Fic: Monster of Spinner's End (gen)
Title: The Monster of Spinner's End
Author: persepolis130
Rating: PG
Warnings: spoilers for DH, implied child abuse
Summary: Kitchen implement wands in hand, 10 year old Lily and Sev take on the dragon.
Notes: A bit of cuteness written during my free time at work, to show love to bestfriends!snapelily.
The monster on the couch loosed a giant snort, and Lily gripped her upside-down wooden spoon wand tighter. Sev placed a hand on her shoulder, his pale little face tight-lipped in concentration.
"Don't wake him," Sev whispered, so low Lily could barely hear it. "Dragons breath fire."
Lily wasn't sure the monster on the couch could really breathe fire, but she knew she didn't want to find out. It was big and dirty and scary looking, and its breath smelled like something dead.
"Where is it?" she whispered back. "Can you see it?"
Sev's eyes grew wide behind his long, messy hair, and he held a finger to his lips. He pointed his spatula toward the monster on the couch's middle, which was rising and falling with its snores. "Under his wing," Sev said. "That's where they keep their treasure."
"How do we get it?" Lily asked, going on her tip toes for a better look. "Where's the wing?"
"Shh," Sev warned, taking a step forward. The place under the wing with the treasure was small, and one of the monster's legs was over it, curled up and ending in dirty, cruel looking claws. Sev swallowed hard and slid his wandless hand under the leg.
Lily gasped at Sev's bravery. One wrong move, one wrong breath, and the monster on the couch would have him. It would eat him alive.
She held her wand at the ready.
The monster stayed still though, and Sev dug his hand into its treasure chest. He rooted around for what seemed like forever, wand pressed to the monster's soft belly. Hissing a very naughty word, he slid his hand back out.
"It's no use!" he whispered, and pulled Lily away from the slumbering beast. Her hand in his, he dragged her back into safety behind the old table. "I can't reach it. My hand's too big!"
Lily looked down at his fingers, which were threaded through hers, long, pale and skinny. She swallowed, knowing what she had to do, and slid her fingers from his.
"I'm going to get it," she whispered, taking a step out from behind the table. "I'll get the treasure. My hands are smaller."
Sev gasped "Lily, no!" but he was too late. With her left hand pointing her wand at the monster on the couch's ugly head, she snuck up to its side, took a deep breath, and plunged her hand in.
It was hot and damp where the treasure was hidden, and tight around her small fingers. Sev was making panicked sounds from behind the table, but Lily would not give up. She slid her hand in even further, hoping Sev hadn't been wrong, and the treasure wasn't here after all.
Then her eyes widened. The tips of her fingers pressed against something hard and flat. The treasure.
"Lily! Lily!" Sev was saying, voice urgent, and she looked up to see the monster snorting, wrinkling its huge, awful nose. With a jolt of panic, Lily wrapped her fingers around the treasure and pulled.
Her hand was stuck. "Oh no," she squeaked. "Oh no!"
The monster was moving, its foul breath huffing, stomach clenching and clawed leg reaching for her wrist. Sev was beside her hissing "Let go, let go!" and yanking at her arm.
"Oh no!" she repeated, and the creature's eyes slid open.
They were dark and evil and staring straight through Lily's eyes into her soul and she screamed. Sev shouted and grabbed at her waist, pulling at her dress and yanking hard at her arm, and the monster's hand that was sliding across her wrist.
Then somehow her hand was free and they were running for the door, slamming it behind them, and panting in the hot summer sunlight.
"You could've been killed!" Sev shouted. "What were you thinking?!"
Lily opened her hand and smiled down at it. "I got it," she said.
Sev gasped. "The treasure!" he said, grabbing her wrist. "You got the treasure! Two hundred Galleons! Do you know what this means?!"
Lily beamed, looking up from her handful of pence. Sev's eyes were bright and triumphant, and they made her heart catch funny in her chest.
"Let's go!" he said, and grabbed her hand. She flew after him in a gale of giggles.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting on the swings, treasure gone and ice cream dripping down their fingers. "Are you sure it's not stealing?" Lily asked.
"Of course not," Sev assured her, licking at his knuckles. "You steal things from people. You liberate them from dragons."
"Mmm," said Lily, digging her toes into the dirt and twisting around in her swing. "You want to taste some of mine?" she asked, holding it out for him.
Sev shook his head. "No, you have it. You earned it." There was chocolate ice cream in his hair.
Lily laughed and reached over to try and get it out, and Sev held very still as she ran her fingers through his hair. It didn't do much good though, as her hands were equally sticky.
