Chapter Text
"Severus! Severus! It came! My letter came. Just like you said it would. Then some lady from the school came and talked to mum and dad. You were right." A breathless Lily Evens ran across the park towards a dark haired, pale boy sitting under a tree. When she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck before sitting down in the grass next to him.
"I told you it would. How did Petunia take it?" asked the boy, Severus, with a smirk.
The little girl giggled. "She was mad. But now I don't have to go to school with her anymore and she can't pick on me. Mum said if you want, she can take you and your mum with us when we go school shopping and then drop us off the next day for the train."
The boy shrugged. "I'll ask my mam. I hope we get put in the same house. That way we can still be friends."
"Oh Severus. We'll always be friends. It doesn't matter what house they put us in", said Lily.
The 31st of August found Lily and Severus in the back of her mother's car, while Eileen Snape, the boy's mother sat in front with Mrs. Evens. The drive was nearly four hours, but it seemed to pass quickly for the two friends in the back seat. When they reached the wizarding shopping district, they followed Mrs. Snape into a pub called The Leaky Cauldron, where they booked two rooms overnight, then out into Diagon Alley. Both children and Mrs. Evans seemed to be overwhelmed by the scene. It was unlike anything any of them had seen before, though Severus had heard stories.
Severus and his mother made their way first to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Unfortunately, the uniforms and robes he'd need for school had to be bought secondhand. In order to make them last, Mrs. Snape bought them all oversized so he could grow into them. They were still using the same books as when his mam had gone to school, so he would take her secondhand books. In fact, there was only one thing he would be getting new on this trip, his wand.
When everything else had been purchased, the Snape's and the Evans' met up outside Ollivander's wand Shop. As they entered, a box flew off a top shelf and landed in Severus' hands. Lily looked at him in surprise, but he seemed just as startled as she had been. An older man with wild grey hair and ice blue eyes came out of the back.
"Ah, Severus Snape and Lily Evans. Excellent, Excellent. Mr. Snape, I do believe that is the first time a wand has chosen its master immediately as he's walked into the shop. I've of course heard of it happening before, but never in my time. Let me see", said the man, holding out his hand. Severus handed him the box. "Interesting. This wand has been here since the beginning of my career. I made it and its brother just before taking over from my father. Vine wood, 13 1/4 inches, dragon heartsting core. A very rare wand. Aside from the two, I've never made another from vine wood. Tricky they are and yet they always choose those witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best. I expect you shall astound everyone young Mr. Snape."
Taking his wand in hand, Severus asked, "What about my friend Lily?"
Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Of course. It's lovely to meet you, Miss Evans. Let's see. Yes, yes, I think I may have just the wand for you."
He pulled a box down from a high shelf and opened it, pulling out a somewhat short wand. "Give this a swish, Miss Evans. 9 3/4 inches, firm, ash wood, with a phoenix feather core."
Lily swished the wand, and nothing happened. Looking disappointed, she handed it back to Mr. Ollivander.
"Not to worry dear, not to worry. Some wizards and witches take a little longer to find the perfect match. Now let me see, ah here it is." The wandmaker pulled down another box. "This wand is unusual. Holly, 11 inches long, with a phoenix feather core. It's nice and supple. Give it a try."
Again, she swished the wand and this time, several boxes were knocked off a return shelf. "We're getting closer. Perhaps. I think I may know just the wand for you Miss Evans."
Disappearing into the back of his shop, he returned a few minutes later carrying a box that was halfway in size between the first and second boxes he'd pulled down. "This may be perfect for you. A lovely willow, 10 1/4 inches, with a unicorn tail hair core. Very swishy, excellent for charms work. Go on, I have a good feeling about this one."
Looking a little wary, Lily gave a swish and flowers erupted from the end of the wand. She excitedly turned towards Mr. Ollivander. "I think this is it! My wand. It's lovely, thank you."
