It's been a while but let's do a small nostalgic rewind
Imagine, Severus and his mom have been moving from apartment to apartment, to a shed, and back to an apartment again for a few years now. It's like every birthday would include the gift of getting further and further away from a man who posed a threat to their safety — his father. He knows who his father is, and he has spent enough time around him to form a solid opinion. He understands why they have to move so much, really, he gets it...but it still sucks. He doesn't have any friends, he doesn't look good enough to invite kids to play with him, and—
Oh, look, a job offer!
Okay, finally, they're moving to a neighborhood in a small, cozy town called Amber Crane! Wow, Severus' really
Really
...
He hates it.
He hates it, but is doing his best to stay optimistic for the sake of his mother's exhausted heart. Yes, all for the sake of her. She tells him to go explore (strange, she would never let him do such a thing anywhere else), and he follows her order because let's be for real, he isn't going to stand around in the autumn winds waiting for the landlord to drop a key into her hands.
It takes him ONE step onto the sidewalk until he gets attacked. Why what you may ask?
Paper airplane. Oh, he hates this place.
I'm so rusty I'm gonna cry
