Author's Note: Writing is an ongoing process (especially for me, who is rarely satisfied) so as more of the story develops, chances are previous chapters will be added to or altered as necessary. I view this beginning as a snapshot of what it might be and what more will come.
Severus crouched behind the bush, watching the two girls play. Lily was the pretty one, with her lively red hair and glowing green eyes. Petunia, on the other hand, was unimpressive. Her hair was stringy, eyes squint and glaring, and face pale and narrow. Too much like himself, he thought.
Just then something Lily did made her sister shriek. Severus dared to lift his head slightly above the bush to try to have a better view, but to no avail. Whatever it was, Lily let out a huge laugh, saying, "Isn't it so funny, Tuney!"
Petunia continued shrieking, "Stop, that's freaky!"
Lily only giggled some more.
Severus finally crawled out from behind the bush, gathering the courage for the first time ever to approach the Evans sisters. Until now, his bravery had only extended as far as observation.
As he approached, Petunia saw him coming and nudged her sister. Lily also turned to look at him and they stared until he stopped a few feet away. Staring directly into Lily's eyes with his black ones, Severus told her, "You're a witch, did you know that?"
Petunia grew defensive of her younger sister, which actually improved her looks, Severus thought. At least it made her eyes a bit wider and cheeks less pale. "Don't you dare call my sister names!" she exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Tuney, he didn't mean anything by it...Right?" Lily said, questioning Severus.
"Of course not," he replied coldly, "It's just the truth. You're a witch. And I'm a wizard."
Severus was pleased with himself for discovering that a witch his age lived nearby, and such a pretty one as well. As for her sister, only time would tell how she would complicate things…
Standing on Platform 9¾, Petunia scowled as Lily tried to reason with her, "Please be happy for me?"
"Why do you have to go off and learn magic? It's not natural. Couldn't you just ignore it and stay here?"
The whistle of the Hogwarts Express blew a short ways away. Lily looked up at the magnificent train. As she returned her gaze to her sister, she spied Severus standing several yards away. He caught her eye and waved. Lily smiled briefly and focused back on Petunia and said, "I'm going to miss you, Tuney, but I'll come back home on breaks. Let's not part mad at each other."
Petunia gave Lily a brief hug before they rejoined their parents, who had left the sisters alone to say goodbye. "We'll miss you but it will be worth it, dear," their father said and their mother added, "And we'll write every week. Now remember to write back."
Lily nodded, "I will."
Then she ran over to Severus, who had just said his own solemn goodbyes to his parents. Together they boarded the train. Then they found a compartment with space for both of them, the other occupants being three mischievous-looking boys. Lily rolled her eyes at Severus, with an expression that asked, "Do we have to?"
Severus shrugged, went in first, and they sat across from each other closest to the door. The three other boys glanced up briefly from their conversation to look at the newcomers, then returned to talking in hushed voiced. Every once and a while one of them snuck a peek at Lily and Severus. One boy in particular, with untamed black hair, kept looking at Lily. When she finally caught him at it, she made eye contact and glared.
Unphased, the black haired boy spoke, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am James Potter. And here we have Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."
At the name "Black", Severus's head jerked up, "You're a Black?" he asked.
"That's right," Sirius replied with a grin on his face.
"It looks like you'll be joining me in Slytherin, then," Severus replied expressionlessly.
"I wouldn't count on it, but you never know," Sirius said, "My whole family's been in Slytherin but I've heard the Sorting Hat has a curious way in making decisions.
"I'm going to be in Gryffindor, for sure," James bragged, "where 'dwell the brave at heart'. I can't see it any other way. And I'm going to be a quidditch champion!"
Lilly sat and listened. There was something about the attitude of these other boys she didn't like, especially James and Sirius. They seemed too smug for their own good, and likely they were going to be troublemakers. She crossed her arms and spent the rest of the train ride staring out the compartment door, watching other students walk back and forth, chatting with friends and a few practicing spells.
The Great Hall was huge, and the noise of the older students echoed throughout, ringing off the walls. Lily stood close to Severus in a group with the other first year students. Severus might be a difficult person to get along with sometimes, but Lily counted him as a good friend among this mass of strangers. She looked around at the four house tables, trying to decide which one appeared the most suited to her. It was a decision impossible to make, so she decided that whatever house that James Potter and his friends weren't in was fine with her.
Professor McGonagall began calling names, "Black, Sirius." Sirius stepped forward, a silly big grin still on his face. The hat rested on his head for a moment before it shouted, "Gryffindor!" Sirius's grin got even bigger. As he walked to the Gryffindor table, he passed the waiting group, saying to James and Remus in a voice loud enough where Lily heard, "See you in a few minutes, I hope!"
Lily rolled her eyes and told herself, I need to be somewhere besides Gryffindor.
"Evans, Lily."
As her name was read, Lily stepped forward, eyes on the hat. She briefly glanced back at Severus, who nodded ever so lightly- his form of encouragement, she knew. She sat on the stool, hat on her head, falling over her eyes. She jumped slightly when it began mumbling in her ear, "Hmm...hmm... Smart girl, aren't you...Ravenclaw might suit you...but also adventurous, I see...I know, oh I know..." Then it shouted to the whole hall, "Gryffindor!"
At the first syllable, Lily winced. Great, she thought, as her one wish crumbled away. The hat came off her head and she blinked in the light, searching for Severus's face. She tried to smile at him but her mouth didn't want to obey. He just stared at her.
Lily walked to the Gryffindor table, trying to sit as far away from Sirius Black as possible. A challenge, given the limited room available. Hoping Sirius's friends wouldn't be joining them, she focused intently on the students still waiting to be sorted.
"Lupin, Remus." The quiet boy of the the tree from the train stepped forward shyly. He carefully perched on the stool, the hat obscuring his face. After only a short silence, the hat yelled out, "Gryffindor!" He made his way to the table, high fiving Sirius as he sat down across from him.
Lily rolled her eyes. They acted as if this was some sort of competition they were winning at.
"Potter, James." Before he stepped forward, James turned to his friends at the Gryffindor table and flashed them a confident grin. He caught Lily's eye and grinned at her, too. She scowled. His grin disappeared only when the hat dropped over his head. It wasn't long before it shouted, "Gryffindor!"
He bounded off the stool the instant the hat left his head, the grin returning. As Lily put her head in a hand she heard Sirius calling, "Yeah Potter!" and then James's voice saying, "Told you so."
"Snape, Severus." Maybe if Severus ends up in Gryffindor, it won't be so bad, Lily thought, although given what he had told her about the four houses during the summer, it wasn't likely. Severus moved carefully to the stool, and the instant the hat settled on his head, the hall rang with, "Slytherin!" Casually he took several steps in the direction of the Slytherin table, gave Lily a look that she didn't understand, and continued toward his seat.
Lily crossed her arms on top of the table and rested her chin on them. The one person she knew had been placed in a different house and meanwhile she was in the same house as three she didn't care to know. She focused intently on Professor Dumbledore's welcome and then her dinner, working hard to avoid James figuring out that she knew he was watching her. He was disgusting, making faces to catch her attention, all the while making his friend laugh.
This was going to be a long and trying seven years...