9 ¾ is the Platform where we Depart and Meet Again
The platform between nine and ten was already flooded with students and their families. It was obvious which people were magical and which ones were not, as magical people often did a poor job of trying to blend in.
Some faces looked vaguely familiar, but of most he had no recollection of. Not that it mattered much, all he wanted was to find Lily.
Eileen tapped Severus on the back. 'I have to get back.'
Severus pulled his mother into a tight embrace. After he let her go, he signed, 'I love you, mum.'
Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. 'You haven't said that to me in years, Severus.'
Severus nearly started to laugh at the irony of that.
'It's about time I did,' he replied.
'I love you too, son,' she signed and kissed him on the cheek.
'I promise I'll write you,' said Severus.
Eileen tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. 'Send Lily my love.'
'I will.'
Severus picked up his trunk and bass and watched his mother disappear behind a corner, followed by the unmistakable sound of apparition that indicated that she had gone home.
Severus could only hope that Tobias wouldn't be too hard on her. This time he made himself the promise that he would be home for Christmas.
Latching on to what seemed like a group of second years, he walked through the wall between platforms nine and ten until a large scarlet steam train appeared in front of him. He had forgotten how much of a hassle and chaos the first day of a new school year had been as a student and had to suppress the urge to sneer at every student that blocked his path. For a split second, he missed the privileges that came with being a teacher.
So far, no sign of a bouncing redhead yet.
'Oi, Snivellus!'
Shit. From the corner of his eyes he saw Sirius Black materialize.
'Have you seen my arse kisser of a brother somewhere?'
Regulus Black. That's a name he hadn't thought of in a very long time. A boy who, in the end, had tried to do the right thing after all. A boy with whom he could possibly form a useful alliance.
'What's it to you, Black?' Severus asked with a bored tone in his voice.
'Mum wants to talk to him before we go.' Sirius pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. Walburga Black stood behind them looking at a Muggle family with so much disgust, her ugly face might've shattered.
'Haven't seen him. Have you seen Lily anywhere?'
'Haven't seen Evans but her folks just left so she's probably on the train somewh—hey Prongs!'
More shit. Potter had run up to his best friend, pulled him into a tight embrace, and patted him on the back, ignoring Severus completely as if he was nothing but a puff of air.
The last thing he wanted was to deal with Potter and his tribe of scum. So, he snuck off and boarded the train at the back, figuring it would be the easiest way to find Lily.
Severus grew more anxious with each passing compartment and quickly dashed off after seeing Avery, Mulciber, and Rosier talking intensely to one another. Hopefully they hadn't seen him pass.
He was near the end of the train when he finally found her, sitting beside Alice and Mary, laughing over some disgusting flavour of a Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean.
Alice, who was sitting opposite Lily, patted her on the knee and pointed out the window of the door's compartment. Lily's green eyes met his black.
He saw she was wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt he had bought for her two years prior at a concert in Oxford. Her father had been kind enough to give them tickets at Christmas for their birthdays, as their birthdays were very close together.
Severus wasn't quite sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. He slid open the compartment door with a lot of force, dropped his trunk and bass on the floor, pulled her out of her seat, and locked her into a bone crushing embrace.
He drew in every bit of her. From her musky scent to her hair as it tickled his face. Her fine frame felt delicate in his arms. 'I-can't-breathe,' she said as her face turned red.
He quickly let go of her. 'I'm sorry Lily; I'm so sorry.'
So many old feelings went into his words. His regret extended far beyond squeezing her too tightly.
'I'm so sorry, Lily,' he repeated with a crack in his voice.
'You better be,' a pissed off Mary said from behind them. 'Where are the rest of your Slytherin friends Snape?'
'Dead for all I care,' Severus mouthed back.
Mary was startled by his response but did not respond with a snarky comeback.
Lily looked up at him with her eyebrows raised and arms crossed. 'What brings you here?'
'Mum says hello,' Severus said flatly.
They looked at each other in silence. A bit longer than was comfortable.
Lily's eyebrows formed a frown. 'That's it?'
For once, Severus was at a loss for words. All he could do was nod.
'Just spit it out. What happened, Sev?'
Hearing his old nickname gave him a spark of courage. 'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'
'Try me.'
'I died, saw Pip the goldfish, was given the chance to come back to life, drowned myself, and woke up on this particular morning.'
Both Mary and Alice's mouths were hanging open. Lily however, kept staring at him intensely.
'Have you been drinking by any chance?' Asked Lily with a skewed eye. 'You're not making an awful lot of sense to me.'
'My mum asked me the same thing this morning, funny enough.'
'Don't get cheeky with me Severus,' she said as she whipped her long pony tale off her shoulder and put her hands on her hips. 'What is going on with you?'
'I promise I will tell you everything Lily, but for now I just needed to see you.'
Lily grabbed his bass off of the floor and Severus took it as a sign he was welcome to come in. After hoisting up his trunk on top of the others on the rack above their heads, he sat down next to Lily.
Alice and Mary kept shooting suspicious glares at him, but Severus couldn't care less for now. Lily was beside him, alive and breathing, and snarky, and that's all that mattered for now.
'Were you serious about what you just said,' Mary demanded.
'About what?' Severus asked slightly annoyed.
'About not giving a shit about your Slytherin friends.'
Severus noticed Lily and Alice staring at him intently.
'I am,' Severus said confidently. 'But since I do share a dorm with them, I prefer to stay on their good side. They don't know I'm a half-blood you see.'
Mary's eyes grew wide. 'You just flat out admitted that you're a half-blood,' she whispered. 'That's a dangerous thing to do.'
Lily however, looked up at Severus with pride, which made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Alice, who hadn't said anything up until now, swallowed a Bean and said, 'Well, I think that was very brave of you to say, Severus.'
Severus was taken aback by how much Alice's son, Neville, resembled her. He had forgotten how kind Alice had been. Although, like her son, she didn't look it, she was remarkably brave.
'Thank you, Alice,' Severus said genuinely.
Severus turned his gaze to Lily. 'You don't mind if I stay here, do you?'
'I'm not pulling your heavy trunk off the rack again if that's what you're asking,' Lily said to him. 'Would you like a sandwich? Tuney made some.'
Severus gladly took a sandwich from her. His teenage body was demanding an awful lot of food.
'Can we have a private conversation after the ceremony?' Lily asked him.
Severus nodded, 'I have so much to tell you.'
'I figured you do.'
'Is anyone up for a game of exploding Snap?' Mary asked to break the tension that was lingering in the air.
Though a little reluctantly (the last time he saw a game of exploding snap was when he confiscated a deck because the students had turned it into a game of exploding Snape), Severus agreed to play along.
It had been years since he had such innocent fun.
A/N Purple and green are the colours that witches and wizards wear in Muggle public in order to recognise each other.
