Yours truly | Severus Snape - Sequel to Sincerely yours

The boy who lived

"Are you sure you have your ticket?", the man with golden hair asked from a young, dark-haired woman. The woman, who was standing next to the gold-haired man, rolled her dark green eyes and shook a piece of parchment on front of the man's dark brown eyes.

"Uncle, I'm twenty", the woman pointed out, giving her uncle a teasing smirk. The man sighed and shook his head, giving the woman a warm smile. A kind of smile which had been rare on those lips until the beginning of the now-ending summer.

"Alright, alright. I believe you", the man said, a deep affection glittering in his dark eyes. Suddenly, a hint of sorrow mixed with that deep affection. The man took the woman's hand in his and looked deep into the woman's green eyes.

"You know, you're just as feisty as your mother."

The same sorrow that had been lingering in the man's eyes found its way to the woman's eyes as well.

"Really?" the woman asked, trying to hide her sadness behind a wide smirk.

"Really", repeated the man. Despite her best attempts, the man was able to see through the woman's act. He had always been.

The man squeezed the woman hand, took a look at the majestic clock behind him and turned his eyes back to the woman.

"Alright then. It's time to go", he said, letting go of the woman's hand. The woman peeked behind the man's shoulder to see the clock and noticed that she was about to miss her train.

"Goodbye, Uncle Theodore", the woman said, took her trolley and started running towards the wall between the platforms nine and ten. Just when she was about to hit the wall, the man with golden hair gathered his courage and opened his mouth.

"Mary!" the man shouted, causing the woman, Mary, to stop and turn around. As their eyes met, Theodore could feel his stomach twist. For a moment, he hesitated, unable to find courage within himself to say the thing he truly wanted to say.

"Stay safe", Theodore ended up saying, that same mixture of affection and sorrow glittering in his eyes again.

"You too."

****

Mary, Clary, Alison, and Emily were sitting in their carriage, catching up on their holiday and enjoying the beautiful views passing behind the window. Clary, who had been bold and cut herself a sharp bob-cut during the summer holidays, told everything about her romantic summer with Alison. Alison added comments here and there, but most of the time she was just sitting next to Clary, a wide smirk on her lips.

Emily, who had been spending most of her summer traveling with her sister, Alice, and her twin brother, Jacob, admitted that she too had had a summer romance. Whilst their stay in France, Emily had met a French guy called Léo Garnier. They had gone on romantic dates in small local cafés in Paris and watched the sunsets by the Seine.

Even though Mary was happy that her friends had had a romance-filled summer, even if Emily's lasted only a couple of weeks, talking about all the romantic things they had done during the summer, made her feel rather miserable. Not only had she been unable to see Severus the entire summer, but she also couldn't talk about it with anyone. Just when Mary was about to lose her mind, her saviours barged through the door, bringing exciting news with them.

"Hello, hello, how was everyone's summer?" said Fred Weasley, a peculiarly mischievous smile on his lips. And that was something to say, as it was Fred Weasley, the King of Mischievous, in question.

"Alright, alright, save your summer romances for later. We have news", continued George Weasley.

"Big news", said Fred.

"The biggest news you have ever heard", said George.

"Probably", they added in unison.

Alison, who had just given space for George to sit down next to her and Clary, rolled her dark blue eyes and clapped her hands.

"Alright then, let's hear it", she said. Fred and George exchanged wicked looks before turning their eyes back to the girls.

"Guess who we just saw", said Fred.

"And who is coming to Hogwarts", added George.

Mary looked at Emily, who shrugged, clearly having no idea what the twins were talking about.

"Who?" asked Clary. At this point, she was already sitting on Alison's lap.

"The one and only", started Fred Weasley.

"The only one", continued George Weasley.

"The boy", said Fred.

"The boy who lived", added George.

"Harry Potter", they finished in unison.

Mary, Clary, Alison, and Emily stared at Fred and George with open mouth, eyes as big as a dinner plate. They weren't sure if the boys were serious or were they just pulling another prank on them.

"Are you serious?" Asked Emily, still staring at the boys in disbelief. Mary thought that they would admit that they were just joking, but to Mary's surprise, the boys nodded.

"Of course we are!" they said simultaneously, pretending to be offended by Emily's words. That caused all of them to burst out laughing.

"We saw him", Fred started explaining.

"He was wandering around between the platforms nine and ten. He had no idea how to get on the platform 9 ¾. Luckily, he noticed us and asked help from mum."

By the time the boys had finished their story, Mary had done the math and if there was any trust in her head, Harry Potter would indeed be eleven now. She blinked her eyes and shook her head. It was unbelievable. Harry Potter, at Hogwarts. Wow.

"Wait, did you say he was alone?" asked Emily, worry sparking in her blue-green eyes. Fred and George nodded, not understanding why Emily seemed so worried.

"That's kind of sad, don't you think. I mean, he's only eleven", explained Emily.

Mary hadn't even thought of that. An eleven-year-old boy, all alone at the King's Cross Station. And not to mention, Harry Potter wasn't exactly just any other eleven-year-old boy. He was Harry Potter. Sure, the Dark Lord had fallen, but Mary didn't believe that all the Death Eaters were gone. What if one of them would've gotten their hands on Harry?

"Mary? Hello?" said Clary, who was poking at Mary's shoulder with her finger. At least this time it wasn't a fork.

"What? Sorry, I zoned out", Mary said, an embarrassed tone within her voice.

"No worries. I was just asking about your summer", said Clary, who had a witty smile on her lips. She had quite obviously read Mary's mind about her not having a fork in hand.

"Don't worry, I'll get my hands on a fork soon enough", she giggled. Mary rolled her eyes and started telling her friends all about the new gigantic estate she was living in with Uncle Theodore, Mathéo and the other servants.

"Wait, you have servants?" blurted Alison, who wasn't as familiar with Mary's family's past as the others were.

"Sure they do!" said Clary, turning her blue-grey eyes to her girlfriend's dark blue ones. "Mary's family is super rich! I mean, her parents were aurors, her uncle is some kind of minister, and her grandparents were-"

"Alright, Clary, I think that's enough for now", Mary giggled, a burning red of embarrassment climbing up her cheeks. She knew Fred and George's family wasn't exactly wealthy, so talking about her family and how rich they were around Fred and George, made her feel rather exposed and embarrassed.

"Oh, okay then. Sorry", mumbled Clary, who clearly didn't understand why Mary didn't want to talk about financial matters in the presence of Fred and George.