The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 4- Separation

Severus was miserable for the next few months, since he wasn't allowed access to his Hogwarts things. But he was not as miserable as Sabrina was on the 1st of September.
The siblings and their mother had travelled to Platform 9 and 3/4, so that Severus could board the Hogwarts Express.
Their father had refused to come, and this pleased the siblings, as they didn't have to have him ruin the day for them.
"It's going to be really boring here without you" Sabrina said to Lily.
"I'm going to miss you. It's so annoying that you have to wait a whole year before you can come to Hogwarts" replied Lily.

"You're coming home for Christmas though, right?" Questioned Sabrina.
"Of course. I will want to spend the holidays at home with my family. And it means I'll get to see you" admitted Lily.
"I guess I'll have to find ways to entertain myself until you and Sev come back for Christmas" sighed Sabrina.
Lily threw her arms around Sabrina and squeezed her in a hug, "I'll be back before you know it".
"I hope so" mumbled Sabrina.

Lily said goodbye to Sabrina, before returning to her family.
"I guess this is it" announced Eileen.
Severus nodded his head, "I'll see you at Christmas, mother".
"Do try and enjoy yourself at school. And write as often as you can. Since we don't have our own owl, our replies will be few and far between, as we will have to go to Diagon Alley to send our letters. But that shouldn't stop you from using the school owls, to send us letters, to let us know how you're getting on" replied Eileen.

Sabrina scowled and kicked a nearby stone angrily.
"It will be your turn soon" reminded Severus, as he tried to make Sabrina feel better.
"This is going to be the longest year of my life" complained Sabrina.
"I know. But I'll be back soon. And it won't be long before you'll be at Hogwarts as well... But for now, I have to say goodbye, because I want to get on the train and change into my school robes as soon as possible"
"Have fun".

Severus gave Sabrina a one armed hug, before climbing aboard the train.
It wasn't long before all the students had boarded, and the train began to depart from the station.
Silent tears fell down Sabrina's face as the train moved away, taking her brother with it.
Once it was gone, Sabrina and her mother left the platform and made their way back home.

"So, the boy has gone?" Questioned Tobias, when they stepped inside the house.
Sabrina could smell the alcohol on him from across the room, and it repulsed her.
"Yes dear. Severus has gone to school, and he won't return until December, for Christmas" Eileen said quietly.
Tobias took a swig from the beer in his hand, and nodded his head, "That's one less mouth to feed for a while".
"Is that all my brother is to you, a mouth to feed?" Questioned Sabrina.
"Shut your mouth! I will not be disrespected like that in my own house!" Shouted Tobias.

Sabrina flinched, and the glass bottle Tobias was holding smashed into tiny pieces.
She hadn't meant to lose control, but her father's tone had frightened her.
Tobias marched across the room towards her with an angry look in his eyes. And with no where else to go, Sabrina turned and ran out of the house.
She could hear her father's shouts behind her, but she was too scared to look around, and to her relief, he did not follow her.

****
Over the next few months, Sabrina spent as much time out of the house as possible.
She left after breakfast and didn't return until dinner.
But even though she hardly spent any time with her parents, her father still found time to shout at her.
Severus's letter from school only filled Sabrina with jealousy, because she wanted to do the things he was doing.

When Severus eventually returned home for Christmas, he found his sister to be a much colder person that he remembered.
"See ya Snivellus" shouted a boy Sabrina didn't recognise, when Severus climbed off the train.
"Who was that?" Questioned Sabrina, as she looked at the black haired boy who had yelled at her brother.
"Nobody important. Just one of the low lifes in my year" answered Severus.
"Right. Well, let's get going, I'm bloody freezing" shivered Sabrina.
"That's it? No hello, or nice to see you?"
"What did you expect? A big hug and a welcome home party?"
"No. I just thought that you would be happy to see me".

Sabrina's face softened slightly, "I am glad to see you".
"You don't look like it" mumbled Severus, as the family made their way off the platform.
"Well, a lot has happened since you left... We're not actually allowed to talk about you at home, because you're at Hogwarts, which is a place that involves magic, and as you know, magic is a taboo subject" admitted Sabrina.
"Oh. I guess it was foolish of me to think that mum and dad would miss me"
"Even though we couldn't talk about you. I still missed you... For the first few weeks, I cried myself to sleep each night. Our room really isn't the same without you".

"A part of me wanted to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas. There are these huge trees in the great hall, and the whole place is very Christmassy. I expect I would have a much better time there, than I would here" admitted Severus.
"Yes, well you promised to come home for all of the holidays in your first year. But maybe you and me can stay at Hogwarts for Christmas next year, so that we don't have to come back home" suggested Sabrina.
"You really want to leave her alone with him for Christmas?" Asked Severus, as he nodded his head at their mother, who was walking a few feet in front of them.

"Why not? She's going to have to get used to being without us. Because I can't see either of us coming back once we turn 17. Certainly not to re-live all the happy memories we have there. Besides, she's alone with him for most of the day anyway, because I don't spend much time at home" revealed Sabrina.
"I suppose that's true. The moment I can officially leave home, I will" replied Severus.
"Yeah, me too".