Chapter 3

"Mind your stuffs, Severus. You won't get any new ones for a long time." Mother spoke in a hoarse voice, buttoning up my way too large second hand coat as we stood on Platform 9¾. "And focus in class, you won't get a second chance to study."

"I know, Mother…" I pushed her hands away and adjusted my collar uncomfortably.

"And don't go near the pupils that belong to the other houses. Especially the Gryffindors." She said firmly.

I froze. What if Lily is sorted into another house? No, no… she belongs to Slytherin.

"Yes, Mother." I said, looking everywhere but at her.

"Look at me." She said, gripping my chin to make me look up at her. "Don't go anywhere near that filthy Mudblood whose family pollutes our neighborhood." She articulated each words clearly. A wild fire lit up inside me.

"Don't call her that!" I shouted. Mother's hand was raised in a split second, and I jumped on my spot, watching her it warily.

A few witches and wizards stopped their conversation to look at us, some even glared at Mother. She remained frozen, until a cold snicker escaped her lips. She lowered her hand and patted my shoulder, as though I was a dog. My skin was burning in anger.

"Talk to her. Walk with her. Look at her. Think about her. I'll know it."

"What will you do? It's not like I'll see you at Christmas or anytime at all." I said carefully, but I was tearing her eyes off with mine.

Mother laughed. I didn't know many women apart from her and Lily, but Lily's laugh was much different than hers. Much sweeter, much… truer.

"I won't do anything, Severus." She said, but her tone wasn't reassuring, quite the contrary. A warning was hidden under her voice.

The train whistled. She bent down on her knees and cupped my head in her hands, catching me completely off guard.

"Don't do anything you'll regret, Severus." She murmured, and pressed her lips against my forehead before standing up. "Off you go."

"Mother…" I breathed, staring up at her with wide eyes.

"I said off you go, Severus Snape!" Her tone was firm, there was nothing else to add.

I swallowed and picked up my trunk. I immediately turned around and climbed onto the train, unable to look back. I stumbled with my trunk through the crowded corridor, until I found an empty spot at the back of the train. I pulled my trunk to the corner and stuck my forehead to the window, staring blankly at the outside.

I didn't know what Mother had meant by her warning. I didn't know if I was putting Lily in danger just by thinking about her. But most of all, I didn't know what Mother's sudden access of affection had meant. I was terrified. My heartbeat had sped up, and my eyes were burning. The time I was going to spend at Hogwarts wasn't going to be as great as I had expected it… it might even be worse, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was trapped between my blood and my love. It was unbearable, overwhelming. I looked around, but everyone was too excited to notice me. So I faced the window again, and broke down. I was shaken by a shortness of breath, and my eyes became watery on their own. I felt ashamed, insecure. But I couldn't stop it, I couldn't do anything at all.

The train whistled one last time, which brought me back to reality. I opened my eyes and rubbed them, just in time to see the Platform moving to the left. I stuck my hands and my forehead on the window and searched. Mother was nowhere in sight. When the platform disappeared, I turned around and leaned against the window, closing my eyes again. This is bad. I sighed, trying to forget about the twisting feeling in my stomach. Lily! My eyes shot open and I gripped my trunk and headed towards the now almost empty corridor, peering at each compartment.

Until I found her. She was sitting alone in an empty compartment. I smiled, but it lasted only a second, for I had noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks. I frowned and pulled the door open, expecting the worse.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

She gasped and wiped her tears away hurriedly.

"Sev! I didn't see you there…" She sniffed and laughed. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Where have you been?" I was relieved she seemed happy to see me, but there was a part of sadness in her eyes.

"I just arrived…" She didn't need to know what I was really doing. I closed the door behind me and sat next to her. "Tell me what happened." I said, and took her hands hesitantly.

She looked down at our linked hands, and squeezed mine. My heart took flight.

"It's just… you know, all this is so… grand…" She glanced up at me and a ghost of a smile appeared on her face for a second. "And Petunia, she… Oh God, she hates me so much…" She said, but she looked like she had just realized it.

"Hey…" I said softly, bending forward to make eye contact with her. "She doesn't count, Lily… She's a muggle…" I said, smiling. If only she could realize how obvious it was.

"She's my sister." She said, taking her hands away from mine and eyeing me warningly. My heart sank.

"She is, but… Look what she does to you…" I said defensively, and reached out to wipe her humid cheek. "Anyway, don't be nervous," I changed the sensitive subject. "I'm right there."

