Vita et mors Herois

For some, it was the best of times; for others, it was the worst of times.
January 3rd 1971
Despite what Petunia Evans might think, Lily knew she wasn’t a freak. She knew she was special, even if her older sister couldn’t see it like she did. So what that she could grow flowers at will! Lily was certain that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the phenomenon, not that Petunia would even listen to her little sister's reasoning.
The sharp looks and flenching finally got to Lily; she couldn’t stand to see her sister’s look of fear every time Lily moved too fast while trying to play with her big sister. Lily had gone to the other park on the other side of town to play by herself. It was an especially warm day for the middle of winter, and she wouldn’t be kept inside in spite of the fog.
The park on Spinners’ end wasn’t as nice as the one next to her house; they didn’t have the big metal play set or a slide with a ladder that didn’t shake when she tried to climb it. It also happened to be outside of the area where she and Petunia were technically allowed to go, a whole street away actually, which made it perfect despite its dilapidated state and lack of monkey bars. Her sister would never willingly break the rules her mother had set in order to torment Lily further.

Lily was swinging; she was going to jump once she got high enough. She just wanted to be even with the bar when she did the jump. If she timed it just right, she might just see over the treetops at the other end of the park. Squinting her eyes, she leveled herself with the bar of the swing; this was her chance! She barrelled back down, and as she came back up, she felt the weightlessness in her stomach telling her she was back at the top. She let go of the chain, flinging herself forward, and stretched her neck, just barely peaking over the treetops. She had done it! But now she was falling! The ground rushed up to her too quickly. Lily closed her eyes, wishing she could slow down, bracing for her fall. The air around her seemed to be still; she piqued her eyes open. She wasn’t falling; she was floating down. Lily pointed her toes, brushing the grass with her Mary Janes. Gravity began working for her again as she planted her feet firmly on the ground, her hair bouncing around her.
“You’re a Bitch!” Lily snapped her head around to a boy with greasy dark hair her age at the edge of the tree line. She sneered at him .“What did you say to me!”
“You’re a Witch.” He said, stepping closer to her. That wasn’t much better than what she thought he had said to her. “I am NOT, and that is not a nice thing to say to someone you don’t even know.” Lily snapped, crossing her arms in front of her and glaring at the boy. He rolled his eyes at her. “It’s not rude, it’s true you just did magic! I saw you float from the swing.” He pointed the swing between them. The seat Lily had been on was still moving back and forth rather violently.

Lily felt her stomach drop. The boy had seen her; he was going to call her a freak and not let her play at this park either. She took a step back from him, “ I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must have been seeing things,” She took another step back as he took two forward “And what are you doing watching people from the trees at a park?” She asked cutting another glare at him. He blanched.

“You’re not from this side of the neighborhood, and I was curious.” He mumbled, finally looking embarrassed at his rude actions. “That’s not important, though,” He said, shaking his head and taking another step forward. “I’ve never met another Wixen.” His eyes shone as he stood a couple feet from her.

“Well, what am I to you?” Lily snapped, placing her hands on her hips. “A Witch or a Wixen? This name-calling business is getting tiresome, despite whatever it was you thought you saw.”

“They are the same thing; a witch is a wixen the way a wizard is a wixen.” He snapped back, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re a witch, and I’m a wizard, and we are wixen, and we can do magic.” Lily tilted her head at his no-nonsense tone. The way he spoke reminded her of one of the teachers at her school. What he was saying was madness, but he said he could do magic too.

She squinted at him as she looked him over. His black hair was shoulder-length, poorly cut, and greasy. His jumper was a faded blue with the edges fringing in places, his shoes were dirty, and his socks didn’t match. His pants had patches in the knees and looked a little baggy. Lily took a quick mental stalk of herself. Her baby blue bow was still in place on her ponytail; her pinafore dress with blue flowers was still clean despite her play; her stockings were a pristine white in her shiny Mary Jane’s. She also still had a large coat on and a scarf around her neck. He had only his jumper, it seemed. No, Lily did not think they were the same, even a little bit. Surely, if he was magic, he would make the dirt go away like she did sometimes when she fell in the mud and ruined one of her pretty hand-me-down dresses. He noticed her staring at him, and he wilted a bit.

