NOTE: I had this story up on Quizilla forever ago, but Quizilla is lame. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've written and re-written this story. I'm pretty happy with this version, so I plan on sticking to it. Sorry about the format, I was a little frazzled when I first published this. I fixed it, I think...
Disclaimer: I do not own Snape, or any other of the original characters, but I do own Lina, Briony, Ronan and the adorable Istas. I really do wish I owned Snape though... He's quite yummy.
Reviews would be greatly apprecited, though I'm not anticipating any :)
Picture this, if you will. A young woman just shy of turning seventeen. She is of average height, with caramel hair that falls in ringlets to her shoulders. Side swept bangs frame her perfectly arched eyebrows. Her eyes are a startling shade of honey with a darker brown ring around the iris. Her face is pretty, though average, with the exception of a full set of rosy lips. She is well liked around school, despite her family. She comes from a long line of Purebloods. Her family, like most others like hers, are associated with the dark arts. Her blood also instills fear in her fellow students. Many are wary when they are near. Slytherins have a reputation for being malicious, unfeeling beings. It is true, that she is ruthless, but there's another side to her that is unusually sweet. It has been rumored in the past that she has two personalities. Those who know her don't agree. The matter of the fact is, she is loving and caring toward her friends and those she likes, and mean to those she doesn't. With that said, there are only a handful of students at Hogwarts who associate with her. Mostly, she spends her time alone, lost in her thoughts. She is a dreamer and a creator of sorts, who is constantly held hostage by her imagination.
Lina sat in the empty compartment of the train, watching the trees pass by under the darkening sky. Students passed by the sliding door, giggling and telling stories of their holiday. Lina sighed, waiting impatiently for her friends to get back to her. Briony, her best friend, had Prefect duties. Lina herself was offered a position, but she regretfully declined. She didn't want the responsibility of dealing with snot nosed little witches and wizards anymore than she had to. She's much rather spend her time reading or taking strolls around the school grounds.
"Oi, Lina!" a tall, lanky boy popped his head into the compartment.
"Hello Ronan..." Lina said unenthusiastically.
"What's got your wand in a twist?" the boy asked, closing the door behind him and plopping himself down on the seat across from Lina.
"Nothing, I'm just waiting for Briony to get back from her Prefect nonsense."
"Ah..." Ronan trailed, pulling at his robe sleeves.
"Where did you sneak off to? I saw you come into the compartment with me, but I didn't see you leave."
"Oh, you know..." Ronan trailed off. A smirk crept along his face.
Lina glared at him. "Ronan, if you insist on playing these idiotic guessing games, then just don't speak to me."
"Ohh... Touchy today, aren't we?"
"Oh, piss off."
A moment of silence passed between them before Ronan pulled a small mirror out of his robe pocket and began fumbling with his mess of chocolate brown hair, pushing a lock from his eye.
"You do realize you look like a nutter, right?" Lina finally spoke after watching Ronan for a few seconds.
"Come off it! I do not look like a nutter... this style is in right now."
Lina scoffed in disagreement. "Any who," Ronan paused. "How was your summer?"
"Just fine, Ronan. I spent the entire holiday hunting for my own flat, and my nana passed away. How was your bloody summer?"
Ronan was speechless for a moment. "Well, I'm sure sorry to hear about your nana, but why were you looking for a flat? You're still sixteen."
"Yes, well, living with my mum is really starting to take a toll on my nerves... I was going to have to do it next year anyway. I might as well do it now."
"What's your mum done this time?"
"She expects me to act like an adult, yet she still treats me like a child."
Lina then leaned in closer to Ronan and whispered "And she's started nagging about Death Eater business. She still has the idea that I want to follow in her and my step-dad's footsteps and live to serve the Dark Lord."
Ronan simply nodded in compliance. He too has had to put up with his parents pestering him about becoming a Death Eater.
"I know what you mean... We've known each other practically since birth, and right from the start, we've known that sooner or later it would happen."
"Well, I personally don't intend on following mum's orders. I don't have to do anything I don't want to do. Are you planning on going through with it?"
Ronan shrugged. "I figure I might as well. I don't have any ambitions of becoming anything in particular or doing anything significant or productive in my life..."
"What happened to you wanting to go to the states?" Lina asked.
"I kinda gave up on that dream a while ago... I'll never earn the money for it."
"You should come to Sweden with me then. It's relatively close, and I could show you all the ropes, so to speak..."
The compartment door flew open, and Briony stood in the doorway, looking a bit frazzled.
"So, how did it go?" Lina asked, scooting to the edge of her seat.
"It was horrible," Briony said in a hoarse voice, "some 4th years brought stink pellets on the train and thought it would be hilarious to pelt us with them."
Briony pulled a piece of fuzz from her hair and brushed off the front of her robe. Ronan snorted, and Lina stifled a giggle.
"It's not bloody funny..." Briony said coldly.
"It actually is..." Ronan chuckled. Briony glared at the young man, which only made him laugh more.
"It looks like you're in for it this year, Ronan," Lina warned.
Briony slammed the compartment door shut, making the glass shake. She folded her arms across her chest and slumped in the seat next to Lina.
"By the way, Lina, we'll be arriving shortly, you should really cha-"
"Yes, yes, change into my robe. In that case, I'll be back in a little bit. Don't let that one touch any of my belongings..."
