To Severin, summer seemed to drag on forever. He turned twelve, but he was more excited about going back to Hogwarts than being a year older. Both Teddy and Tavish sent him a letter for his birthday, and they included gifts; Tavish sent him two chocolate frogs, and Teddy sent him a book on Alchemical Applications Against the Dark Arts, signed by every Auror in the Ministry - including Harry Potter. He loved his friends for sending him a relic of the magical world to keep with him during the long and muggle-filled summer. The chocolate frogs were a welcome reminder of their first encounter on the train, and he read Alchemical Applications probably near a dozen times before the summer was through.

When September 1st finally came around, Severin could barely contain his excitement. When he stepped out onto platform 9 3/4 it was so different from how it had been a year ago. While it still looked the same and had plenty of witches, wizards, and children milling about with heaps of luggage and strange animals, it wasn't as scary this time. Severin saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd; there were some of his dorm mates, there were the Gryffindor girls Teddy liked to flirt with, there were the 3rd year (or rather, 4th year) Slytherins who liked to prank the first years...

"Well, is that young Severin that I see?" a familiar deep voice said, and Severin turned around to see Harry Potter looking at him. "Teddy has told me a great deal about you. I believe you two have become good friends."

"Yeah, Teddy's great," Severin said, grinning at Harry. Harry had the same two young boys as before standing by his side, although they were not quite as young as before. Now that Severin knew about Harry Potter, he couldn't help but look for the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. The scar was faint and hiding behind a few stray black hairs, but Severin could still see it well enough. It was pretty cool.

"I'm glad to hear it," Harry said, then pointed over his shoulder. "He just went that way with Ginny; I believe he was looking for you and Tavish. It was lovely to see you again, Severin."

"You too," Severin said, and then followed Harry's outstretched finger into the crowd. It took him a couple minutes to find Teddy, but his bright color-changing hair really helped him stand out. "Teddy!"

"Hey Sev!" Teddy answered, smiling brightly. He was taller than he had been before summer, and some of the baby fat in his cheeks was beginning to melt away. "Bloody hell, when was the last time you washed your hair? It's a bit greasy."

"Muggle shampoo just doesn't do the trick," Severin replied wistfully. He noticed the girl standing beside Teddy belatedly and asked, "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Victoire Weasley," Teddy said, waving his hands at her. She was thin and blonde with wide, pretty eyes and delicate features.

"Are you sure you have to go, Teddy?" she asked, her face falling into a pout. "Can't they wait for you to get there for another week?"

"Vic, that's not how it works," Teddy sighed with a great deal of exasperation. "You'll understand when you go next year."

"But I don't see why I can't come too," she said, crossing her arms. "I'm nearly old enough."

"You won't even turn eleven for another eight months!"

"Close enough," she declared.

"Vic, I'll see you on the holidays, okay?" Teddy patted her shoulder and she scowled at him.

"Don't do that, you know I hate it when you do that. I'm not a child."

"Yes you are, young lady," a new voice said, and Severin looked up to see a man standing behind him. The man had red hair with grey streaks in it, and a long scar going down his face. By his arm was a blonde woman just as pretty as the Victoire - no doubt this woman was her mother. "What have I told you about running off without telling me where you're going? There are a lot of people on this platform, Victoire. I don't want you getting separated from us."

"But Dad-"

"No buts," he countered. "Now, come along. Let Teddy get on the train. You didn't steal any of his bags again this year, did you?"

The girl looked down and scuffed her shoes against the platform without responding.

"Victoire, give him back his bag right this instant."

"Fine." She pulled a bag from behind her back and gave it to Teddy. "Write us, okay, Teddy?"

"I will, Vic," Teddy said. "Bye." He hugged her awkwardly and then the redheaded man took her hand and led her away, leaving Sev and Teddy standing by the train.

"There you are!" Tavish exclaimed, and they turned to see their friend standing with a pile of luggage at his feet. "I was worried I'd missed you lot and would have to find you on the train."

"Don't be silly. Let's go find a compartment, yeah?" Sev pulled his bag on over his shoulder and popped his trunk up on its end. Most of the students had already boarded the train, so it would be difficult for them to find an empty spot to sit together. Indeed, on the train they couldn't find any empty compartments at all - the closest one to empty had a single occupant in it, who was obviously a first year.

"Do you mind if we join you? All the compartments are nearly full," Sev asked. "If you're holding the seats for someone, we understand."

"Oh no, not at all," the boy said. He was small and awkward, and sat very stiffly. He had black hair that was plied flat with gallons of hair gel, but even so a few unruly strands of hair poked out of his head. He was wearing brand new clothes of the highest quality, and his shoes looked like they cost more than Tavish's parents made in a month. "I am Jack Porter. And you are...?"

"Oh, I'm Severin Snider," Sev said, holding out his hand. The boy shook his hand with a practiced ease before looking at Teddy and Tavish.

"I'm Teddy." Teddy didn't bother with his last name or even saying his full name, and the boy looked at him with a twitch of condescension.

"And I'm Tavish. Tavish Ryder."

"So, are you looking forward to your first year at Hogwarts?" Teddy asked, sitting down on the seat and crossing his legs under him as he usually did.

"I'm not sure," Jack said, his tone dry as he observed Teddy's less-than-formal attitude. "I suppose I'm more nervous than excited."

