The man who loved

Chapter 2

Lily was standing on that wide green grass with a daisy in her hand. It was a warm summer weather, and a light breeze of wind touched her skin and her hair. Lily was happy and calm. But suddenly, out of nowhere the daisy started to bloom. Lily was shocked and didn't know how to react. How was that possible? Was she just dreaming? This couldn't be real. It was like magic. 'You can do magic. I knew it' Lily turned around and saw Severus standing there.

__

Severus woke up, confused, and looked after the time. It was 10am and it was January 9th. His 9th Birthday. He was dreaming about Lily and that she had magic powers just like him. It was really strange since he normally couldn't remember any of his dreams. And he never believed in interpretation of dreams. Spirituality was not his thing and he found it quite stupid. He was more of a logical boy which made him very good at math. Severus tried not to think about it too much. It was probably just a thought of how he wanted Lily to be. He saw her only once, how could he recognise if she was a witch or not.

Severus went downstairs into the kitchen and saw his mother greeting him with a loud 'Happy Bithday' he hated his birthday. This was the only day his father was nicer than usual, and he knew that it was just because of that day and he hated hypocrites. 'Why don't you open you presents, dear' said his mother with a smile. 'Where is Tobias?'. Severus never called his father dad or anything similar. He never saw him as his dad since he was never at home or took care of him. 'Ehm... he left very early'. Severus knew that she had lied. It was Saturday and his father never worked on Saturday he probably never came home after their fight last night. Severus sat down and opened his gift. It was a small potion set. Severus looked at his mother with a crooked smile. 'I know how interested you are in magical things and maybe this will make you happy. But be careful while using it!' said his mother and gave him a kiss on his head. Severus really was happy about this gift. He already heard a lot about Hogwarts the school of witchcraft and wizardry and he was certain he will get his letter when he turns eleven. His mother told him almost everything about Hogwarts and how she was in Slytherin and that she was captain of the school Gobstones team during her 5th year. He also knew about the subjects and Potions and Defense against the dark arts sounded really interesting. He couldn't wait to turn eleven so he could leave this house.

On the kitchen table he saw an envelope with his name on it. He opened the envelope and read the note inside it. It was a note by his father.

Happy Birthday, Severus.

I hope you can find use for this.

-Your father

Inside the envelope was some money. It was the least he could have given Severus. He appreciated it but knew that his father wouldn't come home tonight. 'Mom, I'm going to the city. Tobias gave me some money and there was a book I was really interested in' said Severus and left the house. He just heard a 'Be careful' right before he closed the front door. It was really strange. His mother was not really a good mom, she never had time for him, and it seemed like that she wanted to make it right because of her guilt. Severus knew that. He was a mature guy for his age. Independent and knew it was better to trust no one.

Normally, he went in another direction to get to the city, but he decided to take a detour through Lilys neighbourhood. He went pass her house but didn't see anyone. As soon as he wanted to feel sad about not seeing her, he heard someone yelling 'Hey you!'. He stopped and turned around. And there stood Lily's sister. 'Why were you standing outside our house last night? It was creepy' said her sister. Severus didn't know what to say he just looked at her with a look of guilt. 'Can't you answer me?' she seemed mad. 'Petunia, stop' Lily was standing next to Severus now. Severus looked at her with fright in his eyes. 'Lily. This boy was creeping around our house last night. That is not ok. I should tell dad!' Petunia was angry and you could see her anger on her whole face. She was literally glowing. 'I'm sure it wasn't like that. Why should he creep around? Stop being silly' answered Lily. Petunia gave Severus an angry look and went inside. Now it was only Severus and Lily left. 'I'm Lily by the way' Lily offered her hand. Severus shook her hand 'I'm Severus'. Lily smiled at him 'Do you live here?' she asked. 'Ehm...I live nearby. I wanted to go to the city' answered Severus quietly. 'What do you want to do there? I mean, I'm new here and I don't know anything around here. Would you like to show me around? If it's ok' Severus' heart skipped a beat. He wasn't used to a question or conversation like this. 'Ehm...sure'. 'Great, wait here I'm going to tell my parents and grab my purse' Lily ran inside. Severus didn't know what to do. He thought about his dream. Was this maybe a sign? He admitted that this was weird. Lily came back and was wearing the same dress as yesterday. Her hair into a ponytail with a blue bow. 'Alright, let's go. Is it a long way to the city?' asked Lily excitedly. 'It depends on what you personally think is long' answered Severus.

They were walking through the neighbourhood and Lily was amazed by all the colourful houses. It seemed like she felt welcomed here. 'You're not really talkative am I right?' Severus didn't know how to answer. He would love to talk to her, but he didn't know how. He was so shy, and he couldn't explain why. Lily was the first one he would love to have a conversation with. 'Where did you live before?' asked Severus. 'Oh, the boy is speaking. I'm going to call you Sev if it's okay' Lily looked at him and smiled – he just nodded. 'I was born in Ireland, but we moved here. I don't really know the reason to be honest, but it was kind of hard to let my friends go and I was pretty good at school. But how could an 8-year-old girl say anything against it?!' Severus would be glad to leave Cokeworth. Nobody would miss him, and he wouldn't see his father anymore. 'How old are you?' asked Lily. Severus answered her question but didn't mention his birthday. He could tell that Lily would be all over it even though he didn't know her at all.

They arrived the city after half an hour. Lily was looking around, excited and totally happy. It was her first time in Birmingham, and she was very glad to know that she lived so close to the city. 'So, Sev. What do you need here?' Severus said nothing and continued walking. They arrived at a dark street. The buildings were kind of dirty and very old. Severus could see that Lily was scared. 'There is a bookstore I really like and I've got some money for my bith-' Severus stopped talking. He almost said something about his birthday. Lily wasn't stupid she would know! 'Your birthday? Oh, when is it?' And there it was. The question he wanted to avoid. 'Ehm...It's...today' said Severus and already regretted answering her question. 'Oh my God Sev. Why didn't you say anything! Happy Birthday. So, it is your 9th birthday' Severus was fascinated by Lily's energy. He'd never seen anyone so energetic and kind and her green round eyes were shining like a diamond. She behaved like she knew him for such a long time even though they've literally met one hour ago. She wasn't judgmental and he finally felt some kind of comfort.

Thetwo arrived at the bookstore called Dark Acabooks 'What a weird name'laughed Lily. The store looked shabby and dirty. Dust all over the books andthe light was milky and weak. 'Hello Severus. Nice to see you again. You'vebrought a friend?' The store owner greeted Severus and Lily. His voice was veryrusty and low. He had grey long hair, probably at the age of 60. 'You can lookaround If you want. I'm just going to grab the book I'd like and then we canleave' said Severus. He didn't want Lily to see what he was interested in. Lilyagreed and went through the whole store. Severus sneaked to the section DarkArts and grabbed a book called Masters of the dark Arts vol.1. Thebook was black, very big and decorated with matte silver highlights. He lookedfor Lily but couldn't see her. For his relief he went to the cashier and payedfor the book. 'Good choice. 5 Galleons, Severus' said the cashier. 'Uh, Severuswhat book is this?' Lily just appeared next to Severus without him noticing.Severus just looked at her but couldn't say anything. How could he tell himselfout of this situation? He just couldn't tell her that he was a wizard and thatthis book is about wizards and witches who were master of the Dark Arts andthat he just payed the man with money Lily never heard of . It was nothing likethe history books Lily was used to. Severus gave his money to the cashier andleft the store without saying a word. Lily was confused and ran after him.