AN: Who-ever submitted me to the community of 'NOT reprocessed vomit', thank-you! Such high flattery :P Sorry for the delay in updates... What with Christmas and MOVING FROM ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER I hadn't had time to polish this off.

Severus stood by the side of the road on the outskirts of Cokeworth, gnawing his thumbnail apprehensively. The dark clouds on the horizon looked ominous, and the pressing humidity did nothing to improve his anxiety.

The bus had been scheduled to arrive at eight forty-five, but nine o'clock had come and gone. It was nearly ten past now, and still there was no sign of the bus.

Severus had arrived at the Muggle train station nearly an hour ago. There had been a large, laminated sign posted to the padlocked gate.

This section of the Great Eastern Line Will be closed until further notice

in order to enable the transfer to electrification.

Replacement bus services will be departing hourly from Cokeson Road.

We thank you for your patience

It was exactly his sort of luck, he had thought, as he dragged his trunk back to the main road. Just as he had started to learn how to use the Muggle trains, they stopped working.

He looked at his watch again. It was fifteen past nine. He leaned out to peer apprehensively around the corner, and it was at that exact moment that a car squealed by, splattering his Muggle trousers in mud.

He had no idea what to do, and every minute that passed seemed to increase the feeling of dread in his stomach. What would happen if he missed the train? He would have to ask someone for help soon, if the bus didn't come.

Severus looked up at the sky, just in time for a fat drop of rain to land directly in his eye. He swore, and kicked his trunk where it lay heavily on the concrete curb. Just as he was about to despair entirely, there was the rumble of an engine and the crunch of gravel.

The Ford Cortina that had pulled up next to him was olive green and immaculately cared for. Severus recognised it at once, with a twist in his stomach that was both delight and dread.

"Severus!" boomed Major Evans, leaning over to the passenger window. "Hop in, son!"

He wasn't about to protest. It was already twenty past nine, and the rain was starting to fall more heavily now. He heaved his battered trunk into the boot of the car. It barely fit. He ran back to the rear door and squeezed into the vehicle with a feeling of relief. It was relief tinged with fear, of course, because he wasn't alone in the back seat.

Major Evans nodded to him, and put the car back into gear. Within moments, the bus stop, the muddy road, and Cokeworth itself was nothing more than an unpleasant memory in the rear-view mirror.

Major Evans was speaking in his usual ringing tones. "I was just driving by and I saw you waiting there, Severus. Why didn't you say that you needed a ride to the station? You know, Daisy and I are always happy to help you out with these things. It's no trouble at all!"

Severus opened his mouth to come up with some kind of excuse, before realising his input was not needed in the conversation. The Major continued to chatter on - about the state of the traffic, about the weather, about the Muggle prime-minister. He needed only the smallest of prompts from Severus to continue talking.

Severus thought that the Major – if he had been a wizard – would have definitely been in Gryffindor.

"Severus," he said, as they were stopped at a set of traffic lights, "Daisy and I are always happy to have you round for tea. Just pop by any old time."

It was at this point that the car's other passenger turned away from the window to narrow her eyes threateningly at Severus, clearly indicating that this was not an offer he should ever take up.

It was the first time Lily had acknowledged him in the entire journey. She was wearing her hair piled up on top of her head today, but a single corkscrew strand had escaped. It lay against her cheek, and Severus looked at that, rather than her eyes. He felt awkward and embarrassed, so he let his gaze fall to his hands, twisting in his lap. He felt a desperate need to fill the silence, so he spoke.

"Where is Mrs. Evans?" he asked.

The Major started. His voice, which had been loud and confident a moment before, shook very slightly. "She's uh... she's not well, I'm afraid."

Severus could feel Lily eyeing him with a look of absolute hatred. He wished he was on the bus to London, and didn't have to talk to anyone at all. He sunk down in his seat and pulled up the collar of his coat, glowering out over the fields as they hurtled through the Green Belt. He watched the droplets of rain clinging to the window forming into rivulets, which ran down across the glass and vanished.

