Spinner’s End was bathed in golden light.  Songbirds were singing sleepily, and a mild breeze whistled through the trees.  In the distance, the low drone of a train moaned softly through the street.  Even the gathering shadows seemed peaceful, enclosing the neighborhood in slumber.   The evening was clement and serene.  Nevertheless, something was not quite right.

Petunia Evans sat on the patio, arms folded and eyes narrowed, trying to determine what could possibly be wrong with such a peaceful night.  Slowly – very slowly, as if time had stopped – the sun dipped below the horizon.  One by one, the brightest stars began to appear.  Petunia imagined that a great giant was above her, lighting the stars like as if they were lamps.  

With night’s arrival, Petunia’s unease increased.  She shivered, but the air remained balmy and warm.  As she watched the darkness deepen, the screen door opened and Lily stepped outside.  Her hair was crimson in the moonlight.  As soon as she stepped onto the porch, the sky seemed to lighten.  Petunia sighed.  Couldn’t her little sister be normal, for once in her life?

“What are you doing?”  Lily asked, sitting beside her sister.  

Petunia shrugged.

“I dunno.”

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.  The girls sat in silence for a while, watching as the stars overhead grew brighter.  After a few minutes, Lily spoke.

“Tuney, I feel strange,” she said.

Petunia yawned and glanced at her sister.  Lily looked pale and almost frightened.

“What d’you mean?  Lily, are you sick or something?”

Lily shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I just think something is wrong, somewhere, but I don’t know what.”

Petunia’s eyes widened.  

“Really?  But mum and dad are inside.  The cat’s sleeping.  Everyone’s safe.”

“Yeah … but I know something’s wrong.  Not here at home, maybe.  But somewhere.”

“There’s always something wrong somewhere, Lil.  You know that.”

“No, this is different!  I can feel it, Tuney.  It’s close-by.”

Petunia shivered again, wrapping her thin arms around herself.  

“I don’t know, Lily,” she said, “but I wouldn’t be afraid.”

Lily’s eyes narrowed.

“I am not afraid,” she said tersely.

Her gaze drifted to the Snape residence, where dim lights burned in the parlour.  She had been watching the house ever since the feeling came to her that, nearby, there was an impending doom.  In the center was the Snape house, she was certain.  But the doom did not stop there; no, it extended to her home, through her soul, and into the world itself.  It was the first time such immense sadness had invaded her mind.  For the first time in her life, Lily could not summon any joy.  

Half an hour before, she had watched as Severus’s bedroom light flickered off.  She had felt lonely at that moment, imagining the little boy asleep in the dark, forlorn house.  She almost wanted to crawl through his window and snuggle beside him.  She wanted to erase the intensity of the sadness that filled her soul tonight.  

Petunia’s voice interrupted her melancholy:

“Come on, Lil, let’s go inside.  Mum’s making tea.”

Lily nodded and stood up, then gasped.  She could have sworn she had heard Severus’s voice.  Glancing around the yard she saw nothing. She felt a strong urge to remain outdoors, but what compelled her to do so was a mystery.   She shook her head: she was imagining things.  With a last glance towards Severus’s window, Lily followed Petunia into the house.

XxXxX

Severus could not sleep.  He had attempted it, but his room was heavy with dust and heat.  Sighing, he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.  The night was beautiful but lonely.  His parents had fought earlier, and his father had left the house for the night.  Eileen was in the parlour, and Severus could hear her crying.  He punched a pillow.

“Miserable git,” he murmured, wishing his father would stay away for good.  

Crawling out of bed, he crept to his window and threw it open.  A flowery breeze swept in, as well as a few moths.  

“Hello,” Severus whispered to one of the moths, smiling faintly as it fluttered around his head.  

“Lovely weather we’ve been having, eh?”  he continued, but the moth flew behind a bookshelf.  He rolled his eyes.

“Everyone leaves,” he hissed, “no matter how nice you are.”

Severus tiptoed over to a stack of books, tripping over a broken stepstool.

“Blimey,” he exclaimed, rubbing his toe.  

He stepped gingerly over the stool and kneeled beside the book stack.  There were all sorts of books there: small tomes about natural magic, soul travel, and herbology; leather-bound manuals of healing, occlumency, and astronomy; school notebooks and novels from Eileen; and heavy field guides to herbs, fungi, and magical creatures.  Severus picked up a novel.  It was a romance written by a witch, all about a muggle who falls in love with a merman.  He groaned.  Maybe Lily would like it in a few years, he thought.  He would save it for her.  He would save all the novels for her, come to that.  He had no interest in light reading.  

