The Year of the Revolution II. The Discovery of Friendship

8. Vigil

Friday finally arrived, the day before the Express trip home. Both Lily and Sev packed their luggage in the afternoon, looking forward to it.

She stuffed into her trunk all the nice Muggle clothes she had packed in August for her and Sev's projected trips to Hogsmeade that never happened, and of course, the textbooks to study together, including Arithmancy starters.

In the backpack, which she would carry with her, she put everything committed, the hair pin, the notes on the magic berries to talk about them together, all the notes and writings that she had received from Sev and kept jealously, and the red berries that still were left.

He, for his part, also filled his chest with much less abundant clothes, just underwear and uniforms, since the Muggle clothes he had, bought second-hand, he only wore them in Cokeworth, he already boarded the Express dressed in uniform. He added, to the textbooks, the one on 'Sleep Treatment Potions', his cauldron, two flasks and a dispenser.

In the carry-on he stuffed the thorniest, the Legilimency book, Lily's notes, and the stolen ingredients for the potions.

That night, at dinner, they could hardly stop looking at each other... In twenty-four hours they would be home! And one more night... and finally together, without having to hide, to watch, to pretend, to lie... A great breath of fresh air before submerging again in the suffocating atmosphere that the school had become.

Sev was so distracted that he ate his dinner more slowly than ever, and the Gryffindors filed out ahead of him. As he was about to finish his second course, an owl darted through the skylight of the Great Hall, landing right in front of him, spilling his glass.

The envelope had the stamp 'Urgent' stamped on it, with his name and surname written in his mother's handwriting... His heart sank at his feet, he didn't even need to open the letter to know its content. He snatched the envelope from the owl's leg and it took flight, darting back out the skylight.

Mulciber asked him, "It says 'Urgent'. Why don't you open it?"

"Because I already know what it says." He got up without another word and headed out the door, down the dungeon corridor and the spiral staircase to his house. He could have got into the bedroom, but he knew that his roommates had not yet packed their trunks and he would not have privacy there, so he sat in his usual corner of the Common Room, where there were few people, almost everyone was in the rooms finishing their luggage.

He opened the envelope, the letter from his mother said:

Severus, my son:

I'm so sorry I haven't written to you sooner, but I couldn't get to Diagon until this noon. Your father came home the day before yesterday. I'm letting you know so you know when you arrive.

"Snape!" he heard Mulciber's voice from the other side of the room. "Bad news?"

Sev didn't reply, continued reading.

Don't worry, he still hasn't found my wand, and I'll use it if necessary.

"Don't you prepare your trunk?" Mulciber insisted. "Aren't you going home?"

"I do not know yet! And besides, it's none of your business!" he answered him in bad ways so that he would leave him alone.

"Well, well, I was only interested in you," and Mulciber headed for the stairs that led to the bedrooms.

You will have to return alone from King's Cross. Do you have any Muggle money? If you don't have it, borrow it from Lily and then I'll give it back to her.