Alright, my first Harry Potter fic.. Not very good, but it had to be
written. Contains OotP spoilers, but also changes things a bit. Sort of a
spin off of Snape's Worst Memory, from the book, I guess. I suppose it
would mess around with what Harry sees in that chapter, but if that bothers
you, don't bother reading.
I wasn't going to post this up, and just leave the story dormant on my computer, but.. Where's the fun in that? So here it is. I appreciate reviews, and I'll even accept flames. No point in trying to censor the criticisms. I want to know what you people think.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: I've really edited the storyline, here. I've mostly It'll probably change the plot a bit. This is STILL a romance fic, but will stumble into a angsty twist occasionally. I think this is better, but you'll have to tell me.
Disclaimer: Yeah. I own Harry Potter. That's why I'm at Fanfiction.net. Wouldn't you be, if you were J.K. Rowling and could actually put what you wanted to happen into the books?
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I still remember the world
From the eyes of a child
Slowly those feelings
Were clouded by what I know now
Where has my heart gone
An uneven trade for the real world
I want to go back to
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all
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"What's Occlumency? And why do I have to take it?"
Virginia Weasley fingered the tips of her fiery red hair and quirked a brow at Professor Snape looming over her. While most students feared him, Virginia decided for herself that he was more bark than bite, and she knew it infuriated the man.
As for herself, little Ginny Weasley was no longer the epitomy of innocence everyone had once decided her to be. Too long in a chamber of darkness had destroyed her simple outlook on life. At first, she had been only scared. Then she had repressed those bitter memories. But now..
Tom Marvolo Riddle had killed her grasp on a jovial unreality.
She had, for far too long, played off like she was not affected, but as her fifth year had rolled around, she felt her steady hand begin to falter. In a bitter dispute, Draco Malfoy had thrown harsh accusations of what had occurred those many days in the Chamber. And she had lost every bit of resolve she had.
Ron had, of course, payed no attention. Her mother doted about it occassionally, but did not give it too much thought. Her father was never home, not to mention Bill and Charlie. Percy would occasionally write her, but was completely ignorant of the rest of the family. Only Fred and George really brought any happiness to her anymore.
They had quickly picked up on her depression, and had used every means to cheer her up. Their thoughtful jokes on the rest of the family, with the intent of making her smile (it seemed they would do anything to make her smile these days), would amuse her. But, despite the temporary cheerfullness, it wasn't enough.
She needed to deal with the problems, but no one wanted the dirty deed, or really even realized that she wanted to.
She no longer allowed people to call her Ginny, with the exception of Fred and George. It made her feel like a child, but with them, she wished she was again a child. But that was gone with her innocence.
^^^^^^^^^^^
I still remember the sun
Always warm on my back
Somehow it seems colder now
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Harry held no more of her affection. He never payed her much attention, and while she was grateful that he had risked himself to save her life, she almost rather wished he had just left her to die. It would have..
Her thoughts were broken by a harsh clearing of the throat, and she blinked up at the sneering face.
"Please pay attention, Miss Weasley. Five points from Gryffinor. Now, the answer to your question is because the Dark Lord has taken advantage of you in the past, Professor Dumbledore believes it wise, as does one of our sixth years.. Mr. Potter."
Virginia quirked a brow at Snape's obvious disgust at even having to spit out the name, and waited for the professor to explain this new area of magic.
Harry had lost his glamour to her some time ago, and she had moved on with vigor. She had dated a few guys, knowing full well it infuriated her brother Ron, but they all seemed so immature and shallow. She was looking for more.
"Occlumency is a form of magic taught to prevent unwanted presences from entering the mind and interpreting it, such as the Dark Lord or his followers."
She nodded quietly, and watched the peculiar basin resting on his desk, etched with ancient Runes and magics. She had never taken Ancient Runes, but she now vowed to discuss it with Hermione later. She didn't care much for the Head Girl, but it was necessary.
"So, Miss Weasley, these lessons will be taking place in secret. When students return, or when you write, there will be no mention of these lessons to them. They must think you have gone on an academic trip for Christmas, as you were told earlier."
She squirmed under his solid stare and nodded again. Christmas with Professor Snape. It really just couldn't get any better. Actually, it could have been worse. The empty halls of Hogwarts were better than the unbearable cheer of the Burrow. And despite the whispers of this man being a giant bat intent on the sucking of blood, she had to admit that he intrigued her. She had overheard of his dark past from Harry before, and curiousity prodded her.
"It is Christmas break, and it helps that you will not be going home, because the grounds will not be occupied. Dumbledore has sent home every student this time, excluding yourself, as these lessons are of extreme importance, do you understand Miss Weasley?"
"Yes, sir, Professor Snape."
He nodded and, taking the basin gently in his hands, they exited towards the lake, silky smooth voice continuing, making it obvious that she should be very grateful that he has to waste his time with teaching her on his vacation. Not that he really had anywhere else to go..
"These lessons will be taking place outside, until further notice is given. It is better that way, so as you will be used to many things going on around you when you are put into the real situation. Distractions are a major piece in the lack of concentration."
He set down the basin on a large, flat stump by the water. Placing his wand to his greasy black roots, he pulled it away to reveal a strand of loose silver, not unlike spider webbing, and placed the strand into the basin. She stared. Virginia was used to magic, but this was peculiar.
"Now, Miss Weasley, you will clear your mind. Remember, you want to keep me out at all costs."
She nodded, looked rather worried, and retrieved her wand from her robes. She really was grateful, though. The youngest Weasley never, ever wanted Tom to enter her mind and use her for his bitter purposes again. He pointed his wand toward her face and she tried not to look worried. With a toss of her red hair, she prepared herself.
"Legilimens!"
Everything around her swirled about, and she saw visions of things she had thought forgotten.. She was five, crying, when Fred and George had mixed some horrible prank into her stew, making filthy maggots squirm and wriggle out of it.. The first time she had layed eyes on the famous Harry Potter.. She was in the Chamber of Secrets, and Tom Riddle was leering over her..
Suddenly, she shrieked in frightened horror. The dark grounds of the school returned to her sight, just in time to see a spark from her wand miss its target and hit the strange basin, hard. Snape was recoiling from a spell that was enveloping his hand in horrible boils, but that was nothing to what his face looked like when he saw the bowl topple into the lake.
