Snapedom

I don't agree that he was neglected, at least not by his mother. In canon we see him telling Lily all about magic; how could he have known so much about it except by listening to his mother? And we know his father didn't like magic, so it must have been her son she reminisced with. Such communication does not indicate neglect to me. His mother seems to have had the same "blind spot" regarding Muggle clothing that all the wizards and witches had in the series (what, why don't they use their eyes to see what the Muggles all around them are wearing?) and no doubt the family was poor (she couldn't have transfigured his clothes into something more appropriate?) but then we know that Lupin wore rags, if he could have transfigured his clothes to look newer he would have, rather than constantly mending them. So maybe clothes can't be transformed (even though Barty Crouch Junior was able to turn his father into a bone in GoF!)
Young Snape doesn't seem to have had any friends apart from Lily in canon, so perhaps he spent a lot of time indors, with his mother, learning about magic, and probably, cooking as well.
Alison