Chapter One; The Hogwarts Express
Lily Evans stood at the entrance of Kings Cross Station, nervously glancing around in search of her best friend Severus Snape. They had promised to meet outside at a quarter past ten so the two of them could board the Hogwarts Express together. It was nearing half past ten now and there was still no sign of him. Unwanted thoughts came to her mind as she worried about her friend's whereabouts. Surely nothing bad had happened to him. Perhaps there was a reasonable explanation for his lateness.
Even when they met up after school, he was rarely on time, so why was she worrying so much now?
Lily ran a hand through her long red fiery hair, green eyes scanning the forming crowd as they rushed to get their own trains. Most, she could tell, were running late or were rushing to get to their platforms in time before the train left. She knew trains sometimes arrived early.
She looked back at her older sister who was staring at her; a look of resentment in her eyes. Ever since Lily had shown her what she could do, Petunia had been unkind towards her, labelling her a freak and despite the many attempts of trying to make things up to her, Lily knew she was wasting her time, but the girl refused to give up. Things had got even worse when she received her letter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her parents had been so proud of her and for some time, they had completely forgotten they had another daughter.
Looking up at the clock now, Lily saw that it was nearing quarter to eleven and she realised that she had to get going.
Her father had finished his bacon sandwich and wiped his hand on the paper towel he had in his pockets and he looked down at his youngest daughter, while Petunia stayed back, out of the way. "I don't think your friend is turning up Lily," he said calmly.
Her mother nodded agreement. "I think it is time we got you on the train dear," she said.
Lily sighed and she glanced around once more just in case he was coming and when she couldn't see him, Lily picked up her back and slung it over her back. "Let's go then," she said quietly.
Petunia smirked at her. She opened her mouth to say something before deciding against it and she forced herself forwards, walking further in front.
As her father was about to push the trolley with her trunk and other Hogwarts supplies on, Lily heard her name being called. She spun around, seeing a scruffy looking boy running towards her. His dark hair a mess and in his face. As soon as he reached her, he gasped for breaths and he remained quiet while he tried to catch his breath back.
Lily looked at him accusingly. "You took your time," she muttered.
Severus Snape looked up at his best friend; a girl he had told many Hogwarts tales to and the girl who had become his friend even though he had no idea why. "I know… I am so sorry. I woke up late," he told her between deep breaths. "But I'm here now and we only have ten more minutes," he told her.
Lily said nothing and she nodded. Her father led the way, followed by her mother and Petunia who scowled at both the young witch and wizard.
"Is she still giving you grief?" he whispered.
She nodded. "Yes, but it's okay. I am certain she'll get over it in time," she said and smiled brightly at him, having already forgotten about his lateness.
They walked through the train station in search of Platform 9 and three quarters and Severus took charge. He stood in front of the wall between platform's 9 and 10 and looked at Lily, encouraging her to go first.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Petunia snapped, though she was clearly going to enjoy the whole scene when Lily crashed into the wall and injuring herself.
Severus scowled at her. "I can go first if you want," he offered.
Lily gulped and nodded, though both paused when several young people disappeared through the wall with their trolleys.
"Wow," Lily said in awe. "That was incredible..."
Petunia scoffed and looked away, obviously disappointed.
Snape nodded and he went through soon afterwards, allowing Lily some time to say goodbye to her parents.
Lily looked at both of them, giving them a big hug and she closed her eyes. "I'm going to miss you both," she mumbled.
"We'll miss you too," her mother said, wiping a tear away with her handkerchief.
"You be a good girl and make sure to write to us," her father said.
Lily nodded, hugging them both again. "I will, I promise," she told them both. She turned and looked at Petunia who merely shrugged and walked away, leaving them alone. She was disappointed, but she had been expecting it.
Within moments, Lily was standing beside Severus, looking at the Hogwarts Express, again in awe. She found the whole thing enchanting and she was eager to see the castle. "Let's go find somewhere to sit," she said quietly.
Sometime later, both Severus and Lily were sitting in one of the compartments awaiting for the train to begin the journey. Lily suddenly felt cold and she pulled her coat tightly around her. She had decided to change into her school clothes when she knew they were half way there. Severus was already in his.
The door opened and Lily looked up, seeing a brown haired boy with glasses, smiling down at her before he looked at Severus. Lily eyed him warily. "Can we help you?" she asked him.
"No, not really..." he said. He looked from Severus to Lily. "I'm just curious and asking the first years what house they are hoping to be in," he said.
Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I haven't given it much thought," she admitted. She turned to look at Severus. "What about you?" she asked and smiled.
Severus shrugged. "Slytherin," he said.
James stared at him, frowning. In that moment, he had taken an instant disliking to him. To him, Slytherin was the worst house. No one he had spoken to wanted to be in that house.
Sirius pushed James slightly and looked at Severus. "You want to be in Slytherin? Full of the pureblood supremacists?" he asked.
Severus glared. "It's none of your business is it? Leave us alone," he said.
Lily stared at the boys. "Is there anything else we can help you with?" she asked.
The boy pushed up his glasses and he smirked at Severus, who was eyeing him cautiously. "No… but I am James Potter," he said and grinned.
"Oh," she said flatly. "I'm Lily… Lily Evans and this is Severus Snape, my best friend." She decided to make that fact clear before he made any snide remarks.
"Your best friend? Eh, you can do better," he said and winked.
Lily clenched her fists and glared dangerously at him. "Go away before I push you out of the doorway," she hissed.
The other boy looked at Severus and he tilted his head, a smirk playing across his face. "I've never met a scruffy looking boy in all my life. Look at the state of him..."
James laughed, nodding his agreement. "Maybe we should do something about it."
Lily glared at him. Severus said nothing. He clenched his fists, wanting to say something - to do something, but he couldn't.
"We look forward to seeing you around," James said, laughing.
Before anyone else could say anything, a loud voice echoed through the corridor, addressing James Potter.
"Come on Potter, leave them alone," a boy the same as them said. He looked through the door and offered a friendly smile towards Lily and Severus, before dragging James away.
Lily watched as they disappeared and she looked at her friend. She had relaxed a little once he was gone. "You seemed a bit uncomfortable..." she said.
Severus shrugged his shoulders and turned away from her to look out of the window. "I'm not a people's person. You should know that," he said quietly.
And she did. Lily had taken an instant liking to the quiet boy sitting under that tree when they were nine years old. And he had liked her from the start. He had comforted her when her sister turned against her. He had hugged her when she cried after being called a freak. They had spent many days speaking about magic and telling her all she needed to know about Hogwarts and the lessons and the houses, though he had missed the part out where some of the purebloods were heavily prejudiced against muggleborn witches and wizards.
So far they hadn't had a run in with them and he was glad of it and he was hoping that the journey would be a quiet one. Severus had got a book out from his bag and Lily copied. Neither of them said anything on their journey.
Author's Note: Author's Note; Actually quite nervous about writing this fan fiction. But anyway, here is the first chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it.