Severus had spent a lot of time thinking, that summer. Over the last two weeks, he hadn't spoken to anyone, except for a few terse words to his father if they happened to collide in the narrow hall. He'd spent the time reading, instead, and constructing elaborate arguments with imagined adversaries.

Severus had thought about Lily a lot, as well, though he hadn't intended to. She had woven in and out of his dreams. He felt the flush creeping up his neck, and was glad that she wasn't looking at him as he remembered that dream.

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Severus began re-reading his copy of Advanced Potion Making. From the glances he sneaked at her from beneath his lashes, Lily seemed content to gaze out of the window.

The traffic in London was mercifully thin, and they arrived at King's Cross at ten-thirty. Lily leaned forward to kiss her father quickly on his cheek.

"You can just drop us here, Daddy."

Major Evans looked slightly hurt by this, but acquiesced.

Severus wrestled both their trunks from the back of the car, while Lily said goodbye to her father through the driver's window. She returned a moment later, and together they watched as the Ford Cortina rolled away into the London traffic.

Severus realised that he had forgotten to say thank-you, but by then the car was already out of sight. As soon as her father had disappeared, Lily grabbed her trunk.

"Stay away from me," she hissed, and turned her back on him. He waited a few minutes before following her.

Once through the barrier, he was instantly surrounded by vast swathes of chattering students. The anxiety that had twisted in Severus's stomach since he'd woken up that morning seemed to loosen. He was here. He'd made it.

He saw Lily, laughing with a group of friends, and turned in the opposite direction, dragging his trunk onto the crowded train with his head bowed.

The corridor was packed with people hugging and laughing after a summer apart. Severus shoved through them without apology, the copy of Advanced Potion Making still clutched in his slightly sweaty hand. At every carriage, he peered through the window, trying to see if there was anyone he could sit with.

He found his friends in the second last carriage on the train, and slid open the door with a sense of relief.

There were five boys in the compartment, and one girl. Mulciber nodded at him, curtly, and Severus took that as a cue to sit down

"Where is Lestrange?" he asked. He'd been looking forward to seeing the older boy.

"Prefects' carriage," said Wilkes, quietly.

Severus was going to ask why Wilkes wasn't there as well, but thought better of it. He would surely have his reasons. He flicked back to the chapter he had been reading. Golpalott's Third Law.

"Saw you getting out a car with that Mudblood, Snape," said Avery.

Severus pretended not to hear, but Avery scrunched up a piece of parchment and lobbed it at his head.

"I've washed my hands since then, if that's what you mean," he said, drily, without looking up.

The other boys roared with laughter at this, and Alecto gave a shriek of mirth. Severus smirked, although he felt the twinge of unease he always felt when he spoke ill of her. Still, it wasn't as though they were friends any-more. They'd both chosen their sides. What did it matter, what he said?

There was a jolt, and a distant scream of metal, and the train shuddered into life.

Wilkes and Mulciber were talking politics, rather more loudly than was necessary. Their conversation dominated the compartment, even though Severus was sure the others wouldn't get much out of it. Severus himself was interested, but preferred to listen to the conversation, rather than participate in it himself. He always seemed to say the wrong thing, and he was behind on the news, having not read the Prophet all summer.

Severus Snape understood how conversations worked, more or less. He was quite good at telling when people where lying, or trying to kiss up, or acting on some ulterior motive. It was just that he himself had never been able to get the hang of it. Perhaps it was that he tried consciously to do what others did without thinking. Either way, it was better if he just listened.

The conversation made him feel deeply contented, in a way he couldn't quite place. It was the guarded mentions of our mutual friend, and of an unnamed He. It gave Severus the feeling that this year – finally – he would be moving up in the world. It would be different this year. It had to be.

