Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling- so don't sue me because I do not intend to make money of this story. All properties belong to her. I'm just borrowing them to play with them, cherish them, and probably give them a better future than she designed for them....

Some parts of conversation you might recognise were taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, chapter 33, the Prince's Tale.

Summary: It's the Seventies- in the wizarding world, Voldemort rises to power while the Muggle world celebrates the sound of glam rock. A new generation of young wizards and witches start their adventures at Hogwarts, new friendships are formed while others get crushed in a system of inter-house rivalry, prejudices, and the ideals of pure-blood supremacists. The looming shadow of the Dark Lord rising doesn't make things easier for the youngsters- he is a threat to some and a hero to others, but he cannot be ignored. Eventually, everyone has to make a choice. Young Severus Snape is blinded by hatred, and driven by a thirst for knowledge and power- can a true friend tilt the scales when the crucial moment comes for him to make a choice?

And that's only how the adventure starts. How will it end?

Of love triangles and a Silver Trio. AU

***

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Children of the revolution

1 All the young dudes

September 1st, 1971

King's Cross, London

Platform nine and three-quarters

"Freaks," Petunia Evans muttered as her eyes roamed the platform, crowded with people wearing robes. They looked like they had just escaped a movie about medieval London, all dressed up, and in between the shouts of welcome, the loud chattering, she heard cats mewling, owls hooting, toads croaking- it was a zoo. A freak show of weirdoes and her sister was one of them. A witch. Abnormal.

She glared at the boy standing slightly hunched a short distance away, occasionally stealing glances at her sister. The pretty one, sparking with colours, red-haired and green-eyed. Her parents' pride, although she belonged to them now... And next to that awful boy stood a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman- his mother- as sullen as she appeared, she didn't seem to be overly fond of him either.

It's all his fault, Petunia thought, as though he alone was to blame for the fact that her sister was a witch and she wasn't. Good Lord, fortunately not, thank you very much. She was quite happy being perfectly normal. But he- that awful boy- had perverted her sister. Had told her little baby sister that she was a witch, and everything had gone downhill since then. Without him, things would still be alright between them.

Petunia glanced at her parents. They seemed to be utterly fascinated by whatever happened around them- the mewling cats, hooting owls, and most of all, those weirdoes in robes, looking extravagant. Freaks.

Her father was pointing out things to her mother, open-mouthed and with eyes big as saucers in wonder; he was having a great time. Petunia shook her head, incapable of understanding why her parents were so proud of having a witch in the family- but it had always been Lily this, Lily that...

"Absolutely amazing, isn't it?" A man exclaimed, smiling broadly at her father. He was wearing normal clothes- blue jeans and a dark blue jacket- so he wasn't one of them, but he didn't look particularly decent either. His blonde hair was too long, reaching over his collar. Like a hippie! And in Petunia's book of dislikes, hippies came close after wizards and witches. Weirdoes.

"It is, it is," her father nodded enthusiastically. "Just to imagine there is a whole world next to ours!" Then he extended his arm to offer a handshake. "John Evans. My daughter Lily is going to Hogwarts today."

Petunia groaned, wishing her father wouldn't boast with precious Lily- he shouldn't be so proud of having a freak in the family.

"Chris Lestrange," the other man introduced himself. "My daughter Raven is also going to Hogwarts today."

And he pointed to a teary-eyed, petulant looking plump little girl. She was anything but pretty. Her black hair was an unkempt mess that appeared as if it had been butchered with a knife, and indeed, she had cut it off in a fit of defiant protest. The result was uneven spikes that framed her pale, round face.

"I don't want to go to stupid Hogwarts," she said stubbornly. "Why can't I go to the same school Emma is going?"

Mr Lestrange chuckled as he ruffled his daughter's hair. "But sweetie, you're a witch like your mother, and little witches do attend Hogwarts. I'm sure it will be wonderful there- I would want to go..."

"Then why don't ya go in my stead?" the girl grumbled, rolling her eyes. She was totally miserable, and Petunia almost felt sorry for her. What a pathetic little girl!

Meanwhile, her father pestered Mr Lestrange with more questions than it seemed to be appropriate, given that he had only just made acquaintance with the man. It must be because he was so thrilled about meeting another 'Muggle'- their word for perfectly normal people- with the same unfortunate fate of having a magical child. Only that both men didn't seem to see that as unfortunate. Good gracious, the Lestrange guy was even married to a witch! A hippie, definitely a hippie. No one in their right sense of mind could possibly want to marry a witch.

"My lovely wife, Nigella," he introduced her, pointing to an- admittedly- quite elegantly dressed witch, who didn't even look like a witch at first glance. At least she wasn't wearing any hideous robes.

Right now, she was approaching the mother of that awful boy. "Eileen? Eileen Prince?"

