Chapter Text
Miss Lily Evans looked out the window of the Hogwarts Express. It was her first time returning to the muggle world since she became a New Blood. She was simultaneously elated to tell her family of her success, and terrified of how they may react. Her parents may love her, but it is love as a possession, a prize to show off, not as a person. Look at our daughter, our gifted daughter, look how smart, how pretty, how worthy she is, how she makes us worthy too. And her sister-
Her sister Petunia is profoundly envious of Lily for being magical when she is not. She has memories of when she was a small child, before she knew of her magic, where she and Petunia were the best of friends. As time passes, both the memories and their relationship fade. Lily hopes that she and Petunia will be able to repair their relationship in time, but between her near-constant absence to attend Hogwarts and Petunia’s adamant refusal to answer owls, that time has yet to arrive.
Lily had considered, when she had first been recognized, offering to Blood-Adopt her sister over Winter Break. Yet with the current bitterness Petunia held, she could not extend the offer. Blood-Adopting Petunia would create a sibling Bond between them. It would be the first Bond Lily would ever have. She could not abide the possibility of feeling bitterness through their Bond daily, nor the possibility of living in uncertainty of whether they would have repaired their relationship without the offer. She would not live daily doubting whether her sister truly loved Lily, or merely what she had to offer.
She looked towards the door of the compartment when a prefect knocked. She, Marlene, and Severus all rose as Severus opened the door. The prefect bowed politely, and Severus returned it as Lily and Marlene curtsied.
“Mister Prince, Miss McKinnon, Miss Evans. 15 minutes to the station. Do you require any assistance?”
Severus responded for all of them as he declined, and with another round of bows and curtsies the prefect departed, closing the door behind them.
They began to tidy the compartment, packing away games and books and removing the remnant packaging from the trolley. Soon enough, they were pulling into Platform 9 and ¾.
Severus escorted her and Marlene off the train, their trunks behind them. Marlene quickly found her family and departed after a flurry of well-wishes. Severus quietly escorted her through the crowds to the barrier between the platform and Kings Cross. She turned towards him. He clasped her hands, rubbing circles into the backs with his thumbs. It was an intimacy she would only allow him and Marlene, her closest friends.
“The break is only two weeks long,” he reassured. “And if your family responds poorly, or if you simply wish to return to your own world, you can owl myself or Marlene or Lady Malfoy and be retrieved.” Despite having known that before he spoke, Lily felt herself relax at his reassurances. Although she truly hoped her time with her family would pass smoothly, the reminders of support eased her.
She smiled up at him. “Promise to owl me?”
“Of course, every day if you wish.” He swore instantly.
She stepped forward into his arms. The hardest part of every break was leaving him behind. She and Severus had been fast friends from the day they met, introduced by her Sponsoring House, the Vigilant and Most Ancient House of Malfoy. He was her brother in all but blood.
Eventually they stepped back. With a final bow and curtsy, she walked through the barrier.