Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is J.K. Rowling's property, not mine.
Author's note: Thanks for the favorites and reviews on that first part! The story won't get really interesting until the next chapter, but Severus gets to see Lily again now. :) There's a little Sev/Lily fluff in the middle of this (sorry, I couldn't resist!). Happy reading, and please let me know what you think. :)
Chapter One
The sudden sound of voices and people pushing carts startled Severus into opening his eyes. He was back on Platform 9 3/4 for the first time, one hand clasping his mother's and the other pushing the trolley in front of him. The young boy who had been a dead man only moments ago felt quite disoriented. He looked up at his mother for the first time in what felt like a hundred years. When was the last time I was this small? Severus wondered to himself. Eileen Prince Snape was a tall, forbidding woman at this point of her life. She hadn't yet broken under her husband's drunken rages. Her son promised himself that he would never let that happen again. In the past, he had been too weak, too afraid to stand up to his father. Everything would be different now. He was a 37-year old wizard in an 11-year old's body. He had an incredible knowledge of spells and potions, ranging from the darkest of magic to healing. Well, this ought to be interesting, Severus thought to himself wryly.
As he and his mother walked toward the train in silence, the former Potions master stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the little Muggleborn, red-haired girl with her parents. It was as if everything in the universe had fallen into place. Everything in his life he had hoped and prayed and begged for was standing right there, in front of him. Lily… The girl's head turned and she caught sight of him. The smile that broke across her face was like light shining down from the heavens to Severus. He allowed himself a brief moment of basking in that glory before realizing the irony of the word choice. Note to self: don't ever pursue poetry as a pastime, he thought sarcastically. Lily had never cared much for poetry, anyway. At least, she had never liked the kind provided by James Potter.
She waved at him quickly and then turned her attention to her father, away from Severus. He felt his heart sink a little bit, but he consoled himself with the thought that he'd have seven years and maybe more to spend with her. He was startled out of his thoughts when his mother spoke.
"Oh, good, there's your little friend," she commented curtly. From the tone of her voice, Severus knew she wanted to leave as soon as possible. She hadn't had much contact with anyone in the Wizarding world since her parents disowned her for marrying a Muggle. Being the social outcast type like Severus himself, she probably didn't want to hang around a crowd of potentially judgmental magical folk. "You can go with her, right? Let me know how you're doing and please stay out of trouble. I know that won't be a problem for you, of course." She kissed the top of his head briefly, then added, "Pay attention in class, try to make some friends, don't do anything dumb. I'll see you next summer, and let me know if you need anything. I can't promise any new clothes, but I'll do my best. Tell Lily I said hello, please. Goodbye, Sev. I love you." With that parting message, she turned and walked quickly through the barrier again.
Severus stared at the spot his mother had just vanished from. He knew she had never been one to show much emotion, but this was ridiculous. Don't normal mothers stay to send their children off, especially the first time? he wondered. Maybe this was why he had so many problems growing up: inattentive parents. The boy (man?) shrugged inwardly and continued pushing his trolley toward the train. He would have to inventory everything in his trunk later, to make sure it was all in useable condition. A few Reparos might be necessary, but Severus would make it work. At least he didn't have an owl or anything to deal with.
After leaving his trunk to be loaded on the train, the boy turned back toward Lily and her family, eager to speak with his friend. He watched suspiciously as Petunia spoke to the smaller girl in low, angry tones, and he grew uncomfortable when they both shot glances at him. The sight of Lily's beautiful green eyes was enough to reassure him that everything was alright, though. He simply grinned at her and she gave him a small smile in return. After a moment, she stretched to give both her parents a hug, said something softly to Petunia, and then quickly walked over to where Severus was waiting for her.
His heart was pounding as he drew her in for a hug, holding her tightly. Was he acting normal enough? Would he have done something like this before? He didn't want to draw attention to himself if he was behaving differently. "How are you? Are you ready to go?" he asked hoarsely, brain not quite functioning right. Those big green eyes were right there, right in front of him. I must be dreaming, he thought to himself. Or maybe Dumbledore lied and I'm in heaven now. "Wait, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, realizing that Lily's eyes were filling with tears. Did I say something? I couldn't have, I just started talking to her…
Lily simply rubbed her nose, an old habit that Severus had forgotten about. She had always done that when she was upset. "No, everything's fine," she replied. "Can you believe it? We're finally off to Hogwarts!" Her gallant attempt to sound cheerful didn't convince Severus and she seemed to realize it. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked him, frowning slightly. "You're acting like you've seen Merlin himself or something. Is there somebody behind me?" She glanced over her shoulder playfully and Severus cleared his that.
"Ah, no, I was just thinking about something," he muttered in response. "We should probably be getting on the train now. It's nearly eleven." When she merely nodded in reply, he took charge and led the way to one of the doors. As he stepped back to let her on first- girls liked it when boys were gentlemen, right? -he noticed that she was once again looking miserable, staring blankly at her parents and Petunia. Severus sighed, remembering how the world of magic had driven Lily and her sister apart. He couldn't change that, he knew, but maybe he could help a little bit.
The two of them found an empty compartment quite easily, as most of the other children were saying last-minute goodbyes to family members. Lily sat in the farthest corner from the door, pressing herself against the window. Severus sat down across from her before making a decision. She wasn't going anywhere, and he knew he had to get out of his Muggle clothes quickly. "Um, Lily?" he asked hesitantly. When her eyes simply flickered toward him, he continued. "I'm going to get changed now, if you don't mind. I'll be back in a couple minutes." The red-haired girl nodded slightly and Severus stood up again, exiting the compartment with one last concerned look.
