FIC: Going to Hogwarts (G)
Title: Going to Hogwarts
Type: Fic
Age-Range Category: Two
Characters: Severus Snape, Lily Evan, Eileen Prince
Author: goddess47
Rating: G
Summary: Severus and Lily are going to Hogwarts for the first time.
Severus all but vibrated in place. Today was the day he was going to Hogwarts and Lily was going with him!
Breakfast was tea and toast. Severus was too excited to eat anything else.
"I've packed you a lunch." His Mam held up a sack with what he knew would be sandwiches and some fruit. "There is some money so you can purchase a drink from the tea trolley. Don't spend it all on sweets."
"I won't!" Severus nodded eagerly. "Thank you!"
"Come. We'll go and get your friend. You don't want to be late for the train," she said.
Severus put the lunch sack in his book bag and snugged down the strap. He put the strap over his shoulder so his hands would be free. "Ready! Do you have the port-key?"
"Yes, now don't you worry," she replied patiently. "Let's go."
He watched as his Mam used her wand to put a charm on his trunk. It would otherwise be awkward to carry. The featherlight charm made it easier to handle.
They walked the short distance to the Evans home. Severus tapped on the door and it was opened by Lily before he finished.
"Sev! You're here!" Lily bounced at the door. "Hello, Mrs. Snape. Good to see you. Come in!"
"Lily!" Mrs. Evans called. "Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, mom!" Lily replied. She turned to face Severus. "I have my trunk ready in the back yard."
Severus' Mam had met with Lily's parents to decide the best way to get to King's Cross station. His mother had arranged for a portkey to take the three of them from the Evans' back yard to the station. He watched as Mam put a featherlight charm on Lily's trunk and she donned her own book bag.
Lily's mother and father were there and he saw Petunia peering through the bushes.
Severus watched the adults talk as Lily slipped her hand in his. "Sev. We're going to Hogwarts!"
Severus nodded. He suddenly was too nervous to talk, even with Lily.
"Lily, come here and give us a kiss," Lily's mother called.
Lilly let go of Severus and ran over to her parents. She hugged and kissed them both, everyone was crying.
"We have to go," Mam called. "The portkey is scheduled to go in two minutes."
At that moment Petunia ran over and quickly hugged Lily before running away.
Mam held out the sock that was their portkey. "Hold on tight," she warned. Severus and Lily grabbed hold of their trunks.
"Write to us!" the Evans' called. Mam had explained about Owl Post and how they could write to Lily and how to deal with owls who delivered letters.
Severus and Lily grabbed the sock and Severus held his breath as he was whirled about. Mam landed on her feet but Severus and Lily were on their arses on the ground.
"You both all right?" Mam asked.
Severus swallowed then nodded. Lily looked green for a moment but took a deep breath then also nodded.
"Good!" She nodded briskly. "Come on, we need to get out of the way."
Severus realized this out-of-the-way niche must be used regularly for portkey arrivals to the station. He grabbed his trunk, automatically checking to make sure Lily had hers.
"Now, just as I told you," Mam instructed. "We'll be going through the wall. Think about Hogwarts as you start for the wall so you have a focus. It will help."
Severus and Lily nodded. Severus focused by thinking about his Hogwarts letter.
Severus went first and stopped when he saw the train. It was huge! Then Lily bumped into him.
"Oof!" she said as she banged into him.
"Sorry. Sorry," Severus said as he took several steps forward.
Mam came in behind Lily and she shooed them away from the entrance.
"It's beautiful!" Lily breathed.
"It is, isn't it?" Mam said with a smile. Severus realized he had never seen her as happy as she was in this moment. He wondered if she missed using her magic all the time. Da didn't dislike magic but he would always frown when she used it in front of him.
"Come on," Mam urged. "Let's get you on the train."
She led them to the train and helped Lily up the steep steps. Even with the featherlight charm, she had to hand Lily's trunk up to her. Severus was proud that he could handle his own trunk.
"Good job, Severus," Mam said. "Come here." She held out her arms.
Severus went back onto the platform for a last hug. "You write to me," she whispered in his ear.
"I will," Severus promised.
"Find a sitting room," she directed. "You and Lily take care of each other."
"We will." Severus hung on for a long moment.
They were jostled by older students running along the platform, Severus guessed it was to meet up with friends. Severus hoped that would be him next year.
"Okay, go on," Mam said as she took a step back.
