The Train Ride

***1 September 1976~11:44 am***

"So…What about you?"

Severus shifted uncomfortably in his seat and fixed his eyes upon the open Defence book that had been sitting in his lap since the girl…O'Conner…had tossed it to him over a half-hour before.

His personal life was something Severus could not discuss as freely as this stranger had just done with her own. All he could do was nervously clear the itch out of his throat and say, "There's nothing much to tell, actually."

"Well, where are you from?" she prodded.

Severus answered dryly, "Manchester."

"See, that wasn't all that painful, was it?" After a moment when Severus refused to elaborate any further, the girl gave a resigned look and asked no more questions. She returned to reading in the same indifferent manner she had done before she invited Severus to sit.

He was somewhat relieved when she shrugged off his evasiveness and did not seem to be overly offended. He had no desire to explain himself. It took him years to open up to Lily about all of the facts of his miserable home life. Just look where trusting had landed him.

Once Severus found out that O'Conner was the new Potion Master's daughter, however, he could not help but to ask questions about her. The lack of exchange of information on his part hardly seemed fair.

But if Severus was anything, he was a realist. It would be in his best interest to know something of the girl and her family, specifically, her father. Severus could use it to his advantage if he knew something about the new Potion's Master before he entered the classroom. Perhaps if he could ingratiate himself to the instructor and if the Professor had connections, Severus could acquire a recommendation to apprentice under a reputable potioneer without having to depend upon Lucius and his Dark Lord.

Such sponsorship, if it came to pass, would obviously come with strings that strangled, for Severus knew that Lucius Malfoy did nothing out of the kindness of his heart. Rarely, if ever, did Severus. Severus himself knew this because they were cut from the same cloth, so to speak. If Lucius granted a favour, he expected to be repaid…with interest…and when it came to the Malfoys, interest was always dear. How much would Severus have to pay to the Dark Lord? It was an option Severus chose not to consider unless there were no other options available.

Mulciber and Avery might feel put-off for a while but, Severus knew as long as he kept his mouth shut and did not overtly oppose You-Know-Who, he could sleep relatively well at night and not have to worry about his own state of being the next day.

Severus had to suffer through some extraneous information before O'Conner finally revealed anything useful to him. Her mother was a Medi-witch. O'Conner, herself, was the fourth of five children. Her elder sister and two elder brothers had already left school. Severus did find it interesting that her elder brother in front of her had just entered his first year in university somewhere in Virginia in hopes of following their Muggle grandfather into the clergy and her younger brother was a Squib that had just been enrolled in Eton, leaving Lucy the only sibling to attend Hogwarts.

Severus had heard of her father, Dr Richard O'Conner. His writing on the improvement of many medicinal pain draughts had been widely published throughout the world. The Board of Governors landed a coup when they snagged him. If Severus played his cards right, hopefully he would too. O'Conner had been sorted over the summer whilst her family set up temporary household in the castle. The only reason she was on the train, was because of curiosity over her grandmother's stories.

Although she had the Potion's and Defence books in her possession, O'Conner had said that she had no intention of actually taking the courses. She kept the books for reference material. She had to sacrifice the courses because they did not fit in with here chosen field of study. She never did reveal exactly what that field might be.

Then Severus was obliged to listen to more useless facts. Lucy O'Conner was not the first of her family to attend Hogwarts. Oh, no. Her grandmother had been a student sometime in the late 1920's, before she had met and fell in love with an American Episcopal priest who was in Glasgow on holiday. They fell in love and she eventually followed him to the New World where they married and raised a family. Thankfully for the family, he was an open-minded Muggle and was actually relieved when his wife finally told him about her magic. It explained many of the strange happenings around their infant daughter, and natural magic was a better alternative than finding out that their baby was demon possessed.

Lucy's grandmother was the only surviving daughter of the old couple that ran the Hog's Head. Apparently the family was far from distant. O'Conner had said that her grandmother had remained close to her parents and as a result, Lucy's mum was close to her grandparents. Mr and Mrs O'Conner would save the refund money they received from filing their income taxes and every other summer, brought their brood to Scotland to be with family. As a result, O'Conner knew many of the residents of Hogsmeade and her way around the village quite well.

