3- Prologue: Part Three

Severus bounded eagerly onto the scarlet-colored Hogwarts Express. His Uncle Boros had just seen him off, and Severus was elated to finally escape the exhausting presence of his father and the sorrowful expressions of his mother.

Luckily Uncle Boros had arrived that morning just in time to place yet another Stunning spell on Tobias Snape. Severus thanked whatever deities existed in the universe for his uncle. If it hadn't been for him, Severus surely wouldn't have been on the Hogwarts Express at this very moment, escaping from his former dismal life.

Severus pulled his dark coat tighter about his body as he dragged his trunk along behind him, searching for a free compartment. He tripped a little as the train began to move forward, his trunk slipping painfully over his left foot. But nothing could put a damper on his unusually gleeful mood today, not even the memory of his father's rage as he left the house with Uncle Boros.

Severus soon came upon an unoccupied compartment, and he immediately changed from his appalling Muggle clothes into his school robes. His eyes narrowed as he shed his old coat. There would be no need for that with his school uniform on, which was equally concealing but much less embarrassing.

After that was done, Severus hurried off in search of Lily. He had seen her on the platform, but hadn't had a chance to talk to her. He had heard snatches of the conversation Lily had been having with Petunia several minutes ago, and it hadn't sounded like it was going well. After a while, he spotted Lily's head of dark red hair amidst a group of boisterous boys in a compartment towards the front of the train. Eagerly, he entered, smiling slightly as he sat down across from Lily. She looked up as he sat down, and Severus saw that she had been crying. Before he could speak, she opened her mouth to say:

"I don't want to talk to you".

"Why not?" Severus asked in disbelief. He couldn't have possibly done anything to offend Lily. The last time he had seen her was a few days ago, and she had left smiling.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw the letter from Dumbledore." Lily bit her lip as she desperately tried to refrain from bursting into more tears.

"So what?" he asked perplexedly. This earned him a scornful glance.

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a—" He stopped himself quickly, aware that if he finished the sentence, Lily just might be finished with him, no matter how forgiving she was.

He tried a different approach.

"But we're going! We're off to Hogwarts!" he said. Here was his chance for a real life. He didn't understand how Lily could be so melancholy about snippy old Petunia when they were about to embark on the beginning of their new lives in the magical world. However, the excitement in his voice was catching, and Lily allowed herself a small smile as she wiped her eyes with the hem of her shirt.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus, encouraged by her, albeit reluctant, smile.

This caught the attention of the other boys that were occupying the compartment.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin?"

Severus turned to face the boy who had spoken. He was thin, with a full head of messy, jet-black hair.

"I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" asked the boy, turning to another boy on the seat opposite him. This second one was quite handsome. Severus hoped Lily didn't notice that.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," the second boy said gravely. Severus wondered at his apprehensive tone. It was an honor to be in Slytherin! How many times had Uncle Boros explained to Severus with reverence the privilege that it was to be accepted into the house of Salazar Slytherin…?!

"Blimey. And I thought you were all right!" the messy-haired boy exclaimed jokingly.

The handsome one grinned. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."

At this, Severus snorted disparagingly. The messy-haired boy turned on him at once, asking, "Got a problem with that?"

"If you'd rather be brawny than brainy—" Severus couldn't finish his sentence before the good-looking one interrupted.

"Where're you going, seeing as you're neither?" The two boys roared with laughter. Lily straightened up, glaring at the two of them in dislike. Severus breathed an indiscernible sigh of relief at her disgusted expression. She obviously didn't find the second boy attractive in the least.

"Come on, Severus. Let's find another compartment," Lily sniffed as she made her way past the two rowdy boys.

"Come on, Severus," they imitated Lily in singsong voices. The one with messy hair tried to trip Severus on his way out of the compartment.

Severus angrily slammed the door behind him. "Prats," he spat out viciously. This was not how he had imagined his new life would begin.

"Don't let them bother you, Severus. They're just a bunch of immature creeps. You're better than them," Lily comforted him.

Severus brightened at her statement and led her back to the compartment he had found when he first got on the train.

In his absence, the compartment had come to be occupied by a boy and a girl with fair blond hair and light blue eyes. They were still dressed in their Muggle clothes, and they were obviously twins. The girl introduced herself as Sophie Nichols. The boy said his name was Sean, and it did not escape Severus' notice that his sky-colored eyes followed every move Lily made.

Severus was comforted by the fact that Lily paid no more attention to Sean than she had to the bothersome boys from before, though she and Sophie did bond as they discovered they both like the same quidditch team.

Severus almost resented the intrusion on his time alone with Lily, but as the Hogwarts Express rolled along the countryside, his displeasure faded and his anticipation of their arrival grew as each blurry scene flashed by, and his thoughts became filled only of Hogwarts.

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Severus trudged slowly towards the stool, the hat, and the bespectacled, severe-looking professor waiting for him. He needed more time to think.

Lily had been placed in Gryffindor. He wanted to be in the same house as her, badly. However, the nasty boys from the train had also been placed in Gryffindor. He wanted nothing to do with them.

He took his seat.

Uncle Boros had said that Slytherin would be the best for him. All the family had been in it. It was tradition. It was customary. Those of the Prince line were always in the revered house of Slytherin.

The hat was placed upon his head.

"So, what'll it be?" the hat questioned him.

Uh…Slytherin, Severus thought hesitantly.

"Are you quite sure? It doesn't seem like you're very certain. You could do well in Gryffindor, you know. Well all right then, for you it will be SLYTHERIN!" The hat bellowed out the last word, and the students clad in green and silver clapped enthusiastically for him.

As he ascended, he spotted the two boys from the train (he now knew from watching them being sorted that the messy-haired one was named James Potter and the good-looking one was called Sirius Black) smirking at each other.

Prats, Severus thought forcefully. Then he noticed Lily gazing unhappily at him. He smiled sadly at her. She shrugged in response, seeming to say, "Well, I guess that's that and there's nothing we can do about it."

Severus turned away from her and took a seat at the Slytherin table.

His choice had been made.

A/N: Chapter three re-editing: done. :)

Okay, so this chapter was really short to begin with but then I realized I had something in here that might cause the rating of my story to go up to M and I didn't want that so I had to take it out. And the result is this even shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it here, so that's my explanation.

Well, this is the last of the "prologue" chapters, so I've gotta figure out how the next ones will go, and hopefully it won't be long til I get the next one out (but with me, who knows!). As of right now the "real" story starts at the end of sixth year, but I may change that. Sometimes I remind myself of Libba Bray… How I'm so indecisive and always change things, I mean. I read her blog. :) Oh, also, Lily is going to be the one to be narrating the story in a few chapters, so it'll be chainging to first person, but from time to time there will be other character's POVs, too. Que excitemente.

I'm also working on chapter images…! I love Photoshop so, so much.
Thanks again to my beta readers and the people who have decided to keep up with my story!!!! I love you guys!!!!