Chapter Text
Tuesday August 12, 1975 8:27pm
Severus felt his eyes burning from overuse but if he was forced to fester in his bedroom, he wouldn’t lose a moment of productivity while he was there.
It felt like an eternity since he’d parted from Noa at the train station, watching her link arms with an equally mousy woman and support her weight as they disappeared into the crowd.
Watching the woman’s feet stumble and drag across the linoleum, he understood instantly what kind of help she gave her mother. He digested another mint on the car ride home, picturing the nights she’d clear empty bottles and turn her mum’s head to ensure she kept breathing into the next morning.
There was little he could offer her from his shabby dwelling at Spinner’s End but he could only hope she wasn’t torturing herself for being away. Her letters were optimistic but knowing her, that said very little about her true feelings.
Regardless, her summer had to be going better than his. Surrounded by grime and the thick smell of mildew, he fought constant headaches that only grew with the constant shouting.
He rubbed his eyes until he saw stars and stared down at his jumbled notes.
With each day a repeat of the last, he was sure the final weeks of summer would feel like a year.
Desperate to escape the monotony, he grabbed his bag and jacket, but a light scratching on the window stopped his hand on the doorknob.
A brown, scruffy owl sat on the windowsill and his chest warmed instantly. Quickly untying the letter, he heard the feathers ruffle away as he traced a finger over the S of his name and the inky fingerprints littering the envelope.
With a soft smile, he tucked it into his bag and continued on his journey.
He kicked a few roaches passing through the living room and poked his head into the kitchen. As expected, his mother was right where she’d been that morning.
The dining table hadn’t had a plate for years; only the petals she took one by one and pressed between the pages of tattered old books.
“Come back at dusk.” She said softly.
He nodded and took another step for the door before hesitating “Want me to bring anything back?”
She finally looked up and stretched her back which had surely been hunched for hours. Sighing, she shook her head. “Save your money.”
The door creaked as he left and it refused to close without a slam.
His strides were long and aimless as he passed boarded windows and the rubbish in the gutters. The smog thickened as he went and he had to stop his feet from taking the familiar route to Lily’s doorstep, knowing he was no longer welcome.
Lost in thought, he only halted when he heard a small mew. Blinking up at him was a small grey kitten and it inched towards him, eager to follow his path.
He beckoned it but as it moseyed out of the alleyway, he grumbled. Not wanting to linger, he scooped it up and tucked it into his jacket to continue at his own pace.
Heading into the trees, the smog cleared but the rotten smell of sewage replaced it. He settled under a tree, paying no mind to the purrs and nudges the kitten gave his face.
His eyes were on the letter he’d pulled from his bag, taking another moment to study the envelope.
Such an anxious little thing she was, writing his address in such detail as if her owl hadn’t learned the path by now.
Sliding a finger under the fold, he tore it open and found a collection of doodles along with a hasty note:
Severus,
It’s me again. Hi. Sorry for writing twice in one day I just have big news! Miss Maybelle says I’m ready to start proper wandless charms! I just wish I had more time here. But I do miss you. I’ll write again tomorrow.
Noa
He read it over once, twice and a third time. But on the fourth, he only scanned over four words.
I do miss you.
It felt just as good the tenth time she’d written it. He couldn’t help his grin as tucked it in with all the others and fetched his pocket knife.
A little paw tapped his chin as he began gathering sticks, trying to envision new shapes for each of them.
He gave the little paw a gossamer kiss and thoughtfully, he got to work. As time stretched, his lap became covered in thin shreds of wood while the kitten rumbled against his chest.
The foul odors and blaring car alarms slowly faded with each careful carve. But when the sun drew closer to the horizon, he groaned and tossed it all into his bag.
Back through the smog, he felt more congested as he grew closer to home.
But he froze when he saw the rusty truck in the driveway.
And the shattering of a glass sent the cat clawing up shoulder and fleeing for safety.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Through the door, his shoe scattered a broken vase and all the petals mixed in the fragments.
“And where the hell have you been, boy?”
He looked straight past him, checking his mother’s dejected face for a bruise. He didn’t find one.
“Out.” He said flatly and gave the door a slam.
“Don’t get smart with me. You were with that redhead?”
He’d never felt rage build so quickly “What business is it of yours where I’ve been?” He sneered.
"I’m your bloody father.” He said through his teeth “And you’d do well to respect me if you want to keep up that freak shit.”
His hand twitched towards his wand and he took a step closer, his scowl heavy “Respect you? Why should I respect a pathetic little man with an inferiority complex?”
His father started across the room but he drew his wand, stopping him in his tracks.
With him pinned in place, Severus closed the gap himself “You think I won’t?” He nearly whispered, peering through his hair to meet his eye “I implore you. Test me.”
With equal disgust, they stayed locked in a fiery stare-off. It only broke when the man’s eyes flicked down to the wand and he gritted his teeth.
“Get your ass in your room.” He muttered.
“Gladly.” He glowered.