"Gryffindor!" the hat shouts with bored glee as he goes through the sorting process for this year. Severus Snape's eyes widen in shock when he processes the word. He had been so sure, but he'd been foolish. The idea of the house of Lions, years of wearing red, of fierce fighting against any Slytherin just on principle have just turned his world upside down and inside out. Fighting Severus himself on principle, he can't believe it.
Still, Lily hops of the three-legged stool, sets the hat down with a smile and moves to the cheering table at the wrong side of the hall with a small bounce in her step.
His mind works a thousand miles an hour as he franticly ponders the one thing he hadn't seen coming. He'd planned for his hard-working and loyal friend to end up in Hufflepuf, possibly Ravenclaw if Lily loved her books enough to suppress the Badger's personality treats. Gryffindor though, hadn't even looked like a possibility. Now he feels foolish. The redhead is the bravest girl he knows, of course she has a lion's roar to match her wild mane.
Severus feels lucky that his last name puts him near the end of McGonagall's sorting list. The time between the 'E' and the 'S' is completely spent staring at his best and only friend, who has quietly introduced herself to the prefects and Black, whose ridiculously long time on the stool caused a complete scandal by defying his parent's expectations and getting himself away from the Slytherin table.
He halts his train of thought as Potter takes a seat next to Black and across from Lily, who has left an empty place next to her that he won't let anybody else fill. That spot is his. If Black can do it, a half-blood surely can get away from the snakes as well, no matter how cunning and ambitious. It's not like he has anybody outside of Lily, he can only lose her, and he'll be damned if he does.
"Snape, Severus."
With a calming breath, he moves his feet one by one toward the Sorting Hat, which will either condemn or absolve him. He's not secure enough in his young friendship with Lily now that their entire world is different, with many others like them. Others can show her the intricacies of the Wizarding World, but he wants to finish what he started. It's his role to guide her and help her achieve everything she desires.
He doesn't have the attributes that Gryffindor's founder will ask of him. He has only felt brave once in his life. The day he saw Lily on the swing and gathered all his courage to explain to this beautiful and magical girl what life had to offer her. The moment he opened a door to a new world for her and she unexpectedly pulled him along to explore. The first time he spoke up and did something he felt he shouldn't. The first time Severus believed that he had something to offer to someone and had the choice to give it.
"Gryffindor!"
Lily's smile is blinding
A/N A drabble to pass the time.