The woman so addressed turned to stare blankly at Mrs Lestrange, eyeing her up and down with mild disinterest. "It's Snape now," she said matter-of-factly.

"I'm Nigella. Nigella Lestrange, nee Marigold. Don't you remember? We were in the Gobstone club at Hogwarts."

Eileen Snape couldn't have cared less; she merely cocked a brow at the other witch and resumed her usual, sullen expression. That, however, didn't seem to discourage Mrs Lestrange, who kept on smiling.

"I know, we've never been close friends- but it's good to see you again, and especially on a day like this. Who would have thought we'd meet again while seeing off our kids to Hogwarts? Is that sweet boy yours?"

"Severus."

Whether it was meant as an introduction or merely to state a fact, Nigella didn't know because to her it almost sounded like a reproach. The boy looked up, giving her a fleeting glance. His eyes were as black as a deep, dark pool at midnight. Beautiful eyes- though a little too sad... too old for such a young one. Then he turned away again, searching the platform, frustration clearly visible on his pallid face when he couldn't find what he was looking for.

The scarlet steam engine let out a whistle, emitting clouds of smoke that hovered over platform nine and three-quarters. Severus grabbed his trunk and heaved it towards the train, ready to board it without saying a proper goodbye to his mother. Knowing her, she didn't care anyway. Like she never cared much about anything he was doing. That was alright with him. He couldn't wait to be away, to change from his dreadful Muggle clothes into his school robes, and then find Lily- she hadn't even given him a glance nor talked to him, ever since they had arrived at King's Cross, and he truly didn't know what was wrong between them now. She should be ecstatic! They'd soon be off to Hogwarts- finally!

*

Nigella Lestrange watched him leave with a thoughtful expression on her face, and she didn't bother to make another futile attempt to converse with the boy's mother. It was true, they hadn't been friends at Hogwarts- a pure-blood Slytherin did not befriend a Hufflepuff. They'd been acquaintances in the Gobstone club, that was all…

"You all right, my love?" Her husband asked gently, knowing that something was troubling her.

"Poor boy," she sighed, although Nigella couldn't even fathom what was wrong.

"Mum, I really don't want to go to Hogwarts," Raven nagged, clinging on to her mother. "Why can't I go to the same school Emma is going?"

"Oh, darling," Nigella heaved another sigh. It was hard to remain determined when her heart was aching for her little witch; it hurt to see her off and she would miss her. "Emma is a Muggle and you are a witch, and as a witch you have powers that need to be honed. You cannot learn that in a Muggle school."

"But I don't want to go to Hogwarts." Raven was really stubborn.

"There is no better place in the whole wizarding world for learning to master your skills than at Hogwarts, and now I don't want to hear any more buts. You will like it there. And you will find friends who are just like you."

Raven seemed to doubt that. She hung her head- apparently there was no way to avoid deportation. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she bid her parents farewell and boarded the train, heading to exile.

***

Severus hurried from compartment to compartment, looking for Lily. Knowing she was upset- for whatever reason. Girls were so hard to figure out, and there were days when it was nigh impossible to please her at all. Mostly it had something to do with her Muggle sister, that stupid cow. When Petunia was mad at Lily, there was no living with either of the two girls, and usually they blamed that on him. But this time, he wasn't aware of any shortcoming on his part.

He had his hopes up high that all these vexed misunderstandings would cease once they were at Hogwarts. Then it would be only Lily and he- and no annoying Muggle was to interfere in their friendship anymore.

Finally he found her, staring out of the window. Severus opened the compartment door and slipped in, taking the seat opposite of her. Lily scarcely glanced at him. Apparently the landscape outside was far more interesting than her best friend.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Why not?"

She had been crying and he hated to see her beautiful emerald eyes so full of tears. He would give the world for a smile. And why was she so miserable? Petunia, again.

It really wasn't his fault that they had found that letter. Actually, it had been Lily's idea. Apparently, Petunia had received a letter from Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and they had read his kind reply, explaining to Petunia why she could not attend Hogwarts with her sister- why she had had written to him in the first place was completely unfathomable to Severus, given that Petunia hated not only his guts but everyone's who wasn't perfectly normal. All wizards and witches, who she preferred to call 'freaks' or 'weirdoes'. He wondered who the true freak was. The girl was nuts. Unfortunately, she was also the reason why Lily was mad at him now, and that he didn't quite get. After all, she was only a Muggle and they were off to Hogwarts, to a better future.

The mention of Hogwarts brought a half-smile to Lily's pretty face, and she surreptitiously wiped her eyes. Severus brightened up. Things were improving.

Not for very long though. Somehow it seemed that things were never all sunshine for Severus, the next cloud appeared all too soon. He had just expressed his wish to see Lily being Sorted into Slytherin- after all, that was the House where he would be, he was almost certain of that- when one of the boys sharing the compartment interjected.