"The Pensiev!"
He made for it, but Virginia beat him to it. She pulled off her socks and shoes, as well as her cloak, and dove in. The icy chill of the winter's water hit her so hard it almost knocked the breath out of her. She was stupid to forget that it was much to cold for a brief swim, in the chill of evening, but better to face that then Snape's wrath. He may be more bark than bite, but when angry enough, his bite was harsh.
Virginia didn't even consider the giant squid, who was currently nowhere in her line of vision. She looked around, kicking her feet swiftly as she scanned the waters below her. It was deep, and she may never find it. A flicker of scale glinted from the corner of her eye, but she paid it no heed. In fact, she was oblivious at the ritual surrounding her.
Merfolk had caught the ethereal memories into their fingers, and were staring at the gossamer strands with a glint of mischievousness. They were performing a strange, ancient magic upon these memoirs, a form older than any living man would remember. And as Virginia finally grasped the rim of the Pensiev, they wrapped the strands of now enchanted memory around her nearly sixteen-year-old body.
Sudden light and warmth streamed through the waters of the lake, and as Virgnia surfaced, she flipped her dripping hair, now glinting a blinding red in the sunlight, over her head and glanced around.
Something was so very wrong. Students were everywhere. And it was apparently an afternoon in spring. How long had she been down there? A few girls, feet brushing the surface of the water, looked surprised as she sprung out of the glistening water, and she acted as if nothing were peculiar as she climbed out of the lake, her shock moving the thing Snape had called a Pensiev out of her mind.
As she began to examine the students around, she noticed they were all Hogwarts students, but none she could recognize. She began to approach a group of four guys under a tree, when a strange resemblance struck her. That boy, playing with the Snitch.. Harry was back? Well, it was spring, why shouldn't he be? But who were those other boys? Where was Ron and Hermione?
She made to approach them, when suddenly Harry, along with his friend, who looked oddly familiar, got up and smirked, calling out to a lone Slytherin. Even the boy reading by the tree Harry had previously occupied was familiar, though the excited, porky one held no resemblance to anyone she knew.
"All right, Snivellus?"
She watched the one addressed as his expression was one of such shock as he pulled out his wand, dropping all his books.
Harry, with a mirthful grin shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and the boy's wand flew away from him; the spell was soon followed by "Impedimenta!" which sent the raven-haired Slytherin to the ground panting. She had never known Harry to be so.. cruel. What had changed since she had been in those waters?
Virginia now caught a good sight of the grounded boy's face, and was shocked as she realized who he resembled.
"Snape?" she breathed, shocked. This man looked almost identical to her Potions Master, but years younger, likely around the age of fifteen or sixteen. It couldn't be him, so why shouldn't she help him? Even if it had been Snape, it wouldn't have been right to let Harry just treat him like that, for no apparent reason. She blinked and rushed to help the fallen boy. Something about this day just felt.. wrong.
She bent on one knee next to him, much to the shock of those watching. Laying a hand cautiously on his shoulder, after all she did not even know this boy, she peered at his stricken face. Did Snape have a son? She couldn't help but admit she was a bit surprised.
"Are you all right?"
He looked up at her, first with surprise, then with suspicion. He pushed himself up and stared at her, obviously trying to place a name with a face. Even the mannerisms where the same
"Do I know you?"
She blinked, and then ran her fingers through her quickly drying red hair. Did she? If Professor Snape did indeed have a son, she was sure she had never met him. Finally, she shook her head.
"Ah, no. I'm Virginia Weasley. And you?"
He still looked at her with suspicion, but, ignoring her offered hand, he sneered, looking almost angry.
"Severus. Severus Snape."
She blinked. Even his father's name? This was far too strange. Apparently, from her next words, her stuttering surprise was one trait not stolen from her by Riddle.
"Se-Severus Snape? Are you.. Were you named for you father? Or.. maybe a relative?"
He looked at her as if she were the strangest creature he had ever layed eyes on. This girl seemed outright mad. She was talking to him, for one, and two she was asking him the strangest questions. He really didn't know why she bothered.
"Ah, no. But what's it to you, anyways."
She opened her mouth, intent on replying, shock tinting her face a bit red, but sudden wolf whistles and cat calls caused her to whirl around, right into the faces of the boys who had been tormenting Snape earlier. Her only conclusion was that this was, in fact, going to be her Potions Master.
"Looks like Snivellus has himself a girlfr.. Evans?!"
The famous Harry Potter stopped short. Firstly, Snape had found his wand and pointing it quite menacingly at him. Secondly, and what seemed to befuddle him more, was that Virginia was obviously not the girl he had first thought. Evans? What, he didn't even recognize her anymore? It rather hurt, but she ignored it.
She stared at him a moment, and her eyes moved to his friend. Was that Sirius Black? No, impossible. But.. the boy who looked up from reading. Was that Professor Lupin? No. This was all some horribly strange dream.
She had decided, though, that this was not Harry before her. It couldn't be. It took him a moment, once she had turned toward him, to regain his composure. And from the look on his face, he didn't seem quite miserably repulsed, though maybe a bit disappointed.
"W-Who are you? I don't remember seeing you here before."
"Virginia Weasley. I'm, ah, new. You are?"
He grinned proudly, and nodded, fully ignoring the angry Slytherin next to her.
"James Potter. And my little tagalongs here are Sirius, Remus, and, oh, Peter over there."
She blinked. So this was Harry's father? And she was right, in two ways. One, those other boys were indeed Black and Lupin. Two, this was an insane dream.
Sirius and Remus both snorted, and Peter stared. She never imaged any of these people to be like this, so why would her dreams portray it? Ah, well, best make the most of it.
"Well, can't say it's been a pleasure. Severus, would you mind taking me to, ah, Professor Dumbledore?"
He blinked, then scowled and nodded, retrieving his scattered books and sending a threatening sneer at Potter and Black.
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
"So, what year are you?"
"Ah, Fifth. Now just let me get one thing straight."
Virginia nodded. Honestly, the teenage Snape was not as menacing as the adult, but quite close. Though with the way his school life seemed to be, it was no wonder he had developed into a hateful man. Possibly another result of her unconscious mind. But she decided that she may as well do what she can, ask what she will. No harm in it. This wasn't possibly real.
