Introduction

The world is a fascinating place. From the sky to the deepest depths of the ocean, we still don't know what happens. But if you take a closer look, at a particular house in a particular neighborhood in Wales, you'll find a young girl sitting in her bedroom, writing in her diary. Now, you may be thinking: "Why is this important?" But soon enough, you'll know that this girl was soon to be the luckiest girl the world has ever seen.

Chapter one

Familar stranger

July 21st 1991

"Rosa! Rosa? Rosaline! Your dinner's ready!"

Rosaline Cooper slammed her diary closed, and it locked with a click. She threw her book down and stromed down the stairs. Today was the first day of the summer holidays, and all she was feeling was depressed. The kids at school had constantly been picking on her, and they were all going to go to the same high school as her. She wanted nothing more than to be in a different place.

"ROSALINE!" Mrs. Cooper yelled upstairs again. "GET YOUR SKINNY LITTLE BUTT DOWNSTAIRS NOW!"

Life's hard, Rosaline mused as she trudged downstairs. Today had been hard. Her parents weren't good with her, really..

"What, Mum?" Rosaline said innocently.

"Dinner! It's going cold!"

Rosaline looked at her plate and sighed. Fish was definately not on her list of nice foods.

"Mum?" She said.

"What, Rosa?" Mrs. Cooper snapped.

"Did you forget I don't like fish?"

Mrs. Cooper positively swelled with rage.

"Eat your food," She gasped throatily. "I don't care what you like and don't like."

Rosaline sat down with a huff. She picked up her knife and fork and began shovelling her mashed potato into her mouth. Someday..

Back in her room, Rosaline was crying. Her friend had come over on the 6th day of the holidays, and they had taken a bunch of dumb selfies together. The next day, however, she had posted them online with herself clipped out of it with captions like "OMG! What a nerd!" and "I can't believe I hung out with this moron!"

Rosaling couldn't take it. She threw herself onto her bed and wished with all her heart that someday, someone could take her away to a place where she could actually have friends..

August 7th 1991

"Rosaline, someone's at the door for you.."

Rosaline looked up from her diary and closed it. She leapt up from her bed and flew downstairs. She ran into the hall and stared at the man at the door. He was tall, and his face was stuck in a permanent sneer (or so it seemed). His hair was shoulder length and greasy, and He wore robes of a midnight black. With one look to the girl, Rosaline knew she didn't like this man.

"Good afternoon, sir," She recited, like her mother always told her to. To humor him, she bobbed him a surtsey. He raised his eyebrow.

"I am Professor Severus Snape. I am here for a Miss Rosaline Cooper, and no-body else." He drawled. Rosaline blinked at him, then bobbed him another curtsey.

"That," Said Rosaline. "Would be me."

"Well, Miss Cooper," he started, but Mrs. Cooper cut across him.

"Mr. Snape, would you like a cup of tea?" She stated firmly. If so possible. His face turned even more sneering than before.

"How touching, but I'll pass. Now, as I was saying, Miss Cooper here has been accepted at Hogwarts School of Withcraft and Wizardry."

Rosaline gasped, but Mrs. Cooper nodded unsmilingly.

"Indeed. I think your visit is done here, Mr. Snape, as she has already been accepted at another school that isn't a made up joke."

He stared at her, then he raised an eyebrow again.

"How lovely, really, is to see a woman protecting a child that isn't really hers." He drawled mockingly. Rosaline folded her arms and stared at her mother.

"What's this all about, Mum?" She asked.

"This man is trying to take you away from me," She stated firmly, as though this were the truth.

"No, Mum, about me not really being your child?"

Mrs. Cooper seemed to deflate and pale at the same time. She looked at her daughter with defeat in her eyes.

"You're adopted, sweetheart.."

Rosaline swayed on the spot, then the world around her went black.

A sudden movement woke her up. There was a man, a familiar one, sitting at the end of her bed. He was flicking through a magazine. Rosaline blinked a couple times, then she realised that this man was none other than Severus Snape. He seemed to be interested in the titles, but he found an image of a young girl sampling a bikini and his face turned red. He stared at the picture for a while, and Rosaline watched him through gaps in her eyelashes. After ten minutes, and he was still staring, she could take it no more.

