Severus's eyes fluttered open suddenly- what was the time? Had he overslept?
Sitting straight upright in his bed, Severus glanced around, noticing that it was barely light. He had not overslept... thank Merlin. He would hate to imagine the look on a professor's face if they saw Severus bustle into class, late on his first day. What kind of professor-to-be would do that?
Shaking some of his long black hair out of his face, Severus stepped out of his bed and wandered out the boy's dormitory. He entered the shadowy Slytherin common-room, walking softly along the stone floor. He'd never get to sleep now, he may as well just wait an hour or so until it was seven and then go to breakfast.
Sitting in a tall armchair in front of the fire, Severus half-closed his eyes and started thinking about what events today would bring. He'd already memorised his timetable... he had double Charms with the Gryffindors first, Tranfiguration until lunch, Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch and flying lessons following that. Severus thought briefly about the Charms lesson, knowing that James Potter and his sidekick Sirius Black would be there. Oh well, it wouldn't be that bad. James probably thought that Severus was his 'friend' or something ridiculous like that. Fool.
Suddenly, Severus heard whispering... it seemed to be coming from a dark corner, away from the dim light of the fire. Severus held his breath, remaining as quiet as possible. He could almost make out the words.
"...the Dark Lord... yes, Tom Riddle... another is dead..."
Severus frowned. He had heard rumours of some kind of 'Dark Lord' appearing a few years back, and how he had killed a few muggles. Nothing serious, though. Probably just a gang of thug wizards, murdering people for enjoyment. A passing phase.
Gradually the whispers ceased and four or five people sneaked swiftly back into their dormitories, believing they had gone unseen and unheard. Severus paid them no heed and went back to his musings.
After about an hour, a few people stumbled into the common-room, yawning and wiping their eyes. One of them, a first-year with silvery-blonde hair and grey eyes, sat down in another armchair beside Severus. Severus remembered that his name was Malfoy, Lucius. The Sorting Hat had yelled out "SLYTHERIN!" before it hardly touched his head, and no wonder. Severus knew the Malfoy family, and they were certainly worthy of being in Slytherin.
"Morning, Snape," Lucius mumbled, not looking at Severus.
Severus sneered. "Don't call me that, Malfoy."
"As you wish, Snape," Lucius replied, smirking.
Severus gritted his teeth, but chose to ignore Lucius. How would he know what kind of shame being a Snape brought, even if nobody realised how great it was?
"So," said Lucius, pulling on a shoe. "We've got Charms with the Gryffindors, then? Pity. I'll have to see Weasley."
Severus looked at him. "Who's Weasley?"
"Arthur Weasley, you know, that red-headed kid with the freckles," Lucius sneered. "His family's a disgrace to the wizarding name."
Severus looked at the floor. Yes, he knew Weasley. His father often brought him into the apothecary shop to buy hay-fever remedies.
Severus shook his head suddenly. He had to stop thinking about his past life, his family, the apothecary. At Hogwarts he was a new person, a person with no family, a person without any background. He was not THE Severus Snape, he was just plain Severus Snape. An object with a name that meant nothing.
"Well, Snape old boy, you'd better get out of that night-shirt. Wouldn't want anybody to see you in that at breakfast." Lucius stood and headed out the stone doorway, into the dungeon corridors.
Sighing, Severus went back to his dormitory and found his robes. He noticed that the grey stripes on his tie had turned green and silver- the colours of Slytherin. There was also a small badge on his bed-side cabinet, reading, 'Severus Snape' above the Slytherin crest. Severus grimaced slightly, then entered the bathrooms to get changed.

The Great Hall was filled with bright sunlight today; not the sparkling lights of stars and candles as it was the previous night. Severus sat at one end of the Slytherin table, content to being alone.
He ate his french toast while reading about the arts of Charms. It seemed rather boring; by the sounds of it he would be learning simple little wand-waving techniques. When would he be able to learn how to shoot ice from his wand-tip or turn people into raving lunatics by putting gruesome images into their heads? Of course, he knew how do that already. His father had decided to give his sons a 'boost' and teach them a few dark spells. But that was smething that he mustn't think about. He would have to forget those spells and be settle with learning how to make feathers float and shoot little sparks.
Much to Severus's annoyance, Lucius came and sat beside him.
"So Snape, reading again? It's as if you're scared of not knowing everything."
Severus scowled at him. "I am making sure that I actually pass this year with more than the lowest marks, Malfoy. Unlike you."
Lucius smirked and continued to eat his cheese and egg croissiant, ignoring Severus.
Finally breakfast was over and everybody streamed out, heading for their classes. Lucius and Severus had almost walked into the Charms classroom when they collided into James and Sirius.
"Watch it!" spat Lucius, but James grinned.
"Terribly sorry, dear fellows," he said in pompous accent. "Hope you chaps are still jolly!" He and Sirius then walked into the classroom.
Severus sneered, following them in.
To Severus's mild suprise, a teacher he did not expect to see stood before the class.
"I welcome you all to today's lesson." the Professor said. "Your new Charms teacher will not be arriving until late nest term, and for the time being I have agreed to be your substitute. Has anybody have any questions?"
James raised his hand, and without waiting to be nodded upon, he asked "Aren't you the headmaster, Sir?"
The Professor smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Yes. My name is Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts school."