Lily smiled, and it's only then that I realized I was stroking her cheek. I blushed, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Candy from the trolley!" The old lady called.

"I'll go get some sweets." I said, standing up. "I'll be back, okay?"

"Sure." She smiled up at me.

I sighed cheerfully and walked out of the compartment, feeling much lighter. I called the Old Lady and went to stand near the trolley.

"Good morning miss!" I said, beaming. "I'd like… I'll take love cherries, please."

"Love cherries for the lover, here you go my dear boy…" She chuckled as she handed me the cherries.

I blushed and paid her, muttering a quick 'thanks'. I quickly escaped before she could say anything else, and whistled contently on my way back to our compartment. I smiled beamingly when I reached it the door, until I noticed something by the window; Lily wasn't alone. I frowned and pulled the door open, and what I saw made me squeeze the cherries in my left fist. Two suckers had entered our compartment, and were speaking to my Lily. And above all, she was leaning forward and laughing with them. When none of them noticed that I had entered the compartment, I made myself noticeable.

"Ahem."

They all looked up, and Lily blushed, leaning back on her seat.

"I'm sorry, Sev, they said there wasn't any free compartment left so I let them join us…" Lily mumbled.

"Oh really? Where are your trunks, then?" I glared at them.

The two blokes, who had been watching me like idiots all along, snickered. Lily blushed even harder.

"Relax, Sev... We're just messing around, aye Sirius?" The thinner one with glasses said.

"Damn right, Potter!" The one with the long black hair called Sirius smirked at me.

"You guys better get out of here." I said angrily.

"What are you gonna do, Sevvy?" The Sirius bloke burst out laughing, and the one named Potter joined along.

"Severus, sit down." Lily said, rolling her eyes.

I huffed and dropped myself next to her glaring at them. The Sirius boy leaned over his knees and rested his head between his hands, grinning up at me stupidly, while Potter crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, glancing between me and Lily with a smirk on his ugly face.

"Here you go, Lily." I opened my left hand. Thankfully, the gummy sweets weren't too damaged. "These are cherries, you might like them." I handed them to her.

"Thanks!" She said cheerfully and popped one in her mouth.

"Do you recognize these cherries, Sirius?" Potter boy said, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Aren't they the ones we gave to Dorcas Meadowes?" He snickered "Well, the least we can say is that the effect was worth trying it, she's crazy in love with us." Lily choked over the sweet, and both laughed loudly. My face heated up with anger.

"So you need sweets to have success with girls?" I spat.

"You would know, right Sevvy?" Potter nodded towards Lily and winked at me.

"Shut up!" I hissed.

"At least you have a very good taste. With girls, I mean! Cause in the fashion department…" The Sirius bloke winced in a very exaggerated manner.

Lily was hiding behind her hair when she spoke.

"Just ignore them, Sev."

I swallowed back my anger a second time, but I felt like I wasn't going to hold it a third time. The two blokes were still snickering, but at least they didn't make any other comment.

"Anyway, we won't be bothered by them anymore when we'll be sorted in Slytherin." I said proudly. "They certainly won't be sorted there."

The Sirius boy made a gagging noise, and Potter wrinkled his nose as though he had smelled something bad.

"I'd rather go back home than getting sorted into Slytherin." Potter said disdainfully.

"The Slytherins are the most intelligent ones. And the most skillful." I said threateningly, stuffing my hand in the pocket of my coat where I gripped my wand.

"And the most stinky ones." Sirius boy barked a laugh. I gripped my wand tighter.

"Gryffindor, now that's a great house. It's where I'll be sorted in." Potter grinned.

"What's the difference between houses, really? We're all witches and wizards…" Lily shrugged.

"Yes Lily but there are two kind of wizards: the great one and the dumb one." I explained. "The greatests are in Slytherin. I think you can guess where the dumbest are." I eyes the two blokes, smirking.

"Are you calling us dumb here, Sevvy?" They both stood up, their hands stuffed in their pocket too.

"I might be." I stood up too, glaring. Lily jumped up from her seat and shifted me and the dumb ones.

"Guys, stop that right now! We're in a train, for Heaven's sake!" She yelled.

Her hair were falling over her fierce eyes, and she was breathing loudly. Merlin, it was adorable. And I could tell even they were aware of it, for they had lowered their wands just like I did.

"Alright then, seems like this compartment is full too." Potter said, smirking.

