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The Moment It Began by sindie11 [Reviews - 2]

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Christmas Day was almost over. After Severus had gone home, Lily helped her parents clean up the kitchen and sitting room, as empty plates and shreds of wrapping paper were a happy reminder of the pleasantries of the day. Lily couldn't help but wonder why Severus had been so hesitant to spend more time alone with her in her bedroom. Was the excuse that her parents were close really all there was to it? Also, Lily frowned to herself, unable to understand why Petunia hadn't come down from her room since several hours earlier. She knew Severus and Petunia had never gotten along, but still, Petunia was her sister, and as Lily's relationship had grown with Severus these past few months, she now realized what little she had left with Petunia was dwindling and dying. Her thoughts were interrupted when her mother spoke, however.

"Well, that was certainly a nice Christmas, wasn't it?" Mrs. Evans asked, pushing her red hair out of her green eyes.

Lily looked at her mother as she spoke. She had inherited many of her features from her mother, although Mrs. Evans was wider in the hips and a good twenty-five years older than her daughter. Smiling slightly, Lily replied, "Yeah, it was. Thanks for inviting Severus over, Mum. I think he appreciated having someone to spend the holiday with."

"Of course," Mrs. Evans replied, in the middle a scrubbing the dishes. "Would you hand me that bowl, please, dear? Thank you. Anyway, I'm glad he came. Severus really seems like a good boy, even though he wasn't always as friendly as he's been recently... not that I blame him, the poor boy. With growing up in a home like that..." she trailed off, shaking her head sadly.

Lily just nodded, not really intent on discussing the details of Severus's home life. What little she had told her parents was all she felt comfortable revealing, and she knew Severus wouldn't like it if she went telling her parents too much information. He was a deeply private person, and even with him slowly warming to her family, Lily knew he could just as easily recoil if one of her parents said the wrong thing next time they saw him, good intentions or not.

When Lily was finished helping her parents, she headed upstairs. At first, she was planning on heading directly to her room, as she was feeling tired and the thought of her bed was welcoming, but as she walked past Petunia's door, she paused. She leaned against the door, listening for any sign of movement. Had her sister already gone to bed? Lily heard a rustling sound, which might have been the bedcovers moving, but Lily proceeded to knock softly on the door anyway.

"Who is it?" Petunia's moody voice asked a second later.

"Tuney, it's me, Lily."

"What do you want?" came Petunia's voice again, sounding more irritated.

"Can we just... talk?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"Why would I want to talk to you?" Petunia sneered. Lily heard footsteps, and the door opened a fraction, Petunia's face glaring out from the narrow opening. "Well?" she demanded.

"Tuney-"

"Oh, stop with that ridiculous nickname, Lily. We're not children anymore... although, maybe you are, what with still hanging around that dirty Snape boy you've been latched at the hip to ever since you were nine and going to that freakish school to learn card tricks."

Lily reddened a little with indignation. Still, Petunia was her sister. "All right, Petunia," she said pointedly. "Let's talk reasonably, like adults, all right? For your information, I'm nearly of age in the wizarding world. I'll be seventeen next month, and then I'll be an adult."

"What's your point, Lily?" huffed Petunia impatiently. "You know I don't care a whit about that crazy world you live in."

"Oh, but I think you do," Lily countered. "You've been jealous ever since you knew I could do magic and you couldn't. You wanted to go to Hogwarts, too. You're just jealous and bitter. Why can't you be happy for me instead of scorning your own sister, Petunia? I've tried to be kind to you, in spite of your rudeness over the years, and now, I don't see you for months, and when we finally get the chance, you hide up in your room."

"Don't you dare blame me," Petunia hissed, the door opening farther. "Why would I want to spend any time around you, especially when you've made it plainly clear that you would rather be with that Snape boy? You're always with him nowadays. He bloody had to be part of our family Christmas... our family, Lily. He's not part of our family. He's treated me horribly since that day in the park."

Balling her fists, Lily turned away, but not before saying, on the verge of tears, "You were my sister, Petunia."

