September 1970
They were laying on the side of a hill, staring down at Spinner’s End. Lily had a habit of finding Severus’ house—it was hard to miss, floors offset just slightly, slightly off-kilter, having everyone and their mother wondering how it stayed upright because most days its architecture seemed magical—and its wonky appearance gave her some comfort today. Just one more day until school started.
And the sun had already started to set, the tree’s shadow draping behind them as they leaned against it. Lily sighed. This summer had disappeared too soon.
She and Severus had gone on adventure after adventure, crawling further and further into the forest between their houses every day. Sometimes Petunia followed, sometimes she didn’t. Petunia didn’t seem to enjoy playing with Lily as much lately as she used to. Lily hoped it was just a middle school thing, that she’d understand in a year or so. But that worried her too; middle school wasn’t any less scary than 5th grade. If anything, it was more so.
But the duo had explored every inch of the woods by now. They hung out in the stone house rubble that appeared in the woods one adventure most days, pretending to be King Arthur and Morgan le Fay; sometimes they were Knights of the Round Table, but always they were in Camelot. In the winter, the ruined house—they had come to think of it as their castle—always seemed a little warmer than just standing outside. It was as though it was insulated by some sort of warming wonder.
Lily learned not to question things like this. They just happened around her. Sometimes they caused her to get in trouble, but usually, they just made life a little easier or a little nicer, like with the flowers. Sev’s secret seemed to get him in trouble more. At school that year, he had gotten angry with another boy in their class, and without a warning, the boy’s steaming hot cocoa began to overflow and spilled onto his lap. He had to go to the nurse and wasn’t in school for a few days from the burns.
Their scrapes and cuts always seemed to heal miraculously fast. Lily’s parents noticed it, always with a bit of confusion in their voices.
“Didn’t your knee have a bad scar there the other day?” She’d just shake her head no, equally confused as to how it disappeared. When things like these happened, Petunia seemed to shrink into a corner. Lily knew that Pet had started to think differently of her, but it wasn’t like she could share her secret with Petunia. There wasn’t a secret to share, really. Things just happened to her. She wasn’t really doing anything.
Severus next to her coughed a little, clearly wanting to say something but not knowing how to start. Lily turned to him, keeping her back against the tree trunk. “You ready for tomorrow?”
He looked at her, smiling sadly. “Not really.”
She shook her head, face turned towards the sun. Since thinking she was made of light, she couldn’t seem to get enough of it. It was feeding her, or something like that. The sun, the moon, the stars, the lamp beside her bed; it was all so wonderful. It felt like it was feeding her in a way that food couldn’t satisfy. Petunia would yell at her to shut it off when she’d keep the light on to read late into the night. It was becoming an issue, and Lily worried that Pet would try to move into the guest room soon, leaving Lily all alone in the bunk beds.
“This year is going to stink, but next year we’ll be somewhere else. And none of this will matter anymore,” Severus said, matter-of-factly.
Lily turned. “What do you mean? The middle school is just down the street.”
Sev huffed. “Lily, come on.” He stared at her, expectantly. Was she supposed to know something? Wasn’t he going to the same school she was?
“Sev, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, sighing against the tree.
He was staring at her; she knew it. “Lily…” he started to say.
“What?”
“You’re not going to Cokeworth Middle School, you know that?”
She frowned. “Of course I am. Where else would I be going?”
He frowned right back. “The same place I am. Hogwarts.”
“What’s that?”
Severus gasped, and Lily knew she had said something wrong. “What, some fancy boarding school?” she pushed, curious now. “Sev, what’s that?”
He pushed away from the tree, turning to face her fully. “Lily—” he paused. “Lily, we’re magic.”
She blinked hard. They were what?
Severus kept going. “Yeah. We’re going to go to Hogwarts. School for Witchcraft and Wizardry,” he said, sounding like a textbook for the first time since they had met. But there was an excited glint in his eyes that told Lily this was a good thing. “At least, I know I am. But they might not know about you yet. I hope you get a letter,” Sev said, biting his lip worriedly.
“I—magic?”
“I’m sure you’ll get one!” He said, hurriedly. Lily shook her head.
“That’s not—I mean, what’d’you mean, magic?”