"Slytherin?" He was of their age, a boy with dark, messy hair, wearing glasses. "Who wants to be in Slytherin?"

There was instant dislike in his voice, but Severus couldn't have cared less. He was talking to Lily. No one had asked for the opinion of that git.

"I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" The git didn't give up; he was now addressing the boy lounging casually in the seat next to him- as if he didn't know when to shut his gob. But since he seemed like a well-pampered little prince to Severus, he had probably never been told off.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," said the other boy- also dark-haired and quite handsome, though of the haughty kind. Nevertheless, his statement made Severus' lips curl up slightly.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right."

What was wrong with being in Slytherin?

"Maybe I'll break the tradition," Pretty boy replied with a mischievous smirk and- as if trying to chum up with the messy-haired- asked, "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

"Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart." He appeared to be a sucker for dramatic poses since he was raising an imaginary sword. "Like my dad-"

That moment the compartment door opened and a plump little witch peeked in, but hesitated to enter.

"Come in or clear out- we don't want you to get stuck in the door!" Pretty boy called, which both of the two brats thought incredibly funny, since they were roaring with laughter. The girl looked as if she was about to start crying.

Merlin, hasn't she learned to defend herself? Severus made a small, disapproving noise, and the future pride of Gryffindor turned to him.

"Got a problem with that?" He wasn't referring to them making fun of the girl; it was back to houses.

"No," Severus said with a slight sneer, "if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing that you're neither?" Pretty boy asked, and again the two berks roared with laughter. Even more so when they glanced at the girl still standing at the door.

"Wicked! She really got stuck!"

The girl backed away, proving the two boys wrong although that didn't stop them from laughing until she slammed shut the compartment door.

Lily sat up. She didn't approve to such an obnoxious behaviour; she was a kind girl with a heart for underdogs. After all, she was kind to Severus when no one else was, and she was the best thing in his life. He had already forgotten that only a short while ago she had not wanted to talk to him.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

Of course he got up and followed her. If Lily wanted to leave, he saw no point in staying.

"Ooooo…" They imitated her lofty voice, and one of the boys tried to trip Severus as he headed for the door. "See ya, Snivellus!"

He wished he could draw his wand and let them have it; he already knew quite a few curses. But Lily wouldn't approve, and he didn't want to fall from grace only because of those two idiots. So he let them guffaw.

In the corridor, Lily had placed a consoling hand on the chubby girl's shoulder. "You all right?" She asked softly.

The girl nodded, wearing a sullen expression.

"Why don't you come with us?" Lily offered, and Severus rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was having to make the acquaintance with a pathetic little girl who couldn't stand her own ground. But it was typically Lily to take her under her wings- she really was much too kind for her own good. "I'm Lily Evans, and that is my friend Severus Snape."

A sudden surge of pride washed through him and he smiled a little upon hearing her calling him her friend. Well, of course he was, but she had never publicly announced it like that. Her parents tolerated him because he was the only other wizarding kid in town, an unavoidable sidekick, and Petunia… oh no, not now… He didn't care what a Muggle thought of him as long as he was Lily's friend in the magical world.

"Raven Lestrange."

She looked more like a crow with clipped feathers, but at least he wasn't the only one with poorly cut hair- which was strange, because the rest of her looked well-cared for. A pampered little girl, except for that disaster on her head.

Lily was in the mood for chit-chat, eager to get to know other wizarding kids, while Raven remained rather tight-lipped. Her answers were short, often monosyllabic, and most of the time she merely stared out of the window. Severus wished Lily would just talk to him instead of telling someone who wasn't even remotely interested the story of her life.

"...and although he- Severus, that is- told me all about being a witch, it was still such a surprise when I got my letter. A really nice Professor from Hogwarts, McGonagall is her name- came to explain it to my parents. Have you met her yet, Raven? You know, nobody in my family can do magic, but my parents were quite thrilled and happy for me... my sister Petunia however... " Lily fell silent for a moment, nibbling at her bottom lip. "Anyway, we went to Diagon Alley early this summer to get all my books, I wanted to be well prepared and Severus knows so much more already, given that his mother is a witch. Do you have magical parents, Raven?"

"Me mum," the girl mumbled without looking at Lily.

"And your dad?"

"Muggle."

"That cannot be," Severus interjected. "I thought your name's Lestrange."

"Aye."

"The Lestranges are a well-established pure-blood family, they..." do not mingle with Muggles. He bit his tongue just in time. Yes, he had told Lily it didn't matter she was Muggle-born, and it didn't matter to him, but truth was that it did matter indeed. His mother had told him. Some of the very old wizarding families were proud of the purity of their blood, and they regarded themselves as superior to Muggles. It might be better for Lily to not tell everyone her blood status, especially not anyone she's only just met.