"Why the devil did you waste your time? Potter and Black certainly attract a more preferable crowd."
The redhead gave the sneering, though almost uncertain boy a strange look and shook her head.
"Look, those guys are imbeciles and I wouldn't want the.. displeasure of their company, anyways."
He looked surprised, but finally nodded. They continued to talk as they made their way towards Professor McGonagall's office, so she could let them in. When they finally reached the door, Snape made a disgusted face and gestured towards the door.
"Here is Professor McGonagall's office. She'll let you in to the Headmaster's office. Go on, I'll wait here."
Virginia nodded and knocked on the door. When the teacher emerged, younger yet with no obvious difference, she looked the Gryffindor over with an obvious lack of recognition and reluctantly invited her in. She gave Snape a questioning look, but he shrugged his shoulders and haughtily turned away.
"Go on, young lady, sit. I'm afraid I don't know your name, but I wonder if I should?"
The flaming redhead averted her eyes and shook her head. As she glanced back up, she noticed the teacher staring at her.
"Well then, I'm going to have to ask you to explain your business here."
Nodding, Virginia looked McGonagall in the eyes. She almost told the familiar teacher everything, but decided against it. She had to appear to have purpose. Uncertainty would not get her a meeting with Dumbledore.
"My name is Virginia Weasley, and I have business to discuss with Professor Dumbledore."
McGonagall squinted at her, then began to pace behind her large oak desk. She didn't really understand why some strange girl, well into school, was wearing a Hogwarts uniform and appearing from no where.
"Well, Miss Weasley, who sent you? Or are you here on behalf of.. yourself?"
A sigh broke out from her previously pursed lips, and she looked McGonagall in the eye. This was just, too real. But it couldn't be, could it? Now, she was almost frightened.
"The latter, and it is severely pressing. I need to see Professor Dumbledore immediately!"
Though still unsure, she nodded and ushered the girl out of her office. Snape, still waiting, quickly suppressed his hopeful look and glanced disdainfully at McGonagall. Virginia smiled briefly at him, and he slowly, rather against his will, returned it. The professor ignored him and continued in the direction of the Headmaster's office. Snape looked disdainfully at the Gryffindor Head of House, but Virginia motioned for him to follow, and he reluctantly obliged.
"Sherbert lemon."
The stairs slowly began to wind up, and, with a "cross your fingers" look towards her not-so-new Slytherin aquaintence, she dashed onto the steps. As she reached the top, she stepped into the cluttered room and glanced around. It was not unlike its future appearance, though things looked rather newer, and less worn.
The headmaster himself was seated behind the papers scattered about his desk, years younge, she wagered, but it was rather hard to tell. Perhaps his beard was a bit shorter. He looked at her over his ever-present spectacles, pointedly and yet with the general courtesy extended towards a guest. As she stepped forward, he motioned for her to take a seat, and she obliged.
"Lemon drop? No? Then may I ask your name?"
The youngest Weasley sighed and finally met his kindly gaze. Her hands twitched and she began to wring at them. She had been very take-charge about this so far, but she honestly didn't have any idea what was going on, much less how to explain it.
"My name is Virginia Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, sir. And before you ask, I'm from Hogwarts and no, I am not insane."
He quirked an amused brow at her bluntness, and a look of genuine puzzlement clouded his usually all-knowing eyes.
"I am afraid, Miss Weasley, that I do not recognize you, and that I fear my years are making me senile because I have never forgotten a student to this day. There have been.. many Weasleys, throughout the years, but I do not recall a recent Virginia."
She sighed again and nodded. Continuing to fidget, she lowered her eyes to her lap and tried to work out in her mind just how to explain this whole situation. As she finally looked up, a flicker of metal pulled at the corner of her eye and she turned and stared at the strangely familiar basin on the shelf. Her eyes widened and she shot up out of her seat, looking much the mental case she insisted she was not.
"The Pensiev! Oh, gods, I left it in the lake! Professor Snape is going to kill me, I can't believe I lost it!"
Another amused brow shot up as he followed her eyes and her random thought process. He leaned forward in his seat and steepled his fingers with sudden interest.
"Now, Miss Weasley, the name Snape does, however, ring a bell for me, but if you refer to Severus he is a student, unless I have missed something dreadfully important. And I happen to know that he would not currently hold a Pensiev in his possession. Please, sit and calm down. Explain."
She whirled towards him, then finally the flush in her cheeks began to subside and she sank into the chair with sudden helplessness.
"Oh, gods, Professor Dumbledore, I think something really weird has happened, because one minute Professor Snape was teaching me Occlumency, and the next, my spell had knocked the Pensiev into the lake. I went after it, and there were things in there.. There was a glow and now I don't know what happened but I think I'm back in the past or something because Professor Snape is a student and everyone's parents are too.. Oh, gods, are my parents here?"
He smiled his soft, maternal smile, one of the many things about him that would just never change, and stood. He walked around the desk and laid a hand gently on her shoulder.
"Miss Weasley, calm down. While your story sounds reasonable, and I fully believe it, you need to calm down so that something can be done about this. You say the Pensiev fell in the lake during Occlumency lessons? I take it that was after Severus placed his memories into it?"
She nodded and relaxed under his hand. A solution was her ultimate priority at the moment, and to know that he did not think her insane, and was willing to solve this problem immediately, was comforting.
"I will assume that today was a memory he had wanted to keep unknown, for some reason. I must ask, was the Pensiev that sits there on my shelf the same one that was used for these lessons?"
She stood suddenly and approached it, almost cautiously. She then bent over to inspect it. Spinning around, she nodded curtly. He nodded in return and walked to the other side of his desk again.
"Was the source of the glow in the lake the creatures you saw? Yes? Then do you know what sort of creature they were? Did you get a look at them?"
She lowered her eyes and nodded, still standing at a safe distance from the metal basin. With a heavy sigh, she brushed back a bit of her fiery hair and looked towards him uncertainly.
"From what I could tell, it was the merpeople. We haven't learned much about them yet but that's what they looked like from what I could see."
He nodded and pulled out a parchment. Also retrieving a quill, he scrawled a brief note, followed by his signature, onto the parchment and held it out to her. She looked at him a moment, then slowly took it, not reading but watching him with an uncertainty that begged the silent question: "Well, can you help me?"