“I can show you the magic I can do.” He whispered, nodding to the tree line. Lily knew there was a creek that ran behind this park; it was another reason her mother didn’t want her playing on this side of town, as there were no other adults to watch the water levels. Lily paused as she opened her mouth, about to tell him no, but she HAD already broken one of her mother’s rules just by being here, and she didn’t know if she would get another chance to see if this boy was telling the truth or not. She closed her mouth and nodded at him. His smile was shy but vibrant, it changed his whole face from something serious and older to boyish and bright. He turned sharply and began leading her to the creek.
The two young children trampled through the brush on the overgrown path to the water ahead. It was still running despite the bitter cold that had been going on for the past few weeks. The boy stopped just at the water’s edge, looking at the rocks around his feet. He picked up a flat one. He looked to the other side of the creek, pulling his arm back to skip the rock. Lily crossed her arms as the boy took aim. He flung the rock as hard as he could, skipping it once before it froze in the air. He had his arm stretched out and his tongue between his teeth as he made the rock flip twice around in the air before he made it skip eight times to the other side of the creek. Lily’s arms dropped to her side, her eyes wide, her mouth gaping as he threw his arms in the air in triumph.

“HOW! I can only float and grow flowers from my hand!” She said, grabbing him by the shoulders. She had to know how he did it so she could learn, too. He laughed, “ I can’t show you; it’s ‘accidental magic’ until you go to school for it. To be truthful, I practice that a lot, even though we really aren’t supposed to till we’re seventeen.”
Lily nodded her head; that made sense. “Wait, there’s a school for magic!” she said, shaking him a bit. He grinned slyly. “My name is Severus. It’s very nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out between them. “Lily Evans, nice to meet you too. Tell me everything!”

The light of day was fading fast. Lily and Severus walked through her neighborhood as the streetlights began to turn on. They had spent the rest of the day talking about magic. Severus had told her all he knew about the school for Wixen called Hogwarts. He had also told her that because her parents weren’t wixen, she couldn’t tell them what he had said until the school representative came with her letter. Lily was beginning to worry that because her parents didn’t have magic, she wouldn't have enough to get into the school. She didn’t say anything to Severus, though he seemed very excited about them going together, and she didn’t want to ruin his hopes if she couldn’t get in. They were going to be in the green-colored house together, Slither something or another. The house of ambition. Lily nodded along as Severus animatedly told her about the wizarding world.

“Aw, did the freak find another freak to be friends with?” Petunia said from behind them as they approached Lily’s house. Lily groaned as she turned to face her older sister.

“What does it matter to you, Tunny? I was just playing at the park with my new friend.” Lily said, taking a slight step in front of Severus. Petunia’s lip curled up as she took in the boy's appearance. “I was at the park all day, and I didn’t see either one of you the whole time. And I would have remembered someone who looks like he does,” she said, pointing to his dirty shoes. Severus's cheeks turned a bright red as he ducked his head in embarrassment.

“Petunia, that's very rude! I’m going to tell Mum you’re being mean to my friend.” Lily said, stomping her foot on the ground. Petunia’s eyes snapped to the mud on her Mary Janes.

“Well, I’ll tell Mum you went to the park with the creek!” She said shrilly, stopping her foot in her much shinier shoes. The two sisters stared each other down. Lily narrowed her eyes at her sister. She turned to Severus, “I’ll meet you tomorrow at the same time.” She patted his shoulder and turned to the front door of her house, taking off in a full sprint. If she told Mum first, she bet her mom would be too mad at Petunia for being a bully to really get on to Lily for going so far away from home.

“MUM, PETUNIA IS BEING MEAN TO MY NEW FRIEND!” She screamed as she threw open the door. She raced through the house, not even stopping to take off her muddy shoes. She skidded to a halt in the kitchen. Her mother stared at her with concern. “Mum, Lily went to the other park, the one with the river. See, her shoes are all dirty!” her sister said, running in behind her and pointing to the dirt on Lily’s shoes. Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath in.

