James and Sirius were on their third game of Exploding Snap and their fifth round of sweets from the trolley when the door to their compartment opened. They looked up to see a redheaded girl and a boy with longish black hair that was inexcusably greasy, both first years.
"We came back to see what all the noise was," the girl told the pair irritably without bothering to introduce herself.
"Exploding Snap," James explained with a goofy, lopsided grin. The girl, he noticed, was very pretty, though his first impression of her was that she seemed a bit annoying.
"Care to join us?" Sirius added cheerfully, raising his eyebrows at the two newcomers invitingly.
"No," the boy answered immediately without giving it a second thought.
James wrinkled his nose. "Well, someone doesn't like to have any fun," he noticed, folding his arms. "What could you possibly have against Exploding Snap?"
"It's annoyingly loud, for one thing," the girl put in. "What even is it, honestly? It doesn't look that great."
James' eyes widened. "You've never played a game of Exploding Snap? Oh, you have to join us! Your friend here can leave, though, if he wants. What's your name, anyway?"
"Lily Evans," the girl answered stiffly, making no move to sit down. "And I'll be leaving with Sev, thank you very much."
James snorted. "Sev? What's that short for?"
"Severus," the boy answered. "I can speak for myself, you know."
James and Sirius both laughed at this. "Severus?" Asked James. "Snivellus is more like it," he muttered to Sirius, who laughed once more. "What house are you hoping for, Snivellus? Hopefully wherever you end up has better showers than wherever you came from."
"Slytherin," Severus answered coldly. "Is there one for arrogant gits where you could go?"
"I'm going to be in Gryffindor," James informed him, sitting up a bit straighter. "Why on earth would you want to be in Slytherin on purpose?"
The girl called Lily Evans narrowed her eyes. "Prats. C'mon, Sev. And you two, quiet down a bit, you're annoying everybody." With that, Lily turned around and exited the compartment, her friend following close behind.
"James Potter, by the way, nice to meet you!" James called after their retreating forms.
"Sirius Black!" Sirius added, and as the door to the compartment shut, both boys started to laugh so hard they doubled over.
It wasn't long before the explosions from the next compartment started again, and Lily rolled her eyes. "Arrogant prats."
For some reason, this made Severus smile slightly. "They are, aren't they? Of course, Gryffindor is full of arrogant prats…"
"Well, that's not fair," Lily reasoned. "What if you or I ends up in Gryffindor?"
"I'll be in Slytherin, and you'll be Ravenclaw for sure," Severus assured the girl.
Lily looked slightly saddened by this. "That means we won't be together," she said dejectedly. "I'll be all alone and… what if everyone else hates me?"
"No one hates you, Lily," Severus reminded her with a watery smile. "It's impossible."
"Tuney hates me," said Lily with a pout, but Severus wouldn't hear it.
"Petunia does not hate you and neither does anyone else," he argued. "And that's that. Now, let's not talk about it anymore."
Lily nodded, trying to keep the sadness out of her green eyes. "Alright. New topic," she agreed, and they quickly got back to the discussion on the Potions textbook that they'd been having before.
Severus maintained polite conversation through the rest of the train ride. They talked about trivial things like Lily's apprehensions for the upcoming school year and the differences between the Houses.
However, the young wizard's mind continued to wander. Those boys in the other compartment - they didn't even know him and already they were teasing him. Secretly, he had some of the same worries as his friend. Would everyone treat him the way those two did?
However, his method of handling it was very different from Lily's. He would never just tell her all of this - she would think he was weak and he would lose the one friend he knew for sure that he had. No, he would handle people like those two pricks himself.
Severus had always had an above-average interest in dark magic, ever since he learned that he was a wizard. Even as a small child, this forbidden area of magic fascinated him. He'd been learning all he could since long before he'd gotten his Hogwarts letter and felt that he probably had a strong head start.
If the worst came, Severus knew plenty of hexes. If anyone cursed him, he could fight back. He didn't need help from anybody, and he would not appear weak.
It was a good thing Lily was so chatty - she could have a whole conversation by herself. As she spoke, brow furrowed with worry, all Severus had to do was nod with the occasional "Yeah, I know." This left him mostly free to let his mind wander.
It was a good thing indeed that Lily talked so much, and that Severus didn't have to. If he were to share what was on his mind, he feared that he would lose Lily as a friend, and that was definitely something that he didn't want.
A/N: Hope you're enjoying so far! I've decided to start replying to any reviews so you know I'm reading them - I live on reviews. They make up about half the air I breathe. So please review. Seriously, I'm desperate. Also, to anyone trying to read my Sherlock stuff - so sorry I'm not updating, something is wrong with my laptop, where that story happens to be. I've been writing this from my phone, so updates here can continue.
