The train set off dead on time and headed towards Hogwarts, Emily walked down the carriage looking for an empty compartment, but everywhere was full. She was just about to give up and just sit down in the corridor, when a pretty red-haired girl came walking down the carriage towards her.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, she had a badge on her robes with a P on it so Emily assumed she was a prefect.
"I can't find an empty carriage, I'm new and I don't know anyone." She replied.
"Oh, you're an exchange student aren't you?" asked the redhead.
Emily nodded.
"Well there's a compartment down at the end with only one person in it, he's a Slytherin and he's quite moody, but if he gives you grief just come and find me okay? My name's Lily by the way."
"I'm Emily," she smiled at the girl, finally I have a chance to make a friend, she thought.
"Pleased to meet you, I'll see you at the feast, fingers crossed your sorted into Gryffindor eh?" and she walked off to patrol the rest of the train.
Emily headed down to the end of the train and found the compartment Lily had mentioned, she slid open the door to find a tall black haired boy about her age sitting there with his nose in a book.
"What?' he snapped when he saw her.
"Oh, um, everywhere else is full." She stammered, she was quite intimidated by him, not just by his tone of voice but the way he was glaring at her as if she was trying to rob him or something.
"And how, may I ask, is that my problem?" he sneered back at her.
"Its your problem because Lily said that I could use this compartment and that if you didn't let me, to go and tell her so she could sort you out!" she snapped at him, she hated people who looked down their noses at her.
"Lily Evans? Sort me out? Yeah like that's ever going to happen! She'll probably just set her boyfriend on me like she does every other time!"
There was a long silence where Emily just stood there in the doorway going pinker by the minute until the boy asked her "are you still here?"
"Yes I am! Now can I sit here or not?"
He eyed her for a second or so, and then replied. "Whatever."
Emily sat down on the opposite bench as far away from him as she could get.
Well this a great start, she thought, I've already made an enemy and we're not even at school yet.
"I'm Emily." She said after a while, " You got a name? Or should I just call you whatever?"
"Severus." He muttered, he didn't like people who asked stupid questions, so he was hoping to get this weirdo to shut up soon.
"So where are you from?" she asked in a friendly fashion, hoping to get him to at least look at her instead of that damn book he was reading.
"England" he replied evasively.
"Yes, but what part?
"Why are you asking me this?" he said slamming down his book, making her jump, "hasn't Evans told you about me yet?"
"What's there to tell apart from how anti-social your acting?" she retorted.
"The words "friendless loner" spring to mind." He said savagely, picking up his book and opening it upside down.
She slid down the bench until she was facing Severus. "You too eh?" she asked after a minute.
"What?" he asked, lowering his book and staring at her.
"Don't worry I was just the same at Beaxbatons, I used to just shrink into books when they all went off without me." She turned away from him and looked out of the window at the scenery flashing past the train.
"Seriously?" he asked raising his eyebrows at her and putting his book away.
"Yeah, I was a right book worm." She giggled remembering all the times her "friends" had gone off to play Quidditch and she had just sat in an empty classroom and worked, that was probably caused her pale complexion.
"Well you'll soon find out sweetheart, that if you do anything other than suck up to the Marauders, the last thing that'll happen to you will be that your left alone."
"Who are the Marauders?" asked Emily, puzzled at how savage he was being when he mentioned them.
"A gang" he replied "consisting of four Gryffindors"
"And what's wrong with them?" she asked, still confused.
"What's wrong with them?! They think making life hell for people is fun! They think they have the right to persecute someone just because they're bored! They think-" he stopped midway, Emily saw that he was obviously reliving memories he didn't want to. "They think," he said through gritted teeth "That it is their meaning in live to torment me until I one day I finally go insane. That is what is wrong with them."
"Dude, that's fucking evil." She blurted out before she could think.
Severus snorted, "I'm so glad someone finally agrees with me."
For the rest of the journey they got on quite well, Emily told him about Beaxbatons and how she wanted to become a writer when she left school, and Severus told her more about Hogwarts and Hogsmead. When the food trolley came past Severus insisted on paying for Emily's food and then carried on talking about all the great shops that were in Hogsmead, Emily couldn't wait until the first weekend when she could see it for herself.
"Hey if you get sorted into Slytherin you could come with me and the rest of us," offered Severus.
"That would be great!" she replied, "But I might be sorted into another house."
Severus shrugged, "Shit happens Em, we'll just have to wait and see."
Emily blushed slightly; did he just call her "Em"?
The train pulled into Hogsmead station and Emily climbed off the train after Severus, he pointed to a group of terrified looking first years who were standing by the side of the train.
"You'll have to go with them, across the lake, I'll see you at the feast, fingers crossed your sorted into Slytherin eh?" and he ran off into the rain.
Oh dear, she thought, this could be a problem.