“Girls, I will not listen to this constant bickering between you two. It’s been going on for days now I don’t know why you’re fighting but it must stop I simply cannot stand it any longer.” She said as she ushered the girls into the dining room and into their seats. “Now you will tell me what is happening so this can be stopped.” Their mother crossed her arms staring them down.

“Lily has been doing magic like a freak!” Petunia said, pointing an accusing finger at Lily. She felt the tears in her eyes as her sister pushed her chair farther away from her. Her mean words struck Lily in the heart. Remembering what Severus had told her about having to wait for her letter to tell her mother about magic, Lily looked at her mother, “It was just a game I’ve been playing with my new friend! Petunia was being mean to me, so I went to the park across town and made a new friend. His name is Severus, and he’s been playing the game with me. Tunny just doesn’t like him because he’s dirty.” She wailed. The girl's mother heaved a sigh, looking to the ceiling and muttering something about children being beasts.

“Lily Evans, you are not to go to that park without an adult with you, and you know it. However, you may invite your new friend over to play at the park closer to ours when there is not an adult around. Do you understand me?” She asked. Lily nodded her head so hard she felt her bow start to slip. “Petunia Evans, you are not to call your sister any names or make fun of her friends for their appearance, do you understand me?” She said, looking pointedly at her oldest daughter. Petunia bowed her head in shame. “Yes, Mum.”

“Great now to learn our lesson about following the rules and not being mean I do believe I have some extra chores around here somewhere for the two of you. The two young girls glared at each other across the dining table, their mothers back turned to them now. Petunia mouthed the word LIAR at her little sister. Lily turned her nose up to her sister and stuck her tongue out.

At least she hadn’t been outright banned from seeing Severus again. She liked her new friend, he answered all her questions and didn’t call her a freak at all! Even when she had slipped and fallen into the creek and gotten all muddy, only to, in the next instant, have perfectly clean clothes again. He had even told her that it was a neat trick despite the fact it had missed her shoes entirely. They had just begun to make plans to play again tomorrow when Tunny had rudely interrupted them. Lily hoped that Severus wouldn’t mind playing at the other park instead. he had almost not wanted to walk back home with her and had seemed to get more uncomfortable the closer they had gotten to Lily’s house. Maybe he had a limit on how far he could go from his own house, too. She would have to ask him about it tomorrow. But first, she had chores to do.

It wasn’t until later in the night that Petunia cornered her in the hallway between their bedroom doors up the stairs and out of the earshot of their mother.

“I know your new friend is just another freak like you,” She hissed in Lily’s ear. “And he’s obviously some sort of street rat.” Petunia shoved past her sister, shutting the door to her room with a sharp look at her little sister. Lily stared at her big sister's door. Lily really regretted showing Petunia the trick with the flowers; it had freaked her sister out, and now she was being really mean to Lily. If she really got her letter to Hogwarts, Petunia was only going to hate her more. Severus said you got the letter when you turned 11, and Tunny was already 12.

Lily moved to her own bedroom and began getting ready for bed. Her mother joined her in her room as Lily was crawling into her bed. The stress of her sister’s sharp words must have been evident on her face.
“My lovely Lily, what’s got you so down?” her mum said, combing her red hair out of her face and soothing a thumb over her brow.

“I don’t think Petunia likes me anymore,” Lily whispers, she could feel the tears welling up again. Her mother pulled her into a tight embrace. “It was part of the game I was playing, and now she thinks I’m a freak and won’t play with me anymore.” The tears she had been keeping in for so long finally fell. She wept, and her mother held her, whispers of soothing words falling on the deaf ears of a heartbroken child.

It was long after she had stopped crying that she finally looked up at her mum. “Mummy, Severus didn’t have a winter coat on today. I don’t think he has one.” Her mother frowned down at her. She ruffled her daughter's curly red hair, “I’m sure by the time you go out to play tomorrow we’ll have scrounged something up. But first, you must go to bed, young lady. You have school in the morning.”

The next day was a miserable affair. It had started off badly with the new hand-me-down dress she had gotten that did not fit properly at all. Her mother had made her change into a dress she had worn on Friday while she loosened the new hand-me-down dress up a bit. The weather was getting worse; the fog clouds had seemed to double overnight, and her father spoke of more snow coming in. It made the whole town of Cokeworth seem rather eerie with the street lights dotting the landscape.