Unable to subject herself to further hurt, Lily went to her room and closed the door, collapsing onto her bed. Why did Petunia have to be so cruel, so bitter? Why was it so difficult for others to see in Severus what she saw? It was true that Severus had been mean to Petunia on many occasions, but how could he be expected to be kind when so few had ever shown him any kindness? Petunia knew as much as her parents about Severus's home life, and it was enough to know that it had been awful. Petunia had been raised by loving parents, given everything she had always wanted... or had she? As Lily thought about the broken relationship between her sister and her, she realized that in making certain choices, something always needed to be sacrificed. Petunia would never admit it, but she did crave to be included in the magical world Lily and Severus shared.

That's hardly my fault, Lily thought. I can't help being a witch any more than she can help not being one.

In choosing Severus, Lily knew she had severed her bond with Petunia. She had known it for years, but somehow, maybe foolishly, she had held on to a small shred of hope that Petunia would come around. As Lily lay on her bed that night, she felt she ought not complain, but she couldn't help the feeling of bitterness that was creeping inside. Severus, apparently, wasn't the only one with problems.

x x x x x

Severus spent the following week mostly visiting his mother or with Lily. Eileen certainly seemed to have made progress, and even Dr. Lukvar told Severus as much. While Severus was glad for this, he hoped the facility wouldn't be too hasty in releasing his mother. A premature release would only make matters more complicated, especially with Severus at school.

"Promise me you won't do anything rash," Severus said to his mother on New Year's Eve. "I know you're doing much better, but if you want to come home, at least send me a message before you make a decision."

"Don't worry, Severus," Eileen said for the second time, a slight irritation creeping into her voice.

Severus had noticed that his mother was speaking with more confidence and in her naturally impatient tone lately and with more frequence. A few short months ago, he never imagined she would have made this much progress, although he doubted she would ever make a full recovery.

"All right," Severus sighed. "It's just-"

"Severus, really," Eileen said, smirking much like he was accustomed to doing, "I'm the parent here, not the other way around. I'll be fine."

"Well, okay," Severus said doubtfully. He couldn't help adding in his head, If that were really the case, I wouldn't be the one having to look out for you. Besides, you have no idea that I'm really much older than sixteen.

When that infernal man, Roger, made his presence known at the door, Severus knew it was time to leave. Reluctantly, he wished his mother farewell and kissed her on the cheek before being ushered out of her room.

x x x x x

The new year came, 1977. Severus and Lily returned to Hogwarts the following day with the rest of the students. School resumed, and in the following weeks, both Severus and Lily came of age in the wizarding world. Before they knew it, January had passed.

Ever anxious for his sixth year to be finished, Severus mentally counted down the remaining days until the end of June. He endured the continuous pranks of the Marauders and the glares and sneering comments from his housemates, but ever since Mulciber's expulsion, none of Severus's old friends had tried anything on him. He wasn't foolish enough to let his guard down, though, and neither did he think he had seen the end of their cruelty.

Whatever regrets Lily had left regarding the gap between Petunia and herself weren't brought up. She wasn't sure what to feel about the separation. When she was at Hogwarts, she was away from the Muggle world and would easily find herself caught up in her life among witches and wizards.

As their sixth year progressed, schoolwork grew more demanding and time-consuming. Severus seriously began to wonder how much longer he could continue to endure forcing himself to attend classes he had already lived through once. In addition to classes, an official from the Ministry started coming to give Apparition lessons to the sixth year students. Severus had to pretend to have difficulty in Apparating initially, as he knew it would be highly suspicious if he got it right on the first try.

The weather began to grow warmer and the daylight longer. Severus was sitting in the chamber he still had to himself, reflecting on the past several weeks, finding that his life was finally on a track he wanted. He felt secure in his relationship with Lily, no longer needing to worry that she might leave him for James Potter. He had the respect of his teachers. His mother was recovering.

Severus should have known, then, that the old saying, "It's too good to be true," would ring true indeed. His pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a summons from the fireplace.

"Severus, please come to my office immediately," came Albus Dumbledore's voice, sounding concerned and rushed.

The Moment It Began by sindie11 [Reviews - 2]

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