Severus fought the tears trying to fall from his eyes as he looked at his lost friend in front of him.
He knew...
If he did this, he sealed their fate...
"I'm sorry." He choked out to her. "It's got to be now."
He gripped the wand in his hand tigh...
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September 1974
Fourth year had started the same as always for Severus. Though this year, the second he made it to the platform, he found himself scouring the crowds for a small second year with bright blue hair.
It wasn't long before he saw her, but she looked different. She was still smiling, and politely making her way through the hoards of passing students and families, but she didn't exude the same radiant sunshine she did before.
"Mason!" He yelled out to her.
He watched as she focused her eyes in the direction of his voice, her smile transformed from the forced upturn it was before to something much more relieved.
"Severus!" She shouted before vaulting herself through the crowd towards him.
He quickly let go of his cart, knowing if he didn't prepare himself they'd both go toppling to the ground.
Again
Severus allowed the embrace for a few moments, letting the warmth of it encase him only briefly before he grumpily extracted himself.
"Where are your things?" He asked her.
He took this moment to look her over.
The two had kept up with each other over the summer, Severus writing as much as possible. Mason wrote him back just as much, though there would be weeks where he didn't hear from her at all. He knew the sort of place she lived, he knew the kind of people that watched over her.
He was admittedly worried about the small girl.
He'd gone to the muggle library over the summer and found books on the sort of place she stayed.
It only made him worry more.
There was a specific treatment he read about, he was hoping beyond all else she never encountered.
If he had anyplace to house her, he'd demand the headmaster to never allow her back there again.
Unfortunately he did not.
His mother might have let Mason stay with them, but as it was Severus had barely seen his mother this holiday, and his Muggle father would never allow it.
It seemed he was seeing her less and less as time went on.
Maybe the Evan's, he knew Lily was kind enough to at least ask, and her parents seemed like they'd allow it, but he knew her sister would cause a huge fuss about it.
Severus watched her closely as the girl told him about the other boys in her 'section of home'. He heard her mention Elias again, and though usually he listened to her wax poetic about her 'older brother', he couldn't care to listen now.
He waited till she was distracted with whatever she was rambling about.
He very slowly reached his hand up to the side of her head, and started to gently brush the hair away from her temple.