"I wish every day could be like this," he said very suddenly, sounding odd.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked, taking a lick of her cone. "Like what?"
"That we could..." he shook his head, now hanging low over his ice cream. "That the dragon lost."
Lily didn't like the way he looked, all sad and small, not the way someone should be when they'd just stolen a dragon's treasure right out from under its wing. "Maybe you shouldn't battle so many dragons, if you keep losing," Lily offered. She felt bad because this wasn't the right thing to say at all, but she didn't know what was.
"Sometimes the dragon..." he swallowed hard, "sometimes it comes to you. Up into your room at... at night... breathing fire..."
"What does it want?" Lily asked, an awful feeling settling into the bottom of her stomach.
Sev shrugged, his bottom lip trembling. "I don't know," he whispered.
"What..." Lily reached over and put her fingers, covered in pink strawberry drips, on Sev's hand. "What does he do to you, Sev?"
He pulled his hand away, raising his ice cream to his mouth. "Doesn't matter," he answered, voice steadier than Lily expected, "I only have one year left. Then we'll be at Hogwarts. They don't let dragons in, there. Headmaster's orders."
Lily sighed. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to think there was some special place they both got to go where she could make marmalade out of frogspawn and no one would ever hurt Sev again. She wanted to.
She just wasn't sure she did.
"You want to eat dinner at my house?" she asked, because there was nothing else worth saying. "Mum's fixing chicken."
"No. Not tonight," said Sev, looking at his drippy cone as though it were the saddest thing he'd ever seen. Like if one more drip fell, he wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
But then the drips weren't running down his fingers-- they were running up. Each of them trailed back to the cone, unmelting when they hit the scoop. Even the brownish drips on Sev's old trousers hopped back up, and soon the cone was whole again, perfect and chocolate-y beautiful.
Sev blinked, holding it in front of him. The sad face left, and he smiled at Lily. "Thanks," he told her.
She shrugged. "What're friends for?"
"Have I told you about banshees, Lily?" he asked, smile never leaving his face.
Though she'd heard about them a dozen times, Lily shook her head and let him explain. Maybe Hogwarts existed, maybe it didn't. Maybe Sev was a wizard and Lily was a witch, and when they turned eleven, they'd be whisked off on a magical train to a world where they'd finally fit in. Or maybe they were both freaks like Petunia said.
As long as she and Sev were together though, Lily didn't think it mattered so much.
Author: persepolis130
Rating: PG
Warnings: spoilers for DH, implied child abuse
Summary: Kitchen implement wands in hand, 10 year old Lily and Sev take on the dragon.
Notes: A bit of cuteness written during my free time at work, to show love to bestfriends!snapelily.
The monster on the couch loosed a giant snort, and Lily gripped her upside-down wooden spoon wand tighter. Sev placed a hand on her shoulder, his pale little face tight-lipped in concentration.
"Don't wake him," Sev whispered, so low Lily could barely hear it. "Dragons breath fire."
Lily wasn't sure the monster on the couch could really breathe fire, but she knew she didn't want to find out. It was big and dirty and scary looking, and its breath smelled like something dead.
"Where is it?" she whispered back. "Can you see it?"
Sev's eyes grew wide behind his long, messy hair, and he held a finger to his lips. He pointed his spatula toward the monster on the couch's middle, which was rising and falling with its snores. "Under his wing," Sev said. "That's where they keep their treasure."
"How do we get it?" Lily asked, going on her tip toes for a better look. "Where's the wing?"
"Shh," Sev warned, taking a step forward. The place under the wing with the treasure was small, and one of the monster's legs was over it, curled up and ending in dirty, cruel looking claws. Sev swallowed hard and slid his wandless hand under the leg.
Lily gasped at Sev's bravery. One wrong move, one wrong breath, and the monster on the couch would have him. It would eat him alive.
She held her wand at the ready.
The monster stayed still though, and Sev dug his hand into its treasure chest. He rooted around for what seemed like forever, wand pressed to the monster's soft belly. Hissing a very naughty word, he slid his hand back out.
"It's no use!" he whispered, and pulled Lily away from the slumbering beast. Her hand in his, he dragged her back into safety behind the old table. "I can't reach it. My hand's too big!"
Lily looked down at his fingers, which were threaded through hers, long, pale and skinny. She swallowed, knowing what she had to do, and slid her fingers from his.
"I'm going to get it," she whispered, taking a step out from behind the table. "I'll get the treasure. My hands are smaller."
Sev gasped "Lily, no!" but he was too late. With her left hand pointing her wand at the monster on the couch's ugly head, she snuck up to its side, took a deep breath, and plunged her hand in.
