A New Beginning, pt. 1

Harry arrived at King’s Cross feeling unusually cheerful, more so than he had in a long time. There were no particularly horrible memories connected to this place, so he was at peace walking through the station. The air was still a little cool from the morning, and a few lazy clouds drifted through the sky. Even the people walking around seemed especially happy. Instead of walking with their heads down and looking judgmentally at his two owls, they held their heads high and regarded his birds with pleasant interest.

This time Harry knew exactly where to go and what to do. He pushed his cart along, just passing the ninth platform. He saw only a few Hogwarts students, none he could recognize, but then again it was only half past ten. Harry had wanted to come early to wait for Snape and Lily, to ensure that they would be able to be in the same compartment. 

He stopped right next to the brick wall between platforms nine and ten and leaned against it casually. He slid through into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where a scarlet train was waiting for passengers. The station wasn’t that crowded yet, but there were still a considerable amount of people bustling about. Birds screeched, cats meowed, and luggage carts squeaked noisily. Voices rose above the collection of sounds, happy when reunited with friends, sad when family was left behind.

Harry quickly scanned the crowd but saw no sign of Severus. From what he remembered from Snape’s memories, Lily and Severus should arrive around the same time. He moved away from the entrance and waited. After only another five minutes, The Evans family appeared through the brick wall. Harry wondered vaguely how Muggles could go through the barrier. It must be that they could only go to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters if they knew of its existence, or that only Muggles who were part of a family with a magical person could enter. 

Lily spotted Harry and waved, grinning. Petunia looked at Harry with an eyebrow raised, and whispered unsubtly to her sister, no doubt about him. Lily stopped to listen, then waved him over. Harry’s grandparents (Mr. and Mrs. Evans) also stopped. 

“Jacob, these are my parents, and my big sister, Petunia!” Harry, or Jacob, smiled pleasantly at them. When he met Petunia’s eyes, she blushed and looked away looking flustered. Interesting, Harry thought in surprise. Why so flustered? Especially after how she’s treated other people with magical abilities, namely my mum and I. It was clear that she must see Jacob as attractive, or something. 

It was a lot easier to read the emotions of younger kids than those his own age, which was proving to be an advantage. 

“Nice to meet you,” Harry/Jacob said politely. Petunia was still watching him, but he pretended not notice. Lily’s parents were obviously transfixed by him, most likely because they had only met the official that visited their home to tell them about the wizarding world.

“Now, how did you two meet?”

Mr. Evans had directed the question to Lily, but Harry was a more experienced liar, so he invented, “We just talked a little bit at Diagon Alley. I saw her at the flower shop.” It wasn’t too far from the truth, but her parents seemed very protective, and he wanted it to seem like it wasn’t a big deal. If they knew Severus, and approved of Lily’s friendship with him, then maybe he wouldn’t have had to lie, but he was still a stranger. Her spending time with two strange boys was probably not as acceptable as one passerby. But they didn’t know about her friendship with the Severus…at least it didn’t seem like they did. 

Speaking of Severus—Harry glanced over and saw that he had just entered the platform. Lily seemed to notice this, also, but didn’t wave. Eileen seemed to have made a better attempt to look presentable than when Harry had last seen her, but compared to those around her she still looked hastily thrown together. Harry felt his stomach twist as he realized her long sleeves and high collar, despite the summer weather, must be concealing bruises. Severus met Harry’s eye and the corner of his mouth twitched up briefly. Harry returned the gesture, hoping the memory charm had worked, that Snape hadn’t suffered Tobias’ fury because of his actions. 

Not wanting to stick around too long, he cleared his throat and said, “Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. See you on the train, Lily. Bye, Petunia,” He flashed his most dazzling smile at Petunia, who blushed furiously and mumbled something in response. Harry left them to say their goodbyes and hovered nearby. He didn’t want to meet up with Snape quite yet, just in case it would damage the way Lily’s parents thought of him. And besides that, he was busy watching what was happening between Lily and Petunia. 

In Snape’s memories, the two sisters had an argument that ended with Lily breaking down and crying. Petunia had called her a sister a freak to cover up her jealous feelings. Now, they simply hugged; it seemed Petunia was deeply distracted by Harry. He had gone along with her interest in him with the hope that she would be too busy with her own thoughts to yell at Lily, and it had worked.

He realized that this was the first event he had seen and changed directly. Of course, there was the bridge incident, as well as the simple act of meeting the two kids. But there had still been the possibility that that had always happened and Harry had just left ’71 for some reason.

Now, he had proof that he could change what had happened in the past. This newfound fact excited him, but also made him uneasy. He could make things worse by meddling in the past. He had to be careful about what he interfered with.

 Lily said a last goodbye to her family, who started heading back to the brick wall, and went over to Jacob. They waited for Severus’ mum to bid him a curt farewell before joining up with him. 

“Let’s go find a compartment,” Snape suggested, his face flushed with an excitement that could easily match Lily’s. 