"Full of what, I wonder…" Sirius added, and they both roared with laughter.

"You two better go back to your compartments before I let you guys kill each other." Lily grunted.

That was well said, I thought. But I didn't like the way Potter eyed her up and down with that stupid, pervert smirk of his. At least Sirius boy kept his distance, even though he wasn't indifferent to Lily's charm skills. Well, the positive side was that Lily didn't seem to like them much. I smiled to myself.

"See you later then, Lily Evans." Potter murmured to her. It made Lily twice angrier at him, but I still felt a strong urge to punch him rush through me.

They both left the compartment, and Lily followed them with her fierce eyes. I knew she hated them already, but I couldn't get the image of her laughing with them out of my head. And for some reasons, the fact that she showed them attention was bothering me, even though it was pure loathing. I'd rather see her ignoring them. Lily's eyes are mine… it might sound selfish, but I want them for me and myself. I want her to look at me, I want our eyes to meet forever.

At last, the train arrived at Hogsmeade. Lily and I, already dressed up into our robes, walked our as fast as possible, both excited. We stood on the platform with the other agitated pupils and looked around into the darkness. I was so happy, so happy that she was happy. I couldn't stop smiling, until I spotted them. They weren't alone: two other boys, a skinny and scarred one and a chubby one, had joined their group. They were all looking at us: the chubby bloke was giggling, the Sirius bloke was making loud kissing noises and Potter was whistling. The scarred one was too absorbed by his book to notice us, but he was still part of the group. I glared at them all. Then, as I was about to look away from those jerks, my eyes fell upon the long haired boy's trunk, and the name caught my eyes.

"Black…" I spat.

I had heard of that pompous, pureblood family. All Slytherins. Seems like I was wrong, after all; one of them might get sorted in Slytherin. I groaned and looked away, just in time to see a giant figure appear out of the mist. Everyone gasped.

"Evenin', children! Me name's Rubeus Hagrid. First years, follow me!" He turned around and walked back into the mist, whistling a cheerful ditty.

All the first years walked behind him, whispering and chuckling enthusiastically, until we reached the boats. I helped Lily into one, and a two other girls joined us: a black haired one and a blonde one. They were both giggling and kept glancing at a certain boat away from us.

"Merlin, look at them!" The brunette one laughed.

"I know, they're so hot!" the blonde one answered, sighing dreamily.

"Doe, I really meant they're crazy. Seriously, who does that?"

I frowned and followed their gazes, only to feel anger shoot through my veins once more: the boat they were looking at contained Potter's group. The chubby and the scarred boy were split in two with laughter as Potter and Black were standing upright on the unsteady little boat, wands already drowned out and aimed at the dark sky above them, where the Gryffindor colours were glittering. I felt a bitter taste on my tongue as Lily's name started appearing on the sky too, circled by a giant sparkling red heart.

"Who the hell is Lily Evans?" the girl called 'Doe' asked, rather annoyed.

I turned to look at Lily; she was blushing, her eyes firmly stuck on the lap. The two girls glanced at her too, and both gasped.

"Is that you?" the brunette girl asked in awe.

She bowed her head low enough so that her silky hair would fall like curtains around her face, and mumbled something almost not hearable.

"My, my, my… showing off our charm skills before classes even started, are we? I like this girl." She grinned and leaned back on her bench. "My name is Marlene McKinnon, your new best friend."

"And I'm Dorcas Meadowes, your second new best friend!" The blonde girl giggled as she shook Lily's hand enthusiastically, while I remained as invisible as the esteem Potter's gang has for me. "Seriously though, what's your secret, Evans?"

"Oh… um…" Lily stuttered, turning as red as her hair as Potter started blowing her kisses. I started feeling sick; but it wasn't due to the boat trip. "I don't… I haven't really…"

"Don't worry, hun. You'll have plenty of time to explain us tonight in the Gryffindor Common Room"

"How can you possibly know she'll be in Gryffindor?" I spat the last word.

McKinnon turned her gaze on me, her eyebrows raised as though she had only just noticed me.

"This bird is clearly a winner. Gryffindors are winners. And, well… you get my point." She smirked, eyeing me up and down.

"I certainly don't." I snapped. She smirked.

"You will tonight."

I glared at her. Why does everyone keep saying Lily will be I that house? She belongs to Slytherin… I know her, she'll stay with me…

"Come on, Hurry!" The giant said loudly as our boats berthed near the castle.

