A/N: I tried this once before but for some reason it never finished - I decided to start over rather than picking back up so much later. It's a fun thing to do in between chapters of my Sherlock stuff, and a little lighter and more fun. I'm thinking each year will have its own story. And remember everybody, reviews are better than sex. Thanks a million!
James Potter was bored.
Lily Evans was thrilled.
Severus Snape was nervous.
And all three had that feeling that one gets before one starts something new - that strangely beautiful emptiness that comes from looking straight ahead into the unknown.
It's safe to say that all three children absolutely loved it.
"Now, Jamie, you're absolutely certain you have everything?" James' mother asked for the millionth time. "Not forgetting a textbook or a set of robes or anything?"
The sufficiently embarrassed eleven year old boy rolled his eyes. "For the last time, mum, I checked twice. I have everything."
"You're certain?"
James nodded. "I'm certain."
"If you're sure…" Mrs. Potter leaned over and kissed her son's cheek. "Have a good year. We'll miss you!"
Mr. Potter, who was much more in check with the level of James' embarrassment, simply clapped the boy on the shoulder. "Have fun, son. But not too much fun." With this, Mr. Potter winked and added a quick "Goodbye" before stepping back and allowing James to shut the compartment door.
Sighing, the dark-haired young boy sat down. The train ride to Hogwarts had always been inevitable for him, so he wasn't particularly excited. In fact, he was mostly dreading spending the next several hours in a state of pure boredom.
Chewing on his lip, James sat back in his seat. Yes, this train ride would be rather dull with no one to prank and no one to joke with. But as the door to his compartment slid open and an unfamiliar face took a seat across from him without really asking, James' expression (or lack thereof) shifted to its usual smirk. Depending on how his new companion was, maybe the rest of the afternoon wouldn't be so bad after all.
Lily took her companion's hand in her own and squeezed it with a huge smile on her face. "Can you believe it, Sev? We're really here! We're finally here!"
Severus nodded silently, and his black eyes seemed to take in every detail of the scene around him. "Unbelievable, isn't it?" He murmured.
Glancing at her friend, Lily could clearly see that he was lost somewhere deep in his own thoughts. His lack of enthusiasm didn't faze the redhead, however - her smile not flickering in the slightest, she pulled her hand from his and turned to her sister and parents. "I'm going to miss you so much!" She exclaimed.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans beamed down at their daughter, each kneeling in turn to hug her. "We'll miss you too, darling," Mrs. Evans assured her daughter, while her husband nodded in agreement.
The only family member not joining in the sentiment, it seemed, was Lily's older sister. Petunia stood some ten feet away, her arms crossed and her expression bitter. This, of course, only caused Lily to stand and cross over to her.
"I'll miss you, too, Tuney," Lily assured her sister with a sweet smile. Although it seemed that the younger Evans girl longed for a hug and a goodbye, Petunia was sixteen and above such trivial displays of affection. She simply looked down at her younger sister with disdain.
"Won't you miss your sister, Petunia?" Mrs. Evans urged, nudging her older daughter with her elbow.
Petunia rolled her eyes. "Sure. I guess."
Resisting the urge to imitate Petunia's gesture, Mrs. Evans once again smiled at Lily. "You'd better be home at Christmas. I'll see you then. I love you."
"I love you, too," Lily reciprocated, and with that she took Severus' hand once more and pulled him onto the train.
Severus had to admit he was a bit surprised when Lily took his hand and squeezed it, and though the gesture was meant to be comforting, it did nothing to ease the nervousness in the pit of his stomach.
"Can you believe it, Sev? We're really here! We're finally here!" Severus couldn't help but smile slightly at his friend's excitement, but the knots in his stomach made the smile look sickly and he quickly wiped it from his face.
"Unbelievable, isn't it?" The boy had intended to share in the redhead's enthusiasm, but he was too focused on not looking terrified to sound particularly jovial. Thankfully, he didn't have to act for long, because at that point Lily turned to say her goodbyes to her family.
When Severus himself turned, all he saw was his mother. Tobias hadn't turned up in days, which was perfectly fine as far as Severus was concerned. He hadn't wanted to say goodbye to his no-good father anyway.
"Well, Severus, will I be seeing you at Christmas?" Mrs. Snape - Ms. Prince, as she remained in Severus' mind - asked.
The young wizard considered this question a moment. "I should think not," he answered finally. "Unless it's particularly abysmal at school, I'll most likely stay there for the holidays."
Observing his mother's expression, it occurred to Severus that this answer may have disappointed her, and she was in fact opening her mouth to protest that Lily would be coming home when she seemed to think better of it. "Okay then, I'll see you in June."
"I'll see you then," the boy answered, and only a brief moment of awkward silence passed between the pair before Severus felt a tug on his wrist and suddenly found himself being pulled away in the direction of the train and the long journey that would take him at last to his new school.