Elizabeth Snape sat on her bed, reading one of her mother's potions books from school, her slender fingers flicking the pages eagerly as she awed at the ingredients. The family kitchen was often polluted with clouds of smoke from her mother's many potion inventions. She was an incredibly gifted witch when it came to the art of brewing, and she had stressed to her two young children since the day they were born that they were expected to excel at the subject. Elizabeth's twin brother, Severus, had taken his mother's words to heart and studied her old potions books vigorously, jotting down notes over most of the inventions.

There was a harsh knock on Elizabeth's bedroom door and she jolted out of her thoughts, pausing at the open page. The door slammed open and her father appeared at the door, his cruel face distorted with his common frown.

"Where's your brother?" Tobias Snape asked, his eyes darting around the room as though he expected his daughter to be concealing her brother. Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders truthfully, as Severus had recently taken to leaving the house and wandering around the land behind it. He wouldn't return until Elizabeth was sent to look for him, and because of this, she knew exactly what her father was going to say next.

"Well, go and find him!" he ordered and Elizabeth nodded, leaving the book on her bed as she left, knowing that she shouldn't disobey her father. He, unlike his wife and children, didn't have any magical blood in him, and despised magic and everything that went with it. He hadn't known his wife was a witch when he married her, but had been furious when he found out, growing to hate his children when they started showing signs of magic.

Outside the house, Elizabeth tied her battered shoes to her feet and set off towards the woods, hoping that she would be right in her first guess of Severus' whereabouts. The woods were dark as the fading sunlight battled to shine through the thick trees, and Elizabeth shivered slightly as she walked, regretting not picking up her coat before she left. Up ahead, she reached a glittering river, lapping slightly against the cool grass as the wind propelled it forward. She bent down and let the water tickle her skin, and was surprised by how gentle it felt.

"… and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."

Elizabeth's head snapped up, recognising her brother's voice. She quickly headed towards it, hoping that she would find Severus soon so she could go home. She passed thick trees as she spotted her brother's greasy black hair up ahead.

"Severus!" she called out, glancing down to make sure she wouldn't trip on any loose tree roots. She looked up again and saw her brother sat on the floor, surprise and annoyance clear on his face. However, he wasn't alone. Across from him sat a young girl, about Elizabeth's age, with vivid red hair and bright green eyes. They were filled with surprise as she spotted Elizabeth coming out from behind the tree, and her hand froze around a twig she was holding out. She was incredibly pretty and Elizabeth was beginning to realise why Severus had taken to hiding away from the house.

"Oh, sorry," Elizabeth said, stopping in her step. "I didn't know you were with someone."

"Lexi, go home," Severus ordered, and Elizabeth was surprised by how much he sounded like their father. She pursed her lips slightly, annoyed at being ordered about as though she was inferior. She almost shouted back at him, but something stopped her. Severus' friend was smiling at her. It wasn't a cruel smile, as though she approved of Severus' attitude, but a pleasant one, as though inviting her to join them.

"I'm Lily," she said, patting the ground next to her, and Elizabeth happily sat down, her battered shoes gaining more dirt as she walked. "Severus says I'm a witch."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, surprised at Severus talking about magic in front of a stranger. And then it struck her that her brother had been hiding from the house each day for quite a long time, and this Lily was most likely his friend. "Me too. I'm Elizabeth."

Lily smiled warmly at her, but dropped the twig she was still grasping and leaned in towards Elizabeth, her voice quiet.

"It is real, isn't it?" she asked, her green eyes widening as she spoke. "It's not a joke? Petunia says Severus is lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?"

"Who's Petunia?" Elizabeth asked, confused at Lily's question, but Severus rolled his eyes and cleared his throat slightly, gaining Lily's attention.

"It's real for us," he said. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, us three."

"Really?" whispered Lily.

"Definitely," said Snape, and Elizabeth smirked at his odd superiority in front of Lily.

"And will it really come by owl?" Lily whispered, which struck Elizabeth as odd. Why hadn't Lily's parents informed her of how she'd be contacted? Did one of them hate magic, like Tobias? Did they not want her to know of her heritage? Even though Tobias had been reluctant allowing his two children knowing about magic, it hadn't stopped Eileen. She had been determined to teach them.

