of his way so he could get down from the staircase.

“Where—where’s Mum?” she asked.

“Upstairs, still sleeping.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I’ll be right back,” Severus suddenly said very quietly beside her so only she could hear. Then, nodding at Rob in greeting, he walked away, making for the front door.

Elizabeth wanted to tell him not to go, not to leave her alone with this monster. She couldn’t believe that Severus would choose to leave now, when he knew she would fall prey to Rob.

However, at the door, Severus threw her a firm look before exiting.

Elizabeth was about to turn around and march right back upstairs when Rob spoke again.

“I didn’t know you’re such a slut.”

She spun on her heels, feeling nauseous. “Excuse me?”

Rob smirked at her. “How long have you been letting that little monkey fuck you? And here I was thinking your pussy would be fresh and tight.”

Chapter 4

Cokeworth, 1975

A chill ran through Elizabeth and the nausea worsened. It was as though an invisible hand had gripped her stomach and was squeezing it tightly. She knew she should be angry, but her entire mind and body were frozen by fear and disgust.

“How… how dare you,” she stammered.

Rob got to his feet and started approaching her. She stepped back, screaming in her mind for her legs to move, to run, but they wouldn’t budge.

“But you know what? I’d still very much like to find out myself. I don’t mind used goods, you see. And especially not when they’re still… like new.”

Just when Elizabeth was gathering herself enough to prepare to scream so she could hopefully wake her mother, there came a series of knocks on the door.

Rob froze, and Elizabeth quickly went to answer it.

It was Severus.

He took in her expression, and his eyes darkened a little. “I was gone for a minute and he’s onto you?” he muttered.

“Please don’t leave me alone with him.” Elizabeth didn’t care that she was begging. She was desperate. “Let’s just get out of here… please.”

A part of her was surprised when Severus took her hand and squeezed. He was not one to initiate physical touches.

“We’ll go out in a moment,” he said. And, off Elizabeth’s anguish, he explained, “I said I’ll take care of it, and I will.”

Rob came around the corner then, a scornful look appearing on his face when he saw that Severus had come back. But he didn’t say anything; rather, he went upstairs. After a few moments, there was the sound of the shower turning on upstairs.

Severus led the way to the kitchen with a nervous Elizabeth in tow.

“What do you mean by ‘take care of it’, Sev?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he looked leisurely around the kitchen, his eyes zeroing in on a mug on the table.

“This his coffee?”

Elizabeth frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

Severus reached out and felt the mug. “It’s still warm.” And then, without waiting for a reply, he pulled a glass vial of clear liquid from his pocket, uncorked it, and dumped the contents into the coffee inside.

“Severus! What was that? What are you doing?”

Severus was not fussed at all. He swished the coffee a few times and left the mug where it was, putting away the vial before he finally looked up at Elizabeth. “It’s not going to harm him. Don’t worry. Just watch what happens.”

Footsteps came down the stairs before Elizabeth could protest further. A groggy Suzanne appeared.

“Hello, kids,” she bade them, used to seeing Severus in her kitchen in the morning. She trudged over to the counter and, finding half a pot of coffee that Rob had made, poured herself a mug.

The silence that hung in the room felt too pregnant to Elizabeth. She had to force herself not to squirm.

Suzanne, though, was oblivious. She put two pieces of bread in the toaster and produced a jar of jam from the refrigerator. While waiting for the toaster, she sipped her coffee, leaning against the counter.

“Your parents doing all right, Severus? Your mum okay?” she asked.

It was nothing out of the ordinary. Suzanne knew that Severus tended to come over when Tobias Snape had one of his episodes. It had become somewhat of a routine for her to ask these questions, even though it meant nothing. It was just her attempt to show that she wasn’t completely apathetic to the Snape family’s plight.

Severus shrugged. “Same as always.”

“You two up to anything today? Meeting up with Lily again?”

“She’s out of town. Travelling with her family.”

“Again? Where to?”

“France.”

“Hmm.”

It was all meaningless chit-chat, just to fill the space. Suzanne didn’t know enough about Lily, Severus, or indeed Elizabeth, to hold a truly productive conversation with them. Although in the past couple of years, her income had steadied enough so that she and Elizabeth didn’t have to worry about going hungry anymore, she was kept busy by long hours of work and did not have the time or energy to learn about her daughter’s life and the people in it.

Elizabeth couldn’t complain. She knew that her mother worked so much to provide for her. But sometimes she wished they could spend more time together and actually be a family.

Suzanne’s toast popped up from the toaster then, and she began to serve herself breakfast.

“Either of you want toast?” she asked offhandedly.

Elizabeth wanted to say no; she was too queasy to eat anything. To her shock, though, Severus piped up.

“That would be great.”

Suzanne was slightly taken aback, too, judging by the quick glance she threw his way. But she just smiled and popped two more pieces of bread into the toaster.

The shower upstairs turned off, and Elizabeth felt dread spread through her. She glanced at Severus, not knowing what he had planned.

Suzanne had now sat down at the table, spreading jam over her toast. After a moment, she looked up in confusion. “Why are you two just standing there?”