When the boy returned in his standard un-Sorted Hogwarts robes, he received an unpleasant shock upon finding the inhabitants of his compartment. Inside were a very unhappy-looking Lily and two noisy boys who would eventually take it upon themselves to make Severus' life as miserable as possible. Potter and Black, we meet again, he thought to himself disdainfully as he pushed his way between them. He sat down across from Lily, shooting a dirty look at each of the other boys. "They're not bothering you, are they?" he asked quietly, even though neither of the Marauders was paying attention to him. "If they are, we can make them leave." Lily shook her head mutely and the tears began to flow. Severus was alarmed. "Lil, what's the matter?" he asked worriedly. What happened? I can't remember!
"It's Tuney," Lily sobbed. "She h-hates me. She says I'm a f-freak." She gulped a bit and Severus moved to the other side of the compartment, so he was sitting next to her. He put his arms around her hesitantly and then held her tightly again when she turned to cry into his shoulder.
He remembered now: Petunia had sent a letter to Dumbledore asking if she could attend Hogwarts, as well. He and Lily had sneaked into her room one afternoon when she was gone and had read the reply mail. "No, no, don't be upset," he whispered to her. "She'll calm down after a while, just give her time. Besides, we're not freaks. She's just jealous because she wants magic, too." He could see that this was helping a bit. He knew he should probably not insult her sister though, as much as he wanted to. "You should be excited right now. We're on our way to Hogwarts! It's going to be amazing, I promise," he added, knowing full well that Lily would love it there. She hadn't grown up around magic, so the school would seem like a dream come true. "You're ready to learn about magic, right?"
She nodded, sitting up more and giving Severus a small smile. When he grinned at her, she left out a watery chuckle, then a full laugh. "You're the best, Sev," she whispered to him, hugging him again and then sitting up straight. She wiped her eyes in a somewhat dignified manner and he moved back to his seat. He knew that she had no idea how much those words meant to him.
Something seemed a bit off at that moment and Severus looked around. Potter and Black had stopped their conversation and were watching him and Lily. The former Potions master's eyes narrowed and he stared hard at the other boys. If either of them dared to say anything rude or hurtful… A long stream of profanities wound its way through Severus' mind, intermixed with various curses and hexes. At least the Marauders won't be able to torture me again, he thought to himself grimly.
Suddenly, Potter spoke to them. It was the most bizarre thing: something coming out of his mouth, in Severus' general direction that wasn't an insult or jinx. "So, what are your guys's names? And what house do you wanna be in?" he asked. Severus was taken aback. James Potter is making small talk with me? He never would have thought anything like this would happen. Strange things happen when you're dead, I guess. However, he was too cynical to believe that Potter was simply asking honest questions.
"Severus Snape," he said icily. "And this is Lily Evans." He didn't say anything about the House question. He knew that if he mentioned anything about Slytherin, the hateful comments would begin and never end.
"I've only heard a little bit about the Houses, but I don't think I'd mind being put in any of them," Lily replied, not knowing the effect her statement would have on James. "Frankly, I'm just glad to be going to Hogwarts." At the look of confusion on the other two boys' faces, she explained simply, "I'm Muggleborn."
James frowned a bit, then glanced at Severus. "Well, you seem… well-informed," he stated, seeming to be judging the relationship between Lily and Severus. Merlin's beard, is he already going after her? Severus wondered, horrified and outraged. "Anyway, I want to be a Gryffindor, like my dad. Sirius here comes from a long line of Slytherins, but he reckons he might break the family curse."
The other Marauder smirked slightly and added, "Yeah, I might be the only decent one of the lot. I'd love to see the look on mum's face when I end up in Gryffindor."
James surveyed Severus and Lily through thick, rectangular glasses. Merlin, he looks just like Harry at that age, the Potions master thought to himself sourly. He had never cared for either of the boys. Except his eyes, of course.
"You look like you'd be a Slytherin," James remarked to Severus, disdain coloring his voice. "But I think you'll probably end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, maybe." His last comment was directed at Lily, though he sounded more curious than anything.
"So what if I am?" Severus replied contemptuously. He had never seen anything wrong with being a Slytherin, except maybe the Dark Arts part. Of course, he wouldn't get into any of that this time. He'd had more than enough experience with the Death Eaters.
"You know Lily, it never looks good to be hanging around with a Slytherin," Sirius informed her in a conspiratorial whisper. "Especially not his type. He's got dark magic written all over him, I can tell."
Lily looked scandalized. "I think I know Severus much better than you two, thank you very much!" she replied hotly. The Potions master felt a rush of gratitude toward the girl. Defending him might have earned her nothing more than resentment from him last time, but he was grateful for her company now. "If you don't mind, I think we'd prefer not to be bothered again."
James and Sirius looked taken aback, but they didn't bother either of the other two children after that. "Thanks, Lil," Severus murmured to her once the other boys weren't paying attention. He knew he would have to be better at expressing his emotions if he wanted to keep her as a friend- and maybe more.
Lily blushed slightly at the genuine appreciation in his eyes and replied quietly, "Don't mention it. Those two will be nothing but trouble, just watch. I'm glad you're with me, Sev. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Severus merely smiled at her and sat back. I don't know what I'd do, either, Lily, he thought to himself, but he didn't say anything else. The boy sighed softly- he seemed to be unusually tired -and he pulled an old Muggle book out of his bag and began reading. Maybe it would be a quiet ride, for once.