"Good bye," Severus said as he climbed back onto the train. Lily was waiting for him in the passageway.
"Let's find a room!" Lily said.
"Mam said to try the middle," Severus said. "The Prefects are at the front of the train and some of the older students go to the back. So there usually are open rooms in the middle."
"Okay," Lily agreed cheerfully.
They picked an empty room and Severus helped Lily put her trunk in the overhead storage. Severus awkwardly heaved his own trunk into the same space.
They sat and looked out the window. Severus hadn't paid attention but realized they were on the opposite side of the train from the station.
"I'm going to pop across for a moment, so I can waive to my Mam," Severus said. "I'll be right back."
"Go ahead!" Lily nodded.
Severus saw there were a couple of students who looked about his own age already in the room. He tapped on the door and opened it.
"I'd like to waive to my Mam," Severus pointed to the window.
The boys looked startled. "Umm..."
"All right," the one with messy brunet hair said.
Severus hurried over to the window, almost tripping over a bag on the floor. "Sorry," he said as he untangled his foot from a strap.
"Let me," the boy said. He pulled the bag up onto a seat.
"Thank you," Severus said. He went to the window and saw his Mam waiting on the platform. Severus opened the window and leaned out to give a wave. She waved back at him. He waved heartily and then leaned back so he could close the window.
"Thank you," Severus said as he picked his way across the littered floor.
"Did she see you?" Lily asked when he came back into the room.
"Yes," Severus nodded. "Couple of boys across the way already have their things all over their room. It's a mess. I hope I don't end up sorting with them."
"I hope we get sorted together!" Lily said.
"I do, too," Severus nodded.
There was a long whistle and there were footsteps in the corridor. The door to their room opened and a young girl put her head in. "Mind if my friend and I join you?"
"Please," Lily invited.
"Come on, Demmy, there's room here," the blonde turned and said.
Severus got up and helped the two with their trunks. They got one into the overhead but the other was too much for them to handle.
"My brother put a featherlight charm on mine," the blonde explained. "But Demmy didn't get that done."
"If there's only four of us, there's plenty of room to leave it there," Severus said.
"Brilliant!" the second girl said.
"I'm Wallis Williams and this is my friend, Demelza Smithers," Wallis introduced them. "I'm Wally and she's Demmy."
"I'm Severus Snape and this is Lily Evans," Severus replied. "Glad to meet you."
There was another whistle and the train lurched. Severus fell back into his seat.
They all looked out the window as the train pulled out of the station and went into the countryside. They settled back into their seats after a while.
There was the usual round of 'where are you from' and 'where do you think you will sort' before conversation ran out.
"Since we're going to be here for a while, I'm going to read for a bit," Lily said as she dug into her book bag. "I've been looking at my school books and everything is so interesting."
"Good idea," Severus agreed. "I'm working my way through the Potions book." He looked at the other two girls. "My Mam helped me brew some potions from the book this summer. I'm looking forward to doing more."
"What are you reading?" Wally asked.
"Hogwarts, A History." LIly held up the book.
"My brother said it's not that interesting," Wally said dismissively.
Lily shrugged. "I'm the first in my family with magic," she said proudly. "Sev has told me a lot but I want to learn everything!"
"Muggleborn," Demmy said with a small frown.
Severus thought there was a touch of a sneer there but he ignored it.
Lily nodded. "Yes, I am."
Severus and Lily settled into reading. Severus tuned out the discussion between the other two girls. It seemed they had been friends long before coming to Hogwarts and they talked about people and things Severus didn't anything know.
The sun had moved across the horizon when Severus realized he was hungry. He dug into his bag and brought out his paper sack of food. He looked inside.
"Want an apple?" he offered to Lily. He looked at the others. "Sorry, I only have two."
"I have my own," Wally said, dismissively.
"Thank you, Sev," Lily said as she took the apple.
It was another hour before the tea trolley came through.
Lily sprung up and bought two pumpkin juices. She handed one to Severus, who took it easily.
Wally and Demmy bought a handful of chocolate frogs and cauldron cakes. They ate them as they continued talking, dropping wrappers on the floor.
Lily frowned but didn't say anything.
Severus and Lily shared the sandwiches they had between them. Severus placed the wax paper back into the paper bag and everything back into his book bag when they were finished.
The sun was setting when an older student knocked on their door. "We'll be in Hogsmeade in about an hour. Time to put your robes on. You can leave all your belongings on the train, they'll be taken care of."
