The last time he had seen Hogwarts, it had been in ruins. It was hard not to shudder as remembered how far Voldemort would go to destroy both of their childhood homes. Their sailing through the lake in the rain had left everyone drenched. Apart from Severus, of course. He debated over drying Lily, but thought it looked suspicious. He shouldn't know any spells, let alone any that were non-verbal, or wandless.
Lily and Lupin chattered incessantly the whole way down the aisle of the Great Hall. Severus had forgotten how annoying first-years were, and if he had been irritated by their stupidity the first time round, he was furious now. The rip around the brim of his old friend, the Sorting Hat, opened, and it began to sing.
*
Dumbledore's POV
Dumbledore was ready with his notebook. It had been a habit of his, like Slughorn, to remember the names of students who were above decent and file them away for future use. Recently, given the war raging, he had taken to bringing a notebook to the Sorting Ceremony, to write down the names of prospective Order members, and their houses. No good having a Slytherin, he thought. Glancing idly at the crowd, he began searching for the good ones.
There was James Potter, whose father he knew well. Remus Lupin, with his... furry situation. Frank Longbottom, whom he hoped to be as brave as his mother Augusta. And yet, there was someone who he didn't know, who stood out like a sore thumb. A handsome boy with dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, looking too much like Tom Riddle. Little did Dumbledore know that Severus had, in fact, vanished from the compartment on the train for a bit to perform a cleansing charm on his hair and used Episkey on his nose.
The first time round, Severus hadn't known to fix his broken nose after a spurt of rage from his father, and when he'd thought about it, ten years later, it wouldn't budge. He turned out to be a striking figure without the hooked nose and, for a moment, Dumbledore believed that Voldemort may have had a child. But Tom Riddle hadn't had eyes this dark; his had been, strangely, a warm, chocolatey brown. Also, Severus' hair had only been greasy due to a nasty curse that Sirius Black had procured from Bellatrix and proceeded to use on him.
Severus stood tall, and his head was a good way above the others, as he held himself well. His robes were decent (having been quickly transfigured on the train) and he was dry, despite how wet the others were. But what interested Dumbledore was the boy's eyes.
Typically, there was no such thing as black eyes. However, Dumbledore had been researching a certain branch of dark magic called Occlumency and about whether it could be a condition from birth, instead of an ability. Certain wizards reckoned that it was a possibility, and that there were aspects that came from this condition. For one, that person would seem withdrawn, and would obviously be hard-pushed to socialise. They wouldn't have many emotions. Their immune system would constantly fail, as withdrawn persons tend to lose their sense of hygiene, and self-care. And lastly, which made his heart beat with excitement, sometimes the darkness that came with this condition had been theorised to turn the eyes black.
He watched until the last dregs of the students were to be sorted, and finally, the boy stepped forwards, the last in line to be sorted. It turned out his name was Severus Snape, son of the anti-social Eileen. He wasn't far wrong. This boy could be a born Occlumens. If only he looked up! The Sorting Hat was placed on the boy's head, and the air was tense for quite a few moments. It was taking a lot longer than a usual Sorting.
"Ravenclaw!" Was eventually shouted, and the boy stood up very gracefully. He paused for a moment, and slowly turned, locking eyes with the Headmaster. Dumbledore broke away first, to his embarrassment, forced away by those cold eyes, and spent a moment trying to breathe again. Those eyes had stopped his brain, and he hadn't a clue what the boy had been thinking. Then Severus Snape continued on, oblivious to his name being scribbled away in a tattered old notebook, stored with other hopefuls.
*
Severus had done a good job of pretending innocence, he knew. Other than firmly pushing Dumbledore mentally away and showing his obvious Occlumency, he hadn't let slip any details. Lily had, not to his surprise, been Sorted into Gryffindor, but Lupin, Severus guessed because of his and Lily's discussions on the train, was in Ravenclaw, with him. Severus' first action was to roll his eyes at Lupin sat opposite. His short legs didn't quite reach the floor, in contrast to his adult self, who dwarfed all but Dumbledore and Hagrid. After that, he sat and felt dazed.
Whether it was performing conscious Occlumency at such a young physical age, or confronting Dumbledore in life, he was beginning to feel the after-effects. He could remember fainting or passing out many times in his old life, and he hoped to whichever God that was listening that his mind wouldn't overload again. That would not do. It had been highly painful in his sixth year.
He ate very little, very sullenly, and though Lupin made small talk, Severus remained mostly silent. He was feeling queasy, and rather like the first time, Severus hated all the sweet food. He quickly Vanished the food when no-one was looking, except Lupin of course. Lupin raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'why?' Severus leant forwards. Lupin leant back, intimidated like his students had always been.
"I'm not from a wealthy family, Lupin. I hate sweet things anyway. But this," he gestured at the mounds of horrifying sugary food, "is torture."
"It's not half bad," Lupin spoke through a mouthful of food.
"No," Severus leant back again. "But it's not me."