At that, Elizabeth and Severus each pulled out a chair and sat down.

Rob came downstairs then, shirtless, his skin still damp from his shower. Elizabeth had to suppress a shiver when she felt his eyes roam over her. He continued looking around, though, searching for—

“Your coffee,” Severus offered, holding out his mug.

“Oh. Uh, thanks.”

Elizabeth tried not to stare as Rob took the mug and took a gulp of the lukewarm, spiked coffee.

“You’re on late shift today, aren’t you?” Suzanne asked him, biting into her toast and completely oblivious of what was going on.

“Yeah. I should head out by noon. Need to swing by my flat to change and pick some stuff up at Tony’s.”

Silently, Elizabeth tried to catch Severus’ eye. She still had no idea what he had put in Rob’s coffee. Severus was not paying any attention to her at all, though.

“What do you do for work—sir?” he asked out of the blue.

Elizabeth stared. It was completely unlike him to make small talk with a stranger like this.

Rob threw Severus a look. “Bartender. At the White Horse.”

Somehow, Severus seemed intrigued. “And how did you and Suzanne meet?”

Suzanne was now looking at Severus with an eyebrow raised. She opened her mouth to speak, but Rob beat her to it.

“She’s a regular at the bar. Comes in for a quick pint after work every now and then. Don’t you, sweetheart?”

“That’s nice. How long have you been together?”

“Since last spring—” Suzanne started to answer, but Rob spoke over her.

“A year and five months.”

Both Elizabeth and Suzanne stared at Rob. That was an oddly specific answer.

“Oh, a while,” Severus continued as though nothing was wrong. “I’m surprised I didn’t get to meet you last summer, then.”

“Well, I didn’t even introduce him to Lizzy until quite a few months after we started dating,” Suzanne supplied with a small smile. “You’re very curious about Rob, aren’t you, Severus? I think this is the most I’ve heard you speak in one go.”

Severus’ responding smile was tight. “Elizabeth’s happy that you’ve found someone that makes you happy,” he said with a shrug, as though to brush off the importance of his questions.

At this, Elizabeth almost frowned. She most definitely did not say such a thing to Severus.

But Severus’ eyes were back on Rob, his gaze hardened this time. “What do you think of Elizabeth?”

“Makes me hard as fuck.”

There was a beat of silence. It took Rob a moment to realize what he had said, and his face paled immediately. Meanwhile, Suzanne’s eyes widened slightly as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“…Excuse me?” she whispered, lowering her toast.

“And what would you like to do to her?” Severus pressed on, his voice eerily calm.

“Fuck her tight little cunt till it bleeds and hear her scream.”

Another beat of silence. This time, it was deafening.

“…was that what you were trying to do her last night, when I came over?”

Rob’s face was pallid by now. There was panic in his eyes even as he answered, as though he couldn’t help it, “Yes.”

BANG.

Suzanne stood up, her chair falling over. She was staring at Rob, utterly aghast.

Severus stood, too, and he pulled Elizabeth up with him.

“We’ll leave you to talk,” he said quietly, leading Elizabeth out of the kitchen, and then the house, with him.

---

Elizabeth broke his hold off when they reached the playground they always hung out at with Lily.

“What was that?”

Severus looked back at her steadily. “I just made him tell the truth.”

“How… what…”

He pulled out the empty vial that had contained the clear liquid from his pocket. “This is Veritaserum. It’s a truth potion.”

For a moment, Elizabeth just stared at the vial. There was too much going on in her mind for her to come up with a response.

In the end, she asked dumbly, “I thought you couldn’t do magic outside of school?”

“I didn’t do magic.” Severus stuffed the vial back into his pocket. “I brewed this while at school.”

But that was not the point, Elizabeth suddenly remembered with a shake of her head. She was too shaken up by what had just happened, on top of everything that had been going on, to speak.

Severus seemed to sense this. He grabbed her wrist again and pulled her over beneath a tree, making her sit down and plopping himself down beside her.

“It’ll be all right. If your mum has common sense—which, judging by her reaction just now, she does—she’ll throw him out, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“No it won’t,” Elizabeth muttered, “How… how do I face Mum after this?”

Severus frowned. “Elizabeth…” he said, pausing so she looked up at him, “This wasn’t your fault.”

Elizabeth looked down again, pulling at a piece of grass on the ground.

“If anything, your mum should have known better than to bring a strange man home when her sixteen-year-old daughter lives there.”

Not knowing what to say, Elizabeth kept silent, her fingers still working on the piece of grass. Severus reached a hand out to cover hers, stilling her compulsive movements.

“Elizabeth,” he said quietly, “What matters is that you are safe.”

Drawing a deep breath and trying to clear her mind, she eventually nodded.

---

At the end of the month, Elizabeth made the trip to London with Severus again to see him off. Lily’s father was driving her, and they promised to meet up at King’s Cross.

While Suzanne had, as Severus predicted, thrown Rob out and severed all ties with him after that day, she had also become distant to Elizabeth, just as she had feared.

