Chapter Text
As you finished packing up, you looked around your empty dorm and sighed. Everyone else had already made their way to the train, but you wanted to stay as long you could as you’d never felt more at home than at Hogwarts. Every year you had trouble letting go, but this year, you actually had someone you didn’t want to say goodbye to which made packing up so much worse. Each book, each article of clothing you tucked away, cut at your joy as the reality of spending the summer away from Hogwarts, from Severus, sunk in.
You closed the door to the dorm and made your way to the Entrance Hall where your eyes immediately began searching for Severus. You spotted a group of Slytherins and recognized Avery and Mulciber but noticed that Severus wasn’t with them as he usually would be. Peering behind them, you saw a few more groups and began noticing how rare it was to find friends from different houses huddled together. There were the occasional pair or group of three that contained more than one house, but most groups were very segregated, divided between houses. As your eyes continued lingering over the other students, you also realized there were never any Slytherins and Gryffindors interacting with one another. Sure, there was that one group with a Hufflepuff between them, but as they were first years, you suspected they wouldn’t stay friends for very long.
“Looking for something?” you jumped as heard someone approach you from behind.
“Blimey Severus!” you said as you turned around. “You scared me!”
He smirked at you before he noticed your old beat up suitcase. His eyes lingered on the tears and worn out leather.
“It belonged to one of the older kids at the orphanage. It’s used, but it works,” you said noticing the curiosity across his face.
He nodded in understanding before gesturing to the carriages, asking you to join him to which you gladly accepted. You made small talk with one another before finally settling into a compartment on the train.
Severus noticed you had a longing look on your face, but it was you who asked him the question he had on his mind.
“Disappointed that we’re leaving?” you asked, realizing he looked more gloomy than usual.
“Not particularly excited to go back home,” he said calmly, his eyes trailing the ground.
“Neither am I,” you said as you gazed out the window, saying goodbye to the only place you felt safe and comfortable.
“What’s it like?” he asked, “At the orphanage I mean.” He wondered at times if he would be better off having no parents at all than having parents who constantly fight and a father who was always so angry.
“Lonely,” you said with a frown, thinking about all the years you spent with no friends, no company, no one who understood you. As you looked back at Severus, you gave him a little smile, thankful that you had him in your life.
“What about you? What’s it like living in a magical household?” you asked curiously, wanting to talk about something else.
“I don’t” he mumbled as he shrugged and turned away from you. Realizing he had no interest in sharing his personal life with you, you quickly changed to topic.
“Any plans for the summer?” you asked quickly, hoping he wasn’t upset by your previous question.
“Not really,” he said. “What about you?”
You went on to tell him about how you wanted to try and acquire a certain book that had recently come out earlier that year and how excited you were to read it. You chatted with one another the whole way back to London and when the train stopped, neither of you wanted to leave the compartment. By the time you finally decided it time to leave the train, everyone else was already on the platform, eagerly greeting their family.
“My mum’s over there,” Severus said as he pointed to the end of the platform. You didn’t even look where he was pointing as you were too busy memorizing the details of his face. You gave him a small smile before saying goodbye.
“I’ll see you in September,” you said.
“See, you,” he replied as you watched him drag his feet towards his mother.