Wilkes and Mulciber were arguing now, over the results of a vampire's trial that had occurred the week before. Wilkes was usually quiet, but the topic seemed to have spiked his interest. The focus on current affairs made Severus uncomfortable. If someone asked his opinion, he would have to bluff his way through, lest he reveal the basic Muggle existence he had lived over the summer. He decided to get changed. The other boys and Alecto were all already wearing their uniforms, and he stood out like a sore thumb in his threadbare jeans and oversized shirt. No-one made any comment as he left the carriage with his robes slung over one shoulder.

Getting changed took longer than he had anticipated, as he attempted to patch the holes and frayed edges with some charms he'd memorised. Severus hoped that no-one would look too closely.

When he came back he found the carriage to be rather more crowded, as two of the seventh year girls had arrived. He also found that Avery had locked the door. He knew it had been Avery, because he laughed the hardest out of the boys left in the compartment as Severus tried to get back in. He tried to unlock it with a spell, and his friends all laughed harder.

Avery always did things like that, when the girls were around.

Severus rolled his eyes at them and turned back to walk back along the corridor. He walked back to the bathroom where he'd changed. Perhaps he could lock himself in and simply read in there for the duration of the journey. All the other compartments were bound to be full by this point, and no-one else would want him to sit with them.

He adjusted his gait to counter the rocking of the train. He went to the lavatory, but decided that it was unwise to stay there for the entire duration of the journey. There were only three lavatories on the train, and if he locked himself in, someone was bound to break down the door eventually. That would lead to a scene, and Severus wanted to avoid another scene at all costs.

He looked at his reflection in the spotted mirror as he washed his hands. His ugly, frowning face glared back at him. There was a pimple developing above his left eyebrow, and it seemed to throb painfully as soon as he looked at it. He rubbed at the bruise on his cheek, absent mindedly.

When he opened the door, he came face-to-face with Sirius Black.

"Snivellus!" said Black, cheerfully. "What an unpleasant surprise."

Severus let the bathroom door slide shut behind him, reaching for his wand. Potter and Pettigrew were just behind Black. Pettigrew was hopping from foot to foot with that stupid, nervous grin he got whenever trouble was brewing.

He glared at the three of them, fighting back a flush as he remembered their last confrontation.

Black leaned forward and sniffed loudly, his nose wrinkling.

"You stink, Snivellus," he said. "I mean, you literally stink. Have you washed at all over summer?"

Pettigrew giggled, shrilly, and Severus's flush deepened. He gripped his wand more tightly.

He could probably hex Black before the other two reacted, but what would he do then? There was nowhere to run, and there were three of them against one of him. He was thinking fast about what to do when the compartment door behind him banged open

"Leave him alone," said a voice.

It wasn't Lily who had come to his rescue this time. It was Regulus, Black's younger and (in Severus's opinion) greatly superior brother. Severus shifted aside to allow him some room in the corridor.

Regulus's wand was out, and he looked murderous.

"Little bro!" said Black, with feigned delight. Regulus's wand shot sparks.

"You're not my brother," he spat. "Piss off, will you. Go and make trouble somewhere else."

"But I love trouble!" exclaimed Sirius. He twirled his wand between his fingers. Black was lolling against the side of the train, like a lazy dog in the sun. In contrast, Regulus's back was arched and his teeth bared. Severus was about to throw a hex, when he heard a cough behind him. He recognised the noise at once, with a feeling that was like cold water being poured on his insides. He spun around, wand raised.

"You," he spat.

"Hello again, Severus. We seem to be establishing a habit of meeting on trains."

It was the man from Knockturn Alley.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed.

"I work here," the man said. He was wearing wizard's robes, for a change, and seemed highly amused. He was leaning against the side of the corridor, observing the scene with his good eye slightly narrowed.

"On a train?" Severus asked, stupidly. His mind was blank.

The man gave him a sardonic look. "At Hogwarts," he said. Severus lowered his wand. Behind him, he could hear Potter's gang sniggering. The man had such a professorish manner that Snape wondered why he hadn't figured it out before.