“She doesn’t blame you,” Severus said one morning after Suzanne had made a quick excuse to leave the house upon seeing them come downstairs. “She just doesn’t know how to face you. That was guilt on her face, not resentment.”

And Elizabeth could only take his word for it. But even as she clung to his reassurance, she knew that the rift that existed between her and her only family had irrevocably grown wider.

Elizabeth and Severus met up with Lily before they went through the barrier to reach platform 9 ¾. Mr. Evans, Lily’s father, who had come alone with her, smiled kindly at his daughter’s friends when they approached. Sharing small talk, they approached the barrier between the Muggle and magical platforms together, now expertly walking through the wall.

As Mr. Evans hugged Lily goodbye, Elizabeth reached for Severus’ hand and gave it a small squeeze.

“Thank you for everything,” she told him quietly. “Take care of yourself at school.”

“Take care of yourself while I’m gone,” he replied.

Elizabeth hitched a smile, and they fell silent for a moment.

Finally, she gave his elbow a small pat. “Go. I know you’re anxious to find your friends,” she bade.

Severus hesitated for a moment before nodding at her and taking his leave.

When Elizabeth turned around, she found Lily standing next to her, frowning at Severus’ retreating figure.

“Sugarcoating it doesn’t change the fact, you know,” Lily muttered. “You know full well that he just doesn’t want to be seen by his so-called friends standing with you because you’re a Muggle. And he knows full well that being friends with a Muggle is no big deal. But he just keeps trying to… to…”

“He’s trying to fit in,” Elizabeth replied simply.

Lily looked at her in frustration. “That doesn’t make what he’s doing right.”

“Lily… You need to put yourself in his shoes. You’re a popular girl, you have no trouble making friends even when you make enemies of Potter and Black. But Severus… he’s told me how people view Slytherins, and on top of that, he’s being actively bullied. You can’t blame him for needing some sense of belonging when his best friend is not in the same house as him.”

“Best friend…” Lily sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re still that.”

“Don’t say that… He’s not one to talk about it, but you mean a lot to him, Lils. More than you know.”

“It’s… is not that simple.” Lily lowered her voice, looking around to check that no one else is listening. “There’s a war brewing, Liz, a magical war. A Dark Wizard’s gained power and his goal is to domineer Muggles, because he sees them as lowly beings. And Severus, his ‘friends’? They’re all lining up to be his followers. Some of the older ones already are. Think Nazis. I’m serious.”

Elizabeth blanched slightly at the comparison. “But… but it’s Severus we’re talking about. He wouldn’t…”

Lily shook her head, a dark look on her face. “I’m not so sure about that, Liz.”

They stood there, both staring at the crowd on the platform, their minds filled with heavy thoughts.

Finally, Lily let out a great sigh. She turned a little and opened her arms for a hug. When Elizabeth responded, she murmured into her ear, “This war… it’s magical, but it very much pertains to Muggles too. I wish there was a way to keep you informed.  Just… be careful out there, okay? Cokeworth should be relatively safe for now, but… If you notice anything or anyone strange, just be vigilant. I’ll write to you and keep you updated.”

They pulled apart, and Elizabeth couldn’t help but take Lily’s hand.

“Lily—if things really are as bad as you make them out to be… please, please don’t give up on Severus. He’ll need you more than ever, even if he doesn’t realize it. He’ll need you to pull him back on the right track, to remind him of who he is.”

Lily’s eyes dropped to their joined hands. She sighed again. “I’ll try.”

That was enough to make Elizabeth relax. She nodded and let Lily go.

---

After hearing Lily’s warning about the war, Elizabeth began to pay more attention to news. It was surprisingly easy to identify incidents that had to do with magic, she found; usually, they were reports of freak accidents, articles filled with question marks, or even just passing remarks of strange flashes of light.

And she could tell that the war was indeed becoming more intense, as more and more of these incidents appeared on the news. Most of them happened in big cities, which she figured was why Lily thought Cokeworth was still safe for the time being. But it did not escape her notice that some incidents occurred in the middle of nowhere.

To Elizabeth, learning about the wizarding war was both a curse and a blessing. It was a curse because now she was constantly anxious about the war’s developments and she had no reliable way of getting updates; it was a blessing because it distracted her from her mother’s continued aloofness, which otherwise would surely drive her mad.

She had never been close to Suzanne in her memory. But the two of them had always been civil to each other; they had a mutual understanding about their relationship.

Now, though… Suzanne was bordering on outright not speaking to Elizabeth. Some of the days, she wouldn’t even really acknowledge her.

Without Severus by her side to insist that she did nothing wrong, Elizabeth found herself questioning if she was responsible for driving away her mother’s happiness. Suzanne had been so lonely and exhausted for so long after Elizabeth’s father died. Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel she had ruined her mother’s reprieve from the harshness of reality.

As the weeks turned into months, Elizabeth was resigned to accept that perhaps this mother-daughter relationship had hit its limit. By next year, she would be of age and hopefully be working.

It was time to think about her future, she thought. It was time for her to take initiative and do what she and Severus had promised themselves what they would do—fight to live a better life and perhaps leave Cokeworth behind some day.