A/N: Something I dug out from a while back :P Writing is going well, so see you all soon :) Love, Lily xxx

Sharp needles of orange light pierced through a small gap in the flimsy, grey curtains hitting the sleeping Lucius Malfoy squarely in the eyes. Cursing indistinctly, the blonde boy pushed himself into a sitting position and stared blearily around him.

"Where the bloody hell am I?" he muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Lucius reached out a hand to draw back the tattered grey curtains from the window so that he could look out and get some idea where he was.

Rows upon rows of dilapidated houses- each built up of grey stone- stretched for miles at every angle that Lucius could see. In the distance to one side ran a murky river- as grimy as the rest of the area- whilst on the other, a tall, black chimney loomed over the neighbourhood, dominating the sky line and casting shadows over the houses unfortunate enough to be beneath it.

Lucius remembered now. He remembered coercing Severus into letting him stay, missing the bus, having to walk for ages and, finally, arriving here.

He rolled over so that he was facing the small room- about a quarter of the size of his own at the manor- and looked down at the mattress covered with a shabby sleeping bag.

"Sev?" Lucius whispered. "You awake?"

The mattress gave no response, so, leaning over as far as could without falling out of bed, Lucius poked it. Hard.

Luckily for Lucius' health and general well-being, it turned out that Severus was not there and, as such, it was only the sleeping-bag that had suffered which could not retaliate.

"Git," Lucius muttered idly to himself. Then a very Malfoy-like idea hit him. "If Severus isn't here," he reasoned, swinging his legs around so that he was sitting on the edge. "Then there is nobody to stop me from looking around a bit."

Of course, Lucius knew full well that his friend would shoot him down on the spot if he caught him snooping around where it didn't concern him, but Lucius Malfoy was a boy who took good opportunities when they presented themselves and ignored the consequences. This, coincidentally, is why Abraxas Malfoy despaired of his head-strong son and had given up trying to make him act properly from the moment Lucius turned eleven, hoping that the boy would end up in so much trouble through his actions, he'd learn to use his head instead of acting upon impulse.

So far, Abraxas' philosophy had not been proven correct.

Balancing two mugs of weak tea on a tray with one hand, Severus knocked quietly on the door at the far end of the upstairs landing and tentatively let himself in, the tray wobbling precariously as he id so.

The room was tiny, even smaller than his own, and a single bed which took up nearly all the space, was the only piece of furniture in there. Stepping carefully around the bed, Severus tugged the curtains back to allow daylight to eradicate the gloom.

"Morning Mum."

A small, very fragile looking woman sat up. Draped in an old nightgown- patterned with faded flowers- which hung loosely from her skinny frame, Eileen Snape had delicate features, startlingly big dark eyes and lank, black hair that fell heavily onto her shoulder in exactly the same way as Severus' did.

"We didn't bother you last night, did we?" Severus asked anxiously, crouching down to lay the tray down on the ground. "Only we wasn't as quiet as we might've been."

"I didn't hear anything," said Eileen, accepting the chipped mug that her son offered her. "Thanks."

Severus gave a small shrug of his shoulders and sat down on the edge of her bed. The two of them sat in silence as Mrs Snape sipped carefully at the watery liquid and Severus sat stiffly, waiting for her to say something first. The tension he had felt yesterday upon returning to Spinner's End had in no way diminished; his chest was still painfully tight, his senses were unusually sharp and his lips were constantly dry, no matter how much he licked them.

There was no 'How was school?' or 'Did you have a good journey?' or 'It's so good to have you home!' Just silence. Severus' mind strayed back to getting off the train yesterday, how everyone else had someone there to meet them and how Lucius had said "Where're your parents?"…

It wasn't as though he minded, thought Severus bitterly. He knew that his mother was too busy working, trying to keep dad happy and look after the house to remember all the trivial little things that other mums did. He was old enough not to need any of that…

And it goes without saying that he had learned not to expect anything from his father, especially regarding school.

"Is your friend here?" asked Eileen, rousing her son from his thoughts. "The Malfoy boy?"

"Lucius? Yeah, he's here. I think he's still asleep but I'm about to take him some tea."

Eileen nodded her dark head thoughtfully. "He seems nice enough. Very polite letter he sent me."