"Miss Weasley, your situation is a difficult one. From what you have told me, I will need to look further into it. Until then, you are an exchange student, from a school so small and discreet it was unheard about, in the mountains. You will take residence with Slytherin, since you seem to have befriended one already.
"Yes, I see you're in Gryffindor, but this is only temporary, until we discover the solution. It is important now that you speak to as few people as possible. Slytherins will not try to be overly friendly, and Severus can be responsible for showing you to your classes and current dorm assignment. I must ask that you tell no one of your true situation, and that you try to fade into the background as much as you can, until this is sorted out. The stronger bonds you make, the harder it will be to return."
She nodded, trying to hide her frown at her new House assignment. The teenage Snape was a rather better companion than his future personage, but if any of her brothers knew she would be hanging out with the dark Potions Master for a few days voluntarily, they'd have a hernia.
She had to suppress the laugh. She hadn't felt such a strong urge to genuinely laugh in so long that she was taken aback.
He suddenly pointed his wand at her, causing her to blink, and flashed a spell at her. The Gryffindor emblem on her blouse and the colors of her tie faded into those of Slytherin. With a smile, he dismissed her and she descended the stone steps from the office. She was almost surprised to see Professor..no, Severus, still waiting for her outside, looking bored.
Smiling uncertainly, she waved to catch his attention, and he jumped away from the wall he had been leaning against. With a quick recovery of his cool, uncaring expression, which she could see would be the beginning stages of his future countenance, he nodded up, towards the office, and gave her a questioning look.
"I'm in. Slytherin, actually. Looks like Dumbledore has stuck you with showing me to my new classes. Sorry, you'll have to deal with me for a bit longer."
He quirked a brow, lips twitched, and finally nodded. Looking uncertain, almost anxious, he began to lead her to their next class- Potions.
Sorry, indeed.
---* ---* ---*
He had no idea why some strange girl, who suddenly emerged from the school's lake was willingly befriending him, not for some bet or dare, but genuinely sticking up for him against Potter and his shadows, but he had to wonder. He was not the type to simply take something for face value, and as they walked towards the dungeons in companionable silence, he pondered her motives.
"Um, Pr..eh, Severus?"
He blinked suddenly and whirled towards her with a scowl, his answer biting, and yet retaining his infamous silk tones.
"What?"
She jumped and did not bother to hide her hurt. Then something crossed her eyes, a flickered emotion, but visible none the less. He struggled to recognize it, while regretting his venomous tone. Whatever it had been, it had replaced itself with defensive anger quickly enough.
"I just.. I had asked you a question, and.. you didn't have to snap at me."
She clammed up then and he frowned. He hadn't meant it, it was his usual response to anyone, but she seemed to take it personally and unsuppressable guilt latched onto him.
"Ah.. Ginny, I'm.. I didn't mean it. What had you asked me?"
"Don't call me that."
"Pardon?"
"Ginny. Don't call me that. That's what.. he called me."
He blinked. What on earth was this girl talking about? He didn't even know where it had come from.. Ginny. He had no idea why he had called her that, but it had slipped. He could help the pang in his stomach at the "he."
"Who was he?"
"What? Oh.. no one. It doesn't matter. Anyways. I was just wondering, why.. Why do those guys pick on you?"
He scowled once again and turned his eyes to his feet, his hair shading his face. He pondered the best answer for a moment, and finally sighed. He knew she was waiting patiently for him to answer, but he wasn't even sure he knew.
"I guess.. Because I'm Slytherin? Because I have no friends? Because I am ugly and greasy and thin and pale? I have no means of defending myself. I am not fast, strong, or particularly talented. They can take advantage of me, and they know it."
He hadn't realized that sometime during his bitter speech, she had stopped, and he turned now to see if she had abandoned him as he thought she would once she knew just how much of a reject he really was.
Surprisingly, she was still there, and looking at him with something in her eyes that he could not decipher. Pity? He did not want her pity. But that wasn't what he was seeing now. No, more like anger.
"P.. Severus, how can you say that? Are they really that shallow? Are you? Are those the only things people care about around here?"
It was then that she had grabbed his arm, and he could tell it surprised her as much as it did him. Yet she continued.
"Well, now you have a friend, if you'll accept me as that, and as a friend I'll tell you right now, do not ever put yourself down like that. You're not ugly, no don't argue with me, I think your dark hair and pale skin is a great thing, don't lose that. I don't care what anyone else says, because in my eyes you are not as bad as you think you are.."
She smiled up at him, at the utter look of shock on his face, changing slowly to an emotion she couldn't quite recognize for what it was. Even a bit of surprise lay in her features. She obviously hadn't meant to say that. He replied with obvious uncertainty.
"I don't want your pity, Virginia."
"You don't have it Severus, but you have my honesty."
She knew that in most girls' eyes the sallow Potions Master was nothing more than a greasy, ugly creature. But over the years, Virginia had formed a fondness for his silken tones and dark elegance. True, she sometimes feared him, but it was never to the core, and as she watched him over her school years, she had developed a certain attraction to him that she never dared utter even in the secret recesses of the night.
As he looked at her now, she saw the shy openness that his future self would never dare disclose so willingly in his own eyes. These thoughts ran through her head as they stood just outside the Potions classroom door, and she noticed with surprise that his hand had come up to grasp hers placed delicately upon his arm.
His dark eyes searched hers and she looked back with surprise.
The surprises did not hesitate to stop there. The gothic teen inclined his head so slightly more towards her own, and she was certain he was going to kiss her when the Potions door flung open and James Potter stepped out, looking up and down the hallways, searching, a look of mischief adorned upon his face and eventually his eyes rested on the two so close together in the middle of the hallway.
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Where has my heart gone
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger
I want to go back to
Believing in everything
~Evanescence, "Field of Innocence"
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For those who have reread this chapter, double the love to you all for your patience! I'm really sorry about this. But I'm happy with it now.. And for those who have read and/or reviewed, thanks! ^_^
I totally revamped this chapter. It's a bit darker at the beginning, but I wanted to put in some room for an actual plot.
Plus, I've formed a liking for breaking up a song throughout the chapters. Like a songfic, but I've been writing the chapters, then picking an appropriate song.. It would be like this one's format.