She and Harry nodded and they found the nearest entrance to the train. Kids were bustling about the hallway, scrambling with luggage and trying to find open cabins. Harry looked into one to see if it was vacant and saw that James and Sirius were sitting there. 

Harry froze with a strong feeling of déjà vu. The boys both sat on one end, just like they had originally. Only this time, Lily and Severus were not going to meet them. 

“You can sit here if you want,” Sirius offered, shrugging. He already had a casual handsomeness at age eleven, which the laughing girls in the compartment across them seemed to notice.  

James nodded in agreement, looking indifferent. “Yeah, we don’t mind.” 

“Er, no, I’m with my friends already,” Harry replied quickly, voice shaking slightly, and followed Snape and Lily. He managed to control his emotions, pretending they had been complete strangers, not two people who were going to die. It was difficult, since they looked so much like how they would when they were older. At least they had both been kind to him. He was dreading the first time he would see his father bully someone. What if they made fun of…him? He was old enough to defend himself—it would be like a four-year-old trying to pick on them—but the difference was it would be his dad. For his own father to pick on him…that would be unbearable. 

The trio found an empty compartment toward the end of the train. No sooner had they put away their suitcases and sat down then another person appeared in the entryway. Someone who Harry vaguely recognized.

“Oh—sorry, I’ll check another—” 

She turned to leave but Lily interjected. “It’s okay! You can sit with us!” 

The girl looked uncertain. “Are you sure?”

They all nodded, and the newcomer sat down in the empty spot next to Jacob. Harry still couldn’t quite remember where he had seen or met her. He studied her, trying to place his familiarity. She had dark skin, and also was quite small, appearing a couple years younger than the others. Her curly black hair fell past her shoulders, and she pushed it out of her eyes uncomfortably as they all stared at her, waiting for her to speak. 

Then, after taking in her appearance, Harry realized she had been the girl who he had seen (and judged) at Diagon Alley. He felt a little guilty, but how she had appeared to himself then was the same as she appeared now: gloomy, quiet…all qualities he associated with a Slytherin.

“So what’s your name?” Lily asked politely, having always been less judgmental than Harry.

“Raven Faralyn.” She looked around at her company for the first time. Her eyes lingered on Jacob a little longer than they did for the others. “And you are…?” 

“My name’s Lily Evans.” Harry noticed for the first time that Lily was holding the flower from the day before. 

“I’m Severus Snape.”

“And I’m Jacob Walker.”

Raven looked from Lily to Jacob. “Are you two Muggle-borns?”

“Er, yeah,” Harry answered, slightly taken aback.

“I could tell by your names, that’s all,” she replied, noticing the look on his face.

“Oh.” Harry thought she had a similar appearance to Snape’s barn owl Luna when she looked at him, it was like she saw straight through to his soul. Of course, this shouldn’t be misinterpreted for Harry liking her. He wasn’t going to have a crush on anyone here; it made him uncomfortable to imagine it. Everyone in his year was much too young, he wasn’t staying long and besides, there was Ginny back home. Harry tried not to think about Ginny too much, it just made his chest contract painfully. Even though he felt distanced from her back home, that was different from not being around her at all. 

“So, Raven,” Lily started, fishing for a topic. “Where are you from?”

“Around London. I live with my parents. Both of them were in Slytherin at Hogwarts…”

So she would be in Slytherin, then, unless she was anything like Sirius. Harry half wished he hadn’t guessed her placement correctly, wanting an example of when stereotypes weren’t reliable. 

“…but I don’t know where I’ll get placed.”

“I want to be in Slytherin,” Snape put in eagerly. “You should be proud if that’s where you go!” 

Lily looked at him, surprised, since he had never shared this desire with her. At the same time, she didn’t know the history the house had. Harry was looking at Severus in exasperation, while Raven was considering him with an expression of mild surprise. 

“You know the reputation Slytherin House has, right? The bad kind of wizards that have come from that house?” It was Raven, not Harry, who asked this. Harry was surprised that she had this view on Slytherin, let alone felt like sharing it with Severus.

Snape didn’t answer, and Lily looked between the two. She was interested to hear what the girl had to say, knowing nothing about it herself. Harry wondered if she had any hidden opinion that it would make sense for him to be put in Slytherin. 

“If power is what you want, to prove yourself, there are other ways to do it. I wanted to be in Slytherin house for a while. When I was young, and my father told me stories of great wizards who came from that House, the things they achieved…back then, I didn’t think that it was bad, the things that many did to get what they wanted. But then I changed my mind. I didn’t want to be tempted from that sort of thing, and I thought about the great things in the other houses.” 

She was making a pretty long speech for someone they had just met, for someone who seemed too shy to ever talk this long to strangers. 

“Hufflepuff, the house of friendship, loyalty, and kindness. Ravenclaw, the house of the intelligent, the sharp-witted. Gryffindor, the house of the brave and strong-minded.” She paused. “You know, even though I’ve just met you, the last house I would put you in would be Slytherin.” 