He felt incredibly stupid. He'd already made an enemy of a professor, and the term hadn't even started.

"Professor Makepeace," said Potter, pushing past Severus to offer the professor his hand. "We met over the break, if you recall. At the Puddlemere United match."

The man took it. "Of course I do. That must make you," he inclined his head slightly, "Peter Pettigrew. Your reputation precedes you. But where is Remus?"

"He's in the prefect's carriage, sir."

"Hmm," he said. "A pity he isn't here to keep an eye on you. I must ask you to return to your compartment, and leave pent up masculine aggression on the Quidditch pitch where it belongs."

Potter ducked his head, chastened, and the Gryffindor boys trouped back down the hall. Black grabbed Pettigrew in a headlock as they walked, and the two boys scuffled together. Severus glared at their retreating backs. As usual, Black, Potter and Pettigrew escaped with a slap on the wrist, and it was he, Severus, who got the blame. He turned back to the scarred professor, prepared to receive what was sure to be a stern lecture.

"What was all that about?" asked the man. Severus thought that Potter had said his name, but he himself had already forgotten what it was.

He shrugged, aggressively. Regulus gave him a withering look, and turned to the new professor, his face a picture of pure-blood civility.

"My brother," he said, "loves to start trouble, Sir. He and his little gang are always picking fights with Slytherins."

"Is that so? I must watch out then."

"If you'll excuse me, sir, I think I also ran into you over break, though I didn't have a chance to formally introduce myself. I'm Regulus Black." Regulus proffered his hand.

"Name's Makepeace," said the man. "Professor Makepeace, to you." He took Regulus's hand and shook it firmly. "I'd love to stay and chat, but corridors aren't really the best place for conversations. Or turf wars, come to that."

"Understood, sir," said Regulus, smirking. Makepeace nodded to him, and pushed past them to continue his patrol of the corridor. Regulus walked the three paces back to his own compartment and pulled open the door. "Want to join us, Snape?"

Snape blinked, surprised. He opened his mouth – to say that he was already sitting with the other Slytherin boys – but then he shut it again. It wasn't as though they'd miss him. He watched Makepeace amble away down the rocking corridor, frowning slightly at his back.

He realised that Makepeace had met him, Potter and both Black brothers over the summer break. It wasn't that odd; they lived in a small community, and chance meetings were to be expected. Still, it was perhaps a shade unusual. Severus filed the fact away in his mind, to be considered later, and turned his attention to the situation in front of him.

"You're such a freak," said Regulus. He was standing in the open doorway. Severus swallowed, realising he had taken too long to reply. "You... oh, never mind. Come in."

It was as though even criticising Severus was too much effort for Regulus. He followed the younger boy through the doorway.

Regulus's compartment was quiet, despite how crowded it was. It was filled with other fifth years. Severus knew them all by sight, if not by name. One of them was the seeker for Gryffindor. Barry, his name was, Severus thought. Or Bertie.

He felt awkward. He wasn't that knowledgeable about the fifth years, but he knew that Regulus's gang were popular. He suspected that Regulus had invited him in to annoy his elder brother, and wondered vaguely if Avery had unlocked the door yet.

"What was all that about?" asked a blonde girl whom Severus didn't know. She had a smattering of freckles on her nose, and a blue ribbon in her hair.

"Just becoming acquainted with new staff members," said Regulus, lightly. He flicked his hair out of his eyes in a way that reminded Severus of his older brother. "What'd you think of him, Snape?"

Severus sat on a trunk propped upright on the floor. He was nervous, and so hunched his shoulders apprehensively.

"He's weird," he said. "I don't like him much."

Everyone in the carriage laughed. Severus started, worried that they were laughing at him. He didn't understand the dynamic of this group of friends, so he returned to his book, trying to make himself as small and unobtrusive as possible. After that, however, they seemed content to let him read, and the rest of the journey passed without incident. He listened to the conversation of the others – idle chatter about their summer holidays, filled with friends and parties and fun – and wondered what life would be like if he had been born like everyone else.