Tell me, is this better or worse than its predecessor?
Cream Puffs & Cheesecake
Reiko
I wasn't going to post this up, and just leave the story dormant on my computer, but.. Where's the fun in that? So here it is. I appreciate reviews, and I'll even accept flames. No point in trying to censor the criticisms. I want to know what you people think.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: I've really edited the storyline, here. I've mostly It'll probably change the plot a bit. This is STILL a romance fic, but will stumble into a angsty twist occasionally. I think this is better, but you'll have to tell me.
Disclaimer: Yeah. I own Harry Potter. That's why I'm at Fanfiction.net. Wouldn't you be, if you were J.K. Rowling and could actually put what you wanted to happen into the books?
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I still remember the world
From the eyes of a child
Slowly those feelings
Were clouded by what I know now
Where has my heart gone
An uneven trade for the real world
I want to go back to
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all
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"What's Occlumency? And why do I have to take it?"
Virginia Weasley fingered the tips of her fiery red hair and quirked a brow at Professor Snape looming over her. While most students feared him, Virginia decided for herself that he was more bark than bite, and she knew it infuriated the man.
As for herself, little Ginny Weasley was no longer the epitomy of innocence everyone had once decided her to be. Too long in a chamber of darkness had destroyed her simple outlook on life. At first, she had been only scared. Then she had repressed those bitter memories. But now..
Tom Marvolo Riddle had killed her grasp on a jovial unreality.
She had, for far too long, played off like she was not affected, but as her fifth year had rolled around, she felt her steady hand begin to falter. In a bitter dispute, Draco Malfoy had thrown harsh accusations of what had occurred those many days in the Chamber. And she had lost every bit of resolve she had.
Ron had, of course, payed no attention. Her mother doted about it occassionally, but did not give it too much thought. Her father was never home, not to mention Bill and Charlie. Percy would occasionally write her, but was completely ignorant of the rest of the family. Only Fred and George really brought any happiness to her anymore.
They had quickly picked up on her depression, and had used every means to cheer her up. Their thoughtful jokes on the rest of the family, with the intent of making her smile (it seemed they would do anything to make her smile these days), would amuse her. But, despite the temporary cheerfullness, it wasn't enough.
She needed to deal with the problems, but no one wanted the dirty deed, or really even realized that she wanted to.
She no longer allowed people to call her Ginny, with the exception of Fred and George. It made her feel like a child, but with them, she wished she was again a child. But that was gone with her innocence.
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I still remember the sun
Always warm on my back
Somehow it seems colder now
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Harry held no more of her affection. He never payed her much attention, and while she was grateful that he had risked himself to save her life, she almost rather wished he had just left her to die. It would have..
Her thoughts were broken by a harsh clearing of the throat, and she blinked up at the sneering face.
"Please pay attention, Miss Weasley. Five points from Gryffinor. Now, the answer to your question is because the Dark Lord has taken advantage of you in the past, Professor Dumbledore believes it wise, as does one of our sixth years.. Mr. Potter."
Virginia quirked a brow at Snape's obvious disgust at even having to spit out the name, and waited for the professor to explain this new area of magic.
Harry had lost his glamour to her some time ago, and she had moved on with vigor. She had dated a few guys, knowing full well it infuriated her brother Ron, but they all seemed so immature and shallow. She was looking for more.
"Occlumency is a form of magic taught to prevent unwanted presences from entering the mind and interpreting it, such as the Dark Lord or his followers."
She nodded quietly, and watched the peculiar basin resting on his desk, etched with ancient Runes and magics. She had never taken Ancient Runes, but she now vowed to discuss it with Hermione later. She didn't care much for the Head Girl, but it was necessary.
"So, Miss Weasley, these lessons will be taking place in secret. When students return, or when you write, there will be no mention of these lessons to them. They must think you have gone on an academic trip for Christmas, as you were told earlier."
She squirmed under his solid stare and nodded again. Christmas with Professor Snape. It really just couldn't get any better. Actually, it could have been worse. The empty halls of Hogwarts were better than the unbearable cheer of the Burrow. And despite the whispers of this man being a giant bat intent on the sucking of blood, she had to admit that he intrigued her. She had overheard of his dark past from Harry before, and curiousity prodded her.
"It is Christmas break, and it helps that you will not be going home, because the grounds will not be occupied. Dumbledore has sent home every student this time, excluding yourself, as these lessons are of extreme importance, do you understand Miss Weasley?"
"Yes, sir, Professor Snape."
He nodded and, taking the basin gently in his hands, they exited towards the lake, silky smooth voice continuing, making it obvious that she should be very grateful that he has to waste his time with teaching her on his vacation. Not that he really had anywhere else to go..
"These lessons will be taking place outside, until further notice is given. It is better that way, so as you will be used to many things going on around you when you are put into the real situation. Distractions are a major piece in the lack of concentration."
He set down the basin on a large, flat stump by the water. Placing his wand to his greasy black roots, he pulled it away to reveal a strand of loose silver, not unlike spider webbing, and placed the strand into the basin. She stared. Virginia was used to magic, but this was peculiar.
"Now, Miss Weasley, you will clear your mind. Remember, you want to keep me out at all costs."
She nodded, looked rather worried, and retrieved her wand from her robes. She really was grateful, though. The youngest Weasley never, ever wanted Tom to enter her mind and use her for his bitter purposes again. He pointed his wand toward her face and she tried not to look worried. With a toss of her red hair, she prepared herself.
"Legilimens!"
Everything around her swirled about, and she saw visions of things she had thought forgotten.. She was five, crying, when Fred and George had mixed some horrible prank into her stew, making filthy maggots squirm and wriggle out of it.. The first time she had layed eyes on the famous Harry Potter.. She was in the Chamber of Secrets, and Tom Riddle was leering over her..
Suddenly, she shrieked in frightened horror. The dark grounds of the school returned to her sight, just in time to see a spark from her wand miss its target and hit the strange basin, hard. Snape was recoiling from a spell that was enveloping his hand in horrible boils, but that was nothing to what his face looked like when he saw the bowl topple into the lake.
"The Pensiev!"