Severus remembered hearing that the proprietress of the Hog's Head had died earlier that Spring. The Headmaster had even taken some time off to pay his respects. Severus distinctly remembered the rumours amongst some students of a possible clandestine relationship between the Headmaster and the landlady because he had seemed uncharacteristically melancholy for some time after she passed. Perhaps it was why students were not allowed to custom the establishment. Severus would have to pass the word around to his House mates not to mention the subject in front of the girl.

It wasn't until over an hour later, when the Trolley Lady came by with her trolley full of sweets, that they had spoken again.

Even if Severus had a little more pocket money than he had in years past, he wouldn't waist it on sweets. After he and O'Conner had thanked the old woman and they had both been reminded of how hungry they were, Severus took down his trunk and retrieved his own rucksack. He had packed it in there for convenience but was relieved that he hadn't had time to check the trunk in during his rush. He may have forgotten to take out his lunch. He was thankful to find that his Status Charm had held. There was nothing worse than a stale cheese sandwich.

O'Conner had also unpacked a lunch from her rucksack. Judging from how deep she had to reach inside, Severus suspected it had an Extension Charm. She produced a sandwich that looked to contain some sort of brown goo and jam, some celery and something she called 'cream cheese'. When she produced a bag of crisps, she offered some to Severus, and he offered her one of his extra pickles in exchange.

She then took out a thermos and asked, "Do you have something to wash that down?"

"I was just going to get some water from the cooler in the corridor," he said as he choked down his cheese and bread.

"Here," she offered as she cracked open the thermos. "My mama sent me with some lemonade. There's enough to share."

"Thank you," Severus said timidly as he took the offered tin cup. He was taken aback by her kindness. He really wasn't very fond of fizzy drinks, but the bread was stuck in this throat.

Severus watched over the rim of his cup as O'Conner deftly transfigured a quill into an identical tin cup. When he looked at the drink, he raised his eyebrow suspiciously. Lily liked lemonade, but Severus didn't recall it looking like this. Perhaps it was an American brand. But he was thirsty and relatively sure the girl wasn't out to poison him. Severus took a sip, and next thing he knew, he began to choke and cough when he finally tasted what he was drinking.

"What's the matter?" O'Conner said in concern. "Is it that bad?"

Severus shook his head and closed his watery eyes. "No, it's quite good, actually. It's just not what I expected."

"Mama usually makes wonderful lemonade. Is it too tart for your liking?"

Now that he was somewhat recovered from the surprise, he took another drink. "It's not that. I do like it. I just wasn't expecting squash."

The affronted expression on O'Conner's face was comical when she said, "Squash?" O'Conner stared into her own cup. She then took a quick sniff of her drink before she hesitantly took a sip. She looked almost annoyed at Severus when she said, "I have no idea what you're smoking, but it is most definitely lemonade. How on earth could you possibly mistake this for squash?"

It took a few minutes of explaining on both of their parts before they figured it out and actually laughed over the misunderstanding. To Severus, lemonade was a carbonated fizzy drink that closely resembled something that O'Conner had called Squirt. The name itself was almost funny enough to make Severus piss his pants. Even more hysterical, O'Conner described a squash as some sort of vegetable that Severus could only guess to be a marrow. No wonder she looked disgusted.

They ate the rest of their lunch in companionable silence and returned to their reading afterwards for several hours.

Every so often, Severus would look up from his reading only to find O'Conner's nose still buried in her book. Funny? Every now and again Severus could swear he was being watched.

The sun had changed in the sky and Severus knew it was approaching mid-afternoon. He heard O'Conner close her book. He looked up to see her putting it in her bag and pulling out her uniform shoes.

Severus heard her mumble to herself, "I hate Mary-Janes."

Severus dug his watch out of his trouser pocket and said, "It's not quite five, o'clock. We still have a couple of hours before we pull into Hogsmeade."

"I want to change before there's a rush on the WC," she said with an air of sensibility. O'Conner gathered toiletries and put them into a smaller bag she had procured from her rucksack.