"Normally," said Snape, interrupting Elizabeth's thoughts. "But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."

"She's Muggle-born?" Elizabeth whispered to Severus, which caught Lily's attention. Her eyes grew wider as she looked from Elizabeth to Severus, a worry line creasing her forehead.

"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?" she asked quietly, and the Snape children couldn't help sharing a concerned glance. Elizabeth had begun to like Lily, and wanted them to be friends, and certainly didn't want her to worry about the prejudice she might suffer at school because of her parentage.

"No," Severus said. "It doesn't make any difference."

Elizabeth shook her head in agreement and smiled warmly.

"Good," said Lily, sighing happily. It was clear to Elizabeth that the young girl had been worrying slightly, and she felt her brother had made the right decision in not mentioning 'pure-bloods' just yet.

"You've got loads of magic," said Severus eagerly. "I saw that. All the time I was watching you..."

His voice trailed away as Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. Severus had been watching this girl? She turned slightly to see what Lily's reaction was. She hadn't noticed the interaction between the siblings and had stretched out on the ground, looking up at the leaves and branches above.

"How are things at your house?" Lily asked abruptly.

Elizabeth looked away, feeling slightly annoyed at Severus. Had he told this girl everything? Severus had obviously wanted to impress Lily and had confided on her about their family life, but Elizabeth didn't want strangers knowing about their personal life.

"Fine," Severus replied, glancing at his sister.

"They're not arguing anymore?" Lily asked and Elizabeth saw her also glance in her direction.

"Oh yes, they're arguing," said Elizabeth. She picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, her eyes vague as flashes of her parents violent arguments flickered in her mind. "But it won't be that long and we'll be gone."

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"

"He doesn't like anything, much," said Severus.

"Severus?"

Severus smiled briefly when Lily said his name and Elizabeth pulled herself out of her daydream, wanting to remain a part of the conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about the Dementors again."

"What d'you want to know about them for?"

"If I use magic outside school –"

"They wouldn't give you to the Dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too –"

He turned red again and Elizabeth's head snapped up, her mouth twitching into a smile. Then a small rustling noise made her turn around. There was a young girl behind a tree, her brown hair obscuring her face slightly. It appeared that she had lost her footing on the ground.

"Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Severus and Elizabeth had jumped to their feet at the sight of a stranger.

"Who's spying now?" Severus shouted and Elizabeth suspected that he had met this girl before. "What d'you want?"

"Who's that?" Elizabeth whispered to Lily.

"My sister, Petunia."

Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. She was looking both Severus and Elizabeth up and down, clearly focusing on their ill-fitting clothes.

"What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at Severus' chest. "Your mum's blouse?"

There was a crack. A branch over Petunia's head had fallen. Lily screamed. The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward, bursting into noisy tears.

"Tuney!"

But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Severus.

"Did you make that happen?"

"No." He looked both defiant and scared, and Elizabeth knew he was lying. There was no chance that the branch had simply fallen on its own.

"You did!" She backed away, her green eyes flashing angrily as she also glanced at Elizabeth. "You did! You hurt her!"

"No – no, I didn't!"

But the lie did not convince Lily. After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Severus looked miserable and confused.

"Well done, Severus," Elizabeth mumbled, slightly annoyed that her only female friend had left. She threw a look of contempt at her brother and she walked off, leaving Severus alone...

A few months later, Lily had forgiven Severus and they along with Elizabeth had spent a lot of time in the woods talking about Hogwarts, their wizarding school, which was where they were heading. The journey to platform nine and three quarters was a quiet one as Elizabeth looked out of the window of the car. Tobias had allowed Eileen to borrow it so she could drive the children to the train station, but he had refused to accompany them. In fact, in the previous months, he had tried to persuade his wife to send Severus and Elizabeth to a Muggle school, even threatening her with violence once. However, Eileen simply reminded him that she was a witch and would perform some sort of curse if Tobias attempted to prevent their children from learning about their heritage.