He made for it, but Virginia beat him to it. She pulled off her socks and shoes, as well as her cloak, and dove in. The icy chill of the winter's water hit her so hard it almost knocked the breath out of her. She was stupid to forget that it was much to cold for a brief swim, in the chill of evening, but better to face that then Snape's wrath. He may be more bark than bite, but when angry enough, his bite was harsh.
Virginia didn't even consider the giant squid, who was currently nowhere in her line of vision. She looked around, kicking her feet swiftly as she scanned the waters below her. It was deep, and she may never find it. A flicker of scale glinted from the corner of her eye, but she paid it no heed. In fact, she was oblivious at the ritual surrounding her.
Merfolk had caught the ethereal memories into their fingers, and were staring at the gossamer strands with a glint of mischievousness. They were performing a strange, ancient magic upon these memoirs, a form older than any living man would remember. And as Virginia finally grasped the rim of the Pensiev, they wrapped the strands of now enchanted memory around her nearly sixteen-year-old body.
Sudden light and warmth streamed through the waters of the lake, and as Virgnia surfaced, she flipped her dripping hair, now glinting a blinding red in the sunlight, over her head and glanced around.
Something was so very wrong. Students were everywhere. And it was apparently an afternoon in spring. How long had she been down there? A few girls, feet brushing the surface of the water, looked surprised as she sprung out of the glistening water, and she acted as if nothing were peculiar as she climbed out of the lake, her shock moving the thing Snape had called a Pensiev out of her mind.
As she began to examine the students around, she noticed they were all Hogwarts students, but none she could recognize. She began to approach a group of four guys under a tree, when a strange resemblance struck her. That boy, playing with the Snitch.. Harry was back? Well, it was spring, why shouldn't he be? But who were those other boys? Where was Ron and Hermione?
She made to approach them, when suddenly Harry, along with his friend, who looked oddly familiar, got up and smirked, calling out to a lone Slytherin. Even the boy reading by the tree Harry had previously occupied was familiar, though the excited, porky one held no resemblance to anyone she knew.
"All right, Snivellus?"
She watched the one addressed as his expression was one of such shock as he pulled out his wand, dropping all his books.
Harry, with a mirthful grin shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and the boy's wand flew away from him; the spell was soon followed by "Impedimenta!" which sent the raven-haired Slytherin to the ground panting. She had never known Harry to be so.. cruel. What had changed since she had been in those waters?
Virginia now caught a good sight of the grounded boy's face, and was shocked as she realized who he resembled.
"Snape?" she breathed, shocked. This man looked almost identical to her Potions Master, but years younger, likely around the age of fifteen or sixteen. It couldn't be him, so why shouldn't she help him? Even if it had been Snape, it wouldn't have been right to let Harry just treat him like that, for no apparent reason. She blinked and rushed to help the fallen boy. Something about this day just felt.. wrong.
She bent on one knee next to him, much to the shock of those watching. Laying a hand cautiously on his shoulder, after all she did not even know this boy, she peered at his stricken face. Did Snape have a son? She couldn't help but admit she was a bit surprised.
"Are you all right?"
He looked up at her, first with surprise, then with suspicion. He pushed himself up and stared at her, obviously trying to place a name with a face. Even the mannerisms where the same
"Do I know you?"
She blinked, and then ran her fingers through her quickly drying red hair. Did she? If Professor Snape did indeed have a son, she was sure she had never met him. Finally, she shook her head.
"Ah, no. I'm Virginia Weasley. And you?"
He still looked at her with suspicion, but, ignoring her offered hand, he sneered, looking almost angry.
"Severus. Severus Snape."
She blinked. Even his father's name? This was far too strange. Apparently, from her next words, her stuttering surprise was one trait not stolen from her by Riddle.
"Se-Severus Snape? Are you.. Were you named for you father? Or.. maybe a relative?"
He looked at her as if she were the strangest creature he had ever layed eyes on. This girl seemed outright mad. She was talking to him, for one, and two she was asking him the strangest questions. He really didn't know why she bothered.
"Ah, no. But what's it to you, anyways."
She opened her mouth, intent on replying, shock tinting her face a bit red, but sudden wolf whistles and cat calls caused her to whirl around, right into the faces of the boys who had been tormenting Snape earlier. Her only conclusion was that this was, in fact, going to be her Potions Master.
"Looks like Snivellus has himself a girlfr.. Evans?!"
The famous Harry Potter stopped short. Firstly, Snape had found his wand and pointing it quite menacingly at him. Secondly, and what seemed to befuddle him more, was that Virginia was obviously not the girl he had first thought. Evans? What, he didn't even recognize her anymore? It rather hurt, but she ignored it.
She stared at him a moment, and her eyes moved to his friend. Was that Sirius Black? No, impossible. But.. the boy who looked up from reading. Was that Professor Lupin? No. This was all some horribly strange dream.
She had decided, though, that this was not Harry before her. It couldn't be. It took him a moment, once she had turned toward him, to regain his composure. And from the look on his face, he didn't seem quite miserably repulsed, though maybe a bit disappointed.
"W-Who are you? I don't remember seeing you here before."
"Virginia Weasley. I'm, ah, new. You are?"
He grinned proudly, and nodded, fully ignoring the angry Slytherin next to her.
"James Potter. And my little tagalongs here are Sirius, Remus, and, oh, Peter over there."
She blinked. So this was Harry's father? And she was right, in two ways. One, those other boys were indeed Black and Lupin. Two, this was an insane dream.
Sirius and Remus both snorted, and Peter stared. She never imaged any of these people to be like this, so why would her dreams portray it? Ah, well, best make the most of it.
"Well, can't say it's been a pleasure. Severus, would you mind taking me to, ah, Professor Dumbledore?"
He blinked, then scowled and nodded, retrieving his scattered books and sending a threatening sneer at Potter and Black.
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
"So, what year are you?"
"Ah, Fifth. Now just let me get one thing straight."
Virginia nodded. Honestly, the teenage Snape was not as menacing as the adult, but quite close. Though with the way his school life seemed to be, it was no wonder he had developed into a hateful man. Possibly another result of her unconscious mind. But she decided that she may as well do what she can, ask what she will. No harm in it. This wasn't possibly real.
"Why the devil did you waste your time? Potter and Black certainly attract a more preferable crowd."