"I dare say…" muttered Severus dryly. "How're you, anyway? How's Dad been?"

"I'm doing evenings at that restaurant across the river now," she told him with a glimmer of pride. "Just taking orders and clearing up and such, but it brings in a bit of money. Your dad didn't like it, but I managed to talk him round eventually."

Severus tried to smile. "That's great, Mum. I'm really pleased for you."

"Mmm…"

The boy sighed inwardly; he did try. No one could accuse him of not making the effort, but she just made it so difficult!

"I'm going to go see Lucius," Severus muttered, picking the tray back up. "See you later."

"Severus,"

He paused by the door and turned expectantly. "Yes?"

"I want you out the house in an hour," Eileen told him, cradling the empty china in her hands. "And you're to be back before your dad gets home, okay?"

Severus nodded. "Sure. Has he already gone out?" Behind his back, he crossed his fingers hopefully. If Tobias had already left for work, it would mean that the row over Lucius would be put off at least until this evening…

But Eileen shook her head. "He gets out by ten at the earliest, so I want you and your friend out of the way before that. Got it?"

"Of course, Mum."

Lucius managed to shove the drawer he was snooping through closed just as Severus appeared brandishing tea.

The darker boy glared suspiciously at his friend. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," Lucius lied. "Where did you disappear off to anyway?"

"I went to see my mother," said Severus with a scowl. "She seems quite taken with you. 'Very polite letter he sent me!'" he mocked.

But far from being insulted by his friend's teasing, Lucius merely shrugged and smirked. "Well, you know charm comes naturally to us Malfoys…Ow!"

A shoe, which had suddenly flown through the air, struck Lucius squarely on the head.

"As does having an exceedingly large ego!" retorted Severus, ducking quickly as the shoe was returned. "Oi! Watch it! If you break anything, you're paying for it!"

"Yeah, like there's anything to break," the blond boy scoffed, lounging back on the bed. "Seriously, Sev; how on earth can you live with so little stuff?"

"At least I'm not a spoilt brat!" Severus spat furiously, suddenly defensive. He didn't like being teased, even if it wasn't maliciously. Severus was always being criticised by his friends- particularly Lucius, who couldn't help teasing sometimes- for not having a sense of humour and for taking things too seriously. But between being tormented by the Marauders and coming from a less-than-privileged background, Severus was keenly sensitive about personal jibes being directed at him and tended to over-react to taunting in any shape or form.

Lucius, seeing his friend's reaction and remembering past experiences when he had unintentionally insulted him, bit his lip guiltily and said hesitantly, "I didn't mean anything by it, Sev-"

"Yeah well," dark, angry eyes flashed sharply up. "If you don't like it, you can always go home, can't you?"

"I didn't mean it," Lucius repeated, eyebrows knotted together with concern. He sat up, but didn't dare go any closer in case Severus lashed out. An angry Snape was very dangerous and very unpredictable. "Sorry Sev…"

Taking a long, deep breath, Severus gathered himself together and took control of himself again. He had to stop taking everything people said so seriously! Especially Lucius who was able to control his mouth about as much as a spider could ignore a trapped fly.

"Don't worry about it," he said, trying to smile. "Sorry for flying off the handle…Anyway," Severus thrust the less-than-boiling tea into Lucius' hands. "I didn't think you'd be awake yet, so I brought you tea."

Lucius regarded it with a slight frown, then sipped tentatively. "It's cold!" he exclaimed, pulling a face. "What are you trying to do to me? It's not bloody funny!"

"Of course it isn't." Severus covered his mouth, trying desperately hard not to laugh…but, of course, trying not to laugh always means you do and a very inelegant snort burst forth from his mouth. "Karma," he spluttered, coughing hard.

"What?"

"Karma," said Severus again, calmer this time. "It means; you took the piss therefore your tea gets cold. What goes around comes around and all that."

Lucius rolled his eyes contemptuously. "Don't be ridiculous…" although he couldn't help smiling. The he coughed in a very business-like manner. "Anyway, what's the pan for today? Or are we just sitting around doing nothing?"

