Chapter One

I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. If I did...well...I think I'd be rolling around in money right now. ;)

...water...surrounded by open water...Lily was having the dream again...

The wind whipped her hair from her face...she was on the edge of a huge ship, about one step from the edge...one small step away from death...one step...

She felt something small clasped tightly in her hand...but she couldn't see it...she couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrible man in front of her...

His face...his face was all she could look at...all she could stare at...skin so pale and stretched it was more like a skull...with blue spidery veins about to pop...he was screaming...

Screaming for something...his voice was muffled...so very muffled...she felt herself smile...why was she smiling?...She murmered something inaudible which was met with an ear-piercing scream...for some reason, she felt an euphoric rush hearing him shriek...

One last fleeting thought...no more time left...she felt her foot move back from the ledge...it was an odd solace...

...and then she fell...hearing a scream that was not her own...feeling herself hit the water, sinking like a stone...feeling her breath leave her...

A flash of green... and then she was...

"Mi'lady? Mi'lady!"

Lady Lily Mudblood groggily opened her eyes from yet another bad dream.'Third one this week,' she thought as her eyes fixed on her handmaid, Jane Evans, opening her curtains.

"Mi'lady, the sun's up-time to awaken!" Jane said brightly. "Tis' a big day today!"

Lily groaned and threw herself out of bed with a loud thump; she really hated getting up early. "Miss Evans, whatever are you talking about? I don't understand-I don't recall having any major events today," Lily inquired, heaving herself from the floor.

Jane giggled. "Why Mi'lady-today is the launch of the Silver Doe's maiden voyage!" Jane squealed and danced on the spot, as Lily froze.

'Oh God no,' Lily thought. She had to ask Jane. She really had to.

"Ah, will Severus be there?" Lily asked 'casually', trying with all her heart to hide any traces of revolt from her voice.

"Master Snape will of course be there," Jane corrected, not noticing Lily's feeble attempt to cover up her disgust. "Now, let's get you all dressed up; we want you looking like a lady rather than the rowdy hooligan you act like! Now, now-don't rule your pretty green eyes with a frown!"

Lily scowled, standing completely still as Jane painfully tightened a corset around her waist. She felt her eyes begin to water as the pain increased ten-fold, which was not helped by Jane's constant, useless chattering.

"T'will be nice to see Master Snape again, won't it Mi'lady? What has it been-three years now? Goodness, how time flies!" Lily grited her teeth together, as Jane rambled on. "I hear he's a captain of his own ship-imagine, his very own ship! How incredible! And he has so many other qualities. I mean he's so..." Jane stopped and actually looked puzzled over Snape's lack of good qualities. Lily wondered how she could she have time to breath while she talked; it was like her mouth had a mind of its own. "Well, he's so...so...I mean...well yes...and he's filthy rich too!"

Lily grimanced. Trust Jane to think money is more important than any other quality-just like Lily's father. She, however, hated nothing more than the 'dignified' and 'glorified' Captain Severus Snape. Arogant, stubborn and spiteful-he was everything she scorned and more. It really was a shame that her father thought he was the 'pride of this country's young populance."

It really was a tragedy that her father was a complete fool.

"It gives me great pleasure to represent the Ministry in wishing Captain Severus Snape of the Silver Doe many good wishes on his maiden voyage. Bon voyage!"

The crowd went wild as Captain Snape, a well-known, greasy haired officer of the Royal Shipping Ministry, rose to the podium, bowing and flashing a fake smile.

Lily stood at the back of the crowd, away from her family and, as a result, away from Snape. Her face was twisted with contempt and amusement as Snape, with sincerity, proclaimed what an honour it was, blah,blah,blah.

"Not a very nice bloke he is, is he now?"

Lily whirled around to find an old man staring at Snape, with a face masked with amusement. At first, she thought he was talking to himself-maybe he was one of the mad men from the workhouses down the street-but then he turned and studied her face.

"Ice is drawn to fire; fire to darkness; darkness to silence, is it not?"*

The man had a long, greying beard and bright blue eyes covered with half-moon specticales. He was dressed head to toe with a cloak and a large hat fitted to his head; on top of that, he looked absolutely impossible to age-he could have been fifty or a hundred. The man was like something out of Lily's adventure books; like a wise old wizard who would give advice and hard-earned lessons to the reluctant hero and would help them on their perilous journey.

One question burned brighter in Lily's mind then any other:

"Why are you wearing a cloak? It's the hottest day of the year."