“Not you, too!” Severus burst out.

Raven raised her eyebrows and turned to Lily, who shook her head, then looked at Harry, who subtly indicated that the first had been him. Raven turned back to Severus, now looking indifferent.

“Okay, it’s your choice, I guess.” 

Her final statement made Harry feel a little guilty, but he got over the guilt quickly—it was for Snape’s own good. At least Severus appeared to be thinking hard, staring furiously out the window. Raven had pulled out a book, and Lily was looking between them awkwardly. 

It touched Harry that Raven was concerned, but he doubted that what she said had a significant effect on him.

“So Lily, did you get to see the flower glow like she said it would?” Harry asked conversationally, leaning back in his seat. The flower, currently, was giving off enough light so that its edges looked blurred slightly. 

“Yeah,” Lily began dreamily. “It’s wonderful!” Snape turned his gaze away from the window to look at her, his hand still propping up his head casually. Although his body language indicated he was relaxed, his hungry eyes sent a very different message. 

“I’ll have to show it to you guys when the moon is at its brightest…well, if you’re in the same house, I guess.” 

Raven looked up from her book. “Who gave it to you?” Her eyes flickered momentarily at Severus, who was studying her intensely. Harry glanced at Raven, then back at Severus, wondering how obvious it was that he liked Lily. 

“Oh, Severus did,” Lily answered, and gave him a quick smile. He returned it faintly.  

“Hm,” Raven said, and Harry could’ve sworn it sounded like she had just decided something. “Well, it’s nice. Have you two—I mean three—known each other long?”

“Sev and I have known each other a while, and we recently met Jacob. I don’t think any of us known any other wizards, or witches. Have you? You know a lot about Hogwarts, it seems, er…” 

“Yes, both my parents are wizards. My family are all—or mostly—Purebloods.” 

And Pureblood too? She doesn’t seem like she’d be Slytherin anymore, but her background certainly fits. 

“My mother hosts a lot of gatherings, with all Pureblood families, though often I…choose not to join them. The Blacks, for example. The first time, they were fine, but after a while…one of the sons, Sirius or something…” 

Harry felt a jump in his stomach at the name. He was surprised that she would have met him, but if she was a Pureblood… 

“…he’s in our year, I believe. I never got along with him. Most of the children of these families are…ah…stuck-up. And nearly all of the families have been in Slytherin house, so that’s kinda why I gave up wanting to be sorted there.” 

Raven looked back down on to her book and began reading again. Harry glanced at the page she was on; it was filled with small print and looked too complex for an eleven-year-old. She glanced at him and he looked away. 

No one said anything for a while. Everyone managed to preoccupy themselves with different activities, until the candy trolley arrived. 

“Anything from the trolley, dears?” The kind witch asked, pushing the cart to a stop at their door. She was the same woman, just younger than Harry remembered. 

Raven shook her head, so did Severus, but both Lily and Harry nodded and stood up. She put her flower delicately on the luggage rack and got some pocket change from her small purse. Lily was intrigued by everything the cart had to offer and took extra care in choosing the most interesting candies within her budget. Harry, however, bought at least four of everything, all for about one Galleon. He carried the load down and dumped it all on the space between him and Raven.

“Dig in, you guys,” he said, and tossed a chocolate frog to each of them. Snape looked like he couldn’t accept it, probably because Harry had already given him an owl and (if Snape’s suspicions were correct) a Galleon. More importantly, he saved his life, and became his friend despite the things that may ward many others away. 

Raven handed hers back, saying awkwardly that she didn’t care for chocolate. 

Severus opened his wrapper, and the chocolate frog immediately hopped onto his lap. He tried to catch it, but it wasn’t until his third attempt that he snatched it and popped it into his mouth.

Lily was prepared for hers and she caught it immediately. She ate it in one bite, so it didn’t suffer, and sighed with satisfaction. 

“Mm, it’s really good!” She exclaimed, examining the card that came with it. “Hey! How’s she moving?” Harry smiled, remembering his first experience with moving pictures, while Severus explained it to her. Lily was amazed, as he had been, that the people in the pictures were animated. Then she realized something.

“When I drew pictures…as a kid…sometimes they would move. I can’t believe I didn’t remember until now! They scared me, so that must be why I never really have been an artist…Is that a sketchbook?” Raven had pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil from her rucksack. 

“Er, it’s nothing, really.” She hastily closed it. 

“C’mon, I want to see! Please?” Lily begged. Raven sighed and opened it to the page she had been working on before. For an eleven year old, it was decent. It was a drawing of a young girl, halfway shaded, smiling up at them. She blinked periodically, and her eyes moved to survey the compartment.

“It’s really good…” Lily said in an awed voice. Snape nodded mutely, but Harry could tell he wanted her praise and attention directed at him, not Raven. 

While Raven continued sketching, the others went through the candy stash. Harry was glad that they had something to talk about, since Lily and Severus had never had any of the treats before. Raven didn’t eat anything, but the others sampled everything and discussed each treat.