"Thank you!" Lily said.
"I'll find the bathroom and you can change here," Severus offered. His robes were packed in his book bag so that he wouldn't have to get his trunk down.
Wally had evidently not been warned about that by her brother and Severus helped her get her trunk down from the overhead. By the time he got out of the room, there was a line for the bathroom. He sighed and resigned himself to waiting.
He finally got into the bathroom. He used the facilities then changed quickly, aware there were others waiting behind him. He went back to the room and tapped on the door.
"Not ready!" Wally called from inside.
Severus settled against the wall and tried to stay out of the way as other students moved up and down the corridor. He heard Lily chiding the others to get ready so that Severus could come back into the room.
There was a long whistle and the train started to slow. He heard Lily hiss at the other girls and then the door was opened.
"Sorry," Lily said.
"Not your fault," Severus replied.
Lily rolled her eyes where the other girls couldn't see and went back to her seat.
Severus and Lily packed up their few belongings. The other two had evidently rifled through their trunks and were hastily re-packing their own things.
The train lurched to a stop in the station.
"We'll get out of your way," Lily said as she took Severus' hand and dragged him into the corridor.
Once on the platform, Severus looked around. A huge man was at one end calling, "First Years! Down here!"
"That's us," Severus said. They followed a couple of other students in the same direction.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" the man boomed. "Waiting on a few more to get off the train."
Severus looked around and, of course, Wally and Demmy were straggling behind everyone.
Lily snickered beside him.
"Looks like everyone," the man said genially. "My name is Hagrid. Stay with me and we'll get going."
He led them down a path that went down a hill and to a body of water that Mam had told Severus was the Lake next to Hogwarts.
"Everyone into the boats," Hagrid directed.
Lily and Severus scrambled to the boats. Two other students joined them.
"Hang on!" Hagrid called.
The boats set themselves off across the lake. The moon shone down from overhead. They came around a cliff and... there was Hogwarts!
"It's beautiful!" Lily breathed.
The Castle shone in the dark, reflected off the surface of the Lake.
"It looks even more magical than I could imagine!" Severus agreed.
"Watch yer heads!" Hagrid called as the boats went under an overhang covered with ivy. The boats landed themselves on a pebbled beach.
"Up to the Castle," Hagrid called, watching as they scrambled out of the boats. He led them up a path to huge wooden doors. He pounded on the doors and they opened for him.
"Professor McGonagall. Yer First Year students!" Hagrid announced.
"Thank you, Hagrid," McGonagall said formally. "Follow me," she directed the students.
They followed her into the building. Severus looked around eagerly as they went down a corridor.
"Wait here!" McGonagall said firmly. She went through a smaller door and left them alone.
A girl shrieked in surprise. A group of ghosts had come through the walls.
Severus thought it was a good thing Mam had warned him and Lily about this part.
"Firsties!" one said.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" another said.
McGonagall came back and frowned at the ghosts. She said again, "Follow me."
They ended up in what Severus knew was the Great Hall. But it was larger and more amazing than he could have imagined. Older students already sat at the long House tables.
McGonagall called a name from a list she had. "Adams, Jane."
Immediately realizing they would be called in alphabetical order, Severus settled in for a long wait.
Lily took his hand. "I hope we get sorted together," she said softly.
"We will always be friends," Severus promised. "If we get separated, I'll meet you after breakfast tomorrow."
She nodded as she squeezed his hand.
"Evans, Lily."
Lily squeezed his hand again before letting go and sitting on the stool at the front. It only took a moment before the hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily took the hat off and went over to the Gryffindor table.
It seemed to take forever before McGonagall called, "Snape, Severus."
Severus sat on the stool and the hat was settled on his head.
Gryffindor! Severus thought firmly.
"Ah!" the hat replied then went silent. "I think you will do better in... SLYTHERIN."
Severus was and was not disappointed. He wanted to be with Lily but he knew his mother had been in Slytherin. He walked over to the table and sat down.
"Wright, Braxton." McGonagall called the last name and the boy was quickly sorted to Ravenclaw.
As they left after the Feast, Severus looked over to the Gryffindor table and found Lily looking for him. He gave a small wave and she waved back at him.
"First years!" an older Slytherin student called. "With me!"
Severus followed.
He fell asleep that night dreaming of all the things he and Lily would be able to do together in the years to come.