"My pleasure my dear", said the old wandmaker. They paid for their wands and left the shop, making their way back to The Leaky Cauldron. Severus was sharing a room with his mother, but in truth he didn't mind. It was a rare treat to be away from his father and even more rare to get anything new. They had very little money, but he knew his mother did the best she could by him. His father on the other hand, well, at least he'd be at school and away from that man for most of the year now.
After a dinner of stew and fresh bread, Tom, the old barkeep gave Severus and Lily coupons to get ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. With their mothers' permission, they ran off into Diagon Alley then walked around taking everything in as Severus licked at a cone with chocolate ice cream, while Lily had chosen blueberry sweet cream. When they reached the far end of the main shopping district, they noticed a small, wrinkled looking woman with her silver hair in a bun and a deep green shawl about her shoulders sitting at what looked like a folding card table. She had a lantern on one corner of the table and appeared to have several small items for sale. As they moved closer, she began shuffling a set of tarot cards.
"Let me do a reading for you", she said.
"No thank you", said Severus.
"For free. Come, it will be interesting for both of you. Sit, sit", said the old woman. They sat at the two chairs in front of her table. The woman shuffled the cards once more. "Let me start with you, young man. Interesting, very interesting. You shall change the course of history. However, it will only happen if you admit that fate has correctly chosen your true love. She shall match you intelligence for intelligence, but she shall be the light to your dark, the breath of fresh air as your life becomes stale, and though you will recognize her at once, it will take some time before you may be together. In fact, this shall lead you to her." The older woman pulled something out from under the pile of items in front of her and indicated he should hold out his arm. Around his right wrist, she tied a red string with a coin attached on either side by a hole on the top and bottom. The coin appeared to be bronze with a fierce looking lion standing upon a shield. "As you two fit together, so will your symbols." The core of the coin had been separated from the outer part that had been around it. She showed him how the lion part fit inside the outer ring which had a snake in a circle around it.
"Keep your eyes open, for she will be wearing your symbol as you wear hers. Now young lady let's see. Ah, you believe you have a kind heart, but when another turns your head, your true colors will show. If you forgive, you and your love shall grow old together, if you do not and turn away from your best friend, you will never see old age. Do not be quick to attempt to mold others to your image of them, stand up for those who are hurting, and do not be swayed from your path. You can prevent pain but only if you start as you mean to go on." Severus and Lily looked at one another, but neither were quite sure what the old woman was saying. When they looked back, she and her table were gone.
That night was the first night Severus dreamed of beautiful amber eyes. He saw nothing else of the girl, for he was sure it was a girl, but love, kindness and acceptance as she looked at him. Though he was not sure why , he knew that somehow, he was seeing someone who looked at him as though she wanted to be with no one else. He wondered who she could be and when they would meet. If he was not to be with Lily, for her eyes were green, then who was he to be with?
Hermione Granger was starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All her life she'd known something was off about herself, but she'd never suspected that it was because she could do magic. When a Professor McGonagall had shown up at her house and explained that she was a witch and invited her to take a spot at the finest school of Magic in the world, the Granger's had been very happy for their daughter. At her muggle or non-magical school, she'd nearly finished her A levels at the end of the last school year. Through an agreement with her school, she'd been allowed to take them over the summer. This was to be an all-new educational adventure. Her family had taken overnight lodging at a pub called The Leaky Cauldron so Hermione could have one day of full immersion in her strange new world.
The whole day had been exciting, but the most eye-opening event had been when she’d gone for her wand. At a place called Ollivander’s, she’d walked in afraid that when no wand picked her, it would be revealed that a mistake had been made and she possessed no magic at all. However, she’d no sooner set foot in the store than a box flew off a top shelf and landed right in her hands.
