Another Witch in Spinners End?
1966
“She’s a witch.” They were sat beneath their favourite tree just off of the park and she’d been staring at the ruby coloured haired girl for at least fifteen minutes now, trying to distract herself from boredom as her brother read beside her, and was certain of her claim. (I know her.) “Hmm?” Her brother finally raised his eyes from his book to look up at her, “Sorry I wasn’t listening, what did you say?” Typical.
“I said that she’s a witch.” Trying to point subtly as she said this, so as to not draw the girls and her friends’ (sisters’?) attention (No! Look at me, I know you.). “The red headed one, look at the flowers as she goes past them!” (Familiar, memories. His memories of-) She could hear that her voice had gone higher in excitement but she didn’t care, they weren’t the only Wixen in their smelly town, they weren’t alone anymore. Well, so long as they could befriend her anyway. (I know you!)
She could feel Severus’ eyes slide from her to the girl she was staring at and they both watched as the next time the red girl walked past a patch of flowers, they all opened and seemed to follow her with their petals. (Watching her, he was watching her chil-)
“See?! She’s a witch! She’s like us!” (Of course she is. She’s-) She wasn’t the only one excited about this new thing, she could, out of the corner of her eye, see Severus slowly starting to smile.
“You’re right. Do you think she knows? Or should..should we go tell her?” (She doesn’t. Not yet. Too early. Nine, she was nine. Not six. Too early. Mu-) He sounded nervous on the last part of his sentence, understandable as she was too. (Of course she is. That’s her-That’s his-that’s harr-Lily.)
“Maybe we could go tell her? You know, just in case she doesn’t know? But what if that other girl isn’t like us, wouldn’t us telling her be breaking the..the umm, the thingy mother told us about?” What is it called again? (She’s not. Not like us.Cruel. So cruel. Always cruel. Cupboard under the stairs. Didn’t love me. Didn’t love Harry. Didn’t love Lily. Cruel, always cruel. Why. Why. Why. -)
“Umm I think it was statue something, like statue of something? I’m not sure, I can’t remember. Maybe they’re family? Then it wouldn’t matter if we told her too, we wouldn’t get in trouble for it.” He didn’t sound so certain but she knew why so she didn’t mention it. (Freak!) They both had heard the stories from their mother, ever since she knew they could understand what she was saying she’d told them all about what happens to little Wixen who break the rules and tell the muggles what they are, what they can do. They know the nasty wizards will take them away, take them from mother (father too but they wouldn’t mind never seeing him again), take them away from each other which was the main reason they’d never even thought of telling anyone else.
“Mmhm, maybe we should ask mother? We could always tell them another day, they’ve been here every day this week so I don’t think they’ll stop coming for a while.” She didn’t want to wait for their mother's approval, (she wanted to know her. Know her mothe-)She wanted to go up to them now, wanted to not feel so alone anymore. Looking at her brother she could tell he felt the same, they were both so impatient to finally have someone like them, someone who wouldn’t call them freaks and devil spawns for what they were born as. (I had her eyes.)
“Ok, we’ll ask tonight, after father falls asleep, and if she says it’s ok, we’ll talk to them tomorrow if they’re here.” If father overheard them talking about their magic it would be a beating for them both, and they knew it. (Just like the Dursleys, just like aunt petunia, uncle Vernon, Dudley. It hurts stop. Not the cupboard please! Please! I’ll be good.) Best to wait for him to drink himself to sleep, ask mother to come to their room (the room furthest from the living room, where father would be asleep) and ask her then.
“Yeah, yeah ok we’ll do that.”
—————
/Two hours later\
“Sev...” she needed to tell him.
She saw his head rise once again, the first in nearly an hour, the first time since the two girls left. He looked worried. Always worried for her. (“You have your mothers' eyes.” — “You’re raising him like a pig for slaughter!”)
“You alright? What’s wrong?” He always knows, always looking after me. (“Snape was trying to save me?” Always. First match. Counter curse. Quirrell.“Expelliarmus!” Sirius. Werewolf. Spy. “Close your mind.” Should have trusted him. Sirius! Doe. Lilys doe. Sword. Nagini. Memories.Memories.Memori-)
“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just…” She doesn’t know why it’s so hard to tell him. She’s told him before. Always has. But it feels different this time. Important. She tries again, “Earlier, that girl, you know the red headed one?” She’s got to start somewhere, may as well start there.
“It’s been what, an hour? Yeah, course I know which girl.” He’s smiling as he says it. Not because he finds what he said funny, but because he’s worried. He’s worried because She’s acting weird, serious. He knows that She likes it when he smiles, that She feels safer when he’s happy. So, he’s trying to comfort her in the only way he can right now.