Then, on the walk to school, Petunia refused to hold Lily’s hand and walked a whole 10 paces ahead of her, claiming she didn’t want to touch the freak. When they got to school, it had only gotten worse. Lily got in trouble three separate times for not paying attention in class and instead gazing off through the window thinking about what all she and Severus could do in this dreary weather. By the time noon had passed, the fog had only slightly lifted, and the clouds above seemed to have darkened. It was as if the weather itself was wanting to bring everyone down in spirits.
When the last school bell rang, Lily had lept from her seat and ran almost the whole way home. Her older sister’s voice telling her to slow down was forgotten in the wind in Lily’s ears. Out of breath and Huffing, she finally stopped running in the dining room of her home. Her mother raised a single eyebrow at her.

“Tun- huff- Tunny is- huff- right behind me- huff.” She puffed out. “Can I go play with Severus now?” She said, grabbing at the stitch in her side. Her mother rolled her eyes, pulling her youngest daughter to her.

“Not quite yet. I have to see if I loosened the hem enough on this dress.” Her Mother held up Lily’s latest hand-me-down dress up to her shoulders. Lily could hardly sit still as her mother pulled on the fabric of the dress, pinning things here and there to make the fit better. Lily usually didn’t mind having fittings done; it made the old dresses feel a bit newer to her, at the very least. But she was impatient to get to her new friend and the fog outside wasn’t helping at all.

Finally, after what had felt like ages but in reality had been but 10 minutes, Lily had not only caught her breath, but her mother had finished her adjustments. Lily began jumping on her toes, waiting for her mother to grab her coat, hat, and the book she would read while the children played. Unbeknownst to Lily, her mother also grabbed another coat out of the closet, a boyish one that was a much smaller size than what would have fit a Mister Ralph Evans. Folding the smaller coat over her arm, she grabbed her daughter's hand, and they set out to the other side of town. Her older daughter watched from the living room windows as the two disappeared into the fog-covered street.

When they finally arrived at the park, the fog had not lifted even the slightest bit. Severus stood at the edge of the park looking out, not noticing Lily was there until she almost knocked him over in her rush to his side.

“Oof- Lily, you came!” He said, catching her a bit as she tumbled forward, knocking them both a bit off balance. Her mother smiled down at the two children only to frown a bit at the boys paling at the sight of her. Undeterred, she stuck her hand out in front of her. “ Susan Evans, I’m Lily’s mother. It’s nice to meet you, Mr.Severus.” She beamed at him. The boy looked at her hand as if it was a snake set to bite him. Finally, he shook the offered hand. Susan smiled even wider.
“Don’t worry about me interrupting your game I’ve brought my own entertainment.” She said holding up her Lone Pines Novel. Severus frowned “I’m not much worried about adults ruining our game there's another girl here.” He pointed over at the swings at a girl who was about their age. She was dressed in all black and her blond hair was held back by a black bonnet. She had her back to them and wasn’t moving on the swings simply sitting there.

Lily frowned looking at the girl. Her mother tutted before moving herself to one of the benches at the park facing the playground but far enough away the children could have their privacy.

“I’m sorry about my mum. She insisted I couldn’t come here by myself anymore; it was too far from the house.” Severus shrugged, still staring down the girl on the swing. Lily looked at her, too. She almost looked like a ghost from one of the scary stories her dad told her and Petunia around Halloween and on camping trips in the summertime.

“She’s just sitting there. Do you think we could play around her?” Lily whispered to Severus, feeling the need to be quiet. Severus shrugged again. Lily stepped forward, pulling Severus with her. They didn’t go to the swings but to an area adjacent to them where the two kids could see both Lily’s mom and the mystery girl. They sat knees together on the damp grass, leaning forward so their foreheads almost met.