When the three of them finally got there, Eileen grabbed her daughter's hand and marched off in the direction of platform nine and three quarters, with her son following quickly, almost tripping on his oversized jeans as he ran, pushing the trolley with both his and Elizabeth's cases sitting on it, along with their backpacks. They reached the point between platforms nine and ten and Eileen glanced around, making sure that no Muggles were watching them. She pushed Severus forwards first, as he was in control of the trolley. He rushed forward, his hands tightly gripping the handle. Elizabeth watched in awe as her brother ran through the barrier, disappearing out of sight. Eileen had told her what to expect but Elizabeth still couldn't stop a shiver of excitement run down her back.

It was her turn next. Gripping her mother's hand tightly, Elizabeth enthusiastically ran at the barrier, refusing to close her eyes in case she missed anything. She watched as the wall got closer and closer… Terror gripped her as the bricks seemed to loom on her… Everything went black…

And, then suddenly, she was back onto a platform. She grinned as she saw a scarlet train in front of her, steam puffing out of the engine. There were hundreds of people milling around; students excitedly chatting with their friends; parents anxiously checking that they hadn't forgotten anything that their children needed; animals barking, meowing, tweeting in cages, in their owners' arms or sitting on the cold platform floor.

"Come on, Ellie," Eileen said, firmly pulling Elizabeth along the platform, again, ignoring Severus as he struggled to keep up with his mother. The three of them walked down the platform as Elizabeth watched the activity around them in wonder. There was so much noise as parents and children said goodbye, the older children breezily waving as they jumped on board and the first years anxiously clutching the hands of their mothers and fathers.

"You can get on here," Eileen said, stopping suddenly at one of the doors. She quickly used her wand to raise the two cases onto the train and took the trolley from her son, handing him both backpacks. Elizabeth suddenly felt slightly awkward. She was going to miss her mother, and felt quite worried about leaving her to the mercy of her father, but excitement gripped her too much to feel guilty enough to stay.

"Goodbye, Mum," Severus said, one eye on the train, and Eileen gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before saying goodbye to her daughter and pushing the trolley away, leaving her two children on the platform.

"Come on, Lexi," Severus said, climbing onto the train and with one last look at her mother, Elizabeth followed Severus. "I'm going to get changed."

He handed her the smaller of the backpacks and walked away in the direction of the toilets. Elizabeth had to agree with his idea. She was wearing an oversized jumper with baggy jeans that had once belonged to her mother, and she was craving the newly bought uniform her mother had saved up to buy. She quickly snuck into the toilets and changed her clothes, stuffing her Muggle clothes into the backpack, happy that she wouldn't have to wear them again soon. As she was leaving, she was secretly pleased that Severus had decided to wait for her. She followed him down the train and watched as he checked each compartment, no doubt looking for a certain somebody…

Sure enough, Severus stopped outside a compartment in which two boys were sat, talking and laughing loudly. From behind Severus, Elizabeth could see Lily sitting near the window, her back to the door.

Severus slid open the compartment door and sat down next to Lily and Elizabeth took the seat next to her, noticing as she turned around that the red headed young girl had been crying.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said, turning back to face the window.

"Why not?" Severus asked, surprised.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

Lily was referring to a letter that her sister had received to Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School. It was in response to a letter she had written to him, asking to also be accepted to the school, expressing a desire to study magic like Lily. However, Dumbledore had replied telling Petunia that she couldn't, as she wasn't magical. Severus had found the reply in Petunia's bedroom on the one occasion that Lily's parents had invited him and Elizabeth over for dinner.

"So what?" Severus asked.

Lily threw him and Elizabeth a look of deep dislike.

"So, she's my sister!"

"She's only a –" He caught himself quickly as Elizabeth gave him a dark look; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him.

"But we're going!" he said, quickly changing subject and Elizabeth smiled at him. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

Lily nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus and Elizabeth's smile faltered slightly. Her mother and the rest of her family had been in Slytherin, and it was no secret that Severus wanted to join them, but Elizabeth was unsure. There was a lot of darkness surrounding Slytherin house, and she could certainly testify to that, given the history of her mother's family.

"Slytherin?"

One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily, Elizabeth or Severus until that point, looked around at the word, his eyebrows raised. His messy black looked incredibly cared for, as though he had thoroughly adored, and his clean shoes were lazily resting on the seat next to Lily.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him. Elizabeth glanced at him, and saw that the second boy did not smile.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said, his curly black hair falling in his eyes, and Elizabeth hid a smile.

