A/N: There will definitely be questions you'll have in mind, but I'm going to answer them as the story progresses. Promise. Enjoy. :D

First Meetings

The first day of September, King's Cross was bustling as always. Parents hustled their children through the busy railway station, heading to the secretive Platform 9 ¾. The focused families stayed close together, huddled like sardines as they passed through the barrier to get to the train.

With messy raven locks, a fifteen-year-old young man glanced about the crowded area, tugging on his shirt sleeves. His long fingers flicked back a stray strand that had fallen into his pale face, tickling his long nose. His sparkling eyes just made a person feel lost in the dark depths, safe and protected and entirely his alone. Curling his thin lips upwards, he forced a soft nervous laugh when a few older girls nearly walked into a wall as they walked past him staring. Considering how he had heard all day long from girls that he was downright gorgeous—an Adonis one stated in fact, he assumed that these girls thought the same.

He walked through the barrier, inhaling deeply when he saw the Hogwarts Express up ahead. Now, that was gorgeous, a sight fit for the gods themselves. He slowly walked towards it, dropping off his luggage near one of the train's workers before boarding. He brushed off two girls' attempts at flirting with him, wincing inwardly as he did. Finding a vacant seat, he sat down, glancing out the window as he waited. So far he was dealing well by himself.

"Severus?" a female voice suddenly whispered in his mind.

"No. I'm Toby, remember?" He smirked as he sent back his reply.

"You arse." There was clear laughter in her voice. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Truly magical," he replied mentally in agreement.

"Where are you? You left me before I could see you this morning."

"How are we supposed to have our first meeting if we've already met each other?"

"Hilarious, love."

He could feel her amusement surround him as it passed through their link. He closed his eyes to have her strength fill him. He wasn't usually one to rely on their bond as a means to communicate, but it was calming for now, to feel her so close to him even if she wasn't really.

"I'll meet you at—"

Someone suddenly cleared their throat loudly, pulling him out of his thoughts abruptly. He glanced towards the door and noticed the person standing in the doorway with a Gryffindor jumper proudly displayed.

"Um, is anyone sitting there?"

He shook his head in reply, motioning for the older student to sit. His throat had closed up as a new wave of emotions flooded through him. This was going to be a very long train ride of pretending.

"Thanks," replied the eighteen-year-old seventh-year Gryffindor, sitting across from him.

Swallowing back his turbulent emotions, he asked the Gryffindor quietly, "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Are you Harry Potter?" Of course, Severus already knew the answer to this question.

The older student scoffed. "Yeah."

"Didn't you get offered to train as an Auror last year after . . .?" He swallowed again and drew in a sharp breath as he pushed back the memories that threatened to control him once more. "I thought I read that in the Prophet."

"They offered," Harry replied with a shrug. "I didn't accept it, though. Clearly."

"Oh."

"Even the Chosen One needs a good education," Harry joked before he glanced out the window.

"What about your friends? The stories the Prophet told stated that you were inseparable."

"We are." Harry paused. "They're Head Boy and Girl this year, so they're just busy right now."

Severus nodded slowly. He could see the familiar torture in Harry's green eyes. Harry likely hadn't slept in months. Though, he himself hadn't either. They had both suffered greatly in the end.

"Severus, are you all right? What's going on?" the soft voice of his wife whispered in his mind.

"I'm fine, Aurora. Merely talking to Potter," he silently replied through the bond. "I'll meet you at Hogsmeade. Until then, we should keep this to a minimum." He felt her acceptance to his request instantly. So far everything was going according to plan. No need to mess with variables then.

"Are you new here? I mean, I haven't seen you around before," Harry asked.

"I just transferred from Durmstrang. Mother wanted me to get a," he forced himself to pause as if thinking. "Well, she wanted me to get a well-rounded education if you know what I mean."

"You'll certainly get that," Harry said with a ghost of a smile.

"I'm Toby Brooks." He held his hand out to the other young man nervously.

"It's nice to meet you, Toby." Harry shook his hand quickly before sitting back again. "So, is it just you and your mum?"

"Oh, no." He snorted. "No. Uh, my parents are still together. Mother hasn't managed to kill him yet," he said half-serious. He watched Harry chuckle. "My dad's a Muggle, so all this magic stuff makes his head spin."

Harry nodded slowly. "So, where are you from?"

"Western England. I'm sure you haven't heard of my little village."

"Try me. I was off everywhere last year looking for, uh, things."

"Cokeworth," he answered with a shrug.

"Snape?" Harry whispered, his mouth hanging open a bit as he stared at him.

"Who?" he replied, confused. The word came off his tongue expertly as if he truly didn't know.

"I thought." Harry sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind. I'm just probably tired." He laughed softly. "One of our professors, a man I owe so much to really—he's from Cokeworth originally. Severus Snape is his name. He lives or lived, not sure which, on Spinner's End."

"Oh." He shrugged. "Yeah. Never heard of him. Except what that cow Skeeter has said lately."