Sev huffed. “Lily, I mean, you’re a witch.” He paused, letting her take in the words.
She paused. The sun was near the horizon now, ever so slightly blinding her. She brought her hand up to shade her eyes, thinking it through a little more. These things did just kind of…happen, didn’t they? Was it really…could it be…magic?
Severus was still talking. “My mother’s magical. My dad isn’t, though, he’s a Muggle…and I guess neither of your parents is, right? Otherwise, you’d probably know all this,” he rambled.
Lily held up her hand. “Muggle?” she said, her head spinning.
Sev nodded. “Non-magic folk.”
She nodded. “Okay, and so I’m…”
“Muggle-born wizard. And I’m a half-blood.”
Lily felt her heart race. This felt too real, suddenly, getting into the magical content in their blood.
He reached over for her hands. “Lily.” She looked at him, suddenly filled with fear at who she was, who she could be. Who would she be? “It’s a good thing. The wizarding world is…well, if we didn’t have our own world, no one here would accept us. We’re not like Muggles. We’re different. And that’s okay.” He was so good at that, saying just the right thing to calm her down.
She sighed. “I guess. I just don’t know anything. I think that’s all.”
He smiled. “And I’m just telling you what I think. I’ve seen you do magic. You’re a natural, and if they can’t see it and don’t give you a letter, we’ll petition for you to go there. Or Beauxbatons. Even Durmstrang, if Beauxbatons won’t take you. You deserve to grow your magic, Lily Evans.”
She felt the corners of her lips tug. “Thanks, Sev.”
∙ ∙ ∙
She and Severus wandered back down to Spinner’s End, through the passageway, and up to Lily’s house. They went inside, where her parents were serving dinner to Petunia and a seat left empty for Lily. Mrs. Evans glanced up, seeing them, and gave a start.
“Oh, there you are Lily—hello, Severus, care to join us for dinner?—we were worried!”
“No idea where you were—” her father cut in.
“Gone for too long—”
“Yes, please, I’d like that, Mrs. Evans,” Sev said.
Lily sighed. “Oi, Mum, we were just up the road. Sev was telling me about this school…”
Her mother frowned. “Which one?
“The same one my mother went to…” Severus offered. Her mother and father looked at each other, and their eyes went wide together.
“You mean—"
“Our Lily is a—”
They paused. Her father almost whispered, “—a witch?”
Sev nodded. Lily felt her stomach drop. Petunia just stared.
That is, until her mother broke out in a smile. “We have a wizard in the family!”
“A witch, mum,” Lily corrected, smiling herself. The weight lifted slightly.
“A witch!” Her father grinned. “Oh my. Lily, we’re so proud!”
Petunia just stared. She had nothing to say, apparently. Then her gaze grew stormy. She did not smile.
“This calls for a celebration,” Mrs. Evans said, oblivious to Petunia.
Pet pushed her chair back. “You celebrate. I’m not hungry. Here, Sev,” she sneered. “You can have my seat.” And with that, she stormed away obnoxiously.
And the weight was back. Lily paused. Petunia’s frustration settled like a blanket of fog over the family. “I’ll go check on her,” Lily said, ever the peacemaker. Her mother nodded.
She climbed the stairs slowly, suddenly nervous to approach her sister. What just happened? She knocked on their door; softly at first, then a bit louder.
“Go away.” The muffled sound of Petunia’s voice made her bite her lip a little harder.
“It’s my room too, you know,” Lily said, shoving the door open.
“Not for long,” Petunia said icily. “After this, I’m sure mum and dad will let me move next door.”
Lily gaped. “Why? I—you’re not—you’ve always been here, half your things are mine, anyways! Why would you—” Her voice faded when she saw the look of disgust on Petunia’s face.
“He’s corrupted you,” she said plainly. “Witches and wizards are just myths. You can’t be one. You’re Lily.”
It felt like a slap in the face. Of course, she was a witch; it made sense. Everything made sense now. Why didn’t she see that? “Pet, I—”
“Lily, just stop. Go celebrate. Just don’t make me join you. I don’t want to celebrate a lie.” Petunia started to pull clothes out of their closet and left Lily to back out of the room, closing the door slowly and sadly.