Severus crossed the barrier of Platform 9 and 3/4, pushing his trunk in front of him.
The platform was bustling with students and parents. The Hogwarts Express was belching steam into the air, which made his eyes water slightly.
He decided to board the train to get first pick at an empty compartment, as he hated sharing with people he considered intellectually inferior to himself. He hated listening to their mundane chatter.
A voice interrupted him before he could reach the stairs. "Oi, Snivellus...you look even uglier this term, if that's even possible." Severus cringed as a loud, barking laugh followed these words. He turned to see a grinning James Potter and guffawing Sirius Black. Little pathetic Peter Pettigrew was smiling nervously.
Severus felt a burning need to pull out his wand and jinx all three into oblivion, but there were far too many adults around. Adults who loved and cared for their children, kissing them goodbye. It made him sick. He turned back and made his way onto the train, hearing all three of them break into laughter.
He slid into the first empty compartment he saw, put his trunk in the luggage rack, and slumped down on the seat. He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of shuffling feet, talking, and commotion outside the window and in the corridors. It slowly faded to background noise as his thoughts drifted away from the present. This was almost a relief, when he did this. He could almost forget.
A girl's voiced pierced through the falling, fading sensation in his mind. He sat up and peered out of his window. He spotted a red-haired girl gesturing animatedly to one of her friends. Lily Evans. Severus sneered at the thought of the Mudblood, until he heard what she was saying.
"He is so full of himself. I swear, if Potter's head gets any bigger, you could use it as a Quaffle. He actually tried to ask me out, the git. So I can sit in Hogmeade listening to how many Snitches he's caught?" Her friend laughed as Lily rolled her eyes. Severus smiled slightly to himself.
So the object of Potter's affection saw him the same light as Severus did. That was indeed interesting. As he stared at the girl, he noticed how much her skin glowed, illuminating her features, including jewel-bright green eyes that lit up whenever she had something to say. Severus shook himself out of these ruminations. Lily Evans was just as superficial as any Hogwarts student, and a Mudblood to boot. She wasn't worth his time, and neither was Potter.
Severus was intently reading his Advanced Potions book which had been handed down to him from his mother. This year, he would begin using it in class, but he had been reading it since he was a first year. He often added his own notes to the book, and it was much more valuable to him than any sentimental diary.
He heard the compartment door slide open but he did not look up from his book. "In here all alone, Sev?" He glanced up to see Bellatrix Black standing in the doorway of the compartment, her arms crossed in a display of arrogance and perhaps to say that if provoked, she would prove to be aggressive. Bellatrix was the queen of body language.
"Am I in here alone? Why don't you search the two cubic metres of space and find out?" Severus didn't have the patience for her mind games. He wished she would just invite him to her compartment and get it over with.
She made an expression that he supposed was supposed to be interpreted as a sneer; in fact, it resembled more of a twisted grin. "See you at school, then."
She turned on her heel and left, not bothering to close the door behind her. As Severus stood and did just that, he felt inexplicably bereft.