He refrained from looking at Dumbledore again, or any of his former friends; Minerva, Filius, Poppy, Pomona, Argus, Rubeus, Rolanda, or Silvanus. Also, Aurora hadn't started yet, and so perhaps she wouldn't have a hopeless crush on him like last time which caused him profuse embarrassment. He had sent Charity Burbage to an early death, and although she hadn't started yet, he was the cause of many other of his colleagues' grief. The death of Albus Dumbledore had shocked all of them. But they had gone to his funeral. Even Minerva, his dearest friend, who he thought had never forgiven him. And Poppy, whose trust had never been misplaced.
At last, the feast ended, and Dumbledore made his speech.
"As you know, but the first-years do not, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden," Dumbledore smiled benignly. It made Severus want to vomit. "Also, no magic between lessons in the corridors; we don't want any injuries!"
Oblivious to Dumbledore's continuation, Lupin moved towards Severus.
"Are you alright, Severus? You look extremely pale," he murmured worriedly.
Severus snorted. How would Lupin feel if he saw his friends reincarnated in a second life? "I'm fine Lupin, thank you for worrying about my well-being." He could never believe in genuine sympathy; he'd always rebuffed any attempts Dumbledore made to be kind, despite knowing, deep down, that he craved the attentions of his guardian.
"I'm serious," Lupin insisted, and he wasn't smiling. "I could tell someone, take you to the nurse."
Severus stood to follow some generation of Clearwater to the Common Room and regretted taking Lupin up on his offer. He had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other but Lupin, perhaps noticing, had taken to hovering at his shoulder, intent on being the white knight if Severus collapsed.
Ravenclaw Tower was taller than Severus remembered. His young body struggled to climb the steep spiral staircase and, once, he had to stop to steady himself. They arrived at the entry to the Ravenclaw Common Room, which had always intrigued Severus as a professor, and Clearwater turned to give them a brief overview of Ravenclaw before going in. Severus knew most of it anyway, and partly tuned out.
"Ravenclaw was founded by Rowena Ravenclaw, who possessed the legendary lost diadem of knowledge and wisdom. Our house ghost is referred to as the Grey Lady, and she only deigns to speak to us Ravenclaws. To expect entry to the common room, you must answer the sphinx whose memory is contained within the door. That is why we are Ravenclaws." The Prefect smiled round like a younger Dumbledore. "'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure'..."
Eventually, Clearwater answered the sphinx, and they entered to the empty, yet resplendent, room that was Ravenclaw's. It was wide and circular, with arched windows giving a great view to the surrounding mountains. The drapes on the walls were made of blue and bronze silks and, above, the ceiling was domed and painted with stars. There were tables, chairs and bookcases, and then there was the niche with the bust of Rowena Ravenclaw, directly next to the door which led to the dormitories.
Severus knew that there was a tiara fixed on her marble hair and those iconic words of hers engraved upon her regal bust. Just seeing it reminded him of the Battle of Hogwarts, and it didn't help. He turned away to receive Lupin's inquiring face. Severus turned his back on both the statue and Remus, knowing far too well that he wouldn't be able to escape the boy that much with childishly retreating to their dormitory, but he tried anyway.
Severus changed, as he always had, behind his four-poster's drapes, and then, after studiously unpacking, took up a pensive position on the window seat of the window just by his bed, which was the furthest from any human contact. He heard Lupin yawn contently and slump onto his pillows, and listened as his other three housemates did the same. At some point he'd have to ask their names.
"Severus?" A tentative voice asked. Severus didn't bother even turning round to face the irksome Lupin. "Are you planning on going to bed any time soon?"
"No," Severus said shortly. Not even Lily had ever known of his insomnia, a condition he'd had since Tobias Snape began being an alcoholic and coming home late to beat him into unconsciousness, and continuing when he entered the stressful life of a teacher. His insomnia was comorbid, meaning it was linked to his past depression; firstly from Tobias, and secondly, with more severity, from knowing that he had been the direct cause of Lily's death.
Suddenly, a shadow was cast over him. Remus had silently come over to the window, and with Severus deep in his morbid thoughts, hadn't been heard. The boy sat opposite him on the window seat.
"Are you feeling better?" Remus asked quietly. "From earlier?"
"Even if I was, I wouldn't care to enlighten you with my answer," Severus replied.
"You can at least try to be nice," Lupin said, obviously more than a little hurt.
"Fine," Severus sighed. The other three were asleep, and it wouldn't really hurt to tell him. Lupin had a code of honour, unlike Potter and Black. And the traitor Pettigrew. "I suffer from insomnia, due to a current family... issue. It's comorbid," he added, knowing that Lupin wouldn't know of the word. Or so he hoped.
"That means it's related to another condition, doesn't it?" Lupin questioned softly. He was far more caring that he'd seemed last time.
"Maybe."
That was the last they spoke, and Severus eventually fell asleep where he was. Remus Lupin never left his side.