The man who loved

Chapter 1

'I don't want to go home' were the first thoughts of Severus when he left School. It was really windy today and his black shoulder long hair blew around his head. It was a mysterious warm day for January and tomorrow was his 9th Birthday.

He saw all the kids running to their parents – their parents greeting them lovably and asking how their day was. Severus was alone. He was standing there with his black clothes and nobody said goodbye to him because everyone thought he was odd and nothing like the others, which seemed to be the truth. So, he went home. Alone. With enormous fear in his body. His parents were very abusive. He never felt welcomed at home. He just wanted to be somewhere else.

Severus and his parents lived in Spinner's End. A very poor suburb to live. Their lives weren't easy. Severus' mother Eileen was a witch and his father Tobias a Muggle. That's why he was different than the other kids. He was a half-blooded wizard, and nobody could ever know, because he was still surrounded by people who couldn't do magic. Severus was always a special kid. Very clever and talented but also shy, introverted, mysterious and his classmates would've called him dangerous. He was always interested in dark things like magic or stories. He'd rather spend his time outside the shabby neighbourhood than at home because his parents were constantly fighting, and his father was a violent type of man. Sometimes, he even dared to hit Severus and thus caused Severus a lot of emotional trauma.

So, at this warm January day, he went to his favourite place in the city. Not far away from Spinner's End - There was a big tree, surrounded by a lake. He always went there to try secret magic tricks, because he wasn't allowed to do magic. He was passing by his house and heard his parents yelling again. He even thought to hear a vase cracking. A cold shiver crawled over his back, but he continued walking. He didn't want to be there even though he was worried about his mother. As soon as he passed the last house of Spinner's End he arrived at the next suburb. It was cleaner and very warm there. The houses were steady and in bright colours. Nothing like Spinner's End where the houses where covered with coal and had bad constructions. Some people were even greeting him whenever he went through that neighbourhood. This was very unlikely for him since he didn't have any friends or a stable relationship with his parents or teachers. Severus was never rude to his teachers but neither friendly. He did his homework like it was assigned but he still got into trouble, because of his bullies. He got bullied since the very beginning. They always called him 'freak' and commented on his appearance. His hair was greasy, and he had a crooked large nose.

From far away he saw a big truck and two little girls. They seemed to be his age. He came closer and saw a girl with brown short hair and a pink dress with flowers on it. She was complaining about something, but he couldn't hear her complain. And next to her was another girl. A girl with long red wavy hair and a blue dress with yellow dots. Severus was amazed by her appearance. She was really pretty and seemed pretty nice. Her red hair was moving due to the wind. And she had troubles trying to fix it.

'Lily, just to let you know – I'm going to have the bigger room and there is nothing you can do about it!' Said the girl in the pink dress. So, the girl's name was Lily. A beautiful name he thought. He passed both of them but didn't want to share a look, because he was too shy and embarrassed. 'Hi' said a soothing voice. Severus stand still and turned around. The red-haired girl smiled at him. Severus was so flashed he didn't know what to say. He just looked at her and gave her a crooked smile back and walked away.

'What a weird boy he was. And did you see his clothes? All destroyed and used. And his hair? Does he know what a shower is?' Said the girl with the pink dress laughing. 'Petunia, it is very mean to say something like that. Stop being so judgmental! I just wanted to be nice' Answered Lily. 'You're always trying to be a something better. He didn't even bother answering you. That says a lot about this boy' Petunia looked at her sister and went inside the house. Lily squinched her face and looked in Severus' direction to see his black Silhouette slowly fade away.

Severus was still walking and couldn't stop thinking about Lily he didn't dare to look behind his shoulders he was too embarrassed. Lily was the first person at his age who ever said hello to him in a friendly tone. Since a long time, he felt something warm inside his chest and a small smile spread over his face.

'I really hope I'm going to see her once again. She seems different. Like I am. Maybe I should talk... No... no. Why would she talk to someone like me? She was just being friendly and that's it' Thought Severus and his smile slowly faded away.

After a time, he arrived at his favourite spot. He was glad to be there and he felt some kind of freedom in his bones. He really liked to climb on trees and watch over Cokeworth. The hours passed and he spent the time with basic magic tricks, throwing stones into the lake and doing his homework.

At his way back home, he passed Lily's house again and saw her through a window with some adults. They may have been her parents. They were about to eat dinner. He was watching them for some minutes but went on to go home.

'Hello?!' said Severus as he opened the front door of their house. He didn't hear anyone answering. He went into the living room and saw his mother sitting on their couch reading a book. Survive said the books cover. 'Oh, hello sweetheart. I didn't hear you coming' said Eileen as she saw Severus coming in. 'Hello mother. Is everything alright?' asked Severus worried. 'Oh, yes. Everything is alright. How was school? Did you learn something useful?' Severus knew that she was lying but he just nodded and went upstairs. His father wasn't at home and Severus was really relieved when he noticed. We went to bed pretty early because he was very tired.