The redhead gave the sneering, though almost uncertain boy a strange look and shook her head.
"Look, those guys are imbeciles and I wouldn't want the.. displeasure of their company, anyways."
He looked surprised, but finally nodded. They continued to talk as they made their way towards Professor McGonagall's office, so she could let them in. When they finally reached the door, Snape made a disgusted face and gestured towards the door.
"Here is Professor McGonagall's office. She'll let you in to the Headmaster's office. Go on, I'll wait here."
Virginia nodded and knocked on the door. When the teacher emerged, younger yet with no obvious difference, she looked the Gryffindor over with an obvious lack of recognition and reluctantly invited her in. She gave Snape a questioning look, but he shrugged his shoulders and haughtily turned away.
"Go on, young lady, sit. I'm afraid I don't know your name, but I wonder if I should?"
The flaming redhead averted her eyes and shook her head. As she glanced back up, she noticed the teacher staring at her.
"Well then, I'm going to have to ask you to explain your business here."
Nodding, Virginia looked McGonagall in the eyes. She almost told the familiar teacher everything, but decided against it. She had to appear to have purpose. Uncertainty would not get her a meeting with Dumbledore.
"My name is Virginia Weasley, and I have business to discuss with Professor Dumbledore."
McGonagall squinted at her, then began to pace behind her large oak desk. She didn't really understand why some strange girl, well into school, was wearing a Hogwarts uniform and appearing from no where.
"Well, Miss Weasley, who sent you? Or are you here on behalf of.. yourself?"
A sigh broke out from her previously pursed lips, and she looked McGonagall in the eye. This was just, too real. But it couldn't be, could it? Now, she was almost frightened.
"The latter, and it is severely pressing. I need to see Professor Dumbledore immediately!"
Though still unsure, she nodded and ushered the girl out of her office. Snape, still waiting, quickly suppressed his hopeful look and glanced disdainfully at McGonagall. Virginia smiled briefly at him, and he slowly, rather against his will, returned it. The professor ignored him and continued in the direction of the Headmaster's office. Snape looked disdainfully at the Gryffindor Head of House, but Virginia motioned for him to follow, and he reluctantly obliged.
"Sherbert lemon."
The stairs slowly began to wind up, and, with a "cross your fingers" look towards her not-so-new Slytherin aquaintence, she dashed onto the steps. As she reached the top, she stepped into the cluttered room and glanced around. It was not unlike its future appearance, though things looked rather newer, and less worn.
The headmaster himself was seated behind the papers scattered about his desk, years younge, she wagered, but it was rather hard to tell. Perhaps his beard was a bit shorter. He looked at her over his ever-present spectacles, pointedly and yet with the general courtesy extended towards a guest. As she stepped forward, he motioned for her to take a seat, and she obliged.
"Lemon drop? No? Then may I ask your name?"
The youngest Weasley sighed and finally met his kindly gaze. Her hands twitched and she began to wring at them. She had been very take-charge about this so far, but she honestly didn't have any idea what was going on, much less how to explain it.
"My name is Virginia Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, sir. And before you ask, I'm from Hogwarts and no, I am not insane."
He quirked an amused brow at her bluntness, and a look of genuine puzzlement clouded his usually all-knowing eyes.
"I am afraid, Miss Weasley, that I do not recognize you, and that I fear my years are making me senile because I have never forgotten a student to this day. There have been.. many Weasleys, throughout the years, but I do not recall a recent Virginia."
She sighed again and nodded. Continuing to fidget, she lowered her eyes to her lap and tried to work out in her mind just how to explain this whole situation. As she finally looked up, a flicker of metal pulled at the corner of her eye and she turned and stared at the strangely familiar basin on the shelf. Her eyes widened and she shot up out of her seat, looking much the mental case she insisted she was not.
"The Pensiev! Oh, gods, I left it in the lake! Professor Snape is going to kill me, I can't believe I lost it!"
Another amused brow shot up as he followed her eyes and her random thought process. He leaned forward in his seat and steepled his fingers with sudden interest.
"Now, Miss Weasley, the name Snape does, however, ring a bell for me, but if you refer to Severus he is a student, unless I have missed something dreadfully important. And I happen to know that he would not currently hold a Pensiev in his possession. Please, sit and calm down. Explain."
She whirled towards him, then finally the flush in her cheeks began to subside and she sank into the chair with sudden helplessness.
"Oh, gods, Professor Dumbledore, I think something really weird has happened, because one minute Professor Snape was teaching me Occlumency, and the next, my spell had knocked the Pensiev into the lake. I went after it, and there were things in there.. There was a glow and now I don't know what happened but I think I'm back in the past or something because Professor Snape is a student and everyone's parents are too.. Oh, gods, are my parents here?"
He smiled his soft, maternal smile, one of the many things about him that would just never change, and stood. He walked around the desk and laid a hand gently on her shoulder.
"Miss Weasley, calm down. While your story sounds reasonable, and I fully believe it, you need to calm down so that something can be done about this. You say the Pensiev fell in the lake during Occlumency lessons? I take it that was after Severus placed his memories into it?"
She nodded and relaxed under his hand. A solution was her ultimate priority at the moment, and to know that he did not think her insane, and was willing to solve this problem immediately, was comforting.
"I will assume that today was a memory he had wanted to keep unknown, for some reason. I must ask, was the Pensiev that sits there on my shelf the same one that was used for these lessons?"
She stood suddenly and approached it, almost cautiously. She then bent over to inspect it. Spinning around, she nodded curtly. He nodded in return and walked to the other side of his desk again.
"Was the source of the glow in the lake the creatures you saw? Yes? Then do you know what sort of creature they were? Did you get a look at them?"
She lowered her eyes and nodded, still standing at a safe distance from the metal basin. With a heavy sigh, she brushed back a bit of her fiery hair and looked towards him uncertainly.
"From what I could tell, it was the merpeople. We haven't learned much about them yet but that's what they looked like from what I could see."
He nodded and pulled out a parchment. Also retrieving a quill, he scrawled a brief note, followed by his signature, onto the parchment and held it out to her. She looked at him a moment, then slowly took it, not reading but watching him with an uncertainty that begged the silent question: "Well, can you help me?"
