Hi, I'm Lily Evans
Nine year old Lily Evans' family had recently moved to Cokeworth. She and her older sister were exploring the local area when they happened upon a small park which at first glance appeared deserted. Eventually the two girls spotted a thin boy with long greasy black hair sitting skipping rocks into a pond. Being an exuberant and outgoing child, Lily ran over to the boy nearly bouncing. “Hi, I’m Lily Evans and this,” she gestures behind her to where Petunia is following her at a more sedate pace, “Is my big sister, Petunia.” Severus shifts his weight from foot to foot, moving into a crouched position before looking up at the boisterous redhead interrupting his solitude. The boy took several breaths before pointing to himself and croaking out, “Sev-rus.”
Petunia’s nose scrunched up in disgust at the strange boy asking in a loud slow patronizing voice, “Are you some sort of retard?” sneering down at him. Lily’s accidental magic lashed out at Petunia, causing her to be catapulted face first into the pond. Severus smiled shyly at Lily in thanks. Petunia let out a horrified shriek, “YOU LITTLE FREAKS!!!” she exclaimed in anguish. Severus panicked, covering his ears and rocking furiously while also trying to curl into himself. Once Petunia managed to paddle her way onto dry land the drenched girl stomped home leaving her younger sister behind without a second thought.
Lily plopped down beside the overstimulated boy and began to prattle on about all sorts of things. She told him about her family, her cat, Oliver, the city she’d moved from, and her every like and dislike. Severus calmed down shortly after the mean blonde girl had made her dramatic exit. He leaned up against a tree, listening intently to Lily’s lengthy monologue. After several hours the sun began to set. Lily got up, turning to Severus, “See you tomorrow?” she asked him, hopefully. Severus nodded, eagerly, then the two children parted ways walking back to their respective homes for the night.
The next day found Lily sans Petunia joining Severus under the tree by the pond. The two sat for a time in companionable silence, skipping rocks and just enjoying the sunny summer day. After a while Severus pulled out a notebook and pen from his worn leather satchel. “Lily, thank you for being nice to me,” he wrote before showing Lily his notebook. The girl smiled and replied, “It's good to make a new friend,” Lily replied genuinely glad. “Did you know you were doing magic yesterday?” Severus wrote-asked. Lily gasped audibly, “Magic is real!” she exclaimed giddily. “Yes, you are a witch, I am a wizard,” he wrote-told her, flapping his arms excitedly.
The pair spent the rest of the summer under their tree. Writing to communicate was inefficient and so the pair sought additional methods. After some research and a trip to the local public library, the pair discovered sign language. The two were soon having real time conversations in a combination of sign, writing, and speech. By the time the school year began the pair were able to converse in sign language from across the room whenever the teacher’s back was turned.
Over the next two years the two children became inseparable, spending nearly all their time together. Severus began to voluntarily spend more time around other people and with the help of Lily and her parents he learned strategies to cope with his sensory issues like learning sign language had helped him interact more with others despite his minimal verbal abilities.