Severus put down his book and arose. "I'll go ahead and give you some privacy, then."

Severus didn't know where he would go. Perhaps he might find Lily alone…though he knew that was highly unlikely.

O'Conner grabbed her robes off of their hook and said, "Don't bother. I have to go tinkle, anyway."

The door slid open and shut again as O'Conner left the cabin and no one was there to notice Severus' stunned silence. Severus could feel his face blush from her last comment. Only Lily had ever been so bold in front of him, and even that had been years ago. He could only describe this new girl as something of a whirl-wind because for some strange reason, Severus felt breathless. Only after she was gone did he feel he could inhale a full lungful of air…his first in six hours.

Severus thought about taking this time to seek out Lily and finally have a talk. But then Severus remembered the Marauders were in the cabin next to hers. The trip had been uneventful, thus far. Severus decided it was best to stay where he was rather than push his luck. There would be other chances to get Lily alone before the Sorting Ceremony.

Instead, Severus chose to use the privacy of the cabin to change into his own robe. It really wasn't as if he needed the privacy, though. All he had to do was pull it over the uniform he was already wearing. He kept his robe open because the train car seemed a little warm today.

Severus no sooner settled back into his reading when the compartment door slid open again. He looked up to greet the girl and instantly stood up with his wand hand twitching.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to knock, Potter? Get out! "

Severus was not the only one to experience a growth-spurt over the summer. James Potter stood tall in the doorway, leaning on the entrance like he owned the bloody train. The prat was attempting to intimidate Severus with those arrogant grey eyes through ridiculous round glasses—his hair as messy as ever, as if he were too good for a comb. Black and Pettigrew stood smugly behind him like trained guard dogs. Lupin was conveniently elsewhere, of course.

"Aw, Snivellus, you shouldn't be the one to talk about manners," Potter said haughtily. "After all, we've only come to visit with an old friend. No reason to be snappish."

"Look at him, James," Black said mockingly. "Snivelly went and got himself some new clothes. What'd you do, Snape, rob Madam Makin's at wand point?"

Pettigrew laughed gormlessly and said, "I wonder if he changed his pants too. Too bad he couldn't do anything for that face."

Severus growled inwardly while Potter and Black laughed. "Well it's not as if Lils will ever find out, is it?"

Potter seemed to pick up on Severus' raising anger and ran with it. "Lils and I began to Owl each other over the summer. You know, Snape, she never did mention you…not once."

Severus had no idea if Potter was telling the truth or was just trying to provoke Severus' jealousy. Severus had to literally bite the inside of his lip to keep it from quivering. Did Lily really shun his letters, only to write Potter the Bullying Toe-Rag all summer? It stung him. It stung him like a billywig sting to the face.

"Maybe he's trying to impress the new bird that walked out of here a couple of minutes ago," Black scathingly implied.

"I said, get out!" Severus said hotly. He hoped the Marauder's had not noticed his voice waver… for Potter's taunting had hit home. The thought that Potter's words could possibly be true was almost too much for Severus to bear. Unfortunately, it was too much to hope that his weakness would go unnoticed, because even the smallest shark was capable of smelling a wounded fish.

"She must be a real minger," Pettigrew said, his bravado bolstered from hiding behind stronger friends. "No self-respecting girl would be seen dead with you, Snivellus."

"You're one to talk, Pettigross," Severus retorted with mustered courage. "The closest you'll ever get to a girl is Mary Palm and her five sisters!"

Potter's grey eyes took on an evil gleam and his lips curled to a malevolent jeer. Severus knew Potter was about to say something he would find particularly offensive. "What? Did you finally find yourself a little girlfriend, Snivellus? After all these years you couldn't get your leg-up on Lily so you'd thought you'd dip your wand into some other little bin…. "

Severus never allowed Potter to finish the statement.

"Enough!" Severus said dangerously as he was finally compelled to draw his wand. He noticed that the Marauder trio also had their wands drawn, but he was not deterred. No one spoke in such a derogatory manner of Lily! And he wasn't about to allow them to sully Lucy O'Conner's reputation before she even set foot off the train, just because she had shown Severus kindness. He had been the victim of too many unfounded assumptions himself over the years. He'd go to hell before he let an innocent girl's name be dragged down too.