"See you soon, Evans." McKinnon winked at her as she stepped out of the boat. She linked her arm with Meadowes, and they both walked away with the rest of the pupils.

I growled and stepped out to, before holding my hand out to Lily. A warm feeling travelled through my arm when she took it and stepped onto land.

"Steady enough?" I asked her, grinning.

"I'm good." She smiled back, our hands still linked.

Suddenly, I felt my feet slip on the grass. Everything went fast; our hands were torn apart from each other, I slipped and on the next second my head was underwater. I swam up to the surface of the lake immediately, coughing. Loud laughter were echoing around me, and when I opened my eyes, I found all the pupils near the shore, Potter's gang on the front row. They were laughing harder than ever.

"You think that's funny, don't you Potter?!" Lily shouted at him, her fists curled into balls. That's only then that I realized that he had his wand in his hand. That bastard. My teeth were grinding as I crawled out of the water.

"Simmer down, love. I'm not the only one laughing, am I?" he raised his eyebrows, twirling his hand between his fingers.

"You little-!" I yelled, drawing out my wand as soon as I was on my feet, dripping wet, but the giant stopped me, standing between us.

"Now, now! What's hap'ning here?"

"Don't blame him, Hagrid, Snivellus really needed a little shower." Black said, pinching his nose. Everyone laughed.

"Potter and those three little bastards made me fall into the lake!" I shouted, pointing at them.

"That be true, boys?" He asked them, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Absolutely not." Potter stepped forward. "I'm the one who sent you wash your hair, you liar. Don't bring my friends into this." He told me. For the first time since I had met him, he looked serious.

"What's your name, lad?" the giant asked him casually.

"Potter. James Potter." He said, raising his chin to the air.

"Well, that'll be one detention for James Potter, then." The giant answered off-handedly, walking away. "By Merlin, this year's starting well. Come on, you lot! Into the school!"

"Woohoo! Beat this, boys!" Potter said proudly. They all laughed, ruffling his hair and punching his shoulder as though it was a contest of who was going to be the dumbest of Hogwarts.

I groaned and looked away, trying to fix my hair. Great, I hate water. I looked up to see Lily standing beside me, watching Potter's group.

"Those idiots –they better not cross my path again." I said tentatively. "Thanks for defending me anyway… even though I handled it." I smiled.

She turned to look at me.

"Why did you lie?" she said blankly.

"What?" I swallowed.

"You told Hagrid that the four of them did this to you. It was Potter; the others didn't have anything to do with this. You could have gotten them in trouble."

"Oh please, you're not standing up for them are you?" I scoffed.

"Don't be a fool, Severus." Ouch. She quit the nickname. "I just think it's unfair."

"Unfair?" my jaw dropped. "How about the way Black humiliated me? Did you see how they mocked me? Is that fair to you?"

"No. but you're lowering yourself to their level by doing that."

I considered what she was telling me. She was right. But what was I supposed to do; remain silent? I was too proud. But I knew I wasn't going to win this one, so I just dropped it.

"Come on, we're falling behind." I smiled and held my arm out to her.

It took her a few seconds to respond to my smile, but at least she did. He grasped my arm, and off we went.

The moment we both had been waiting for so long finally arrived: the opening of Hogwarts' wooden gates to our arrival. It was magical: we were finally stepping into our new home. Everything was like I had imagined it: the mirroring tiles, the stairs, the great chandelier and the portraits hanging on the walls… The Hall was full of space, entirely made of marble. The figured on the portraits were waving to us, some of them even welcomed us warmly. It was like living a dream.

"Wow…" I heard Lily whisper, and I glanced at her. She looked so amazed… I was beautiful to see her bright green eyes sparkling in joy. I smiled.

"Good evening, children." An old but confident voice said from the top of the stairs.

I glanced toward the sound: indeed, an old woman was standing there, looking peering down at us through her glasses like a falcon. She had a pointed hat on her bun, and another old had firmly gripped in her right hand; her left hand was on the stair rail as she came down.

"I am Mrs. McGonagall, the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Foremost, I would like to welcome you to your new school and dwelling. I'm sure you will all be efficient this year, and work hard to improve your skills in every single fields." Potter and Black cleared their throat in a much exaggerated manner. The headmistress glanced at them coolly, but she didn't make any comment. "Trust me, you will not know boredom in this school. Now, we shall enter the Great Hall where all your classmates are waiting, and you shall discover at which table you will sit tonight for dinner and remain until the end of your pupil career. Now, follow me inside quietly; and welcome to you all again." She said as she turned around to open the doors on the wall behind her.