“My goodness, that took longer than I expected it to. So, you are the mistress of this wand Miss Granger. Interesting, very interesting”, said a man with silver hair, sticking up in all directions and intense light blue eyes. He removed the box from her hands and opened it to reveal her wand. “Vine wood, 10 ¾ inches, with a dragon heartstring core. It has been twenty years since its brother chose its wizard and now here you are for the other. I only made two vine wood wands Miss Granger for they are notoriously hard to place, suitable only for the most powerful witch or wizard who has a greater purpose and vision than others. Like you, his wand chose him immediately as well. I expect that your name will become legend Miss Granger.”
Hermione had asked several questions and left the shop happy in the knowledge that she belonged after all. In fact, her wand wouldn’t have chosen her were she not up to the task of using it. She’d been told that she had permission to do the spells found in her schoolbooks and promised herself she would have them all mastered by the time she left for school.
While her parents had decided to turn in early, Hermione had gotten their consent to walk around Diagon Alley. She looked in the windows and observed the people. It was a different world than the one she'd grown up in. Somehow everything reminded her of a Charles Dickens novel. As she reached the end of the shopping area, Hermione noticed a small old woman with silver hair pulled back in a tight bun sitting at a table. A flickering lantern threw her wrinkled face into shadow but highlighted the tarot cards she was shuffling. She had a pile of what appeared to be old coins with various colored strings tied around them. Approaching the table curiously, Hermione was surprised when the woman said, "So you've come at last. I've been waiting for you. Take a seat, young lady. I have much to tell you."
It was not in Hermione's nature to believe in things like fortune telling, nor would she normally have sat down to find out what someone with tarot cards had to say about her future, but everything was new and perhaps this woman was not some old fraud the way most who professed to read the cards were. As instructed, she took a seat and quietly watched as the woman shuffled the deck.
"You are the other half. His other half. But neither of you is yet ready for the other. When it is time, he shall teach you what it means to be his woman, you will help him save the world, then you will save him. You will see him, but not see him until it is time. The road along this path will not be easy. Others will not make it easy. You have the heart of a lioness, find and tame your serpent." The old woman reached out and took Hermione's left arm, tying a bracelet of red string with a circle that appeared to be the outer portion of an old coin with a snake wrapped in a circle around it to her wrist. "He will wear your symbol and you shall wear his. When you find him, his mark will fit directly inside yours." Hermione examined the old coin closer. When she looked up, the woman was gone.
For the next few weeks of summer Hermione dreamed of dark eyes. It was all she could see of the man. The eyes had a strange look in them, one of wonder, delight, and love, along with something she couldn’t identify. She often remembered them for the first few minutes after waking in the morning, only to push them to the back of her mind before she was even out of bed. On, September 1st, it was the same, but this time she was so excited about the coming day that she didn’t even stop to contemplate her dreams. Her parents took her to Kings Cross Station, where her father loaded her trunk on a trolly for her, then she hugged her mum and dad, before briskly making her way to a platform 9 ¾ as she’d been told to do and passing through the barrier.
Every year it was the same. Children loudly invaded the corridors of Hogwarts and the tiny first years crowded together in a tight ball as they were ushered into the great hall for sorting. This year, Severus knew that Harry Potter was supposed to be arriving. It seemed to be all anyone could talk about. The miniature savior of the wizarding world, who had made the world's most powerful dark wizard disappear while only an infant. It was laughable how excited people were about his return to the magical world; he probably didn't even remember the event. However, that was a night Severus would never forget.
Sitting at the head table, he half listened as the sorting hat called out the final destination of each new student. The desultory clapping when someone was sorted into Slytherin still bothered him, but he'd learned to expect nothing less. The next student was called forward, a small girl with bushy hair and slightly tanned skin. However, when she glanced up and made eye contact briefly with him, Snape felt his breath catch. Amber eyes, framed by long dark lashes which had haunted his dreams for the past twenty years contained a look of confidence and nervousness, though how someone could feel both at the same time he was unsure. Hermione Granger? Had that been the name Minerva had called out? The hat seemed to take forever. So far it was the longest decision of the night. After nearly five minutes, the sorting hat yelled out, "Gryffindor", and the girl hopped up and ran over to join her new table.