*Potters residence, 1971*

"Mum, how do I look?" a boy asked, raven black untidy hair, thin face, mouth and eyebrows that resembled the Potters' common trait. His hazel eyes glinted with excitement as he pointed at the black robe he had on, the sleeves falling till his wrist, neatly ironed and giving off an aura of prestige.

An older woman with white hair and a polite smile, her face resembling her son, replied, "You look fabulous dear, but you know you can't wear that outside. We don't want the muggles to know about us."

"I know mum," the boy sighed as a man, identical to the son, except wrinkled and white hair with slightly smaller nose, walked in the living room of the cottage.

He looked over James and smiled, "You are looking fancy son. Definitely Hogwarts material. I remember when I was your age. I got sorted in Gryffindor, you know."

"Yes I know. You have only said this countless times," James said, exasperatedly.

"I only say it because it is the house of the lions, those who are brave and-"

James interrupted as he took off his robe and handed it to his mother, "courageous."

"Good, dear boy," the older man responded with a smile as he sipped on some lemon juice. The citrus drink made its way down his throat, and he exhaled from the sourness. Having changed his clothes in the meantime, James stepped out of the house followed by his parents. A black case floated next to them along with a broom and a cage with a cat.

They exited the main gate outside their esteemed looking manor and the couple placed a hand on his shoulder and disappeared. The golden plate on the letterbox glinted the words, 'Potters'.

*Playground, 1969*

"Lily, don't do it!"

A girl screamed as she swung back while the forementioned girl launched herself off the swing in mid-air laughing as she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly.

There was silence as the older girl slowed from her swing by digging the heels of her sandals on the ground, ignoring the crunching sounds they made and leapt up with grace.

"Mummy told you not to!" she berated Lily, hands on hips as if a mother scolding a child, "Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"

"But I'm fine," said Lily, giggling, "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."

The older girl, Tuney as Lily had called her, looked around to see that the playground was deserted. The redhead girl plucked a flower from a nearby bush and pointed towards it, waiting for Petunia to reach her. Once the older sibling reached her, Lily opened her palm and showed the flower that sat there, opening and closing its petals.

Petunia shrieked, "Stop it!"

"It's not hurting you," said Lily, but she closed her hand on the blossom and threw it back to the ground. The flower fell to the ground and did not budge, as if it had never been moving.

"It's not right," said Petunia, but her eyes had followed the flower's flight to the ground and lingered upon it. "How do you do it?"

Before Lily could respond, the bush near them, specifically the one the Lily had plucked the flower from, rustled and a figure jumped out, screaming, "It's obvious, isn't it?"

The two siblings jumped in surprise and the older of the two, Petunia, sprinted towards the swings while Lily remained where they were. Whether she was frozen from shock or was just brave was a mystery that no one knew, including her.

The boy, who was shorter than Lily by perhaps an inch, his face sallow and dark circles under his eyes as a tinge of red coloured his pale skin.

"What's obvious?" asked Lily.

The boy was shaking with excitement but, with a glance at the frightened girl who stood by the swings, he whispered, "I know what you are."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, matching his tone subconsciously, as if they were sharing a secret. Petunia looked at the two in contained shock and hint of anger, but her fear kept her from speaking as she tried to remember who the boy was and why he seemed familiar.

"You're...you're a witch," whispered Snape.

Lily's head snapped at his direction as her expression turned to fury, "That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!" With that, she turned around, holding her head high, and marched towards her older sister, making sure to stomp the ground.

He realized how being called a witch might have sounded bad, so he flapped after her, yelling, "NO! You are- You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

"Wizard! I know who you are," Petunia laughed as she remembered, still gripping the swing pole, "You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river. Why have you been spying on us?"

The last question was directed at the boy, Snape, who seemed to feel uncomfortable as he spared a glance at the bright sunlight before he replied, "Haven't been spying. Wouldn't spy on you, anyway, you're a muggle."

"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" she said shrilly. Lily obeyed her sister at once, glaring at Snape as she left. He stood watching them as they marched through the playground gate, his disappointment visible on his face.

*Playground, 1969, Few days later*

It had started with Lily asking Snape about the wizarding world till they found themselves sitting under a tree, discussing about violating the laws.

"But I have done magic outside school!" Lily exclaimed as she looked around, waiting for someone to float on a broomstick towards her and capture her.

"We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven," he nodded to himself as he tried to remember what he was told years ago, "and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."

Silence enveloped the duo. Lily picked up a fallen twig and twirled it in the air, pretending like it was a wand before she let it go and inched closer towards the pale boy and asked, "It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?"

"It's real for us," said Snape. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."

"Really?"

"Definitely," said Snape, and even with his poorly cut hair and his odd clothes, she believed him from the air of confidence that he suddenly radiated.

"And will it really come by owl?" Lily whispered.

"Normally," said Snape. "But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."

"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?"

Snape hesitated. His black eyes, eager in the greenish gloom, moved over the pale face, the dark red hair and her bright green eyes that reminded him of emeralds.

"No," he said. "It doesn't make any difference."

"Good," said Lily, relaxing.

"You've got loads of magic," said Snape. "I saw that. All the time I was watching you..."

His voice trailed away; she was not listening but had stretched out on the leafy ground and was looking up at the canopy.

"How are things at your house?" Lily asked.

A little crease appeared between his eyes.

"Fine," he said.

"They're not arguing anymore?"

"Oh yes, they're arguing," answered Snape. He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing, "but it won't be that long and I'll be gone."

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"

"He doesn't like anything much."

"Severus?"

A little smile appeared on his mouth when she called his name.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about the dementors again."

He looked at her, confused, "What d'you want to know about them for?"

"If I use magic outside school-"

"They wouldn't give you to the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too-" He paused as he ripped a few more leaves and he contemplated how to finish the sentence when he was interrupted by a rustling from a nearby tree.

"Tuney!" said Lily, her voice was so giddy that it made the boy jealous, not that he would admit it.

Before Petunia could respond though, Snape shot to his feet and pointed at her, "Who's spying now? What d'you want?"

Petunia looked at him with contempt as she tried to think of a good retort, "What is that you're wearing anyway? Your mum's blouse?"

A branch over Petunia's head cracked and struck her shoulder, tears slowly brimming the corner of her eyes and she turned around, running away.

"Tuney!" the redhead girl called after her sister but she was long out of earshot. Turning around, Lily faced Snape, "Did you make that happen?"

"No!" He tried to defend himself but her glare scared him to the bone.

"You did! You did! You hurt her"

Lily began to back away. "No- No, I didn't!" Snape's words could not convince Lily who spared a final withering glare and ran off after her sister's retreating figure.

A/N: That's it for the first part of the prologue. Hope you enjoyed it. This is my first time writing Harry Potter fanfiction, especially for a time that has passed. I will try and stay as exact to the main story as I can while I write my own twist to this. It will centre around the Marauders and Lily (with bits of Snape) throughout Hogwarts years so this will be a big project that will hopefully meet a satisfying end.

Join the discord server discord . com/elibrary and get the chance to talk to me about any of my fics or stories or just for a chat.