Chapter One; I'm On A Train~
September always drew in an odd crowd at King's Cross station. Children with carts toppling with old books and cauldrons, and owls in cages, and full-grown adults in capes and pointed hats! One might think a convention centre had booked the wrong venue. In reality these were witches and wizards, on their way to school. Rest assured that this is in fact normal.
But Aurorette! No. Far be it from normal, Aurorette was extraordinary. Although at this moment very bored, waiting to haul her trunk onto the Hogwarts Express at the magical platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Therefore deduce that she is boring for the moment and move on instead to Severus Snape. He was not bored. He was ecstatic.
Severus Snape was boarding the train to Hogwarts alone, having been left to his own devices by his mother. It was like sweet freedom to Snape, especially since it meant he would get to see more of Lily Evans. Mmmmm, Lily Evans.
Severus closed the compartment door hurriedly so he could finally change out of his muggle clothes and find where Lily had gone. Suddenly the door re-opened.
"May I join you?" a girl asked. Severus turned to see who it was. Not Lily. He turned away.
The girl ignored his cold shoulder and threw her trunk in the compartment and plopped contentedly across from Severus.
"My name's Aurorette."
Severus replied with further silence.
"What's your name?" she prodded. No response.
"Are you a girl or a boy? I can't tell with your long hair."
"What?!" Severus spat. It was then that he finally observed this girl.
Aurorette had fiery hair and green eyes like a traffic light. The intensity of colors was matched perfectly with her intense gaze. She weighed down heavily on Severus so much he had to look away. Even her grin was relentless. Nothing like Lily.
Lily, and her bright face and long strawberry hair, her good nature, her fascination with anything Severus told her about the magical world. Severus could excuse her muggle-born lineage on this alone.
"Why are you blushing? Do you like me?" Aurorette smirked and played coy.
"Could you leave now?" Severus glared at her. If needed, he would have pushed her out the door himself so he could change into his wizard robes.
"I can't. My luggage is up where I can't reach it now. Sorry."
"What? But you just put it up there yourself! Why can't you get it down?" Severus complained.
"Well, my arms are broken now," she replied.
"No they're not! You'd be screaming or crying if they were!"
"Do you want me to scream and cry?"
"…No. Please don't."
Aurorette sat quietly for a moment, as if to size up Severus. She observed him from head to toe, noting his long grubby hair and a nose he obviously hadn't grown into yet, and his…sad choice in clothes. If he would just wash his face, he might've made an attractive boy, on second thought! If he was a boy.
"So what's your name?" Aurorette asked.
"Severus," he finally replied.
"Severus," she began, then paused briefly, "What does that even mean, anyway? Do you sever people? Like, cut off their limbs or something?"
"No!" he spat impatiently. "It's Severus like 'severe'. You know, like the Roman emperor, Severus?"
"Well, no wonder I didn't know! I don't study Roman history, I study American history, cuz I'm American!" Aurorette rolled her eyes.
"What does America even have in their history anyway?" Severus asked critically. "And what are you doing in Britain?"
"Cuz duh! Everyone knows there's no wizarding school in America!" she laughed at Severus. "It was defunded to build a toll road for flying brooms!"
"Wait," Severus interjected, "How can a toll road for brooms be built? It's the sky. There are no boundaries."
"I dunno," she shrugged.
"Right," Severus said slowly and looked out of the window again. He waited a moment, then looked back and found her still smiling right at him.
"Seriously, can you leave now?" he asked as insistently as he could.
"But why? We were just getting to know each other!" the smile sank from her face.
"I'm trying to change into my robes. I don't want a girl around!" he grimaced.
"Ok, then I'll just wait outside while you change," Aurorette smiled.
"Wait, what, no!" Severus spluttered. "Go away!"
Aurorette groaned and sulked out of the compartment to find another friend to make. She made sure to slam the door behind her.
"Ugh! What a jerk! I don't even care if he's really cute! Either that or she's really ugly. I dunno," Aurorette vented and stalked off. By then the train was well into the countryside, and she lurked from compartment to compartment until the arrival at Hogwarts, because she couldn't make any new friends.