My stomach twisted, and Lily's hand gripped my arm tighter. We followed her inside the Great Hall, and as we stepped between the long tables, all the pupils stared at us. Some of them waved at their younger siblings, some others just seemed to starve… it was awkward. As we reached the end of the Great Hall, I notices a single long table that was there; the professors' table. At the end of it was sitting a seemingly old man with long grey hair and beard, a warm smile playing on his lips. Dumbledore… I nudged Lily, and she glanced at him.

"He looks quite well preserved for a hundred years old man…" she chuckled, and so did I.

The professor's table was on a stage. On the middle of it was a stool. The headmistress climbed the little stairs that led to the stage and went to stand next to the stool; she took out a parchment from the old dusty had she had in her hand and rolled it open.

"Right. When I call your name, you'll come and sit on this stool. Then I'll put the Sorting Hat on your head, and he will determine whether you belong in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff… or Slytherin."

I heard quiet snickers. I turned around towards the sound; a couple of feet behind me was the stable of Slytherins; my table. At the beginning of the table sat a guy with a scornful look and a bitter smile. He had long blond hair that fell down on his thin shoulders, and a chin that was raised so high his eyelids looked like he was about to fall asleep –I would have bet he was a prefect, of even our head boy. Sitting next to him was a tall, thin blonde girl that already seemed bored with her little head resting on the palm of her hand. But it wasn't that charming couple that had snickered; it was the two boys that were standing right next to me: there was a tall and a short one; both were rather muscular for first years. Neither of them had noticed I had turned around, thankfully. When I looked back at the blonde guy, he was staring at me. I spun around to face the stage, just in time to hear Potter's name. The Sorting had already started.

Potter hand-checked everyone on his path as he headed to the stage, grinning. He sat on the stool and looked down at us proudly. The headmistress dropped the Sorting hat on his head, and it animated itself. Everyone gasped as it started speaking.

"Now, that's a full head… a lot of qualities, enough to drown the flaws… ambition… lots of ambition…" at these words, James' smile dropped. He knew that ambition was the major quality of the Slytherins. I snickered. What an incredible plot twist it would be… Potter turned white as the Sorting Hat continued its speech. "Ah! Courage, loyalty… friendship… By Merlin; love as well!" Half of the girls in the crowd giggled, and Lily blushed. I groaned. James grinned, relieved. "Let's see… Ha, Gryffindor!" it shouted.

Everyone cheered, and Potter took of the hat and jumped from the stage, smiling victoriously. Black was the noisiest one. But Potter did not stop to wait for his group; he immediately headed for the Gryffindor table, which I found weird. But I understood soon. On his way, Potter had to walk past us.

"See you in a bit, Evans." He murmured to Lily, before winking to her.

She rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed. I couldn't bear this. I took a step closer to her and glared at him. He smirked in a way that meant you have no chance, and went to sit. My blood was boiling. The headmistress' voice echoed in the Great Hall once more.

"Laverne Avery!"

The muscular tall boy I had seen earlier went up the stage. The Headmistress barely dropped the Sorting Hat on his head that I exclaimed:

"Slytherin!"

The room remained silent, except for a few claps. Avery snickered as he went to sit with the Slytherins. As I watched him, my eyes fell upon the blond haired prefect-face; his gaze was on me. I felt strangely anxious, and preferred to look back at the stage, where Avery's smaller but not less muscular friend –he responded to the name of Rolf Mulciber- had just been sorted into the same house. A few other pupils went up the stage for a while, including the two girls that were with us on the boat, and the rest of Potter's gang. Thankfully, all of them ended in Gryffindor.

"Severus Snape!"

My heart stopped. Already? My feet remained stuck on the ground. Unexpectedly, Lily put her hand on my shoulder and whispered to me:

"Come on… it'll go just fine." She smiled.

And just like that, with a mere look, mere words, Lily Evans filled my heart with courage. I smiled and went up the stairs to sit on the stool, keeping my eyes on her for comfort. And I felt the Sorting Hat fall on my head.

"Aaah… here's a boy who in spite of not growing up receiving love… is full of it. And thus, it is that wonderful and mysterious thing love is that brings you courage!"