"Aye!" Ronan protested. "I never touch your things!"
"I know... Just reminding you to keep your grubby mitts way from my stuff."
And with that, Lina folded her robes over her arm and stepped out into the aisle of the train. She pushed herself trough the gaggle of second and third year girls, all of whom were congregating near one particular compartment. They were all giggling and whispering things to each other excitedly. Lina had a passing glance at what all the commotion was about. It was in fact, Harry Potter, along with Neville Longbottom and the dreamy eyed Luna Lovegood. In recent weeks, he had been through hell, and practically the whole world knew about it. Lina pitied him and his great misfortune. He caught her looking at him as she passed, and he smiled at her. She smiled in return with a wave, still making her way to the lavatories.
Lina squeezed herself past two Slytherin boys she didn't know who were ogling at Pansy Parkinson and her lot. Her platform Mary Janes made her equally as tall as the boys in her grade, if not a bit taller.
"Excuse me," Lina said hastily.
The boys moved reluctantly after a few prolonged seconds of looking her over. Pansy and her friends were giggling and gossiping, as usual. Lina thought she heard her name mentioned somewhere in their babel, but she shook it off. Her skirt and petticoat ruffled together as she walked up to the lavatory door. She knocked, and heard no reply. Assuming it was vacant, she turned the handle, but it didn't give.
"Bloody hell..." she muttered under her breath.
She kicked at the door with her platforms, hoping the door would open. It did, but only after several severe kicks. She smiled in triumph, but noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to her left, only to see Draco Malfoy leaning against the wall, a smirk spreading across his face. Lina furrowed her brow at him, then walked into the lavatory, quickly shutting the door behind her. "Creeper," she thought to herself, reaching back to unzip her skirt.
When she opened the door, Draco wasn't there, thankfully. Lina managed to get back to her compartment in one piece, despite the Harry Potter fanclub. Her cat, Istas, was lounging comfortably on Ronan's lap. The large grey and black Maine Coon was on her back, basking in the tummy love Ronan was bestowing upon her.
"Hey, Ronan, it looks like you got yourself a new girlfriend..." Lina laughed.
Ronan looked up at her with his lovely Indigo eyes and beamed. "I've always had a soft spot for your cat..."
"I think we've stopped," Briony interrupted.
"Just in time," Lina said, reaching up to grab her luggage.
She was still in her platforms, but she was having difficulty reaching the top shelf.
"Let me help you," Ronan said behind her.
She saw his arm reach around her head and grab the bag with ease. Lina turned around to thank Ronan but was startled by just how close he was to her. His strong cheekbones, the tiny flecks of gold around the pupil of his eyes, and the perfect curve of his cupid bow lips.
"Here..." Ronan trailed, "we don't want to miss the sorting ceremony, now do we?"
Lina grabbed her bags and pushed her way through the door before Ronan. She stumbled a bit as she walked; tripping on her platforms. She felt his eyes at her back all the way off the train.
The Great Hall was abuzz with idle chit chat and the clinking of eating utensils. The main topic of interest at the Slytherin table was, of course, Draco Malfoy. Everyone crowded around him to hear of his supposed glorious holiday. Lina, Ronan and Briony were within earshot of the cluster.
"Draco is such a git," Briony said between sips of pumpkin juice.
Shrill laughter came from Draco's direction. The trio momentarily turned their attention to Draco's direction, only to find the ear shattering laughter coming from Pansy. She was wrapping her arms around Draco's middle, savoring in his presence. Lina scoffed at the site, which earned her a nasty glare from Pansy, and a quizzical look from Draco. Lina exchanged a moment of silence with the two before Dumbledore stepped up to the podium to make his welcoming speech. Lina paid no attention to Dumbledore's droning announcements. Instead, she was scanning the professors. They all looked the same as they did last year. There was a new addition; a rather large man in a horrid brown robe, whom Dumbledore addressed as Professor Slughorn. He would be taking over his old post as Potions master.
"Oh lovely," Briony sighed.
Cheers had erupted from the Slytherin table when it was announced that Snape would finally be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. A position everyone knew he had been longing for. Snape simply raised his hand in acknowledgment.
As Dumbledore continued onto the subject of The Dark Lord, Linda couldn't help but stare at Snape. He had an air about him that she hadn't noticed before. She was feeling unusually drawn to his seemingly imperturbable tranquility. Snape had put his hand down after the cheering had subsided. He too, began scanning the table, taking a quick glance at his students. Before Lina knew it, Snape had stopped at her. She met his smoldering eyes and quickly looked down at her plate full of scraps. She felt warmth crawl up her neck and into her cheeks.
'Shit,' she whispered softly.
After a moment she glanced up to see if he was still looking, and surprise, surprise, he was. His expression was nothing less than a look of haughty disdain, which made her flush even more.
"Hey, Lina," Briony interrupted, giving Lina the perfect opportunity to look away. "You okay? You're cheeks are as red as a candied apple..."
"Yeah," Lina trailed off.
She looked up at the teachers table one last time. Snape was back to scanning the table, yet Lina continued to observe him.
"I'm fine, just tired."
"What were you looking at?" Ronan chimed in.
"Nothing, nothing," Lina waved them off, "I'm fine."
Snape caught her staring again, and a small smirk slowly crept across his face.