It was hot and damp where the treasure was hidden, and tight around her small fingers. Sev was making panicked sounds from behind the table, but Lily would not give up. She slid her hand in even further, hoping Sev hadn't been wrong, and the treasure wasn't here after all.
Then her eyes widened. The tips of her fingers pressed against something hard and flat. The treasure.
"Lily! Lily!" Sev was saying, voice urgent, and she looked up to see the monster snorting, wrinkling its huge, awful nose. With a jolt of panic, Lily wrapped her fingers around the treasure and pulled.
Her hand was stuck. "Oh no," she squeaked. "Oh no!"
The monster was moving, its foul breath huffing, stomach clenching and clawed leg reaching for her wrist. Sev was beside her hissing "Let go, let go!" and yanking at her arm.
"Oh no!" she repeated, and the creature's eyes slid open.
They were dark and evil and staring straight through Lily's eyes into her soul and she screamed. Sev shouted and grabbed at her waist, pulling at her dress and yanking hard at her arm, and the monster's hand that was sliding across her wrist.
Then somehow her hand was free and they were running for the door, slamming it behind them, and panting in the hot summer sunlight.
"You could've been killed!" Sev shouted. "What were you thinking?!"
Lily opened her hand and smiled down at it. "I got it," she said.
Sev gasped. "The treasure!" he said, grabbing her wrist. "You got the treasure! Two hundred Galleons! Do you know what this means?!"
Lily beamed, looking up from her handful of pence. Sev's eyes were bright and triumphant, and they made her heart catch funny in her chest.
"Let's go!" he said, and grabbed her hand. She flew after him in a gale of giggles.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting on the swings, treasure gone and ice cream dripping down their fingers. "Are you sure it's not stealing?" Lily asked.
"Of course not," Sev assured her, licking at his knuckles. "You steal things from people. You liberate them from dragons."
"Mmm," said Lily, digging her toes into the dirt and twisting around in her swing. "You want to taste some of mine?" she asked, holding it out for him.
Sev shook his head. "No, you have it. You earned it." There was chocolate ice cream in his hair.
Lily laughed and reached over to try and get it out, and Sev held very still as she ran her fingers through his hair. It didn't do much good though, as her hands were equally sticky.
"I wish every day could be like this," he said very suddenly, sounding odd.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked, taking a lick of her cone. "Like what?"
"That we could..." he shook his head, now hanging low over his ice cream. "That the dragon lost."
Lily didn't like the way he looked, all sad and small, not the way someone should be when they'd just stolen a dragon's treasure right out from under its wing. "Maybe you shouldn't battle so many dragons, if you keep losing," Lily offered. She felt bad because this wasn't the right thing to say at all, but she didn't know what was.
"Sometimes the dragon..." he swallowed hard, "sometimes it comes to you. Up into your room at... at night... breathing fire..."
"What does it want?" Lily asked, an awful feeling settling into the bottom of her stomach.
Sev shrugged, his bottom lip trembling. "I don't know," he whispered.
"What..." Lily reached over and put her fingers, covered in pink strawberry drips, on Sev's hand. "What does he do to you, Sev?"
He pulled his hand away, raising his ice cream to his mouth. "Doesn't matter," he answered, voice steadier than Lily expected, "I only have one year left. Then we'll be at Hogwarts. They don't let dragons in, there. Headmaster's orders."
Lily sighed. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to think there was some special place they both got to go where she could make marmalade out of frogspawn and no one would ever hurt Sev again. She wanted to.
She just wasn't sure she did.
"You want to eat dinner at my house?" she asked, because there was nothing else worth saying. "Mum's fixing chicken."
"No. Not tonight," said Sev, looking at his drippy cone as though it were the saddest thing he'd ever seen. Like if one more drip fell, he wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
But then the drips weren't running down his fingers-- they were running up. Each of them trailed back to the cone, unmelting when they hit the scoop. Even the brownish drips on Sev's old trousers hopped back up, and soon the cone was whole again, perfect and chocolate-y beautiful.
Sev blinked, holding it in front of him. The sad face left, and he smiled at Lily. "Thanks," he told her.
She shrugged. "What're friends for?"
"Have I told you about banshees, Lily?" he asked, smile never leaving his face.
Though she'd heard about them a dozen times, Lily shook her head and let him explain. Maybe Hogwarts existed, maybe it didn't. Maybe Sev was a wizard and Lily was a witch, and when they turned eleven, they'd be whisked off on a magical train to a world where they'd finally fit in. Or maybe they were both freaks like Petunia said.
As long as she and Sev were together though, Lily didn't think it mattered so much.