Merlin, does he really need to make up his mind out loud? Lily smiled up at me encouragingly. I merely blushed harder. Yes, it was my love for her that gave me guts.

"Cleverness… Strength… Ambition… and a slight inclination towards darkness… Mh."

Silence crashed upon the Great Hall. I could read the words dark arts in everyone's eyes, and for a slight moment I even thought I could hear them think about it. Well, I'm going to have a hell of a reputation now, I thought… My eyes unconsciously landed upon Mr. Prefect-Head, who was still eyeing me intensely, his expression unreadable. But the Hat didn't give me the time to guess what that pompous boy thought of.

"Slytherin!" it shouted, and only a few lazy claps echoed from the direction of the green and silver table.

I proudly jumped off the stool and glanced at Lily as I made my way down the couple of stairs that led down to the floor, beaming. But not for long; Lily looked disturbed. I frowned, and just as she opened her mouth to say something to me…

"Lily Evans!"

She started, her eyes wide upon Mrs. McGonagall. Her terrified eyes drifted to me, and I smiled at her encouragingly, and mouthed a quiet 'see you in a minute' before I headed towards the end of the Slytherin table, saving a seat next to me. She must be nervous, I thought, and shrugged her disturbed expression off. I leaned on my elbows and watched how her hair danced as she walked up the stage.

"Mmmh… Lily… Sounds familiar… could it be the name that was echoing in the previous student's head?"

Lily frowned and glanced at me from the top of the stool as everyone laughed. Potter's gang laughed a little louder than the others, and Black even started whistling at Lily. Even though she was too busy giving me a questioning look to notice them, I blushed, both embarrassed and furious. The only one who wasn't laughing was Malfoy. He was still staring at me, but this time he looked disgusted. I cleared my throat and quickly looked back at Lily.

"Talent… cleverness… Ah, so much love to give to those who haven't received any! Tenderness and affection… A great, courageous heart… A powerful heart. Such a gift to be able to make love sound like courage! Let's see… Gryffindor!"

The entire Gryffindor table and even the professors cheered for Lily, and my jaw dropped to the floor. Scenarios, terrible things came through my mind. She wasn't going to be with me… she would be with Potter… she'd be the enemy of the Slytherin on top of being a M… No. No, it can't be… She's what I love most in this rotten world… she couldn't be taken away from me so soon… Forbidden, inaccessible love… I watched her walk over to the Gryffindors happily. She didn't even see me. McKinnon and all the other girls hugged her, and… Potter stood up. He took her hand to make her face him, and as I sat a few meters away from the Gryffindor table, I could hear him speak.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor House, Evans. I'm James Potter." He said enthusiastically, and bent down to drop a kiss on her hand.

I felt my nails dig in the skin of my palms. Why wasn't she reacting? She looked like he had stunned her.

"Leave her be, James. You've down enough damage to your own dignity in the boat." McKinnon told him as she pulled Lily away from him.

For the first time of my life, I am grateful to a Gryffindor.

"Shut up, Marls. I'm sure she loved it. Right, Evans?"

"It was ridiculous." She muttered.

Black barked a laugh.

"Tough luck, mate!" He stood up and nudged Potter, before holding out a hand to Lily. "The name is Sirius Black, the mentor. Forgive him, he still has got a lot to learn." He winked.

"Guys, you're both scaring her." The scarred boy called Lupin said.

The fat one started laughing. I don't even remember his name… Pettigrew, I think. He's the one who nearly tripped on his way down the stage.

"I agree with Lupin. This is not how you talk to a girl." McKinnon said as she dragged Lily to the empty seats in front of the Potter gang.

"But this is not a girl, Marls. It's the girl. You think you know everything, dear, but we actually already met on the train." Potter wriggled his eyebrows at Lily.

The simple thought of it makes me sick. We nearly hexed each other… I don't know what stopped me from making his head pop off. It's already so big…

"Yeah, well, you have no chance, anyway." The brunette said.

"Oh really? How come?" Potter scoffed, as though Lily wasn't there.

"Because Lily Evans here already has a boyfriend."

"What? No!" Lily blurted out, blushing.

"Come on, don't tell me it's that little Slytherin bat who's always following you around…" Potter laughed. Everyone did.

"He's my friend." She said.

At that moment, Lily's gaze landed on me past Potter's shoulder. My throat tightened a little. Yes, I'm right here. Remember me? She quickly looked away, probably so that Potter wouldn't turn around and notice me. Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice echoed in the Great Hall. Everything went quiet at once, and all gazes turned to the stage; he had stood up to speak.

