Authors Note: Hey gang... remember this one? I decided (after re-reading it A MILLION TIMES!) that I wasn't entirely happy with it, so here comes a re-write! (this, ladies and gentlemen is what happens when one very tired uni student is trying to avoid finishing her assignments which are due TOMORROW ARGHH!). I felt there were too many holes, and not very many places I could go with it... This is better! I HOPE! Enjoy lovelies :)

PLEASE if you are going to review, no burns. Constructive criticism welcomed (please bear in mind I am an exhausted uni student, so if there are a few teeny mistakes, ignore those...), but if you're gonna hate on it, don't bother.

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. If I owned Harry Potter, I would not be writing Fanfiction... I would be rolling around in my pool of money and Severus, Remus and Tonks would have lived (... actually... everyone but Voldemort, pretty much...). Own what is mine (ie. anything you DON'T RECOGNISE!)

Main pairing is SS/OC (will go in deeper in following chapters... this is kind of a set up chapter...)

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August/September 2001

Harry stuck close to Hagrid, his eyes, however, wide with amazement at the sight around him - Diagon Alley, the hustle and bustle of the magical street filled him with a sense of wonder. Hagrid made a sudden movement with his right arm, and Harry noticed he was waving happily to a small blonde woman, who was standing outside the Apothecary, her bright eyes focused on a small dark-haired girl who was peering into the window.

'Professor!' Hagrid called, and she looked up, frowning.

'Only one person on the planet calls me that, Hagrid...' She sighed, smiling softly. Harry noticed how beautiful she was - her long blonde hair falling around her tanned shoulders, brown eyes seeming to sparkle, bright smile that lit up the alley. She couldn't be a professor, he thought to himself. 'Remember, what I teach doesn't count.' She laughed, her eyes flicking over Harry briefly. He watched as she froze in place, her gaze slowly drifting back to him.

'Did yer father not tell you?' Hagrid asked her, perplexed. She shook her head slowly. 'Oh.' Harry looked into her eyes, and she gasped. Slowly, her lips curved into a smile, and she let out a small squeak.

'Harry!' She almost screamed, pulling him into her embrace and squeezing him gently. 'Oh baby, you've gotten so big!' She held him at arms length and frowned. 'Bitch..' She breathed, narrowing her eyes. 'I take it Petunia's still her charming self?'

'I... I'm sorry, but do I know you?' Harry asked quietly, and her face fell.

'Knew it. I take it he didn't know about the 'm' word, either?' Hagrid shook his head. 'Bastards.' She looked back at Harry, her eyes sparkling. 'Harry, baby... I'm so sorry.' Her voice caught, and she shook her head softly. 'Let me start again. I'm Paige. Paige Snape. I was your mum's best friend at school. Loved her like a sister.' Harry stared at her like she was insane, and he was almost certain his aunt and uncle had finally sent him to a mental asylum. 'Listen, honey, it's too hard to explain everything right now, especially here. But I promise I will explain everything once you get back to school, alright?' He nodded, still confused. 'Oh! Might as well introduce you to one of your classmates!' A blonde girl walked out of the apothecary, scowling.

'Mum, he's done it again!' She groaned, brushing her hair out of her eyes. 'Do I have to be seen in public with him?' Paige and Hagrid both laughed. 'Don't laugh! It's a serious issue! There is a marked price FOR A REASON!'

'I take it he's being his usual charming self then?' Paige picked what looked like a leaf out of the girls hair, flicking it to the ground. She nodded, her eyes flicking to Harry. 'Bridge, this is Harry. He'll be starting school with you.'

'Harry? As in...' She looked up at her mother, who simply nodded. 'Ohhhh.. Hey!' She smiled brightly. 'I'm Bridgett. Bridge, to pretty much everyone. Guess you've met mum then?' Harry nodded numbly. 'Anyway, mum, can we please go? Make him cart all this shit home himself.'

'Bridgett! Language!' Paige snapped at her, and Bridgett frowned, mumbling under her breath as she walked over to the small dark-haired girl, who was now sitting on the ground, crushing leaves between her fingers. 'The little one, Harry, is my other daughter, Charlie.' Harry couldn't see the resemblance at all between the two girls, but assumed that the smaller one took after her father. Hagrid put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

'We should get movin', Harry. Lot's to do.' Harry nodded, waving briefly at the family as they walked away. Paige watched her godson with a small smile playing on her lips, content in the knowledge that he was okay.

'What do you mean, you saw Harry?' Paige sighed, Charlie fast asleep in her arms. 'In a dream? Drunken stupor? Hallucination? Come on, give me something.'

'I mean, Hagrid went and picked him up from Petunia's, brought him to Diagon Alley, and decided to do a spot of shopping.' She rolled her eyes, shifting her daughter onto her other hip. He sighed, taking the 7 year old from his wife. 'Thanks. He knew nothing! Damned bitchwhore told him nothing!'

'Calm down. You really expected her to sit him down and say what, 'Oh Harry, by the way, your mother? She was a witch!'' He stared at her for a moment. 'Didn't think so either. He'll be fine. Really. Now relax.' She groaned, collapsing onto the couch. 'I'll go put Charlie down.' She nodded, watching him disappear up the stairs. Closing her eyes, she moaned softly. This was going to be one very long year.

Bridgett sat on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, absentmindedly filing her nails. Hermione glared at her from the desk. 'What?'

'You'd think being the daughter of two professors, you would try and get some reading done!' Bridgett laughed, sitting up straighter.