"Mum said we have to be out in an hour," Severus said, glancing anxiously at his alarm clock. "And that was about fifteen minutes ago…shit! Lucius come one!" He grabbed Lucius' arm and hauled the blonde boy to his feet. "Come give me a hand with the suitcases and get dressed quickly!"

Lucius scowled, rubbing his arm. "Okay okay! Relax Sev, there's plenty of time-"

Sighing very loudly, Severus got behind Lucius and shoved him in the direction of the door. "You can tell me that when everything's done! Bloody move it!"

After a lot of banging about, bruised shins and manoeuvring around difficult corners, the two boys finally managed to get their trunks up the narrow staircase, through the even narrower door and into Severus' room. They both looked around with ever increasing concern; both thinking the same thing and neither one wanting to say it out loud- What happens now?

"One could just about fit under my bed," said Severus slowly, chewing his thumbnail. "But…"

"Yeah…"

"If the door opened the other way, yours could go there," he pointed to the threshold. "And we could climb over it every time we went out."

"But it doesn't," pointed out Lucius helpfully.

"No."

"Hmm…"

"Hmm…"

"Difficult one."

"Indeed."

Lucius walked slowly around the small room, assessing it from every angle as though that would make more space magically appear.

"Well, if you didn't have so much stuff…" Lucius said with a wry smile.

Severus raised a very un-amused eyebrow. "So funny! And so helpful!"

"Yeah well," the young Malfoy shrugged modestly. "Wit is a Malfoy requirement."

"Oh shut up," Severus told him, resisting the urge to punch the other boy. "Get changed and come down when you're done. I'll figure out a way to store your trunk later."

"If the worst comes to the worst," Lucius offered with the air of one who was making The Ultimate Sacrifice, "I shall sleep in it."

Severus made a mock bow. "How very kind."

"Quite quite," Lucius waved him away imperiously. "Now leave, unless you want to watch me change."

Severus couldn't have left quicker if he had flown.

"Get your thievin' paws off!" Eileen snapped as a hand belonging to her son snaked out from behind her and reached for the bacon she had just taken out from under the grill.

Severus retreated with a groan, but knew better than to push his luck. The smell was unbearably irresistible and he was forced to cover his face with both hands to keep himself from leaping at it.

"Isn't there anymore?" he asked hopefully, voice muffled though his hands.

"No there isn't," his mother replied sternly, tipping the contents of the pan onto a plate. "And when you go out and earn the money for this house, you can have the bacon then and not before."

Severus pulled a very unpleasant face at her back and grumbled incoherently to himself.

Then a thought struck him, "Does Dad actually know that Lucius is here?"

"Sort of," replied Eileen cryptically, her back still to him.

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"I mean," she turned slowly, almost elegantly, and rested one skinny arm on the stained counter-top. "He knows you have a friend from school staying however," a slight smirk graced her gaunt features. "He doesn't quite realise how 'Wizardy' the Malfoy boy actually is."

Severus nodded understandingly. "I suppose you can't get anymore 'Wizardy' than Lucius…"

What're you saying about me?" came the imperious demand as Lucius appeared in full wizard apparel. Both Snapes raised their eyebrows as they took in Lucius' less-than-muggle appearance.

"What?" the young Malfoy snapped, grey eyes narrowing as they smirked at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Eileen- saying nothing- went back to her cooking and left Severus to voice their thoughts.

"Well…" he said slowly, trying to be as tactful as possible. "Do you remember what I said yesterday on the train?"

"I remember you didn't say much."

"Yes, but I did mention that it probably wasn't the best of ideas to go around muggle-London in wizard clothes. Right?"

Lucius regarded his friend blankly. "And…?"

Severus sighed. "And the same applies here. Seriously, this is not the best place to stick out. Don't you have anything half…normal?"

Now it was Lucius' turn to raise an eyebrow. "Define 'normal'."

"Not as…" Severus searched desperately for the right words to describe what he was thinking. "Not as expensive. Not as obvious." He looked away, suddenly embarrassed, and muttered, "I don't want you to make people notice me… us."

Lucius looked at his friend calculatingly, then said slowly, "But I don't have anything else..."

Eileen turned to put her two pence in. "Severus, why don't you lend him something?"

"Don't be ridiculous," her son muttered as Lucius looked utterly horrified at the mere suggestion.