"Good evening to you all. I believe it is not necessary to mention that I am Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

You just did, old man, I thought.

"I would like to welcome you all here at Hogwarts, and I hope that you will all take a great advantage of what our school will bring you this year. For those who are starting their first year, I would like to remind you of the main rules of the school; the one that, if transgressed, shall bring you a severe punishment. This fundamental rule concerns the Forbidden Forest, as most of you, I sincerely hope so, already know. The name of this part of the school speaks for itself. Indeed, it is forbidden to wander in those woods without the presence of one of the professors. If you would like to stay alive before the end of the year, that is."

Dumbledore remained quiet for a short moment. His gaze swept the Great Hall; it seemed like he was checking each one of our faces as we all stared up at him. There wasn't a single sound. I glanced at Lily from across our table to the red and golden one. She gulped, her eyes wide in horror. Next to her, Potter and Black exchanged mischievous glances, and nodded at each other. I growled and looked away. Hopefully they were really planning on going to that forest alone. They'd do me a favor.

"Quite." Dumbledore spoke again, gazing at us over his spectacles. "I wish you all an instructive year at Hogwarts, and may you all stay safe." His tone was so serious it sent a shiver up my spine. "Let the feast begin!"

Suddenly, all kinds of tasteful dishes appeared before our eyes, and everyone cheered. All the pupils began eating, and the conversations began. I took half a spoon or pumpkin pie, and leaned back on my seat, hardly able to swallow it down. I had no appetite, and I couldn't understand why everyone seemed so excited; all I could think of was Lily, who was a table away from me and already busy making Gryffindor pals. I stared at her and my stomach twisted painfully each time Potter made her chuckle. Not once she had glanced my side. I sighed. This year wasn't going to be as fun as I had expected it. Slowly, a feeling of angst took grip of my chest. I glanced at my right instinctively, and met a pair of cool blue eyes staring back at me from a few seats away. Mr. Prefect-Head. I quickly looked away, hardly daring to breathe.

The feast ended at last, and the pupils were led to their respective dormitories. But I didn't bother following my House: I went through the lines, searching for silky red hair in the gathered mass of people. Once she had caught my eye, I rushed toward her and gripped her hand instinctively. She spun around and the laughter died on her face when she saw me. Next to her stood McKinnon, who raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'll catch you in a moment, Marlene." Lily told her.

The shrugged and walked away. Lily turned to face me with a guilty gaze. I realized her hand was still in mine and my face instantly flushed as I let go of her.

"So, you made friends." I told her a bit too bitterly, looking everywhere but into her eyes.

She sighed and I saw her push back her hair behind her right ear out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm so sorry, Sev… I didn't mean to be sorted into Gryffindor, I swear! But… the way everyone speak about Slytherins…"

"And you believe them?" I spat, glaring up at her.

She gasped, not expecting my sudden anger. The look she gave me made me forget why I was angry in the first place.

"I just wished we'd stay together…" I said slowly.

"But we are together, Sevvy!" She said, taking both of my hands in hers. My arms instantly grew numb. "We'll share classes together and meals as well! I'm sure you can get along with my friends too, they were so kind to me even though I'm a muggleborn! And I could sit at the Slytherins' table once in a while as well! You'll see, everything will be fine."

She spoke with such innocence that I didn't dare contradict her. I would trade her sparkly eyes and her smile for nothing in the world. So I simply nodded. Her smile widened and suddenly her eyes widened a little, as though something had crossed her mind. She let go of my hands –which instantly turned cold- and brought hers to her neck to untie the knot of her silky scarf. It was white, and four lilies were sewed on each corner of the fabric. She handed it to me.

"Here. That way I'll always be with you, even when I won't."

I took it and stared down at it. At that moment, I thought it felt strange how such an insignificant material thing could bear so much importance to me. It had become my lucky charm, my treasure. And once I had thought that I couldn't be any happier, I felt Lily's soft lips against my cheek. I almost passed out at the scent of her perfume.

"I-I don't need this to have you with me, Lily." I already have you in my heart, I thought.

"Then consider it a present. A present for the best friend ever." She smiled. "Good night!" She said cheerfully.

"Good night, Lily…" I said as I watched her walk away swiftly.

I should have been over the moon. But somehow for the first time since I had met Lily, I felt like the term of 'best friend' wasn't enough.