"Blimey," said the first boy, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

His friend grinned.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

The first boy lifted an invisible sword.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

Severus tried to hide a snort but was unsuccessful. The first boy turned on him.

"Got a problem with that?"

"No," said Severus, his sneer contradicting him. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" demanded the curly-haired boy.

The first boy roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from each of the boys in dislike.

"Come on, Severus, Lizzie, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo..."

Both the boys imitated her; one of them tried to trip Severus as he passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" a voice called, as the compartment door slammed. The three of them walked away in silence, as something one of the boys replayed itself in Elizabeth's mind – 'Maybe I'll break the tradition'. She couldn't help but agree with the boy. She didn't want to be put in Slytherin and suddenly became fearful of where she would end up.

At Hogwarts, Elizabeth struggled to take everything in as she slowly followed the other first years into the Great Hall, keeping close to Lily and Severus. The four tables were filled with older students, some smiling at the new children, some talking in low whispers to their friends. On trembling legs, Elizabeth stopped when Professor McGonagall ordered them too and watched her pick up a very battered looking hat and place it on a rickety stool. Everyone stared at it, the first years unsure what was happening. The hat twitched and the rim of it looked as though there was a rip in it, and it almost looked like a mouth.

Suddenly, it began to sing and Elizabeth was so startled that she missed the first few lines of its song, but when she managed to focus herself, she enjoyed the lyrics, almost laughing. When it had finished, everyone in the room applauded, calling out cheers and whistles. When they died down, Professor McGonagall addressed the first years, holding up a long piece of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

She looked at the parchment over her glasses and proceeded to call out the names. Elizabeth watched as many students were sorted in the four houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, including the curly-haired boy from the train, who was called Sirius Black, and was sorted into Gryffindor, much to his obvious relief.

Lily's name was announced by Professor McGonagall and Elizabeth watched her friend slowly move forward and place herself onto the shaky stool. The hat was dropped onto her dark red hair and a second later, yelled, "Gryffindor!"

Elizabeth heard her brother groan quietly, but ignored him. Lily was smiling as she hurried over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Sirius Black, whom she seemed to recognise and subsequently ignored.

The roll call continued and Elizabeth watched the other boy from the train also get sorted into Gryffindor and his name was revealed to be James Potter. He eagerly sat down next to Lily, who also ignored him, her green eyes fixed on Elizabeth, who suddenly realised her name had now been called. Eager to get the process over, she quickly walked to the stool and plonked herself down, finding Lily in the crowd and focusing on her, as she unexpectedly felt exposed in front of the whole school. She felt the soft hat placed on her long dark hair and felt its voice in her ear.

"Where to put you?" it said quietly and as Elizabeth stared at her friend, sat between the two boys from the train, she thought one word as hard as she could; Gryffindor. The hat seemed to be contemplating its decision and Elizabeth gripped the side of the stool, worried she would fall off with sickness.

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled and Elizabeth gasped quietly, shocked that the hat had listened to her request. Professor McGonagall took the hat off of her head and she hurried to sit next to Lily, who grinned at her friend, and then both girls turned to watch Severus' sorting.

"Snape, Severus!"

Elizabeth watched Professor McGonagall place the hat upon his head.

"Slytherin!" cried the Sorting Hat.

And Severus Snape moved off to the other side of the Hall, away from Elizabeth and Lily, to where the Slytherins were cheering him. A boy with long blonde hair and a prefect badge gleaming upon his chest patted Snape on the back as he sat down beside him. Elizabeth smiled sadly at him but turned back to her own table, only half listening as Professor Dumbledore as he announced the school rules.

"But, now I have some words of wisdom," he said happily, holding out his hands. "Tuck in."

In front of them, food appeared in the silver plates; roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, and ketchup. Elizabeth eagerly dug, as she and Severus weren't well fed at home. Eileen was usually too busy with her potions to focus on cooking nutritious meals, and Tobias certainly wasn't the home husband kind.

As she ate, she looked around the hall, her eyes occasionally resting on several of the students. One in particular caught her attention. Sirius Black was watching her as she chewed, his grey eyes shining intently in the candlelight. Elizabeth briefly caught his stare and hurriedly looked away, embarrassed at the attention.