He dug through the pile, until at last he found it: “In The Privacy of Night: on Practicing Dark Magic.”  He felt odd as he carried the book to his bed.  He knew he should not read it.  His mother had told him not to read any book without her permission, and usually he followed her rules.  But there were exceptions.  He had devoured every word of “Soul Travel IS Possible,” “The Black Toad: Recipes for Wicked Potions,” and “Reading Minds for Beginners: A Hogwarts Exclusive Edition.”  These were books his mother had deemed too dangerous for a nine year old, but he had unlocked her invisible ink spell and read them all in one week.  

Lighting a candle, Severus gingerly opened the heavy book before him and began to read.  

“Dark magic is potent and limitless,” the first line read.  “The wizard who masters the Dark Arts has mastered the world.  Dark magic is forbidden because of its immense energy, scope, and power; there is nothing beyond its reach.  The ability to alter minds and souls is yours – but be forewarned.  The cost of this power is your innocence.  One cannot not be both Dark and innocent.  You must decide for yourself: love … or Power.”

Severus trembled.  He slammed the book shut and threw it across the floor.  The year prior, Eileen had explained to him that there were two kinds of Dark magic: soulless, and practical.  She was studying to learn practical Dark magic.   Soulless magic was dangerous in every way, she had said, because the gain of power came with the loss of the conscience.  

Practical Dark magic was to be used only in extreme situations, such as self-defense.  Overuse could literally destroy the spirit.  She had warned Severus of wizards who had lost their souls to evil spirits called dementors; she had described how one kiss from them meant instant annihilation.  They were attracted to joy, she had said, and they lived to rid the world of it.  They were natural creatures of gloom; no reason to become akin to one through Dark magic.    

Severus sighed.  He felt weak and a little dizzy.  The idea that such blackness could exist confused him.  He loved the idea of having control and power, but at the loss of his soul?  Tears formed around his eyes.  His mother had told him once: “The only thing that can save a fallen soul is Love.  That’s why fate gave me you.”  She had not said anything like that in a long while.  In fact, since the tea party, she had taken to avoiding her son.  Or perhaps he was avoiding her.  He couldn’t be certain.  

Severus closed his eyes, feeling hot tears run down his cheeks.  His mother was growing weaker every year, he knew.  He was certain that love would not rescue her, not in the end.  It might save her soul, but it could not heal her life.  

The sadness he felt was crippling.  He felt an intense pain build in his head, just behind his eyes.  He needed to take his mind away from his worries.  Seeing Lily would help, he thought, wandering to his window.  Looking outside, he saw Petunia and Lily on the patio.  He sighed, relieved.  At that moment, however, Petunia said something to Lily, who nodded.  The girls stood up to go inside.  Severus groaned.  

“Please stay awhile longer,” he pleaded silently to Lily, “please stay, please stay.”

To his surprise Lily stopped and glanced around, a puzzled expression on her pale face.  She glanced at his window.  Severus drew into the shadows but caught her eye; thankfully, she did not see him.  Turning back, she followed Petunia in the house.  The pain in Severus’s head was alarming now.  He had to do something to calm his nerves.  Shrugging, he picked up the merman/muggle novel and slipped into bed, opening the book to the first chapter.  To his surprise, it seemed readable.  Snuggling under his blankets, Severus began his first experience of light reading.  

xXxXx

Eileen walked over to the hearth, stoking the fire half-heartedly.  She had finally stopped crying, but she was left with an enormous headache.  She knew she should be happy Tobias had left, but somehow she felt only loneliness and fear.  The increasing wind outside soothed her senses, but her throbbing eye reminded her only too-well of the morning’s terrible fight.  When had it all gone wrong? And how? A flash of Tobias in his youth came before her eyes, and then he was standing there, all pride, promise, and passion. Wavy black hair fell into his eyes and he laughed: a deep and musical laugh.  What handsome lines!  What strength and endurance!  Eileen felt dizzy with love.  Tobias picked her up and spun her in a circle, falling with her onto the sofa.

Eileen fell heavily onto the hearth-chair, her long hair covering red eyes.  Young-Tobias quickly retreated into her subconscious, and she sat alone and miserable.  She wondered how she had been so completely fooled.  She wondered how she still allowed herself these old memories.  Most of all, however, she wondered where young-Tobias went when she was not remembering him, and if it were at all possible to bring him back forever.   

She choked back a sob and stood up wearily.  There were more important things to attend to tonight.  Druella had sent an owl earlier, asking to visit.  She had urgent news, she had said, and it was vital she see Eileen that very night.  Eileen had run out of sleeping pills, but she knew how to get Tobias out of the house: create a terrible fight, which she had done. One fist to Eileen’s eye and Tobias was gone - possibly not to return for a few days.  

Before Eileen could ruminate any longer, there was a knock on the door.  She opened it to reveal Druella, who looked very exhausted, but excited.  

“Eileen,” she exclaimed, giving Eileen a hurried hug, “I am so relieved you could see me tonight!”

“What is this about, Druella?  I’ve been worried all day.  Are the girls alright?”

Eileen led her guest to the parlour, pouring tea into china cups.  