"Miss Weasley, your situation is a difficult one. From what you have told me, I will need to look further into it. Until then, you are an exchange student, from a school so small and discreet it was unheard about, in the mountains. You will take residence with Slytherin, since you seem to have befriended one already.
"Yes, I see you're in Gryffindor, but this is only temporary, until we discover the solution. It is important now that you speak to as few people as possible. Slytherins will not try to be overly friendly, and Severus can be responsible for showing you to your classes and current dorm assignment. I must ask that you tell no one of your true situation, and that you try to fade into the background as much as you can, until this is sorted out. The stronger bonds you make, the harder it will be to return."
She nodded, trying to hide her frown at her new House assignment. The teenage Snape was a rather better companion than his future personage, but if any of her brothers knew she would be hanging out with the dark Potions Master for a few days voluntarily, they'd have a hernia.
She had to suppress the laugh. She hadn't felt such a strong urge to genuinely laugh in so long that she was taken aback.
He suddenly pointed his wand at her, causing her to blink, and flashed a spell at her. The Gryffindor emblem on her blouse and the colors of her tie faded into those of Slytherin. With a smile, he dismissed her and she descended the stone steps from the office. She was almost surprised to see Professor..no, Severus, still waiting for her outside, looking bored.
Smiling uncertainly, she waved to catch his attention, and he jumped away from the wall he had been leaning against. With a quick recovery of his cool, uncaring expression, which she could see would be the beginning stages of his future countenance, he nodded up, towards the office, and gave her a questioning look.
"I'm in. Slytherin, actually. Looks like Dumbledore has stuck you with showing me to my new classes. Sorry, you'll have to deal with me for a bit longer."
He quirked a brow, lips twitched, and finally nodded. Looking uncertain, almost anxious, he began to lead her to their next class- Potions.
Sorry, indeed.
---* ---* ---*
He had no idea why some strange girl, who suddenly emerged from the school's lake was willingly befriending him, not for some bet or dare, but genuinely sticking up for him against Potter and his shadows, but he had to wonder. He was not the type to simply take something for face value, and as they walked towards the dungeons in companionable silence, he pondered her motives.
"Um, Pr..eh, Severus?"
He blinked suddenly and whirled towards her with a scowl, his answer biting, and yet retaining his infamous silk tones.
"What?"
She jumped and did not bother to hide her hurt. Then something crossed her eyes, a flickered emotion, but visible none the less. He struggled to recognize it, while regretting his venomous tone. Whatever it had been, it had replaced itself with defensive anger quickly enough.
"I just.. I had asked you a question, and.. you didn't have to snap at me."
She clammed up then and he frowned. He hadn't meant it, it was his usual response to anyone, but she seemed to take it personally and unsuppressable guilt latched onto him.
"Ah.. Ginny, I'm.. I didn't mean it. What had you asked me?"
"Don't call me that."
"Pardon?"
"Ginny. Don't call me that. That's what.. he called me."
He blinked. What on earth was this girl talking about? He didn't even know where it had come from.. Ginny. He had no idea why he had called her that, but it had slipped. He could help the pang in his stomach at the "he."
"Who was he?"
"What? Oh.. no one. It doesn't matter. Anyways. I was just wondering, why.. Why do those guys pick on you?"
He scowled once again and turned his eyes to his feet, his hair shading his face. He pondered the best answer for a moment, and finally sighed. He knew she was waiting patiently for him to answer, but he wasn't even sure he knew.
"I guess.. Because I'm Slytherin? Because I have no friends? Because I am ugly and greasy and thin and pale? I have no means of defending myself. I am not fast, strong, or particularly talented. They can take advantage of me, and they know it."
He hadn't realized that sometime during his bitter speech, she had stopped, and he turned now to see if she had abandoned him as he thought she would once she knew just how much of a reject he really was.
Surprisingly, she was still there, and looking at him with something in her eyes that he could not decipher. Pity? He did not want her pity. But that wasn't what he was seeing now. No, more like anger.
"P.. Severus, how can you say that? Are they really that shallow? Are you? Are those the only things people care about around here?"
It was then that she had grabbed his arm, and he could tell it surprised her as much as it did him. Yet she continued.
"Well, now you have a friend, if you'll accept me as that, and as a friend I'll tell you right now, do not ever put yourself down like that. You're not ugly, no don't argue with me, I think your dark hair and pale skin is a great thing, don't lose that. I don't care what anyone else says, because in my eyes you are not as bad as you think you are.."
She smiled up at him, at the utter look of shock on his face, changing slowly to an emotion she couldn't quite recognize for what it was. Even a bit of surprise lay in her features. She obviously hadn't meant to say that. He replied with obvious uncertainty.
"I don't want your pity, Virginia."
"You don't have it Severus, but you have my honesty."
She knew that in most girls' eyes the sallow Potions Master was nothing more than a greasy, ugly creature. But over the years, Virginia had formed a fondness for his silken tones and dark elegance. True, she sometimes feared him, but it was never to the core, and as she watched him over her school years, she had developed a certain attraction to him that she never dared utter even in the secret recesses of the night.
As he looked at her now, she saw the shy openness that his future self would never dare disclose so willingly in his own eyes. These thoughts ran through her head as they stood just outside the Potions classroom door, and she noticed with surprise that his hand had come up to grasp hers placed delicately upon his arm.
His dark eyes searched hers and she looked back with surprise.
The surprises did not hesitate to stop there. The gothic teen inclined his head so slightly more towards her own, and she was certain he was going to kiss her when the Potions door flung open and James Potter stepped out, looking up and down the hallways, searching, a look of mischief adorned upon his face and eventually his eyes rested on the two so close together in the middle of the hallway.
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Where has my heart gone
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger
I want to go back to
Believing in everything
~Evanescence, "Field of Innocence"
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For those who have reread this chapter, double the love to you all for your patience! I'm really sorry about this. But I'm happy with it now.. And for those who have read and/or reviewed, thanks! ^_^
I totally revamped this chapter. It's a bit darker at the beginning, but I wanted to put in some room for an actual plot.
Plus, I've formed a liking for breaking up a song throughout the chapters. Like a songfic, but I've been writing the chapters, then picking an appropriate song.. It would be like this one's format.
Tell me, is this better or worse than its predecessor?
Cream Puffs & Cheesecake
Reiko