"Yeah. That cow indeed," Harry said darkly, frowning. He shook his head again. "I think I'm going to get some rest. Will you wake me when we cross the bridge?"

"Sure." He watched Harry lay across the seat. It wasn't long before the Gryffindor fell asleep, but he knew it wouldn't be a peaceful rest. Drawing his wand, he cast a simple Sleeping charm on the young man. "Good night, Mr. Potter." He looked out the window then, silently watching them pull away from the platform and head towards Hogwarts.

~Rising~

As the carriage slowly headed towards the massive stone castle, he sighed silently. He hadn't seen her anywhere when the train had arrived in Hogsmeade. He had waited as long as he could without drawing too much attention to himself. However, when Harry asked him if he was coming, he decided he had waited long enough for her. They'd meet at Hogwarts then.

"You can see them, too, can't you?" Harry asked quietly, motioning to the Thestrals pulling their carriage in front of them.

"Unfortunately," he replied.

"I saw them after my fourth year. Damn near scared me to death. I thought I was seeing things. They're gentle creatures, though. They just have a bad reputation since only people who have seen someone die can see them." Harry shrugged.

He nodded slowly, glancing away for a moment. He had seen the blasted things since his sixteenth birthday when he had killed a man in the Dark Lord's name. He wondered idly if she could see them, too. He had never thought to ask in all the years they had known each other.

"Most of us can see them now, though," Harry continued quietly. His dull green eyes darted up to the castle. "I'd imagine the ones who weren't here last year are the only ones who can't see them."

"We heard about it over in Durmstrang," he said softly, lying through his teeth.

"Yeah." Harry sighed. "I wished we had known some of the things before then. It would have saved so many."

"It's like my dad says, Harry. You can't save them all," he remarked, glancing at the Gryffindor.

"Your dad's a smart man."

He merely nodded, turning away from Harry to look up at the castle. He could see the deep scars left behind from the battle. There were parts of the castle that were just gone. The Astronomy tower was the most noticeable mark.

"It's come a long way from the last time I saw it," Harry softly said, following his gaze. "All of the professors supposedly took turns in repairing it with the house elves this summer."

He nodded again, recalling his contribution at the beginning of the summer. They had all suffered so greatly. Then again, war did that. It wasn't fair, and it definitely showed life's cruelties.

"See that little island over there in the lake? There's going to be a monument built there. To celebrate and remember everyone who died last May. I'm told it's going to be seen for miles."

He glanced at Harry, wondering how the young man knew that. The professors hadn't told anyone at the Ministry or the Prophet about their plans. In fact, if he recalled right, Dumbledore would reveal it to the students tonight at the Sorting Ceremony.

"I only know because of Hagrid." Harry gave a soft laugh as he remembered the half-giant. "He let it slip in an owl to me over summer break. He usually lets things slip, but he means well."

He didn't know how to reply to that, so he only forced a faint smile and glanced back at the castle. Fifty dead. For all intents and purposes, he should have been the fifty-first. The Fates, however, had been kind to him. He scoffed at that thought. To him, it had been kind, but he hadn't escaped unharmed. The unsettling thoughts bubbled to the surface again, forcing him to close his eyes in order to regain his control. A scarred neck with partial muscle and nerve damage. A shattered mind riddled with hellish images that were seared in. A broken heart ripped apart by the devastating loss of a—

"Are you all right? You're looking a little pale there, Toby," Harry suddenly asked, frowning.

"Yes. I just." He paused. "I can't imagine what you went through." Oh, if only that were true.

"Hope that you never do," Harry replied quietly.

"How did you get the strength to come back? I couldn't imagine doing that."

"See, the way I figure it now, coming back is the right thing. It shows that we haven't forgotten, but that some of us can get some form of closure or something. Move on from this tragedy. I mean, I-I'd not be here today if it wasn't for . . . someone that I owe my life to a hundred times over."

"That Snape guy?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Professor Snape." His green eyes darted to the castle as if searching for someone in the distance. "Toby, if anyone ever tells you that there's no witch or wizard who was in Slytherin that wasn't evil or dark or whatever, don't listen to them. Professor Snape is contrary to that."

A part of him wanted to tell Harry right then to knock it off with the sentimental crap. He had been dark. He certainly had been evil. He had been a Death Eater for Merlin's sake. However, a larger part kept him quiet, understanding Harry's words and meaning quite clearly. In Harry's mind, Snape had redeemed himself in the end. Snape had made up for his terrible mistakes of his youth.

The carriage came to a halt a few moments later. He sighed before following Harry out of it. He watched the young man glance around the grounds again.

"Looking for someone?"

"No." Harry shook his head. His tone gave away his lie. He had been looking for someone, but he clearly didn't want to say whom.