"I'm not related to them," Raven said, glancing straight at Severus. "Me dad's a Muggle stage magician; he took on that name because it sounded cooler than Miller."

Before he could reply anything, there was some clattering in the corridor outside their compartment and a smiling witch slid back door, asking if they'd want anything off the trolley.

"Are that magical candy and sweets?" Lily leapt to her feet and approached the trolley in curiosity, her eyes wide as she saw Licorice Wands, Cockroach Clusters, Acid Pops, Ice Mice, Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, Peppermint Toads, Chocolate Frogs and other just as exotic things.

Severus wished he'd have the money to buy her everything she wanted.

"What's good, Severus?" Lily asked him although she had already gathered a couple of sweets that looked promising- or at least reminded her of something she was familiar to.

"Erm..." Now he was faced with a dilemma because he truly didn't know- sweets were a luxury he wasn't used to eating at home, let alone wizarding candy. But then he remembered that his mother had given him a Chocolate Frog once, for his birthday some years ago; he still had the card that came along with it, showing Salazar Slytherin. "I guess Chocolate Frogs are quite good- and they have cards inside of them, you know, of Famous Wizards and Witches, that you can collect and swap with others."

"Great!" Lily beamed at him and bought a box of Chocolate Frogs among all the other things she had chosen. Friendly as she was, she also offered Raven some of her sweets. The girl declined most of them and merely accepted a Chocolate Frog- she seemed to have some experience with them, since she unceremoniously crushed the frog with her flat hand before it could hop away, like Lily's did. Then she stuffed the chocolate in her mouth.

"What?" She snapped as she caught Severus staring at her. "I hate it when food runs off."

"Obviously," he sneered.

Lily- who would have chided him for being rude had she followed their little exchange (although it was plain to see that Lestrange appeared to be quite successful in making her food stay with her)- got off the seat she had climbed on in order to chase her Chocolate Frog, triumphantly waving a card in her hand.

"Tell me which one you got, tell me which one you got," she chanted excitedly, and Severus' insides went all mushy because she looked so carefree and happy.

Carefully he unwrapped the Chocolate Frog she had given to him- she loved to share- and picked up the card. It showed Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a white-haired man with a long white beard, wearing half-moon spectacles.

"...considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times... famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald... for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood... enjoys chamber music and knitting patterns," he read aloud.

Lily gave her card a closer glance and frowned, clearly not pleased at all.

"Gregory the Smarmy, inventor of Gregory's Unctuous Unction, a potion that persuades the drinker that the giver is their very best friend. Hm, that's not very nice," she pouted, "I don't like my card."

"Well, you can have mine," Severus offered- it wasn't as though he was going to start a collection of Chocolate Frog cards anyway- but Lily hardly listened. She was looking at Raven

"Which one do you have?"

"Circe."

"Ah, the famous Greek sorceress, daughter of Helios, the god of the sun," Severus explained and couldn't help thinking how very unfitting that analogy was. If he envisioned the daughter of a sun-god she'd be looking like Lily- descending from heaven bathed in bright light, with shining emerald green eyes and flaming red hair.

"Yeah, but she was also renowned for her knowledge of drugs and herbs," Raven interrupted his thoughts, "and she transformed those who offended her into animals through the use of magical potions."

Severus stared at her in momentary surprise as a wee little smile flitted across her face and died as soon as it had appeared. Was that supposed to be a warning? But no- he recalled her standing like a doe caught in the headlight when those two berks from the other compartment had made fun of her; she had been all puffy-eyed from crying and incapable of standing her own ground..

Meanwhile, Lily had proceeded to Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans and was spitting one out only an instant later, her pretty face contorted with disgust. "Oh my god, they taste of vomit! You should have warned me, Severus."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, but before he could do anything about her discomfort, two wizards with gleaming prefects badges attached to their robes came rattling the compartment door in order to inform everyone that the train would be reaching Hogsmead Station soon, and that it was time to change into their proper school robes. Since Severus had already done that, he remained seated.

Reluctantly, Raven got to her feet and reached for her trunk. So did Lily, albeit with a good deal less unwillingness. Unlike Raven, she was excited about attending Hogwarts and learning to become a proper witch, and she clearly misinterpreted the other girl's hesitance.

"Severus!" She exclaimed impatiently, making a shooing gesture towards her friend- who got the hint and left the compartment. He heard her groan, "Boys!" and then she was bending Raven's ear with cheerful drivel.

Thanks to my lovely beta, hypnotic. ink for being a comma Nazi and a source of inspiration.

Anyway, since we're both not native speakers, I 'd be very much obliged for the help of a brit-picker to join us.