“What should we talk about today?” Severus asked in a whisper. Lily thought for a second. “I want to know about the diagonal alleyway.” She finally whispered back. “I’ve only been a couple of times. Mum doesn’t like going there; it’s too loud, and it’s called Diagon Alley,” he said, finally leaning back. Lily leaned forward on her arms, her eyes never leaving him as he told her about the bright loud street that was full of magic. There was a magic pet shop that sold owls, snakes, and magic animals. A wand and broom shop. And most importantly, in Severus' opinion, books and potion ingredient stores. Those were the ones he spoke the most of as that was where his mother took him the most. Lily listened enraptured, so much so that she didn’t notice that the girl on the swing had moved from her spot and had crept up next to them.

“You’re going to get in trouble for talking about all that with her, you know.” The girl said as Lily and Severus jumped, scared by the ghostly girl that was now beside them. Severus recovered quickly, jumping up to face the girl.
“No, I’m not, and what would you know about anything I’m saying?” He demanded hands on his hips. Ghost girl rolled her eyes, gesturing to Lily, who was standing up. “It’s the statute of secrecy; you can’t tell muggles about magic. Now the Aurors are going to have to wipe her mind clean.” She said, putting her hands on her hips as well. Lily gasped; she didn’t want to forget about magic. She would go back to thinking she was a freak, and then she and Severus wouldn’t be friends!

“She’s not a muggle; she’s got magic! She can float and grow flowers from her hand.” He said, stepping into the girl's space. The girl looked over at Lily, looking her up and down. Lily looked right back. If one of them was dressed weirdly, it was the ghost girl. She had a black dress and coat on with a big black bonnet tied to the back of her head, she looked like the old paintings of children Lily had seen at a school trip to the museum once. Lily was once again dressed for the cold weather the north of Britain oftentimes had, her clothes bright and not too far out of the latest fashions.
“You can do magic?” the ghost girl asked. Lily nodded her head and held out her hand. This was the bit of magic she had shown her big sister not too long ago that had gotten her shunned by Petunia. She felt the pull in her chest as little pink flowers formed in her hands. Severus looked smugly at the ghost girl. The girl looked down at Lily’s hand and nodded seemingly to herself before turning and walking back to the swing. Lily looked at Severus, confused by this interaction.

“Wait! Why are you dressed like that?” Lily said, chasing after the girl. She turned and looked at Lily with a cutting glare.
“My grandmother has died, and today was her funeral.” She said with a huff, tugging at the bonnet on her head, making sure it was straight. Lily blanched.

“I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother. Why are you here by yourself?” Lily grabbed the girl's arm firmly before dropping it.

“My big sister is bossing me around and wouldn’t let me pick my own bedroom in our new house, so I came out here to see if there was anywhere I could run away to.” She said, looking longingly at the woods at the end of the park. Severus scoffed, “The woods here would be crawling with Aurors if you ran away here, you’d get caught before dark.” He rolled his eyes.

Lily gave him a sideways look. “What is an Auror?” she asked.

“They're like muggle policemen,” Severus said. “Where did you move to? None of the houses in town have gone on the market.” He asked, turning to the other girl.

“It’s hidden with magic so most people won’t see it, Dad called it a notice me not spell. Like what’s on Hogwarts.” She said pointing to the East. “And the house wasn’t on the market it’s my grandfather's. We’re moving in with him because he’s a bit mad.” Sevurus squinted his eyes at her.

“Are you going to Hogwarts?” Lily asked, hopping up on her toes in excitement.

“I suppose so; my older sister is in her second year, and my grandfather teaches there.” She said with a shrug.

“I thought you just said he was mad,” Severus said poking the girl in her chest. She knocked his hand away from her. “My Dad says someone as mad as Grandad would be the only one to teach the subject he does. It’s Care of Magic Creatures.” She said, turning her nose up at the boy.

“OH! How rude of us! I’m Lily Evans. It's a Pleasure to meet you.” Lily stuck her hand out the the girl fearing for a second that when she went to shake her hand the other girl might pass right through her. Much to her relief, the girl grabbed her hand with a firm grip. “Hero Augurey Kettleburn,” Lily giggled. “Hero is your name?” Hero looked at her oddly.
“Usually, people laugh at my middle name. I’m named after a Shakespeare play and a bird whose song means death.” She said, snorting in laughter.

“God, I thought my name was bad, Severus Tobias Snape.” He stuck his hand out to Hero, who shook it firmly as well. “Will you be here tomorrow?” Lily asked.