“Oh, yes, the girls are fine.  Now listen, Eileen, I want your promise that every word spoken here tonight will be kept private.”

“Of course, why wouldn -”

“-good, now here we are: do you remember a boy a few years ahead of us at Hogwarts: Tom Riddle?”

“Yes, naturally.  He was head boy.”

“Do you remember he was Albus’s pet, he wanted to be minister of magic and all that?”

“Yes, I remember – but what does he have to do with anything?”

“It seems that he’s disappeared.  He was working in Knockturn Alley one moment, and was gone without a trace the next.  No one knows where he went.  But I know, I know where … “

Druella’s voice had become low and whispery.  She looked nervous as she paused to stir her tea.  She glanced around repeatedly and shook ever-so-slightly.  

“Druella,” Eileen said,”you look terrified.  Has something happened?”   

Druella rocked slowly backwards and forwards, her tea sloshing over the teacup.  

“My sister is sheltering Riddle while he … while he gathers himself.  But Eileen, he’s changed.  Something is wrong.  His face – it isn’t right.  You remember he was handsome.  Well, he is still, but there’s something wrong.  He looks so full of hatred that it’s distorted his features.  He stays up all night convincing my sister that he’s going to change the world.  Going to make it all magic, he says.”

Eileen laughed.

“But that’s impossible,” she exclaimed.  “The only way to do that would be to kill off all the mugg – oh,” she breathed softly, suddenly frightened.  

“You understand now?  I’ve never liked muggles, Eileen, but I would never harm one.”

Eileen nodded.

“But Druella,” she said, “it’s impossible.  He could never destroy every living muggle.”

“Not alone, no.  But he’s gathering an army, he claims.  Even if they don’t kill all the muggles, imagine what destruction they would cause.”

“Is your sister a part of this army?”

“No, but I believe she actively supports it.  I think she wants Reg to join when he’s of age.”

Eileen drew in her breath.  Druella examined her friend closely, leaning in even closer.  She lowered her voice to a faint whisper.  

“He doesn’t only hate muggles, Eileen,” she said.  “Half-bloods and mudbloods, too.”

A knot of dread twisted within Eileen’s stomach.

“What are you trying to say, Druella?” she asked nervously.

“You know what I’m saying, Eileen.  Keep an eye on Severus.”

Outside, a strong wind began to blow, howling into the night.  A bank of clouds covered the moon, and Spinner’s End was cast in total darkness.

xXxXx


Lying in her bed, Lily stared at her ceiling.  Her eyes were wide; her mind was unable to settle into sleep.  Before she had climbed into bed, she had peeped out of her window one last time, not knowing what she expected to find.  What she did see surprised her: Eileen was letting Druella Black inside the Snapes’ house, both women pale in the moonlight. There was a sense of urgency in their actions that made Lily uncomfortable.  She knew it was nearly impossible for Eileen to have any company, let alone another witch and at this time of night.  

What could it mean?  Lily felt a growing sense of unrest inside of her.  She felt utterly powerless, as she usually did when thinking about the Snape family.  Something bad was always happening there, and she was too young to help.  But this! – this was something else entirely.  Lily felt helpless beyond her normal limits.  She felt as if her happiness rested right there in the Snapes’ house, and that it was being diminished as every second passed.  Feeling weak, she got out of bed and opened her window.  Severus had taught her a little about occlumency, but she had failed miserably.  She knew how to read people’s emotions: that was a natural talent.  Reading actual thoughts remained elusive.  

Looking out the window, Lily peered as far as she could, until she could see a faint outline of the two women in Eileen’s parlour.  She caught her breath.  It was as if a black fog had come over the women, churning densely around the room.  There was blackness everywhere: hiding in the corners, growing in the hearth, crawling up the walls, swirling up and down Eileen’s body.  Lily shook her head, trying to rid herself of the horrible images.  She knew the fog wasn’t real – it was in her own mind; yet, Lily believed, it was the product of whatever Druella and Eileen were saying and thinking.  

Lily watched as the fog grew darker, engulfing the parlour and spreading throughout the house.  As she watched, the fog trickled up the stairs, slowly climbing to – where?  Lily nearly screamed as she thought of Severus, and she felt certain that the fog was trying to reach him.  She pressed her hands together and closed her eyes, trying to imagine only beautiful things: clean rain, golden sunlight, colorful butterflies, the enchanted forest.  Rapidly, thoughts of beauty and joy spun inside of her mind. When Lily opened her eyes, an explosion of light burst from her hands, whirling through the night like a golden ball.  Unseen by Druella and Eileen, the light broke through the parlor window and shot up the stairs, and the black fog faded into nothing.   

In the distance, Lily could hear someone screaming; a moment passed before she realized it was her own voice.  

“Lily, Lily!”  

Footsteps echoed up the stairs, and Lily’s bedroom door flew open.  

X