"So, where's this Great Hall anyway?" He noticed Harry's violent flinch instantly and winced inwardly. It had been insensitive to say in hindsight, considering that Harry's girlfriend Ginny Weasley had died there. Of course it wasn't as if he had been there with Harry and the others. No. Instead, he had been lying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, slowly dying himself as the venom coursed through his veins. The faint smell of blood enveloped him while various images of that moment flashed in his mind.

"It's just inside," Harry finally spoke. The pain was so clearly written on the young man's face. Before the Gryffindor moved away, Harry gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "It'll wash away. We just need a few more good rainstorms like the one we had last night."

His dark eyes darted to Harry in confusion, finally snapping out of it.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting.

"The blood," Harry replied quietly, motioning to the dark stains on the outside of the castle.

He felt a chill sweep down his body at the sight. There was still blood visible? He turned away a moment later, his stomach knotting horribly. Had they made any progress cleaning Hogwarts and getting it ready this summer? He thought they had, but clearly it wasn't the case.

Turning around, he glanced at the island Harry had pointed to earlier. He could just make out the sticks that mapped the area out. When the monument would finally be finished sometime later in the year, all fifty names of the dead would have been etched into the white marble obelisk's base with an eternal flame lit at the very top. He closed his eyes once more. Fifty lives taken because of a madman's quest at ruling the world. At conquering death. When would society learn?

As another carriage slowed to a stop in front of him, he frowned, unable to see the area now. He took a step to the side to turn and leave, but stopped when he heard a gasp followed by a garbled cry of surprise behind him. Quickly turning back to see what the matter was, he inhaled sharply at the sight of someone, a young witch he realized, falling face first out of the carriage towards him. He threw his hands up to slow her momentum, only to crash backwards into the mud with her on top of him a moment later. He groaned, grimacing at the sharp pain in his neck.

"Oh no! I'm—oh, dear," the young witch said with a trembling breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—are you hurt? I—oh, dear. This is not a good impression. Not a good impression at all. I'm not—oh, look at me. Rambling already." She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry. Terribly so."

His eyes quickly trailed down the young witch's slender body, taking note of her features. She had tight dark curls with at least four inches of the ends colored blue. Her lips were shiny from lip gloss. Strawberry scented he noticed as he inhaled slowly. Her eyes were chocolaty brown. Or was it mocha? And she had a healthy glow to her skin, likely from a suntan he guessed. When she poked his chest a moment later, he frowned.

"Think you can let a girl up?" she asked, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "You are sort of holding me against you, you know."

His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. All he currently knew or thought was the fact that he had a beautiful witch lying on top of him with the most kissable lips.

"Hello? Are you paying attention to me?" she said, shaking her head. "Let me up, will you?"

It took another moment before her words, soft spoken but a hint of playfulness, were understood. His hands dropped to his side, albeit reluctantly. He watched her slowly push herself up off him.

"Thanks." She gave him a coy smile. "It's Celes by the way." Without another word, she waved her wand to magically remove the mud off her plain black school robes then and headed for the doors.

As he picked himself up off the ground, he heard Harry chuckle softly. Glancing towards the Gryffindor, he caught the older student's grin directed at him. His cheeks flushed as he realized that he had been totally mesmerized by the young witch. Could that be her? He couldn't recall what she looked like when they were younger anymore. But she did say her name was Celes, which led him to think yes.

"She liked you, Toby," Harry remarked, smiling faintly.

"You think?" He glanced back towards the opened doors, catching a glimpse of her as she stared at him. He swallowed when he saw her wink before she disappeared behind the doors. Dear Merlin above, that was her. The little minx.

"Hello, Harry," an airy voice suddenly said behind them. "And Harry's friend."

He slowly turned with Harry, holding back his snort at the sight of Luna Lovegood as she approached them. She still had that same dreamy look on her innocent-like face.

"Would you like me to remove the Wrackspurts for you?" she asked him.

"Uh, what?" he replied, glancing at Harry in feigned confusion. Oh, who would have thought he would have missed Ms. Lovegood's Wrackspurts and Nargles?

"No. I think he'll be all right, Luna. Thanks, though," Harry replied for him with a faint smile. "Though, you better get the mud off you, Toby, or you'll hear about it from Mr. Filch."

He nodded, waving his wand instinctively and banishing the filth from his robes. Following Harry inside then, he noticed instantly the stern looking witch standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Mr. Brooks, I presume?" she stated with a thin-lipped frown.

"I believe the quote is rather 'Dr. Livingston, I presume,' Professor," he retorted. He caught her raised eyebrow immediately and glanced down. He thought it was rather funny in an odd way.

"Follow me," she instructed, leading him into a nearby empty classroom. When the door closed behind them, she reached for an old shabby hat from a desk. "Usually we sort our transfer students in the Headmaster's office prior to the first-years' sorting, however, the office received extensive damage at the end of last year. I'm afraid we will have to sort you here then, Mr. Brooks." She placed the rundown Sorting Hat on his head and stepped back.

Not Gryffindor. Not Gryffindor, he chanted before the hat yelled out . . .