Disclaimer: I, sadly, don't own anything recognisable from Harry Potter.
I would like to thank my friends. Michaela and Mercedes for spell checking this story for me and for helping me come up with a title! You guys are awesome!
Takes place after the second book. Nearly everything that happened in the first two books will have happened in this story. However some characters may be changed a little and have a different past.
Severus Snape walked through the forbidden forest. Alone. The silence calmed him. Back at the castle all the students were doing their last minute packing before they got back on the train and headed home for the summer holidays. He was glad they were all going home, sometimes being surrounded by hundreds of students could be a real pain. He stepped over fallen trees and through bushes looking for any herbs or fungi for his potions work while he thought about the upcoming quietness the castle underwent once the students were gone. He could spend his days in his private lab and not have to teach potions to any dim witted students, like Neville Longbottom. Or deal with any know-it-all's like Hermione Granger. Or deal with Harry Potter. From the moment Severus laid eyes on Harry he disliked him. It wasn't because Harry was like his father as everyone thought. It was because seeing the child's green eyes; Lily's eyes reminded him of what he lost. And Harry's recent heroics within the Chamber Of Secrets didn't impress him much either. Part of him wanted Harry to have lived his whole life as a muggle. Then Severus wouldn't have to see him. But Snape knew Petunia. The boy wouldn't have been happy there. For a minute Severus was left wondering what his life would be like if he had a child. Then he remembered how much they could annoy him and he figured it was best he didn't have a kid. Besides, he would need a woman patient enough to put up with him, and the only woman he had ever wanted was Lily Evans.
His thoughts depressing him, he continued walking. Listening to the odd call of a bird and the snap of twigs under his feet he reveled in the silence once more. Sunlight dancing between the trees was abruptly interrupted by a massive shadow passing over. He glanced up to see two powerful gray back legs and a long spiked tail passing over the trees. He didn't need to see the rest to work out that it was a dragon. Though what a dragon was doing flying freely over Hogwarts, Snape had no idea. A snapping sound bought him back into reality and he strained his eyes to see what was there. Heart pounding, he drew his wand and cautiously took a few steps forward. Paranoia set in and for a moment he thought the snapping of tree branches was the sound of the dragon landing. He shook his head as he smirked. A dragon landing in the forest would break more than a few branches. More confident now he strode forward into the clearing.
To the far side lay some object. It resembled a small girl, but Severus couldn't work out why a girl would be falling from the sky. He moved closer, discovering it really was a girl. He could make out her long silvery blond hair tangled with leaves, twigs and dirt covering the ground like a fan. She had landed on her side and had her back to him. He took his eyes away from her hair and noted her pale pink dress and the long iridescent wings peeking out between her hair, coming out of her shoulder blades and blowing gently in the breeze. He moved closer once more and down to her level. There was no way she could be alive. Something had taken off half of one wing; her neck, arms and one leg lay at funny angles indicating a lot of broken bones. He glanced up wondering if the one to do such damage was the dragon. An uncontrollable urge grabbed him and he went to brush the hair away from her face and see what she looked like. He began to move but the fluttering of her eyelids made him shift backwards in shock. She couldn't be alive. Her injuries were too severe. He glanced down at her bare leg and watched in disbelief as he leg shifted, the break corrected itself and all the scrapes covered themselves. Her arms followed suit and then her head moved.
The angle changed and shifted until her head was at a more realistic angle. Severus couldn't believe his eyes. This small girl had just healed herself! He estimated her to be about 12 years but she wasn't exactly human, so he couldn't be entirely sure. Checking she wasn't watching he cast a quick diagnosis spell. She was unconscious, all the breaks and scrapes had fully healed. After a quick internal argument he decided to carry her back to Hogwarts. If need be, they could always remove any memories about Hogwarts. He went to pick her up before he realised she had wings. Wondering if it would be easier to float her he glanced down and watched her wings shimmer and then disappear completely. Two small tattoos appeared where the wings had come from on her back. If he didn't know better he would say her wings just 'absorbed' into her back. She now looked more like a human. He scooped her up and nearly dropped her in surprise. She couldn't have weighed more than 40 pounds.
He walked as quickly as he could, not wanting to drop the girl, to whom he already was caring for, even though he had never seen her before. Something about her seemed familiar though. As he left the forest and headed toward the castle he failed to notice Hagrid standing in the pumpkin patch watching him. Hagrid eyed Snape cautiously, glancing toward the bundle in his arms. Eyes opening in shock, Hagrid quickly realised Snape held a girl in his arms. Thinking it to be a student, Hagrid headed up to the castle as well.
As Severus stepped up the stairs into the castle Minerva McGonagall came out, gasping as she noticed the child he carefully held.
"Get her up to Poppy." She turned back to the students behind her "Everyone, move out of the way. Now please. This includes you Mr. Malfoy." She nearly snapped at the blond boy who was trying to see what Professor Snape was doing.
"Was...was that a student?" Neville squeaked. Unlike most of the other students he had seen the girl as Snape rushed her toward the hospital wing.
"I'm sure everything will be okay. Now everyone, into the carriages please." She watched as the students got onto their rides to head back to the Hogwarts express. Once the carriages began to leave she too headed up the stairs to the hospital wing to check out the strange girl, who Minerva instantly realised wasn't a Hogwarts student.
Next chapter will be up within the next three days, depending on my internet connection.
Reviews would be appreciated! Feel free to tell me what you think, and suggest any ideas.