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Severus glanced over his shoulder one last time, taking in Spinner's End. He was leaving his house for the new school year ahead. He turned the corner, and the house was gone from view. He didn't look back. No regrets. That was what he had to tell himself. His mother was safe at St. Katherine's, and his father was God knew where.

In a few short hours, Lily and he would be boarding the Hogwarts Express. He was going with the Evanses to the train station, so he made his way to their home. Within ten minutes, he was outside the front door. He rang the bell, hoping Petunia wouldn't answer. Thankfully, Lily had been expecting him and came to the door almost immediately.

She grinned widely upon seeing Severus and flung her arms around his neck, nearly throwing him off balance. He was holding his baggage in both hands, so he couldn't return the hug.

Smiling slightly, Severus said, "Don't knock me over, Lily."

She released her grip on him and said, "Here, let me take one of those." She motioned toward the bags.

"No need," he replied, setting them down on the porch for the time being. "You'll have your stuff to carry, and your parents will be out soon, right?"

Nodding, Lily stepped outside, closing the door behind her. "You're lucky. Petunia won't be going with us. She started at the university a few days ago."

"That's good... I mean, that she won't be going with us," Severus quipped.

Lily playfully smacked his arm, saying, "Oh, Sev, you're awful. Aren't you happy for my sister, going off to university and all?"

"Not really," he said dryly.

Lily was about to reply, but the front door opened, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans stepped through, Lily's bags in tow.

"Would you care to help us here, Lily?" asked her mother. Looking up, she noticed Severus, and said, "Oh, good morning, Severus."

Mr. Evans smiled kindly at Severus and wished him a good morning as well. Lily helped her parents with her baggage, and together, everyone made their way to the car.

"Good morning, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans," Severus returned with a nod to each of them as they loaded everything into the trunk.

Once the bags were secure, the trunk was closed, and everyone got into the car. Severus and Lily sat in the back seat. Riding in a Muggle vehicle was a strange phenomenom for Severus. Even though he had ridden on the bus not long ago, that was a different feeling than a small car. As the car pulled out of the driveway and onto the street, Severus mused how different cars looked in this decade from the decade he had left. At least things in the magical world didn't change too much.

It was still very early when they left, as the drive to London would be quite long. The lengthy trip gave Severus plenty of time to talk quietly with Lily, but he didn't talk too much since her parents were right there. The Evanses were nice enough people, but Severus didn't feel comfortable divulging a lot of information about himself in front of them... or more like literally behind them in the car. He wanted badly to cuddle with Lily, but there was no way he was going to do that with her parents watching. So, he was resigned to sharing in mindless prattle with Lily's parents and looking out the window and occasionally drifting to sleep when his eyelids grew too heavy.

Finally, at 10:45, they arrived. Hurrying out of the car and to the inside of the train station, Lily bade her parents farewell. Severus half-heartedly said goodbye to them and allowed Mrs. Evans to give him a quick, one-armed hug. Together, Severus and Lily stepped through the magical barrier onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, leaving Lily's parents behind in the Muggle world. They wasted no time in boarding the train and finding an empty compartment.

Flopping onto the seat, Severus heaved a sigh of relief. They hadn't had very much time, and not a moment after his backside reached contact with the seat did the train start moving.

"I hope no one else joins us," he stated sullenly, glaring at some other students as they walked past.

Lily, who was sitting across from him, giggled. "Always the welcoming type, aren't you, Sev?"

"Only for you," he said seriously. He purposefully stretched himself out on the seat, hoping no one would ask to sit there. "Do the same," he told Lily.

"I'm not putting my feet up on the seat," Lily protested. "Really, Sev, what if a first year who has nowhere else to sit asks to join us?"

Severus grimaced. "Well, I suppose that might be permissible, but you're sitting next to me if that happens. If you at least put one of your bags on the seat next to you, it'll look like there's no room in our compartment."

Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sighed. "Oh, fine," she gave in, doing as Severus had asked.

Severus thought she seemed a little annoyed at his suggestion. "What's wrong?" he demanded, growing irritated. "Do you really not care if someone else joins us? If Potter and Black come in here?"

"Of course I care," Lily replied, frowning. "I just... didn't want to be rude. It's not in my nature."

Snorting, Severus said, "No, I suppose not, but I just wanted to be alone with you, Lily. We were stuck in the car with your parents for hours, and I couldn't so much as touch your arm without worrying about what they might think or say."

"Excuse me?" Lily asked, hurt. "'Stuck in the car?' My parents were nice enough to drive you here, Sev. How did you expect to get here without parents to take you?"

Realizing what she had said, Lily covered his mouth with her hands, shocked with herself. She was about to apologize, but Severus, hurt by her words, cut out, "And what did you want me to do? Yes, that's right, Lily. My parents aren't like yours. My mother's mental, and my father's a raving drunk. I didn't ask for your parents' sympathy-"

Just then, the door to the compartment opened, and James Potter peeked his head in. "Ah, is the unhappy couple fighting already?" he asked smugly, smirking at Severus and then grinning at Lily.

"Go away, Potter," Lily said, her teeth clenched.

"No, I rather think I'll stay and hear what ol' Snivelly has to say," James continued, stepping into the compartment. Sirius Black followed him.

"There's nothing to hear," Severus ground out, his fingers touching his wand. "Get out now, Potter, or you'll regret it."

"I don't think so, Snivellus," James sneered, smiling nastily. "You see, you left us all Stunned last year, but you won't get the last curse in this time around."

"That's right," added Sirius. "What d'you reckon we do to him, James?" he asked conversationally.

"Oh, I don't know," James replied casually. "But I assure you, Snape, it'll be painful," he said, getting right in Severus's face, his tone turning menacing. Leaning over and whispering into Severus's ear so only he could hear, James said, "You may think you have Evans now, but she deserves a hundred times better than you. I'd watch my back if I were you, Snivellus."

Growing hot with anger, Severus lost his temper and brought out his wand at lightning speed, jabbing it directly into James's neck. "Back off, Potter," he snarled. "You don't know anything, so shut up."

Smirking, James backed up, saying to Sirius, "C'mon, mate. Let's go. For now, Sniv, you're safe, but just you wait."

James and Sirius left, and Severus barked after them, "Cowards!"

When the compartment door had closed, Lily said, "Don't listen to him. He's an idiot with a bloated head."

Their earlier argument momentarily forgotten, Severus sighed. "Right," he muttered. "Right."

The rest of the journey was much calmer. Severus and Lily didn't speak of their disagreement. Finally, the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station at Hogsmeade. The students began disembarking from the train, and joining the growing crowd, Severus walked toward one of the thestral-drawn carriages with Lily, seeing Hogwarts off in the distance. Soon, their sixth year would begin.