"Why are you staring at my magazine?"

He closed it so fast it was like the covers had teleported together. His face turned a plum red for a moment, then it went back to it's pale state.

"None of your business," He sneered. "So, you've been asleep for a couple weeks."

Rosaline looked around and realised this was not her bedroom. Her room was full of pink, much to her distaste, but this room was classy, yet unfamiliar. The bed was a singular with a cream duvet, and the walls were papered in a sky blue pattern. The floor was polished chestnut wood, and from the ceiling a golden chandelier was swinging elegantly. Rosaline couldn't keep her eyes off of the beauty above her, and she only came back to reality when a snide voice came to her ears.

"I see you've been admiring my guest room," he started, but Rosaline put her hand up, her face contorting with worry.

"Wait," She said. "I'm in your House?!"

Snape nodded, his pale face a bit more concerned than before as she started panicking. She started breathing fast, and he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down," he started to say, but she screamed in terror.

"DON'T HURT ME!" She cried, She put her face in her hands and started to sob. She had no clue that Snape was only trying to help her, she was convinced she was going to be harmed. After a while of sobbing, she sniffed and looked up, and noticed Snape looking at her, pure concern on his face. She started to shiver, her face turning green, and Snape rushed her into the bathroom, and leant her over the toilet. He was just in time; Rosaline vomited. He sighed, and turned out of the room to fetch her a glass of water. Rosaline sat on the floor, thinking. 'Why am I in this house?' was her first thought, naturally. So when Snape came back with a glass of water for her, she asked him the same question, her voice shaky.

"Why am I here, in your house?" She said nervously. He raised an eyebrow.
"All in due time, Rosaline." He said. He looked at his watch, and yelped.

"Goodness, is that the time? We should be off to get your school stuff!" He cried, and pulled her up, though quickly, not roughly. "Get your bags, they're at the end of the bed you were sleeping in."

Rosaline went into the next room, and gathered her things slowly. The magaznes were hers, she quickly realised, but brushed it aside. She went out into the hallway and went downstairs. She didn't have much, but Snape seemed satisfied. He nodded and opened the door, and they stepped outside. Snape locked the front door, then seemed to be watching her. He raised his eyebrow.

"Holding everything?" He asked. Rosaline nodded, unsure. Then, He grabbed her and pulled her close to him. She yelped, and it felt as though she was being squeezed through a tight tube. Her lungs were about to burst when she contracted, and she was free. She gasped and opened her eyes, and found herself right infront of Severus Snape, who was grinning down at her. The door was behind him.

"Let me out," She gasped. He continued to grin, and he started to remove his robes. Rosaline started to panic again.

"What are you going to do?" She gasped madly. "What are you going to do to me?" She felt dizzy, and collapsed against him. She felt hands grab her, and lay her down on the floor. She felt nothing, but heard the rustle of fabric coming away from skin, and her immediate reaction was nude. She heaved, and a hand held her shoulder. She opened her eyes, and she she was in a dingy room, not unlikre a cupboard, Severus snape was looking out of a window. It seemed to be dark.

"Why am I here?" She said to him, and he started.

"As I apparated with you, you passed out. You've been asleep for a while." He said, concern etched onto his face. Rosaline sank deeper under the covers, and Snape raised his eyebrow at her.

"You seem to talk in your dreams, did you know?" He drawled, though he wasn't teasing her. She paled, and he knew her dreams weren't happy.

"Is there something you'd like to talk about?" He asked concernedly, and sat next to her on the double bed she was in. Rosaline tensed for a second, then realised he wasn't acting, he really was worried about her. She sighed.

"I'm just.." She mumbled. "It's just confusing. One minute, I'm at home, feeling like a no-body, and the next minute; here. My mum always told me not to trust strange men, but you somehow don't feel all that strange to me – You're familiar, almost.." She found herself looking at her hands. She looked up at Snape, and found his eyes wide, tears starting to form. He edges closer to her, and hugged her. Acting by instinct, she hugged the familar stranger.