24 Chapter 22

"Have you packed everything Severus?"

"....You do know this is the 5th time this morning you are asking this question right?" I asked Eileen who smiled sheepishly.

She sighed and came closer, "I know...it's just you are going to be away from me for a year and I can't help but get worried."

I dodged her hand that was coming for my combed hair and said, "You don't have to worry...I can take care of myself."

"Very well...get dressed then, we will leave for the station."

I nodded and went to get dressed. The day had finally come, I would be going to Hogwarts today. Lily wanted to come with me but her parents wanted to drop her off so we decided to meet up at the station.

I quickly wore some robes over some casual attire and pulled my trunk out. The trunk was heavy but I could easily lift it with magic.

Eileen had changed into her robes and looked prim.

"All set?" she asked. I nodded and grabbed her hand. The world distorted before my eyes and we apparated.

*crack*

I rubbed my temple and regained my balance. We had arrived at the King's Cross station.

There were not many people around as we had arrived early but I did spot some people wearing robes as they stood out.

I looked around to see if Lily had arrived too and sure enough I spotted her with her parents.

She spotted me too as her eyes widened. She told her parents who looked in my direction and flashing a smile, they walked towards us.

"Morning Sev, you are finally here." Lily said as she came up to me.

"Morning..Lily" I greeted Rose and Harold too.

"So where is this….9 and ¾ platform...it says here that its in between the 9th and 10th but I don't see it anywhere." Harold asked after pulling out Lily's Hogwarts letter.

"Oh..it's hidden from Muggles so that's why you can't see it. So you see…" Eileen explained.

"You have to walk through that wall over there." She said pointing at the wall in between the platforms.

"Really?" Harold asked.

Eileen nods and gestures them to follow her. Harold grabs Lily's trolley and moves along. Rose walked upto Eileen and they began talking.

As we walked, I turned to Lily, "So how are you feeling about not seeing your parents for a year?"

"Well...I do feel sad and nervous but since I know you...I feel it's not that bad..besides I am excited to learn magic." she replied.

I nodded and we walked in silence. Inwardly I was surprised she was taking it so well but then she was mature for her age. She acted childish sometimes but she did have her serious moments.

Eileen demonstrated waking through the wall and went in first followed by Lily's parents who steeled their nerves and walked into the wall. I nodded at Lily and asked her to follow behind me.

Walking through the wall was a strange experience, it felt like I walked through a curtain made of jelly.

On reaching the other side, I was immediately bombarded with a bustling platform with lots of people.

The platform was filled with wizards and witches carrying their luggages with their children. I spotted the train from which smoke was being emitted. My knowledge of trains wasn't extensive but I could still tell that it was not a new model.

"Daily...daily...get your daily prophet for just 2 sickles." A young boy shouted as he navigated the crowd and dodged the cats and other pets around his legs.

I waited for Lily who soon came through the wall with her eyes closed. She still kept walking with her eyes closed but I stopped her.

"You can open your eyes Lily."

"Sev?" She opened her eyes and immediately her jaw slackened.

"Wow...this is…" She kept looking around and seemed awed by the sight.

"You can admire the sight later but first let's find them." I told Lily.

I soon spotted Eileen looking around with Lily's parents. Our sight met and she called out, "Ah..there you are Severus."

We went to them and we talked for a while. Lily talked to her mother and told her that she would write home regularly.

"Severus…will you be alright..?"Eileen kneels down to reach my level.

"Yes..mother, I will take care of myself and write often.." I reassured her.

I wanted to quickly get inside the train, all this emotional stuff was making me feel weird. Eileen's love was for her son and not for me so it felt weird receiving it.

"Lily are you done?" I asked her.

"Yes..Sev."

"Right then, let's go inside, we need to get good seats." I said and made my trunk float.

"Okay…" she replied and nodded at her parents who lifted her trunk and placed it in the train. I noticed that she had put on a strong front for her parents. Reality of her new life was probably just sinking in for her.

Once inside, I help Lily by making her trunk float too. I finally had some use for wandless magic.

We moved along the narrow corridor looking for a compartment. The first few were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their parents while some fought over seats.

We kept moving and soon we found an empty compartment. Opening it, I placed our trunks on top and released my cat Nix from her cage.

Lily immediately got excited seeing the exotic looking Nyx. "Oh Sev….what's this? Is that your pet?! Can I pet it?"

"Sure….but only if she wants to be petted by you." I said.

I lifted Nyx and put her on my lap. Lily slowly came closer and once I made sure that Nyx wasn't going to attack her, I gave her a nod.

After that it didn't take long before Nyx leapt onto her lap and fell asleep again under Lily's caressing.

Nyx had judged Lily to be trustworthy and while I don't think the ability is absolute, it was reassuring to say the least.

Time passed quickly as the train slowly picked up speed. The scenery changed and it was a beautiful sight.

Around half past twelve, we were sitting quietly in the compartment watching out the window when a clattering sound was heard outside in the corridor.

A smiling,dimpled woman slid our door and said, "Anything off the cart,dears?"

I cocked my head in Lily's direction and asked,"Hm..need anything Lily?Its on me..."

I was a bit hungry because of the light breakfast I had in the morning. I was also curious to try some things.

"Oh...I don't know Sev...I haven't eaten anything like this…"

"Ah...so you can't choose?"

Lily nodded.

The woman sensing Lily's hesitation answered, "a Muggleborn eh? Don't be afraid dearie, I guarantee you they taste nice. I have chocolate frogs, Bettie Boot's Every Flavour beans and some drooble's best blowing gum…."

She stopped to take out more things from under her cart. "Some cauldron cakes, licorice wands…"

The woman kept going but didn't bother explaining anything. Lily looked at me with a confused face.

I sighed and interrupted the lady, "Excuse me, Ma'am, we have decided….we will have some licorice wands and chocolate frogs."

"Is that it?" the woman asked.

I nodded and after receiving the goods, I paid her.

She flashed us a kind smile and left after closing the door.

I handed some to Lily who carefully analyzed the covers, "You aren't giving me anything weird right?"

"Not really...if I wanted to pull a trick like that, I would have bought those beans.." I answered, flashing her a smile. I didn't tell her that the frog would come 'alive' when opened.

"Why what's in that?"

"Well when they say every flavour, they mean every flavour….I heard that there is a vomit flavoured one…."

"Eww...why would they make that? And people buy it?!!" She asked, gagging thinking about it.

I shrugged. Wizards were weird. It was good pranking material though.