By the time the train began to slow into Hogsmeade station, Severus was growing very hungry indeed. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and even then it had only been toast and coffee. He found a space in a horseless carriage with some third years, and shut his eyes as they trundled up towards the castle.

It was only when he arrived in the Great Hall that he saw Rabastan Lestrange. The last time he'd seen Rabastan had been during the summer. He hadn't seen his face then, only his eyes, but Rabastan had clearly remembered him nevertheless, for he raised his hand in welcome. Severus felt a flush of pleasure. He strode to sit next to him.

"Good to see you again, Snape," he said. Severus smirked. "I heard Avery made trouble on the train."

Severus gave a shrug, to show how little it had meant to him. "Just a prank," he said. "It was funny."

Rabastan's pale eyes looked at him. Severus cleared his mind, in the way he had practiced over the summer.

"We must stick together, now," said Rabastan, enigmatically, and Severus had to fight his grin.

Regulus was seated on Snape's other side. "I heard the dog got kicked out of home over the summer," called someone. Both Regulus and Severus laughed.

"He kept mucking up the carpet," said Regulus. He leant back against the stone wall behind his with a relaxed coolness that Snape would never be able to accomplish

The doors opened, and the gaggle of first year students tottered in, led by McGonagall. Severus read his book during the Hat's new song, but decided to watch the Sorting itself. Around twelve new Slytherins joined their ranks: an unusually high number for a house as selective as his.

Dumbledore stood.

"I have much to say," he said, in ringing tones, "but now is not the right time."

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the headmaster sat back down. Suddenly, the plates in front of them were filled with food. Severus's eyes slid from the headmaster to Makepeace. The new professor's head was bowed, and his hands clasped neatly in front of him. His lips were moving silently. Perhaps it was a spell of some sort, Severus thought, for a moment later Makepeace began to eat. Severus followed his example.

His father had not, he knew, purposely starved him during the summer. However, in the last few weeks, he had been forced to open some questionable jars at the back of the cupboard in his search for food. Severus thought he would be able to cook quite well, if he'd been given the chance. The gas had been cut off a month ago, however, so his opportunities for experimentation had been limited. The Hogwarts' feast was a welcome change.

All in all, it was nice to be back. Despite his lack of popularity, and his own awkwardness, he thought that maybe this year he'd manage to carve a place for himself.

After clearing his third helping of desert, the plates were cleared, and Dumbledore rose to his feet. Severus frowned, ready for the usual inane babble about the state of the wizarding world. He wasn't disappointed, and was more focused on Bole's whispered conversation with Mulciber further up the table, about a werewolf attack over the summer.

Maybe Lupin's been running wild, he thought. He searched for Lupin at the Gryffindor table, and found his pale face, upturned to the headmaster.

"Finally," said Dumbledore, "I would like to welcome a new member of staff. Please give a traditional Hogwarts' welcome to Professor Henry Makepeace, who will of course be filling the Defence Against the Dark Arts post."

Makepeace stood, a little self-consciously, and raised his hand in welcome. There was a smattering of applause, though to Severus's surprise Regulus, and a few others scattered throughout the hall, applauded more loudly and enthusiastically than was normal.

Severus, on the other hand, did not clap, and glowered at Makepeace with all the disdain he could muster. The new professor caught his eye, and gave him a cheerful wave. Severus turned away in disgust.

"Not much of a looker, that one," said Bole. Snape stabbed the table with his fork.

"Met him over the summer," he muttered. "Total freak."

Bole laughed. "If you think he's a freak, Snape, there's got to be something wrong with him."

Severus ignored that comment, returning his focus to the textbook. He thought about it later, though, when he was showering. What had he done wrong, this time? The question stayed with him as he climbed into bed. He'd eaten too much, and his stomach squirmed. Severus lay looking up at the canopy of his bed for a long time, and fell asleep to confused dreams.