'I love that you think mum is a professor. Good on you! Also, dad is pretty much a glorified chemistry teacher, so don't get all excited.' Hermione set her book down, turning to face her best friend. No-one really understood their friendship. Bridgett, the pretty, popular, sporty blonde. Hermione, the nerdy, bushy-haired outcast. Regardless, the pair had been inseparable since age 3, when upon seeing they had the same shoes at preschool, they decided to be friends.

'You've seen the castle, though! You know what to expect!' Hermione sighed happily, touching her acceptance letter again. Bridgett rolled her eyes. 'Don't roll your eyes at me! I'm so jealous of you! You've grown up with magical parents!'

'Pfft! Please. I would kill to have normal parents for 5 minutes.' Hermione gave her the 'please explain' look, and Bridgett groaned. 'You know what I mean. Do you know what I had to do the other day? Spend 45 minutes in a goddamn herb store while dad argued the price of dead flies or something.'

'Your family are incredibly normal, I'd say, for a wizarding family. I didn't even know until I got my letter!'

'Well good for you. Although, I will say this... having the whole 'magic' thing going totally works in my favour sometimes... Okay never... Shut up.' Hermione laughed. Sometimes they didn't even have to talk, just having an entire conversation through 'looks'. 'Okay, what house do you want to be in?'

'Oh! I think I'd like to be in Ravenclaw, because that's where all the smart people seem to go. But I do like the sound of Gryffindor... what about you?' She was now sitting on the floor next to Bridgett, who had now begun painting her nails a bright shade of purple.

'Hmm... See, I've got two to choose from, really. Mum being a Gryffindor and all. But then, Dad is the head of Slytherin, so I guess he'd kinda want me to go there. But I'm not very evil,' Hermione laughed. 'Okay, maybe a bit evil...'

'Sorry, but you are pretty much the devil in his human form. No offence.'

'None taken. Anyway, if I had to decide, I'd say Gryffindor, because I don't want to portray the typical evil stereotype.' Hermione raised an eyebrow at this. 'I'd rather infiltrate and go from there.'

'Oh lord... this can only end badly...'

Harry managed to find a seat on the train, next to a red-headed boy who had a rat on his lap.

'I'm Ron. Ron Weasley.'

'I'm Harry. Harry Potter.' Ron looked amazed at this.

'Is it true? Do you really have the... scar...'

'Oh!' Harry pushed his hair away from his face. Ron's eyes lit up.

'Wicked...' The two boys continued talking, Harry buying almost everything on the trolley when it came past. Suddenly, a brunette girl appeared at the door.

'Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one.' They both shook their heads. 'You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger... And you are...'

'Ron Weasley.' Ron managed to get out through a mouthful of pumpkin pasty.

'Charmed. Anyway, you two better get changed, I expect we'll be arriving soon.' The same blonde girl Harry met in Diagon Alley suddenly appeared next to Hermione, poking her in the side.

'Oi, they found the frog or whatever. Oh hey Harry!' She said brightly as she noticed the other people in the compartment. 'Ohhh you have a friend! Hi, I'm Bridgett!'

'Uh, I'm Ron.' He nodded at her in acknowledgement. She stared for a moment, then turned back to Harry.

'You got a uniform and whatnot?' He nodded, and she smiled. 'Good. Mum sent me with a spare incase. Don't know if you've got the legs for a skirt though...' He stared at her, horrified. 'I'm kidding.'

'Bridgett, we should get going...' Hermione whispered, almost frantically.

'Oh god, calm down. We're not going to miss it.' Bridgett smiled again. 'See you when we get there, I guess!' She grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her off. Ron stared after them, whilst Harry went back to the jellybeans in front of him.

'Mental, those two.'

'Our baby! She got into Gryffindor!' Paige grinned, holding out her hand. 'Pay up.'

'Really? You're really going to make me pay you.'

'Not just me. But Meredith, Holly AND Daniel too. Oh.. I think Mum may have been in on the pool as well?' She smiled sweetly. 'Who knew? She's not all bad after all.'

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, looking up at the staff table with interest. He noticed the dark haired man turn away from Paige and begin talking to the man he knew as Professor Quirrell - Hagrid had introduced him at the Leaky Cauldron.

'Percy...' he started, addressing the elder Weasley brother. 'Who's that man talking to Professor Quirrell?'

'Oh! That's Professor Snape, teaches potions. Head of Slytherin house. Not many people like him.' Snape... Why did that sound familiar? He looked over at Bridgett, who was currently on her tenth glass of water - he was now entirely sure she was part fish. God, what was her surname...

'Snape.. as in, Paige?' Harry asked, suddenly remembering where he had heard it. 'Are they related?'

'Related?' Percy laughed. 'Oh, this is a bit of a mystery around here. They're married.' Harry almost choked on the mouthful of potato he was currently chewing. 'I know. Bridgett...' He pointed. 'The blonde one over there. She's their daughter. They've got another one... Charlotte, I think her name is?'

'Charlie!' Bridgett called across the table, her eyes narrowed. 'Don't call her Charlotte. She hates it. Call her Charlie. Besides, why is it so unbelievable that my parents are married?' She looked up at the staff table, then frowned. 'Oh. Okay, I just saw it. Yeah no, I don't get it either.' Percy laughed, shaking his head. Harry looked back up at the table, and noticed that Professor Snape was staring straight at him. At that moment, his scar burnt so intensely, he felt as if his forehead was on fire. 'Harry... what's wrong...' Bridgett asked, concern etched across her face.

'Nothing.. Nothing it's fine.' Interesting...

Author's Note: Weeeell! Thoughts? Opinions? Remember - we're spreading the love around here today :) Hopefully another chappy shall be up tomorrow, as I am ALMOST finished my assignment (ahhh university. Ruining peoples lives since the 1800's, right? At least I get to make a newspaper wedding dress tomorrow...)

night, lovers! x