The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 1- Neglect

9 year old Sabrina Snape sat in the dark shed at the bottom of the garden, waiting for her older brother Severus, to return. Since their father refused to allow magic in the house, the shed was the only place where magic could be discussed and used.
Of course, since Sabrina was so young, she couldn't always control her magic, so sometimes it exploded out of her. And the more she tried to surpress it, to avoid her fathers wrath, the more powerful the magic that came out of her.

Suddenly the shed door swung open, and Sabrina immediately looked up to see her brother enter the shed, shutting the door angrily behind him.
The two siblings did not look all that alike, as Severus took all the worst parts of their parents appearences, while Sabrina took the best. This didn't mean that she was pretty in any way, but her appearence was not quite as off putting as her brothers.
She did not have his overly large hooked nose, or greasy hair. Instead her black hair was dull and filled with spilt ends.
The one feature the siblings shared was their greasy skin and black eyes.

Severus dropped down onto the floor, and rearranged his coat, so that he wasn't sitting on it.
His clothes were mismatched and tatty, as they had once belonged to their father. Sabrina's clothes were the same, as neither of their parents cared enough about them to buy them decent clothes, so all they had were their mother and fathers hand-me-downs.
"What's wrong with you?" Asked Sabrina, as she looked at Severus' miserable face.
"I tried to talk to Lily today, but it didn't go well" he admitted sourly.
"The girl you've been spying on from the other end of town?" Questioned Sabrina.
"Yes. She was playing at the park with her older sister, and I saw her use magic, so I told her that she was a witch. But she didn't believe me"
"And you are certain that she is a witch"
"I'm sure she is. She does things that no Muggle can do"
"So she's a Muggle-born then?"
"Yeah".

"Are you going to try to talk to her again?" Quizzed Sabrina curiously.
"Yes. I will have to try again, when her stupid Muggle sister isn't there. I have a whole year before me and Lily go to Hogwarts, and intend on being her best friend by then" said Severus determindly.
"I thought I was your best friend" frowned Sabrina.
Severus shuffled along the floor, until he was sat beside his sister.
"You are. But I need friends my age, who will be in my year at Hogwarts" he reminded her.

"I'm only 1 year younger than you... Anyway I don't want you to go to Hogwarts. I don't want you to leave me" Sabrina said quietly.
"It'll only be for a year. And then you will come and join me" replied Severus.
"A year is a long time... And I need you here, to look after me, because I can't do it on my own".
Severus placed his arm around Sabrina's shoulders.
"You'll be fine. Just stay out of the house as often as possible, and you'll be O.K".

Sabrina brought her knees up to her chest, and hugged them tightly. In the distance she could hear shouting, that she knew was coming from her house.
"When you are friends with Lily, do you think you could introduce us, so we can be friends too?" Asked Sabrina, as she tried to take her mind off her parents rows.
"Of course. I know she'd love to be your friend too" promised Severus.
"I don't have any friends but you, so it would be nice to have one"
"Yes, but you'll have to find another friend to hang out with when me and Lily go to Hogwarts"
"How many other witches to you think their are in Spinners End? It's a Muggle street, so you were lucky to find one. I don't think there's anymore hanging about"
"Well, you'll just have to find other ways to occupy yourself then".

Sabrina looked around the room at the cauldrons and spell books that littered the shelves. The items in that room, were the only things that had any place in the magical world. Everything in their house was completely Muggle, so you wouldn't even know it was owned by two witches and a wizard.
"I wish we had other people in our family that we could play with" sighed Sabrina.

"Well dad won't let us see his relatives, not that we'd want to spend time with Muggles anyway. And mums side disowned her for marrying a Muggle, so I don't think we are ever going to meet any more members of our family. It's just going to be the four of us, forever" admitted Severus sadly.
"I hate it. I hate this stupid life. I want to be like everyone else" complained Sabrina.
"Well you can't be. And when you get to Hogwarts, you have to keep all this secret, if you want your classmates and teachers to treat you normally"
"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me".

Severus would have replied, if the sound of footsteps approaching, hadn't made them both leap to their feet.
Sabrina pressed her back against the shed wall, while Severus placed himself in front of her.
The door opened, revealing their father Tobias, who was holding a half drunk beer bottle in one hand, while his other hand held onto the door.
"Your mother says that dinner is ready now" he said coldly, before taking a sip of his drink.
The siblings nodded their heads, and took hold of each others hands, as they made their way across the shed towards their father.
Tobias stepped to the side, and allowed them to exit, before slamming the door shut behind them, making Sabrina jump.

Severus and Sabrina walked quickly towards their house, putting as much distance between them and their father as possible. They knew from experience what could happen if they stood too close to him, while he was drunk or angry, which was most of the time.
Their father was an unpleasent man, but he was not nearly as cruel to his children as he was to his wife. Severus and Sabrina used to try and protect their mother Eileen, from their father. But when she failed to do the same thing for them, they stopped, and decided to save themselves some pain, instead of interfering in their parents frequent arguements.

As Severus and Sabrina entered the kitchen, they saw a new bruise on their mothers cheek, but they said nothing as they took their seats, and began to tuck into the small meal that Eileen had prepared for them.
The family didn't have much money, and the little that they did have, was never spent on Sabrina or her brother. They were mostly left to fend for themselves, and that was all the children knew how to do.
Because of this, the siblings were very close, and they even shared a room, due to their house only having two bedrooms. They relied on each other, and Severus did everything he could, to keep his little sister safe.