Hero shrugged, “Probably my sister’s been driving me spare with her nagging. She’s set to go back to school in a few days.” Lily nodded in understanding just as her mother walked up to the children, smiling brightly.
“Lily dear, it’s getting colder. would you please button your coat up dear,” She said, fussing over her daughter. “ And Sevurus dear, put this spare coat on please; you’re making me cold just looking at you.” She pushed the coat she had brought with her into his arms as he blushed a bright red.

“Mrs. Evans, I can't take this coat.” He said, attempting to push it back into the woman's arms, to no avail.
“Nonsense. We’ll consider it a late Christmas gift or an early birthday gift if you like.” She said in a no-nonsense tone. Severus blushed brighter, “My birthday is the 9th.” He said, taking the coat. Lily’s mother ruffled his hair and turned to go back to her book and bench.

“Your birthday is in less than a week,” Lily said affronted she hadn’t known her new friend's birthday. “Mine’s the 30th,” She said grinning.

“Well, I just met you today so you’re gonna have to wait for a present.” Hero said giving a pointed look to Seveurus. He grinned at her and Lily, “Lily just met me yesterday. She didn’t even know she was a witch!” He said with a smug tone.
Hero turned and looked at her, her mouth open slightly. Lily smiled at her shyly

“Severus says I can’t tell my parents till my letter for Hogwarts comes in.” She nodded to her mother, who was on the bench reading her novel. Hero nodded her head in agreement.

“They should come at the beginning of the summer. I bet Me and Seveurus will probably get them on the same day if we have Wixen parents. My Dad said they send a school representative to the muggle-born homes so it takes a while depending on how many are in our year” Hero sat with a huff on the swings. “What houses do you think you’ll get into?” She looked up at the other two.

“Slytherin. I have big plans, and I refuse to be part of Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.” Severus said as he sat on the ground in front of the swings as Lily took the other swing. Hero began rocking back and forth slightly.

“My older sister is in Slytherin, and so was my mum, but my Dad and Grandpa were in Ravenclaw. I think I want to be a Ravenclaw.” Hero's black shoes drag on the muddy ground. Both children turned to Lily. She sat there in quiet compilation. She thought Slytherin with Seveurus might be fun, but she didn’t have any big plans like he did, and what she had heard about Gryfindors made them seem like reckless idiots. Maybe Ravenclaw, so she could learn as much about magic as possible, but definitely not Hufflepuff. Even at the age of ten and three-quarters, she knew she had a mean streak in her that was not meant for the house of acceptance. She was saved from having to answer right away by someone shouting.

“HERO, HERO AUGUREY WHERE ARE YOU!” An older girl dressed similarly to Hero shouted from the edge of the park. Hero lept from the swing and waved to the other girl, who stomped over. “Hero, where have you been? Mum is beside herself with worry. You can’t just walk off to parks without telling anyone,” Her sister said, grabbing her up. “I just wanted to go for a walk.” Hero pushed her sister's hands away from her. “I’m making new friends, and I’m only two blocks away from the graveyard.” Both girls rolled their eyes at each other.

“Two Blocks away from anyone you know, and Grandpa’s been looking for you too.” Hero looked ashen at the thought of her grandfather worried for her.

“Say goodbye to your friends. You can come back tomorrow; we have to get back to mum.” Her sister shoved her slightly to the other kids who had sat back and watched the whole exchange.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She waved and began walking with her sister. Just before they left, she turned. “BYE, MRS. LILY’S MUM!” she yelled from the other end of the park, startling Lily’s mother from her book. She quickly recovered and waved back at the strange child.

The rest of the day at the park was spent playing childish games of tag and pretend, although with the aid of magic sometimes the pretend was a bit more real. Lily steered clear of the swings, not wanting her mother to see a repeat of yesterday's events on the swings.

Lily’s mother sat at her bench nearby, watching them with a gentle smile. She could see it in the way her daughter laughed at the boy that Lily had found a lifelong friend in Severus Snape, and maybe in the odd girl from earlier as well. She sighed to herself, mentally preparing for the additional emotional effort of having more children in her home