Ch. 6 'Feel the Earth Spin'

Chapter Six: “Feel the Earth Spin”

The following morning, Severus woke to a shaft of sunlight bearing through his eyelids.  He lay in bed, heart heavy, and eyes refusing to open and embrace the day.  For a minute, Severus did not know why he felt so forlorn.  Then, he remembered.    

It had all gone wrong.

How had he let himself act so rash, speak so freely and unplanned?  Besides that, the insipid Petunia had ruined any chances Severus had to win Lily’s trust.  Witches and wizards?  Severus groaned.  Who would believe such tales?  Certainly, common muggles did not believe in magic.  Being muggle-born, Lily had been raised to view wizardry as false.  Magic was something in a fable … something to be feared.

Severus desperately wanted a second chance.  He not only needed to prove to Lily that magic was real, but also that she herself possessed magical ability.  Severus had always felt he himself was especially gifted.  It overwhelmed him to think of what he and Lily could do if they joined together.

For a minute, Severus was caught up in illusory dreams.  His heart, so tired for one so young, felt light with the thought of Lily.  It quickly returned to normal, however, as the reality of the situation came flooding back to him.  He had missed his chance through his own impulsiveness.  Lily would never believe him now.  Why should she?  

All in a grumble, Severus climbed out of bed, the floor cold beneath his bare feet.  Adjusting his oversized nightshirt Severus glared at his reflection in the mirror.  What must Lily have thought when she saw him leap from behind the brush, talking of witches and wizards?  ‘An underfed boy with no suitable wardrobe and a big imagination, that’s what,’ Severus scowled.  The more he reflected upon the previous afternoon the more agitated he became.  He made a silent vow to start dressing better – just in case Lily happened to see him.  Summer still had many weeks remaining.  A lot could happen between now and then.  

Severus wandered to the bath.  He picked up a pair of shears from the drawer, staring grimly into the vanity mirror.  A trim and a shampoo couldn't hurt, he decided.  He had never been the sort to trouble himself over his appearance.  It was the mind that mattered.  To be brilliant, quick-witted, and intellectual … these were traits that Severus hoped to nurture and sustain as he grew older.  He wanted so badly to be the best student at Hogwarts, once he arrived, and already it seemed that his natural intelligence was growing far faster than he.  

Severus finished clipping his hair.  It now hung evenly around his neck.  He proceeded to the tub and stuck his head under the faucet for a belated shampoo.  His hair dried instantly, probably because his natural magic sensed impatience.  Severus grimaced.  His hair was static and fine when freshly washed.  Split ends stuck out around his head like a dark halo.  He wet his palms and flattened them against his hair.  Keeping up one’s appearance was so much trouble!  He did not know how girls managed it …

****

Nine-year-old Sara Bell peddled happily down Spinner’s End.  She was on her way to visit Lily, who was her dearest friend in the world.  The weather was fine and the day was young.  Sara’s long brown curls flew behind her as she hastened to the Evans’ home.  At last, she reached the drive.  

“Sara!”  Lily’s voice called gaily and she appeared at the gate, her jeans rolled up her claves.  

“I didn't think you would ever get here!”

Sara grinned.  “Neither  did I.  Come – let’s go to the playground.”

“Alright,” Lily agreed, propping Sara’s bike against the house.  Together, the two girls ran to the playground; Sara claimed the slide as Lily took control of the balance beam.  Lily loved the balance beam.  She could do all kinds of tricks that no one had taught her; tricks she had never tried to learn.  She had always felt at home on the beam.

“How can you make that look so easy?” Sara asked, watching as Lily nimbly jumped onto the beam, ran gracefully across, and then stepped off, weightless as a feather.  

“You almost look like you’re floating,” Sara said, her eyes wide with appreciation.  

“I think I was floating,” Lily said softly, but Sara did not hear.  

“Come on,” Lily said suddenly, “let’s sit under that tree for a while.”  

The girls settled themselves beneath a shady Elm, in a thicket dense with trees.  Lily sat on her feet and gazed off into the distance.  She could feel the sweet breath of summer against her face; it smelled vaguely of grass, soil, and wildflowers: a heavenly scent, indeed.  

“Lily?’

“Yes, Sara?”

“Why so you look so sad?”

“Do I?”

“Yeah … are you?”

Lily frowned a little and brushed away some stray hairs.  

“Well … no.  I don’t believe so.”

“Either you are sad or you aren’t,” Sara remarked.  

Lily’s frown turned quizzical.  

“I don’t think that’s true,” she stated slowly, speaking more to herself than to Sara.

“A person can have more than one feeling at a time.”

Sara shook her head.

“Whatever.  You think too much, Lily.  Can I play with your hair?”

Lily nodded and turned her back to Sara.  She closed her eyes as Sara wove her red locks into braids.  

“Lily, your hair grew so fast!”

“I know.  I went to bed last night wishing I had really long hair, and when I woke up it had grown!”

Lily turned abruptly to face Sara.  Her braids slowly unraveled as she started to speak.  

“Sara, do you believe in magic?”

Sara’s eyes grew large.  