The man grinned. "To hid all my secrets, of course, my dear." Simply delighted that he had bamboozled her yet again, he moved closer and for a split second, Lily forgot the obnoxious Severus Snape and her annoyingly tight and flouncy dress. He came so close that she could almost smell the alcohol reeking in his breath. One word came to her mind.

Pirate.

She shook herself mentally. Pirates were too scared to come into these parts.

He came up to her so that their noses were almost touching. "We don't want those Death Eaters to get inside m'head and turn it into butterbeer, now do we?" He stared at her for a moment, then lowered his voice and said: "Do you crave a bit of exciement, m'dear?"

Lily was frozen; she didn't know what to say. Then she felt her head nod up and down, almost involuntarily.

He smiled, showing off yellowing, rotten teeth. "T'was hoping you'd say that, Miss." He took her hand and held out her palm to the sky, lowering a green jewelled necklace into her hand. "T' is the Nagini jewel; t' is very precious to me, but also to some very malevolent men. Take care of it, Lily. And forget you ever saw me. For now." He turned to leave, then spun back on his heel. "Oh and remember; never trust a man with a turban."

And with that, the blue eyed man whirled around and walked away,whistling to himself, leaving Lily gobsmacked and with a very expensive gift in her hand. Then it hit her.

"How did you know my name? Hey you! SIR!"

"Lily why are you calling after that beggar scum? You're better than that."

Lily scowled at the stench of grease and sour milk. She did not need to turn around to know who it was.

"That is my private business, Severus, so stop sticking your nose into it," she stated calmly, as she hid the necklace in her dress pocket and proceeded to walk away, when Snape grabbed her hand.

"If I may be so bold, Mi'lady; could I escort you to the deck?"

With reluctance, Lily followed Snape onto the Silver Doe and its deck. Snape looked nervous; his usually controlled face was beaded with sweat and he kept wiping his hands on his uniform. Lily let her mind wander and think of more important things-such as the heavy green jewel in her pocket-as Snape began a speech.

"Lily; I've been wanting to ask you something for a long time now, but the timing never seemed right. You see, I've been thinking..."

Lily couldn't resist: "It's about time you used that thing on the top of your neck. It's called a head, remember?"

Snape ignored the jibe and continued. "...well, we've been friends for a long while now, right?"

"Friends is not the word I would use Severus..."

"Me too, Lily..." Snape mumbled, blushing a deep red.

"...you're more like an annoying little dog that follows me places," Lily finished, not hearing Snape. Her dress was really annoying her now; it kept tripping her up as she paced along the deck.

Snape turned a more violent shade of red. "So I guess you're still mad about the Triwizard festival then," Snape said, phrasing it more like a statement then a question.

"OF COURSE I'M MAD SEVERUS! You had no right to make fun of me-you or your silly little friends," Lily exploded, turning to face Snape. "You have no respect for me whatsoever! Is that how you treat your friends?"

"Lily, you don't understand," Snape pleaded, hating her fiery nature at that moment. "Mulciber and Avery have more influence in the Ministry; they're men and your just a wo..."

A loud, painful slap struck Severus across the face, cutting him off mid-sentence. He looked at Lily with an extremely hurt expression, while Lily looked enraged. "How dare you talk to me like I am nothing, Severus Snape. I may be a woman, but I am a Lady, and your superior. The title demands respect, as do I, which you have not given me and probably never will," Lily seethed, barely containing her composure. "Good day to you, sir."

Lily began to stomp away, when Snape grabbed her hand.

"Lily...wait..."

He desperately and roughly pulled her back and Lily found herself tripping over her overly fancy dress. With a strangled cry, she flew backwards over the edge of the ship, not feeling the comfort or the rush she had felt in her dream. But she did hear Severus scream her name as she plunged into the dark, murky water below.

As soon as she hit the water, her dress began to drag her down; like it weighed an extra twenty pounds. She tried to claw her way back to the surface, but failed as the seawater engulfed her.

Water began to fill her lungs as she struggled weakily against the current and soon her muscles surrendered to the mercilous tide. The last thing she felt was a pulse of malevolent energy bellowed out from her pocket as she let the water spirit her away...

Albus Dumbledore was walking through a market in the bustling town of Holyhead, looking for knitting needles and lemons when he remembered something vitally important.

"Oh Acid Pops! I forgot to tell her to never get it wet!" He began to grin madly, as if suddenly getting a million new thoughts at once. "Hmmm...this could be interesting... I wonder where that dashing boy is now..."

*-I have no idea what this saying is from or who it belongs to. I heard my friend saying it and...it sounded really cool.

R&R !

Ashx