“What about her?” What about her indeed. (Mum! Screaming. She’s always screaming.)
“You know how sometimes I… I see things?” That’s putting it a bit lightly, she doesn’t see things she lives them. It’s like two lives are happening at once. She’ll be sat with Severus talking for one second, and the next she’s-he’s-she’s being sneered at by a familiar face, familiar eyes. (Professor Severus sna-)
“Yeah, your ‘splinter’ thing, right? Did it happen with the girl?” (Lily, her name was Lily.) Her ‘splinter thing’ as he put it, is confusing. It’s like she’s supposed to know what’s happening in her ‘visions’ but half the time she doesn’t. It’s like she’s lived it, and then got hit in the head by father (again). She can put bits and pieces together, can even remember some of the people's names that she sees in them. But she can’t remember enough.
“Yeah, it did. But it was different this time. Like she’s important. To both of us.” It’s more than that. But how is she supposed to say ‘You loved her once, when I was a boy and alone, and you were my lonely protector. She was your sister in everything but blood. But you lost her. She was my mother. I heard her scream and plead and beg for my life. I loved her. But I never even knew her.’ How is she supposed to say that and not sound mad? How is she supposed to say that and not be able to explain it? Because she doesn’t remember it. Not really. Not Enough.
“What did you see?” He always asks her that. He always believes her. The first time, the scariest, the weirdest (kings Cross, white so white, so alone.)He was there and he believed her. He didn’t ask for proof as she knows other children would. As she knows adults would. (They are neither, not children, not with how they are being raised. Not adults. They are far too mature, far too intelligent for
children. They scared the others in reception. They scare the others in year 1. Too mature. “Their eyes are too haunted”, they’ve heard concerned teachers say too many times. ‘It’s not our fault!’ They want to scream, but can’t.)
“Not much, it kept..breaking? I don’t know, it wasn’t like usual. Not memory visions, it was like I was listening to another… another me? I don’t know how to explain it! But I do know that she’s important.” Why can’t she explain it? Why can’t she just say that Harry told her? Why can’t she just say Harry showed her, like he always does? Why hasn’t she told Severus yet about Harry? He would believe her. He always does. (Always.) But no. Harry is to be kept to herself. Harry is safe in her mind, safe for when he wakes up again, to show her things, to tell her unbelievable stories (True. All true. You know that. Can feel that.)
He looks at her for a moment, like he’s trying to pick which words he should say, “Do you want me to look? See if I can understand it?” It’s not an odd question for him to ask. In fact, it would be odd, worrying, if he didn’t offer. They spend so much time in each other's heads it’s a natural question when one doesn’t understand something. He’s been in her mind so many times, and yet not once found Harry. How? Did Harry hide? Could he? (Who is he? Why do I remember- why does he show me—?)
“There would be nothing to see, not this time. The only thing I could properly see, or I guess hear, was her name.” Such a pretty name. As pretty as the flower she was named for.
“What is it? Something weird?” Of course he looks excited at the thought of a weird name, he just wants the excuse to go to the library and research weird names again (two months, it was two months of going to the library after they realised that no one they knew had a name like hers), and spend hours there, again.
“No, not weird. Something Beautiful.” And it is. Beautiful.
Just as beautiful as Severus. As their mother. As the magic she can see dancing in the branches above them. As the little fairies she can see in the grass. As the flowers she (mum!) is named for.
“Lily Evans. Her name is Lily Evans.”
—————————-
When they got home that night, it was close to 9pm.
They ate what little food they had, that was prepared by mother, for dinner.
After eating They watched their father slowly slump towards his armchair, closest to the telly that her and Severus had found a few months before, and waited with baited breath for him to fall into an alcohol induced sleep.
They watched him snore for a few minutes before looking at each other and deciding now was when they would ask.
They asked their mother to follow them as they had planned earlier that evening, “Mother, could you tell us some more stories? We have a few questions.” (It was almost like they had their own secret code, and in their code ‘stories’ really meant ‘tell us about magic’).
It didn’t take long to tell her about the ruby haired girl and her maybe sister, or about the magic they watched her do. It did take a while to convince her to let them talk to her about it, and even then, only on the condition that she came with them to see her in the morning to make sure she did have magic and they weren’t just imagining it.
They didn’t sleep that night, too excited at the thought of maybe having a friend in the morning, their first friend.
——————
Two months later and the three of them, the twins and the ruby haired girl, were joint at the hip. Anyone looking at them would have thought they’d known each other for their whole six years of life. (They knew each other as children, this is not new for them, not Severus and Lily. But it is for her. Her mother is new, and exciting and so….
Alive.
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Bye lovelies , i might be back, who knows!