"How dare you! You claim to be a friend to Lily and you so easily speak of her as if she's gutter trash! Not to mention dragging a poor girl's name through the muck whom you have never met! I've already told you to get out twice. You'll regret it if I have to say it a third time," Severus threatened through gritted teeth.

"Snivellus, you honestly don't think you can take on the three of us?" Potter said disparagingly.

Severus intended to answer him with the Langlock Hex that was about to roll off his lips when all four boys were suddenly taken by surprise as the Marauder's wands mysteriously flew out of their hands like oiled Snitches and clanked on the floor somewhere further down the corridor.

Black exclaimed, "Shite!" Severus stuck his head out the door and watched with a mixture of amusement and bemusement as the trio ran to retrieve their wands like dogs after bones.

Severus began to shut the door behind him as he wondered what had happened. It was to Severus' benefit that the Marauders most likely believed he had disarmed them with a silent Expelliarmus, but Severus was curious to know the truth.

He quickly had it when a small hand prevented him from sliding the door shut.

"Whoa, wait for me," O'Conner said as she pushed the door open and made her way past Severus. She was in her full uniform now, her long hair freed from its ties and hanging loosely down her back.

She tucked her street clothes and her book into her bottomless rucksack and pulled out a parchment and quill. She then lifted up the folding table-top from the wall and sat herself down, apparently this time to write. She never looked Severus in the eye.

Severus could feel his forehead furrow in annoyance. He sat himself down on his own bench, folded his arms and sulked, "You didn't have to do that."

O'Conner was writing fervently on her parchment and didn't even bother to look up from her task when she replied shortly, "Do what?"

The one thing Severus hated more than ignorance was feigned ignorance. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. I didn't need you to rescue me."

Severus could see the irritation etched on her face as she laid down her quill and gazed absently down at her parchment. "I don't recall mentioning that you needed any rescuing at all."

"Then what do you call that?" Severus said, pointing to the corridor accusingly.

O'Conner glanced to where Severus was pointing at the door. "Oh, that…I was tired of listening to the pissing-contest and they were in my way."

Severus paled. "You…how long were you listening?"

How much had she heard? Had she heard about Lily? Had she heard the Marauders allude to her as his girlfriend and the awful remarks they had said about her? Severus felt like throwing himself under the wheels of the train then and there.

"Long enough to know I was listening to a pissing-contest," she said heatedly. O'Conner then turned and stared pensively out the window at the waning daylight, ignoring the letter she had begun to write.

Severus turned his face away too, because he didn't want O'Conner to turn back and see the embarrassment he was feeling at the moment.

Severus' thoughts that he had blown whatever slim chance he had at making a friends or allies with this girl and her father were interrupted when O'Conner said, "Three against one…You must be either remarkably brave or certifiably insane."

Severus looked back at her in confusion. Uncertain if he had been commended or insulted, he said, "I beg your pardon?"

Though he had no idea why, from the tone in her voice, he could swear it was O'Conner who was embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she said timidly. She was still staring out the window into the far distance. "That…that's not what I meant to say."

Severus thought that she hadn't come off as the type who was at a loss for words. Something had the girl tongue tied.

"What I meant to say was… thank you."

Severus cocked his head to the side and gazed at her…perplexed. "I don't understand. Thank me for what?"

O'Conner finally turned and met his gaze. Her blue-green eyes were watery with tears Severus knew she would never shed, and she said thickly, "For defending my honour."

At that moment, as Severus locked eyes with Lucy O'Conner, he knew he would continue to defend her honour as long as she would let him…no matter who her father was. And from that moment on, at least in his mind, she would remain, 'Lucy'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, I really must thank all of you for your wonderful and enthusiastic reviews. They were the motivation that compelled me to get this chapter done so quickly.

Also, thanks again to my Beta, Tambra, who despite nursing a smushed finger, got this chapter back to me in almost record time. You're awesome!

TTFN
~Missyann