“Magic?  Are you daft?  Who believes in magic?  Everyone knows it’s a trick.  Magicians even teach magic tricks, if you pay them.”

Lily shook her head.  She picked up a pinecone and rolled it between her palms.  

“That’s not what I meant – not that kind of magic.  I mean, do you believe in real magic?”

“You mean like Santa Clause?”

Lily rolled her eyes.

“No, not Santa Clause.  I mean like a witch or wizard.”

Sara looked affright.

“That’s wicked, Lily!  Don’t talk like that; it’s wrong.  My mum says so.”

Lily abandoned the pinecone and began picking at wild violets.  Deep blue petals flittered to the ground in a heap.  

“I didn’t say I believed in it.  I just asked you a question.  What is it was real?  What if someone was born a witch and couldn’t help it?”

Sara edged away from Lily and pulled her knees to her chin.  The heap of flower petals grew larger.  

“Well, it simply isn’t possible, Lily.  Magic is just a fairy-story, an illusion.  No one can be born with it because it doesn’t exist.  It’s a question of science, Lily, and science has no room for mysticism.”

“Mysticism?” Lily repeated with a giggle.  “Where’d you learn a fancy word like that?”

She leaned back on the ground, her gaze trying to find blue sky though the tree branches.  Sara merely pressed her lips together in silence.  

“Forget I ever mentioned it,” Lily finally announced, standing up.  She shook pine needles and violet petals from her hair.  Sara seemed relieved.  

“Good idea.”

“Alright then.  Want to go back to my house for tea and biscuits?”

“Sure.”

The girls linked arms and began walking across the field.  Each was lost in her own thoughts, and silent with a tension that began to build a wall around them.

*****

Evening came and Severus sat on the grass, knees up, watching a brilliant sunset.  The sky turned blood red, then faded to pink as the sun winked behind a cloud and vanished.  Soon, Severus was bathed in a pale blue twilight.  The air grew damp and he shivered a little.  His mind wandered to places he had hoped not to go tonight: dark little worlds that, once entered, were terribly difficult to escape.  He tried fervently to clear his mind of the horrors he saw there, but it was as if a door had closed in his brain.  The door had locked, trapping in all of the dark, troubled realities of the human condition.  The world rested none-too-lightly on Sev’s shoulders.  

He was only a child, for heaven’s sake!  How he longed for one day – one hour – of undiluted joy.  

His wish was granted sooner than expected.  From the gate that enclosed his parents’ home, Severus heard a familiar voice.

“It’s all true, isn’t it?”

Severus turned with a gasp.  Lily stood at the gate, her eyes filled with realization – and worry.  Severus lifted his brow.  

“What?”

“Magic - it’s real.  You were telling Tuney and me the truth, weren’t you.”  

Severus shook his head.  Was this happening?  Had Lily truly just spoken to him of her own accord?  It had happened so quickly, Severus was uncertain if Lily was really speaking to him.  Had she just said magic was real?  He stood.

“Yeah, it’s real,” he mumbled in a daze, the words falling from his lips without his permission.  

“I thought so,” Lily nodded, and gestured to the gate.  “Can I come in?”

“Wha- oh, yeah – yes.  I mean, no … um, of course!”     

Severus fumbled with the lock and let Lily join him in the garden.  She smiled.  Severus felt instantly grateful for his clean hair and his Muggle clothes.  

Lily walked to where Severus had watched the sunset.  She sat down, pressed both hands against the ground, and closed her eyes.  Severus stared.  

Lily opened her eyes and smiled.  

“Did you know that if you sit still – really, really still –“ she lowered her voice to a whisper “-you can feel the earth spinning?”

Severus shook his head.  

“Come here,” Lily said and patted the ground in front of her.  Severus awkwardly sat down, his knees embarrassingly close to Lily’s.  He placed his hands on either side of his crossed legs, applying pressure as Lily had done.

“Now, close your eyes,” Lily instructed, her sweet voice even sweeter in the moonlight.  Severus closed his eyes.  

“Be still,” Lily said softly.  “Be very still … can you feel it?”

Severus held his breath.  He waited, feeling slightly ridiculous.  And then, unexpectedly, he felt it: a pleasant, dizzy sensation, as if the earth was whirling beneath him.  Startled, he opened his eyes.  Lily grinned.

“Isn’t it grand?” She asked.

Severus nodded.

“It’s amazing,” he agreed.

The two children gazed at each other for a few seconds, lost in the joy of their shared experience.  Then from next-door:

“Lilllyyy!  Mummy wants you inside.  Lilllyyy!”

Lily jumped up.

“It’s Tuney.  My sister,” she explained.  Severus stood also, a bit embarrassed but very, very pleased.  He finally found his voice.

“Want to come over tomorrow afternoon?  I can tell you about our world – the magic world, that is.”  

Lily smiled, her pretty face becoming heavenly beautiful.  

“I’ll be here,” she said, and turned towards the gate.

“Oh,” she exclaimed, turning back.  “I forgot to introduce myself.

“My name is Lily.  Lily Evans.”

Severus smiled in the starlight.

“I know.”

~*~