Chapter 1
Severus Snape steps off of the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9¾ after an excited Ravenclaw with the little luggage he had brought to Hogwarts in hand. He’s never put them in the train storage for 2 reasons. Number one is that he cannot see his belongings, therefore he does not trust that they are safe and secure, and number two is that his trunk was small enough that there was no reason to.
As he steps onto the crowded platform he looks around and locks eyes with the Evans family matriarch. He maintains eye contact with Rose Evans, frozen in time for what seems like hours until he sees her start to move towards him. He tears his eyes away from her and pivots on his heel just as he hears "Severus" in a warm and excited voice. He walks as fast as he can down the platform without it seeming like he was trying to run away from her.
He gets away from the Platform and wanders around the magical part of Kings Cross. He asked the House Elves to make him a sandwich out of the roast from the lunch that was served before everyone boarded the train, but they insisted on making him a sampler of the entire buffet, so now he has a shrunken-down buffet platter that has an 8-hour timer with anti-spill and heating charms tucked safely in his trouser pocket. He makes his way outside and stands at the Knight Bus depot to wait. Cokeworth is in the British Midlands which is at least 100 miles from Kings Cross. When he was still friends with Lily the ride from Kings Cross to Cokeworth was at least 3 hours by car so he didn't even want to imagine the walk.
The Knight bus arrived with a jerk and Severus dug in his pocket for the change pouch Madam Pomfrey had given him for the potions he brewed this year. He counted up the coins about 10 times on the train and he had 10 galleons 23 sicles and 7 knuts coming out to 56 pounds and 84 pence. She was the only one in Hogwarts that knew about his home life after the annual check-up that was issued at the beginning of each term. He had the purse in his hand when the doors swung open and a man stepped into the doorway. "11 sickles for fare, 13 for fare and a steaming cup of hot chocolate, and 15 for fare a toothbrush and a bottle of water hot or cold. Please have your money and destination ready before you get on the bus" the conductor shouts. Severus scrambles to get 15 sickles out of the pouch and into his hand. He advances in line and the conductor has a camera-looking device hanging around his neck. "Where abouts are you going?" the scraggly man asks. "The Midlands" Severus replies. "Where in the Midlands young man" the conductor stresses sounding annoyed. "Cokeworth" Severus replies sounding just as annoyed. The conductor holds out a sack and asks Severus what fare package he's getting. Severus replies "the one that's 15 sickles" and puts the sickles in the pouch. The tall man grabbes a pouch out of a bag behind him and hands it to Severus. "On your way then lad feel free to pick any bed on the first floor or compartment on the upper floors." the conductor shoos.
Severus decides that the third level would be the least occupied. He started up the winding stairs to the second then the third floor and picked the forward-most compartment. He lays his trunk down and checks the timer on his platter. It reads '3 hours and 37 minutes' and he sighs and resigns himself to the fact that he will have to wait till he gets home to eat. He sits down in his seat and latches his door closed. He's moving his trunk onto the seat beside him when a scroll pops in and falls on the ground. He puts his trunk on the seat and bends down to pick up the scroll. He sits back in his seat and is about to open the scroll when he jolts in his seat and he hears stuff banging around. He opens the curtain on the window and sees that everything is flying past his eyes. He gets a little queasy and lets go of the curtain clutched in his fist. He moves his head back to the scroll and sees the stops in between Kings Cross and Cokeworth and bolded letters that say 'Estimated Arrival Time 5:00'. He looks at the small clock in his compartment and it reads '4:33'. 30 minutes.
30 minutes till he's back to his life in Spinner's End. Nasty, grimy, gloomy Spinner's End. Spinner's End with Tobias an abusive drunkard, and Eileen a prideful pushover. A man too drunk to think and a woman too prideful to run. Severus sat stewing in his griefs about his life and his thoughts eventually drifted to Hogwarts. Every young witch and wizard's dream is to go to Hogwarts. The greatest school of magic in the world.
A school of magic with bullies and death eaters. A school of magic where a slip of tongue in a dark corridor can get someone killed.
A school of magic where having friends in a different house can get you hung upside down and pantsed.
A school of magic where if you're in Slytherin you're slimy, dark, and untrustable.
A school of magic where if you're in Hufflepuff you're kind, weak, and dumb.
A school of magic where if you're a Ravenclaw you're a nerd, know-it-all, and snotty.
A school of magic where if you're in Gryffindor you're brave, honest, and can do no wrong.
A school of magic that if you're not decked in red and gold might as well not be decked at all.
Severus knew Hogwarts could only get worse for him. He had no friends, no money, and no power. He was a Slytherin and a poor half-blood. He decided then and there, on a bus that was going about 100 miles per hour in a random place in Great Britain that he couldn't take it anymore. He had to leave.