"Oh, don't be," Sev said, grinning brightly. "It's a great deal of fun."

"Fun," Jack repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Tavish said. "Last year, we accidentally turned one of our classmates into a dog. He was sniffing butts for weeks." They laughed at the memory, but Jack just looked at them with an expression somewhere between disdain and patronizing amusement. Severin decided that he didn't much like Jack; he was too arrogant and condescending for Sev's taste.

An awkward silence filled the compartment and Sev looked out of the compartment, pretending to occupy himself with looking out the window onto the platform. He watched the last few Hogwarts students get on the car, and one of the last students ran across the platform to the train's doors.

He couldn't help but stare at the student and feel like something was tugging at his insides. She was obviously a first year because he had never seen her before, and she was stunning. She had beautiful red curls hanging down to her shoulders and even though he couldn't tell what color her eyes were from the distance, they sparkled. He supposed that her face, height, and build were all average, but there was a way she held herself that made her beyond beautiful. She seemed to give away everything about herself in the way she walked; she was confident but shy, and by the way she held her books he could tell she loved them. Her smile was open and friendly even though she didn't seem to know anyone around her.

She was utterly enchanting.

"Who's that?" Jack asked, staring at the same girl Severin was staring at. Jack's arrogance seemed to melt away as he watched her with wide eyes, just as enchanted by her as Severin was.

"Who?" Tavish asked, peering over their shoulders to get a look. "What's so special about her?"

"She's stunning," Sev breathed.

"She looks like an average first year to me," Teddy said with a shrug. The girl disappeared between the doors of the train, and Severin sat back in his seat.

Not that they knew it, of course, but that was Lucasta Ethans. Lucy was Lily reborn, so it was no great wonder that Severin and Jack were enchanted by her at first sight. Lucy was born into the Ethans family, who were distant relatives of the Weasleys and nearly purebloods. Much like the Weasleys, the Ethans prided themselves on family and a distinct lack of bigotry. Lucy's father was an Ethans, and her mother was a muggleborn witch. Lucy was one of five children, and she loved her siblings a great deal. Her values were much the same as Lily's, and she was just as friendly as Lily had been.

Lucy was the last one on the train, and as such there was very little room in any of the compartments. She finally found a compartment of first years that had enough room for her, and it was filled with three boys whom she had never met. Two of the boys had apparently known each other for several years and were close friends, and the third boy seemed to get along with them fine even though he had never met them before.

"Hullo, can I sit with you?" Lucy asked.

"Sure," the third boy said. "I'm Romulus."

"A girl?" one of the first two boys asked, staring at her skeptically. The other boy elbowed him in the ribs and said,

"Yes, a girl, you git. I'm Serafin. And you are...?"

"Lucy," she said, sitting in the open seat beside Romulus. She looked at the only boy who hadn't introduced himself. "And you?"

"Flynn," the boy said. "You aren't one of those lame girls, are you? The ones who spend hours doing their hair and nails and freak out if they see a bug."

"I don't think so," Lucy said, unsure of what they meant by lame girls. "I don't like bugs, but I don't do my nails really..."

"So, hypothetically," Flynn said, "if we wanted to prank you and make you freak out, should we use roaches, spiders, snakes, or a monkey on a unicycle?"

"Uh..." Lucy wasn't sure what to say in response to that.

"Oh, don't listen to him," Serafin said, knocking Flynn on the back side of the head.

"Ouch!" Flynn protested, punching Serafin in the arm. Serafin ignored him.

"He just doesn't know how to talk to girls," Serafin said, running his fingers through his hair and striking a suave pose against the window.

"Oh lord," Romulus said, burying his face in his hands. He looked at Lucy through his fingers. "You have to understand, I don't know these two. I sat here because it was an open compartment. I apologize formally for any association you might think I have with them." Lucy laughed, then noticed the book open in Romulus's lap.

"What book are you reading, Romulus?" she asked with genuine curiosity. She loved books.

"Oh, call me Rom," he said. "Romulus makes me feel like a greasy old professor. I'm reading Hogwarts: A History."

"Oh, I love that one," Lucy said, her face lighting up.

"Oh, bloody hell," Flynn groaned, draping himself over Serafin dramatically and acting like he'd been shot in the chest. "Another bookworm."

"Get off me you ridiculous git," Serafin grumbled, but Flynn ignored him.

"Hey, books are great!" Lucy said defensively. "They're like tiny little boxes filled with bunches of knowledge and hours of entertainment."

"You know what real entertainment is?" Flynn asked, sitting back up and resting his chin on his hands. "Jokes. Why read a book when you can make someone piss rainbows?"

"Right..." Lucy said, then turned her attention back to Rom. "Anyway. What's your favorite part of that book?"

"I like the part where they talk about-"

Serafin's groan cut him off mid-sentence. "I hope you buckets of fun aren't sorted into Gryffindor. We'd have no one to appreciate our pranks." And it was very much in this manner that the trainride continued; Lucy and Rom would talk about books and learning and generally good things, while Flynn and Serafin interrupted and grumbled about wanting to prank. None of them minded, though; all the talks and jokes were in good fun, and the atmosphere of their compartment never grew angry or heated. In fact, they spent a great deal of the trainride laughing at Flynn's theatrics and they would have fond memories of that trainride for the rest of their lives.