The Express
Severus Snape, in his long billowing black robes, bat-like stature, greasy black hair, and hook nose, realized that he was standing on Platform 9 ¾ on a cool September day, and if he had known any better, although he had left the Wizarding World on a hot June night, the day at the platform might as well have been the 1st of September, the 1st day of the school year.
The platform though, was empty except for a bench a few steps away from where Snape was standing.
What a strange place for a dead person to be in, thought Snape. He had always thought that he would end up in some sort of hell once he left his mortal life. Someplace where he could see souls being burned, tortured, the fires of hell they'd say, or perhaps even an empty dark dungeon would have crossed his mind, but not this.
Not this glorious September day.
Where had it not been empty, students with their families and friends would be laughing, shouting, chattering over the crowd and the noise of the steam engine would drown all the rest of the scene and the train would start to leave for Hogwarts.
The Hogwarts Express however, gleaming and magical as it always had been, stood strangely motionless in front of Snape, as if it had no plans of leaving.
A thought struck Snape that maybe he needed to board the train first before it left for Hogwarts. He was after all the only prospective passenger present. Curiosity made him stay at the platform though.
There had to be a reason why he was on an empty platform, empty except for the bench. He took his eyes off the train and looked at the bench.
Perhaps he should sit there and wait, but what was he waiting for exactly?
Not conscious of his movements, Snape walked to the bench and sat down. He had barely had time to sit properly when a familiar voice almost made him drop off his seat.
"Hello Sev." Snape was able to hide his surprise to turn and see the familiar long dark red hair framing and brushing past the pair of almond-shaped green eyes that stared back at him.
Lily Evans smiled as he looked at her face. "I think you should be saying something like, hello back, Lily?"
Snape however remained speechless. "Stand up Sev, the train's leaving in a few minutes."
"What?" He finally mustered as he turned to look at the train which was now exhausting fumes from the engine.
Lily left his question unanswered and boarded the train. "Come on Sev, they're waiting for us!"
"Excuse me, but what do you mean they?" Snape stood up and walked towards Lily.
"You'll see, Sev. We've got hours and hours to talk on the train anyway." Lily reached for his hand and helped him to the train.
Snape followed her inside as she pushed a compartment door open. Still unsure of the situation he was in, Snape continued to stand outside the compartment even as Lily propped herself by the window and stared at the scenery outside. "All of this is real, isn't it? You're real—ˮHe paused as he realized that his questions bordered on stupidity, and that was very unlike him.
As if reading his mind, Lily looked at him and laughed. "Would you like to hear yourself again, Severus? You sound very unlike your usual self. Don't you think this is real?"
"I don—you said we'll talk, Lily. You mean, just like the old times?"
"Of course Sev, we'll—talk." Lily hesitated to say the last word. She had been jolly all along and up for the ride of picking Severus up. Then again, she wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. Perhaps it would have been better if Dumbledore had been the one to fetch the man in front of her. They had had a lot of time to bond during the sixteen years that she and James were gone, and she knew that Snape and Dumbledore's relationship was hugely built on her and perhaps on sarcasm, but if it had been Dumbledore who was here now there certainly would have been less awkward moments.
Nevertheless, she motioned for him to sit across him. "Before anything else, well—I have to thank you Sev. Thank you for—keeping Harry…safe for me." Lily turned slightly pink at her gesture.
Determined not to sit down, Snape smiled for the first time and said with something like his old sarcasm in his voice, "You have to forgive me for giving him too many detentions though, I couldn't help it."
Lily laughed. "I think Harry enjoyed those bits, at least, in a masochistic sort of way." Lily hesitated but deciding that Snape needed to hear it, said in a lower voice, "He'll miss you a lot, you know. They all will."
Snape frowned and stared disbelievingly at her.
"It's true, Sev, and I—missed you…I missed you a lot, and we haven't really", she paused before the word again, "talked since that day when you called me—you-know-what, but you know, you must know, you have always been my best friend Sev…always."
Snape breathed a sigh, "Enough. That's good enough for me." Snape paused as he was deliberating if he should ask another seemingly foolish question. But it was only Lily who was in front of him. She wouldn't laugh at him, she never did…in fact she was the only one in the world who truly took him seriously. She still was.
"Besides, we're going home now aren't we? I'm going home?"
"Yes Sev, you are, we are, and we're almost there. We're just a train ride away." Lily motioned for him to sit again, but this time, she gestured at the empty space beside her. She waited, but Snape continued to stare at her gesturing hand.
"Sit Sev. Why don't you sit beside me? We've still got a lot to talk about. I believe it's best if we settle everything before we arrive at Hogwarts."
Coming to his senses, Snape said, "Alright then." And he stepped inside the compartment, closed the door behind him, and sat beside Lily. He had a feeling that although he might not be able to tell her everything that he wanted to on that train, this time, Lily Evans was here to stay by his side.
As she said, he has always been her best friend, and perhaps, perhaps it was safe to believe that he will always be.